I need a break.
It was a thought that came to her out of nowhere, and the solar diarch's ears twitched as it manifested itself at the forefront of her attention. Sitting in her throne, overseeing the petty squabbles of her political peers in what she dared call the Court of the Sun--if it could even be referred to as a "court", which she did not believe it rightfully could, as the debates rarely escalated beyond what one might equate to a schoolyard scuffle; a fitting analogy, considering the striking resemblance of the ranking court members to foals, both in age (relative to the princess herself) and in their apparent lack of maturity, tact, or any semblance of intelligence whatsoever--Princess Celestia was starting to grow bored. Bored and fed up. She let out a long, quiet sigh, waiting for the nagging thought to recede to the back of her mind where she could dismiss it, just as she hoped she could dismiss the court before she started to drool, snore, or decompose, whichever came first.
It didn't, and she couldn't.
Celestia brought up a hoof to rub her eyes, a motion that did not go unnoticed by several of the court attendees. Idly she wondered if the blunt edge of the fitted golden shoe would be capable of splitting her skull open without drawing too much attention to herself. Even if some important brain matter were to spill from the wound, she suspected it would be a less mind-numbing experience than the one she currently found herself suffering through.
The shoe was very cool against her cheek. Yes, refreshing even, like a pleasant breeze on a scorching summer day. Not that she minded warm temperatures (she was the Princess of the Sun, after all), but even for her, an unusual heat wave could be quite stifling. She traced her hoof along her jaw, feeling the smooth metal slide effortlessly across her skin, eventually coming to rest beneath her chin. Her foreleg wiggled in search of the armrest, and as she relaxed the weight of her head on her hoof her eyelids began to droop and by Starswirl's beard he's still talking.
That pony had been talking for nearly four minutes without interruption. Guhhh.
A few heads turned towards her, and she felt her stomach lurch. Hopefully she hadn't groaned out loud... Some of the more outspoken Canterlot nobles would surely have something to say about that. Luckily, the ponies seemed to be just as bored as she was, shifting anxiously in their seats as the bickering continued. Maybe she should look into adjusting her schedule; a late evening court session would make for a terrific sleep-inducing agent.
Just as Celestia was beginning to consider reorienting the sun in such a way that its rays would shine through the wall-sized windows behind her, reflect off the gilded statue in the corner and glare into the eyes of the nearest pony on her left, a loud chime rang out through the hall; the court session was over. Oh, thank... me. Celestia forced a smile onto her face and dismissed the dozen-odd ponies in the room, sharing in their grumbling as they shuffled out the door. Finally, with the echoing slam of the large door across the room, the princess let out a groaning sigh and slumped down like a schoolfilly at her desk.
She needed a break. That thought had firmly rooted itself into her brain, and it wasn't about to disappear anytime soon. Not just an hour off for lunch in between a court meeting and a public address, no; she needed a day off. Briefly she pondered whether she could afford the luxury of an entire week of vacation... no, no, that idea was quickly struck from her mind. She couldn't put that kind of stress on Luna (nor did she dare to provide her sister with such a weighty bargaining chip). No, a day would suffice.
Pulling herself out of her seat, she began the exhaustingly long trek through the halls to her quarters. She ran through her mental checklist for tomorrow, the clip-clop of her hooves on the tiled floors providing a sort of rhythm to her thoughts.
Breakfast with Lulu. Of course! She was avoiding the throne room, not the kitchen.
Raise the sun. That was simple enough.
Morning security and maintenance check. Hmm... Well, she could have one of the ranking officers survey the Royal Guard and send her a report. As for maintenance... She supposed she could let a few crooked picture frames and dusty corners slide for one day.
Early court session. She grimaced at that. Perhaps the--no, she knew for a fact that Equestria would survive without an assembly of snobs whining to her about their financial and political disputes. The Canterlot elite might have a few choice words for her at the meetings overmorrow, but they'd likely care less about that than they would about presenting a new array of "urgent issues" for her to attend to.
Lunch. On the mental image of her checklist on a roll of parchment, a quill traced an arrow pointing to the checkbox in front of Breakfast with Lulu, followed by a quickly scrawled SEE ABOVE in the margin. Grinning slightly, she continued to the next item.
