A/N: Inspiration comes from my own mind of sorrow and helplessness. What bound it together was this song. Enjoy.
The rain cascaded down; only the moon was partially visible through the heavy rainclouds. Luna herself had risen the moon this night, forgoing the stars in her angst. Her own eyes, furrowed in sad thought, stared in the distance, out over the cliff-side. She fought to swallow, for her throat since arriving had constricted.
Without warning, a vision, a memory, surfaced. She was back in the dark alley that night in Ponyville, Will before her, his blade to her side. She remembered his triumphant smile, and though she had told him he had bested her, it was her love for him that caused her to feign ineptitude. She remembered feeling so happy seeing his happiness...
A clash of thunder brought her back to the present, back to the bleak night. She gasped, the enormity of recent events once again catching up to her. She hung her head, as if the weight of her burden was too much for her to hold up.
Her mind flashed back to the time she had found Will lying in the clearing, unmoving. Melancholy gripped her heart. She had been so afraid. She had been so broken. She had almost lost her son permanently that day. She remembered feeling overjoyed later that day when the human doctors had brought him back. While his expression clearly held bewilderment, she could not forget the terrific amount of delight in his eyes. The melancholy of before retreated at the touch of warmth she was now receiving.
A flash of lightning tore her once again into reality, and though this transition was just as sudden as the one before it, Luna did not react as violently as she did. However, she did close her eyes to hold back the onslaught of tears fighting to be released from their barriers. Unsuccessfully she tried to keep them at bay, as well as stave off her sobs and cries.
To balance her feelings, her heart reminded her of the events of that night, within the concert hall at Canterlot. There, she saw her son and his friends performing wondrous pieces of music she'd not heard in ages. There she saw the outright bliss of her son emanate from his body. He radiated his happiness that reached out to everypony in the hall, her especially. She'd never truly known Will, so to find he had a wonderful singing voice was, to put it mildly, exhulting.
A hand touched her right shoulder softly, though even it was still enough to draw her from her memories. She turned her head to look at the hand, and finding it feminine, placed her own left hand over it. "I thought I might find you out here," her sister said softly from behind. A moment of silence passed, then, "No stars?"
Luna choked on a sob, replying weakly, "No. I... I can't."
Celestia removed her hand and in its place gave her younger sister a big hug. "I love you, Luna. You know that."
Luna no longer tried to suppress her tears. Turning slowly, she buried her face in Celestia's chest. "I know," she cried into her sister's tunic.
Celestia wrapped her wings around her sibling. "It's okay," she cooed in Luna's ear. "I know... I know you may not believe me..." Celestia smoothed her sister's hair. "But it'll be alright."
"I miss them," Luna keened, referring to Will and his Oracle, Bill. "So much."
Celestia herself now began to shed tears. Her own memories of either were clouded. Her attempt of sacrifice on behalf of Will had meddled with her memories, but she could remember that which had a large impact on her emotions. "I know, Lulu," Celestia whispered, using the nickname Luna's first husband Harry Dresden had given her. "I miss them too."
Several minutes passed by, feeling to Luna like hours. She broke from the hug and returned to staring out over the cliff. This time, however, she sat down, patting the ground beside her for Celestia to join her. Celestia took no time to oblige her younger sibling. Luna wrapped an arm around her older sister and drew her into a hug. Together they sat in the dark night, the rain pouring over them, and neither gave a care.
Celestia was the one to break the silence that ensued. "Remember when Twilight was throwing those rocks at him?"
Luna nodded, a slight sad smile on her lips. "It seems that your student lacked skill to perform against my son."
Celestia chuckled softly. "Yes. It seems magical training is bested by survival training."
Luna provided her own memory this time. "I loved his Christmas party."
Her older sister nodded. "He put forth all his effort, all for one pony."
Luna smiled, tears still welling in her eyes. "I remember the look on Fluttershy's face." Salty liquid fell from both her eyes at the mention of the also-deceased relative-by-marriage. "She was so speechless."
Celestia chuckled while crying herself. "She looked so adorable when he proposed, didn't she?"
"She did," Luna agreed. "I believe you even lost your composure then."
Feigning astonishment, Celestia rebutted, "I think not, dear sister! I can assure you that it was yourself who let herself go in front of her subjects!"
Luna laughed a little more fully now. "We both did..." Luna smiled at her sister. "Not that it really mattered, no pony was looking at us at any rate."
Celestia tipped her head to Luna in agreement. "Very true."
The two Paracorns sat there together in silence for many minutes. The rain had by then soaked them both to the bone, though neither cared. Although Celestia had not noticed it, Luna's horn had glowed for a few moments while they leaned their heads together with their eyes closed. When Celestia next opened her eyes, she found herself staring at a sky where between the gaps of the storm clouds were several dots of stars filling every gap. Celestia gasped out of shock.
"Something wrong, dear sister?" Luna asked, truly innocently, while simultaneously depressed.
"Lulu... the sky... the stars..."
"Thank you, Tia." Luna rested her head on her sister's shoulder. Celestia, in amazement, looked down at her sister, to find her comfortably resting. Celestia smiled, and rested her own head atop Luna's.
And there they rested until the morrow's sunrise.
A/N: Above is my poor attempt at a photoshop (with MS Paint) to edit out speech bubbles. I couldn't find a human version to go along with the story, sorry.
