Lost to the Sands

by GigaBowser

Phase 2

Phase 2

Celestia stirred.

She gave a quiet moan as her consciousness slowly returned. Her head felt heavy and her limbs were stiff. She tried to open her eyes, but even this task was proving difficult. Every muscle in her body was telling her to just give in and go back to sleep, and for a moment she nearly did.

However, Celestia pushed herself. Groaning, she cracked her eyes open slightly. She was greeted by the bright world around her, causing her to shut her eyes again from the irritation. Her location, though not extremely bright, was still an assault on her weary eyes. After giving them a moment, she slowly opened them up again.

Her vision was blurry for a moment, but as she endured the stinging of the light, she slowly began to see more clearly. The first thing she saw was the ceiling. It was fairly ordinary, coloured slightly off-white, and contained nothing of note. Celestia realized she was laying flat on her back, staring straight up.

Her head ached, and she tried to move one of her hoofs up to hold to her forehead. She was surprised by the difficulty she experienced when trying to move. Her muscles felt weak and she had little to no energy.

"Ugghhhh…" she couldn't help but moan.

As the fuzziness of sleep ebbed away, she began to notice something odd about her field of vision. She couldn't quite place her hoof on exactly what it was, but something about her view of the plain, uninteresting ceiling wasn't quite right.

"Ohhh, by the sun…" she groaned, "What happened…?"

It didn't take long for memories to become clear to her. She remembered taking Luna out to walk in the gardens when she'd suddenly been hit with a wave of dizziness and fatigue. The last thing she could remember was collapsing. "Did I…faint?" she muttered.

Strength was beginning to return to her and she gave a grunt as she attempted to sit up. She planted her hooves beside her and pushed up, raising her head. There was a pronounced clink sound, and Celestia moved her head back down in surprise. Her horn had hit something.

"Ah…What?"

Celestia stared upward at the ceiling. She focused on the oddness of what she saw and the pieces began to fit together in her head. She raised a hoof up and lifted it above her head, pushing it upwards.

Thunk.

Her hoof, which she absently noticed was bare, pushed against the nearly invisible barrier above and around her. It looked like glass, but it didn't feel like glass. She tapped on it a few times. It felt solid, making thunk sounds with each tap. She raised her head up, slower this time so as not to bang her horn, and gazed towards the other end of where she was laying. From this angle, she could see reflections on the casing, and it completely surrounded her from head to tail.

She shifted her head around, as much as her awkward position would allow her, looking at her surroundings. Her enclosure appeared quite simple; a red, soft surface that she was laying on, a silver 'edge' that raised up on all four sides, and a curving, dome-shaped casing of the glass-like material.

She raised her other hoof up and began to push on the casing. It didn't budge an inch. She gritted her teeth and pushed as hard as she could, but could achieve no result. She then tried to light up her horn. Her flow of magic was sluggish at first, being the last part of her to fully wake up, but soon she had the entire casing wrapped in a golden glow. She poured her magic abilities through her horn, pushing against the casing and trying to move it. She tried to break it, shift it, bend it. She even tried to teleport it away. Still, nothing happened beyond being enveloped in her magic's aura.

Minor claustrophobia began to set in. Celestia tried to take deep breaths to calm herself and prevent panic. She cast her eyes all around the inside of her 'case', looking for a lever or button of some sort that would release her. She found nothing. Continuing to breathe deeply, keeping her anxiety under control, she glanced at the room around her. It was devoid of anything except for what appeared to be a grey door. Light was shining from behind her head, beyond her scope of view. There was likely a window back there.

Celestia gritted her teeth and gave one last strong, drawn-out push against the casing. Her efforts rewarded her with nothing, and so she began knocking on the casing. "Hello?" she called out, wondering if her voice could even be heard on the outside, "Is anypony out there?" Nothing happened, so she continued to bang her hoof on the casing, harder this time. "Hello?! Please let me out! Somepony please come and help me!"

Panic continued to approach, so Celestia began to knock harder. "Somepony?!" she shouted, beginning to lose control of her nerve, "Anypony?!" She continued to simply knock for a few minutes, slowly getting louder and louder. Still nothing happened.

Her hoof began to ache and so she stopped. She lay staring straight up at the ceiling, panting. I'm trapped. She focused on not hyperventilating. I'm locked inside this…this…thing. A fear clouded her mind; the likes of which she had rarely experienced before. She had never felt utterly trapped like this before, and having no idea of where she was or what was going on was only making everything worse.

Movement. She barely caught it in the corner of her eye. Quickly, she turned her head towards the doorway. To her immense relief, the door slid open, revealing behind it two unicorn ponies. They were both white with deep blue manes, and they were dressed in what Celestia found to be extremely odd clothing. It appeared to be some kind of vest or jacket, she wasn't sure which word to use, and it was coloured bright silver. It covered their chests and forelegs and ended at their flanks. The clothing was accentuated with blue trim, collars, cuffs and symbols.

