Twilight

[Author’s note: This story is going to be split into fairly short chapters, it’s my first real attempt at writing pony fics, so please please please critique! ]

Princess Celestia stared at the mare one final time before she would be forced to send her off. She had a look of tranquility upon her that Celestia had never seen in all the eighty years she had known her. No doubt it would have been a welcome expression on any of her other little ponies, but on Twilight Sparkle it was alien. According to her friends she hardly allowed herself time to stay calm, especially while the Princess was nearby. The lavender coated mare had her flaws, but it would never be said that Twilight was idle.

The color of Twilight’s mane faded to grey long ago as Celestia watched her most faithful student grow old, while Celestia and her sister Princess Luna stayed eternally youthful. That had to be the most horrifying side effect of being unaging; watching and growing to love each new generation of ponies, knowing that one day their frail forms would give out and they too would leave the world.

This was to be the sixth time Celestia and Luna both left their posts to attend a funeral. First was Rainbow Dash, the youngest to go. Her spark gave out almost exactly forty years before Twilight’s, but Celestia still vividly remembered nearly every detail.

The Wonderbolts were assigned to fly at her funeral and hers alone. It was the least Celestia could have given the mare for all of the times she saved Equestria at the cost of her own well being. In the end that was her demise, as she gave her life to save a turtle. A turtle that, according to Twilight and her friends, Rainbow Dash at first considered nothing more than a pest. Once upon a time he saved her life after a day of being treated like little more than a mere annoyance, and that memory was burned into Rainbow Dash’s soul. Years and years later she responded in kind, at the cost of the one thing she had to give.

After the Wonderbolts had finished their show, Spitfire set her own uniform (well cared for during the mare’s years of retirement) on Dash’s coffin and formally inducted her into the Wonderbolts. Her closest friends and fellow Elements of Harmony each gave goodbyes in their own ways. Her own student began with—

“Tia?” Princess Luna began, concern filling her voice. It was obvious by the other ponies’ stares that Celestia had been lost in thought for several minutes at least.

“I’m fine, Sister,” Celestia told her fellow Princess, making sure to speak loudly enough to dispel the fears of her Children as well. Celestia looked to the podium along with the other visitors, and was shocked to find the Element of Laughter up on the stage, patiently waiting for the excitement to end before beginning her speech.
“I remember when I first met Twilight,” The pink Earth pony began in a somber tone. “She had just let her carriage and was talking to Spike when I walked up to them.” The elderly mare suddenly stopped, looked left and right, and whispered into the microphone, as if telling a secret. “You may be shocked to learn this, but when I was younger I was one of the fastest Earth Pony mares alive!” Part of the audience chuckled at that, some of them no doubt remembering Pinkie’s speed at, well, just about everything. “Anyway…” Celestia knew that Pinkie was going to ramble—it was in the Earth Pony’s nature, after all—and tuned her out. Pinkie, as the last remaining Element of Harmony, was given the longest speech, to the dismay of anyone hoping for a serious funeral. Celestia preferred to keep her memory of Twilight Sparkle as chaos free as possible, even if it meant ignoring the pink mare’s speech.

Are you alright, sister? Luna asked Celestia via their as-old-as-time telepathy spell. Neither required the use of their horns to speak with one another any longer, so the spell was a blessing at a time like this, when Celestia needed a distraction from Pinkie.

I’ll be fine, Luna. I was just caught up in my memories again, Celestia ‘said’, dismissing her sibling’s concern. She really would be okay; it wasn’t like they were happening in public often. And even Luna would have to admit that it was good to honor the heroes that didn’t live to be thousands of years old by keeping their memories alive.

Celestia was suddenly hit by the urge to visit the memory of Rarity’s funeral (which had to be one of the most expensive good-byes in the history of Equestria), but Luna’s gaze kept Celestia in the present. It wouldn’t have to be long, just a few seconds. A comparison, nothing more. Nopony would even notice I was gone. It occurred to Celestia too late that she had broadcasted those thoughts to her sister, whose expression bordered terrified a moment after ‘hearing’ that.

Celestia, we’re talking after we get back to the castle. No excuses. If a thought could be produce emotion like speaking, Luna’s would be stern and worrisome. She was once again the concerned mother figure that hadn’t existed since Dawn…

Celestia refused to speak, to even think for a moment of the horrible pain her sister had felt on that day. It was the only thing that kept the sisters from becoming totally whole again, but Celestia understood why. To be forced to watch something so wonderful, so perfect, so alive die in front of you…

Celestia opened her eyes to find that Pinkie had left the stage and was replaced by Luna, who had a look that said ‘get over here.’ Celestia hurried out of her chair and up the steps to stand beside her younger sister, who was obviously preparing to speak.

“I recognize each and every one of you.” Luna began, wasting no time after Celestia stood beside her. “Some are the oldest friends of this mare, those who have known her since her first few days in Ponyville,” Luna had been looking at Pinkie Pie (who seemed to have dozed off), Lyra Heartstrings, and Applebloom, the only three ponies from Twilight’s first week in that town that could attend the funeral. “Some of you she had known even longer, perhaps from foalhood?” Luna never looked behind her, but Celestia felt knew who her sister was talking about.

“But how you know Twilight Sparkle matters little…”

Hours later, after Twilight was buried beside her friends (excluding Applejack, who was buried with her family near Sweet Apple Acres), Celestia and Luna were in Luna’s solar with an eerie silence keeping them apart. Physically neither was moving, aside from their never-idle manes flowing in a nonexistent wind. Mentally however, both mares were fighting a war.

Celestia wanted to be left to her memories, a simple enough request that Luna refused her. In any other case Luna would have eventually conceded and allowed to elder sister freedom to do what she needed to do, more often than not it would aid Equestria in the process. For some reason Luna would not allow Celestia this simple freedom, and all Celestia could ask was why.

I can’t tell you! Between her pained expression and the way she rushed to answer, it was obviously either the question or the fight itself was destroying Luna.

Why? Still Celestia persisted, not feeling the emotional pain of her sister.

You can’t know, Tia! Luna responded, still in obvious agony.

Why?

I cannot tell!

Why? Why why why why why why WHY?!? Celestia’s grip on everything but Luna’s secret vanished; her only motivation was learning what was so awful about reliving her memories. The older sister pushed on Luna’s mind with all her power, wanting the answer, needing it.

“BECAUSE IT MADE NIGHTMARE MOON!” Luna screamed, her voice shaking the air around them. Mere seconds later the mare finally broke, her emotional, mental, and even physical strength leaving her as those words reached the ears of every pony, zebra, griffon, or anything else within the castle grounds. She held on a short time longer in agony before—for the first time in over half a century—losing all of her strength and falling unconscious.