Celestia's New World

September 23

Celestia and I laid together in our bed. Her warm back was pressed against my chest. A soft sniffle from her got my attention. Without even realizing it, my arms squeezed tightly around her waist. Her hand rested against mine.

I moved my head closer to her and whispered a gentle, "I'm here, Celestia."

She said nothing. My heart was already aching at just the sound of her sorrow. Even though it was still early in the day, the two of us fell asleep together. We wanted nothing more than to be close to each other.

I was awoken by a sudden squeeze to my hand. She was grabbing me tightly, not letting go. Soft whimpers escaped her lips as her body trembled. I think my little Princess was having a nightmare...

Before I could react, she took in a soft gasp. Her breathing was deep and erratic. I gave her a small squeeze to reassure her.

"Phil?"

"Mmm..."

"Are... Are you awake?".

"Mmm-hmmm..."

"Did I wake you?"

"Dunno. Maybe."

"I'm sorry. I... had a bad dream."

"Gonna be ok?"

"It was nothing. Just a dream."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm... I'm sure."

"You don't sound sure."

It took her a while before she responded. "Maybe... Maybe I'm not."

"Celestia..."

She sighed.

"What was your dream about?"

Her grip on my hand tightened. "It... was about you and... my sister Luna. The three of us were in my castle, speaking with each other, but our words meant nothing. After talking came shouting. Shouting at each other at first, but then..." As she spoke, her words became rushed and panicked. "The two of you turned your attention to me and kept shouting and shouting and shouting and you wouldn't stop and I felt like I was getting smaller and smaller and..." She took in a shaky breath. "And after that, I woke up."

Pressed against her like this, I could feel her rapid heartbeat. Her grip on my hand had tightened further.

"Come on, Luna would never shout at you. We both love you very much, Celestia."

"I know. She's a kind pony."

"You know, Celestia... I'd like to meet Luna someday. I owe her an apology."

"An apology?"

"I want to apologize for speaking for someone I don't know. Even if it was something small. And... she is your sister after all. Any family of yours is family to me."

"I don't like speaking for others, even when I know what I'm saying is true. Your sister, from what I've seen, and heard, is a very kind pony. I'd enjoy a chance to meet her."

Her hand loosened, but she didn't let go. "I would love if you could meet my dear Luna. I could only imagine how she'd react to you. It would certainly be quite the interaction. If you ever do happen to meet her, you'll have to watch what you say. My sister deserves the utmost respect."

"What, and you don't?"

"My sister is not your girlfriend, Phil. I do not want you to treat my sister as you treat me."

"I won't, Celestia. I know it doesn't bother you, though."

"Of course not, Phil. You can always act freely with me."

"You always seem to act freely around me."

"It's fun to act free."

"Yeah..." A short silence came before I said, "You know, I had a dream too."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I was eating carrots in a room."

"What?"

"And they were really sweet, too. It was a good dream."

"Carrots?"

"Yeah."

"You had a dream about eating carrots?"

"Yeah."

She giggled as she said, "That's wonderful." I could feel her cheer enter her voice once more. I managed to make her smile again, at least for a brief moment. "What do you think it meant?"

"My dream?"

"Well, yes."

"I... have no idea."

"Make something up."

"Uh... Alright... I guess. Um... I was... sitting in a room eating carrots. I was sitting in a little wooden chair and there was a dull light above me. There was a door on one of the walls."

"So what does it mean?"

"I... uh... I... think it was about us."

"Us?"

"Yeah. The room wasn't very impressive, but the carrots were still sweet. So... the carrots are you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You're the sweetest thing in my life, Celestia. So, you're carrots."

"I'm carrots?"

"You're carrots."

"Why am I carrots?"

"Because you are."

"Well, why do you have to be eating me?"

"You know how much I love eating you, Celestia."

Celestia didn't respond. Her silence told me that she knew exactly what I meant.

"It could just mean I really like carrots." I said, "Because I love carrots."

She pushed past what I said and replied with, "Why carrots? Why couldn't I be candy or cake?"

"You're my carrot, though."

"I don't wanna be a carrot. I wanna be a cake."

"Spoken like a true five-year-old."

She smiled at me. "I like cake."

"I like cake, too."

Celestia let out a short laugh. "Oh, I can't believe you said something like that! You're such a pervert, Phil!"