At the moment, Celestia didn't care what they were wearing. "Hello? Sirs? Can you let me out?" she called to them.

The unicorns were standing in the doorway, staring at her with their mouths hanging open. Their eyes were wide and they appeared to be shocked. Neither responded to her call, and continued to stand stock still at the room's entrance.

"Hello?"

The one on the right turned to his companion, though he kept one eye on the Princess, and spoke something. Though his lips moved, Celestia couldn't hear a single word he said, confirming her theory that whatever she was trapped in was soundproof. In light of this, she raised up one of her hooves and waved at them.

The two continued to speak to each other for a few moments, still maintaining their shocked expressions and their apparent unwillingness to move.

Celestia shook her head slightly, growing even more baffled with every passing moment. What is going on here? she yelled inside of her head, Are they just going to stand there? Why won't they let me out?

The unicorns nearly jumped out of their skin when Celestia knocked her hoof against the casing. Their full attention back on the confined princess, one of them raised his hoof and pointed towards her. The other nodded hesitantly and began trotting towards her enclosure.

Celestia watched him as he approached, fixing him with a gentle gaze that expressed her desire for help. For whatever reason, Celestia could see that these two were stressed, possibly even nervous, and she didn't want to do anything that would scare them away.

When the pony outside reached the side of her 'prison', he reached up his forehooves and pressed them down onto something that Celestia couldn't see. He moved them around for a moment, and then there was a fairly loud beeping sound, which rang five times. Then there was a hissing sound, after which one side of the transparent casing began to lift up. Elation flooded over the Princess as her enclosure opened and finally granted her access to the outside world.

She gave a loud sigh, feeling her anxiety wash away. Relief was overwhelming her. She smiled brightly as she sat up, moving slowly as she realized that her joints were still very stiff after being in that position for so long. She gave her legs and wings a quick stretch.

"Ahh, thank you so much…" she said, turning towards the two unicorns. The one who had freed her had stepped back to his companion's side and they were both regarding her with that same, familiar shocked expression. Now that she was no longer concerned about being trapped, all the other strange things about her situation began to become more clear to her.

"Thank you ever so much for getting me out of there, kind sirs," she said, moving her forelegs to step down off of the low platform. She gave their outfits a closer look. The silver colour was very shiny and reflective, while the blue was akin to that of a summer sky. It closed around their necks in an odd way, with one flap falling over another and then fastened closed. It left a unique pattern down the front, almost like a simple zigzag.

She turned her head and gazed at the room around her. The same featureless walls greeted her, but she was met with an opaque window to her right, which was the light source she could see earlier. It was milky white, and she could not see through it.

She turned back and gazed at what she had been laying on. It was box-shaped, but curved at the top. The clear casing, which now hung open, covered the top of the red cushions she had been laying upon. The head, foot and bottom of it were adorned in bright gold, which sparkled in the light. A depiction of the sun rested in the center, appearing to be made out of marble and granite.

So many questions flooded her mind, and it was difficult to decide where to start. She returned her gaze to the two unicorns, still staring at her like they'd seen a ghost, and spoke in a gentle voice, "Might I enquire as to where I am?"

More staring. Celestia resisted the urge to deadpan.

"Sirs?" she said, leaning her head down closer to them.

"Uhhhh…"

This wasn't going anywhere. Celestia paused and put on her kindest, gentlest smile and gazed at them softly. "My little ponies, you have nothing to be nervous about. I have no reason to be angry towards either of you, and so I won't."

The one who had mumbled earlier was staring up at her, his eyes sparkling with wonder. Celestia continued to smile at him, attempting to ease whatever anxiety he was experiencing and hopefully draw out some kind of response.

"P-" he stuttered, "Princess…Celestia?"

She grinned and gave a nod. "Yes, my good sir."

"You're awake…"

Celestia regarded the two unicorns, who were behaving more strangely with each passing second. They were staring at her, casting unsure glances to one another. "Wh-what do we do?" whispered the one who had spoken earlier to his companion.

"I don't know," the other responded, "I di-Oh!" Suddenly his ears perked up and his eyes shot open in surprise. He gave the other a rough shove to the side. "Bow, you idiot!"

"Ah! Right!"

The two then rushed to get onto their knees, bowing low before Celestia. They kept their eyes closed and their horns pointed low as they showed their respects to her.

It made her smile and chuckle airily. "All right. You may rise, ponies."

They shakily got to their feet.

"You both seem tense…" she said.

"I- I-" one stuttered, "I'm sorry, Pri- Your Highness." He shuffled his hooves. "We're just a little, um…" He trailed off, glancing to his companion.

