A Thousand Years

Celestia jerked awake in a cold sweat, hooves all tangled up in her bed sheets. Breathing heavily she still could hear the sound of one of her guards trotting off to inform whoever he or she were going to that the Princess once again woke up in the middle of the night from a bad dream.

No not A bad dream, THE bad dream. Celestia corrected herself. The one that had kept her awake nearly every night and was slowly wearing on even the legendary stamina of an immortal. The lone ruler all by herself atop her cold stone throne, ironically adorned with images of the hot sun, but cold it was nonetheless and even colder now that she had to sit on it alone. It had only been 6 months but Celestia still had nightmares of that fateful day when Luna, the only one she could count on to spend eternity with... the one who needed her the most, the one she had let down.

If only I had been there for her Celestia thought for perhaps the fifth time that day, and every day before that. Celestia knew from the bottom of her heart that she had failed her sister. The select few that knew the truth behind the truth behind her sister had taken it upon themselves like a personal mission to lift her spirits and start taking a lot more of a personal interest in helping to run the kingdom. Little did they know that Celestia had already given up on caring about the current generation of ponies. Soon enough everypony that knew the truth would be dead of old age; living for millennia makes everypony else's lifespan seem very short in comparison to her own. Celestia could wait them out and just mope all by herself like she wanted in 100 years give or take she kept telling herself. There was one pony however that she would miss, other than her sister he was her greatest friend and confidant. He was probably the same one the guard went to go tell too she thought with a snort.

She had done little else except raise the sun and moon and little else. Granted raising the moon was a little more work than she was used to but nowadays she just moped around in her bed chamber mostly. She even didn't stop the most successful ponies in the city band together to make a ruling council of sorts headed by a most capable pony. Skilled in logistics and very diplomatic, she didn't know what she would do without the enormously rich and clever Staggious Blueblood.

Her musings were cut short by a soft rap on the door, soft but forceful. Sighing to herself Celestia knew of only one pony that would be knocking at her bedchamber door this late at night.

“Come on in Starswirl.” Celestia sighed quietly, halfway hoping that he wouldn't hear her.

The door opened to reveal Starswirl the Bearded in all his hairy glory. He wasn't wearing his traditional mage robes that he wore to impress the less intelligent. It does not take a bunch of stars and bells to cast magic but it sure makes you look good while you do it. No, tonight he just wore fuzzy pajamas with big purple stars sewn into it, Starswirl really loved stars and stuff everywhere on his clothes, though then again that was one of his more tame eccentricities. It had almost taken the Princess a good month to convince him that bunny slippers were too offensive to be worn in court, she remembered almost with a smile.

“Celestia, how many times am I going to have to wipe your snot off the ground before you get a little fire in your belly?” Starswirl asked while busying himself around the room. He started tidying up a little and levitated a glass of water and a packet of sleeping medicine on the nightstand by the door, his own special recipe. Celestia just gave him a withering look while he meandered around the room which he pretended not to notice until he had puttered around long enough and finally looked over her way. Blatantly ignoring her disapproving stare he just gave her a flat look and said, “Well?”

Celestia broke her stare to roll her eyes at him.

“If you were more observant and less of a bumbling fool your eyes might chance across the obvious, there is no snot on me, around me or in my bedchamber!” She announced disdainfully, her nose turned up a hair and her muzzle like that of a pouty foal.

Starswirl just chuckled under his breath, a throaty sound that seemed to barely leave his throat. Looking right in the eye of the immortal goddess ruler of the whole kingdom he magicked a large, red and very hot looking pepper out of thin air and wafting it under Celestia's nose he said mischievously,

“I have a cure for that.”

I'm not in the mood for your games Starswirl.” Celestia remarked wryly as she batted the pepper away from her face and leaned back in the bed, she just wanted to be alone but this stallion was persistent if anything.

“You never are lately... but you know that is half the reason why I am such a pain in your ass, just trust me on this one, you aren't getting rid of me anytime soon and I'll even stake my magic on it.” Starswirl declared. He dangled the pepper a little closer to Celestia's muzzle, waving it back and forth as if she was a dog.