"I'm a pervert? You're the one that insists that we sleep in our undies."

"It helps me feel close to you, Phil. Besides, I usually sleep naked. Usually by this time, we would have already made love."

"Would you like to make love?"

"I... don't... No. No, maybe not."

"That's ok. I still like snuggling with you."

"I like it, too."

I gave her hand another brief squeeze before I snuggled up against her. She had finally calmed down.

The crystal mirror would become active soon. If what her guards said was correct, it was only a matter of time before she would go home again.

September 26

Our little group was gathered in the front room. Celestia and I had taken the couch. The other two were speaking with their Princess, though they didn't say anything important.

Celestia stopped mid-sentence. She looked agitated by something. Before I could ask what was wrong, she said, "I feel something strange."

"Something strange?" I asked.

"Yes. It feels like... something I have felt before. When I..." Her eyes slowly widened. "When I first arrived."

"Princess?" asked Shining.

"Celestia?" I turned to face her, understanding the meaning of her words shortly after. My heart sank. If she had felt this when she first arrived, that could only mean one thing...

"Is it a spell?" asked Soulfire.

"It could be the crystal mirror!" Shining suggested with a smile.

Celestia and I could not share in his excitement.

Shortly after she mentioned it, I felt something strange as well. It almost felt like static electricity.

Celestia's eyes fixated themselves towards the center of the room, seeing something that I didn't. In an instant, a large, white sphere appeared where she was looking. Dazzling sparks of yellow energy flowed along the surface. Shining and Soulfire backed away from it. The sphere itself seemed rather large, reaching almost to the ceiling.

Celestia cautiously stood. I did the same, not knowing what to expect. Shining and Soulfire had told us that they didn't know how they would return home. None of us knew what exactly was happening.

So this was... magic?

We heard an unfamiliar yelp and a loud bump. The sphere vanished a second later, revealing a woman sitting on the ground. The first thing I noticed about her was her long blue hair. Princess Luna... Another pony. She groaned as she rubbed her bottom with a hand. Rough landing.

Joining her on the ground was a large brown book. I didn't recognize the design on the front, but it seemed very old.

"S-sister?" Celestia started.

Luna jumped in surprise before turning to face Celestia. A smile formed on her face as she laid eyes on her elder sister.

Luna picked up her book and slowly rose to her feet, her legs wobbling as she did. Soulfire hurried to her side to support her.

"My thanks."

"Of course, Princess."

"Wh-What are you doing here?" Celestia asked, clearly surprised to see her sister.

Luna answered with a definitive, "I've come to return you to Equestria."

I took a step out from behind Celestia to get a better look at her sister. Her face had a certain beauty that seemed out of place in this house, just like Celestia. She was a shorter woman, the top of her head not even reaching Soulfire's chin, and though her body wasn't as 'full' as Celestia's, it was still just as captivating.

That wasn't my main concern, though. I didn't care about what she looked like. All I cared about was finding out just what was going on. Part of me wasn't surprised that another pony-turned-human had been transported into my house. I had almost expected it. Even so, I had no words.

She noticed my curiosity and turned to face me.

"You must be Phil."

A chill ran down my spine as her eyes looked through me. Her gaze made me feel small. I had just met her and already felt like I was disappointing her. "Y-Yeah..." I cleared my throat and said more assuredly, "Yes. I am."

Her piercing gaze didn't change.

"Sister... how did you know his name?" Celestia asked.

Luna looked to her, her eyes softening. "I have been watching you, sister." she replied, "We found a way to observe you in this book." She displayed it to us. "I cannot tell you how much of a relief it was to know that you were safe this past month."

"Forgotten Magics?" Celestia read the title of it. At a closer glance, the book was obviously very old. Its brown binding had faded in places and the pages had a yellow hue to them.

"It was discovered within the ruins of our old castle, sister."

"The old castle? How strange... May I?"

"Of course, sister."

Luna gave the book to Celestia, who held it close to her body as she opened it. I glanced over her shoulder. I could read what it said, but I didn't understand it. From what I had gathered, it was a spellbook. That's all I knew.

Luna turned a curious gaze to her own body. She examined her hands, opening and closing them a few times. She wore a plain white t-shirt and jeans, just like Celestia when she first arrived.

Luna was here to take Celestia home. She was here to take Celestia away. This has been planned from the beginning. Ever since they realized that Celestia was missing. We've known since the guards have arrived that this would happen.

