Alduin Unbound

Celestia's Decision

This world, where much is to be done, and little to be known-

Samuel Johnson

The bedroom was dark and quiet; the candles sat unlit, and the fireplace ashes lay cold and unstirred. The windows were closed and latched against the evening's chill, translucent curtains admitting only the softest vestiges of moonlight. The only sound came from a clock hanging upon the wall, though another noise slowly but steadily joined it.

The flapping of wings through the air.

A shadow moved across the floor as something glided past the window, its form growing as it drew nearer. It swept down to the balcony, its momentum slowing to a hover. It alighted with the click of hooves on stone, and it turned to the door, wings folding to the sides.

There was a brief flash of light, and the door's latch glowed, unlocking with a soft click. The handle turned, and the door swung open to reveal an alicorn, her cargo nestled protectively on her back. To somepony watching, it would be more than enough to make them believe in the old foal's tale explaining where babies came from.

This irony was not lost on Celestia, who recited the lines to herself in amusement.

"And when the mother and father wish for a child of their own, they voice their request to the princess, who sees it as a shooting star in the sky above. She then gathers her magic and ascends into the heavens. The position of the sun and moon determine what the infant shall be; an abundance of solar magic will give life to a colt, while lunar energy creates a filly. And so the princess sends forth her magic to bond with the sunlight or moonbeams, forming the new life out of her own love and power. Sometimes she chooses to bestow an aspect of her own form upon them, and the foal is born with wings or a horn."

Inwardly smiling, Celestia stepped into the room, softly closing the door behind her. The egg levitated from her back and came to a rest on her bed.

"Once the princess is satisfied with her work, she places the infant upon her back and descends once more to Equestria," she continued. "She glides silently through the night, unseen or heard by anypony. Coming to the home of the new parents, she delivers the foal to their bed, placing a blessing upon them. From that moment, the child is theirs, and they are tied together as a family. Her task completed, the princess departs once again…"

Celestia trailed off, a slight hitch in her voice. Yes, the parallels were almost uncanny between that story and the position she now occupied. The differences that existed, however, were extreme. The shooting star that heralded this one's arrival was not a hopeful omen, but a missile of death. She had not pieced this infant together out of sunshine and magic, but had plucked it from a graveyard of shattered trees and melted rock.

"And there are no parents who await your arrival," she finished. "So to whom do I deliver you?"

There certainly weren't many options. She immediately disregarded the option of sending it off to other dragons. While her kingdom was at peace with the draconic nation of Uruloki, she was not particularly keen on simply handing her new charge over, especially without knowing how they dealt with abandoned or orphaned eggs.

Raising it in Equestria was similarly difficult. Dragons, by and large, were not a common sight amongst ponies, and their reputation throughout was dubious at best. She had no doubt that an adoptive family could be found for the hatchling, but simple parental love and attention was not going to be enough.

The more she thought about it, the more Celestia realized that this was a problem that needed to be approached rationally, and she certainly wasn't going to solve it sitting in the dark. A quick burst of magic saw to that; candles lit, the fireplace blazed, and a scroll unfurled on her desk, a writing quill levitating above it. Perfect. The room was lit, heated, and she was ready to begin. Positioning herself at the usual spot, she began to pace.

She trod a slow, circular path about the room, mentally listing off the various criteria that a candidate would need to meet if this egg were to be entrusted to their care. The first, obviously, would be a suitable attitude towards dragonkind.

"They would have to possess a measure of impartiality," she mused, a quill telekinetically recording her thoughts. "As well as some practical knowledge or interest on the subject. Somepony who knows about dragons as dragons, not simply as campfire stories about filly sacrifices and destructive rampages."

The next matter was that of the candidate's location, but as she began to consider locations, she quickly realized that viable options were sparse. Now, Celestia prided herself on being a mare of tolerance and open-mindedness, and she certainly wasn't going to judge a pony simply because of where they chose to reside. However, there were some cities throughout Equestria in which she would not allow this dragon to be raised. As far as she was concerned, it deserved to have a happy, normal upbringing, not be hatched in someplace like Manehattan where it would be viewed as little more than an exotic pet. The very idea set her teeth on edge. Well, to hay with that!