What a butthole she thought as she waved it aside again with her hoof Celestia got up and walked over to the door-stand where the wizard had put the medicine and water. Opening the packet and dumping the contents unceremoniously into her mouth she then washed it down with a grimace. Waiting a moment or two to compose herself Celestia craned her neck around to look at Starswirl.

“There I took your vile potion, now that your business is done go back to bed Starswirl.” She insisted. No pony disobeys when the Sun Goddess insists.

Starswirl just snorted and corrected the Princess.

“First off that is not a potion you ninny, it is an herbal compound. Potions have to be wet, which i'm starting to think whatever you have floating between your ears might be.” Celestia opened her mouth, probably to cry out in indignation but Starswirl cut her off. “Second my business here is not done, If i have to babysit the Princess in the middle of the night I'm not going anywhere until we talk about that nightmare that you so obviously had again.”

“I don't want to talk about it.”

“Tough tits your Majesty I'm not giving you a choice.” he emphasized the word majesty with an exaggerated bow.

Celestia groaned in frustration and sat back down on the bed in defeat.

“I still don't want to talk about it.” She said in one last attempt.

Starswirl's eyes softened and he walked over to Celestia, putting a hoof on her shoulder encouragingly he said,

“I know but you need to talk about it. Without Luna here to talk to and get things off your chest I'm pretty much the only one that knows the both of you well enough. I know it's hard without her but you need to learn to lean on me. Bottling all this up is not only just keeping things as they are but it is not good for this kingdom. You lost your sister because of your subjects, but they are uncertain, they are still afraid and they need you more than ever to put on a brave face. The wild things in the night have become more bold and they haven't seen either of their rulers in months.”

Celestia brushed off Starswirl's hoof and got up and started pacing around the room.

“You have no idea how hard it is without her. I know we weren't that close lately and that is half the reason she did what she did, my subjects didn't help but i still wasn't there for her Starswirl... I. Wasn't. There.” Celestia accused. “I have lived for over a thousand years, ponies have come and gone by the thousands but throughout all that time I always had my sister. Just the two of us all through time, helping each other and fighting every foe imaginable, together." She looked down and her next words were a little choked up. "A-And even when we didn't talk she still existed, she was still there! Without her there to share my life with. Without knowing my little sister is ok... there is no point on even caring. If I wasn't immortal I would have ended it a months ago!” She cried out in finality.

Starswirl calmly walked over to her and looking her for a moment in her eyes he reached up and smacked her right across the muzzle. Celestia whipped her head back, her eyes burning with shock but she mostly looked hurt, tears streaming down her face but before she could say anything he continued.

"Luna is gone right now but knowing her she is trying to come back to you right now. I understand magic more than anyone including you.” He jabbed his hoof at her emphasizing his point. “That prison or banishment that the Elements of Harmony did will not last forever, even if the magic is perfect it will eventually degrade and she will be free. I cannot say how long that will be but I do know that it will happen. Would you let your sister down again by killing yourself or letting the kingdom that the two of you built with your own two hooves crumble until there is nothing left of your glorious kingdom but rotten huts and illiterate savages? You may want to mope around and be coddled but what you need is a big heaping cupful of shut the fuck up and think about tomorrow, not today.”

Celestia hung her head and murmured, “That was low.”

Starswirl softened up a bit and replied, “It was, I'm not sorry I said it though. If I thought there was anything else I could say to you I would have, I already have. At this point you have to start thinking of your subjects again and I'll be here to talk to when you are at your lowest. You feel like you are to blame for all this and that may partly be true but Luna also didn't indicate at all to you how she was feeling, truly.”

Celestia paused for a second, then her expression darkened. “To me? Did she confide in you?”

Starswirl eyes widened for just a split second and then his expression went back to normal. Celestia knew in that moment that if he tried to deny it that it would be a lie.

“Don't lie to me Starswirl, you may be the master of magic but I know how to read a pony. What did she tell you?” When he didn't say anything, she stomped her hoof on the ground hard. The sound of it was still ringing through her room when she demanded forcefully, “What did she tell you?!”

Starswirl looked back up at her, thinking to himself for a second before replying.

