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We Were Meant to Rule Together, Little Sister
Hooves thundered against the stone. The two mares, indigo and white, raced hard against each other through the echoing early dawn corridors. Laughter rang through the firelit walls. The white mare gave her younger sister a mischievous smile and put on a burst of speed, lowering her head and flaring her wings. Her younger sister tried to keep up, but her smaller legs caused her to lag behind.
Princess Celestia whipped around a corner and hid behind one of the paintings, tucking her enormous body behind the ceiling-to-floor creation. Princess Luna rushed past. She cantered to a stop, ears perked as she no longer heard her sister’s hooves, and then tense as she stood on alert. Her big cyan eyes took in their stone-darkened surroundings. Her glimmering blue mane and tail trailed over the tiles as she stalked, her shoes barely making a noise.
She froze.
Princess Luna dipped her head and narrowed her eyes at a point just past the painting. One step… two steps…
Princess Celestia jumped out, fluttering her wings. “Boo!”
Princess Luna squealed and teleported back, wings up and reared back.
Princess Celestia burst into laughter. “Gotcha!”
Her little sister scoffed and whipped her head back. “Only because you got ahead of me! I saw your tail under the painting!” She stamped her hoof and looked back at the hall. Her ears perked and she looked back. A wide grin bared her teeth. “You cannot get me again.” With that, she spun around and took off.
“We’ll see!” Princess Celestia called back, her hooves carrying her into a chase before her mind could make up the thought to do so.
Princess Luna ran with her wings tucked to her side and her head down. Just as Princess Celestia got close, her younger sister threw herself into one of the hollow suits of armor and down one of the trapdoor slides. Her loud, cackling laughter vanished into the darkness, cut off as the trapdoor shut.
Princess Celestia skidded to a stop, laughed, and then continued running down another hall. “Oh, you clever mare!”
She had to slow her run to a walk. Luna knew these passages well! We both do; this is our home. Her hooves approached the throne room. Midmorning sunlight warmed her flank from a passing window.
“Not another step.” The gravity in Princess Luna’s tone forced Princess Celestia to a halt. Even in the shadow of the throne room’s entrance, her brilliant flank all but glowed. There was no hiding her presence. Princess Luna, however, melted from the shadow of her throne as if she had been constructed from them. She walked forward and stood before her throne just above the steps, on the precipice. “Did you really expect me to sit idly by while they all basked in your precious light? ” She moved, stepping up to the balcony at which Princess Celestia often spoke. “There can only be one princess in Equestria.” She flared her indigo wings and reared up. “And that princess will be me! ” She slammed her hooves down, breaking the stony half wall around the balcony. Her eyes flashed in hot blue light.
Princess Celestia’s heart plummeted. She wanted to move, but her muscles locked in place, frozen by the same ice that chilled her veins. No, Sister. Don’t do this.
Shadows crept up the wall. Cracks formed by the break in the balcony continued to split the wall behind her, creeping up to the stained glass that spilled sunlight over the thrones of the two sisters. The glass fractured faster than the stone until finally it and an entire portion of the wall shattered, revealing the midmorning sun.
Princess Celestia’s ears pinned back, and she squinted, flinching from the full brilliance of the sun. Luna flapped her wings. Her horn glowed. The moon rose behind her.
Then, it all went dark.
The animals outside chirped and hooted and buzzed, confused. Were they to sleep? To wake? The stars were out. The moon was in the sky. But the sun had not set. It had eclipsed.
Light returned, harsh and red in a cocoon of energy. Some perverted version of a transformation unfolded before her.
Princess Luna landed on the broken stone, her fur darker and pupils thin and elongated like a cat’s. She cackled and reared her head back, flaring her sharp wings, showing off sharp teeth and her larger size, a size to rival her older sister’s, before losing the faux mirth.
Her horn glowed in cyan light, and she pointed at a statue of Princess Celestia above the hall. Her laser obliterated it and then tore through the arched ceiling as she dragged a harsh line across it.
Princess Celestia’s ears flicked forward, and resolve broke the tension inside of her. She walked forward and stopped in the middle of the hall to look down upon a shattered statue of herself. It’s… not too late.