Afternoon court. The quill scratched angrily through that line, then repeatedly stabbed into the parchment, leaving heavy splatters of ink oozing from the holes like the horrid blackish blood that she suspected ran through the veins of most of the court officials. Before her imagination decided to simply dump the remainder of the inkwell over the infernal checklist, she shook her head, turning a corner in the palace halls.
Dinner. Her stomach growled as the word entered her mind, and she contemplated changing course for the kitchen; her leaden hooves and stiff neck convinced her otherwise, however, and she resumed inching her way towards her room, and thereby her bed. She nearly collapsed right there on the floor just thinking about the plush mattress, silk sheets, satin pillows, and a lack of any royal garments on her person...
She could have dinner brought to her room tonight.
Once she turned the next corner of the labyrinth, her eyes fell upon her bedroom door, and she eagerly picked up the pace. Trotting into her room, she shook off her shoes, pulled off her crown and necklace, and dove face-first onto the bed. She let out a contented sigh, her limp body sinking into the cool sheets as she buried her muzzle in the puffy pillows.
"Raven?" She called out pitifully, clicking the intercom button across the room with a quick spell. "Tell the kitchen I'd like my dinner served in my chambers tonight, please?"
A scratchy voice responded over the small speaker embedded in the wall just above the button. "Very well, Princess. I'll inform them right away."
She rolled over onto her back, sighing yet another sigh. When had she last truly taken a day off, just for herself? No political obligations, no golden ornaments binding her body, no celestial fireball binding her soul... She couldn't even remember. It had been no less than a millenium, she concluded, as she would have relied on Luna to take control over the sun for her.
But now that Luna had returned... Celestia sat up in bed, tapping one of her forehooves against her chin. Luna had demonstrated in the past that she was perfectly capable of taking on Celestia's duties for short periods of time. In the good old days of forever ago, the two sisters had agreed on occasion to cover for each other when one was in need of a simple period of rest and relaxation. Beyond some negligible differences in the fluidity with which each of them moved the sun and moon across the sky, there had never been any major issues with this arrangement (in fact, nopony ever seemed to have suspected a thing).
As far as Celestia was concerned, she had plenty of vacation time saved up after shouldering the weight of both the sun and moon for a thousand years. Besides, it was only going to be one day. Well... two, tops. Luna would understand.
The princess wore a wide grin as a green pony in a white coat pushed a large trolley into her room and parked it alongside her bed, gave a quick bow, and retreated outside. She called out a quick thank-you before he departed, then telekinetically lifted the covers from several of the platters on the cart and dug right in.
Princess Luna liked the Court of the Moon.
For one thing, there were rarely more than half a dozen ponies joining her at such late hours of the night (rather, ridiculously early in the morning), a fact which only served to make the pompous court attendees more nervous. For another, it gave her a terrific opportunity to use the royal Canterlot voice whenever some righteous oaf got a bit too big for his britches. Each night, without fail, somepony or other would show up after an unsatisfactory session with Celestia with intentions of appealing to her little sister, only to be blown back (sometimes literally) by the unexpected power of the royal Canterlot voice.
Princess Luna liked the royal Canterlot voice.
Alas, she now found herself more quietly calling the late night court to a close, rising from the throne with a luxurious stretch. Her tail flicking behind her, she strode out of the room behind the few ponies who had been in attendance. Turning on her heels, she made her way to the kitchen, where a drowsy yet seemingly cheerful Celestia was just standing from her seat at one end of the table.
"Forgive me for eating without you, Lulu," Celestia mumbled, fighting a yawn. "I didn't exactly sleep for very long last night, so I decided to get an early start." She gave a sheepish grin, though Luna could make out an underlying bit of excitement.
"'Tis quite alright, dear sister," Luna assured her, matching her smile with an amused one of her own. "Thou seemst quite chipper this morning. As thou didst yesterday evening. What may have transpired to cause thee such pleasure?"
