Celestia could only watch from the stands as Rarity plummeted. Her instincts pushed her forward. Her wings began to spread. She started to rear up for takeoff just as Rainbow Dash reversed her ascent.
But her guards stopped her before she could get her second hoof of the ground. They sensed what she was trying to do and held her back by her legs.
“Your, highness, don’t! You could be hurt!” They pleaded with her. Her horn touched the tip of the transparent forcefield that stood erected around her. She wished that she could blink it away, but it could take hours to figure out what frequency it was harmonizing on. She could blast it away, but that might create collateral damage.
Her subject was in danger. An Element at that. Who were they to say what was and wasn’t dangerous? Celestia’s eyes narrowed into daggers and she gave a loud snort in frustration, a rare sound for the Princess to make, and her guards were not oblivious to the fact. They seemed a little more apprehensive to keep her back, but they did their duty and stood their ground. The Royal Guard Corps had in them instilled the protection of the State. They took this duty seriously, and since its inception the directive had become stricter and more sacred with every new generation. It had been centuries since Celestia was able to show her true capability. Most ponies have been convinced that the talk of her and Luna’s power in ages past had been severely over exaggerated over the decades and centuries since the stories were told and written.
She too had her duty to protect her people, but in the eyes of her subjects, her councils, and her military she has simply been perceived as an administrator.
Though genuinely surprised at the Sonic Rainboom that graced her eyes and more so relieved that Rarity had been safely recovered, her thoughts wandered back to her status in her own kingdom…
Was she truly nothing more than a simple politician?
She was violently awakened from her slumber drenched in sweat. Her cover was sprawled on the floor of her chamber. She jolted over to check the time; 5:05AM. She wasn’t due to rise the sun for at least another half hour. She gulped and levitated over a water glass from her large nightstand. She downed it quickly before rolling over onto her hooves.
Though rare, that was not the first time she was awoken from her slumber by such a recollection. It always resurfaces around the same time every year.
A rap on her door got her heart racing slightly for which she silently cursed herself. “’Tia?” Luna’s voice could be heard lightly from beyond.
“Yes…yes, come in, Luna!”
The door slowly opened engulfed in starry magic. “’Tia, I’m sorry to wake you early, but I didn’t want you to forget-“
“The Competition, yes, yes!” She flustered out. “I..uh… almost forgot.” She shook her head a little to regain her composure. “Thank you, Luna. The Expo is starting soon for you, right?”
“Yes, I’m leaving now, in fact. Can I do anything for you before-“
“No! No… I’ll be fine. Have a good trip, Luna.” She smiled nervously.
Luna cocked her head slightly and slowly backed away. Though concerned, she did not speak up. “I will, ‘Tia. You too…”
She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Time seemed to slow to a halt the second the sickly green energy touched her horn. An explosion rocked the throne room. Her crown had flown away. Her subjects… She failed them.
The talk would echo for weeks afterwards. There were pitiful eyes upon her in council. What disturbed her most, however was the fact that her people didn’t actually look down on her for her failure. They were concerned, not questioning. There was no challenge to her to prove herself again. She was beating herself up inside. As the talk outside past, the voice in her head got louder. What happened?
Chrysalis knew. She was shocked that she had managed to defeat Celestia so easily. She knew that Celestia’s power wasn’t just a thing of legend.
Her mind occasionally tried to reason with her: She was channeling the power of three of the most powerful ponies in Equestria. It’s no surprise you were overwhelmed. Plus, you’re just out of practice, there’s no reason to be ashamed. But the thoughts retreated quickly afterwards. The pity, the surprise, the doubt, the time…
Administrator was not accurate enough. They saw her as an old mother. An aging, graceful creature that had lived out the days of her life and now was to be protected and idolized through stories past. Regardless of her status, her age, her duty, she was simply a symbol of Equestria. But she can’t place blame on her subjects for that portrayal. She had championed a manifest destiny for her little ponies. Life, liberty, and fraternity are the ideals she ultimately decided to herald above all else. Life is a personal journey for all ponies, and a tight grip like she once had in the past kept the individual from their potential. She slowly retreated into the background, less as a leader, more as an advisor. She had willfully taken the burdens and returned the freedom that her subjects so rightly deserved.