Hoofsteps.
She turned her head up again. Her little sister stepped through the clearing dust cloud, eyes cold and hard as the northern ice.
Princess Celestia launched herself into the air. Any words she tried to speak died in her throat as the black-furred alicorn shot at her with a laser. She dove out of the way. The ceiling exploded above her, revealing the moon and stars. She deigned to land.
Princess Luna calmed, standing straight and tall, eyes narrowed.
Princess Celestia tucked in her wings. She met her harsh gaze steadily. “Luna, I will not fight you. You must lower the moon! It is your duty!” she impressed upon her.
Princess Luna asked, “Luna? I am Nightmare Moon! I have but one royal duty now:”–Her horn glowed and she flared her wings–“to destroy you!”
Princess Celestia leaped into the air, flapping her wings hard to dodge the wildly projected laser. It scorched the floor where she stood.
“And where do you think you’re going?” her little sister taunted, finally taking flight as well.
Princess Celestia flew into the mid-morning night. Another laser shot past toward the moon, and then one struck the tower. I need to keep her away from anything that might get hurt, stop her from doing something she will regret. Celestia flew over and around a bridge, which exploded and collapsed behind her, and then dove and leveled with the ground. Two more shots scorched the trampled earth.
She twirled up, flying over the throne room. Her sister was getting close. She had gotten surprisingly fast. The sudden size change helped with that.
A laser found its mark in her ribs.
The white alicorn screamed. She dropped from the sky like a shooting star, falling through the open roof of the throne room. Her little sister’s cackling faded with distance.
The explosive shot burned through her bones and flesh. Whatever the stone-rending shot didn’t do, the multistory drop straight onto merciless stone finished. Princess Celestia lay crumpled on the floor.
Princess Celestia was no longer a unicorn. She was an ancient being older than Equestria itself with the power to raise the sun single-hoofed. She was an alicorn and Equestria’s immortal ruler. She had a royal duty to lead Equestria, to defend Equestria. Now, Equestria needed her to defend it.
Stars swam beneath her eyelids. A pained wheeze dragged itself into her lungs. She opened her eyes. Across the room, her shattered statue stared back at her. She meant it. Pain racked her chest, and her right foreleg was at least fractured from the impact. She pulled her wings up above her and steadily forced herself to her hooves. She raised her head, resolve hardening her gaze. The pain would ease in time. She needed her wings.
“Oh, dear sister.” She turned back to where their secret weapons lay hidden beneath the floor. “You have given me no choice but to use these .” Her horn glowed in golden light as she activated the trapdoor. A mechanism switched and a section of the floor rose. A bulbous stone contraption with five arms, each holding a different colored gem, raised from the ground and presented itself to the sky. She flew up, biting back a wince of pain from her fractured–if not broken–ribs. She stopped at a hover before the Elements and carefully took them from their place with her magic. Kindness, Generosity, Laughter… Honesty…
…Loyalty…
And the sixth one was revealed. Magic.
Half of the Elements responded immediately to her magic. The other three weren’t so quick to respond, but did so, anyway. Her little sister wielded them against Discord. Of course, if artifacts could feel, they would feel loyalty to a previous wielder.
They spun around her faster and faster until she was encased in a rainbow halo. Her pelt glowed with its radiance. The pain of her wounds leaked away. She flapped her wings, lifting her up to meet her little sister.
The black-furred alicorn spotted her. She bared her teeth and her eyes glowed white as she prepared her laser again.
The pain in her chest came back. It came back hard. Tears misted her eyes and spilled over her cheeks. Princess Celestia took hold of the Element of Magic and focused it on the monster that she created. The rest of the Elements twirled around it, creating a shifting, shimmering bubbling around her.
The black alicorn struck. The Elements struck back, harder. They overwhelmed her nearly immediately. Her shriek rang over the dark landscape as the Elements of Harmony vaporized the alicorn and imprinted her into the moon.
The light faded. The mid-morning night faded back into an uneasy stillness. Princess Celestia, the Elements of Harmony warm in her magical grasp, stared at the place her baby sister once occupied. Her last word filled her ears, drowning out the confused and terrified world.