Celestia tightened her smile; she looked positively... devious. Luna didn't like that. "Oh, nothing much. Just something I've got planned for later today." She stepped aside and pushed in her chair, then turned to leave. "I'll be waiting in my room to raise the sun when you're ready to lower the moon. Have a nice breakfast."
"We--I shall. See you soon." Luna watched her sister leave before taking a seat herself, finding a fresh platter of food slid under her nose before she was even fully settled. Muttering her thanks to the server, she inspected the meal: biscuits, a muffin, a helping of hay browns, and a single daisy, with a large cup of tea pushed off to the side. Try as she might, she was having a difficult time getting reacquainted with the modern fare. That wasn't to say she didn't like it... Just that it seemed an unusual choice to serve biscuits and muffins as a meal, rather than as a side dish and a dessert, respectively.
On that thought... She'd been having some trouble getting back into the swing of things in general. In contrast to readily fulfilling her political duties as co-ruler, she hadn't had much success in adapting to the changes Equestrian society had undergone in her absence. Social norms had been replaced by new ones, the media had a much larger role in everyday life, the art world had been completely turned upon its head, and ponies had an overall different outlook on... well, pretty much everything.
The few times she had attempted to reach out to the citizens had been met with varying degrees of success. Nightmare Night in Ponyville had turned out well enough, but she'd tried two other times to visit taverns that yielded less than positive results. First had been Canterlot; despite the lack of ale on the menu, she'd been surprised by the more modern choices of beverages. That said, she'd been less than satisfied by her company, which had consisted of several nobles and businessponies that, if she had to be honest, she didn't care to be around. The second tavern had been a small establishment in Fillydelphia that, while its booths had been a bit too small for her to be comfortable, had had an inviting atmosphere.
The unfortunate truth of the matter, however, was that she had had no success in fitting in. Admittedly, it was quite difficult for a pony to blend into a crowd when she was an alicorn who stood nearly a foot higher than the average mare; but she couldn't help wishing for the chance to be treated equally in the eyes of the public. Everypony felt the need to put on a show for her and her sister, and while it was understandable (and flattering), it left a bitter taste in her mouth to be treated as royalty on the few occasions that she actually went out of her way to just get away from it all, to escape to a quiet bar or restaurant for a drink and some friendly chatter.
It was around that time that the Princess of the Night noticed she'd long since finished her breakfast and been staring down into her teacup for almost five minutes. Shaking her head, she sipped up the last of the tea, stood from her seat, and made for her bedroom.
There was an extra little bounce in the alicorn's step as she traversed the halls; the fiery court session and heavy breakfast had left her feeling energized, and she found her thoughts returning to the topic of socializing. Perhaps she'd give it another go sometime soon; Ponyville was sure to have a decent restaurant or two, and the ponies there had appeared pleasant. They, too, had been awed by her royal presence, though... A frown worked its way across her face. If only she could just take on the guise of a normal pony, one unremarkable in appearance, so that she might see the world through the eyes of the commoners... if only.
She blinked. Of course! Why hadn't she thought of that sooner? Nopony would be able to treat her with such unnatural reverence if she wasn't herself! Now, how to go about it...
She could probably use an illusory cloaking spell combined with a transformation spell to change her appearance... A minor pressure spell to alter her voice, and a levitation spell to decrease her apparent weight--Tia's comment from the other day about her "bulky" blue flanks had nothing to do with this, as alicorns were simply heavy by nature.
As the list of precautionary spells continued to grow in her mind, her concentrated frown deepened. Such spells were tricky to combine and were draining when used in moderation. Using them for the extent of a full day, or even a long afternoon, was likely out of the question. So much for that.
Grumbling to herself, Luna marched into her room, throwing back the curtains to reveal the beginnings of today's sunrise. Celestia was likely at a similar position in her own room, waiting for Luna to start lowering the moon so she could raise her sun. The princess sighed, a tiny smile washing the scowl from her visage as she thought of her sister. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the framed photograph of the two Royal Sisters propped up on her dresser, and she turned to gaze fondly at it. While technology had been quite primitive at the time the photo was taken--just a few years prior to her banishment, she recalled--it captured the two of them quite well: Celestia nuzzling up under her "little" sister's chin, while Luna herself--more than a foot taller than Celestia at the time--sat with her hooves wrapped around the white alicorn's barrel. That had been one of the last times her older sister had given her control over the sun in addition to the moon, before mistrust and rebellion had begun to drive the two apart.