And with those freedoms they had done wonders. They had ushered in a new age of advancement and prosperity. Science, magic, philosophy, art… There had been no other time in the history of Equestria quite like this. There was so much to see and to do; it’s a wonder Celestia had been able to keep up with half of it. In fact, she couldn’t. As her responsibilities streamlined, she had taken a shining to education. Arrogance had told her that she was living vicariously through her subjects, but she was confident that she was helping them better themselves. She established schools all over the nation, and she had brought together the best scholars from all over. She set up the system, and they taught them, and her, the mysteries of the world.
In fact, the mysteries were often still just that to her. When they had discovered optics, the stars came into view and their composition became clear. Her own sun was dissected and presented as a jumble of mathematics. The soil below was no longer just a flat plane. It was a collection of layers with a molten core at its center. Air was now water, and water now air; regardless of the medium, the physics for movement were the same. Yet despite her lack of knowledge of the subjects at hand, she praised their discoveries. She was learning more and more about the world around her everyday, but where it left her subjects with the power to move forward, it seemed to leave her scrambling to keep up.
Ponies outside of her inner circle started viewing her as a little…undereducated—No longer a master of her domain. She learned to stay more silent rather than sound foolish in the ears of her subjects. She felt ashamed, but she still could swear that she knew these subjects; she just didn’t know how they worked deep down is all.
Hindsight reflected that this establishment was to be the last true action she took as a leader before she faded into the comfort of stagnation.
The Elements of Harmony were back and were ever vigilant. Her ponies were happy, her nation prosperous, her duties simple, her mission complete.
Nopony in the modern day remembered her for who she really was.
“Princess, we will be descending shortly.”
Celestia snapped out of her thoughts. Cloudsdale could be seen in the distance. She took a deep breath and regained her stoic and polite composure. “Thank you, Lieutenant. At your own pace, we need not be too early.”
The Best Young Flyers Competition: An event held just once a year, once observed only by the Pegasi surrounding the Cloudsdale cityscape now holds nationwide recognition. The news of the Sonic Rainboom spread far, quickly dispelling its status as a rumor and igniting the imaginations of many a young pony dreaming to excel, whether pegasus, unicorn, or earth pony. An entire market for levitation and cloud-walking spells sprung up for just this occasion to allow those non-flyers to attend the celebration. Attendance nearly quadrupled in less than three years, and this year a turnout of over 50,000 is viewed as a modest projection.
Princess Celestia, of course, had been invited to attend. Just before noon on the first day of ceremonies her gold-trimmed royal chariot touched down just beyond the reach of festivities on the main runway of the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp training airstrip. Though just slightly disconnected from the stadium, its location ensured that a hoard of inquisitive reporters and admirers would keep their distance until the Princess was better prepared to handle them. She stepped down gracefully, gently placing her first hoof on the cloud to judge its buoyancy before fully exiting. She was subsequently approached by somepony very familiar to her.
“Princess!” Twilight Sparkle beamed, breaking into a full gallop to meet her.
“Twilight, my--as always--faithful student!” Admittedly the moniker had lost some of its appeal since Twilight had effectively completed her schooling. Both Twilight and the Princess have acknowledged that much. It had simply become more of a habit to Celestia at this point, one she’d tried to break on many an occasion, but one that kept cropping back up.
She bent down to embrace Twilight in a loving nuzzle before being lead along the long stretch of the airstrip. A pair of pegasi Royal Guards flanked the two ponies just before they made it midway.
“Did Princess Luna not want to come this year?” Twilight inquired.
“She would have loved to, but coincidentally the Stalliongrad Flight and Magic Expo is being held at the exact same time as the Competition this year. Luna tends to be more of a favorite in the colder northern regions of Equestria, so we decided to split the difference this year; her up there, and myself down here.”
“Sounds like they’re stealing the spotlight.” Twilight remarked.
“Trying, yes. They’re probably just a little jealous at the attention the Competition has gained in the past few years.” Celestia explained. “They used to be the premier exposition for breakthroughs in magic and science each year. But the Best Young Flyers Competition sort of overtook them. Not that I have much to complain about. Cloudsdale’s certainly a lot closer to home.”
