"Princess?" the purple filly asked her mentor, looking up to see the white alicorn's face.

"Yes, Twilight?" she replied. She hoped it wasn't going to be another philosophical question that had no answer that would sate the filly's appetite for knowledge. It always was, wasn't it?

"Can I ask a question?"

"I don't see why not."

The two stood atop the castle on a high balcony overlooking the orange coated land as the sun princess placed the unitary star out of sight below the horizon. The shadows were long and warped.

Twilight tried scuffing the perfect white marble of the platform with her hoof as she thought of way to ask her question without sounding dumb. "Uhm...."

"Come on, Twilight you can ask." Please don't be one of those questions.

"Okay... how big is the sun?"

"Wel—"

The easily excited unicorn cut her off. "I mean, I mean, there is a bunch of stuff that's bigger than the sun, like the moon, or there are things like mountains that are sooo much bigger, so... I mean.... And it looks so small, but when I try and use my magic on it nothing happens and I get really tired, so how big is it?"

Celestia waited for her student to finish before she responded; when she was sure her spiel was over, she answered. "Well, Twilight, the sun is very, very big."

"But why does it look so small?"

"That's because it's very, very far away."

"But... the moon looks bigger than the sun...."

"Ah, it is not. The moon is very big, but I can assure you it's not bigger than the sun."

"But... how big?"

"Hm.... what do I compare it to? Well, I guess you should start by thinking of the biggest thing you know. What is it?"

"Well... I saw this rock that was pretty big once.... Wait, no, the castle...."

"Is that it?"

"No! I mean, excuse me princess, I didn't mean—"

The mare shushed the filly. "It's quite alright, Twilight."

"I-I meant, the biggest thing is a mountain, yeah, that's the biggest thing I know of."

"Okay, Twilight, now try imagining eight mountains in a cube."

She closed her eyes in concentration, which made the princess stifle a giggle. "Okay."

"Now, take that cube of mountains, and make a cube of mountain cubes."

"Okay. Is that how big the sun is?"

"No, no. The sun, well...." She paused. "Let's go back to the mountain cube of mountain cubes. Keep on making mountain cubes, and after a million million mountain cubes, you'll have something as big as the sun."

"Whoa! I can't picture that!" She made a frown. "Sorry...."

"I can't picture it either, Twilight; nopony can."

"Really?"

"Yes. The sun is so big that I'm afraid that we will never be able to truly appreciate it."

"Oh, okay."

Wow, I dodged cannon fire. Thank heavens.

The two turned around and walked through the intricately carved arches. The mason truly did magnificent work, thought the princess.

"Princess... can I ask you another question?"

"Of course. What is it?" Here we go again....

"What's bigger than the sun?"

"Well..." She took a moment to interpret the question. I can think of one thing bigger than the sun.... "If you were to go back to the thought experiment with the mountain, and you took that sun-sized mountain cube, if you added another mountain to it, that'd be bigger than the sun."

"I mean... like, what's really bigger than the sun?"

She rethought the question. "I suppose, Twilight, the sum of everything is bigger than the sun. Everything you can see; the night sky, the things beyond the distant horizon, the soil under your hooves. If you add it all up, It's bigger than the sun."

"Oh...."

The two continued walking while the sun princess had a cynical thought. This is going to bite me in the rear later, I just know it.

The stars had come out, and the guards had changed shifts.

The sole-alicorn-of-the-land's personal student had taken some time to think about what her teacher had told her, and she had even more late-night questions than usual. The purple unicorn walked out the mess hall with her mentor after a lovely, quiet dinner. The food tasted wonderful, but the little filly had qualms that still left a bad taste in her mouth.

She looked up at the ruler, and asked her last question of the night with a grim expression. "Princess, if... if everything is bigger than the sun, why is it so important? Why I am I here when everything's so much bigger? Why do I have to do all this stuff?"

Celestia was visibly surprised at her student, and stopped in her tracks. "Whatever do you mean?"

The apprentice stopped and turned around with sorrowful eyes. "I just.... You said that everything is bigger than the sun, and that means it's not important right? I mean, if the sun's not the biggest thing, then it's not the most important, and so why am I here?"

"Twilight, where did this come from?"

"Earlier, when you said that the sum of everything is bigger than the sun... I don't know... it's not right...."

"Why is it not right?"

"Because now it just feel so pointless... I mean, there's just so much other stuff, and it's all bigger than this.... so why am I here?"

Celestia recognized these feelings, she herself having fallen victim to them more than she would like to admit. "I think you misunderstand me, Twilight. The world... it... it's just as important as anything else. I said nothing about importance."

"But—"

"Please, let me finish. Everything is huge. It's incomprehensibly huge."

"But, but... it's so big, and I'm here."

"And you're here. Are you happy here?"

"I mean, I was...."

"Then it does not matter."

"But why?"

"Because we are ponies: simple minded ponies. We cannot fathom the immensity of it all, and that's okay. We have our place. We try to understand everything, and we may get close, but it will never be complete.

"I'm not saying that you should not strive for greatness, but do not linger on these things. Twilight, I once thought the way you are thinking now, and I was close to running Equestria into ruin. Do not let these thoughts plague you."

"But I.... I'm missing out...."

"No, you are not, Twilight. You're not missing out. There are ponies that love you, you don't go hungry, you have a warm bed. Ponies want only these things. If they have these things, ponies are happy."

"But I don't like that...."

"Then, Twilight, don't think about it. I know it's terribly unorthodox, but that's the way it is."

Twilight silently pouted. The princess didn't understand....

"Twilight, please. I know it's hard; a lot of ponies realise something like this eventually. And they simply don't think about it. I said it earlier; I've had these thoughts before, and they are disheartening. Maybe they are even true.

"But don't think about it. Carry on, and be as happy as you possibly can. Be happy that you even have a place as mighty as you do. Think about how insects must feel."

"I... I'll try, princess. But I don't like it...."

"Again, Twilight, I understand. Just know that you do have a place. And Twilight? I don't know if it helps, but you are part of that sum, the sum that is bigger than the sun. You are bigger than the sun."

Twilight smiled. "Okay, princess."

Author's Note

Just something I threw together in... wow... an hour in a half.