The Sun's Torment

by TheAshenKnight

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Celestia, Sad, Princess Luna, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 2557

It has been over seven hundred years since the banishment of Nightmare Moon. They say time heals all, but some wounds cut too deeply to ever heal the scar. Celestia is reminded of this every night. Then she finds a book.

It has been over seven hundred years since the banishment of Nightmare Moon. They say time heals all, but some wounds cut too deeply to ever heal the scar. Celestia is reminded of this every night.

Then she finds a book.

~~~

Thanks to these awesome fellows for looking over this and pounding my grammar mistakes, repeat of words, and general problems into oblivion!... Well, mostly. I'm not perfect. :twilightsheepish:

m1ntf4n
PheonixStarr

Story inspired heavily by this wonderful song (Original) (Animated <-- This one is incredible). If you haven't heard it, go take a listen!

Published 2015-09-05 20:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-09-05 20:30:02 UTC

The Sun's Torment

The clock was ticking. Its pendulum swung back and forth in a mesmerising pattern, almost putting Celestia under a spell. It moved slower and slower with every pass. Tick. Tock. Tick… Tock...

She looked back up at the clock’s ornate face, decorated with likenesses of ponies and hands fashioned in the shapes of the sun and the moon.

Turning back toward the pendulum, she realised it was no longer ticking. No, it hadn’t been ticking for a while now. Not for years...

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. “Excuse me, Princess Celestia,” a voice said, “it’s nearly sunset.”

“Thank you. I’ll attend to it shortly,” she called, her eyes fixed on the clock.

Celestia rose to her hooves and made her way to the door, pausing before the exit to take a glance back out a window to the tired sun hanging just above the horizon. Already she could feel the night coming.

She left her room, proceeding down the long corridor toward a more secluded sanctum. Despite a guard having been there less than a minute before, the corridor was deserted and deathly silent. Where the guard had gone didn’t concern her. He wasn’t alone; others would be waiting nearby if anything happened. And she needed the privacy.

She rounded a corner to be faced with a shorter corridor that ended with a single, plain door, light streaming from underneath it. Shortly before, the hall dipped off to the side, making a small alcove. Inside was another door, constructed with black onyx, as if it were futilely attempting to hide itself in the shadows.

Celestia paused at this point, as she did every night time gave her enough respite for wanderings. Her eventual destination was just ahead of her, out into the afternoon breeze, but she felt as though an invisible force had gripped her heart and ripped it toward the ebony doorway. And she complied.

Rusted hinges protested with an earsplitting screech as they were compelled into motion, and out flew the musty smell of mold and mildew.

It had once been grand, but the deep navy and violets that used to permeate every piece of cloth in the room had now faded to a light shade of blue. Heavy curtains hung in tatters over a dirty window, eaten away by the rotting of time.

The room was relatively bare, having a single dusty wardrobe, a bookshelf sitting directly in front of Celestia, and a large decaying bed next to the wall that was taking up the majority of the space. The bed was covered in a light canopy strewn with holes, showing dilapidated silk sheets, a moth-eaten pillow, and completely rusted brass posts. At the far end of the room was a glass door leading out to a small balcony, through which the sun cast its golden rays.

Celestia’s gaze panned across the dank room, breathing in the stale air as she did so. Memories came flooding back to her, some of them more pleasant than others. In front of the door she could almost see the silhouette of the pony who once lived there.

