Rediscovering The Sun

Chapter Two

It took a day’s time for any change to really be recognized by the pair of them. Celestia was the one to comprehend it first the next day when she sensed a change in her magic. A practiced user such as herself was experienced enough to know how her magic would feel when used: refined, precise, with an ease of use like a secondary limb. But that morning had her feeling as if her magic had suddenly become much more than before. There was a strength present that had long since been gone in her memory, only now coming back as she attempted a simple test of levitating one of the chairs in the backyard. As it turns out, wooden chairs are not meant to exceed velocities beyond Wonderbolt speeds.

Conferring with Sunburst led to further testing of her physical self while he looked on, and they discovered the change was well beyond her magic. Celestia’s physical might was more than the average pony, but when one buck kick of a tree at the outer limits of Silver Shoals’ territory sent said tree flying through the forest and taking several others with it, it stood to reason that she was stronger now than before as well. Sunburst deduced that the magic ritual from the previous day merely needed time to kick in, perhaps due in part to Celestia’s long lifespan and the accumulation of magic needed to fully activate the spell. Vast as her power was, it seemed tenfold now. It felt quite humorous for the mare to see Sunburst so delighted that he didn’t make a mistake.

The second day was when the more personal changes started taking place.

“Sunburst, what do you think? Perhaps too small for me?” Celestia’s question pertained to a small hat she’d found at one of the vendor stands in town. The marketplace was akin to Ponyville’s, if perhaps a little more winding to navigate the hilly landscape throughout. On a whim, she chose to peruse through the stands for the fun of it, to enjoy the aspect of getting to find things on her own rather than having a whole ensemble already selected for her. Some appreciated being spoiled, but Celestia enjoyed the independence.

Sunburst turned away from an array of reading glasses to look up at the alicorn. He gave a sheepish grin at what she’d picked. It was a small black bowler hat, comedic on top of somepony’s head like Celestia. Yet she felt it was humorous and that merit alone earned it some attention.

“I halfway imagine it’d get lost in your mane, Celestia. I never took you much for hats anyway.”

“Oh, there’s plenty of things I always wanted to try. And please, don’t even get me started on the trend of ‘sun hats’. That was all because I once commented on how I may have moved the sun a little too close one day, and wanted better shade to look about before adjusting it. Somepony overheard me, and the next thing you know, I’ve caused a fashion sensation with one comment.” She told him, swapping the bowler hat for a straw hat. It fit a little better, being slightly bigger, but could hardly rest amidst the pool of color atop her head. “Oh, fiddlesticks.”

“I-I’m so sorry, your majesty. I-I can find more if you’d like!” The vendor, a willowy looking mare of sea green and a mane of chocolate, looked very nervous before the pair. Sunburst was quick to rescue her, waving a hoof in Celestia’s direction and getting the alicorn’s attention.

“I think you do great without a hat, sincerely. But maybe if you style your mane back out of the way, you’d have better success?” He offered. “I’m hardly a beautician, but logically if the mane is the issue, change up the mane?”

“Hmm.” Celestia pondered this and used her magic to perform a quick binding motion with her elegant locks being moved back and away, forming a long braid that fell down the front of her shoulder and chest. With the extra mass bundled aside, she tried the straw hat once more and felt it fitting much better than before. “Ooh! That works!”

“There you go.” Sunburst affirmed, making the vendor breathe a sigh of relief at being free of her imagined slight against the former ruler. “It looks nice on you, with that mane style. If you don’t mind me saying so.”

Ba-bump. Her heartbeat quickened for a moment at the appraisal from the unicorn before settling.

“Not at all. I’ll take it.” Celestia’s hoof twitched and fumbled for her coin purse, fishing out the needed bits to pay her, plus extra for her time spent. “Have a wonderful day!” Celestia gave a small wave behind her, leaving behind an ecstatic hat vendor as she and Sunburst made their way along. She kept the hat on her head, giving another glance to her company and seeing Sunburst smile at her when she looked. The corners of her lips lifted without a prompt, as her heartbeat picked up again.

Ba-bump.

