.:G L O R Y:.

by doukzor100

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Sad, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sunset Shimmer
Length: 1791

The light has vanquished the dark. The kingdom is safe. Her ponies are celebrating. So why is Celestia depressed?

The light has vanquished the dark.
The kingdom is safe.
All the ponies of Equestria are celebrating.
So why is Celestia mourning?

WARNING- Timeline is messed up. You'll know it when you read it, so I won't spoil anything.
But, it had to be for this story. Sorry~

A practice story. Also a thank you to all of my friends who've supported me and, well, were my friend!
Even though this is a sad-fic, It's still a thank you~

(Cover art belongs to me)

Published 2015-11-29 01:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-11-29 01:10:01 UTC

.:S H A M E:.

A pastel white alicorn sighed as she looked out on her celebrating city.
The morning sun was slowly dragging itself upward, posing a fake happiness that matched the alicorn's smile.

She had a three colored mane, consisting of a soft shade of sea foam green, baby blue, and strawberry pink.
Her eyes were a beautiful teal blue, glittering in the great sunlight that frittered upon her glowing city.

Ponies were throwing streamers around, prancing to festive music, and singing to their heart's content.

It was a new holiday. And this was the first celebration.
The night before had been a night of terror.

A demon had flown across the night, spreading nightmares upon every pony, be it dream or in the wake.
She was a midnight blue, optical black against the starry sky.

Her eyes glowed blue with thin slits like snakes. Her wings were hybrid, leathery and feathered.
Her mane flowed eternal.

And her name was 'Nightmare Moon'.

The ponies had wailed for Celestia. They wailed for their monarch.
And so she came.

Celestia ended the beast's life on Eques by sending her to the moon with the power of the elements of Harmony.

Rumors were already passing that the fight had ended as soon as it had started.

And Celestia had waited patiently as the ponies came and praised her and offered bits that she refused gently, and waited patiently as the ponies were calmed by her and put into a gentle sleep to help put the nightmare behind them.

They were fragile, Celestia had noted with pain. They couldn't fend for themselves.

And as the ponies pranced around each other, she also noted they didn't recognize the Nightmare that they were oh so happy to get rid of.
They didn't even recognize her sister.

Celestia bit back a painful sob.

They called her sister a 'monster'.
They called her a 'Beast'. The 'Queen of Nightmares'.

How could they...

Celestia quickly perked up, brushing away her painful thoughts as a white stallion trotted up to her.

"Princess Celestia" he bowed his head. He was a unicorn guard, bearing a golden set of armor from his neck to his hooves.

As Celestia acknowledged his presence, he stood up straight again, blowing aside a lock of slick blue hair.

"I have news from Ponyville" he continued. He had pale yellow eyes, thoguh they were full of life and triumph.

"What is it?" Celestia asked.

"They wish to say thank you" he awaited a reaction.
Celesta merely blinked.

"Please continue" she replied softly. The guard nodded.

"They're throwing a celebration at night. They think it's more important" The guard cleared his throat.

"Have you thought of a name for the Holiday?" he asked.
Celestia blinked again. She thought on it for a moment, before shaking her head.

"No, I guess not" she said plainly. It was true. Normally she would have time to assess a new Holiday, but this had been an exception.

"Mayor Mark suggested one" the guard responded suggestively, "would you like to hear it?"

"Yes please".

"Nightmare Night".
Again Celestia struggled to hold her soft smile and regal posture, and not break down into mourning.

Her sister was no monster.

If anypony was the monster, it was herself. She caused Nightmare Moon's rise. She was her fall. She was her hate, and only friend, and Celestia had betrayed her own sister.

She sighed softly. She looked back to her guard, her eyes glittering with sunlight and vital energy, she cleared her mind to focus on the subject.

"It sounds perfect". She looked out on her city once more. Being high above her ponies, she could see almost everything. She even saw the train in the distance that hummed outside the walls of her kingdom. Canterlot truly was growing to be the most vivacious city in Equestria.

"I think we should celebrate at night, too. They've come up with a wonderful form of celebration" Celestia proclaimed.

"Certainly. What about the ponies that are celebrating now?".

"Let them. I shall them at night, so they may do so further".

"If they're not tired out by then" she added with a small laugh. The guard smiled and nodded, before trotting off to continue with his duties.
Celestia watched him until the tip of his sharp blue mane was out of sight.

Her lips quivered as she looked back out over the marble balcony. By now the sun was mid-way, it's bright glowing embers burning away the shadows laid down by golden bars that rose from the tiled outstretched cliff of white.
She wanted to fly down and join the festive tribute to her, to join and praise her ponies for doing well- but there was nothing to praise them for.

Nothing.

She had come to there aid. They had wailed in forfeit.
She had destroyed her sister. They didn't even remember her.
She had made this Holiday possible. They celebrated something they didn't even do, as if they deserved this triumph.