Author's Note
I choose to believe Celestia has always been a bit of a jokester. In the "Journal of Two Sisters", she claims to like hiding behind the paintings, while Luna liked the trapdoor slides. (Princess Twilight reads this in Season 4, Episode 3: "Castle-Mania", literally the episode after the Luna Banishment)
Speaking of which, alicorns are immortal. Celestia has to keep going, as long Equestria needs her. That's the logic I'm going off of. Considering Luna is also a ruler of Equestria, she's technically under that protection as well despite being literally vaporized. (That's Canon-Typical Violence, she was blasted to smithereens) I wanted to sprinkle in a little bit of "Warrior Cats 9 lives" logic, too; if she dies, her immediate life-ending wound is magically healed and then everything else is just "Lmao frick you heal on your own". If the Elements can turn a draconequus to stone or send an alicorn to space, I'm sure they can fix a few broken ribs, too.
Oh, and this chapter was inspired by Ghost in the Sun by PrinceWhateverer. Definitely check it out! It's an amazing song! I've been wanting to make a Celestia-centric fic for God knows how long, and this kinda just jumpstarted it. <3 Next batter up to pitch: phoenix girl!
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The Answers You Seek Are in the Canterlot Library
The study was vacant, save for two souls–an enormous white alicorn sitting at the table and a young apricot unicorn standing in the middle of the room. The midday sun sent light and shadow dancing over the tile. The alicorn sipped her tea and sat on a large red pillow. Across from her was another pillow with a teacup, its contents lukewarm. “Sunset, why don’t we take a break and have some tea? We have only just started working on transfiguration a week ago.”
“I! Almost! Have! It!” The young unicorn stared hard at the empty ceramic teapot on the floor in front of her. Her horn glowed and sparked in teal light, glittering off the sweat beading on her face. Her hooves dug into the carpet.
Pop!
The teapot shone in teal light and transformed into a large black pot.
The unicorn gasped and the light in her horn went out. She knickered and bucked and trotted a circle around the pot, head and tail held high. A grin so wide it must have hurt broke her features.
Princess Celestia grinned, set down her teacup, and clapped her hooves. “Very good! You’re learning at an incredible pace, my little pony.”
Sunset stopped and ran to the table. “Thank you! I promised you I’d learn as much as I could!” The excitement and joy glimmering in her eyes–Sunset couldn’t stand still, even while addressing her.
“And you are doing wonderfully .” Pride and a joy to match the little filly’s swelled up inside of her like a phoenix. “You are a brilliant student, Sunset. But remember, if something is too difficult or if you are feeling pressured, please do not be afraid to tell me. There is no shame in traveling a steady road.”
Sunset nodded. “Okay! But you don’t have to worry about me. I’m pretty good at learning new things.” She pranced to her spot with tea and took a sip, flicked her ears back at the temperature, reheated it with her magic, winced from its new temperature, and then continued drinking it without waiting for it to cool down.
Princess Celestia bit back a sigh. She would need to weave in some lessons pertaining to patience. Maybe a history lesson, or a plant growing potion. Potion lessons took time, and plant-growing potions took time to take effect. Teatime wasn’t helping much; Sunset weathered burns better than most any pony Princess Celestia had ever seen. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think the little filly liked her tea scalding.
Eventually, Princess Celestia concluded their lesson. Sunset ran back to the pot and concentrated on it. To her credit, she did turn it back into a porcelain teapot. However, she wobbled on her hooves and keeled sideways. The alicorn outstretched one of her wings and caught her. “Sunset, that’s quite enough out of you today. Please return to your quarters and rest.”
Sunset, her eyes closed, rested on Princess Celestia’s wing for a heartbeat longer before nodding and standing up straight. She blinked open her big teal eyes. “I’ll see you at dinner! Thank you again!”
Princess Celestia smiled. “I’ll see you at dinner, Sunset. Please rest. Don’t lay in bed reading a book!” Princess Celestia raised her voice to call after the unicorn. The filly stumbled as she got to the door, flinching.
Gotcha!
“Okay, I won’t!” With that, she was gone.
Princess Celestia walked out the same door.