“Well now, where shall we explore next? I haven’t seen much of the seaside way of things. Maybe we could arrange a beach visit?” Sunburst asked, unfolding a small map of the area he’d acquired earlier in the day. “It’d certainly get mom off my back about getting out and getting color on my flanks. Honestly, I’m already orange!”

“Of all the mares to ask about being in the sun, I imagine I might be the expert,” Celestia quipped to him, “do what you feel is best for you. Truthfully, I’m only so used to being under the sunlight for rather obvious reasons. If I wasn’t, I might be more of a beachgoer myself!”

Sunburst chuckled, and she beamed at this. His laugh was so...endearing, when he wasn’t nervous or careful around her. He was loosening up some around her now, his stutter gone for the most part. All his time spent around Cadance and Shining may have helped in that regard, and seeing her without all the royal adornments and titles would help as well. She was now just another mare, enjoying a day free of worry alongside a cuuuu-Cultured! Cultured. She meant cultured, stallion.

“Hm? Princess Luna!”

Sunburst’s declaration brought the alicorn out of her mental stutter-stepping and focused on the arrival of her sister. Luna, like herself, was without any of the royal adornments they’d been wearing for so long. In fact, Luna seemed to be easing into the vacation mindset easier than she had, if the sky blue floral shirt and sunglasses told her anything. Her vibrant, dark blue mane was pulled back into a loose ponytail, though it still twinkled even in the bright daytime. She smiled at the pair of them and walked up, prompting many a curious onlooker at the gathered trio of political figures.

“Sister. I didn’t know you’d be back so fast. Weren’t you down at the southern coast?” Celestia asked.

“It was a nice visit there. The locals were quite taken with a visiting royal.” She replied, lifting her sunglasses up and glancing around, seeing the other ponies around them. “Quite like how you two are here. Master Sunburst, a pleasure to see you here.”

“Y-you don’t need to add a title to me, your majesty.” He assured her. “Just Sunburst is fine.”

“I see you’re keeping my dear sister company. What might be the occasion? Comparing crystal empire fashions with that of the seaward inclined?”

“We were actually working together on something.” Sunburst explained, going over the details of the ritual that Celestia had taken part in. With how animated he was explaining it to the other alicorn, Celestia pondered if he even needed a breath of air. The way his eyes lit up when discussing the new discovery of the tome and her willingness to help made her stare linger, even when Luna turned to address her.

“You always do find yourself up to something, don’t you dear sister?” Luna quipped, making Celestia’s head snap back to her. She stared owlishly before clearing her throat.

“W-well, it’s just. Something to do when we’re here. It’s nice to change things up. And I get to socialize like you suggested!” Unprompted, Celestia’s foreleg rose up and over Sunburst’s shoulder to pull him closer to her. His mane tickled against her chest. “Like with Sunburst here!”

“We see.” Luna’s raised eyebrow spoke where words did not, before she looked to the unicorn and adopted a polite smile again. “Sunburst, might I chat with my sister for a few moments alone? There was something that came to mind while I was away.”

“Oh, it’s fine! Sister talk. That’s important. Tell you what, you two catch up, and I’ll go exploring some. I’ll meet you back at the house?” He asked Celestia, making her nod before he turned to depart. She watched him go, her stare lingering in his direction before she looked at Luna.

“So what was it that you thought of?”

“You like him.”

The squawk of denial that left Celestia’s throat was most unladylike, enough to make Luna laugh into her hoof.

“L-Luna!”

“Oh yes. Come, sister. I want to hear more about this ritual.”

“So...there it is. I feel almost like an entirely new mare altogether. That ritual Sunburst discovered is the cause of it. I’ve gone from feeling like an aging husk paused in time to how you and I were in our prime, when we’d finished our tutelage under Starswirl.” Celestia finished her explanation of the past two days to her sister, who had listened with a pensive expression and forehooves pressed together. When she’d finished, Luna finally moved, picking up the book that Sunburst had left in their house and flipping through the pages.

