Early the next morning, the sun was beginning its slow ascension over the horizon. Its golden brilliance was starting to peer through the window and illuminate the hospital room that Celestia and Lavender were in. Celestia slowly opened her eyes; the sedatives she was given the day before had finally wore off. She batted her eyes in an attempt to shake off the grogginess that she was feeling. That was the one bad thing about having to go to the hospital to have anything major done, the amount of sedatives and pain medication the doctors had to give you to make this as comfortable as possible. It was a minor inconvenience, but it sure beat having to deal with the agony that was the day before.

She looked over to see Lavender sitting in a chair with his head and forelegs lying on the bed next to her, asleep. He looked so cute when he was asleep like this.

She gently ran a hoof across her abdomen, reminding herself why she was here. She didn’t know exactly what happened after she teleported to the hospital, only that the preliminary diagnosis by the doctor was that something was wrong with her foal. Judging that her foal was nowhere in sight, she feared that the worst had happened. However, she wanted to hold on to the small sliver of hope that something miraculous happened and her foal was perfectly fine. She was asleep throughout the entire ordeal, it being the standard procedure for a pony to be put under during something like this, but she knew that Lavender and Luna already knew what had happened. They were her next of kin after all. She trusted Lavender would break the news to her, good or bad.

“Lavender,” she whispered, a bit reluctant to wake her sleeping husband.

Lavender roused from his slumber at the sound of her voice. Once he realized whose it was his head shot up almost instantly.

“You’re awake,” he said, beaming with happiness that she was awake.

She smiled, happy that he was here and that it seemed like he stayed by her side the entire night.

“Are you in any pain? Should I get the nurse?” he asked, almost like a worried mother fussing over her colt or filly.

“No,” she responded, softly. “Have you talked to the doctor?” she asked, no since in beating around the bush.

“Yeah,” he responded as the icy pain of this situation took a hold of his heart once more.

“The last thing I remember was getting ready after you had left to go to the tax office,” she recalled.

“No, you don’t need to do this,” Lavender interrupted. “Just focus on resting.”

He knew her bringing this up would cause nothing but pain. However, he knew she would want to know what happened and he couldn’t deny her the truth, even though the truth would hurt more than being kicked by an Earth pony.

“Then, our foal?” she asked, point blank, hoping Lavender would give it to her straight.

“I’m sorry,” Lavender uttered. His lips quivered as he spoke; he couldn’t physically say the words that their foal was dead.

Without warning, Celestia threw herself at Lavender, embracing him in a hearty hug. He had to stand on the chair to avoid losing his balance as Celestia pulled him closer to her. Much like Lavender the day before, she finally broke down. She had to let it out; she couldn’t keep this bottled up anymore. Even though Lavender didn’t explicitly say it, Celestia’s motherly intuition knew what happened to their foal. She felt it in her heart. It was a pain that she hadn’t felt since the day she had to banish her own sister. Lavender comforted her how he could. It tore his heart out to see her like this, and he cried a little himself. He wished this never happened.

“There, there, just let it all out,” he comforted.

A nurse on her regular morning rounds entered the room to check on Celestia. Lavender gave the nurse a ‘not right now’ look. A bit embarrassed, the mare turned and left, making a mental note to give the two some privacy.

Celestia wailed in pain as she held Lavender even tighter. She didn’t want to let him go; she couldn’t. Time stood still as the two embraced each other while Celestia was crying her eyes out. Why did this happen to her? This was the only time she showed this amount of emotion to anyone other than Luna. Normally she kept her emotions hidden from the general public, and only shared her most intimate feelings with Luna, and now more recently, Lavender. It seemed cold for her to keep her emotions a secret from most ponies, but it was something she had to do. She had to be a strong leader for her subjects.

After several minutes, Celestia regained her composure. Lavender wiped the tears from his wife’s glistening eyes. He thought back to the events of yesterday and how he requested to see their foal; the image was still fresh in his mind. He pondered mentioning it to Celestia. However, it could go one of two ways: either he could tell her and have her get upset again, or he could play it safe and not say anything. He didn’t want her to get upset again, but he also didn’t want to not say anything either. It was a hard decision; the hardest decision he’s ever had to make.

Taking a nervous gulp in an attempt to quell the butterflies in his stomach, he opened his mouth to speak.

“I got to see her,” Lavender said.

“Who?”

“Our daughter,” his eyes glistened. “She was a beautiful filly unicorn, just as beautiful as you are.”

Celestia smiled despite the sadness of the situation, but a few tears managed to escape her eyes. Normally that would have upset her, but something inside her prevented it. A feeling of happiness washed over her at the fact that Lavender got to see their daughter. It was bittersweet however, she would have loved having a daughter of her own to raise, watching her grow into a fine, young mare.

“Luna…if it was a filly, I was wanting to name her, Luna,” Celestia admitted.

“I’m sure your sister would have gotten a kick out of that,” Lavender replied with a small chuckle.