She was shaken out of her musings by the dry, snapping sound of a quill breaking at the tip. Turning to her notes, she was embarrassed to see that her usually tidy writing had undergone a small change. The prospective list of cities had become a mess of jagged lines and angrily scratched out names, with the point of her quill embedded into the wood beneath the scroll.

Clearing her throat, she replaced the quill, sopped up the spilled ink, mentally apologized to her internal stenographer, and continued. And so the night marched on, accompanied by soft dictation, the scraping of a quill on parchment, and the hoofsteps of a princess as she paced a rut into the floor.

Hours later, clocks began to chime in the city, and ponies everywhere awoke to prepare for the new day. Birds chirped in the early morning stillness, and the first light of dawn peeked over the horizon as the sun began its daily journey through the sky.

Or at least, it would have, if the deity in charge of raising said object was not slumped over her desk, snoring.

Somewhere in the distance came the muffled, yet shrill crow of a rooster, determined not to falter in its usual routine despite such astronomical calamities as a stalled sun. The noise was enough to wake the princess, who blearily opened her eyes and sat upright, a scroll stuck to the side of her face. She pulled the object away, unmindful of the ink stains it had left on her muzzle, and looked around in confusion. A few seconds passed before she realized what time it was and what she was supposed to be doing, and she leapt up in alertness and responded to the situation with the calm dignity for which she was known.

"OH, MANURE," She yelled as she galloped for the balcony, foregoing the time-consuming process of opening the door in favor of simply blasting it off its hinges. The otherwise calm morning was interrupted when a flash of light and the sound of shattering wood accompanied the sun goddess' rushed exit from the castle. Luckily, the sun was raised without any further mishap, and the day proceeded uneventfully, except for one unfortunate noblemare who was showered with wood and other door wreckage and came to believe that the sky was falling.

By the time Celestia returned to her quarters, the sun had already been set. Her normally regal trot had relegated into a slow, tired shuffle, and it was all she could do to keep from simply levitating herself down the hallway. She hadn't slept in thirty-eight hours, had overseen repair efforts throughout Canterlot, met with spokesponies from several affected communities, and they hadn't even scratched the surface of the work still to do. At one point she had even entertained the idea of banishing HERSELF to the moon, simply for some peace, quiet, and a decade or two of relaxation. Alas, personal responsibility and duty to her kingdom were too deeply ingrained for her to ever follow through with such fantasies.

Her room was just as she left it, though the candles and fireplace had long since burnt out and the writing near the bottom of her scroll was noticeably smeared. There was also the small matter of the gaping hole that opened out to her balcony. With a sigh, she stumbled over to her desk, levitating the scroll to eye-level.

Biting back a yawn, she glanced over the scroll, occasionally managing to recognize a word as her eyelids began to droop.

"Ideal… Canterlot… parents should… education… no siblings…"

With a final yawn, Celestia's head dropped onto the scroll that it had been occupying that very morning. She was on the verge of falling into a very well deserved slumber when a series of knocks came from the door.

"No… too early," she mumbled into the parchment. To her relief, the knocking soon ended, although it was replaced by the creak of a door swinging open and tentative hoofsteps into the room.

"Your majesty?"

She wearily lifted her head from the desk, meeting the gaze of a yellow colored pegasus in a maid's apron.

Her eyes moved to the glittering ribbon that served as the pony's cutie mark, and her mind stirred back into some measure of alertness.

"Hello, Silver Bow. What brings you here at such an hour?"

The mare lowered her head, knees shaking. "Begging milady's pardon, bu… but I was sent to ensure that you retired to bed at an appropriate hour. Um… you see after yesterday's disaster, an... and then the late dawn this morning, your advisors thought that another delayed sunrise might… worry the populace.

As tired as she was, Celestia couldn't hold back the amused snort that erupted from her throat. "Sound reasoning, though I doubt that is the exact message they gave you, is it not?"