“We recall an ancient magic of that type. Beyond the superficial works the mortal folk employ now for beauty and appearance. Although I hear they try to introduce some sort of foreign material called ‘silicone’ perhaps,” Luna remarked, “we were so ambitious in those early days. Never did we imagine an entire kingdom would come forth from a smattering of tiny villages.”

“They do tend to surprise us, our little ponies.” Celestia agreed. Her hoof came up to fiddle with the loose braid she’d retained after parting from Sunburst. “In all sorts of ways.”

“Indeed. Like charming an alicorn with their adorable nature.”

Celestia pouted. “I am not charmed. He is polite! And courteous! He even liked my hat.”

“Tis a nice hat.”

“Thank you, that’s what I thought too.”

Luna closed the book and smiled at her sibling. Celestia knew that smile. It was a very troublesome smile.

“Did anything else transpire during this ritual? Any odd interactions, perhaps a mistake in the runes?”

“I would imagine we’d have known if there was. Sunburst’s connector spell never went off, so we didn’t...why are you laughing?” Luna’s muzzle was scrunched up as she muffled herself with a hoof, further frustrating the white alicorn. “Luna!”

“Oh, sister. Thine intentions were honorable and fair, but magic does as magic will. Tell us; how long ago was the last time you sought a suitor?”

Celestia frowned in thought before answering her. “Far too long to try and recall. I...grew past such things, with the weight of the crown and kingdom on me. Even after your return, such pursuits just...never came to me.”

“You were never short pursuers, if the dreams of the realm tell me anything.” Luna assured her. “Many a pony rather relished the idea of an evening in the arms of Princess Celestia.”

“Luna, please don’t walk me down the dream escapades again. I still shudder at the darker avenues some wander.”

“Then let me bring light, oh sister of mine. The magic you subjected yourself to has done as it was told: to renew and refresh all within you. Your might, your magic, all coalesced and reborn like a new star in the sky,” Luna explained, continuing on after a breath, “but you neglect to remember that the natural order of things would resume as well. To possess a body of youth like the days of yore, means thine body is subjected to the whims and wants of the physical realm.”

Celestia sat still for a moment, trying to process what she was saying. “Luna, are you seriously suggesting that my biological clock is suddenly kicking into overdrive?”

“Perhaps not overdrive, but more like a chalice being filled under a powerful waterfall.” Luna offered. “And the heavier with water it grows, the greater its weight. But in a more common, perhaps raunchier wording: your body yearns for a mate, sister. And it’s yearning will be mighty.”

“B-but…” Celestia felt her cheeks darken at her sister’s suggestion. “Oh you’re just pulling my fetlock! There’s no way that could be what’s happening.”

“Tis nothing to be shamed by, dear sister. And it may not even happen, but I suspect more at play than this, from our innocent third party.” Luna’s smile never left her lips. She seemed so certain of the facts that it was equal parts frustrating as it was confusing. “Sunburst may have had nothing but innocent intentions, but what he did has put him right in your crosshairs.”

“How do you mean? He didn’t attempt anything forward or unbecoming. He has been the perfect gentlecolt!”

“And for that I am most glad. You could not have asked for a better return to the realm of carnal pleasures than with a stallion receptive to you and mindful of your well-being.” Luna opened the book again and held up the diagram to let Celestia see it as it hovered between them. “His spell, for the good it meant to do, has tampered with the magical intent of the spell. For not only are you restored to your prime, dear sister, but your body’s yearnings are being guided to him. It starts small, of course; you’ll feel radiant around him, happy and delighted in his company. He would speak well of you, and you’d consider him a kind soul, if genuine.”

Luna’s smile turned devious. “But time stops for nopony, and thine clock ticks ever onwards to a want for a warm body at your bedside. Your magic calls to reach for him, linking you to him without a single true binding of physical engagement.”

“You’re surely not suggesting I’m...going into estrus because of this?” Celestia questioned, thoughts racing a mile a minute. “How do you even know all this?”

