Don't Stand Too Close To The Sun

Chapters

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"Celestia!"

Her gentle voice rang out over the verdant fields of the newborn world, carrying softly over the zephyr to her daughter's ears. Those alabaster ears swiveled to meet the voice, and laughter rang over the hills as she turned clumsily in a whirlwind of giggles and candy pink hair. "Coming, Mother!"

Cresting the last hill, Celestia stood and looked down at her mother, panting and grinning proudly. The other pale alicorn looked up at her daughter and smiled a soft, but ultimately happy smile, and motioned to her with a forehoof. "Come, 'Tia, and sit. We have important matters to discuss about your new mark." Harmony's fiery eyes twinkled as her daughter gasped happily and pounced down the hill, landing squarely on her mother's back. Pink mingled with ethereal hues of red and orange and blue as the two laughed, Harmony gently bucking her daughter off. Rolling off her back, the two spent a moment merely being, letting the language of mother to child and back, the language too beautiful to ever be spoken, pass between them.

After a moment, Harmony nuzzled her daughter, gaze headed skyward to the ball of fire that mirrored her own eyes. Celestia caught her gaze, and followed it, blinking and turning away as she tried to look. A chuckle rumbled from the larger alicorn, who affectionately placed a wing around her child. "I know you are excited, Celestia, but that is what I need to speak to you about."

Pink eyes locked with molten orbs as Harmony began the lesson that would stick with Celestia through all the eons of her rule.

"Your Highness? Princess?"

The voice swam through her consciousness slowly, pulling her from her memories with a harsh finality as her eyes shot open and locked on the brown unicorn below her. The practiced smile of centuries of rule automatically masked her face, and she bowed her head slightly with a chuckle. "My apologies, Chancellor, I was merely giving your proposal my utmost consideration."

"Of course, Princess. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have that may make the decision easier." Chin high, face much haughtier than anypony standing before the Princess should be, a smirk began to wind across his muzzle.

Raising a brow, Celestia affected a detached demeanor, hiding the roiling anger building inside of her. "I do have a question, Chancellor. What prompted this sudden proposal? If my knowledge of current customs is correct, things of this nature are taken care of in a much more intimate way." Her eyes flashed, knowing already what his answer would be. What their answers, all of them over the centuries, have been.

Harmony gestured to the eight-pointed sun adorning her foal's flank. Celestia's grin shone nearly as bright as she looked up to her mother happily. Taking on a more formal, teaching tone, mother nodded to daughter. "Now, Celestia. What can you tell me about the sun?"

Screwing up her face in thought in that way that is only adorable on children, Celestia tapped her chin with a forehoof. "Weellll... it's bright. And it shines for most of the day, and then it gets dark. It helps the plants grow and it tells the animals when to be awake and do things."

The larger alicorn nodded encouragingly. "What else can you tell me about the sun itself, not just about what it does?"

"Um." Celestia floundered for a moment, looking back at her newly-minted cutie mark desperately for help. "It... doesn't look at all like my mark?" She smiled apologetically at her mother, eyes hopeful.

Laughter echoed through the glade as Harmony nuzzled her daughter. "That is true, little one. You might know more than you think.

The Sun is rarely as it appears."

Puffing his chest up in the way that nobles did when confronted, his smirk grew. "Well, if you'll pardon my saying so, Princess, you are hardly... a normal pony. I felt it would be too informal to make this request by letter, or to request a private audience."

The Sun's power flared inside her in tune with her anger, and she forced it back down. Wings snapping open in her only true outward sign of agitation, she nodded. "I see. Tell me, Chancellor, if a pony is unable to be informal with the pony they desire to marry, how will that marriage go, do you suppose?"

All eyes in the room, previously shocked at the hubris of this pony's request and set to Celestia to see her reaction, now swiveled back to the quite suddenly nervous noble. The two guards beside the throne shifted uneasily, unsure if they should follow their Princess as she rose from her dais and moved down the stairs. Her hoofsteps echoed through the Day Court as she descended, clanging in her metal shoes with a terrifying finality. Wings still extended, standing to her full height, she stood closer to the noble than she had to any pony save her sister or her personal student. Eyes blazing, she kept her voice soft as she looked down at the stallion, who was nervously shuffling and looked for all the world like a colt caught stealing. "I await your answer, Chancellor."

He could do nothing but fall to his knees, averting his eyes as all ponies did when confronted with Sol Invictus, The Immortal Sun. "I... Your Highness... I beg your forgiveness. I merely thought..."

She interrupted with a shake of her head, a sad smile adorning her face as she folded her wings. The fire disappeared from her eyes, and her regal stance slackened as she sat heavily on the throne room floor before the prostrate stallion. "No, my little pony. You did not."

"You see how the sun shines so brightly?" The tiny white alicorn nodded, hanging on her mother's words. "That is because it is made of gasses and those gasses are what cause the heat and light. To be completely fair, the sun is a star, not a separate entity." The larger pony looked down, urging her daughter to respond.

Little Celestia nodded her head vigorously. "Yep! And it's super, super hot, right?"

Chuckling, the larger alicorn nodded. "It is, my daughter. Extremely so. And it is so bright that even just looking into it can cause harm to lesser creatures. It is a beautiful, but ultimately dangerous thing."

The tiny alicorn looked up, catching a flash of sadness in her mother's eyes. "Mother? If the sun is my special talent, does that mean I'm dangerous, too?" Worry creased her youthful features, and confusion danced in her eyes as she sat up, eye to eye with her reclining parent.

Pulling her close with a wing, Harmony smiled sadly. "My beautiful daughter... that is the other thing I needed to discuss with you."

Dark blue ears perked and swiveled, followed a split second by a head of the same hue as the door to her chambers slid open. A smile broke out on the face of the dark alicorn, but her playful greeting died on her tongue as the elder sister entered fully. Celestia's usually ethereal mane hung loose and limp around her shoulders, and her regalia had been discarded entirely. Sad, pink eyes rose to meet turquoise ones, and Luna could not fly to her side faster.

"'Tia! Are you well, sister?" Dark feathers brushed against her alabaster coat, warming her body but missing that deeply wounded coldness in her breast.

A harsh bark of laughter, devoid of any true humor, escaped the white muzzle as she crossed necks with her sister. "No, Luna. A certain petitioner at Day Court has brought certain feelings to light that should have stayed in the dark."

Escorting the larger alicorn to the pile of luxurious violet cushions by the hearth, Luna nodded. "I had heard as much. Another suitor come to ask for your hoof in marriage, I take it?"

