Chaos + Night Sounds Just Right

Celestia's eyes cracked open, still blurry with with tears and sleep. Her head was thumping with pain and he groaned, stood up, then let out a screech as she fell from the branch. Her wings flared and she landed softly in the mud. She rubbed her head with a hoof and and steadied herself, still dizzy. She looked at the sky, expecting the light of the day. She stared in horror at the sinking sun, motionless without her magic.

"No!" Her horn blazed with light and she ran through the mud, ignoring the stinging pain in her legs. She knew that she had been there for a while, but she had no idea how long. Her heart was racing as she searched desperately, trying to find the cure.

~~~

Discord looked the sky, then back at Luna. She was almost completely stone now, only her head and neck was left. It had been 23 hours now and Celestia had not yet returned. Discord had cried himself dry, he was terribly hungry and thirsty but he would not leave Luna's side.

Luna was unconscious now. She twitched feebly when a vein of stone poked out from her grey body to the dark blue hair. He brushed her lightly, resting his paw on her flowing mane. Luna let out a whimper, then a soft whisper, "Discord...", then her eyes snapped open and she screeched.

Discord felt himself sobbing, but there were no tears. He just listened to the shrieks, each one sending a blast of pain through his chest. He curled up next to his girlfriend.

"Stay with me."

~~~

The ivory Alicorn had her horn in the water, the light flashing from beneath the surface and it melted through anything that wasn't the cure. Celestia felt her horn hit something under the water. She splashed under and came out with a bright red berry in the shape of a star. "I found it!" She bit down on the stem and flew up, her wings pumping as hard as they could.

She opened her eyes and saw that the bog was behind her and she was rapidly drawing close to the forest. She broke the tree barrier and swerved through the trees until she heard the screeching. She dropped down and ran, her hooves barely touching the ground as she raced forwards.

~~~

The sun remained motionless in the sky, but Discord could tell the time as the mental clock ticked. "One minute left." He sighed, looking at Luna. Only her mouth was left uncovered by stone. Soon, she wouldn't be able to breathe. Discord heard something crashing through the trees, then Celestia burst out.

Celestia ran forwards, heart racing. There was only a minute left. "I got it!" She cried. She was about to dive down, but her back leg gave out under her and she collapsed with a cry. The berry rolled from her mouth and her eyes closed as she slipped into unconsciousness, horror dulled with pain.

Discord scooped the berry up in his talon and thrust it into Luna's mouth. He opened and closed her jaws for her and tipped her head back for her to swallow it. His eyes widened and his heart raced and his mind whirled. "Luna!" He cried.

The stone shrank, revealing dark blue eyes, a dark blue coat, one wing plastered to her side and a flowing tail. Her legs returned to their dark blue state and her shoes lost their grey coating. She looked at Discord and a smile spread across her face. "Discord. You saved me." She murmured, then wrapped her forelegs around him.

Discord shook his head. "Your sister saved you." He murmured. He helped her up and then they rushed over to Celestia, who had open her green eyes and was struggling to sit up. "It worked Celestia! Luna's saved! He cried.

Celestia smiled, but she wasn't looking at Discord. She was looking passed him. "Mother, father? Have you come for me? I'm ready." She murmured. She reached out a hoof and a ghostly pale hoof touched it, along with a pale spirit of her father.

Discord's eyes went wide. "No, Celestia don't do this! Not now!" He screeched. For the first time, he noticed the deep gashes on her flank, still oozing blood. Luna raced by him and he heard a cry of terror.

Luna flung herself at her sister, tears streaming down her face. "Celestia please! Don't die! I'm safe now, everything's alright, please don't die!" She wailed, pressing her face into her sister's neck. "Don't do this to me." She whispered, her eyes deep pools of misery. She felt a hoof touch her head and she looked into her sister's eyes.

"Luna my sister, this was always meant to happen. From the day we were born. I am thousands of years old, at least a hundred years older than you. I must go." She whispered. Her limbs were shaking now and she swayed on her hooves, before collapsing. "I was told, long ago, that an old enemy would arise and I would die trying to stop it. I thought that it meant Nightmare Moon, but now I realize it's you and Discord falling in love. You can't stop destiny my dear sister. Don't blame yourself, don't blame Discord, be happy, be strong. Have fun." She whispered. Her voice was fading and her heart was barely beating when she whispered her final words, "I... Love... You..." She rasped, before her eyes glazed over and she lay motionless.

Discord's pupils shrank in horror. He rushed over to the Princess of the Day, but her body was rapidly losing its heat. Luna threw her head back and wailed into the sky.

~~~

The sun was frozen for hours as Luna mourned. Then, she lifted her head, eyes dark with pain and tears still streaming down her face. She stood tall and her horn blazed with light. The moon lowered and the sun came up in the sky. Luna looked at the bright disc in the sky that her sister used to lift, before she mustered the strength to make a vow to her sister's spirit,

"I will always remember you and love you and I swear, I will bring the day and the night to Equestria, just as you did when you lost me." Luna whispered. There was only one thing that changed this time, that made this so much harder to handle than her being gone for a thousand years.

Princess Celestia was never coming back.