“She did tell me once that she was feeling unwanted and that no one seemed to like her. She also told me that apart from me no one liked to look at the night sky and its beauty. It was just once and she never brought it up again. I assumed she was just feeling melancholy and left it at that. I assumed you knew.” He finished, his head lowering in defeat. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier or even before the whole incident. The fault is partly with me as well, if I had told you, you might have asked her how she was and prevented the whole thing. You probably know what it's like, going through all the what-ifs and beating myself up every day for not noticing it sooner. The only reason I can function right now is because I don't deal with what-ifs in my work. I've put it in the past, learned from my mistakes and moved on resolving to never be so blind again. It sounds cold but this whole ordeal has been a possibly the biggest eye opener of our lives and now I'm trying to help you move on at least to the point that you can come out in public again.”

Celestia looked at Starswirl in a new light, obviously so wrapped up in her own guilt she never stopped to consider that the only one other than her that Luna looked at as an equal might feel the same way. Still.. maybe it was due to her age but she would not move on that easily or quickly, she resolved to keep this hurt in her heart until she saw her sister again. She owed Luna that much as a start to apologizing to her.

“You still should have told me Starswirl, even afterwards you still should have told me. I've been thinking this whole time that it was solely my fault and even now I still feel that way.” She held up her hoof to stop him from interjecting. “She might have told you but I have been with her and only her for these last thousand years, I should have known what she was going through. I am can read ponies like an open book but I was blind to what the one closest to me, the one I should have known better any anypony was feeling. Even though I barely saw her at all and she always seemed so tired I just kept thinking I would just let her rest, if I paused to stop thinking about the kingdom at all. Point is though that I should have known!” Celestia exclaimed at the end.

Starswirl hung his head, defeated and humbled after what Celestia just said. He knew she was right and nothing would change her perception in the near future.

Celestia paused for a long moment, and when the silence stretched she continued. “I appreciate you coming to talk to me though my dear friend. Your medicine is starting to take effect though, I shall go back to bed before i pass out and at least try to think about what you said tomorrow.”

Starswirl nodded, “That's all i'm asking for for right now, it's not much but it is a step in the right direction. I'll be here in a few hours to make sure that you are awake in time to raise the sun.” His eyes twinkled a bit as his old mischievous self resurfaced. “If you don't want to be greeted in the morning by a bucket of ice cold water fresh from the kitchens I suggest that you wake yourself up though.”

Celestia chuckled for the briefest of moments before returning to her new self, somber and with a permanent stare as if deep in thought. Climbing back onto her bed she flopped back onto it and started to drift off to sleep almost immediately. Right before she passed out though she could have sworn she noticed a silver aura grabbing her blankets and tucking her in.

After he had finished tucking Celestia in he made his way out of her room, the glass and paper pouch idly floating along behind him. Quietly closing the door he nodded to the guards standing by outside and started to make his way back to his section of the castle.

About halfway back he was turning a corner and almost ran smack into Staggious Blueblood.

“Gah!” Starswirl cursed, “Are you trying to send me to an early grave Staggious? Why are you even up at this hour with your sneaky skulduggery?”

Staggious was easily one of the more handsome ponies in the newly formed royal court. Tall, his square frame was made even more solid by his perfect stature. His mane was neatly and professionally trimmed, its color was almost spot on with the color of wheat ready to harvest. His cutie mark was a 4 pointed star and was the same color of his mane, hard to spot with his white coat actually. Everything about this stallion screamed perfection and Starswirl hated every bit of it.

Staggious had the decency to look apologetic before saying, “I am so sorry I startled you, if only i had known! Why I would never wish to send anypony to an early grave, especially such a good friend!”

Starswirl snorted out loud at being called a good friend by such a pompous windbag. “Staggious there’s no one nearby to impress by calling me your friend. What are you doing wandering the halls this time of night?”

“I know you do not have a high opinion of me Starswirl but I can assure you I hold you in the highest regard. As a mostly honest stallion who deliberately does not try to kiss anyponies flank and has achieved your status by your merits alone I think that is most impressive. Why I only hold Celestia in higher regard than you.” He had a hurt look on his face and Starswirl looked away sheepishly. Staggious correctly guessed what was going through Starswirl’s mind at that moment and continued.

