Aftermath: Luna's Banishment
Days after Celestia had to banish Nightmare Moon to the moon, she locked herself away because of the pain and the sorrow she felt. She refused to see anypony, no matter the issue. Every day, her servants would try to get her to come out, but to no avail. Every time a meal was served, a tray was left out of her quarters; but it was always retrieved untouched each time. It never really got better; all of her servants had their own assumptions as to what she was doing all that time, but they were all wrong.
"Princess?" A small pink alicorn asked. "Why won't thou come out?" The alicorn tapped on the door and it opened slightly. She pushed it open all the way and walked into Celestia's room. She looked around the room. There was no pony inside. The window on the far side of the room was opened, and a slight breeze made the air chilly and the curtains sway.
She walked inside to see a desk that was usually used for important documents that was always kept clean. The alicorn walked up the chair and climbed on top of it. What was normally an orderly workspace was now disorganized chaos with papers all over, a small ink stain in the middle, and several quills littered on the top of the desk.
On the very top of all the parchment was something that caught the alicorn's eye. It looked like a poem or a piece of writing that was done in intricate calligraphy. She looked around the room to see if Celestia was in there, but she was nowhere in sight. She grabbed the poem, jumped down off of the chair, and walked out of the room. She soon encountered the pony she was looking for, Celestia's personal butler.
"Oh, hello Cadence. How art thou doing this day?" The servant asked. He was wearing the same thing he did just about every day; a black and white tuxedo with a black tie.
"I found this in Celestia's room." Cadence said as she set down the paper in front of the butler. His eyes got big and he stared at her with his mouth wide open. "I am not able to read it. Could thou read it to me?"
"Why was thou in thy Princess' chambers? Did she let thou inside?" He almost yelled the last sentence, causing Cadence to duck down for the fear that she had done something wrong and was now going to be punished. He sighed and said, "Fine. Just be sure and put it back when we are done."
He picked it up with his magic and sat down before he read:
Night after night,
Day after day,
I can no longer bear the sight.
It seems I have lost fay.
As I lie in my bed,
My memories haunt me to no end.
I have gone to see it,
The place she loved the most.
Each night I visit I stay longer.
I mourn for the loss of my sister.
The burden is all on my shoulder.
I fear I may never see her again.
For this is my bane.
I shan't know if I will ever be sane,
How this world will survive I cannot feign.
I can feel my heart breaking,
Slowly, but surely, from unbearable torment.
For this reason I am crying,
This is the end of my lament.
As he finished the last line, Cadence looked up and saw the tears streaming down his face. She looked at him with a confused expression before hugging him tightly. He was reluctant to return it at first, but he eventually gave in. "Is 'Tia upset?" Cadence asked after a few seconds.
He sniffed. "Yes, I believe she is." Cadence got up and took the poem back to Celestia's quarters. She walked down the hall and heard the sound of steady wingbeats. She stepped into the doorway to see Celestia flying in from her window. Her eyes were red and puffy like she was crying. She looked shocked to see Cadence standing in her doorway with her parchment.
"Celestia, art thou alright?" The inquisitive alicorn asked. She started walking towards the alabaster alicorn. As she got closer, Celestia started crying once again. This made Cadence stop and look at her. "Celestia?"
"I-I'm f-f-fine." She managed to say in between the sobs. Cadence walked up to Celestia and hugged her leg; the only part she could actually reach. After a few seconds, Celestia picked up Cadence and hugged her close to her chest. The tears fell from her eyes onto the small alicorn's coat.
They sat there in their embrace for another minute or so, until Cadence looked up at Celestia and smiled. "Please don't be upset," she said before hugging her again. After a few seconds, Celestia put Cadence down and smiled at her.
"I won't be upset anymore. Thank thee." She looked at the door and saw her lament lying on the ground. She used her magic to pick it up and levitate it back to her desk. She gently set it down before looking back at the small filly sitting in front of her.
"I don't want thou to be sad." The alicorn was too worried about Celestia to notice something different about her flank; she had a mark on it. Celestia looked at it with curiosity, wondering what it could mean. After a few seconds, she knew exactly what it was.
"Mi Amore Cadenza, you got your Cutie Mark."
Cadence looked at her aunt for a second before looking at her rump. She jumped for joy when she saw it. "Wow! Isn't it so great? But, what's it mean?"
"I think it means you have a heart of diamond; diamonds are rarer then gold. You can give joy to anypony you meet."
"Wow! That's amazing!"
Celestia smiled at the overjoyed alicorn and laughed a little. She reflected on how she and Luna felt when they had gotten their Cutie Marks. It was by far the best day of her life. She remembered how she was so proud of herself whenever she saw her talent being put to use or when other ponies were impressed with it. All of that seemed frivolous now, but seeing Cadence this excited sure brought her back.
Right then, Celestia had a revelation; she couldn't cry and mope all day long. Even if Luna was gone, she still had her subjects and her niece. She had to get her act together so she could properly raise Cadence in a loving home. She was responsible for the life of another pony, as well as the well-being of an entire nation. She didn't have time to complain about how bad her life may seem. She glanced at Cadence one more time before picking her up and throwing her in the air with a smile on her face.
She thought for a moment before adding one last line to her poem:
No matter what,
Life is never as bad as it seems.