"Surprised," the other completed his sentence for him.

"Yes," he nodded, "Surprised to see you…You're really all right, Princess Celestia?"

Celestia furrowed her brow for a moment, but then nodded. "Yes, I am quite all right now, though I wish I knew what happened. How long was I out?"

The two stallions turned and looked at each other with a concerned glance.

"…Sirs?"

"I don't believe this," one of the unicorns muttered quietly, "What are we supposed to do? I can't-"

"Oh! I'll go…I'll go get her. I'll go tell her."

"She probably already knows."

"Well I'll go make sure."

Then, without another word or even a glance back at the Princess, one of the unicorns turned and ran out the door and through the hallway beyond. Celestia opened her mouth and raised her hoof in his direction, but before she knew it, he was gone, the door sliding shut behind him. She closed her mouth into a frown, her eyes taking on a somewhat determined look.

"Okay," she said, quickly stepping over to the remaining unicorn and towering over him, "I am trying to be as patient as I can, but I really need some answers now." The unicorn started and stepped back nervously, gulping. Celestia kept her gaze locked on him. "So I want you to tell me where I am."

"Um, uh…" he stammered, "You're in your chambers in the castle…um, Your Highness."

She arched an eyebrow. "The castle?"

The unicorn nodded.

"Canterlot Castle?"

He nodded again.

Celestia shook her head and stepped back. "But how can that be? I've never seen a room like this in the castle before…"

"Umm…Well, it was built for you while you slept…"

Celestia opened her mouth to retort, then paused. Her words died on her tongue as what the unicorn had said repeated in her head. She gazed down at him and tilted her head slightly. "…Built?"

The unicorn nodded once more.

A scenario entered the Princess' mind. An explanation for everything. It was wild and fantastic; so unbelievable that it couldn't be true. Celestia immediately shook it off and dismissed it, but it wouldn't leave her mind completely. It couldn't…No, completely ridiculous…

"What do you mean…'Built'?"

"Umm, well from what I learned…the ponies wanted to make sure you were safe," he replied, "You know…while you were asleep."

Fear started creeping into her mind. She leaned her head in closer to him. "Sir?" she spoke, quiet and to the point, "What day is it?"

A faint hint of colour seemed to drain from the unicorn's face as he gulped. He stared up at her silently for a few moments, as if building up the courage to respond. A quiet feeling of dread was creeping over Celestia, no matter what she told herself. The unicorn took a deep breath, and then spoke quietly.

"It's March the 25th…"

He paused.

"…2531."

Celestia's heart skipped a beat and the world seemed to slow for a moment. Her eyes widened and her jaw fell a bit. What?! She began subtly shaking her head and took a step back. What did he say?

"…You've been asleep for more than 500 years."

"No." She shook her head more, fixing the unicorn with a look of incomprehension. "No, that's not possible. That's not true." Celestia's mind was mostly filled with scepticism; utter disbelief at what this unicorn had told her. An awkward chuckle rose up from her throat. "That's absolutely ridiculous. Don't be absurd."

The unicorn was glancing away, avoiding her gaze. "I-I-It's true, Your Majesty."

"Liar." Celestia's emotions took a sudden turn. Now, she found herself angry at this stallion. "I cannot believe you have such audacity to lie to me, your Princess."

The unicorn appeared like he'd been stabbed through the chest. "What? No! No, Your Highness! I wouldn't dream of lying to you!" He stepped towards her. "I…I never dreamed that I'd live to see this day. It's…such an incredible honour, Your Highness." He punctuated this statement with another low bow before her.

Celestia paled. Her breathing quickened as she stared at this pony bowing before her. Her mind was spinning, unsure of what to think or what to believe. He can't be telling the truth, she said to herself, 2531? How could I have fallen asleep for half a millennium? The very idea is fantastical…

The Princess scoffed, tossing her head back from the unicorn. "Complete rubbish…" she muttered, feeling completely sincere about her statement. She wasn't sure, then, why it felt like there were butterflies in her stomach.

"Your Highness," the unicorn spoke, not moving from his bow, "I know it is hard to believe, and I wish I could give you an explanation, but what I'm telling you is the truth. It is the 26th century."

Celestia turned back and looked down upon the bowing stallion, her heart beating at a furious pace. "You…can't be telling the truth…" she said, though with a lot less conviction, "It…It can't…"

Don't listen to him, she screamed inside of her head, It's a lie!!

Both ponies turned their heads as the sound of the door opening filled the room. The grey shape of the door split apart and slid open, and two ponies quickly entered. The first was the unicorn that had left not long ago, while the other…

"What is the meaning of this?! You know very well that-"

Celestia gasped.