She took a few steps inside and began to examine everything more closely. She had done this thousands of times before, but each time she learned something new about its prior occupant. She learned where she had paced by the wear in the rug, where she had sat in contemplation by the indention in the cushion, and where she had huddled in the dark, crying, by the streaks of dried tears on the pillow.

Celestia walked over to the window to take another look outside, where the pony would have seen all the sunrises, sunsets, and glimmer of the moon each day. Though the balcony outside was in surprisingly good condition, it was certainly showing wear; it hadn’t been used in over seven hundred years. Beyond its banisters, twilight stretched over the form of dark trees. It was nearly time.

Then a crack sounded out from behind her.

Celestia whipped around in surprise, just in time to see a large chunk of stone falling from the ceiling, followed by a billow of dust and a thump. The dust flew everywhere, biting at her eyes. She coughed, waving it away with a hoof and blinking rapidly, before it settled.

Lying on the floor below the hole in the ceiling was a tome she had never seen before. On its cover was an embroidering of the crescent moon, but otherwise it was a plain, leather-bound book.

Curious, Celestia picked it up, examining it from all sides, before flipping to the first page.

22nd of October, Year 12 of the Unification of Equestria

First of all, I must apologise for the future confusion this date may cause. I have yet to have learned of any formal naming convention for the date since Celie and I’s coronation, and have thus decided to, for the time being, refer to the date as above. This might change in the future.

As for the nature of this volume, I, Princess Luna, intend to keep a private journal of our affairs. Entries will not be daily, and almost entirely spontaneous, but after the recent acquisition of our cutie marks, I felt as though it might be apt to create a diary of my own, so I may later share my unique perspective of events.As mentioned, we have recently obtained our cutie marks...

Celestia sat, stunned. All these years, just above her head was a wealth of knowledge and insight to her sister. Captivated, she flipped a few more pages.

24th of December, Year 16 of the Unification of Equestria

This Hearth’s Warming Eve party was one of the best I have ever had the pleasure of attending. I am still fond of the name ‘Unification Day,’ but I must admit that Hearth’s Warming has a nice ring to it. I suppose it gets its deeper meaning across to the populace better than my idea.

Anyway, I hope in the future all these events are as wonderful as this was, though I fear none will quite live up to the legacy this one has created. After all, it was the first we have held at the new castle! At long last, our work is complete, and now we may share the fruits of our labour with others...

Celestia was reeling, memories flooding back to her of the exact same Hearth’s Warming Eve party. All of Equestria was invited, and so many had come that they had to expand the reception to the entire grounds of the castle, and there still wasn’t enough room. I had no idea she recorded all this.

At the back of her mind, a dark curiosity crawled forward. Just how long did she keep writing entries? Did she mention... She had to know.

She turned toward the back of the book, where she saw that about the last eighth of it was blank. Moving backward, she found text once more, went back a few pages, and began to read.

13th of May, Year 82 of the Unification of Equestria

The results were the same again tonight; nopony was awake.

I fully realise what time it was, but one would think that at least somepony would be out stargazing, or perhaps on a midnight run, or whatever it is that ponies do nowadays. But there was nothing.

Perhaps I need to revise my approach. Simply pouring my heart and soul into the canvas of the sky is not quite enough for them; they need something more. Tomorrow night, I will try a meteor shower, and see if that gets any response. Yet, that may fall through as well. I need some way to advertise it. Perhaps I can convince Celie to allow the creation of a holiday.

Well, holiday or not, I have to try something. This is far more disturbing than I had previously thought.