Celestia merely rolled her eyes, settling on the cushions gratefully. "Yes." Her gaze roamed to the flames in the hearth, struck again as she always was of how much they reminded her of Harmony's eyes.

A moment of silence passed between the royal sisters, Luna settling down across from her sister. "And... I take it you do not return his affections?"

Eyes sliding closed, Celestia shook her head. "That's just it, sister. He did not hold affection for me. Only fear. It was another power play by a noble house, and nothing more."

Luna sighed, wrapping her magic around two steaming cups of tea and bringing one to each of them. Sipping, Luna looked thoughtfully out the window behind her older sister, eyes glazing slightly. "How can you be sure of that, my sister? It takes a brave pony indeed to stand up to a Princess and ask such a thing, surely he felt some kind of-"

"No." The word, while quiet, rang with such finality that the darker alicorn stopped speaking, simply looking to her sister for elaboration.

Seeing none was forthcoming, Luna merely shook her head, leaving her sister to her reverie as she drank her tea in silence.

Harmony stood to her full height, her daughter mirroring her actions expectantly. "Now, little Celestia, I need you to bring me some sticks from the forest." She gestured with her horn, still smiling. "Hurry now, this lesson is important."

Crashing inelegantly through the woodland and sending up clouds of plovers as she stumbled through, Celestia set to her task. A few moments later, she returned, carrying a small bundle of sticks damp with the recent rain in her fledgling magic. "I found some!" She called excitedly. "Will this be enough?" Depositing the bundle at her mother's feet, she smiled proudly.

"Yes, this should do. Now, attend, Celestia." Harmony lifted ten of the wet sticks in her magic, spreading them out evenly in front of her in the air. "Now, let us pretend for a moment that these sticks are the ponies you and your sister shall rule over one day."

Celestia merely nodded, pink eyes fixed with rapt attention on the sticks before her. Her mother concentrated for a moment, and her magic coalesced into a second spell at the tip of her horn. A small white orb appeared, expanding further and further. The younger alicorn watched, enraptured, as her mother created a second, smaller sun. Raising it into the air, she settled it a fair distance from the sticks.

"Now, we shall pretend this sun is that one," she gestured into the air with a hoof at the larger orb, "and that the sticks are the ponies, yes?"

"Yes, Mother."

"The sun is at a safe distance from the ponies, and they can bask and play to their heart's content." The sticks began to jump and dash around each other, eliciting a giggle from her little daughter. "Yes, the sun shall bring them life and food and all the things ponies will need to live."

She brought the flaming orb closer.

"But if you move the Sun too close to the ponies, my child..."

Celestia's eyes widened.

"Sister, you cannot live life as though one shall not love... can not love you. It is unhealthy." Luna's words jerked the older alicorn from her thoughts, and doleful pink eyes met her sister's.

"It is not that. It is that they cannot, they will not, because it is not safe for them to do so. That noble... do you know, I had not seen him before save at a few social functions? That pony had said not even two words to me in passing, and now came to ask for marriage from me? I asked him, Luna. I asked him how a marriage would work if he couldn't be informal with me, and you know what he did?"

Luna simply shook her head, knowing her sister needed this.

"He... he just bowed and scraped and apologized in fear. As though I would banish him without a second thought for even asking... and that isn't even the worst part." She laid her head on her forehooves, tea forgotten and growing colder by the moment. "The worst part is that at first... at first I had hoped that maybe this stallion was different from the others, that he had taken the time to know me through my books and my plays and my works..." She buried her face into her legs, unwilling to continue.

"You had hoped that he loved you, sister."

"I had hoped he loved Celestia. Not The God-Princess of Ponykind."

Luna nodded.

Ash fell to the ground between the two alicorns, the miniature sun shrinking and dissipating until it, too, was nothing. Harmony simply stood quietly, looking down at her daughter, hoping that this lesson had not been too much, too fast. For her part, Celestia merely stood, looking down at the ashes with her little brow furrowed.

"I think I understand, Mother."

But she hadn't, not really.

"It is not as though Alicorns cannot love and be loved, Celestia. Cadence has found love with a mortal pony, after all-"

"Cadence is a fool!" The words rang out harshly, and surprised, the Night Princess looked to her sister and found instead that twisted pony that heartbreak creates. Before her laid not Princess Celestia, Regent of the Sun and Immortal Ruler of Ponykind.

Before her lay a pony. A pony who lived and loved and suffered for it, same as any other. That was no excuse to Luna, however.

Wings flaring and eyes narrowing, she looked down at her sister. "You take that back, Celestia."

"I will not. She is foolish and young and she will learn her folly someday." She spat these last words, body shaking, red rimmed eyes glaring balefully up at the other pony. Teeth bared, she dared her sister to continue.

"You. Will." Matching her stare for stare, Luna began to pace around the other pony. "This has been a trying day for you, my sister, and I understand that. But I shall not see you attack our niece and her happiness. This is nothing more than sour grapes, Celestia, and you know that."

"HA." Celestia stood as well, head lowered as she eyed Luna. "Of all the ponies to accuse me of jealousy, I wouldn't have thought it would be you, sister." The elder lifted her head triumphantly, yet her shivering legs and tearful visage betrayed her.

Recoiling as if stung, the darker alicorn composed herself with a deep breath. "Does it not occur to you that I am more able to see that trait in others because of my own past mistakes? This isn't about me, Celestia. This is about you."

Luna sat down heavily, dropping her wings to her sides once more, naked eyes searching her sister's flaming ones. "You lash out at Cadence because you begrudge her happiness. You lash out at me because I am the last pony left to call you out. You don't consider, even for a moment, that all of this is only making your problem worse?"

Trembling, the white alicorn held her aggressive stance for a bare second before she fell to her haunches, dropping her head and letting loose the torrent of tears that had been building since that morning. "Lu Lu... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean..."

"I know, my sister," Luna replied softly. "But it is still what you said."

The little white filly approached the colt carefully. This was one of those ponies that had been springing up over the last few centuries, and while Harmony did try to keep Celestia separated from most of them to teach her to rule, sometimes, she could slip away for awhile. Celestia, for her part, reasoned that any good ruler needed to know her subjects to rule effectively.

"Why are you crying?"

The colt whirled, wiping his face with a forehoof and pulling himself together as much as he could. "M'not crying. 'Sides, what business is it of yours?"

The little white alicorn drew herself up, looking down her nose at the other pony. "I'm a princess, and I wanna know what's wrong, so you have to tell me."