Standing in the doorway, staring at the Princess with her jaw hanging open, was a pony dressed from head to hoof in light, metal armour. Blue plating covered her limbs, torso and chest, and she wore a helmet over her head. The armour was all very intricately decorated, with silver trim and complex designs. It was all polished to a brilliant shine.

She stood tall; she was the same height as Celestia. Her grand wings were raised behind her through openings in the armour, spread out in their wondrous glory. Her deep blue coat was unmistakable, and her cutie mark, though slightly obscured by the armour, was clear to see. Her sparkling mane shimmered as it flowed out, past her long blue horn, and danced on an invisible wind.

Luna stood still, rooted to the spot. For a moment, she simply stared, moving her lips wordlessly. Celestia's movements were a mirror image. Standing before her was undoubtedly her little sister Luna, though this pony was much taller, much more majestic…

…and much older.

"T-Tia…?" came Luna's trembling voice, barely above a whisper.

Celestia couldn't respond. Her mind couldn't quite process what she was seeing before her.

"Is…Is this really happening…?" Luna blinked a few times, though she never took her gaze off of her sister.

"Luna…?" Celestia ventured, a part of her not completely convinced that this pony was the same little sister that she had seen a short time ago; petite and with simple, sky-blue curls of a mane.

Luna broke into a huge smile as tears welled up in her eyes. "Tia! You…You're awake!" she said gleefully, "You're awake!!" Luna closed her eyes for a moment and quickly lit up her horn. All of the armour she was wearing briefly glowed a in a brilliant blue aura before there was a muted flash and it all vanished. Not a second later, Luna dashed towards her sister, a grand smile on her face and tears streaming from her eyes.

She flung herself at Celestia, hugging her as tight as she could and burying her face into her sister's fur. "Tia!! I'm so happy to see you again!!" Luna was crying aloud, tears of joy falling from her eyes and wetting Celestia's coat. She couldn't say any more, and could only cry, overwhelmed with happiness, and hold her sister tight.

Celestia stared wordlessly at Luna. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do. A thousand thoughts were going through her mind and it made her head spin. She couldn't accept it before. It was simply too unbelievable. Now, however, as she slowly brought her hooves up and wrapped them around the trembling body of her younger sister, a dark, hazing cloud began to overcome her.

"Luna…?" she spoke, her voice catching in her throat, "It's…It's true…isn't it?" She gazed down at the blue alicorn, who turned up and gazed at her with tear-filled eyes. "It's-"

"Yes, Tia," Luna said with a nod and a sad smile, "It's 2531."

Luna buried her face back into her sister's fur and continued to cry happily. The two other unicorns had departed respectfully. Celestia simply sat there, clutching Luna tightly. She felt sick. It felt like the world was spinning and her little sister was the only thing holding her to the ground. No…She couldn't say 'little' sister any more. Luna was still younger, but now…

She's all grown up…

Celestia rocked forward, staring straight ahead. Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt dizzy. Her mind was, on some level, still refusing to accept what was happening. She was trying to convince herself that this was a dream, or a prank. Something…Anything…

Luna sniffled and nuzzled Celestia. "I've missed you…so so much…" she said softly, "I thought you'd never wake up…" She tried to move out of the hug, but Celestia fell forward once the support of the other alicorn was gone. Luna carefully steadied her sister until they were both sitting facing each other.

"Luna…" Celestia breathed, her head spinning even from the simple fact that her sister was now at eye-level, "What happened?"

The other alicorn frowned. "I wish I knew," she replied sadly, "Believe me; everypony wishes they knew." She sighed. "You just fell asleep that day…and you haven't woken up until now."

"But…" Celestia could feel herself trembling. "How is that possible? How could I have slept for…for 500 years…?" She was gazing at her sister, but she wasn't really looking at her. Her mind was elsewhere, asking endless questions.

Luna gazed down at the floor. "I still remember that day clearly, Tia. We were out walking in the garden. We were talking, and we were having a wonderful time together. Then you started to get dizzy, and you were unsteady on your hooves. The next thing I knew, you'd collapsed on the ground out cold."

Celestia remembered those events clearly. She remembered them as if they'd happened yesterday. As far as it felt to her, it had been yesterday. This surreal experience was giving her a headache.

"I was so scared, Tia…" Luna continued, "I called for help. I got all the medics in the castle. I helped them carry you to the infirmary. They wanted me to wait outside, but I refused. I wasn't going to leave your side. They examined you, and they did so many tests. They scanned you all over, with machines and with unicorn magic. They brought in experts from all over the world, both ponies and others.

"In the end, the diagnosis was always the same. You were just…asleep. You were breathing normally, and there was nothing wrong with any part of your body. You were simply fast asleep, and nothing anypony did could wake you. They kept you under observation in the hospital as the days went by. You were in there for weeks…and then months…and I stayed by your side as much as I could."

