Uneasy Lies the Head

Sunny watched the water droplets in her mane, sliding down the individual hairs hanging in front of her face. They would move down the pieces slowly, until one of the larger droplets above slid down from the base of the hair and pushed the other smaller ones down the line. They would then drop down off of the tips and collide into river, becoming indistinguishable from the millions of the water droplets sliding down the stream, all heading to the same place.

She bent down and dipped her head in the cool water.

Sunny had finally broken down and taken to simply dunking her head in the river, because she didn't know what else to do.

It started out as simply bending down to get a drink. Then her mane had fallen in the water, and she had noticed the way the water slid off of it. It put her in a trance as she thought about what she would do now, and each time she dipped her mane down in the stream, more and more were submerged until finally, she simply took to closing her eyes and dunking her entire head into the water and feeling the stream push against the side of her face, gently.

She lifted her head once more.

After she had seen the ponies who owned the gem she had found the night before, she had run out of Ponyville by way of backstreets and alleyways. She was now a good kilometer out, standing on the banks of a small stream that connected to a river that ran out from Ponyville and perpendicular to the Everfree. She needed to find somewhere else to go sell her jewel, somewhere far away. Otherwise, the shop-keeps in the area might recognize who it belonged to, especially if they were as friendly with the librarian pony as the pawn shop owner had been.

Sunny shook her head to dry her mane off, and then turned back to the small bag on the bank to her right. The gem had been sitting there in that bag, in the grass, this entire time. She glared down at it for a few moments, and then began berating it.

“You stupid gem!” she yelled, then quickly looked up and surveyed her surroundings. She looked back down at it again and continued, “I just wanted to sell you! I just wanted to make some stupid bits off of you, so I could buy myself some stupid clothes, or some stupid sheets, or some stupid... something! Now here I am in the middle of nowhere, sitting next to this stupid creek, and I don't even know where I'm going to go! And it's your fault!”

She stared at the little woven bag, unwavering, breathing heavily, and then finally sighed and hung her head. This was her burden to carry now and she would carry it. This was her chance. She couldn't give up this easily.

She snatched up the sack and began trotting along the creek bank until creek bank became river bank. Sunny marveled at the water as it became faster, and faster. The blue water from upstream became white, and the whitewater picked up the pace the fastest she had seen. She could feel the river bouncing water droplets up onto her side, and she shivered. The cool water was in complete contrast with the warm day.

Sunny moved a bit away from the river as she trotted and looked up at the sun. It was getting late, and the sun was in the middle of the sky, shining down directly above her. She'd have to speed it up a little if she wanted to at least make it to shelter before nightfall.

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Celestia stood on the balcony outside of her chambers, watching the sun. She had raised it a million times. She had raised it, and watched it move throughout the day, and watched it fall. It was hers. It was her.

She wished, sometimes, that she could see everything that the sun could see. She wanted to look down on all of her subjects, not with an air of oppression, but to bring light into their lives as they worked and did their daily tasks.

She almost smiled, and then turned back down to the letter in front of her.

We regret to inform you, Princess, that we have no information on your missing crown. We are looking as fast as we can, though!

Oh, Twilight Sparkle. She was such a faithful student, and such a kindhearted young pony. Celestia smiled for a minute, and then blinked, looking out over the valley. Out there, little Twilight was diligently searching out that crown, and if Celestia could just trust her for a day or two longer, it would be back in her hooves. She would have her crown back, and all would be well. The thief would be locked up or sent away, and the crown would be placed back on the rightful owner's head.

She put her hoof on the railing and gently rapped against it, causing the metal to vibrate up to the wall and back.

Who had stolen the crown? Was it just a poor-off thief looking to make a pretty penny? A betrayal from one of her personal guards, or maybe an entire group, working together? Was it an attack on Canterlot, the crown stolen by somepony who knew its true value, and what taking it from her could do?

She turned back down to the letter again.

We think we may have a lead on the pony involved, though, so I'll update you on that as it develops!

Your student,

Twilight Sparkle

Celestia folded the letter and magically placed it on the dresser as she walked back inside. Shaking her head, she kneeled down in the middle of the room for a moment and closed her eyes.

"Please hurry, Twilight Sparkle. This brings a bad omen," she whispered.

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Sunny continued downstream until she came to an area where could see railroad tracks. The river curved left into the Everfree's edge, and the tracks continued forwards.

She kept walking along the river for a bit until she saw a small crossing, a bit closer to the forest. There were a few rocks placed evenly along the middle of the river that she could cross on, and she walked back and forth near them, judging how trusty of a hoof-hold they would provide.

Sunny looked up at the sun. It was now on its way back down, and it would only be a few hours before it was dark again. She listened as the water roared past her in the river-bed. A slip could be a very big mistake. She had to hurry, but she had to be careful.

"No problem," she muttered, and clenched her teeth around the bag a little tighter.

Sunny slowly put her front hoof out to the first rock, then transferred over the next one. She carefully shifted her weight and moved each hoof onto the new rock, one by one, until eventually she was standing on the first rock in the riverbed.

Piece of cake.

She moved to the next rock a bit more quickly, and then hopped to the next one with ease. It was large and flat, so it provided a great spot for her to stand. She continued across, hopping from rock to rock, until she hopped onto a small pointy rock towards the middle. When her front hoof landed on it, the top of the rock broke off, and her back hooves slid against the side. She waved her front right hoof and left back hoof in the air for a moment, trying to gain her balance, and slowly, found her center.

Then the rock chipped again.

Before Sunny had even a moment to react, she fell face-first into the thundering river, and the current pushed her downstream quickly, scratching her sides and back on the rocks. Another, smaller rock ripped the bag from her mouth. She fought her way to the top of the river, caught a small breath, and was yanked underneath again. She closed her eyes and continued pushing upwards, trying to reach the surface.

The next thing she felt, and the last thing she remembered, was a sharp rap on the forehead.