They reached the end of the strip and started into a gallop. Twilight engulfed herself in levitation magic, while Celestia and her guards spread their wings. It was a short hop, skip, and a jump over to the main arena where they landed at the end of a court. Celestia’s guards tightened their zone of dominance around Celestia and Twilight while another pair of guards came down from above the highest clouds, keeping their watchful eyes on the crowd below. The stalls came into view. Presentations on flight and pegasi body structure were being presented to captive crowds. Celestia could pick out terms she was familiar with, but not well versed in,
“The laminar flow of the upper surface—“
“—wing geometry determines the coefficient, offering greater sustained turn rates—“
“Reenergizing the boundary layer of the leading edge—“
Her arrival on scene shifted attention away from the booths, however. The chatter quickly died down. Eyes were upon her. She consciously stood tall.
“Showtime.” Celestia muttered under her breath.
“Princess Celestia!”
“Goodness, look at her!”
“So regal!”
“So majestic…”
“I think I’m in love…”
That one always seemed to pop up once or twice, and she couldn’t help but feel a little modest about it.
Celestia lowered her head toward Twilight. “So have you been getting looks yet?”
Twilight blushed heavily. “Princess…”
Celestia smiled innocently. “I’m just asking…” Her attention was quickly stolen away from Twilight by one of the larger, louder booths. She looked back to see that Twilight had stopped to look at one of the Chyneighse magic development booths. Celestia saw no harm in going ahead a little bit. She faced towards her right most guards. “Support Twilight.” The guards nodded and broke off from her side, while one of the pegasi above landed to take their place. She continued forward briskly.
The Earth pony had just begun his presentation. Celestia counted herself lucky, as she approached the end of the crowd she sat. The two ponies in front of her looked behind themselves in shock, bowing and scooting out of her way. She put her hooves up in apology. “Oh, no, no, please. I don’t want to move you…” Before she knew it, there was an open path in front of her toward the front. She sighed a little and though she felt rather selfish about it took the opportunity. The Earth pony, a professor at Canterlot’s Royal Academy, paused momentarily to bow.
“Your Highness, it is a pleasure! Everypony, a round of applause for Princess Celestia! If it wasn’t for her approval, the TPD Project would not have had even a fraction of the funding it required to succeed!”
It was Celestia’s turn to blush. The sound of muffled hooves clopping against soft cloud created a dull roar around her. She bowed herself, but found herself a little confused.
“No, thank you, professor. Forgive my ignorance, however, but “TPD”?”
“Yes, Turbine Powered Dirigible! A new advancement in propulsion for airborne mass transit! Using high speed turbine engines with a bypass flow, the TPD promises trips across Equestria in less than half the time of traditional propeller powered types currently in service! Despite it’s unconventional design, its revolutionary construction also promises a safer journey, with greater rigidity and higher strength than conventional transports. It also promises to steal the show here at the Best Young Flyers Competition, and a full prototype demonstration will be held in less than an hour at the main stadium! Using a proprietary hydrogen-based buoyancy system with a superstructure streamlined using Whitcolt’s transonic area rule for decreased drag —”
Celestia started to recall the papers. She actually spent a night reviewing them. It did in fact intrigue her quite a bit. Surprising however that the project has already progressed to prototype so quickly; she remembered approving funding for the standard five year development cycle…
As she listened to the presentation another word popped into her head that wouldn’t go away. “Hydrogen.” Why does thinking that turn her stomach slightly?
“Princess, we should probably get going to the stadium. Festivities are going to begin.” Her rightmost guard mentioned. Celestia nodded and made a calm exit. Few ponies decided to notice.
“Princess!” Twilight’s voice rang over the crowd. Celestia looked over to see her squeeze through the ponies beginning to scramble for their seats. “Sorry to wander off like that, I—“
“Oh, don’t be silly Twilight, I did the same. Will you be joining me on the podium during the show?”