Rolling his eyes, the colt snickered. "Does a princess really try to upset ponies by forcing them to say stuff they don't want to?"

Celestia paused, looking into the colt's dark green eyes for a moment, before deflating. "No, I guess not. Anyway, I'm Celestia." She offered a hoof in greeting.

A smile finally cracked across the earth pony's dark green muzzle, and he took her hoof shyly. "I'm Crimson Bristle."

The two smiled at each other awkwardly for a few moments across the bright grass, unable to exactly meet each others gazes. "C-come on, we can go up to the palace and I can show you around maybe? We have lots of cool stuff there..." Celestia finally suggested.

He met her gaze, and a blush bloomed across both sets of cheeks. "I think I'd like that."

"Shining Armor will die."

Luna looked up at the other alicorn, before dropping her head once more, turquoise eyes roaming the floor dully. "That is true, sister. But don't you think that their happiness, however fleeting-"

"H-he will die. And he will leave her alone in this world, Luna, forever." White hooves clacked on tile as Celestia made her way, trembling, to her sister. Bowing her head, she caught Luna's eyes with her own. "Eternity is a long and lonely time, little sister. We know that better than anypony."

Looking up mournfully, Luna nodded. "I understand that. Do you think she is unaware of this fact? She knows Shining Armor is a mortal. Cadence is not a stupid pony."

Celestia sat, reaching to pull her sister closer to her with one alabaster wing. Luna stiffened for a split second before relaxing, allowing her midnight fur to mingle with white. Head resting atop her sister's, the only pony to never truly leave her forever, the pale alicorn allowed her exhausted and tearful eyes to slide shut. "I know she is far from a stupid pony, Luna. But that does not mean that she is not ignorant."

Harmony strode purposefully through the castle, flaming hooves clacking sharply against the stone floors as she sought her eldest daughter. Vague worries and fears circled her mind like Windigos on the prowl, nipping at the edges of her consciousness and cloaking her in a cold feeling of dread. Muffled laughter wafted to her, and she paused by a window.

And out there, in the castle courtyard, sat her little Celestia. Not so little anymore, though, she noted somewhat bitterly. Sitting beside her in the grass, perhaps a little too close, was that colt. Crimson and Celestia curled up beside each other, muzzles nearly touching before one or the other would blush and turn away. The sunlight filtered down through the ancient oaks, setting both their manes ablaze in a riot of candy pinks and deep reds, tempered by shadow.

The older alicorn allowed a bittersweet smile to cross her muzzle. She knew young love when she saw it. As the two ponies in the courtyard locked eyes and hesitantly moved closer to one another, a tear threatened to fall from Harmony's eyes. Shaking her head, she looked down, watching the two share their first kiss in their fledgeling lives and thinking for the first time that maybe, there was something she would not be able to fix.

I wish you did not need to learn this while so young still, my daughter.

Papers rustled, held in the faint golden glow of magic, as a candle burned its way down to a stub. Exhausted pink eyes roamed over tax documents, barely seeing and understanding what laid before them. Sighing, she raised a hoof to her head, rubbing at the start of a headache as she resisted the siren call of her bed.

Sleep would not come this night, she knew.

The knock that came to her door was gentle, but enough to make her jump and whirl in surprise. Putting that damnable gentle mask back on herself, and realizing it was probably simply a chamber maid, she called out, "Enter, please."

A pink head poked around the corner. "Your Highness. I apologize for bothering you at such a late hour." The chamber maid approached carefully, stopping before Celestia and dropping into a low bow.

Looking down at the pony's thick white mane, the alicorn smiled. "It is not a bother, Spring Meadows. What can I do for you, my little pony?"

"A letter, Your Highness." The earth pony stood, rooting through her bag before coming up with a tightly wound scroll, which Celestia took in her magic with no small amount of confusion.

"A letter? At this hour? The post stopped running hours ago." She turned the scroll this way and that in her magic, dark pink eyes rising up and fixing to the smaller mare.

Pawing the floor nervously, the maid nodded. "It was delivered by hoof by a courier from one of the noble houses."

A stone settled into Celestia's gut, and she pushed her creeping worry back for the sake of her subject. Smiling, she inclined her head. "Thank you, Spring Meadows. Was there anything else?"

"No, Princess." The pony bowed before turning to leave. Celestia waited until she could no longer hear the mare's hoofsteps in the hall to turn her attention to the scroll before her. Turning it over in her faint golden magic, her eyes fell on the red wax stamp. A shield adorned with a manticore, the symbol of the Chancellor's house.

Celestia sighed as she broke the seal and unfurled the scroll.

"Come, Celestia. It is time for the ceremony."

The younger alicorn turned her head mechanically from the window she was staring at, looking back at her mother for a moment before turning her head back to the window. "Why, mother?"

It wasn't a question, not really.

Approaching hesitantly, Harmony could do nothing but look at the back of her daughter's head in silence. Stopping several feet away, she took a deep breath. "Celestia. It is your official coronation. It's all well and good that you two find happiness with each other, but he is not a royal-"

"I don't care about that."

"You need to, daughter. You hold a very important place in the hearts and minds of our little ponies, every one. I will not be here forever, Celestia, and it is you they shall look to for their help and guidance." Harmony sat beside her daughter, following her gaze out the window and over the growing crowd of spectators waiting to see their new Princess.

"I do not begrudge you your love and happiness, but this is too important a day to-"

"I. Want. Him. Here. With me. On the balcony." The smaller alicorn locked eyes with her mother, stubborn determination shining through.

Silence passed between the two, thick and soundless but full of so many words best left unspoken.

"Do you know why I called you here?"

Golden eyes darted around nervously, refusing to settle on the goddess beside him. "N-no, Your Highness. But, if this is about my petition at court the other day, I do sincerely apologize-"

"Please, Chancellor." The gentleness of the celestial voice beside him gave him pause, and he looked up finally from the meticulously gardened paths at his hooves.

The day had dawned clear and bright, and the brown stallion had found himself rather rudely roused from his bed by a sudden royal summons from Celestia herself. Naturally, terror had overtaken him, and he had spent the earliest hours of the morning with his groomers and tailors. Nothing, absolutely nothing was good enough; as a result, he had spent the rest of his morning snapping at all and sundry before taking his leave.

Now, looking up into the eyes of the leader of his country, of the Goddess he'd worshiped from foalhood but somehow managed to utterly disrespect by that worship, he felt overburdened by his excess. Those brilliant pink eyes seemed to weave somehow, however gently, through his own, seeing into his being. His perfectly pressed azure cravat--"The one with the diamond inset, you fools! Get me somepony competent!"--seemed suddenly, and just as perfectly, ridiculous.