Silver Bow dropped her head, an embarrassed blush painting her cheeks. "No doubt they feared that any further irresponsibility on my part would plunge the kingdom into anarchy!" The maid kept silent, although Celestia noticed that her mouth was twitching up into a smile.

"What did they rant about this time," she asked. "Riots in the streets? The collapse of civilization? The dead rising from the grave? A cheese embargo?"

"Well… actually, they claimed it would be viewed as signs of the world ending," Silver Bow giggled.

The two mares shared a laugh as Celestia collapsed onto her bed. "Well, I thank and congratulate you for staving off an impending apocalypse. You may go about your duties assured that your princess will be adhering to her normal bedtime."

"Very well milady. And… if it's alright with you… might I also be so bold as to request a replacement door for your balcony?"

"I think… that would be for the best,"

"As you wish. Pleasant dreams your highness."

"Mmhmm," she mumbled, sinking into the warm comfort of her bed. She had begun to doze off even before her head touched the pillows. Nothing more for the night but a nice… long… slee-

"Oh, milady! What's this on your bed?"

"Wuz… wha?"

"This purple, this thing at the foot of your bed. It looks like an egg! Is it an egg?" Somehow, the very sight of it had transformed one of the most timid mares in Equestria into a bundle of excitement.

"…. dragon egg…"

"Oh my gosh, a dragon's egg! What kind of dragon? How big will it get? Is it dangerous?"

"Only… if… drop it… on somepony's…head!" Celestia growled into her blankets. She was suddenly very envious of earth and pegasus ponies. At least THEY could shove a pillow over their face without goring a hole through it.

Silver Bow seemed to have picked up on her annoyance, because she quickly leapt up and made for the door.

"I'm so sorry for keeping you awake, I'll see myself out. Wow, an actual dragon egg! I'd love to see what it looks like. I can't wait to tell everyone else! I wonder if…"

By the time the mare's voice had vanished down the corridor, Celestia was out like a light.

It was truly amazing what a good night's sleep could do. Where previously she had felt dead on her hooves, today she was on top of the world. Meetings and visitations flew by in a whirlwind of productivity. She was unstoppable! She was invincible! She-

"Your majesty? With your permission, I would like to move on to one final, troubling order of business."

-didn't like the sound of that one bit.

Her gaze swept across the table, trying to pinpoint which of her councilors had spoken. The stallion in question was a light, almost pale green, and he was leaning over the table with an almost frantic look.

"Of course Sweet Grass, please share what news you have."

"Your majesty," he said with a quick nod to the group. "Councilors, this matter concerns a disturbing rumor that has been spreading amongst my staff since last night. Allegedly, there has been a dragon egg smuggled into the castle!"

Silence fell as those in the room immediately focused their attention on Sweet Grass, their expressions ranging from disbelief to concern to annoyance. The only exception was Celestia herself, who looked as though he had simply commented upon the weather.

"Normally, I would attribute this to simple gossip and deal with the individuals myself rather than bring it to the council's attention," he continued. "But the physical description of the egg seems far too detailed to have been simply imagined, and the mare believed to have begun this rumor is not, shall we say… known for such flights of fancy."

Hushed voices filled the room as the gathered ponies began to whisper amongst themselves. The very air was filled with a nervous energy.

Sweet Grass had risen to his hooves, tail twitching in agitation. "Your majesty, just look at the result of such a rumor! Even here, with the most collected and experienced ponies in Canterlot! Can you imagine the reaction if the rest of the city were to find out? We must move quickly, launch an investigation, and discover just where this egg originated from and how it came to be in the castle!"

A one-eyed unicorn stallion slammed his hoof onto the table. "Can't you get that damn PR obsession out of your head for one blasted minute and look at the real problem we're facing? We have to get that egg the buck out of Canterlot, or we'll be dealing with much worse than a simple panic! I say we call in a regiment and begin searching the entire castle. Meantime, we gather up all those servants of yours and grill them until the guilty one confesses!"

Sweet Grass looked taken aback. "General, are you insinuating that one of MY workers is responsible for this mess?"

"That egg didn't walk itself in here," the unicorn sneered. "Somepony with access to the castle must've brought it in!"