Her tired eyes trailed over the stained glass of the hallway windows. The bleeding light of the late-day sun ravaged the colors of the different depicted scenes. Her pale magenta eyes crossed over an indigo alicorn with a black crown over the top of the crescent moon. “Dear Sister, how I miss you.” There were so many words she wanted to say, so many phrases she’d said a million times before. So many she’d say a thousand times again.
“Princess?”
Princess Celestia stood up a little straighter at the hard tone of her guard and turned back. “Yes, Snow Breeze?” One of her more prominent, but younger, royal guards stood behind her, a purple unicorn mare panting heavily at his side, her silver mane and tail done up in a bun.
The pegasus raised his stark white wing in salute before bringing it back down and stating, “Sunset Shimmer is in the restricted section of the library, Your Highness.”
Princess Celestia’s gaze went dark. “Thank you for telling me. Come with me.” As they trotted, she said, “Please do not interfere, Dusty Books.”
“Y-yes, Your Highness,” the unicorn whimpered.
Another white pegasus guard met them by the library, standing just outside of view from the inside. He was about the same age as Snow Breeze; both friends that hailed from Cloudsdale. Despite being young, they made an excellent team. Friendship always reaped rewards. Why can’t my pupil see this?
Princess Celestia walked inside. The princess’s own coat all but glowed in the firelight, and her shoes and weight made her a terrible sneak. Yet Sunset’s voice trickled out of the library from behind a suitcase, undisturbed. “The crystal mirror… every thirty moons, a portal will open to… another world?”
Princess Celestia stated, “That’s not really for you to know, now is it?” Snow Breeze and Sword Fall flanked her, heads lowered and wings half furled, staring down the unicorn student as they would any other threat.
Sunset snapped the book shut and turned on the princess quick as a snake. “How dare you keep this kind of magic from me! You know that I’m ready for this, that I can be great!”
Princess Celestia kept her head high and her voice level. “You could be great,” she agreed. “I thought I saw compassion and sincerity in you, but it was nothing but ambition. You’re being selfish, you need to step back and reflect…”
The young unicorn gasped and smacked the old book, sending it flying at the alicorn. She barely needed to react to make a shield suitable enough to reflect it. She did need to raise a hoof to keep her guards from lunging. Sunset spat, “I’m selfish? That book right there says that I could become as powerful as an alicorn princess. I could rule here . It’s selfish of you to keep me from my rightful place .”
Sunset stared up at her with hard, defiant teal eyes. “I deserve to stand beside you and be your equal… if not your better . Make me a princess.” The last words were a statement, an order.
“There can only be one princess in Equestria. And that princess will be me!”
No. It will not happen again.
Princess Celestia kept her tone level still despite knowing her words would not come across. “No. Being a princess must be earned. I have been trying to teach you everything you need to know, but you’ve turned from it. Every time you say you ‘deserve’ to get something without the effort just proves to me that you are not ready.”
She spread her wings wide, stamped her hoof, and steeled herself. She narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. “Sunset Shimmer, I am removing you from the position of my pupil. If we cannot get past this, your studies end here. You are welcome to stay in Canterlot, but you are no longer welcome in the castle.”
Hatred and wounded love choked by jealousy raged like fire in those big blue eyes that glared into hers.
Sunset swelled up and shifted on her hooves. She spat out, “We’re never going to get past this because you aren’t seeing how great I deserve to be. Is that all you have to say to me?”
“No. The guards will escort you out,” Princess Celestia stated. The pegasi guards stepped forward and brushed her forward with their wings. Sunset spat and stalked forward to avoid being touched.
The unicorn growled, “This is the biggest mistake you’ll make in your entire life.”
Princess Celestia turned away from her former student as they walked into the hall and her eyes caught a tapestry of a flying black alicorn being attacked by a standing white alicorn with one foreleg cocked. She sighed and shut her eyes. “One of many.” Suddenly her head weighed more than the whole of the castle and her body ached with all the age it held. But the purple unicorn librarian still waited in the corner, watching her. Princess Celestia turned and crept out of the library.
Her hooves were slow, and her head bent on its own. She let out a quiet sigh. What could I have done differently? What did I do wrong? Maybe I rushed some things. Maybe we could have done some lessons with other ponies. Perhaps I could have assigned her a lesson to make a friend? No, she wouldn’t have taken that seriously.