“To the first question: no, tis not that. If it were, we’d hardly be having this conversation. No, this is the accumulation of years upon years of time you’ve kept your lusts, your desires locked away. Only now the doors have been undone and they are free to grow and breathe again. A mare in heat you won’t be, but a mare full of yearning and hunger you will. As for how we know? Consider all I have seen and witnessed, sister, in our time together. I have studied magic and its behavior to great extents; only you and I know each other’s magic so well. It’s just going to be a matter of time before you succumb. How you do so can still be up to you.”

“...you’re actually serious.” Celestia said.

“Quite. Some matters are worth a jest; this is rather personal, and to be fair, the first of April has long since passed. Elaborate jokes afterwards are best reserved for lady Pinkie Pie.”

Celestia sank into her seat and stayed quiet for a few moments, letting her thoughts swirl about her mind to ponder her alleged impending fate. “How do we know for sure? What if you’re wrong?”

If Luna was bothered by the questioning of her knowledge, it didn’t show. A patient nod was all she gave. “Then I’m wrong and we are fortunate to have your good health. But, and I do believe it’s a worthwhile butt since it’s yours in question,” Luna got up and nodded at the door, “let us test it.”

“How can we possibly test it?”

“Worry not; my methods are not as socially inept as I was some years ago.”

A few minutes later found the pair coming upon Sunburst once more, albeit slightly lost as he had his head covered by the unfolded map he’d purchased of the general area. Celestia lifted the map off his head and the unicorn smiled at her before explaining he’d gotten a little lost without her to guide him. The white alicorn’s wings had given a small fluff before she assured she’d help him out, with Luna smiling to herself all the while. Celestia saw this and schooled her features, intending on proving her sister wrong.

Luna then departed, leaving Celestia confused but suspicious at the excuse of needing to visit Twilight at the castle in Canterlot. The smile she was showing had no innocent intentions to it, but the alicorn couldn’t call her out on it there in front of Sunburst. Admittedly, without the teasing presence of her sister around, she could relax better around Sunburst. “What did Luna want to talk to you about?”

“Oh, it was nothing important really. Just a check-in to see how I was doing. I told her about the ritual we performed. She seemed quite intrigued.” Celestia told him.

“Maybe she would want to perform it as well?”

“No, no, no,” Celestia was quick to shut down that avenue of thought, “Lulu is actually happy with how she is. After the Nightmare Moon incident and Twilight restoring her, she seems to feel quite settled as how she is now. Disrupting that would upset her further, I feel.” She led him back towards the bay area; he’d mentioned wanting to see the harbor and where the ships sailed, she recalled.

“I see,” Sunburst noted before looking up to her, “Lulu, huh? What does she call you?”

Celestia chuckled. “Usually she’s so formal, she just says ‘sister’. Old habits of hers are hard to break, even after all this time in the modern age.” She looked down to him, eyes meeting his intrigued own. “What do you suppose would work?”

“Well, Sunny would probably be a little redundant. Or Sunshine.” He murmured out loud, “and saying CeCe just sounds...off. Your name’s quite tricky!”

Another giggle escaped the alicorn’s lips at Sunburst’s pondering, but before she could retort, they were interrupted by a pony racing up to them from up ahead. The mare’s appearance was quite...loud. Her mane was a yellow blonde cut short, a styled curl resting on the left side of her head. Green eyes peered through bedazzled red glasses that looked almost a size too large for her face, though they managed to stay on despite her gallop. A pen and pad hovered by her head as she came to them, her brown saddlebag jostling against her pink furred side.

“Oh my gosh, Sunburst! Mister Sunburst!” She called before stopping in front of them. Celestia raised an eyebrow, but stayed quiet to observe as the mare drew in close. “I’m Sweet Strawberry, it’s so nice to meet you!”

Sunburst was polite and smiled, taking her offered hoof and shaking it. “It’s a pleasure, Miss Strawberry.” Sunburst turned to the alicorn beside him. “And of course, you know Princess Celestia.”

“Yes I sure do, your majesty!” She replied, before focusing her attention again on Sunburst. The slight was small, but Celestia felt a nerve tick in the back of her head. “But Mister Sunburst, the Crystaller of the Crystal Empire, you’re who I’m really here for! I write articles for travel magazines; we never get to hear much out of the Crystal Empire though!”