“If you think I’m trying to kiss up to you then you are a bigger fool than I thought.. Maybe you aren’t such a breath of fresh air as I thought. I just enjoy a bit of honest back and forth.”

Starswirl looked up sharply at that all previous humility gone, he could tolerate a lot of things but not being called a fool.

“Staggious if you think I want to be liked by you then you are more of an egotistical ass than I thought. Quit trying to dodge the question and answer me before I lose my patience!” Starswirl hissed, if it had been during the day he might have not cared about yelling but he was not above making other ponies lose their sleep.

Staggious looked affronted at the verbal assault and after looking at Starswirl for a moment he looked at him for a moment and sighed.

“You know its not illegal to be walking around at night, but whatever. I was actually looking for you. I was wondering how Her Majesty was doing.”

“Why? Wondering how much longer you have before you’re not needed?” Starswirl accused, ignoring the first part.

Staggious audibly groaned and rubbed at his eyes with his hoof. He was visibly getting frustrated at the lack of trust from Starswirl.

“Trust works both ways Starswirl, if you refuse to answer anything I ask why should I be baited into pointless arguments with the stallion I need but will refuse to help me? You just don't like merchants and as the most successful one around that puts me on the top of your shit list and I'm growing tired of your unfounded distrust.”

Starswirl scoffed, “I would only trust a manipulator as far as I could throw them and I’m not exactly a strong pony.”

Staggious snapped, stomping his hoof down hard he glared at Starswirl, all the exasperation gone from his eyes it was replaced by the fires of anger and frustration.

“For fucks sake Starswirl just because you don’t happen to like me or what I do don’t think for a second I am not trying my damnedest to keep this kingdom from falling apart! Just because you think yourself so high and mighty that you know everything about me! I care just as much as you about Equestria, I’ve worked too hard and too long making a respectable and honest business here just to see it fall apart around me which is why I stepped up in the first place! I sure benefit from keeping the kingdom together but guess what? So does everypony else! I know you give a fuck and so do I about this kingdom, I just get stuck dealing with all the idiots and the tedious paperwork while you sit in your high tower and dote on the Princess. As the pony working until this uncelestial hour of the night trying to keep this ship afloat is it too fucking much to ask? How. Is. She. Doing?!” Staggious finished, panting a little and jabbing his hoof at Starswirl to exaggerate his point.

Starswirl was floored, slack jawed with his eyes so wide they looked like they were about to pop out of his head. Shaking his head he looked at Staggious in a new light.

“Sweet Celestia he’s not dead inside, and he has a spine to boot!” Starswirl exclaimed causing Staggious to get a little embarrassed, he never really lost it like that. Maybe the long nights are starting to get to him. Starswirl thought idly. Thinking back to the question though Starswirl grimaced and worked his mouth like he was trying to get something foul out of it.

“One chance.” He practically choked the words out as if just saying them would cause him to keel over and die. Starswirl paused, waiting for Staggious to reply but after a long awkward pause he replied.

“I guess I’ll work with you for now but I’m keeping a sharp eye on you... I can watch you even in my sleep.” Starswirl hinted mystically.

“For someone who has done so much for the people and saved the world almost as much as the Princesses in recent years, you really are one creepy fuck.”

Starswirl grinned at that. “Hey I can’t help it if people love the weird mysterious wizard thing. I guess I embrace the role too much when I’m around others.”

Staggious groaned, “Whatever, are you going to tell me what I came here for or what?”

Starswirl blinked a couple of times and looked around a bit as if to check if there was anypony around. “Oh that? Yea sure just follow me, I’d rather tell you in my lab.”

“Why your lab? Is it so you can "take care of me" when I freak out?” Staggious asked as he began to follow Starswirl down the corridor. Starswirl chuckled a bit but didn't reply.

“Now you’re thinking outside the box. There’s hope for you yet, but no… while the idea is enticing I’ll tell you why when we get there. In the meantime just be quiet, I need to think.”