Deep in thought, her hooves took her down a bitterly familiar corridor. Her ears perked at the sound of pained groaning. Princess Celestia’s head snapped up and she ran to the sound. The two guards lay on the floor of the mirror room, groaning. Alone.
A spike of ice cut through her heart. She breathed, “Oh Sunset Shimmer… no…” She ran to the guards on the floor, first checking Snow Breeze as he was lying on his side with his wings tucked. He pulled his head up unsteadily and unfolded his wings. “She took us by surprise and just… just… jumped in the mirror. I don’t know…”
Princess Celestia hushed, “Shh, it’s fine. If you’re feeling up to it, would you please help move the mirror to a safer place?” She turned to Sword Fall, who sat up, a hoof to his head.
Princess Celestia waited with the two stallions until they had recovered. Once they were feeling better–truly better, not just agreeing with her–the three of them picked up the mirror with her magic and their strength. Being of immense magic, the mirror had quite a bit of magic resistance. It didn’t have complete magic resistance, though. Not to her.
Moving it wouldn’t move the portal in the other world, though. Right?
Dear Sister, I hurt you. You won't be able to come back for some time, but at least my little pony can.
They set the mirror in the throne room. Snow Breeze asked, “Why hang it in an even more prominent place? Shouldn’t you hide the mirror, princess?”
Author's Note
Guess who's taking notes from "The Fall of Sunset Shimmer"? Ayoooo me!
Princess Celestia, my beloved. :,) Reading/watching that little comic and then going back and watching "Equestria Girls: Forgotten Friendships" is an ENORMOUS whiplash. But like, truly TFoSS is the last time Princess Celestia ever saw Sunset prior to EG:FF. She's heard about her progress probably but didn't see it.
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I Carry Within Me The Most Powerful Magic of All!
Evening sunlight pooled into the hallway, warping the stained glass. Two mares, one an enormous white alicorn, her tricolor mane and tail glittering and flowing with a breeze of their own, and the other a little purple unicorn foal, clip-clopped across the tile. For every step the alicorn took, the little unicorn took three. Princess Celestia measured her steps, keeping her pace slow and steady to allow the little one to keep up.
“You’ve been doing very well in your studies. Your teachers tell me you grew a flower on your second try.”
Twilight grinned. Her big violet eyes shone in the light of the dying sun. She nodded. “Yes! It was really hard at first, but I read ahead! I was the first in my class to do it, too!”
Princess Celestia smiled. The pure joy her little filly exuded was so contagious… but…
“Thank you! I promised you I’d learn as much as I could!”
Her smile dimmed somewhat. Guilt sank its nasty talons into her wicked heart. She went on, “Have you been making any friends? I’m sure there are plenty of other fillies and colts who love learning just as much as you.”
Twilight tipped her head and pulled her shoulders up. “Not really. I mean, I guess there’s Moon Dancer and… the other girls? But the other girls don’t really like school much.” Her tone downturned. She shrugged again. “That’s okay, though! I like magic much more than making friends. I’m way better at it!”
“Personal relationships? Who needs anypony? The most important thing in life is to be the best.”
Then, Twilight gasped and bounced on her hooves. “Oh! Shining Armor is still here and he’s my BBBFF! What about Spike? Does he count as my friend?”
Princess Celestia sighed, and her worried frown morphed back into a smile. “Oh, a young pony needs more than just her brother and baby dragon. But for now… I suppose so.”
Twilight laughed and then gasped again. “Oh! Oh! Spike hasn’t eaten since teatime this afternoon! It’s his dinner time! He’s still so young, he needs to eat every six hours!”
“How astute! Run ahead. I’m sure Spike is going to be very pleased to see you at the royal foal care right about now.” Princess Celestia dipped her head and watched the young unicorn rocket off into the hallway.
Her smile fell again.
Twilight Sparkle was a brilliant little filly. But she needed to learn friendship. The sunlight cast a blue glow over her. She edged a look at the stained-glass figure of her sister looming high over her. She winced and kept moving. Twilight was strong, but she needed to stay humble and make friends . Friendship, good friendship, bred humility, respect, love, empathy, real power . The sort of qualities she would expect–need–from her student one day.