Lifting the frame in her magic, she pulled it closer to her, her smile widening. That picture had always been one of her favorites. With her somewhat modest pink mane and tail, Princess Celestia was nearly unrecognizable. Hay, if not for the presence of both a horn and wings, she could easily have passed for an ordinary pony.
Oh. Oh!
The frame nearly slipped from her grip, but Luna shook her head, reclaiming the picture before it could smash into the floor. Setting it back on the dresser, she turned to her window with a renewed vigor, anticipation rushing through her veins. She could feasibly slough off her innate connection to the moon for one day to go explore the transformed lands of her nation. It'd provide a suitable disguise; a simple illusory spell would hide her horn... or perhaps her wings. Both? Bah, she could decide on that later.
Besides, she hadn't many pressing issues to attend to during the day; while Celestia was in court or addressing the public, Luna tended to sleep and read. While the palace's collection of history books had provided some helpful information pertaining to the revolutionary changes Equestria had undergone during its millenium-long status as a monarchy, no book could compare to the power of a genuine, down-to-Equus conversation.
Perfect timing, too, she realized; with Celestia in such a good mood (for whatever reason), she'd no doubt be willing to take over for her while she gallivanted about the streets of some city or other. She'd always encouraged Luna in her attempts to adapt to this new world. After all, she'd been handling both sun and moon for no less than a thousand years--what was one more day?
"I don't think I could stand even one more day of all this," Celestia mumbled to herself, lazily observing the moon as she waited for Lulu to begin its descent. At this point, there wasn't a single doubt in her mind about her planned vacation; she'd stopped second-guessing her decision the moment the words "morning court" had rudely wormed their way into her mind during breakfast. If any living pony were entitled to a sick day, it was the one with the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Actually, now that she thought about it, the sun was at least 300,000 times the mass of Equus; she didn't have the weight of the world on her shoulders, she had the weight of several hundred thousand worlds on her shoulders.
In short, there was no chance in Tartarus she was about to change her mind. Were the seas to wash away the land, the dead to be raised from their graves, and the universe to collapse in on itself, Princess Celestia of Equestria would not be punching in today.
Ah, there was Luna with the setting of the moon. Her magic flared, and the sun gently rose above the horizon, mirrored by the moon's descent out of sight. Within moments, the night was washed away by a soft light, and the sky stilled as the two sisters finished the bi-daily ritual, the glowing aura around their horns fading away.
With the sun blazing among the heavens and her crown, necklace, and shoes placed neatly beside her bed, Celestia took a deep breath, feeling a nervous tingle in her legs. It had been far too long. Her focus shifted inward; gently, tentatively, she reached into her core, feeling that all-too-familiar warmth that had both burdened and comforted her for generations. Her eyes fell shut, and she envisioned it: a flickering flame at the very center of her being, her own tiny piece of the immense, molten ball of light that hovered however many millions of miles away. She drove deeper, pressing into that core, embracing the wave of heat that met her spiritual touch.
In her mind's eye, she came to sense the slight strain on her conscience. A tendril of light that seemed to originate not from here, but from above, revealed itself to be wrapped around her, harnessing her to... something. Slowly, Celestia opened her eyes.
A faint, laser-like beam of light stretched from the very tip of her horn and off into the distance, disappearing from sight as it approached her sun. She tugged gently on her end, the yellowish ball of light pulsing in response. A small grin spread across her muzzle; sometimes, with how hectic and trying her life could be, it felt more like she was the one leashed to the sun than the other way around.
Gingerly she untied the knots fastening her to that "leash" of sorts, finding them stiff and toughened. Understandable, as they'd been strained taut since last Luna had relieved her of her duties. With some prodding and pulling (and, she'd admit, just the slightest bit of frustration), she loosened the bindings, holding onto that presence just a moment longer.