"And what information do you have to prove this," the earth pony snapped back. "I'll not have you accosting them like common criminals without just cause!"

"Just cause!" The general's scarred face twisted into a look of rage. "The entire city is in danger! You want to put the lives of our people at risk because you're afraid of hurting somepony's feelings?!"

Sweet Grass kicked his chair aside and stalked around the table with his jaw clenched. The unicorn simply rose with a smile, sparks beginning to crackle and dance around his horn.

"Let me give you some advice, boy," he said as he advanced on the green pony. "It's unwise to start a fight you can't hope to win."

"ENOUGH," Celestia's voice boomed out. The two stallions found themselves lifted into the air and turned to face the irate princess.

"Sweet Grass, General Cascade, you are both here because you serve the greater good of Equestria," she said sternly. "Coming to blows over a disagreement does nothing for our kingdom, nor its people. You are not colts on the playground, so I expect a degree of maturity. From ALL of you," she clarified with a look at the others. "Are we clear?"

The two responded with sheepish nods, and she gently lowered them to their seats before ending her spell.

"Now that we've all calmed down, I'd like to address both of your suggestions. There will be no search of the castle, nor any investigation launched. There is no need because…"

"But, your majesty! Surely you understand the need for swift action in-"

"Because, I can already give the egg's location and explain its presence here," she continued sharply.

All eyes in the room were fixated on Celestia, eager to hear just what she had discovered about this un-hatched intruder.

"The egg is in my chambers," she casually remarked. "Where it has been since I brought it to the castle two nights past."

You could have heard a pin drop from a mile away.

"WHAT," Cascade shrieked. "You, of all ponies, brought that menace here?"

"You disagree with my actions, General?" she asked.

"I certainly do! A thousand pardons, your highness, but what the holy hay were you thinking? This is a dragon we're speaking of! Do you have any idea what its sires will do when they track it here?"

"You've no need to fear such a thing," she reassured him. "I can assure you that none will come in search of this egg, for I recovered it from the very crater dug by the recent meteor strike. It was the only thing to emerged unscathed from the miles of destruction and flattened terrain. Either it was abandoned before the disaster, or orphaned during it."

A maroon pony spoke up. "And now that you've salvaged it, milady, what is to be done? I assume you plan to form a delegation to return it to its own kind in Uruloki?"

Celestia inhaled slowly. This was it. Time to stir up the anthill, rattle the basilisk cage, and blow a goodbye kiss to calm and reasonable discussion.

"No such thing will be done. It was laid here, and so it will be hatched and raised. I intend this dragon to be seen as a full citizen of Equestria."

Jaws dropped, eyes widened, and at least three of the assembled ponies dropped to the ground in a faint.

"But… how… your majesty," Sweet Grass began to sputter. "Why in the… this is insanity! Raising a dragon in Equestria? The very idea is enough to cause pandemonium everywhere! Revolt! Exodus! Mass-suicides! Such a thing could destroy our entire nation!"

"Enough with the doomsday prophecies," a cobalt mare shouted from his left. "I swear, there is no such thing as middle-ground with you! All you can predict is calamities and anarchy!"

"What else do you expect," he fired back. "When the citizens of the kingdom see a gigantic, fire-breathing, bloodthirsty abomination rampaging in the streets?"

"You're speaking as though it will emerge fully grown and ravenous from the egg," a tan pegasus said.

"Regardless of the size, a dragon is a dragon!"

"And how many dragons have you come across, that you think you're an expert on the subject? When it hatches, I assure you it will prove as threatening as any newborn foal."

"You cannot be serious! Stillwater, you of all ponies should know what an absurd idea this is, and yet you support it?" Cascade had been silently fuming since Celestia's reprimand, but now his anger was rekindled, his gaze boring into the sand-colored stallion.

"That's right, I do," Stillwater responded. "What we have here, ladies and gentlecolts, is a unique opportunity for establishing a tolerance between our races. If we allow this dragon to be born and live among us, then it will not be seen as an outsider. If it can be established to the people that it is simply a child, and not a monster, then prejudices can slowly be eroded. As it grows, it will view ponykind as its people, and in time, they will grow to trust it."