No... I didn't want Celestia to be taken away from me.

A sudden tightness in my chest caused me to gasp. At first, I was shocked to see Princess Luna. But now, hearing those words... The reality was beginning to set in.

Celestia turned her head to me. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." I replied, not-so-reassuringly.

She paused for a brief moment before lowering her head. The smile left her face as if it were never there to begin with. She knew how I felt.

Celestia and Luna began to speak. Luna spoke of Equestria, listing the problems that have plagued the country due to Celestia's absence. When she spoke to her sister, her voice was kind, nothing like it had been when she spoke to me.

"And that brings me to my next point." said Luna, gesturing to the book in her sister's arms, "A spell capable of returning you to your rightful place in Equestria."

Celestia briefly looked to the book before returning her gaze to Luna.

"The spell we found, though simple to cast, requires a great deal of energy."

"This is the spell used to send Shining Armor and Soulfire Dawn to this world?"

"It is not. Discord was the one that sent them here."

Celestia frowned. "How?"

"We don't know for sure. He wasn't very forthcoming."

"I'm surprised you weren't able to get anything more from him. Is... he the one that sent me here in the first place?" she asked.

Luna shook her head. "We don't know. To put blame on him would be..."

"So it was Discord." Celestia sighed, "Another ploy to get us away from Equestria. Or perhaps just one of his jokes."

The corner of Luna's mouth curved up in a smirk. "It's probable."

"Do you... Do you think that this spell can be used again?" I asked Luna, making sure she was finished speaking.

She shook her head, looking to me. "I don't know. Right now, the barriers between our worlds are thinner than they should be. We don't know what's causing it, but we know that it will not persist." Luna paused. For the first time as a human, she seemed unhappy. "If you are asking if you and my sister will meet again... The answer is no."

The answer is no.

What? No, that... No... This isn't how My Little Pony works. It's supposed to have... happy endings... right? Right? I know I haven't seen the show in a while, but...

I felt a tightness inside once more.

She continued. "Additionally, with any spell of its nature, there are risks. To travel between worlds is not a simple matter. This spell creates fractures along the walls of our worlds. Fractures that will not heal. If these walls break, it will no doubt spell disaster for both our worlds. And... if she were to become trapped here, we truly may never find a way for her to return."

"Luna..." Celestia's voice was faint.

"Sister... We all know how you've felt about coming home."

I looked up again.

"And... I've seen the way you two act towards each other. I know that you are... in love." She mumbled something under her breath before continuing. "I'm sorry to say this... but you need to come home. Your kingdom needs you."

Celestia let out a long breath. Her gaze turned to meet my eyes. Nothing but sorrow remained in her eyes.

"I know." Celestia said, turning back to Luna, "I know what has to be done... I've thought about this for so long. To stay or to go. What could be done differently..."

Luna looked to me. It was the same disappointed gaze at before. I knew what she felt. I did this to her sister. I was the reason her sister was in pain. At least... that's how I saw it.

My gaze shifted downwards. Luna scared me. She was nothing like her sister. Celestia's nightmare was burning in my mind. That's not going to happen here. I'll make sure it doesn't.

"Shining! Soulfire!" Celestia barked.

They both gave an abrupt, "Yes, Princess?"

Celestia opened the book and began reading a passage aloud. Shortly after, another strange white oval appeared in the middle of the room.

"Both of you are to return home immediately." she commanded.

They looked to Princess Luna, who nodded.

"As you wish, Princess." Shining said to her.

They both took deep breaths.

Soulfire turned to me. "I guess this is goodbye, isn't it?"

"I... I guess it is." I mumbled, a weakness in my voice.

"It was nice to get to know you while we were here." Shining followed.

"Yeah... Take care..." I couldn't give them full replies. My mind was stuck on Celestia.

They turned to the portal. Shining Armor stepped into the shimmering light, followed close behind by Soulfire. There was nothing on the other side of the light for us to see.

Unlike when Luna arrived, the portal did not disappear immediately.

Celestia set the book onto the table and faced the portal. Was she... already leaving?

"Phil?" she whispered, turning to me. Her eyes were so soft...

She lifted her hand to me. I rested mine on top. Celestia gently pulled me with her until we reached the portal.

"Maybe... Maybe it will work on you, Phil... Maybe we could forget this whole thing... Maybe we could be together..."

