“For as long as I can remember I watched over Equestria with benevolence, never faltering in my duties and never once asking for anything in return. Selflessly, I gave my life to every creature within these lands. I gave my little ponies protection against evil forces beyond comprehension and reasoning. So much so, that I banished my own sister to the moon when she submitted to her jealousy and became the tyrant, Nightmare Moon. I did it all to save Equestria from an unending darkness and yet what I did to her was perhaps a fate worse than that. I allowed my own flesh and blood to stew in a celestial prison for a thousand years without ever once reaching out to try and save her. I blamed myself for my sister becoming fully consumed by the darkness which originally took her away from me and I knew one day, she would return to finish what she had started. And on that day? I knew what I had to do. What I should had done when she first raised her hoof against me. I had hoped there would be another way; some kind of miracle that would change her back to how she used to be. How wrong I was...”

Twilight nodded slowly, her face partially hidden underneath her disheveled bangs. The young mare trembled before her mentor’s intense gaze. “There was nothing anypony could do, Princess. If only my studies in the magic of friendship had yielded something, maybe I could have done something. I honestly believed we could had saved her, with time and research into the Elements of Harmony... but—”

“Time was against us,” interrupted her mentor, “and Nightmare Moon returned for the last time. Do not believe this to be your fault, Twilight Sparkle, it was I who allowed this to happen and it was I who needed to deal with the consequences of my actions. With her death, I-I lost everything. My precious little sister. The one I loved more than Equestria itself… and I killed her.”

The lavender mare nibbled at her lower lip as she felt tears swell behind her eyes. “Princess, I’m so sorry. I wish I could go back and somehow just change what had happened… but I—”

“She smiled at the end,” the Princess yet again cut Twilight Sparkle off, “I like to think she smiled because she was free from her torment. But before that, did you know what I saw, Twilight? I saw fear in her eyes. Pain. Betrayal. In that moment I too died along with Luna when she looked upon me. I watched her life slip from her eyes and it was I that did it. Not some creature or villain. I killed her.

Twilight lowered her head, unable to say a word.

"I sat upon my throne and ruled the skies; raising and setting the sun and the moon with my own two hooves day in and day out for a thousand years, and I always thought banishing her would forever haunt my every waking moment whenever I looked upon the moon, but I was wrong. That expression she had when she slipped away—that, is what will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

Turning, Celestia walked slowly across her bedroom towards the french windows that opened up onto her own private balcony basking in the glorious light of the full moon, passing by Twilight without so much as a glance.

Twilight sadly observed the strong mare she once considered untouchable, now brought so low. As she slowly trotted on behind her and hazarded a glance up at the alicorn, only to find a blank expression and a set of tired eyes that were not present before.

“Princess, I know it is not much, but you can talk to me about anything. If you want a shoulder to cry on or a hoof to hold or someone to hug, then I will always be here for you.” Twilight resisted her tears the best she could, but to no avail. The droplets slipped down her face unrestrained and struck the floor besides her hooves. "Always."

Celestia glanced down at the mare, her lips curling into that warm and loving smile that melted almost any heart. Lifting a leg, she scooped Twilight Sparkle into an embrace and nuzzled the top of her head affectionately as a wing wrapped around mare’s body. “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle, that means a lot to me.”

“I-I’m sorry, Princess,” Twilight sobbed as she thrust her muzzle into the crook of Celestia’s neck. “I’m s-so sorry! I-I couldn't do a thing to help her.”

“Twilight, there is no need to apologize. You did nothing wrong. You tried your best and that is all I could ever ask for from you. You did me proud and I am thankful for everything you ever did to try and research a way to bring back Luna to me, but, sometimes life will not give you an easy option.” Celestia soothed the mare the best she could, even if her thoughts turmoiled into an amalgam of regret. "Sometimes you have to go with the decision that will benefit the greater good."

Celestia held strong and kept her smile, even as the regret and sorrow swelled within her chest. The last thing she needed to do was break down in front of Twilight given the mare's vulnerable state; and if truth be known, Celestia too felt like crying, yet for some unknown reason something held it all back. As if a mental barrier had been erected within her mind with the ability to hold back every ounce of sadness and rage she knew she could feel festering inside of her.

There was no escape—no vent for it to take, no matter how much she wanted to scream and shout.