Luna sniffled, an entirely new torrent of tears threatening to be unleashed. "I was scared…and I was so sad. I yelled at the doctors; told them to double check and triple check everything. I wanted them to make sure my big sister was okay. But you were okay…There was nothing they could do…You were just…sleeping…"

Celestia was still as stone as she absorbed this information. Her face hung in a frown and she was unable to think of much to say. The words that Luna spoke were so wild and fanciful that, any other time previously, Celestia would have called herself mad to believe them. But the raw emotions displayed on her sister's face were enough to convince her that what she was hearing was the truth.

"And so…you slept. It wasn't long before you'd been asleep for a whole year. We didn't want to keep you in the infirmary any longer, and so I had this chamber built for you." Luna gestured with her horn to the room around them. "I spared no expense for you, Tia. I had the walls reinforced and built to withstand attack, I had them magically enchanted to prevent unwanted entry, and I had guards posted year-round, all hours of the day."

Luna gestured to where Celestia had been sleeping. "I also had this built for you. I wanted to make sure you were comfortable and safe while you slept. I designed this bed for you, and had this magically-enhanced barrier placed over top. It allowed absolutely nothing through except fresh air. The window over there is built with the same material. When you moved around inside, it set off a trigger that let us know that you were finally awake!"

"I…" Celestia murmured, "Luna, I don't know what to say…I don't know how to handle this…"

Luna responded by leaning forward and nuzzling her affectionately. There was silence for a few moments, and then the gentle sound of Luna sobbing. She sniffled and said, "I missed you…And I was so worried. Everypony was telling me to move on, but I never gave up on you, sis. I knew you'd come back one day."

"Luna…" Celestia whispered, beginning to feel choked up herself.

"I've…I've been so lonely…without you, Tia. Every single night I would pray for you. I would wish for you to come back. It's been so hard, Tia. I…I…" Luna couldn't say any more. She wept painful tears onto Celestia's shoulder, who embraced her tightly, bringing her wings around to hold her even tighter. Luna's cries of overwhelming emotion echoed through the spacious chamber like an aria of bitter sorrow.

500 years… Tears began to fall from Celestia's eyes. 500 years without me…and the whole time, never knowing if I was going to be okay… Celestia's breathing became erratic as she struggled to keep herself under control as looming, overpowering sadness began to consume her.

"I'm sorry, Luna…" she whispered, "I'm so sorry. If- If I could've…If I were…Oh, Luna! I'm so sorry!"

The two ponies remained in their embrace for a while, crying softly and keeping each other close. No words were spoken; Luna simply allowed the torrent of emotions that she was experiencing to flow freely, while Celestia comforted her and tried to come to terms with what she had been told.

After the tears had stopped flowing, the two sisters gazed at one another. They were both smiling, though Celestia wasn't sure which emotion she was feeling.

"Come on," Luna said, lighting up her horn, "Let's get out of this depressing room. A blue aura spread from her horn, encompassing both ponies. It glowed brighter for a moment before there was a flash. A second later, the room was completely empty.

***

The two materialized from the teleportation spell in another room. At first glance, Celestia was immediately able to discern that these were Luna's bedchambers. There was a large, lavish bed off to the side, made up with blue covers with little moon symbols on them. There were many cushioned seats, and a few dressers and desks. There was a circular object on the roof emitting a bright, white light across the room, and one wall was almost completely covered with a large mirror.

To Celestia, it was strikingly simplistic. If it weren't for the large portrait of Luna hanging above the bed, she might have questioned if it really were the bedroom of a Princess.

Luna remained sitting across from her, fixing her with a bright smile. "Welcome home, Tia," she said, "We've all missed you."

Celestia took a deep breath and gazed at her younger sister. Seeing her grown up so much and so suddenly was still making her head spin. She had so many questions to ask, and wasn't sure where to begin.

"Luna…I can't believe this. How…How is this possible?"

Her sister frowned. "I don't know, Tia. Even decades, centuries after you fell asleep, I was still pushing for ponies to try to find an answer. As long as you weren't dead, I was convinced there had to be some way to wake you up."

"So…did you find a way? Is that why I'm awake now?"

Luna shook her head. "No. This all happened as suddenly as you'd fallen asleep in the first place. One minute I'm eating dinner, the next minute I'm being told to come to your chamber as fast as I can."

Celestia raised a hoof up to her head. "I just…fell asleep one day…and woke up half a millennium later…This is unbelievable."

Luna slowly nodded.

"I…Luna, I have so much to ask. Is- Is everything okay? I mean-"

Luna leaned forward and nuzzled her again. "Everything's going to be fine now that you're here, Tia."

"But…Is Equestria safe? I saw you enter wearing armour! Are we at war?"