Staggious just shrugged, not wanting to mess this up now that he is finally getting an update to Celestia’s status in nearly 4 months. Every time he tried to catch her at the raising of the sun and moon he was always made to sit it out while Celestia did it and then would be informed by the guards that she had teleported to her chambers and would not take any visitors. Maybe Starswirl bullied or bewitched the guards in someway to not let him talk to her. While possible he would never ask Starswirl directly or indirectly. It was a common secret that the mage was very protective of Celestia… aggressively too. No he would never ask him that unless he wanted to get thrown out of the closest window.

They walked in silence through the empty castle, a few torches scattered here and there provided a dim, flickering illumination to guide the way and with the exception of a couple of guards they didn't see anypony else. As they passed by as they went past the library one of the library guards gave Starswirl a nod, obviously familiar with the pony who spent the most time in there.

They eventually came before a large wooden double door, easily twice the height of a regular pony. Unlike all the other doors in the castle this one was completely covered in runes that if seen out of the corner of the eye they seemed to pulsate with a soft silvery glow. Mumbling to himself Starswirl idly bathed the entire door in his signature silver glow and with a slow creak, they opened.

Following Starswirl in Staggious looked around in confusion, this was his first time in Starswirl’s lab and it was a lot more… sparse than he imagined. A few chalkboards sat on their movable frames around the edges of the room and a few tables held an assortment of scrolls, bowls and beakers but for the most part the stone room was empty and devoid of any decoration.

That isn’t to say it was a small room though, it was massive, easily larger than the throne room and taller as well. The ceiling stretched up for a good dozen meters and the floor could easily hold a hundred ponies comfortably. In the center was a smooth bowl like depression about ten meters across, its glassy like surface gleamed in contrast to the rest of the room.

Catching his look Starswirl chuckled a little to himself and said, “I forgot you haven’t been in here before. Everyone gets that look their first time in here, they all expect there to be mounds of books, or clutter everywhere. Am I right?” Staggious nodded, still looking around the room and Starswirl continued. “This is my testing lab, I create spells in here. Wouldn’t want to accidentally destroy any notes or tomes left lying around right? So I keep this space clear for the most part while I experiment.”

Staggious nodded to himself, it made sense after all. Giving Starswirl a significant look he asked “So why bring me here to talk? It’s not as if nopony is awake right now anyways if all you’re worried about is privacy.”

“Nopony may be awake right now Staggious but that does not mean nopony is listening.” Starswirl said. Staggious perked his ears up at that. “Before I tell you how Celestia is doing it should be obvious that with her shutting herself away from the world and Luna being gone for an indeterminate amount of time that there is a power vacuum in Equestria right now despite your best efforts. I’d hate to think of any citizen that would be willing to... let’s say forcibly try to fill that vacuum but as I’m sure you know I do not have the most optimistic opinion of most ponies so therefore I avoid you like the plague and then you have to go ahead and press the issue. so I take you to the one place I know cannot be watched or listened in on, aka my lab.”

Staggious thought about that for a minute to himself. He hated to admit it but Starswirl had a point. He doubted that anypony would try to take over the country but he guessed it wouldn’t hurt to keep his ears open or at least keep an eye on goods shipments for anything suspicious. He nodded and gestured with his hoof for Starswirl to continue.

“As for how Celestia is doing. You didn’t know her or her sister like I did but I assume you knew they were close right?”

“As close as any siblings I always thought.” Staggious replied.

“I know they were closer than any two ponies in the history of this land I believe.” Starswirl said to Staggious’s surprise. “Imagine if you will living forever. Every friend, lover, companion and child growing old and dying whilst you endure, you just… continue. Now imagine that over the hundreds of years only one other pony lives like you do and they are the only one you can truly share your experiences and feelings with. Now last of all imagine having that pony that you care so deeply about all of a sudden go mad with jealousy and depression, try to kill you and take over the entire world that you two have fought to shape and protect with your own two hooves. Imagine that it was entirely preventable and it was partly your fault and that if you had paid better attention to the one you cared more about than the world itself you might have seen what was happening and showed the one you loved that they were loved. Imagine the crushing guilt you would feel and the apathy towards everypony else that unwittingly helped cause all this due to their grossly mismatched treatment between you and the one who felt alone and betrayed.” Starswirl got more animated with each sentence, eventually waving his hooves around frantically. Jabbing one hoof accusingly in Staggious’s direction he asked, “How do you think you would feel?”

