This can't be happening, Luna thought as she sat alone in her chambers. The castle of Canterlot seemed completely empty. Her home had been shattered. Her life as she knew it had been changed forever. Her once happy realm had turned dark and grey, and she felt as if the eternal night that Nightmare Moon had once prophesied about had come to pass. But this was no night. It was the middle of the day. Only the one who normally caused the day wasn't there. Celestia was gone.
It had happened slowly and gradually. First, she appeared tired, worn down by thousands of years of raising the sun. Luna recognized what was happening and immediately took over her sister's duties as well as her own so that Celestia could get some rest. She also knew that the magic inside an Alicorn that kept it alive for so long was dying out. When that flame wore down, the Alicorn would transition back into a regular Unicorn, Pegasi, or Earth pony. After that, death would be imminent.
True to its nature, the magic did wear out and Celestia's mane stopped flowing constantly. It returned to its original pink state, and Celestia lost her wings. She was technically still the ruler of Equestria, only she was a bedridden ruler. Luna took over everything and left her sister to herself most of the time. But sometimes, she would go to her for advice.
One day, she was trying to solve a squabble between the Manehattan ponies and the Fillydelphia ponies. There had always been a sort-of rivalry between the two cities, and that had come to a head when two mares got into a hoof fight over the same hat. They were both arrested and charged and brought to Luna for judgment, only she didn't know what to do. Both ponies had very logical stories, even though they told them through clenched teeth.
So she went to Celestia for help, only when she peeked in the door and softly called her name, she didn't answer or respond in any way. She appeared to be sleeping, so Luna went over and gently nudged her with a hoof. Nothing happened. Now Luna was beginning to worry, so she bent down and listened for her sister's heartbeat. Again, there was nothing. Luna backed away with tears forming as she realized that her beloved sister was dead.
She turned and ran through the palace, her tears blinding her path as she ran over vases and other things and stumbled back into the throne room. The guards there snapped to attention, and their captain ran to Luna. "Your Majesty!" He cried, "what's wrong?!" She turned upwards and looked at him as her tears splashed onto her coat. "Celestia is…Celestia is…dead!"
With those words, and the ensuing announcement of the death of a beloved icon, all of Equestria was thrown into a state of utter sadness and mourning. The ponies moved, but when they moved, they did so in a solemn, almost morbidly slow manner. They went about their business, but there were no smiles and no laughter as before. There were only sad faces, tears, and the dark clouds that Cloudsdale suddenly decided to create.
Luna was too devastated to cry on a daily basis. Sure, she shed a few tears here and there in private, but for the most part, she just walked around the castle like a zombie. She ignored the food that was provided for her. She would randomly lash out in grief at her castle staff, who never took the stinging insults that she gave them personally. They understood she was grieving, so for the most part, they left her alone.
One pony who was absolutely inconsolable was Princess Twilight. With her former mentor gone, she felt she had nopony to turn to when the chips were down. For a few weeks after Celestia's death, she would wake up in the morning and cry from then until her head hit the pillow at night. Her dragon friend Spike tried every way he knew to help her. Her other friends tried their hardest, too, but nothing could be done. Every time they tried to talk with her, she would shriek Celestia's name and go right back into hysterics.
So Luna found herself sitting in her chambers, staring at herself as she prepared to attend her sister's funeral. Being that she was the only living member of Celestia's family, she had taken it upon herself to deliver the eulogy. Oh, why did I give myself this task? She thought, I've never been any good at making speeches. That was always Celestia's thing! As she thought of her sister and the eloquent ways she spoke, more tears found their way out of her eyes and onto the black gown she was wearing.
Suddenly, there came a knock at the door. Luna sniffed and said, "come in." The door opened to reveal Twilight, also dressed in black. "Luna? Are you ready?" The princess of the night, who suddenly found herself also the princess of the day, nodded. "Yes, almost. I just…"
"You just what?"
"Oh, Twilight, I can't think of what to say for the eulogy! How do I sum up somepony who meant more to me than anyone else in the world? How do I pay tribute to a life given in total service to the betterment of Equestria? I just can't!" Luna yelled, finally letting her emotions out.
Twilight stepped forward and grasped her fellow princess in a hug. "It's alright," she whispered as Luna sobbed on her shoulder, "I know how difficult this is. Trust me, I do. But you're her sister. You knew her better than anypony. Just get up and talk about what she meant to you."