He scuffed a hoof across the path nervously, looking away again. "Of course, Your Highness. Please, continue."

"Perhaps we should walk and talk, Chancellor. That may be easier for us both." The alicorn stood, stretching out her back legs slightly before turning to her companion for the morning, a trace of a bittersweet smile across her face. Without further preamble, the two took off at a leisurely trot through the beautiful Private Gardens, owned by the Princesses and tended by only the finest gardeners.

Silence settled between the two, broken only by their own hoofsteps on the paved walk. He could feel the heat of her body beside him, barely a leg's length away, and could see her powerful muscles ripple beneath her alabaster coat. The coat itself shone with an otherworldly light, seeming to be the source of the light in the gardens instead of her solar counterpart in the skies. His legs trembled beneath him, threatening to betray him with every step, until he could take it no longer.

"Princess, truly, if you wish to bring down some punishment, be merciful and please, don't draw it out." As she swung her head his way, an eyebrow raised, he dropped to the ground, bowing. "Ah, if it pleases Your Grace, of course..."

A bittersweet chuckle later, and she turned to a flower bush by the path. "Do you know of these flowers?"

Raising his face from the path, he blinked twice at the Princess before him, before rising to his hooves awkwardly to eye the plant. Dark green stems, flanked by lush green leaves, led up to what appeared to be white flowers of some nature that had wilted away. Tilting his head, he replied slowly. "No, Your Highness. It appears your gardeners haven't been doing their jobs, though." One brown hoof delicately nudged the fallen petals, thin and white and almost sharp.

"Nay, Chancellor. The groundsponies have all done well. This is called the Kadupul flower. It's very rare, and blooms but once a year, after midnight. With the coming of the dawn, though, the flower perishes, and the cycle begins anew." Her smile grew, though tinged with bitterness, as she looked down at the fallen petals.

Nodding once, the other pony allowed himself to look directly at Celestia. "It's... one of your sister's flowers, perchance?"

A flowing, multicolored mane shook in the breeze as she laughed, shaking her head. "It was given to me by one very dear to me, back before even your family began keeping track of their genealogy. It is extinct in all places but for this garden. 'Tis a selfish thing of me, I suppose, to keep it around..."

The two stood again, that damnable blanket of silence enshrouding them, as the Chancellor slowly began to process her words. Celestia gauged that he was content to listen, now, and sat down beside him on the path. "My little pony, do you know why it is that I have not married?"

Any number of courtly answers darted through the stallion's brain, centuries of protocol hammered into him from his bloodline struggling to break the surface and flood from his mouth.

For once, he ignored it.

"No, I don't, actually. I had thought that the Princesses were not... the marrying type, because of how long-lived you are, but after the Royal Wedding, well..." He trailed off, thought left unspoken yet completely understood.

"My niece is the Princess of Love. It is her dominion, and thus in her nature to take a lover or a spouse. It is not so for one such as I, Chancellor." Though her voice remained strong and even, the stallion could see her eyes glisten slightly and dart to the side for the barest of moments, before refocusing on him.

"May I tell you a story, Chancellor?" She moved once more, cutting through the gardens carefully, avoiding even touching a leaf of the Kadupul plant. He followed without question, but with trepidation twisting at his stomach, the two finally settling in a grassy glade together. The Princess settled herself on the grass, stretching her hooves out lazily in front of her as she laid down comfortably. Smiling, she motioned with a forehoof to him as her mother had done to her so many years ago. Taking her direction, he laid in the grass somewhat awkwardly, shifting several times to get comfortable before nodding to his regent. No other words, it seemed, were needed.

Eyes growing distant, Celestia looked out beyond the stallion, and sighed. "Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, lived two regal sisters and their talented mother. The eldest sister grew quickly, and came to know and love the creations of her mother, known as the Pony race. Though they were split into three tribes, in those days, no bigotry divided them and they lived peacefully together. Against her mother's wishes, as she was a precocious child, the eldest child made a friend of a young earth pony colt in the village by the palace.

"Her mother was displeased by this, and while she loved her child dearly, knew things the fledgeling ruler did not. She tried her best to keep them separated, to stop the burgeoning love from blooming fully, but the eldest was a strong headed filly and stayed her course. She defied her mother, sneaked out constantly, and as the seasons passed and the two grew closer, the inevitable happened."

Sighing, Celestia halted, lips pursed as though in thought. The stallion knew the look on her face, however, having seen it many times on his own mother's. "Please, take your time. If this is too much-"

"No. I am telling you this because you need to understand, because somepony needs to understand."

He merely nodded.

Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, she began again. "The colt, smitten with the newly crowned Princess, asked for her hoof in marriage. The Princess, for her part, was delighted. She had noticed, you see, during her new duties, that ponies didn't treat her like they did everypony else. She was higher, above, elevated from the others by the nature of her birth and Mark--and Chancellor, I can't even begin to tell you how much that grated on her nerves." Chuckling at the wide-eyed look on the other pony's face, she nodded. "It's true! And so the Princess, knowing that the colt had met her in foalhood and truly loved her for who she was, not what she represented, accepted his proposal.

"They kept it a secret from everypony, so that the Princess could find a way to tell her mother gently. In those days, marriage was a much more slapdash affair, requiring nothing more than for two ponies to bind their adjacent forehooves together and leap over a stream together in perfect tandem in the presence of witnesses. But the Princess held fast, saying she wished to get her mother's blessing before taking such a step. The colt understood, and waited.

"But Chancellor, fate waits for nopony."

"What do you mean, Mother?" Pink eyes, full of tears and rage, trained on the older pony as she sighed and shook her mane.

"I can't, Celestia. You know that I can't." Sorrow filled the fiery eyes as she looked upon her heartbroken child. "I wish I could do this for you, I truly do, but you must know that--"

"You can! You just won't because you never liked him!" Tears falling freely, the young mare challenged the older with her teeth gritted and eyes blazing. "Don't throw him away because I sneaked out a few times, Mother."

"This has nothing to do with that! I cannot change what happened to him any more than I can change what I had for lunch yesterday! Celestia, I am sorry, I truly am! I know that you loved him, and he you. I could never dislike a stallion that loved my child so completely and fully." The elder mare's eyes softened, pleading, searching her daughter's. "This is why I warned you, Celestia. They are not like us."