The only reply came from a guard to Celestia's right, who quirked a rather Spockish eyebrow and stated, "The councilor's reasoning is quite logical."

Cascade, however, was far from finished. "You are all missing the point! This dragon may come to be accepted as one of our people, but what of its own? Tell me, how do you expect the nation of Uruloki to react when they learn that one of their own was raised in Equestria? Deprived of its native culture to be taught the customs and laws of what they deem 'lesser creatures?' What if they view it as an insult? What if they see it as a threat?"

"You're imagining the worst," another mare argued. "Several dragons already reside, with her majesty's consent, in the more remote areas of the kingdom. This is nothing more than the next step in that process. We are offering sanctuary to an orphaned child, not stealing an infant away from its crib. This charitable action could very well improve dragon/pony relations as a whole; we might even see the treaty blossom into a fully developed alliance!"

"Or it could just as easily become the incentive to renew past hostilities," Cascade spat. "I will not see a war arise over this damned egg!"

Wheeling around to face Celestia, he spoke in a low, harsh rasp. "Your majesty, this egg is nothing short of a menace; it is a disaster waiting to be unleashed. Whatever frivolous reasons possessed you to bring it among us, they do not justify the danger that accompanies it. I demand that it be removed from the kingdom, or destroyed at once!"

Heat flooded the room as a corona of magic blazed around the princess. Eyes glowing white, mane streaming out like a halo of fire, the alicorn arose. The other ponies were rendered immobile, their gazes averted and bodies trembling as the ire of a goddess pulsed through the air.

"I will hear no more, General," Celestia spoke in a whisper, yet her voice roiled over them like a peal of thunder. "Before you deign to order me about, I would advise you to remind yourself of which of us sits on this throne."

Her head lowered, and the aura of menace narrowed until it lay directed solely at Cascade. The unicorn was shaking violently, his eyes squeezed shut to avoid looking upon the monarch.

"Understand this. In commanding me, you are disputing my right of sovereignty. Is that what you wish? Will you challenge me for the throne?"

"N..no your majesty! Never!" Cascade was struggling for breath as the stifling air burned his mouth and throat. For a moment there was no response, and he feared that his previous words had gone too far, that Celestia's divine power would only burn hotter and stronger until there was nothing left of him but cinders.

As suddenly as it came, the heat vanished. Celestia's appearance returned to normal, magic dissipating as she seemed to deflate in weariness.

"Forgive me," she whispered. Casting an apologetic look to the shaken councilors, she tottered towards the exit. She paused before opening the door, and gave them a final glance.

"Again, I am sorry for my outburst. But my decision is final. From this point onwards, the dragon, hatched or otherwise, is a subject of Equestria. It is under my personal care and protection, and will remain so until I choose otherwise."

"Are we clear," she asked. A chorus of hesitant nods was the only response. "Very well, then I bid you all a good evening."

The walk back to her quarters was slow and disheartening. She was appalled at how easily she had let anger gain control of her. She had never before reacted in such a manner to any of her subjects, even for such insolence as Cascade had shown.

She realized with a start that it was his words themselves that moved her to wrath. His wish for the egg's destruction had brought forth a fury that she had never before experienced. An almost savage feeling of protectiveness had stirred within her, and as her powers built to a crescendo, she would have sooner obliterated him on the spot then let the slightest harm come to her egg.

The very prospect frightened her. She had been willing to fight for the sake of it. She had been willing to kill to protect it.

It was too much to handle at the moment. Pushing every conscious thought out of her head, Celestia stumbled into her room and made straight for the bed. Drifting into an uneasy sleep, she told herself that she would figure this out in the morning. It would all make sense tomorrow…

As she slept, the Princess paid no heed to the fact that she had draped a wing over the egg and pulled it against her side in the night. At the time, it simply seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

Alright, second chapter done. A tad rushed, as I wanted to get it posted before heading off for the next week for holidays. Hopefully my quick proofreading didn't miss any nasty grammatical or spelling errors. Regardless, hope everyone has a wonderful holidays/new year and that you enjoy the chapter. Adios!