“No, I won’t be. Unfortunately I won’t be observing at all, actually. Rainbow Dash is supposed to be an honorary guest for the lead-in to the actual competition, so I’m going to be joining her backstage while she gets ready. But I’ll be able to see you afterwards!”
“Not a problem, my faithful student. It is always a pleasure.” She bent down to give her an affectionate nuzzle which Twilight returned.
“Your highness…” One of her guards prodded.
“Alright, I’m coming.” Celestia responded.
A tight flyover from the Wonderbolts signified the end of ceremonies. Celestia had taken her seat and given her bows. The show had begun without a hitch. The announcer rose from the bandstand at the center of the stadium, which was then slowly pushed away by a team of pegasi.
“Fillies and Gentlecolts, this is a very special Competition this year. Never have we had such a turnout of experts in the field and working demonstrations for you to witness. Applause should be in order for the ponies behind these wondrous projects. The Competition has provided the medium to show the world not only the inimitable skill of our performers but also the talent of our magicians and scientists who are working tirelessly to give us new reasons to be proud of our kingdom.”
“We’re going to start off with one of the more impressive prototypes that made it to demo a full two years ahead of schedule. The Turbine Powered Dirigible!”
An enormous white blimp rose from under the stadium. It was sleek and long. Unlike the airships Celestia was used to seeing, it looked far thinner. It resembled a submarine. The usual low-hanging gondola was replaced with a flush module fastened directly to the internal frame, streamlining the ship’s profile. Four large stabilizers were fastened to the rear, while small reaction control fans were adorned around the fuselage’s center. But most notable of all were the sleek and enormous twin engines fastened closely to either side of the cockpit.
Ponies seemed in awe of this enormous machine. It was nothing like had come before. Its size and stature seemed aggressive, more aggressive than the original paper seemed to have in mind. Celestia raised her eyebrow. She couldn’t help but wonder if it might have been designed with a more… assertive use in mind.
“Now, to start the engines!” The announcer yelled. With a roar the dirigible came to life. It’s control propellers all faced forward to counter the enormous thrust erupting from the gondola.
Celestia looked on with delight regardless. She felt the heat radiate from the stadium. The loud but low whine from the exhaust was even somewhat soothing. It slowly caressed her fur as it heated up further against the already warm rays of the sun. The fire continued to burn. A glow started to emanate from the nozzle.
Time suddenly seemed to freeze. Celestia’s stomach somersaulted. Her face turned to terror. Her mind screamed at her. HYDROGEN!
The dirigible erupted in a fireball.
The surrounding pegasi rapidly retreated from their positions. The roar of flames engulfed the aircraft’s outer fabric. The metal superstructure was being revealed. The creaking and squealing sound of that metal coming apart was unbearable. A second explosion rocked the north side of the stadium. One of the engines had heated up and combusted. Molten pieces were falling from the sky.
A faint scream could be heard above the chaos emanating from the cockpit. The unicorn pilot was trapped inside it, slowly falling with the rest of the debris.
Unicorns and Earth ponies could only standby in their seats watching the horror unfold in front of them. The Wonderbolts tried to pursue, but couldn’t get close to the wreckage without singing their wings. One of them narrowly dodged a piece of metal that had broken away from a spar at the rear of the vessel.
The Royal Guard was quick to respond. “Get the Princess to a safe— WHERE IS SHE?!”
A bright yellow flash erupted at the center of the stadium. It wasn’t an explosion. Princess Celestia appeared with her wings tucked before revealing them with a lightning fast snap. She made a dive for the deck. Her front legs tucked and her head forward, her streamlined figure kept her accelerating. She rapidly cleared the dirigible’s still floating superstructure and rolled toward the cockpit. A large chunk of metal approached on her right. She extended her wings slightly. Their “M” formation was narrow. She twisted her right wing down, corkscrewing around the debris. She steadily spread her wings further, slowing her speed. Fabric to her left, dodged with a gradual left bank. She kept her eyes focused on her target. Behind her a spar from the superstructure came loose and ignited a small explosion, sending a chunk of steel hurdling towards her. She caught it in her peripheral vision. She swept her wings forward and twisted their leading edge, rapidly decelerating to a near halt in midair as the debris shot past. She tucked her wings in once more and made a rapid dive. The cockpit was only a few meters ahead of her. She took quick aim and vaporized a portion of it with a pulse of gold magical energy, freeing the pilot. She tumbled out unconscious. Celestia accelerated with a sharp snap of her wings, the crack of resulting micro sonic boom echoed against the stadium seating. The ground was rapidly approaching. She used her magic to tractor the pilot toward her. She brought her onto her back and concentrated on keeping her attached. She brought her wings out straight, making a gradual right bank to clear the remaining debris. She then swept both wings forward again, made another positive incidence twist and tilted her rear feathers down to pull up rapidly before the ground got too close. The strain on her wings and body was exhausting, but she held together. Reaching a positive attitude, she made a few rapid flaps of her wings to gain altitude. Bringing her head up and straightening out her wings, she made her way back to the stadium.