Luna smiled. "Oh. This?" Once again, she lit up her horn. There was a muted flash, and suddenly Luna was once again clad in her armour. Celestia was now able to get a closer look at it. It was made up of gauntlets for her hooves, vambraces, a breastplate across her chest, and further plating covering her hindquarters. The helmet on her head was simple and did not obscure her face. It was certainly not a complete set of armour, as many areas of her body were still left exposed, most notably her cutie mark. The edges were all a brilliant silver, and wherever there was enough space, there was an engraving of her cutie mark.

"This is just standard royal attire now," Luna continued, "It's the same as the shoes, plate and crown we used to wear. It's just what I'm expected to wear in this day and age."

Celestia marvelled at the outfit. "You wear this every day…?" she muttered, "But…why?"

Luna sighed forlornly, using her horn to remove the gear once again. "I suppose it'd be best if I just told you what's been happening since you've been…gone."

"Yes…Yes, I suppose that would be best," Celestia replied, nodding slowly.

Standing up, Luna stepped over towards the room's door. "Stay here. I'll make sure we're not disturbed. Just a moment."

Luna stepped out of the room into a hallway beyond and shut the door behind her, leaving Celestia alone in the bedroom. Left alone with her thoughts, she began to feel cold and distraught. She started to shiver. This can't be happening. This can't truly be happening…

She gazed at her surroundings. Even in this simple room, she could see evidence of time passed. Just what was this round thing on the roof giving off such a bright light? It was too bright and constant to be a lantern, or anything with fire in it, and it was definitely not magic-based.

Though in the back of her mind she was still hoping and praying for this all to be a dream, it was becoming overwhelmingly evident that she truly was more than 500 years from when she once was.

The door opened and Luna returned. "I told them to pass on an announcement that I would be preoccupied until further notice," she said, returning to her spot before Celestia. She gasped. "Tia, you're shivering. Are you cold? Do you want a blanket?"

Celestia gazed up at Luna with troubled eyes. "No, I just…" she muttered, "I…"

"Oh, Tia…Here," Luna said, using her horn to retrieve a lush pillow from her bed, "Lay on this, Tia. Just relax."

The pillow made its way to Celestia's front, guided by Luna's magic, and she laid down on the ground, resting upon it. She sighed, trying to calm herself down. "I'm sorry Luna," she spoke, "This is just…so much for me to take in."

Luna nodded solemnly. "I understand, Tia. I'm quite shaken too."

Celestia sighed, resting comfortably on the soft pillow and feeling her shivers recede. "Okay, Luna. Go ahead, please. I'm anxious to hear."

"Okay," Luna said, sitting down. "There was panic as soon as you fell. Though at first only ponies residing in the castle knew what had happened, it wasn't long before word spread. One of their princesses had fallen ill, and wouldn't wake up. Workers in the government and the ministries were all fearful that you had gotten sick. Ponies everywhere were afraid that you were dying. A common sentiment was shared across all ponykind, one which I was not an exception to; we were all terrified of losing you.

"I visited you every single day. Whenever I had a chance, I was at your side. I knew that you probably couldn't hear me and didn't know that I was there, but I felt that I might be able to guide you back somehow. Mostly, I just wanted to make sure you knew that you weren't alone, and that I wasn't going to leave you. I told the doctors to inform me if there were any change, no matter how little. I would have left any prior engagement in a heartbeat to be at your side.

"But yes, for many weeks there was no change. You weren't getting frail or ill, but you showed no signs of positive change either. We weren't sure when you were going to wake up, so we simply enacted an acting government for the time being. You remember the one; we set it up to function in case we ever wanted to take a vacation together or something."

Luna turned her gaze downward and stared at the floor. "Eventually, however, we all had to face the fact that you weren't waking up. Equestria needed a leader, and I couldn't put off what needed to be done any longer. And so, I became Equestria's sole Princess, and accepted all of your responsibilities until such a time that you were once again awake.

"There was trouble immediately. Even before this, a great number of citizens began accusing me of being behind everything. Rumours spread that I was trying to usurp your throne, and that I had cast a spell on you, or poisoned you. There were a great many who thought I was still Nightmare Moon, and that I was simply disguising myself as Luna in order to achieve some nefarious goal."

She shook her head sadly. "When I became the sole Princess, there was anger and panic in many parts of the land. There were riots, wild tabloid headlines, ponies screaming at me and demanding that I let you wake up. Many didn't believe what they'd heard and thought you were dead. Some said I had…killed you.

"Those first few years were of Tartarus, Tia. In the first year of my reign alone, there were nine assassination attempts."

Celestia gasped in horror.

"Six brave night guards sacrificed their lives to save me."

"Luna, I…Say it isn't so."