Breaking away with a growl, her daughter paced the bedroom, refusing to look at the black garb awaiting her on the bed. "Then maybe you made them wrong, Mother. Maybe he could be the first. Because this," she stopped, flinging her foreleg towards the window, slick with rain and indicating the dreary day, the crowds of confused ponies wondering who the funeral at the Palace was for, "this is not harmony. This is not peace. This is not a utopia, Mother." She knew that out there in the crowd, there were at least two that were less confused but no less overwhelmed--an earth pony mother and father, green and red, bodies shaking in the cold as the worst hurt a parent can experience permeated their hearts.

Snarling, Harmony was before her in a flash, drawn up to her full height, eyes blazing down at her child. "No, Celestia. 'Harmony' is not about always being happy all the time no matter what. Harmony is balance, child. I might not expect them to understand it, but I expect better of you. Part of learning and growing is learning how to lose gracefully, child, in every respect. Ponies will come and ponies will go, but until your respective celestial bodies burn out, you and your sister are eternal."

Storming out of the room, Celestia offered but one parting shot. "Then maybe you made me wrong, Mother."

The slam of the door echoed throughout the chamber, and Harmony finally allowed herself to weep.

Author's Note

Another story, again meant to be a one shot but my brain went all LOL NOPE

Enjoy, and such as

Thanks to Nightmare Maximus for looking this over for me :3 Several times. The poor bastard. Go read his stuff, he's a much better writer.

♛

Her final words to her mother that day, repeated eons later, rang out across the glade. Head bowed slightly, she glanced up at the brown pony, reading his reactions with a vague sense of anxiety. If he handles this, he might be able to handle the next part... though heaven knows I couldn't.

The Chancellor merely sat perfectly still, brow furrowed as he eyed the bright patches of grass at his hooves. Eyes slightly unfocused, his mind worked slowly at what he had been told. After another pause, he glanced up at the Princess with new understanding. "I'm sorry, Your Highness."

Inclining her head slightly, she smiled. "She was right, you know. About all of it. I was just too foolish to listen."

The Chancellor, being far from a stupid pony, turned those middle words over in his mind as he eyed his ruler. "All of it?"

"All of it." Watching him intently, she waited for the connection to be made.

"Balance," he breathed, almost reverently.

The Sun Princess nodded. "A lesson I did not take to heart until well after my mother was gone."

Silence reigned over the two for a time, the darker pony worrying his hoof against the soft grass even as his mind worked. He was a reasonable pony, for all his excess in wealth and minor fame afforded by his house, and even he was having trouble understanding his Princess. Brow relaxing finally, he glanced at the sky, and then back at Celestia.

"You went a bit mad, didn't you?"

A faint chuckle reached his ears, tingling over his senses and causing him to shiver involuntarily, briefly wondering if an unscheduled trip to the lunar surface was in order. Thankfully, it was not. Celestia stood, stretching her great white wings before allowing the downy feathers to refold at her sides. A hint of mischief in her voice, she eyed the Chancellor. "Care to take a trip with me? I promise to have you back before nightfall."

Catching those glinting rose eyes with his own, he nodded back, rising to his hooves. "I think I might like that, milady."

Smiling her assent, she drew the other pony closer to her, lighting her horn with a soft golden glow that enveloped them both with a silent flash... and they were gone.

"I am a Princess of Equestria, and I shall do as I please, sister." The haughty words were delivered through clenched teeth, a snowy white muzzle nearly pressed to a darker blue one. The owner of the latter backed a few steps, wings splaying instinctively. Putting space between herself and her older sister, Luna cast her eyes down shyly.

"I... I simply meant to say that perhaps you are not thinking clearly? It has been scarce two months since he passed, and not a month since Harmony has moved on from this plane. Surely, you must still be grieving. I see it in your eyes, Celestia." Raising her own pleading teal eyes to her sister's rose ones, she took a step forward, shakily. "I am here, if you need to talk..."

Huffing, Celestia turned her back to her sibling. "I can handle my own emotions, Luna. Worry more for your own." With that, the white alicorn extended an unshod hoof to her door. "Now, if you please. The night is falling, and your responsibilities call to you. What I do with myself while not prostrating myself for these mortals is not your concern."

Wincing as though struck, Luna merely bobbed her head with a sigh, backing slowly. "As you wish, my sister, but..."

"But what."

"I merely wished to ask if perhaps this week we could have a cup of tea together? It has been quite awhile, and I... I miss my big sister." Scuffing the marble with a hoof, she tilted her head back up to meet her sister's form, still turned from her.

Unseen, Celestia simply closed her eyes, mind and heart warring with each other. With a nod, she forced her voice to remain steady and clipped. "Perhaps, Luna. I cannot promise this, though."

Heart heavy, the younger sister nodded and turned for the door. "Of course." Pausing as she slipped through the crack, she turned back once more. "Celestia?"

A white hoof stamped the floor in irritation. "Yes?"

"Please... be careful." With that, she slipped like dark water from the chambers of her sister, leaving Celestia to bite her lip and squeeze her eyes shut. Composing herself with a watery breath, she glanced out the castle window at the newborn night. The lights of the city were few and far between, but her eyes focused on one in particular--one belonging to an alehouse of little to no repute.

The perfect place for a princess to unwind. And, as she believed, the perfect place to begin to heal her heart.

"Nothing for it, then," she muttered, weaving the spell around herself her mother had taught her before leaving. Ribbons of light wrapped around her, mixed in with broad, flat ribbons of darker magic, leaving in its wake not the alicorn princess but a simple pegasus mare.

Checking that her spell had worked, she admired her new form--white still, but with a blaze of orange-red upon her head instead of her usual candy pink. Her tail was similarly colored, and both had lengthened considerably, tail dragging on the floor and mane reaching for the same. A simple cutie mark of a blaze of flame finished her transformation, and she finally found it in herself to smile.

Thus disguised, she trotted for her vanity, pulling out her gilded case of toned makeup. Dark clays adorned her eyes, giving the still rosy irises a smoky look, while she used a dark kohl to outline and define her eyes further. Harmony would have a fit, I'm sure, if she saw me like this. Rolling her eyes at her own thought, she set her kit back into the vanity drawer, making for the window and unlatching it quietly. Glancing behind her once, she unfurled her smaller wings and slipped away through the opening, leaving just an empty room and echoes of sadness behind her.

The quiet pop of finished teleportation heralded their arrival to nopony but the forest animals, all of which stayed far from the Sun Princess. Shaking his head to clear it from the sudden transportation, the Chancellor squinted through the dissipating golden strands of magic to get his bearings. Glancing upwards, his breath caught in his throat.

