Princess Celestia laid on the field that overlooked Canterlot. She felt that it'd been too long since she was up here. She had taken off her royal garments and set them to one side.The sun shone down, illuminating the city grounds at the base of the fields. There was an aura of grey that surrounded her, like a mist that wouldn't clear, a state of depression that she couldn't see herself through.
She felt a terrible weight on her shoulders. It was as if a giant boulder was crushing down on her, she felt as though she couldn't straighten up, or catch her breath entirely. A single tear rolled down her cheek. She supposed she should have been crying her eyes out, but she was far too numb to even summon up the strong emotions required to cry.
Her eyes met with young fillies and colts from her school for gifted unicorns, they were playing a game, as a matter of fact. It's a game where they run a series of trials to determine who is the strongest unicorn out of the group. For example, they each challenged themselves to see who can lift the largest objects.
She remembered one of her childhood friends asking her to join them in a game of tag, but the guard she was with stopped her. "Princess Celestia has no time to play games, she has royal duties to attend to." In sullen remembrance of this event, Celestia sighed and rested her head on the grass as her sister walked up behind her.
"Celestia?"
Her head shot up and spun around,
"Yes, Luna?"
The princess of night walked over and laid next to her sister.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing," she lied. Luna followed her sister’s gaze down to the group of young ponies.
"Are you thinking about your childhood again? If you are, that can't be good for you," Luna stated.
"Maybe... I just never got to experience anything 'normal', as I was always forced to do my royal duties." She said, once again resting her head upon the grass. "Now I'm running a school for gifted unicorns, and they always look like they are having fun while I'm stuck watching over them making sure they don't harm themselves."
"Did you ever tell the guard that you wanted to join in on 'everyday normal pony life'? Perhaps that would have helped them to understand your plight?" Luna asked.
"Of course I have… Why in Equestria would I not have?" Celestia said as Luna looked down at the group once again.
"Who was your guard?"
"Horizon."
"And he still is to this day."
Celestia nodded. "I just wanted to be a normal pony, you know what I mean?"
"Of course I do... Well, not really, but that's not the point, sister. Why don't you go see Twilight and Cadance? Maybe they will be able to help."
"I don’t see why I should bother. How will they help?"
"Cadance has just given birth, so she has a foal, and thus the knowledge required to understand one. Plus, Twilight knows the Cutie Mark Crusaders." Luna said as Celestia looked away with a reluctant glint in her eye.
"I'd prefer if I stayed up here," Celestia said, as Luna lifted herself up off of the ground.
Luna began to walk away. "Just take some time to think about it. And, Tia?" Her head spun back as Celestia looked over.
"Please don't act your feelings out. I can't afford to spend my time cleaning up the garden after you again." Luna left, as Celestia felt her eyes getting heavy. Eventually, she fell asleep.
Celestia was talking to her friends, thoroughly enjoying their company,
"So, Celestia, we were wondering if you wanna join us for a game of tag?" A young pegasus colt asked as Celestia smiled.
"Really?!" She asked.
They nodded enthusiastically, until Celestia’s personal guard, Horizon, who had appeared behind her, previously unnoticed, spoke in a deep tone,
"Princess Celestia has no time to play games, she has royal duties to attend to," Horizon said as the two friends shook in fear. Celestia had tears in her eyes as she looked up at Horizon, she looked akin to a dam threatening to burst forth.
"Maybe next time, Celestia... P-Princess, are you alright?" The two hurried away as Celestia fell to the ground, tears streaming down her face, agonised by the brutal truth, which was that she didn’t really have any true friends.
"Come on, Princess. Your mother is waiting for you, it’s not a big deal," Horizon said as he began to walk away. He turned back around, only to see that Celestia had not moved an inch, "princess?"
"I'm not moving." The young Princess said, defiantly.
"Move, now!" He said, using his magic to get a hold of her, his patience had grown thin.
"I don't want to go!" She tried to fly out of his grasp as people around Canterlot gathered around the commotion. She eventually broke free, and remained airborne."I just want to be a normal pony, playing games with my friends!” The friends from earlier saw Celestia. They then walked over with concerned looks on their faces.
"Princess Celestia. You and your sister have to turn up to the meeting with the griffin empire with your parents! Move, now!" Horizon shouted, using another spell to keep her in place. Horizon struggled against her, and in a magical confusion, she dropped to the ground like a sack of flour.
Celestia hit the ground with a loud crack. She was in tears once again as the guard dragged her away. "I don't want to go!" She sobbed, as she was dragged into the castle. "JUST LET ME BE NORMAL, PLEASE!"
Celestia woke up with a short gasp, a noise coming from her mouth which was barely audible, even to herself. As she examined her surroundings, she noticed that she was in her bed chambers. She began crying, that dream had haunted her for years.
Luna walked in with a tray, seemingly unaware of the consciousness of her sister. Luna placed the tray down quietly and was about to leave when Celestia stopped her,
"Luna?"
"Ahh!" She jumped into the air. Regaining her composure, the Princess of the Moon replied, "sorry, you scared me... What's wrong?"
"Call Twilight... I really want to be a normal pony for the day."
"Alright, then, Tia, I see you have come to a decision." Luna smiled, then proceeded to leave back the way she came.
Celestia was left in her dimly lit room, smiling to herself. She was happy in the hope that she could just be normal for once, playing games and having friends. Memories like that will not just vanish in an instant, they will stick to her like glue for the rest of her days.
Author's Note
Thanks for reading