Luna slowly nodded. "As time passed, more and more ponies grew comfortable and accepting of me as their leader, but there were always those who refused to believe. The repeated attempts on my life are what led to me wearing armour."

Celestia gaped. "That's why you wear armour?"

"Well," Luna shrugged, "At first, yes. Perhaps a century later, the attacks ceased altogether. But ponies had gotten so used to seeing me appear in public wearing the armour that it kind of, well, stuck. You could call it a 'trend', perhaps? I most certainly don't need it any more, but it would just be unusual at this point to see me out of it."

"Wow…I see…" Celestia muttered.

Luna sighed again. "But assassinations were not the only problem I faced. Far from it. Even from the very beginning, I had trouble. You have to understand, sis. I was just suddenly thrust into this position of power and responsibility. I…I definitely wasn't ready for it. But I had no choice…

"Quite frankly, I had no idea what I was doing. Everypony was looking to me for guidance, a-and I didn't know what to tell them." Luna began to grow troubled. "I…I tried my best, Tia, but…I'm just…I mean…" She trembled slightly. "I…"

"Luna…?"

"I can't do it without you, Celestia! I can't!!" Luna exclaimed suddenly, a few tears flying, "I tried to learn, I tried to adapt, but…I'm just not as good a leader as you are. I don't think about things the same way you do. I can't look ahead very well. Politics just confuse me, and they're always changing and evolving. It's hard enough sometimes not to let some power-hungry cabinet member try to run Equestria his way!"

"Luna…Calm down, i-it's okay…" Celestia was hit with a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Immediately, her mind flashed back to when she had last been awake. I still need some help, Celestia, the voice of her sister rang in her head.

Luna sniffled and gazed at the ground, "I…I'm sorry, Tia. I did my best without you…"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well," Luna said, heaving a sigh, "I guess it's somewhat a matter of opinion. A great number of ponies say we're doing just fine, but that's not how I see it…"

Celestia subconsciously cast a worried glance at one of the windows letting in the evening light.

"Equestria's just…not what it used to be. I've been here this whole time, so I know. All the history books, and all the ponies I talked to all those years ago say that under your rule, Equestria had seen better times than ever before. But…

"I'm no leader…At least not without you I'm not…"

"Don't say that, Luna! Of course you are!"

Luna heaved an empty sigh. "When you were last awake, Equestria was leading the world in a great many things, right? We had the highest relative life expectancy, the lowest national debt. We provided the world with wondrous exports. We were the most charitable nation. We were the safest nation.

"I'm not saying all of that has gone to Tartarus, but we're not number one in any of those regards any more."

Celestia frowned. "Oh, Luna…We don't have to be number one…"

"Most ponies can't see it, but I can! The quality of Equestrian life has gone down since we lost you. There's more trouble, and I can't quite deal with it all. We're falling behind, Celestia… We're not the shining beacon of hope and happiness we once were…"

"Luna…"

"As the days pass, I notice more and more depressing headlines. Schools closing, jobless ponies, crime…I try to fix it, but I can never get it right…"

"Luna."

"Damn it! Why does it have to be so hard? I just-"

"Luna!!"

Luna gasped, a few tears streaking down the sides of her face. She turned to Celestia and gazed into her eyes. The older sister stared back compassionately.

"Luna, as long as Equestria still stands, as long as we're still prospering…as long as ponies are happy, you've done your duty. What's happened has happened. You did your best, and that's all anypony could ever ask of you." She offered a smile and said, "The mere fact that Equestria's not a burning wasteland is proof that you did enough." She then paused and added, jokingly, "It isn't, right?"

Luna laughed. "N-no, Tia. We haven't burned down."

"Good," Celestia said with a grin, "Everything's going to be fine, Luna."

"Yeah…Especially now that you're here."

Celestia leaned forward and embraced her sister tightly. "Don't worry, Luna. I don't know how or why this happened, but I'm here now. I'm going to do everything I can to help you." She nuzzled her sister's cheek. "It's going to be all right, Luna."

Luna hugged back, holding her big sister close. "I love you, Tia. I missed you, and I'm so glad to have you back."

The smile on Celestia's face could not have been any larger. She was filled with a wonderful, golden feeling that warmed her heart. Though, from her perspective, it seemed like less than a day since she'd last seen her sister, the tears of anguish and the raw emotions she had seen were enough to let her know how long she'd been gone and just how dearly she'd been missed. The knowledge of her absence tore at her heartstrings, and so to hug Luna and to make her smile was bringing her a certain happiness that she'd seldom felt.

But at the back of her mind, a looming guilt sat festering. Luna's lament of not connecting with ponies and not understanding politics struck an all too familiar chord. Celestia couldn't help but be reminded of all the times, centuries ago, when she'd had to turn her sister down because she had been too busy. She'd turned her sister away when she'd wanted to learn about these very things.