Crumbling ruins stood before him, destroyed but somehow still having a quiet dignity. The forest floor encroached upon it, spreading across in small tufts of grass and winding vines that seemed to somehow add to the architecture rather than diminish it. A giant archway stood before him, heavy oaken doors still somehow intact, while to the left and the right rosebushes grew wild. Tearing his eyes away, he glanced behind himself, seeing a gorge with a rickety bridge spanning it. Looking up finally, he saw Celestia in a similar state of observation, a small smile playing at her lips still.

"Welcome, my little pony, to my home." Her voice, hushed though it was, seemed to reverberate still in this quiet place, and the other pony found himself back in awe of her.

"This is where you lived originally? The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters?" The Chancellor tilted his head, still eying the door and the strange runes inscribed upon it.

Gentle laughter reached him once more as Celestia brushed past him, laying one hoof upon the door. "Indeed. Care to see it as it truly was, before the War of the Sun and Moon?" Glancing back with an impish, if bittersweet smile, she pushed gently on the door with a hoof, runes lighting briefly as she allowed it to swing open.

Peering out behind her and following with reverent hoofsteps, the Chancellor's awestruck visage tugged at Celestia's heart. Just like the first day I brought Crimson over. Composing herself quickly, almost automatically, she led him down the corridor at a stately walk, at the same time allowing her mane and tail to lose their ethereal quality and go back to a flat candy pink. Hearing his gasp at that, she smiled to herself privately, and began weaving her spellwork in earnest.

Golden light flowed from her horn and pooled on the floor, seeming to repair the cracks and buckled stones that made up the main corridor. Tinges of blue joined the gold, snaking around with it up the ruined walls and flowing over the tattered tapestries, repairing them temporarily to their former glory. Their walk slowed as the Chancellor stared in awe, watching as the roof re-formed itself above their heads and ghostly candles in long-abandoned scones in the wall lit themselves once again. Celestia herself seemed to be nearly glowing, white coat giving off a light of its own that healed the very air itself, changing it from stuffy to light and airy.

As the tendrils of light coated the castle's structure, Celestia's own glow intensified as they reached the end of the corridor. Ribbons of light bounded ahead of her, almost joyously, restoring the banquet hall they stood at the threshold of. The Chancellor passed Celestia, almost in a trance, eyes tracing the path of the light and marveling at the magic as his hooves stirred up dust that was immediately dissipated and removed.

Behind him, a smiling Celestia allowed her eyes to slip shut, before snapping her wings outwards. Scatters of golden light flew from the tips of her primaries, and a joyous laugh escaped her finally as the pins of light came to rest. Before his shocked eyes, each pinprick of golden light formed itself into a pony--ethereal, ghostly, but very much there. Bounding into the room fully, Celestia grinned happily down at the brown stallion, wings still extended.

"Welcome." She regarded his shocked face, and giggled, bringing one hoof up to close his mouth gently but with an audible clack of teeth. Sweeping one foreleg out, her grin fell into a wistful smile. "This is my home, as I remember it. The ponies here are quite real, as far as we are concerned. They are echos, but still my little ponies all the same."

"I. Yes. Of course. This is... amazing..." He trailed off, taking a slow trot around the room. Golden eyes roamed every inch, lighting up with each new discovery, until he came upon the banquet table. It was a strangely intimate affair for such a large room; a round stone table draped with a fine cloth, set towards the back of the room. Velvet cushions appeared as if from nowhere--one violet, one gold--and he turned, one eyebrow quirked at his princess.

Dropping lazily onto the purple cushion, Celestia waved a hoof at the golden one. "Come. Sit with me. Dine with me. There is still much to hear, if you are willing."

The realization hit him, then. He could deny her, claim matters of the House to attend to, and go directly back to Canterlot right then. He knew that if he chose that, he could continue with his life as it was, continue to bring petitions before the Sisters, and still be highly regarded and treated with the same respect all ponies were by Celestia. Overwhelmed as he was, he still knew, in his heart of hearts, that he could just go home, climb under his covers, and continue on as a subject of Princess Celestia.

He also knew he didn't want that.

Before him sat a pony. White, with a cotton candy mane and tail. A gentle, impish smile lit up her rose eyes. And in that moment--against all indications of his upbringing and station in life--there was nowhere he wanted to be than beside that pony, listening to her talk, dining with her, being with Celestia the pony, not Celestia the Princess of the Sun.

He sat down upon his golden cushion, smiling gently at Celestia as he finally removed that awful cravat.

And with that, she resumed her tale.

The alehouse was dark, and she found herself again pleased she could suppress her natural glow as she would surely stand out otherwise. Dusty rose eyes scanned the bar she knew so well, finally falling upon the back of a stallion. He was sitting alone, a bit to one side, with a free seat--as always--open beside him. Lifting his head and turning slightly, his clear azure eyes fell on her, and a slow smile wound across his face.

Wordlessly, Celestia slipped through the crowd, wings pressed to her sides nervously as she approached. Settling on the seat beside him, she shot him a teasing glance, hooves resting primly on the bar. "Silver. It's wonderful to see you again." She was thankful for the low lights that hid her blush from him, but a shy smile escaped all the same.

"Blaze. As formal as ever, I see," he teased, waving one gray hoof to the barkeep.

Rolling her eyes, she took the proffered drink from the returning bartender. Cider, her usual. A long gulp later, she glanced at the other pony. "Hardly. Being careful with one's words does not imply formality, merely caution."

A low chuckle rumbled from Silver, who took a healthy swig of his own cider. "I see. And what is there to be cautious about here, Blaze?" He raised his nose slightly, indicating the rest of the bar, the other patrons far off from them.

"Perhaps I should be cautious of you," she giggled, but with an edge behind her words she did not mean to let slip. Her eyes drifted back to her cider as she berated herself, wings fluffing nervously. Perhaps Luna was right...

"Oh, aye. You've only been comin' to see me every night for how long, now? Two months, give or take?" A twinkle in his eye, he moved a bit closer to Celestia, silver arm snaking around her shoulders and pulling her closer, warming her body with his own. "I think you know I'm hardly the type to hurt a gentlemare such as yourself."

Luna's words fled her mind as the electricity of his touch wound through her body, warming her from her mane to her hooftips. Sultry smile resurfacing, she raised her head to meet his gaze, their muzzles inches apart. "Perhaps that is true. Remains to be seen, does it not? And I hardly came here for you in the first place, it was merely to find a place to clear my head after... after some things... happened... and I just..." She trailed off, sipping her drink once more as she pushed the image of a scruffy, adorable young stallion from her mind, laying cold and quiet in his coffin. Not here. Not now. No. Pull yourself together, Celestia.