Staggious’s ears folded back against his head at the animosity projected onto him. Processing what he was just told, it was an extraordinary and humbling speech. As if a light came on upstairs for him everything just made sense. Reading between the lines he realized why Luna had done what she had done and also not having to read between the lines he at least grasped why Celestia had hidden herself away.

“But it’s been six months!” Staggious blurted out.

Starswirl scoffed at that. “Six months? Six months to a being like her is a week to ponies like us. Long story short she needs more time to get over it and join us in the land of the living. Until then she has to essentially… mope it out I guess.” He absently scratched his beard. “Once she has come to terms with it all she will be back just like before.”

“I guess, but still as selfish as it sounds I would like to get back to the tedium of just managing my business. I do know however that the citizenry are starting to talk, they believe she is still alive at least seeing as the sun still rises and sets. But they worry Starswirl.. They worry and fret seeing as she has not made a single appearance since that night. They don't know what happened and unease is permeating every level of society. I’m won’t lie, I’m worried at what this could evolve into.” Staggious said.

Starswirl furrowed his brows thoughtfully, “Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime just keep a sharp eye when you can and if it starts to become a problem we’ll take care of it. I guess the most immediate concern is coming up with an lie to tell those of the court that know and the general public. Now though if you’ll excuse me I have to get at least a little shut-eye before making sure shes up for the rising of the sun in a few hours.”

Staggious looked like he wanted to say something about Starswirl waking up Celestia but all he could do was yammer out a few words before Starswirl pushed him out the door and with a firm and familiar thud he sealed the doors behind Staggious.

Staggious just looked at the doors for a second, half debating if he should pound on them some more. There was still more he wanted to talk about but he decided to not push his luck. Shaking his head he made his way back to his room, embroiled in his thoughts as he processed all that he had learned tonight.

Grumbling to himself Starswirl reactivated the runes on the doors, sealing this room off from the rest of the castle to such a degree that nopony except an Alicorn could break through the doors or even spy inside. He had much work to do and as one that had little time and much to do he set about his tasks efficiently, expecting another sleepless night but that was fine. He had developed a spell to negate the need for sleep shortly after Luna was banished. He had too much to do without wasting time on something as frivolous as sleep.

Checking the soundproof, spell proof and vision spells to see the outside on the doors themselves he moved on to the knocking mechanisms. Crafty little spells that would let him know telepathically whenever somepony knocked. Additionally they would let him see who they were and hear what they had to say. Lastly he checked the teleportation tether that would allow him to teleport to the door to answer it no matter where he was.

A more sane pony would wonder why his door has such complex remote capabilities seeing how every time he is in his lab he would be there to answer. He chuckled to himself as he made his way to the glassy bowl in the center of the room. No one even bothered to ask why the surface was so glassy and even if somepony bothered he had some excuse about a rampaging fire spell that took too long to get under control melting the floor. No matter though as he was about to use the bowl for its intended purpose when he fashioned it. when this castle started to be built a few years ago as a better central hub to the kingdom. The construction was only finished 7 months ago, good timing on their part he mused since Celestia didn't want anything to do with her and her sisters old castle anyways.

Channeling his magic he filled the bowl level to the floor a silver liquid which rippled back and forth and then suddenly turned still and motionless, reflecting like a mirror. After a few moments it slowly became transparent from the middle outwards like some weird color removing ripple. Once he could see to the bottom of the pool Starswirl touched the surface with the tip of his horn.

Immediately it started frothing like a pot that had just come to a boil. It seethed and surged for a few moments before immediately turning clear as crystal and as still as a winter morning. Without any fanfare Starswirl jumped into the pool and was immediately teleported to a place where nopony could ever find, deep within the Canterlot mountain. He had gone to his real lab, the one he left behind was little more than a glorified entrance to where he really could stretch his legs figuratively speaking.

The darkness was cast aside as he lit the lanterns he had scattered around the walls. They had to be specially crafted to be smokeless and not consume air as that could easily spell out a death sentence this far underground.