"Why..." Celestia sighed. The tears that had been welling in her eyes began to fall down her face in slow trickles.

They didn't remember.

They didn't remember....

Then Celestia began sobbing. She dropped onto her stomach, covering her eyes with her hooves. Her hair pooled over her ears and over her hooves. Her wings frittered slightly, her body shaking with the tears.
Her sister was gone...

It was only when she could finally think that she stopped crying immensely. There was a pool of tears around her face now, which was also puffy and red.

She dipped one of her gold clad hooves into the pond of water. It seemed surrealistic. She could see her reflection.
Instead of the regal princess with wings and a horn who ruled all of Equestria, she saw a ragged, heart broken mare who just lost her sister from her own faults.

Why couldn't any pony else understand?
Why was she so lost?
Why didn't they know it was her sister?
Why did she feel so alone, even though she had every pony in the land at her hoof?

'So many questions', Celestia sighed internally, 'And no answers'.

She picked up the sound of far away hoofsteps coming closer.
With a dragged effort, she dragged herself onto her hooves. The hooves were a long way away, but Celestia went on with moving the tears away from her face and the ground, shoving them off the balcony with a swift levitation spell. She began breathing deeply, calming herself down.

Now was not the time to cry.

There was never a time for pain.

Not as a princess.
One's duties weighed higher. Celestia cringed at how true it was. She couldn't mourn over her sister, not now. Not when she had papers to sign, ponies to attend to, and obstacles to over come.

The hooves got closer.

Celestia looked up to the door, awaiting the pony.

An orange unicorn came barreling around the corner, her teal eyes bright and glowing. She had a two color streaked mane; red and yellow, and had a sun cutie mark that was halved in the colors red and yellow.

"Princess Celestia!" she skidded to a halt in front of her. Celestia couldn't help laughing as her student almost tripped, leaning forward in a fall but catching herself quick enough to stop any actual falling action.
The small teen mare dashed into a bowing position, her head held quite low to the floor.

"Oh my dear Sunset Shimmer, you know you have no need to bow in front of me" Celestia giggled softly as she brought her student up with her golden aura.

"Oh, sorry, princess Celestia. I just keep forgetting" Sunset smiled sheepishly as she dusted her self off.

"It's quite alright, my little Shimmer. What brings you here? I thought you'd be celebrating with my other ponies" Celestia asked softly, without the slightest hint of shame.

"Well, I was, but, "she shuffled her hooves around, "I don't know. I saw you here, and you looked lonely. Not that you are or anything, of course!" Sunset blushed in embarrassment.

"Ah, then I'm glad you came. You're great company" Celestia smiled, her eyes shining with the light of the sun.

"T-Thank you" Sunset Shimmer smiled proudly. She scooted over to Celestia.

"Hey, uh, you wanna go celebrate? Or, well, at least go where the fun is at?".

"Why, of course! Come, my little Shimmer" Celestia stood up, and walked to the opposing end of the balcony. Sunset half jumped half ran to catch up with her.
She looked around a little, as if confused by something.

"Hey, Princess Celestia? Where is Luna?" Sunset asked suddenly. Celestia halted immediately. She looked to Sunset with a simple look of understanding, before smiling and looking away. A single unseen tear streaked down her face.

"... Somewhere. She's a bit busy at the moment" Celestia held out a wing for Sunset, whom clambered onto her back.

"Oh. I wish she could celebrate. I know she sleeps during the day, but... Maybe she can celebrate with us tonight?" Sunset asked from atop Celestia, who had begun to glide gracefully from her balcony towards the city.

"...Perhaps she can" Celestia smiled meekly, though her shame was not seen by Sunset. They flew on throughout the city, and for the time being, Celestia felt lightened from her duties as sh enjoyed the day with Sunset- and part of the night as she read through scrolls with her little orange pupil sleeping at her side, the soft rises of her sides gentling Celestia until even she tucked her scrolls away and lowered her head to rest.

She had Sunset. She still had a shimmer of hope in Equestria; in her self.
And she would never let it go.

Author's Note

SURPRISE! :pinkiehappy::pinkiehappy::pinkiehappy:
I wanted to thank you all for supporting me and being my friend, so I wrote another story for you~

I know it's sad.... But that's really all I CAN write. I suck at comedy, don't do romance, and just a plain drama fic? Meh. Not much Sci-Fi either. :twilightsheepish:

Yes, I know I repeated lots of stuff. Consider this a practice story, please~
It may hit you right in the feels, or you may just be meh throughout the whole thing, but I really wanted to write this, and I even made cover art for it in the middle of writing it, so I finished it.
I can't work on Purple Tears 2 write now, or Equestrian Fox for that matter, so I'm looking onto other things until I get focus for those two stories again.

Oh, and....

Toast?

P.S. I know the timeline is messed up. Get over it:ajbemused: