Another Sun, Another Moon
I'm sorry, sister, but you have given me no choice...
The sole ruler of Equestria snapped out of her flashback, realizing it was that time of year again.
The Summer Sun Celebration.
A celebration reminding Equestria not to fear the night, and celebrating the defeat of Nightmare Moon.
This celebration marks the 990th year since she was banished. The 990th year since eternal night came to an end.
But for Celestia, it was the 990th year of pain, sorrow, and guilt. The 990th year of holding back her tears, so Equestria's citizens wouldn't worry about her. The 990th year of hiding her sadness from so many.
At this point, it was too much for her to handle, but she had no choice but to endure it yet again. And while she was so close to seeing her sister again, she still had to go through the same pain for another 10 years before that could happen.
The time came for the sun to be risen, so without saying a word, Celestia stood before her subjects and rose it, resulting in an uproar of cheering and applauding.
But still, she herself wasn't happy. Not one bit. So, she faked it for a little longer, before finally succumbing to her sadness and departing from the celebration. She ran into the castle, slamming the door behind her. No one noticed, except for one small filly. A small filly who had just started taking her classes. A small filly who would soon become her most faithful student.
The filly's mother looked down at her and asked, "What's wrong?" The filly pointed at the recently-slammed door, indicating that Equestria's ruler had just left without warning. Her mother gestured towards the door, but the filly whispered nervously, "I don't think I should bother her."
Her mother just gestured again. She was sure Celestia wouldn't hurt her own young student. The filly's tiny hooves shook as she hesitantly walked through the castle door.
She made her way to the royal chamber, peeking between the two doors. What she saw left her devastated.
Celestia was lying on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. After so many years of her sister being gone, she just didn't think she could bear another 10 years. She was finally letting her pain out, where no one could see her. The little filly cracked the door open, feeling an urge to enter the room. Celestia looked up and saw the filly staring from afar, with the look of pure sorrow in her eyes. She was embarrassed to be seen like this, but she gestured the filly over to her. She knew the little one well enough to do so. Her young student walked towards her nervously, still nervous that she'd do something wrong. When she finally approached, she stood before the teary-eyed princess, and after a minute of hesitation, placed her tiny hoof on Celestia's.
She didn't talk much, but she built up the courage to utter three simple words.
"Are you okay?"
Celestia wiped her tears away with her wings and replied, "No, Twilight, I'm not."
In response to the look of further sadness on the Twilight's face, she continued, "But I will be."
Her frown turned into a sad smile as she wrapped her wing around Twilight. A few tears streamed down her cheeks and hit the floor, the only sound breaking the silence in the royal chamber.
Twilight whispered her next question, nervousness still in her voice. "What's wrong?"
Celestia was a bit surprised at this question, but figured it'd be most appropriate to answer as best she could.
"Well..." she began, but her voice broke before she could continue. It took her a minute to recollect herself, but she finally regained the strength to continue speaking. "Someone I'm very close to...well, she's been gone a long time, and it'll still be another 10 years before she's able to return. I'm like this right now...because I miss her more than anything."
Twilight felt tears of her own slipping out, but did nothing to stop them from flowing. She still kept her hoof on Celestia's, and uttered, this time even softer than before, "I'm sorry..."
Celestia tearfully pulled her closer and replied, voice quivering, "You have no reason to apologize, Twilight. None of this was your fault. This happened long before you were born. Don't apologize for anything, alright?"
Twilight nodded, closing her eyes tightly to prevent further tears from coming out. "Al-alright," she stuttered. Afterwards, they just sat there for a short while, Celestia still holding her young student close to her.
"Thank you," she whispered. "And thank you for coming in. I needed this more than I thought I did."
Twilight wiped her last few tears and moved her hoof from Celestia's, placing her entire front leg on her back. "I'm just glad to hear that you'll be okay," she replied. "You had me worried, you know."
Celestia rolled her eyes and had to hold back laughter. "Oh, Twilight, you shouldn't be the one worrying. I'm not the filly here."
Twilight giggled in response. "I know."
The two of them just sat there a minute before bursting into fits of laughter. Their laughs echoed through the hallway, and when they finally caught their breath after a minute or two, Celestia finally pulled herself together completely, after struggling to do so during her conversation with Twilight.
"We should probably go back out there," she whispered.
Twilight snickered back. "Yeah, probably."
Twilight's mother saw them step out, and gestured Twilight towards her before looking up at Celestia. They didn't say a word to each other; they just gave each other a subtle nod, as if they each knew what the other was thinking. Finally, after a long wait, the crowd cheered loudly as their ruler returned to the stage. With the sun already risen, all she did was wave for a minute or two.
At the end of the night, she said goodbye to Twilight, showing her gratitude for the comfort she was provided. "I wouldn't have been able to continue all of this, had you not cared enough to bring your light to such a dark situation. Thank you."
She embraced the young student, who departed with her family to follow. She finally raised the moon upon going back into the castle, sitting on the balcony and longingly staring upward. She began to tear up again, but this time, they were tears of joy.
"Ten years," she told the moon. Wiping her eyes with her wings, she spoke again, with a slight crack in her voice.
"Until we meet again, sister."
The stars shone a little brighter, almost as if her sister could hear her.