The sound of Celestia's hope cheered me up. "Yeah..."

She looked to my hand, then lifted it to the portal. To our surprise, while her hand was able to go through, mine stopped as if it had pressed against a wall.

I let go of her and rested my hand against the portal. It wasn't going through... I couldn't come with. This was it... This was it...

"Phil... My heart hurts..."

The pain in her eyes... I felt my heart in my throat as I looked at her.

"Sister..." started Luna.

Celestia turned to face her sister, gingerly wiping her tears with her hand.

"Do you really want to stay with him?" Luna asked.

Celestia looked to me, then back to her sister. "I do."

As Luna talked to her sister, her face lightened as her expression changed to a gentle sympathy.

"Would you rather live in this world than in Equestria?" Luna asked her.

Celestia hesitated before answering. "I would."

"Why?" she let out softly, almost sadly.

"I want to stay with the one I love. Is that so much to ask, sister?"

Luna looked at me again. "I've watched the two of you grow closer to each other with every passing day. The thought that you could find love so quickly... I'm happy for you sister, I truly am." A pleading tone entered her voice. "But you need to come home. I miss you. I miss my big sister."

I looked to Celestia. This was just putting more of a strain on her heart.

"I'm not proud of this." Luna continued, "I would never want to hurt you like this sister, but it must be done."

"Talking about it like this isn't going to get us anywhere." I solemnly stated. Nothing was going to change from talking. Nothing at all. It would be better if I were gone. I moved myself to the kitchen, out of the way. Nothing I wanted to say would ease the burden on Celestia. Painless words won't mean a thing.

The way Luna treated me... She resented me for the pain I caused Celestia. She was right to resent me.

My hands rested on the counter. There was nothing but pain inside. I couldn't accept this.

Someone entered the kitchen after me. It was Celestia. I knew before she said anything. I didn't turn to face her. I couldn't.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her voice quiet.

I silently shook my head.

"Say... something. Anything." she pleaded with me, "Talk to me. Please..."

"I can't." It hurts too much.

"You can't let this go. I don't want to go back. If you could convince my sister that..."

"It's not my job to convince her of anything." I said, cutting her off.

"Your... job? What do you mean, 'your job'?" For the first time since I've met her, she was becoming angry. Even a Princess can feel this way about... someone she loves...

"I don't have any say in the matter. I'm not the one that can make this decision."

She kept her voice quiet, even through her anger. "If you would just say something, then maybe I wouldn't feel so hurt!"

"If I... said something..."

"It's like you've given up already."

"I have given up, Celestia. I've always known that I wouldn't have a say in the matter. Even before our relationship turned into this, I knew that I would have no control over whether you left or not."

"Is there nothing more you can say? Is this all I am to you?!"

"What can I do?" I snapped back at her.

Celestia took in a shocked gasp.

I turned and took a step towards her, meeting her eyes as I said, "What could I possibly do to stop the woman I love from leaving my life? Could you tell me what to do? Could you, really?"

"I... I don't know."

"I don't want this, Celestia. I don't want this. You've changed my life so much and now you're just going to leave. It's not fair."

What will I say... What could I say that would let her stay with me...

I could ask her to marry me.

No... No, I couldn't. I can't say it... even then, she can't stay... No matter what I did, no matter what I said... She couldn't stay...

Her eyes were pleading with me, still expecting me to save her. She was still expecting me to say something. She needed me to say something. Anything.

I could only say one thing... "You have to go back."

She looked away. "I know." Her voice was almost silent.

Was this really the last of us?

I wrapped my arms around her without a second thought. She held me the same way.

"Celestia..."

Her arms tightened around my back. I felt tears running down my cheeks. There was no use hiding it anymore. I couldn't hold in the pain any longer.

"I-I'm not the type of person who can... hold back tears for long..." I said to her, burying my face into her shoulder. I sniffed. I couldn't stop now. "I k-knew I would break down... when it c-came to this. I'm not gonna pretend... that I'm not hurt... that I'm a strong person... B-Because I-I'm not. I never have been, I never will."

Her hand rubbed my back. "I know."

"Now... you're just going to leave... and it hurts so much. You'll b-be gone and I-I'll be alone again."

I didn't try to keep myself from crying. I couldn't. All I could do was cry on her shoulder. I didn't know what else to do.

