Times of Woe

Celestia always woke up before the dawn.

It was her duty to take care of the sun. It was a responsibility that both her uncle and her tutor taught her to control. Timeotheus was always too busy with other projects of state to deal with it. Now that he was gone, they were her and her uncle’s responsibility.

There were only a few things Celestia knew for certain anymore, and she knew this much:

There was a sun in the sky.

It wasn’t so much that she had to raise it, though that’s what her subjects thought. Her job really was to switch it on. The sun would travel across the sky at its own pace, but it did not give off much heat and light. This was only improved since Queen Aureola, that’s why ancient ponies were always so much hairier and bulkier than modern ones.

Celestia was only a filly when they found out what she could do.

The royal family has always been unicorns and alicorns, and, whether for the family’s sake or as safety for the subjects, there was a standard time and process to test each newborn’s capabilities.

The actual process is not revealed to anypony but a select group, but this group was able to figure out right away what Celestia’s powers were.

She was naturally going to be the ruler when Timeotheus died.

Luna’s powers worked during the night. She could control the moon’s appearance and the darkness itself. She could see what other ponies were terrified of.

Celestia could only see what other ponies wanted and did.

She would take over projects after her father; her sister could not.

Luna was a few years younger than Celestia. By the time Luna was born, the royal court, the foreign nations, the ponies of the city, and the ponies of the alleys all knew Celestia would become the future heir.

Luna was not and not ever going to be.

Once the sun was brightened, Celestia could look down and see her courtyard from her window. Everything sparkled in the morning dew.

That’s what I live for.

She couldn’t imagine a world of darkness. Celestia looked toward the furthest edges of the courtyard where the sun was not shining as bright and there was a shadow. But as soon as she noticed it, it was as if the sun grew brighter in that area and the darkness was gone.

Just like Luna.

Celestia finished her morning preparations and went to the throne room where she was greeted by several more servants and an ever peculiar pink one. She had grown used to Pinkie over the years, but never really grew close because of Luna. Ever since Luna left, Pinkie had been spending more and more time in the throne room than outdoors where she longed to be. Many of the other servants had practically become furniture or an annoyance.

Pinkie was neither.

Pinkie liked to put herself out there and be filled with energy, but usually she had a reason for it. She was bought to be entertainment because she was naturally good at that and because such a bright pink pony in this dim world was already entertainment enough.

But Celestia felt like maybe Pinkie was deeper than her bouncy plush mane could ever fathom. She couldn’t admit it to anyone, but she was also jealous of how much closer Pinkie was to Luna than Celestia herself was.

Celestia could see Pinkie going about in her usual way.

“Yooouuurrr Majesty,” Pinkie said with an overcomical bow. Her bells jangling merrily but still with a little reserve.

Celestia nodded slightly and went back to her thoughts and the issues her attendants brought to her. Pinkie was supposed to be there to cheer her up. For a while, she thought it would help.

But as she watched the pink pony juggle around a few vases on the other side of the room, she felt reminded again that she was the one having to stay here in this stone cage alone.

It was like the sun’s light had been faded.

But there was no way she was going to quit. She continued about her day, sitting in the throne room dealing with whatever issues came her way until it was time for her to brighten the light of the moon before bedtime.

Day in and day out.

Luna didn’t care.

She wouldn’t care.

She barely had time to think about it as she got onto the battlefield. She was a natural leader, not as much as her sister, but she inspired awe and love from her subjects. She also wasn’t a natural when it came to leading a pack of ponies into battle. While she herself could fight, she could see other ponies getting ambushed and being obstacles for each other and falling around her.

But in spite of her lack of battle tactics, everypony still thought of her as the leader of the group. She was a princess after all.

When she was born, her coat had been the dark purple of the oncoming night. She liked the sound of that.

She would be the oncoming night.

There were very few things Luna was terrified of. She showed no fear or stress over each and every failure. But as she continued on in her quest, she knew that they were doing terribly and she knew everypony would become disheartened.

And she missed Pinkie Pie.

At first, she made the decision to go on a whim. She had thought about it for a while, she was always interested in the tales of the battles and the forest that contained them. But she wanted to be close to her family, friend, and tutor. She wanted to be there more than she wanted to go. But somehow, she increasingly felt that there would be more for her out there than where she was. Her sister was the one taking over all the kingdom’s royal duties, the one dealing with diplomacy and the ponyfolk.

Luna thought about it as she finished another day of travel and setting up camp. Her eyes shut for only a second before she opened them again with a sigh. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Pinkie’s sad face looking back at her when she left with the band of crusaders.

Luna once again looked around her tent.

When night fell, she knew she would stand guard.

No matter how terrified she felt and how hopeless it seemed, it was all she could do.