She landed at the low hanging judges’ podium, slowly lowering her passenger to the cloud surface. She made sure to quickly cast a cloud walking spell before she set her down fully. Pegasi medics sped over to attend to the patient. The dirigible collided fully with the ground below. Weather team ponies brought full rain clouds over to quickly dowse the fire. Celestia cracked her back and stood up tall, keeping her gaze on the pilot as the medics inspected her condition. A hoof up from one of them confirmed that her heart and breathing were normal. Celestia breathed out a sigh of relief and flew her way back up to her guards.
They seemed furious, but Celestia didn’t care. She landed gracefully and started back toward them. Their teeth were bared in fury.
“Your highness, I am appalled!” The one on the right started.
“You could have been hurt—“
“You could have been killed—“
“You could have—“
“ENOUGH!” Celestia roared, her wings shot out and her hair stood on end like razors. The guards froze, as did half the stadium. She rose to her full height, engulfing both their shadows with her stature. They started to shiver. Celestia’s eyes were piercing and as much as the two of them wished to look away, they couldn’t. They wanted to cower, but their legs wouldn’t move.
“You will find the dirigible’s designer and bring him to my court immediately.”
She shot one last glare at them both before giving a mighty gust of wind from her wings and ascending. She plotted her course back for Canterlot’s highest spiral tower just visible in the distance.
Loud, unusual music echoed down the hallway. Simple riffs such as these haven’t been heard regularly around Equestria for decades since the electric guitar fell out of style. The doors opened slowly, betraying their solidness: the music easily tripled in volume. The marble stone below felt as though it was shaking, the stained glass windows were nearly rattling themselves apart. Celestia seemed completely dormant on her throne and appeared engaged in perusing a stack of paperwork suspended in front of her.
“You…you wanted to see me, your highness?” The dark brown unicorn stuttered through the sentence. The music ensured that his voice could not hope to carry to her ears.
She brought up a pen and signed off on the first few pages. She went on to the next few, doing the same. The ballad had sped into a rapid guitar shred. By this point the unicorn was sweating bullets. After another two cycles of signing she brought her eyes up to him, setting the paperwork down to the side of her throne. The music cut off completely. She gave a deathly moment of silence.
“Hydrogen.”
The unicorn gulped. “Hydrogen, your majesty?”
“Yes, professor. Hydrogen.” She rose from her chair and slowly started down the stairs. “It was particularly warm and dry today, wouldn’t you say?”
“I, uh…”
“It was. But not unusually so. It always tends to be in the middle of the summer. That dirigible you constructed was quite an achievement. An interesting development, using turbine engines rather than a reciprocated motor to generate thrust. A fine achievement, I must say. I’m glad to see that the Treasury’s money got to see some promising results.”
“Thank you—“
“But somewhere you forgot something, didn’t you? Two and two didn’t quite come together in your head.” Celestia was now toe-to-toe with her subject, towering over him with squinted, fiery eyes.
“I, uh…”
“A turbine engine tends to spit fire. Hydrogen tends to combust when heated.”
“I—“
Celestia brought a manila folder from behind her throne. She opened it and scanned the contents. “Blackbird Four-Twenty dropped off a few pictures recently. Would you like to see them?” She brought them out and held them in front of the professor. It was a birds-eye view of the trail of ash and wreckage spewed out across the landscape underneath Cloudsdale. He barely had a chance to glance at it before she whipped it back.
“Did you think I was an idiot? Did you think that I wouldn’t know the difference? It says right here in your proposal that you were planning to use helium, not hydrogen to achieve buoyancy. You told me in the stadium that the dirigible was safe, that its construction carried no risk, yet even I could tell that the spars holding the engines to the superstructure were far closer than the design specification. Did you really think you could just make a last minute switch and no-one would notice?”
“Well, honestly…”
“You knew that I was going to be the first and last bureaucrat to look at this proposal. You probably thought that I wouldn’t even know the difference. “
“Now that’s not true…”
“Then why did you make the switch, professor?!”
“Because hydrogen was cheaper—“
“So?! Millions upon millions of bits at your projects disposal and you decided to cut costs! I try to make a point never to simply sell to the lowest bidder, professor. I try to sell to the bidder that shows the most innovation. I’m willing to spend a little more to get a little more. I’m sure I’ve said that in the past dozens of times…” Celestia returned to her throne.
“So,” She started. “I sit here in front of a pony that has committed gross negligence in design and engineering. One who threatened the lives of my subjects, nearly killing what I’m sure was a one of our finer airship pilots.” Her eyes squinted. “What should I do with you?”
The professor cowered. His lip quivered uncontrollably. There seemed no way of escaping a grizzly fate.
“You teach high-level courses in aerospace design and engineering at Canterlot University, is that right, Professor?”
“Y…yes, Your Majesty.”
“Well, I think you have something new and very important to add to your curriculum. In fact, I’d like you to join the investigation teams in isolating the errors that happened today before you return to teaching.”
“I…What?” He looked up at Celestia. She was smiling.
“Professor, I’m not going to lie, I do feel somewhat betrayed. I am in fact rather upset that one of my subject’s lives was in danger today. And you will not get off without further punishment. I mean, honestly, I can’t say that I will be approving any design proposals from you for a few years…” She chuckled. She descended from the throne once more.
“But let’s look at what happened. In the end, no-one was hurt too bad; the State will take care of restitution. I approved the funding, and am at least partially at fault for not being as vigilant in my own perusal. And depending on your point of view, fortunately or unfortunately I tend to be a little more tolerant of failures that other ponies might see as abhorring. But look at it from my point of view, I’ve been alive for far longer than anypony else, and in fact, made far more lethal failures that I’m not so proud of.”
“I…”
“Mistakes are an inevitability. And they tend to provide the most valuable lessons of all. Education and theory can only take you so far, sometimes it takes a hard lesson in experience and practice to truly appreciate the difficulty of improving and mastering an idea.”
“So, I… Won’t be thrown in the dungeon?”
“Dungeon, I…” She paused momentarily. Where does this rumor keep coming from? “Professor, even if I had a dungeon, why in the world would I throw you in it?”
“Because I failed.”
“Professor, I just spent millions of bits educating you and half of Equestria in the dangers of rushed development. Why would I throw away that valuable an investment?”
The Professor became perplexed.
“Professor, the only thing I want you to do is teach. Teach others what you learned here today so that tomorrow we won’t make the same mistake. Do you understand?”
“…Yes, I think so.”
“Then you are dismissed. I will be attending a few of your lectures in the next few weeks, so be prepared. I hope to hear you teach what has been learned here today.”
“I… Thank you, Your Majesty! Attendance will skyrocket if you show up!”
“That’s the idea.” She winked. “I know how ponies think, I want them to attend your classes to learn, not shun.” She motioned him up. “I’ll walk you out.”
A knock came at the door. “Come in.” Celestia motioned. She turned the page on a paper on her desk.
“’’Tia?” Luna entered slowly.
“Luna!” Celestia turned around. “How are… Luna, what happened!?”
Luna was covered head to hoof in singes. She walked over and collapsed on Celestia’s bed.
“’Tia, did you know that Stalliongrad has a propensity for celebration and drink after success?”
“Yes… In fact I do. It’s one of their cultural heritages.
“Well, you see, they have this really good drink called a Flaming B-52…”