Even upon the very last moments of Luna’s life, Celestia did not weep or mourn in any any form. Not even during the state funeral put on for the fallen Princess, which merrily celebrated the life of Luna before she had succumbed to the night’s dark allure. It was indeed a grand funeral. Many ponies came throughout Equestria from all walks of life, lining the streets of Canterlot, weeping and mourning for their dead Princess whom they had never met, while Celestia herself barely shed a single tear that day.

How could she? When it was she that had brought the axe of justice down upon her own sister’s neck and executed her.

Luna was not the only one to die that day, Celestia thought sourly to herself, I don't know who I am anymore.

As Celestia muddled this over in her mind, she guided Twilight Sparkle to the bedroom and towards the closed bedroom doors. “Perhaps it is best you sleep, Twilight Sparkle. You must be very tired and if I am not mistaken, your Ponyville friends will be coming tomorrow to visit you, am I right? You will need your energy. They are quite the energetic group.”

Twilight removed herself from the embrace of wing and leg, rubbing at her puffy red eyes as she nodded solemnly. “Y-yeah… you’re probably right. I do feel really tired.”

Nodding, Celestia offered the mare a final smile before issuing her goodbye with a light nuzzle to the side of Twilight’s face.

“Sleep well, my most faithful student.”

“I will,” Twilight smiled, “you too, Princess. If you need anything, I'll be right here.”

As much as Celestia did not want to be alone, she knew taking time for her thoughts would perhaps allow her the capability to finally grieve for her sister. When Twilight disappeared from view after departing, Celestia turned back into her bedroom as her lips curled up into a pained grimace.

She flicked her horn and slammed the doors shut with her magic just as the grimace transformed into a fierce scowl.

Why won't I cry?

“I did the right thing.” Celestia whispered as she returned to the balcony, her eyes staring up at the moon. “... didn’t I?”

Shaking her head, Celestia turned away from the moon as her scowl only intensified in its severity. “I chose Equestria over you and I know it was the right choice. You would have done the same if you were in my position. So why do I feel as if I did something wrong? Something heinous.” Celestia’s voice raised in pitch and loudness as she felt the foundations of that mental block crumble away at the merest accusation that she murdered Princess Luna. “When it was you who turned your back on us. On me. On Equestria...”

With her eyes clenched tight, Celestia quaked and trembled as wave after wave of sorrow and self loathing that had been building for days—no, for many, many years, finally escaped from her body in an euphoric torrent of rage directed at herself.

“I know I should had tried harder. I should had found a way to save you from the darkness; something, anything! I should had done something sooner. I failed you and I will never get to say I’m sorry for sending you to the moon. I’ll never get to eat cake or drink tea with you ever again. We'll never play pranks on each other like we always did and it is all my fault. This is all my fault and I deserve everything that is coming to me. E-everything....”

Despite her sudden eruption of emotion, Celestia noticed that she still could not bring herself to to shed a single tear.

But what she did notice, confused her, tearing her from her current dystopia.

The air around her felt oddly alight with a heat that felt familiar. It was as if the sun’s rays were washing over her coat within the dead of the night.

Celestia opened her eyes and glanced up to the sky to establish that the sun was indeed nowhere in sight. Upon confirming this to be the case, she next looked down to her hooves to find the stone that she stood upon to be glowing red hot, as if it had been contact with some kind of intense localized source of heat.

“What in Equestria...” Celestia lifted her right forehoof up to further inspect this anomaly, only to find nothing out of the ordinary wrong with her hoof. Stepping back, still dumbfounded at the scalding stone which had mysteriously heated harmlessly beneath her, Celestia noted yet another strange detail.

She was sweating profusely.

“Something is not right.” Celestia shook her head from side to side as if to break herself out of a haze. Quickly, she trotted forward back into her bedroom, heading straight for the vanity next to her circular bed.

Upon arriving before the mirror, Celestia stopped, frozen in her tracks, at the image staring back at her.

It was not her own.

It was Luna’s.

Author's Note

First real bit of writing I have done in weeks.

I hope you all enjoyed the story, which is partly inspired by the photo for the Fic.

Leave your likes, hates, flames and questions down below.

Thanks. o7

(Yes, this will be a Twiliestia Fic.)