As opposed to his previous “fake” lab this one looked nearly the polar opposite. Light softly lit the muted cavern and shadows danced on the walls, caused by the flickering lantern light. Massive bookshelves adorned the walls and thick rugs covered the floor. A few thick, solid wooden tables decorated the floor space, some with books on them and others with alchemical instruments of every kind imaginable. Several tunnels spaced evenly along the walls led off to other areas of his work space. Moving with a purpose Starswirl closed the portal behind him and set off towards one of the tunnels off to the side.

The long winding tunnel led to a much smaller room than before, probably only a dozen meters or so across. Every surface except the floor was covered in half meter wide plates of crystal roughly an inch or so thick spaced just a hair apart from each other creating a sort of kaleidoscope effect.

Entering the room he looked around, ensuring everything was in place and hadn’t shifted, underground placement was tricky as the natural movements of the rock sometimes moved things just ever so slightly out of place which could be disastrous, not so much in this particular room but it would give him a big headache and it was good to keep up the habit.

Walking into the center of the room he lit his horn and every plate, two hundred in total lit up softly. For a second or two they stayed lit and then with a soft whooshing sound they became images, as if they were windows to look out of. Nearly every plate showed the sleeping faces of various ponies, some in the government, some of the more rich and influential ponies, others still for those in the military. One showed Celestia, tossing and turning in her sleep, still troubled. Starswirl’s gaze lingered on that one for a moment longer. Sighing to himself he looked away and at the one he had dedicated to Staggious after confirming all the others were asleep.

As if he was perched in the rafters above the walking pony like some creeper bird he watched as Staggious made his way back to his room, not one of the best ones but a really good one considering they had to make room in a rather short order when he volunteered to start a pony council to help run the kingdom. Staggious just walked a normal pace back to his room as if he had just come back from a stroll through the gardens and immediately went to his bed and fell asleep shortly after. Starswirl keeping good on his promise to keep an eye on Staggious watched him for another hour or so, keeping an eye for any illusion magic or any trickery.

As he kept watch over the castle and the immediately surrounding land Starswirl sighed to himself. Stepping into Luna’s hooves was going to be a lot more work than he would rather deal with. He knew more about what she did at night probably more so than Celestia did. Fighting creatures in the middle of the night was hard work, he needed an elite force to help with the occasional incursion. Added to that he would need to continue to have a presence during the daylight hours to help stabilize the country and also not sleeping at night to keep an eye on everypony important, hence this room full of scrying mirrors and the rushed development of a sleepless spell.

Good thing he had just the thing whipped up for situations like this. Looking over all the mirrors to make sure everything seemed fine for the time being Starswirl got up off of his chair and walked through the main room of his sanctuary and into another tunnel, this one leading to plain looking room carved out of stone, no furniture to speak of. He had of and only one small candle providing just the most basic light needed to see. Running a quick spell to clean up any dust or other foreign particles that may have strayed in here since his last visit Starswirl was confident that there was nothing that would interfere with the spell this room was designed for. In truth even the one candle was the limit of light and physical interference that he could allow and still be within safe parameters.

Walking purposefully to the center of the room there was a small shallow depression, just larger than a pony and in the middle of it is where Starswirl stopped. His horn lighting up he let his magic almost drip from the tip of his horn into small grooves cut into the floor around him, turning around to get every last one of them. Lighting up they gave a small thrum as the magic activated and a bubble came into being around Starswirl. Outside the bubble the flickering candle stopped flickering and seemed to have been frozen.

Starswirl had built this bubble to stop time so he could sleep as long as he wanted inside and not even a millisecond would pass outside. Yes it shortened his lifespan but he was working on another spell to compensate for that, plus Celestia was not ready for him to die of old age anytime soon. So for now this room served it's purpose to allow him to get enough rest to be able to watch over the night and protect the country by night as well as by day. No longer was he an empty headed academic. He had a duty to Equestria and he would see it fulfilled, he would not let this country fall apart no matter the cost. Settling down he rested his head on his front hooves and closed his eyes, his long nap passing by in the blink of an eye to the rest of the world.