“W-well, there’s plenty to be told by anypony you ask there. Really,” Sunburst told her, adjusting his glasses, “I’m hardly an expert for travel commentary though.”

“Nonsense! A strapping, clever stallion like you could tell me plenty!” The mare’s pen was already writing, even without him having answered one question yet. “Wandering the seaside haunts of the Shoals for a breath of air, maybe?”

“U-uh, well…”

The muscles in the back of Celestia’s neck twitched.

“Or maybe there’s secrets hidden in Silver Shoals we don’t know of. Perhaps a handsome fella like you could walk me around and show me?” The mare was leaning in closer now, her glasses sliding down a little as she eyed him up. Her lips were curled in a smile that spoke of nothing involving a mere interview, and Sunburst’s nervous smile persisted at her questioning.

Now that was quite enough.

“Excuse me.” Celestia stepped closer, her full height evident as she placed herself beside Sunburst. The alicorn’s wing extended over Sunburst’s shoulders, staying overtop them as she peered down at the overly talkative mare. She held her look, unblinking even as a polite smile stayed fixed on Celestia’s lips. “But Sunburst here is already on a vacation away from work. If you truly wish to interview him, perhaps try at a time when he’s not trying to relax. If your interest is sincere, I can certainly guide you to the right ponies.” The calm on the outside helped contain her irritation within, even as the mare before the two backed up a couple steps.

“After all, being a monarch for a few lifetimes let’s one know plenty of ponies and experiences. But for right now, the two of us are just trying to relax. Just us two.” Celestia’s eyes narrowed a little at Strawberry. “So if you don’t mind...please allow us to carry on. And convene with us another time.”

“Y-yes ma’am. Of course. Right.” The mare’s pen and pad vanished into her saddlebag and she gave a light nod of her head before scampering off. Celestia stared at her retreating form, relaxing only once the paparazzi was gone.

“I apologize, Sunburst. I usually don’t cut in like that, but I can only endure so much from a nosy press pony.” She told him, looking down to the stallion. He was still within her grasp, but he made no move to leave her wing’s grasp. Being this close to her let her feel him rub against her wing, a pleasant sensation.

“It’s quite alright. I’m...I’m not the best under scrutiny like that. Reminds me too much of mom back home,” he explained to her, “always pushing for her schedule and ideas.”

She hadn’t meant to. She didn’t know what pushed her to do it. But Celestia leaned in and gave the stallion a gentle nuzzle with her cheek, making him pause from his rumination and stay still. A brief pang of worry struck her before he returned the notion, making Celestia smile down at him. The alicorn stayed close, glad her mane was still in it’s braid to keep it out of his face.

“You do a terrific job, Sunburst. Don’t let the pressures of the world enclose on you; take a breath and keep your head held high. Many times, I’ve thought I fell short. And yet somehow, I’m still seen as a great Princess. Even though I know my time has been riddled with mistakes and slipups.”

“Not at all!” Sunburst’s insistent reply made her eyebrows raise before he continued, “I-I just mean. You do a great job. I’ve seen how Shining and Cadance handled it themselves, and they had rough spots. And you did it on your own. Nopony can judge you on that merit. Least of all me. I...I think you’re fantastic.” His words caught up with his brain and he stammered. “Y-your work ethic. Your time as ruler, I meant. B-But you are too! Oh, balderdash.”

Celestia laughed, but embraced Sunburst to her side with her wing, to which the unicorn bore no resistance. “Oh, Sunburst. If only I had more sincere stallions around like you. Come. Let’s try to get to the bay before another burst of paparazzi tries to ambush us, hm?” She suggested. Sunburst nodded, more at ease alongside her. Only after a few steps did Celestia realize her wing was still on him, and she pulled it back, pushing down the reluctant feeling opposing the decision.

“Celly.” Sunburst declared, making her look to him from the path ahead. “That’s your nickname. Celly.”

The pink in her cheeks stayed as she beamed at the unicorn. Yes. A sincere stallion indeed.