The purple mare stepped back and gave Luna a small smile. Luna felt comforted by her friend's words, and her strength seemed to return. She put on a determined look, trying to fight through the pain. Unfortunately, the pain won, and within a few seconds, she was weeping again. Twilight nuzzled her. "It's OK, Luna," she said as she fought back tears of her own. "Celestia was a wonderful, amazing pony, and she will always be remembered that way." Luna looked up and nodded. "Thank you, Twilight," she said, wiping her tears away, "I needed to hear that."
A couple of hours later, Canterlot Stadium filled to the brim with ponies. 100,000 ponies jammed into Equestria's national sporting center to pay their last respects to Princess Celestia. It was a glass coffin affair, with Celestia's body laying inside the transparent dome for all to see. Luna could hardly bear to look at her. She looked so peaceful, so completely oblivious to the sad scene taking place around her. This would be the final time so many ponies gazed upon the beautiful princess.
After a short welcome by Princess Cadance, Luna stepped to the microphone. She had addressed this stadium before, but never at such a solemn occasion. But she was determined to honor her sister's memory. Just tell them what she meant to you, she thought, repeating Twilight's earlier advice. Then she opened her mouth and began speaking:
"My fellow Equestrians, today we have gathered to celebrate the life of my sister, Princess Celestia. For 3,000 years, she led this country with valor, passion, love, and friendship, and I think that it would be prudent if we remembered her with those words. She embodied Equestria. She was its life force. Without her, Equestria as we all know it wouldn't exist today."
She stopped and wiped a few tears before continuing, "please bear with me. I'm not used to making these speeches at these types of events. My sister loved Equestria and the ponies who inhabit it, just as I do. She always strove to do what was right for our nation, even in its darkest times.
I remember our parents telling me about the day that Celestia was born. She was a unicorn at the time, and she earned her wings through diligent study under Star Swirl the Bearded. When we were growing up, there were numerous times when I believed that my sister was the most perfect pony in Equestria. But one day I learned that she was just as vulnerable to doing the wrong thing as anypony is.
When we were fillies, she had an unquenchable thirst for the arts. Acting, drawing, and writing were three of her passions. But it was her love for drawing that got her into trouble with our mother. I remember coming down the stairs in our house to find Celestia using her magic to draw all over the walls of our living room!" This little anecdote earned a hearty round of laughter from the audience, and Luna felt more comfortable going forward. Maybe funerals don't have to be all sadness and tears, she thought, maybe celebrating a life is what's important here.
"Our mother came into the room, saw what was happening, and nearly had a fainting spell. It took our dad three weeks of painting to get all of Tia's handiwork off the walls!" Once again, the audience laughed, although some gave her a curious look. She took notice of this, and deduced that it was because of the use of the special nickname that she had for her sister.
"Tia," she continued with a reminiscent sigh, "Yes, it's true, I really did call her that in private. She was my best friend, and I am going to miss her with all my heart until the day that I leave this life. She was the best that Equestria had to offer, and I will stand by those words. I loved her and, even though we were apart for 1,000 years, I never stopped loving her. The truth is, I was fighting Nightmare Moon for that millennium. I wanted so desperately to return here, to have things go back to how they were before. But my sister decreed that my punishment was to be for that long, so on the moon I stayed. But I never lost my love for her. I just let my jealousy get the better of me, and it was thanks to Princess Twilight and her friends that I was finally able to forgive myself for it.
Where my life will go from here, I'm not sure. But I do know this. Every day I am going to try and live in honor of her memory. Also, I hereby decree that this day shall be known as Princess Celestia Day. It shall be a day of remembrance for my sister, but also a day to celebrate the thing she loved most: life. I declare that there shall be a play written in her honor, to be performed annually on this day from now until the end of time. There shall also be a national moment of silence at 10:22 AM on this day, in memory of the time that she passed. Let us remember Princess Celestia with joy, for that is how she would want us to remember her. Thank you."
She sat down and the solemn ceremony continued. One by one, Cadence and Twilight got up and made their remarks about Celestia. Cadence spoke about having her as an adopted aunt, and Twilight talked fondly about being Celestia's student and having her hooves set on the path she was on by the beloved princess. There were tears shed, but there were also smiles given at the warm memories of their leader.
Afterwards, there was a small burial ceremony that was only attended by Celestia's closest friends and family. Luna stood closest to the grave, and silently said goodbye to her sister forever. Goodbye, Tia, she said internally, I will cherish your memory forever. You taught me so much about life and about friendship. You brought me back from the moon. You gave me a second chance, even when I probably didn't deserve it. Thank you so much for that. I only hope that I will do half the job you've done ruling Equestria. I will miss you until the day I die and I will always love you.