Pulling her closer in a half hug, he nodded, still smiling slightly. "That's what brings most of us here, love. But," he put his muzzle to her ear, causing the sensitive appendage to flick slightly with every word, "maybe we can help each other forget."

Plates of magically conjured food were carried by ethereal servants, gaily laughing and prancing off after gently placing the bowls before their Princess and her guest. The angelic sound of an expertly plucked lyre filled the air, and some of the echos began to mingle and to dance in the wide banquet hall. Celestia paused in her story, watching it all with a nostalgic, wistful look in her eyes, hooves tapping out the cadence of the music.

Swallowing his mouthful of conjured daisy salad, he eyed Celestia carefully. "I... Celestia, I am a stallion. I know... I mean, you don't have to continue if you do not wish to."

Quirking an eyebrow at him, she smiled and nodded. "Chancellor, this entire trip is completely your call, including the story. If you do not wish to hear more, I shall not trouble you further, and we can return to Canterlot."

"I know. But I remember what you said, about needing somepony to understand, and to listen... and I am willing. I just do not want to see you distressed." Eyes searching hers, he got back only the most beatific sense of peace radiating from the other pony.

With a chuckle, she drew closer. "You must understand... this was literally thousands of years ago. These wounds are not so fresh as to cause me undue distress. I live with everything I've told you, and more, every day. For thousands of years. At that point, the options are to either go insane, or to cope. I chose to cope." She fixed him with a serious stare. "I cope, but I cannot let it go. I am hoping that if another could hear, could understand, that I could." She sat back, sighing. "I know, it sounds terribly selfish. I'm a bit of a selfish pony at times, I must say." Nosing her supper morosely, she nibbled at a lettuce leaf as her eyes scanned the room, a bit duller than before.

Shaking his head, he smiled. "No. I'm the one that petitioned for your hoof in marriage. I know you've denied me, but learning more about you isn't scaring me off. If I can't be your husband, I think I'd like to be your friend."

Startled, she dropped her food, the dark green leaf of romaine landing gently on her plate as her eyes widened. A warm smile started then, seeming to break down the last of the facade of The Princess of the Sun, and she drew the startled pony into a gentle hug. "Thank you, Chancellor."

"Please... call me Dusky Brush. Especially if you want me to call you 'Celestia'."

The two shared a warm glance at each other; eyes meeting and tangling as Celestia felt her heart lift, rising up and shedding the weight she'd been scarcely aware she was carrying. Taking her hoof gently, he smiled. "May I at least have this dance, milady?"

"Of course, my friend." Leading him to the floor, the two crossed necks, white to brown, swaying gently to the light notes of a harp. Turning and spinning across the stone floor, surrounded by the echos of ponies past, Celestia set her mouth to his ear, and spoke.

Hoofsteps echoed perhaps a bit too loudly as the two ponies made their way through the darkened streets. Flinching internally at each clop of her hooves, Celestia glanced nervously from the flagstones to the road ahead. To the right side of the street, small and dark houses stood in rows, standing as the only mute witnesses to the two souls stealing past.

Silver strode with a confidence she lacked at that moment, drawing closer to a small, unassuming home two blocks from the alehouse. Nosing the tarnished handle on the weathered wooden door, it swung open to reveal an unassuming sitting room. Trotting in behind him, trying desperately to keep her legs from shaking, Celestia's attention was drawn immediately to the right. A small arched doorway led to an even more cozy room, and her eyes could pick out a small bed through the gloom.

"Blaze."

Her head whipped around quickly, coming muzzle to muzzle with the earth pony stallion. Smirking, he shut the door behind him with a rear hoof, stormy eyes catching hers for just a moment before he leaned forwards, pressing his lips to hers. Celestia melted into the kiss, letting her fears flit out of her mind like so many escaped birds from an opened cage door, pressing back just as eagerly as his mouth opened slightly to allow her entrance.

Slowly, deliberately, he pressed her further back, towards the small room with the unkempt bed. She knew, and allowed it, backing slightly on legs that seemed to shake more and more until it was a blessing to feel her hocks hit the bed. Sitting heavily, the kiss broke, and Silver placed a forehoof to either side of her body. A glint in his eye, he nipped her ear gently.

"Blaze," he breathed into her alabaster ear, a low growl nearly audible at the edges of his voice, "roll over."

She did.

A flock of crows took off, startled a few moments later at the moans that sounded, strangely, like crying.

Twirling once, the two ponies came face to face again in the ancient hall, both sets of somber eyes upon the other. "I see."

Celestia shook her head, pink mane flowing slightly with the magic to maintain the illusion. "That wasn't the end."

Dusky came up beside the princess, leading her back to the small table, now partially populated by ethereal ponies. Sitting back on his cushion, he smiled and nodded to the spectral stallion beside him before turning back to Celestia. "I take it he became your... consort? Did you ever tell him who you were?"

Sighing, she sat, quietly collecting her thoughts before turning to him once more. "No. I never saw him again after that night. Nor did I return to that alehouse."

Tilting his head in confusion, he tapped a forehoof nervously on the table. "Can I ask why?"

She nodded.

Huddled on the side of the bed, Celestia tucked her tail between her legs, relishing the coolness of it against her body. She shivered slightly despite the heat, turning to look for Silver. Roving her eyes over the room, she spied him standing by a low wooden table, clearly busying himself with something she couldn't quite make out in the light. She laid her head back on the pillow, resting gratefully and feeling a strange mix of sorrow tinged with happiness.

It'll be okay. I'm going to be fine. Other ponies can love me... this I know now.

Her internal monologue was cut short by a clanging sound followed by a weight landing on the bed beside her. Confused, she opened her eyes lazily, expecting to see Silver on the bed beside her. He's still over there, though. But then, what...?

She glanced down finally. A small, brown sack sat beside her. She prodded it with a hoof, gorge rising as she heard the unmistakeable clank of golden bits in a bag.

"Wasn't sure how much to give ya, since we'd not discussed it, Blaze, but since it was your first time and all that, figured I'd give you a little extra."

Something broke inside Celestia, in that deep and fundamental part of her that was normally impossible to reach and even harder to harm. Standing on shaky legs, she shied away from the bag of bits that seemed to almost leer at her from its place on the bed. Anger welled up inside of her, finally, deep and true, and she whirled with new determination in her eyes as she forced herself nose to nose with the stallion once more. Fire blazing in her eyes, she glared at him.