For the first time in more than a thousand years, Princess Celestia released her connection to the sun. The sensation... was incredible. A weight unlike any physical burden she'd ever carried lifted from her shoulders, and she let out a long, purring sigh. Opening her eyes--she didn't remember when she'd closed them--she watched through half-lidded eyes as the beam of light went slack, then slowly drifted away, a piece of string fluttering in a gentle breeze. It'd arrive in a moment or so at her sister's bedroom and attach itself to her.
Celestia turned and surveyed her room, her expression absolutely oozing contentment. Everything seemed... bigger, she noticed. Not bigger, but taller. She glanced in the full-length mirror on the near wall, cocking her head at the pink-maned mare that stared back. Ah, she'd nearly forgotten about that. A wave of nostalgia overtook her, and she couldn't keep her face from splitting into a wide grin. Making a beeline for her bed--the edge of which was now level with her muzzle--she dove in among the covers, surrounded on all sides by seemingly endless spans of silk. She flopped onto her back, staring up at her ceiling with glee.
What to do? She wondered. It had been an eternity and a half since she'd found herself in this state, and she was going to make the most of it. Perhaps a massage? It'd work wonders for her; the business of politics wasn't one that left a pony feeling particularly limber, and she'd certainly been feeling the stress of leadership as of late. The royal masseuse was--
Hm. That brought another thought to mind: she couldn't let her staff see her in this form. Questions and concerns would arise if she was identified, especially if she had to explain that she'd temporarily left control of the sun to somepony else (even if it did happen to be the only other co-ruler of the nation). Even if she disguised her horn and/or wings and thereby went unrecognized, a stray mare roaming the halls of Canterlot Castle would likely meet some unpleasant consequences.
It seemed a journey far away from the castle was in order. Perhaps even... out of Canterlot? It didn't take long for Ponyville to come to mind, and her smile stretched even wider. Yes! She could foresee an enjoyable day of exploring the town in disguise, mingling with the amiable citizens, getting that massage at the spa Rarity seemed so fond of... maybe paying a surprise visit to her diligent protégé...
Ooh, this was going to be fun. Celestia giggled, almost surprising herself with the slightly high-pitched titter. Would Twilight be able to see through her? Or perhaps Rarity, with her eye for detail? She supposed it was a possibility, but an unlikely one with few foreseeable consequences beyond a shocked reaction or two. Even better.
In the event she wasn't discovered, it would certainly be an interesting peek into Twilight's everyday life without being influenced by the stress of her mentor's royal presence. It might be a way for her to better get to know the other Elements as well.
Well, it appeared she'd already decided what to do today; that just left the matter of sneaking out. The combination of her reduced height with the phrase "sneaking out" left her feeling strangely young and rebellious. Fortunately, the princess was quite familiar with the castle grounds, as well as with several unguarded escape routes. Springing from her bed, she trotted over to the glass doors across from her bedroom door and pushed them open, basking in the morning light that poured in around her. She stood there on her balcony for no less than a minute, taking deep breaths of the cool, fresh air; eventually, with a little wiggle of her hindquarters, she leapt over the railing of the balcony and spread her wings, soaring in tight circles to the ground below.
It was a strange experience, flying again in this smaller body. She could feel the wind whizzing through her feathers much more prominently without the usual bulky down of her wings to buffer it. She felt significantly lighter, not only due to her reduced size, but also her freedom from her inner link to the sun, and she was traveling noticeably faster than usual as she spiraled downwards.
Her hooves hit the ground with a thump, and she fluttered her wings excitedly, folding them tight against her sides. Casting a quick spell, the glow around her horn gradually faded to reveal nothing but the pink strands of her mane on her forehead. She turned to inspect her appearance; she appeared as inconspicuous as any pegasus, her cutie mark having shrunken down to a less intricately-designed sun, partially obscured by a small cloud. She smiled; that would do nicely.
Not wasting another moment, Celestia trotted into her garden, navigating the maze of flora in a few minutes. Casting a few quick looks around, she flew from the edge of the garden and over the massive stone wall before her, landing silently outside the palace perimeter. Leaving nothing more than a breath of relief in her wake, she dashed off in the direction of the Canterlot train station.