"I love you, Tia…"

Her mind screamed at her. Did I…?

"I…I love you too, Luna."

"I missed you…"

Celestia chuckled lightly. "You've said that many times already, sis."

"I know…but I really missed you!"

The two alicorns remained in their warm embrace for a while, as if afraid to let go for fear of losing one another again. Luna's smile was grand as they hugged, simply enjoying the feeling of being together once again. Celestia got the feeling that Luna didn't want it to end, and was glad to know that Luna couldn't see the troubled expression on her face.

I should've spent more time with her… A heavy, guilty feeling was overcoming her. She only wanted to learn with me, and I…If only I had…

The two were interrupted by a loud gurgling sound.

Luna giggled. Celestia blushed lightly, moving back from the hug and holding a hoof to her stomach.

"I guess you're hungry, Tia."

"I would think so," Celestia said light-heartedly, "I haven't eaten since 2010."

Luna laughed. "Well, just sit tight, Tia. I'll get you something to eat," she said, standing up, "I'm guessing you don't want to trek down to the dining hall and feast on some huge, lavish meal."

Celestia nodded. "It's definitely been a whirlwind of events. I'd be satisfied with just a salad and a sandwich."

"No problem," Luna replied cheerily, "I'll just pop down to the kitchen. I won't be more than a couple of minutes."

"Okay, Luna. Thank you."

"It's my pleasure, Tia. Back in a flash."

Luna then illuminated her horn again and disappeared in a bright burst of light. Celestia was left alone in the room with her thoughts. She sighed, shivering slightly. The sudden silence felt unusually eerie to her and made her feel restless.

She couldn't get her mind to settle down. All she could think about was how she'd behaved those many years ago. When Luna had wanted to spend time with her, she had just casually said no, believing that she would eventually find some free time later. It had always been 'later', hadn't it? When later had eventually come around, where had she been? Asleep.

"I left her all alone…"

She stood up, feeling uncomfortable and upset. She took another glance at the room around her. As she slowly spun around, she noticed that there were two windows on the wall behind her, which she had not noticed before. She stepped over to one of them and gazed out of it.

Outside was a garden surrounded by a tall hedge. It looked drastically different from the one she'd been walking through with Luna, but it was still very beautiful nonetheless. Except for the garden, the window did not offer much to view, but the sight of the colourful plants outside still managed to put her at ease. There were tall, strong-looking trees, a wide array of vibrant flowers, and a few wonderfully designed fountains. She even noticed that all of the statues once held in the garden were still there, off to the side along one of the hedges.

She glanced up and was met with the sight of the sun approaching the horizon. It was beginning to cast a yellowy-orange glow across the scene before her, the sight of which made her smile. She'd fallen asleep in the late afternoon, and it was late afternoon now. It was a strange, peculiar kind of quirk that somehow made her chuckle, as if the world were telling her that everything was still normal and right.

Sunset… She lit up her horn with bright, golden magic, reaching out through the skies and the heavens towards her bright, powerful orb in the sky. It was that time of the day when she would guide it past the horizon to make way for the moon.

She gasped loudly as her eyes shot open wide. A short, shrill cry of shock escaped her throat as she lost her grip on the windowsill, just barely landing her forehooves on the ground below her. She felt sick. She was going to vomit. A cold shiver enveloped her entire body, making her sweat and sway.

She screamed. She cried out in low, guttural pain. Her wounded shout echoed through the room, long and drawn out. She retched, collapsing to the ground on her side. Her chest heaved as she gasped and tried to regain her breath. Her hooves flew up to her horn, clutching tightly at the base.

There was a flash, and then Luna's voice spoke. "I'm back." This was followed by the sound of a metal platter clattering to the ground, spilling its contents everywhere. Luna gasped and rushed to Celestia's side. "Tia!! Tia, are you okay?! What's wrong?"

Celestia took deep breaths. She gasped and moaned, intense nausea flooding over her.

"Tia!! Speak to me!"

Finally, she began to catch her breath. She turned her head towards Luna, gazing at her frightened face through tears she had shed through her intense ordeal.

"The sun!!"

She reached out her hooves towards her sister desperately.

"What happened to the sun?!"

Author's Note:

Did you like what you read? Please tell you friends! Share! Nothing makes me happier than sharing my story with as many people as I can

Comments

[Fluttermac36]

My guess is that since Celestia was sleeping Luna couldn't raise the sun so it's been night for 500 years or ... the sun is dying

[WrathOfGod519]

Holy shit this story is interesting. I will promote it endlessly and in a fashion that is both obnoxious and annoying.

[vren55]

So following this.

[KariKateora]

Crickey. This chapter was very powerful. I really feel for both of them but, even more, the entire tragedy just gets me. Really well written.