Princess Celestia crossed into her throne room. Her eyes fell on the inert mirror. She flattened her ears and turned away. But what if she was putting too much pressure on her? What if she pressured her too hard, too fast, and pushed her away? Maybe distance was the key. Maybe she held them so close to herself, they had to fight to get away. She was just too big to notice it. Her shadow too large, her figure too domineering.
The Princess of the Sun collapsed.
Her flank pressed against the cold stone of Tartarus. Ancient age she’d battled for so long out of the duty of her people came roaring back. She could barely move from exhaustion and the ache in her bones. Her tricolor mane and tail were dull and lifeless, and her eyes misty. For the first time that she could remember the brilliant sun that reminded her of her duty, her purpose, her burden, no longer stared at her from her brilliant white flank. Her fur felt cold as the ancient darkness untouched by the sun blanketed them.
She should be afraid, perhaps. After all, Tartarus was a magical prison. Even without her immortality, the prison itself would keep her alive for however long they were there. The chilly iron cuff around her front hoof tied to a stake in the ground cemented her place there. She doubted she would be able to test the stake or chain any time soon.
Princess Celestia was not afraid.
She lived far too long and died far too many times.
She made too many mistakes.
She made too many monsters.
Princess Luna sat up beside her, head down and ears pinned. Her normally thoughtful and calculating sister stared blankly at the ground. She had already gotten to her hooves and tested the sturdiness of the chains once. She already tried to shoot at them, a reflex she was sure of as they willingly gave up their magic. Princess Luna had even called Cerberus, but the dog did not come. Whether he was ignoring her or was not there was unknown to them. Now, she was silent.
Princess Cadance lay on Princess Luna’s other side, staring up at the ceiling. Or maybe she was staring at something in the darkness. Maybe there was something there that Princess Celestia didn’t see. The Princess of Love could find beauty and fascination in the darkest and ugliest of places. Or was she remembering her time trapped in old crystal caverns beneath Canterlot?
The Princess of the Sun tried to close her eyes, but her buzzing thoughts forced them open again. Please be okay, my faithful student. Please don’t hurt my little filly. It was a selfish gesture to give her their magic and then just send her away rather than letting her take care of that monster. But simply put… Tirek was a monster, and Twilight was still her faithful student. If Princess Celestia asked, Princess Twilight would fight him.
Princess Celestia shut her eyes against the image of the centaur standing above her, his mighty red hand pinning her wings. She opened her eyes again as the image sharpened beneath her eyelids. She was too young. Princess Celestia was wrong. She wasn’t ready. She couldn’t face this nightmare on her own. She should have been there for her.
The alicorn’s ears perked as her chain dissolved. A rainbow acid ate away the end soundlessly until getting to the cuff. The rainbow acid burned that as well, leaving no trace behind. Energy , warm and pure like the rays of the summer sun burst through her. Her horn glowed in yellow light. Her sunshine cutie mark appeared on her flank again. Her hair and mane glimmered and flowed in its own breeze. Celestia stood up and looked at her sister and niece. The two looked down at the chains dissolving at their hooves and then at each other.
Princess Twilight… my faithful student… you’ve saved us all.
Princess Cadence and Princess Luna got their hooves at once, and the trio spread their wings and flew upward.
Author's Note
This was fun! I had trouble deciding what the second Twilight scene should be. First, it was going to be S1E2 when Celestia came down and greeted Luna for the first time. Then I switched it to when Twilight gets her wings. (That had a musical number in it though, and I didn't feel like adding a musical number) So, I just ended up here. I figured Luna would be the feistiest of them, given her past and present. The fact she's sitting up while the rest of them are lying down also lends this idea some credence.
Anyway, that's the last chapter! I had been seriously considering using an AU version, but I was like... nah. Cel's been through enough. Reason? Oh, no reason, just half the reason I wrote the darn thing! Haha "My Little Romance " got me thinking about it, but the spark to start writing came from "Ghost in the Sun ". Just... follow PrinceWhateverer. lmao