"I don't want to say goodbye." she said, her voice quivering, "I'm not ready for this."

We stood in each other's embrace for a long time. After all this... nothing hurt more than the sounds of her sobbing. She was crying because of me. Because of what I had done. It hurt more than anything to know that I caused this. Even more than the idea of being alone again, or the thought of losing her, her quiet sobbing was the most painful thing in the world.

I had nothing to say, but I started talking anyways.

"C-Celestia... I'm not worth crying over. I know I'm not. But you're st-still crying because of me... Why did I do this? Why did I let this happen? This could've had a happy ending, today could've gone so well. But I had to love you, didn't I... I had to make you feel the same way I did. I'm sorry... I'm..."

"Sh-Shut up!" she yelled at me, pushing me away so that we could see each other properly. Tears covered her perfect cheeks. "This past month has been the best of my life and you're saying that you regret it?! How do you think that makes me feel? What about me? I felt the same way you did. I thought it was all my fault, that our relationship was a mistake."

She paused, a short series of gasps stopping her speech.

"Celestia..."

"Well, it's not!" she shouted, "It's brought me so much happiness. When I was with you, I felt free. For the first time in years, I had someone who truly loved me because of who I was... not what I was. I... I don't... I don't want to go back..."

More and more tears poured from her eyes. She rested her forehead on my chest and began to wail.

We both felt like we had caused the other to suffer. We were both blaming ourselves for the sorrow we felt in this moment. I didn't care about myself. As long as others were happy, I was happy. She wasn't happy. I wasn't able to hold back my tears, but I could hold back how hard I wanted to cry. I wanted to wail same as her. I wanted to cry like a baby. But holding her in my arms like this... I felt strong. Maybe I was stronger than I thought. Maybe I could be strong for her.

I gingerly placed my hand on the back of her head and began to stroke her long hair. Nothing I could say right now would make her pain go away. All I could muster was, "It's alright, Celestia... It's alright."

I didn't even believe what I was saying. She knew it all too well. Still, it seemed to have a calming effect on her. It took a while, but her howls of anguish slowly turned back into sniffles. She laid the side of her head against me.

"Th-Thank you..." she whispered, "Thank you for everything you've done for me... For trusting me... For giving me a place to call home... For the time you've spent with me... For the love you've given me... And for the happiness that I've felt... Thank you. I love you."

"I love you too, Celestia."

We stood motionless for a long while, wanting nothing more than to be together for just a little while longer. We both knew that it couldn't last forever. I stopped stroking her soft hair and let my hand rest on her head. Her tears were warm against my chest.

"If we only had more time... Why does this have to be goodbye? My heart is breaking..."

I pulled away from her and stared into her big, beautiful, tear-filled eyes. Our heads moved closer for a brief kiss before we returned to our embrace

It was a long time before we moved. Our attention was drawn away by a soft, "Sister."

We both looked to the doorway. Luna was standing against it, regret drawn across her face. Even she had shed a tear at our sorrows.

"Just a little while longer, Luna... Just a... little while... please."

"I'm going to return home, sister." Luna said.

"Alright..."

"And... Phil?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry... for the trouble. Goodbye, Phil. I'm afraid that this is the last time we will see each other."

Without another word, she disappeared back through the door. Luna had gone home. It wouldn't be long before Celestia did the same.

We could've stood where we were for hours and nothing would stop us. But our time was truly up. Dragging it out any longer would only prolong our suffering. Still, we held each other for as long as our hearts could take, both of us sniffling and sobbing like children without their toys.

Eventually, even this became too much for us. A twitch from Celestia told me that it was time. We slowly pulled apart, meeting each other's eyes.

Celestia...

My lips pushed against hers once more. She responded with the same affection against mine. We needed each other now more than anything. This too, would soon come to a painful end.

Our lips parted. Our bodies followed suit. Celestia started towards the front room. I followed behind. The portal was still active, waiting for her. We both stood facing it, tears running down our faces.

"I'll miss you." she said to me.

"I'll miss you too, Celestia."

As if by instinct, we faced each other and pressed our lips together for one final kiss. Our arms wrapped around each other once more. We gazed at each other until we couldn't take it anymore.

"Goodbye Celestia. I love you."

She closed her eyes and turned away, replying with a tiny voice, "Goodbye."

That was the last thing I heard before the woman I loved disappeared.

End part 1