Celestia met his chuckle with one of her own. It felt odd to laugh at a time like this, but she was alright with it. A little humor helped lighten the mood.

“Thank you, for everything,” she said as she gazed into her husband’s eyes. “I knew I sensed something special in you from the first moment I laid eyes on you.”

Lavender couldn’t help but blush at that statement. The only other mare that said he was special was his mother, but then she said that about all her foals.

“I meant it when I said I loved you and that I would be here every step of the way,” he admitted. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I know this is a day we should be sad, but I’m happy. Happy to be here with you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with the mare I love.”

Celestia didn’t say anything; she didn’t need to. Lavender summed up everything perfectly. Instead, she placed a hoof around Lavender and pulled him into a hug. She was happy and knew everything was going to be okay. It was times like this that made her wish she could rid herself of her immortality so she could grow old with Lavender. However, she couldn’t; she was destined for this role as Equestria’s leader. Lavender would hold a special place in her heart as someone she would never forget when he eventually passed on.

The tender moment between the two was interrupted by the door suddenly opening. Lavender craned his neck to see who it was while silently hoping it wasn’t that same nurse from earlier. In the doorway stood Luna, not much to Lavender or Celestia’s surprise since one of the guards must have notified Luna when the nurse stopped by earlier.

Lavender released Celestia and stepped down off of the chair to make way for Luna. Quickly closing the distance, Luna embraced her sister in a nice, sisterly hug. Lavender took this moment to put the chair back in its rightful spot while Luna went to her sister’s side.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Luna uttered as she held on to her sister for as long as she could. “And…I’m so sorry about your foal.”

“Thank you, Luna. It’s okay; we’re going to get through this,” Celestia replied. She didn’t expect this to be so hard on Luna.

“If there’s anything you need from me, you let me know,” Luna offered.

“Thanks, but you don’t need to do anything for me.”

“Yes, I do,” Luna said as she finally let go of her sister. “You have done so much for me, and it’s only right that I return the favor.”

“Okay, Luna, if you insist,” Celestia surrendered. There was no talking Luna out of this. “By the way, I was telling Lavender that if it was a filly, we were going to name her after you.”

Luna tried to stifle a laugh, but couldn’t help blurting it out instead. It was a funny statement after all.

“Really? Are you sure you could have handled two Lunas?” Luna asked, grinning.

“If she took too much after you, probably not,” Celestia mentioned. “Oh, and it was a filly, a filly unicorn. Lavender told me that he got to see her.”

She looked over at Lavender when she spoke, who just responded with a small smile. His time down in the morgue and his subsequent break down crept back into his mind.

Luna didn’t know how to react as she traded looks between Celestia and Lavender. Should she feel sad or happy about this? Happy that Lavender got to physically see their daughter, or sad that her life was cut short before it even started. Judging by Celestia bringing this up, it was an attempt at a happy memory.

“I’m sure she would have grown into a fine mare, just like her mother,” Luna finally said.

“Thank you, Luna,” Celestia said.

The three enjoyed the remainder of this morning together. Celestia felt better to have such caring ponies like Lavender and Luna here to help her through this. It was tough, but she was going to get through it.

Celestia had to stay at the hospital for several more days under the doctor’s order to ensure that their weren’t any complications. Luna and Lavender visited regularly when they had the time. The doctor said that no permanent damage was done, but he advised against Celestia trying to have another foal since the next time she might not be so lucky. True, she was immortal and wasn’t affected by age like other ponies were, but she wasn’t invincible. She could still succumb to major trauma if she wasn’t careful. She trusted what the doctor said and wasn’t about to defy his professional opinion, but she was still sad that she wouldn’t be able to have a foal of her own. Some options were available for Celestia and Lavender to have a foal, such as adoption or a willing volunteer to act as a surrogate mother to carry their foal to term. However, it was too soon for them to be thinking about this, right now was time for grieving.

The few days spent in the hospital also gave Celestia and Lavender time to attend to the grim task of their daughter’s funeral arrangement. It was something neither of them wanted to do, but it had to be done. Celestia wanted to have the funeral as soon as the doctor gave his stamp of approval for her to return to her normal duties. She already had a location in mind for the burial site; a secluded corner of the Canterlot garden that had very little hoof traffic through it. This particular spot was special to Celestia because it had a lone tree that she sat under every so often to look up at the moon during Luna’s banishment. It reminded herself of the heavy toll it took on her heart with having to banish her own sister, but also to admire the beautiful night, something she took for granted while Luna was by her side. Right under that tree was the perfect place to bury her daughter. Lavender agreed, and he even took a moment while Celestia was still in the hospital to check out the location she specified. Yes, they couldn’t have picked a more perfect place.

The days dragged on and Celestia was finally discharged from the hospital. The swelling in her abdomen from once being pregnant was beginning to shrink down to her normal, slim physique. She still suffered some discomfort, but the doctor assured her that it just from the shock that her body went through and it will subside in time.