~~~

14th of May, Year 82 of the Unification of Equestria

The holiday idea fell through. Celie said while she liked the sound of the idea, it simply was not strong enough to hold as a holiday. She recommended an event instead.

While fine for this specific instance, what of the future? Two hundred years from now, will it still be spoken of? Celie, can you not see that is not enough? Would I need to hold an event once more? What if nopony came? The only reliable way to obtain attendees is a royal decree, and I am not sure I can provide that sufficiently enough anymore.

Have ponies forgotten about the night? Have they forgotten about one of their Princesses?

I shall retire soon to explore the Dreamscape. Perhaps I will find answers there. I will return shortly to record my findings.

~~~

Well, now I know the truth; they truly do not care for the night. There are no harsh feelings, but rather, there is indifference. That almost makes it worse. How could I know what to fix? How does one change indifference? I have already done everything I could think of. What more could they want? Do they require a feat of strength each night, a full show with an orchestra and concessions?

Worse yet, Celestia’s day seems to get more of the attention than anything I have ever seen in their dreams. I am unsure if I have just been ignorant of the fact, or if this is a recent change, but… I do not know what to make of it.

I am going to talk to Celie tomorrow to get more advice. Maybe this time she will not cast me away like my opinions mean nothing.

~~~

15th of May, Year 82 of the Unification of Equestria

It is no use; something has come over my sister as well. I wore my heart on my sleeve for her, let her hear my fears, my desires, my dreams, and what did she say?

“Give it time.”

I will give it some time, Celie, but not long. It has been months now. Years, even. I do not know when this all started, but I have been living with it for a while now. I will give it time, but if in that time nothing changes, you and I are going to have words, and most of them will be unpleasant.

In the meantime, I have been thinking over a few ideas as to what I could do to possibly make my night more ‘exciting’ for those uncultured masses. Perhaps an Ursa attack would startle them out of their complacency.

Celestia breathed deeply as she turned another page. She had but one remaining before the end of Luna’s journal. She started to read.

21st of June, Year 82 of the Unification of Equestria

It has been over a month now, and still no change.

Why do they ignore me so? Why has my own sister turned against me?

She stands on her podium, basking in the glory of all of Equestria, while I sulk in her shadow. What did she ever do to deserve it that I have not also done? Why am I forced to resign the spotlight?

Physically, I stand right beside her, but I know that in reality I am no more than a pawn to her. But no longer.

The words were written furiously, deep gashes of ink cutting across the page.

She thinks she can move me out of the spotlight, does she? Who does she think she is? Why is she the superior sister? Nay, I am ashamed to even call her that now.

Sister.

No, she is no longer my sister. She does not care for me. Not anymore, if she ever did.

I have put up with this long enough. You think you can take everything from me. You think you can make them all hate me, and blind them all with your precious light. And, what is more, you think I would not do anything about it. You were wrong!

Tonight, it is going to change. Tonight, sister, I am going to put you back in your place.

Tonight, the night will last forever!

…

The Princess of the Sun stared in awe at the final sentences, the words flowing across the page in deep, angled fury, written with enough venom to poison her thoughts even now.

These were her sister’s final, raging thoughts before she went to go confront her. Nothing but jealousy and malice were in those words, in stark contrast to her previous entries.

Yet, she was still her sister.

Up until the very last day, she had tried everything she could to be noticed. She had begged her, worked as much as she could, but it was all for naught. And who had she blamed? Celestia.

And rightfully so.

She was the only one who Luna had trusted enough with her problems to come to and attempt to fix them. She alone was there for her when nopony else was. Until she wasn’t.

Surely she hadn’t let the spotlight get to her as Luna had assumed. That was ridiculous.

Then, why?

She asked herself that question again. And again. Yet no answer came.

Why?

…

… Was she blind? Had she truly not seen the obvious? Had the glare of adoration broken her apart from her sister?

Regardless of the cause, it had happened. She had neglected the one who she loved most.

She sat down for a moment, pondering everything she had just read. It soaked in slowly as her mind processed Luna’s emotion. For the first time since her banishment, she truly understood why her sister had done what she did. It was more than mere jealousy; she had felt alone.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. “Excuse me Princess,” said a voice, “But it’s past time for the sun to set. We didn’t want to disturb you, but it’s getting extremely late…”

“I-it’s quite alright. Sorry for the delay.”

She stood and flung the door open, its hinges protesting once more, and strode out. She cast a glance back at the room, looking at the journal again, before enveloping it in a yellow glow. She would take just this one thing.

Turning back to the hallway, she moved toward her final destination again. Outside the door was another worn balcony, just above the treeline. In the distance, the top of the tired sun could be seen, waiting for the final command to go to rest.

Celestia closed her eyes in concentration, and her horn glowed as the sun went the final stretch down underneath the horizon. Soon, all was dark, and hundreds of tiny white lights could be seen twinkling in the sky. A few minutes later, the moon followed the old path of the sun, working its way upward to hang in the middle of the night sky.

She opened her eyes, a small streak running down her cheek.

I can’t make the night last forever, Luna, but I can certainly make it a night to remember.

Good night, and…

Please forgive me.

Author's Note

Thanks to these awesome fellows for looking over this and pounding my grammar mistakes, repeat of words, and general problems into oblivion!... Well, mostly. I'm not perfect. :twilightsheepish:

m1ntf4n
PheonixStarr

You rock, woohoo! :yay: