Alicorns do not live forever. Longer than fifty generations, but not forever.
This was an undeniable truth to Luna as she stood at her sister's deathbed. Celestia was not gone yet, but it was only a matter of time. Time now measured in hours rather than decades.
The tears were mostly past, having been shed in the weeks leading up to this point. The dying had not been quick and Luna suspected that her sister was aware of it long before. It was very typically Celestia to keep something like that hidden until the last moment.
That thought gave Luna a momentary bitter pang which she squashed ruthlessly. This was not the time for such thoughts.
There was so little time left at all.
The doctors had no idea how much, having never dealt with an alicorn's end before. Celestia herself said it was a moon at most, likely less than half that. But even she could not be certain.
Not that it mattered to Luna. How ever much time was left, it was not enough. Not nearly.
Yet - Celestia smiled. And smiled specifically at her sister. "Yes," she confirmed in a rasping voice, "I know. It will be soon, Luna."
"Is this why you sought retirement, sister? Why you handed Equestria to Twilight Sparkle?" Luna's own voice was quiet and somber. There was no need to speak loudly, and she had not the energy to do so. "So that your passing would not leave the land bereft of leadership?"
A slight smile - but also a shake of her head in the next moment. "That was part of it. I do have to watch out for my little ponies, after all. Even if I am not there to lead them, they still need care." She swallowed roughly, pausing as she wetted her lips with her tongue. "But most of what I sought was the chance to spend my remaining days with you, Luna. To make up for what I've done to you."
Luna blinked, cocking her head to the side. "I-- I don't understand. Celestia, do you speak yet again of our battle and my banishment? Please, you must forgive yourself - just as you say I cannot vilify myself forever for my actions that day, neither can you."
"No. And yes." Celestia's expression softened as she reached a hoof up to stroke her sister's starry mane. "It is not the battle I wish to make up for, but how it has led to this." Luna leaned into the gentle hoof as her sister spoke. "In the heat of the moment, I never thought of the consequences."
"In our battle's aftermath, I spent many days discovering the true meaning of what I had done." Celestia paused, coughing roughly before continuing. "I found I would not see you again for a thousand years. And that when you returned that there was no guarantee it would not simply begin the battle once more. And that... That this would happen, Luna."
Confusion and shame washed over Luna's features. She pulled away from her sister's hoof, fixing her gaze. "You are saying that my banishment has killed you?"
Celestia shook her head. "Not like that, sister. But your imprisonment in the moon was a stasis. When you returned, I found that I would have aged a thousand years - and you would not have."
Those words clicked through Luna's mind, and she made the connections almost as fast as they had been said. "...You knew you would outlive me."
"Not for certain. If Twilight hadn't rescued you from the Nightmare, it was very likely you would not have." Celestia tried to smile and make it a joke - but they both knew full well it wasn't.
Luna ignored even the attempt at humor dark as her mane, pushing back to the point Celestia was avoiding. "You knew that, upon my return, our natural lifespans would be a thousand years out of phase. And that the natural course of time would catch you before me."
Letting out a deep sigh, Celestia nodded. "I did. And I knew that you would suffer as I had in that time, Luna. A thousand years alone. Surrounded by ponies, yes, but other beings that would last through time?" She shook her head. "You would be the sole constant in the ever-changing world. And having been through that myself, I could not see it happen to you."
Coming close, Luna kissed her sister's cheek. "But it will not, dear sister. Your fears are unfounded. I have Twilight and Cadence and... Flurry..."
Celestia waited, watching the realization appear in Luna's eyes as once more the connections were made.
"No." Luna gasped the word as she understood the implications.
"Yes." And Celestia confirmed it just as simply. "Upon your return, did you never wonder why a millennia had passed and I had never raised another to become an alicorn? In a thousand years, that somehow none had been worthy? And then in a decade and a half our numbers more than doubled. You are no fool, Luna. You must have wondered."
A wry smile crossed Luna's lips. "Truthfully? I did not. I simply was glad that I was blessed with a family larger and stronger than before." Then another thought shot across her mind, the words coming quick after. "Celestia, you didn't.. they did have a choice in the matter, didn't they? Their ascensions were their own and not forced upon them?"
There, Celestia shook her head. "No, no. Nothing so.. crass. There were many ponies that could have reached that point. Some I brought under my wing to learn, others I provided the opportunities. Teach a foal here, let a minor villain get through their plans there..."
Luna scoffed. "I was no minor villain."
The two finally shared a laugh. "I didn't mean you. It was never you who was the villain, my beloved sister." Celestia's soft smile crept through again. "In the end, though, my efforts did bear fruit in Cadence and Twilight." She paused for a moment. "Though they're hardly the end. Dear Sunset Shimmer has her wings waiting for her, should she ever return to her life here in Equestria. And all of the Bearers are on the cusp of it. Starlight Glimmer, as well. Twilight does have a habit of bringing out the best in ponies."
"And Flurry Heart?," Luna gently questioned.
Which made Celestia giggle in a way she hadn't in far too long. "A complete surprise to me. But I will admit that you are why I chose to try and redeem Discord rather than re-imprison him."
"An eternity with Discord. Are you sure you sought not to punish me?" Luna winked playfully - then fell back to her more somber tone once more. "Oh, Celestia. You are far too good to me, sister. Even after what I did, that you would go to such lengths... I can scarcely believe it."
The ray of sun that cast through the window to the bed shined a little brighter to match Celestia's fond expression. "Even when we were at odds Luna, you were always my sister. I may not be able to make the rest of your life's journey with you, but I gave you the best companions I could - what I always had in my heart for you. Love and Friendship."
The setting sun's light reflected off of Celestia's monument. Her funeral had consumed Equestria for nearly a week; her grave of gold and white marble stood tall. She had chosen a place on the eastern side of the Canterhorn - a place where she would still be there to greet the sun when it rose, and that had a view of Canterlot so that Twilight would know her mentor was watching over her still.
The mourners - countless numbers from every corner of the land and beyond - had retired now to take their own long journeys home. Only three remained at the grave's side. Three alicorns.
Luna finished recounting the story of Celestia's deathbed confession to them, letting them know what she had learned. The Princess of the Moon was in tears by the time she finished even though she thought she had run them dry.
"Love and Friendship," she repeated. "I betrayed her, tried to take her kingdom, tried to kill her... and Celestia worked for decades just to ensure I would have Love and Friendship after she was gone."
Cadence and Twilight exchanged a look - and then both embraced Luna. "You're her sister. Of course that's what she wanted for you." Cadence laid her head across the back of Luna's neck. "No matter what else happened, she wanted you to be happy."
Twilight tightly held Luna lower down, wings across her withers. "And she was right. We'll all miss her, but we have each other. And we always will."