This gloomy day reflected everyone’s feelings. Dark, gray clouds hung low in the air; the chilly air kicked up every so often, rustling up some loose leaves. The Canterlot garden was alive with activity. Ponies from all corners of Equestria had gathered to grieve alongside Celestia and Lavender. Luna and Cadence were present, along with many of Celestia’s friends and colleagues. Lavender’s mother, father, and two sisters were there, along with many other family members. It was a huge turnout, almost the same turnout as their wedding.

Under the tree where Celestia had specified was a fresh mound of dirt which, just feet below it, lay the body of their daughter. On top of the grave, small white pebbles covered the majority of the brown dirt. Flowers of every hue lay on top of or around the sides of the grave. A white marble tombstone with gold inscriptions sat at the head of the grave; it was a burial fit for a princess.

Luna, Cadence, and a few other ponies said some nice words and offered their condolences. The garden was quiet save for the pony who was talking at the time and a few sounds of sniffling from ponies who were crying. Once the last of the ponies had spoken, Celestia opted out of saying anything to the crowd because she felt she would get emotional if she did. Instead, she turned it over to Lavender so he could say a few final words. She couldn’t hide the tears that were beginning to build up in her eyes.

Lavender stepped up to speak even though it killed him to see Celestia starting to cry again. Speaking in front of a large crowd didn’t much bother him, especially given that this crowd was grieving the loss of his daughter. He felt a sense of calmness as he took a deep breath and started to speak.

“I just wanted to thank you all for coming out for this. It means a great deal to Celestia and me that we have such good friends and families to help us get through this dark day. As some of you may know, I never given much thought to starting a family of my own. This whole thing was just dropped on me. I could have run away to some far corner of Equestria when I first found out that Celestia was pregnant, but I didn’t. I couldn’t do that to her,” he looked over at Celestia. She smiled as her eyes glistened with tears.

“I just…didn’t expect anything like this to happen. You can’t prepare for something like this; I don’t think anypony can,” he had to take a moment to regain his composure as some tears started to well up in his eyes. “Again, I can’t thank you enough for helping us get through this.”

With Lavender’s eulogy finished, he walked over to the grave and placed a single hoof on the tombstone.

“Goodbye my sweet little filly,” he bowed his head as a sign of respect for the deceased.

Once he rejoined Celestia by her side, she threw a hoof around him and pulled him close to her. It really meant a lot to her that Lavender cared so much about their daughter. He would have made a great father. There wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd at this display of affection. Lavender’s mother was bawling her eyes out; his dad, a lifelong military stallion, shed a few tears himself. Time seemed to stand still as Celestia held her husband there in that garden. She was thankful for the moment she met him and the time they spent together. He was definitely one of a kind and she couldn’t find another stallion like him if she tried. She was glad that he got a chance to see their daughter so, to Celestia, it felt like a part of her would live on in Lavender.

Celestia’s horn came alive with her magical aura. The dark clouds above parted to allow the sun to cast its golden light on the garden below. The tombstone seemed to glow in the brilliant sunlight. That marked the end of the funeral.

The crowd dispersed, some leaving to get back to their lives, others placing some last minute flowers on the grave before departing themselves. A few ponies stuck around to chat with Celestia and Lavender, mainly Lavender’s parents, his two sisters, Luna, and Cadence. They each re-offered their condolences and asked if the two were going to be alright. They would be, in time; new parents losing a foal was never easy. Eventually the pain would subside, however not completely; a small portion would stick with Celestia and Lavender for the remainder of their lives. It would be something they would never forget.

“That was beautiful,” Lavender’s mother said, levitating a tissue with her magic as she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. His father and two sisters nodded in unison as they silently agreed with his mother.

“I hate that you two had to go through that,” his father mentioned. “I know it couldn’t have been easy.”

“I know. Thank you for being here,” Lavender said.

Hugs were shared all around with this small group of ponies. It was the least they could do. After this last bit of affection, the group all went their separate ways as the day was drawing to a close. Lavender’s parents and two sisters returned to their respective places of residence, Cadence returned to her duties in the Crystal Empire, and Luna prepared herself for her upcoming nightly watch.

This time, Celestia wanted to do something different when she lowered the sun for the day. She sat on the balcony adjacent to her bedroom with Lavender next to her as she began lowering the sun, a little slower than she normally did it. They watched the sunset together; Celestia felt it was a fitting way to end this day. Watching the sunset was something they hadn’t really done together because they didn’t think too much about it. Much like how Celestia didn’t admire how beautiful the night was until after Luna was gone. A warm feeling came over the two, the feeling that this would be the first day of the rest of their lives. A life that will be lived to the fullest.

The End

Author's Note

Okay, after a long delay this chapter is finally done. Since this college semester started up recently, it didn't really leave me a lot of time to work on this story. However, I finally got this chapter finished; I hope you enjoy it.

Also, I wanted to take the moment to thank you for reading my story all the way to the end. It really means a lot to me that you took the time out of your day to read my story.