Taking a sudden step back in confusion, he blinked. "Ah, if that's not enough, I get paid again next week..."

Trembling, she very nearly obliterated the confused stallion right then and there. Options whirled in her mind as she gritted her teeth against her rage, wings fluffing in agitation as she looked into his clueless blue eyes. Harmony's words drifted back through her mind once more.

Balance.

With a scream fit to break the heavens, Celestia shot from the stallion's home at a gallop. He turned, following as she ran. Opening his mouth to call out to her, he clicked it shut immediately as they reached the outdoors and he saw her spread her wings, true fire dripping from each feather as she blazed across the sky. As her cry echoed across the city, he backed slowly into his house once more, deciding that he had been lucky enough for one evening and to not gamble his life away.

The streak of fire that was Celestia barreled towards the Everfree Castle, reaching speeds near unheard of in pegasus communities. She barely cared that she was going too fast. Almost hoping in her heart of hearts that she could simply obliterate herself against the castle walls, she screamed again, eyes squeezed shut as burning tears finally escaped her.

Instead of the unforgiving stone of the fortress walls, she thumped, hard, against something soft and warm. Fire dying inside, she opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by downy soft, midnight wings. She looked up, finding the warm and caring face of Luna looking down into hers.

Teal eyes swept over Celestia's face, cataloging her smeared makeup, mussed hair, and damp fur. Meeting her sister's eyes, Luna wrapped her forelegs around Celestia in midair, both sets of wings keeping them afloat. Nuzzling her gently, the darker alicorn spoke in a hushed voice.

"'Tia, would you care for some tea? I'd love to have a cup with my big sister right now."

Nodding wordlessly, fresh tears fell as Celestia buried herself against her sister's shoulder, allowing her to ferry her back to the castle.

Author's Note

gaaaaaaaaaah this story is stupidly hard for me to write

sorry

anyway enjoy

Thanks to Lord Sunder and EricKilla for prereading.

❄

Two ponies sat outside the Castle Of The Royal Pony Sisters, watching the sun begin its descent. Celestia had re-engergized her mane and tail, and they flowed gently towards her companion. Dusky Brush was seated, hindquarters firmly planted in the grass after their walk out of the castle.

After she had finished the story of Silver, the two had by unspoken agreement risen to leave. The spectral ponies and ancient splendor receded in their wake, leaving Dusky with an ache in his chest he could barely define. Seeing the glory and beauty of the old castle destroyed so quickly, especially after her story, left him in a sober and introspective mood.

Furrowing his brow, he glanced up at his princess, bathed in the orange light of the setting sun. "Princess... I don't know what to say. I'm surprised you didn't outlaw prostitution after that."

"What good would that have done?" Celestia smiled, fixing the other pony with her fathomless rose eyes once again.

He thought for a moment, eyes tracking a green jay fluttering through the canopy. "Well... that might not have happened, otherwise."

She shook her head. "Nay, it would have. If we outlaw something, something so harmless, our little ponies will find a way around it."

"But... they can break up relationships and families. I just don't see why something so harmful should exist." He ground a hoof into the ground, digging into the fresh loam of the earth.

Giggling, Celestia brushed a wing over his back. "Are you bringing a petition before me, Chancellor?" She grinned at his blush, before composing herself. "Ahem. Let's say you were in a relationship with a pony. Let's say that you decided to go off and hire the services of a prostitute. Let's say your significant other finds out."

"Right..." He nodded along.

"How is that the fault of the prostitute?"

He blinked. "Well, if the prostitute didn't exist, then... then I hypothetically wouldn't have slept with her?"

Celestia shook her head. "No, my little pony. The prostitute is not doing anything wrong. She or he does not exist to be your moral compass. Your choices are your own. She's merely providing a service that you decided to hire—it's not her fault that you would have, hypothetically, stepped outside the bounds of your relationship."

He furrowed his brow again, looking down at the ground. "I... I guess, but... the profession doesn't really do anything good for anypony, so..." He trailed off, blinking up at his leader as she rose and stretched.

"Not so. They give company, and comfort, to those that have no other way of getting it. They can be an ear to listen, and a giver of hugs and encouragement." She gestured to Dusky with a wing, bringing him close as she gathered magic in her horn for the teleport home.

He laid his head against her slender neck. "But those are all... almost all intangible things."

"The intangible things are sometimes the most powerful, my little pony."

A quiet flash of light later, and the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was silent once more.

Celestia paced nervously, a groove wearing into the stone along the length of her room. Her wings, normally folded gently at her sides, folded down and inwards around her barrel. Rose eyes darted back and forth across the room, seeing everything but noticing nothing as the clack of her golden horseshoes continued.

Her eyes flitted, periodically, to a small floating crystal above her vanity. She had purchased it, in disguise of course, from a local apothecary. The cheerful earth pony mare had, in fact, wished the disguised Celestia all the best of luck. She snorted at the memory. The best of luck... what would that be, in this situation? She glanced back at the crystal, floating and spinning merrily, its faceted sides casting cheerful dances of light across the stone room.

A sudden rush of air made her raise her head, ears pricking as she turned to her open window. Perched carefully on the ledge, her favored pegasus guard made a clumsy half-bow. "Glowin’ Targe reportin’ t’you, Princess."

Celestia rushed to the window, helping the tan pegasus to the floor. "Please, tell me... what have you found?"

In a less precarious position, the guard's stance relaxed, though his deep green eyes remained quite serious. "Ah've searched th’ entire country, ma’am. Made m’way from the Crystal Mountains t’ th’ Badlands, an’ searched hither’n’yon between. I cannae find th’ stallion." He scuffed a hoof nervously across the floor, but kept his gaze steady even as his monarch wilted beneath it.

"I... I see. Nopony called Silver Boulder? Nopony that left town suddenly?" Her ears flattened to her skull, and she dropped heavily to her haunches before him.

At the sight of his favored Princess so low, he rushed to comfort her, Scoltish accent coming to the fore as he extended a careful wing to her cheek. "Hey, now. Ah did learn that somepony by th’ name was in town, but left, gibb’rin’ ‘bout seeing some sort’a demon mare outside ‘is home. Some bus’ness ‘bout dripping fire, an’ unholy screams and the like. Dinnae b’lieve a word ‘f it, m’self." Celestia was thankful for her nose nearly touching the ground, as it meant the standing guard was unlikely to see the sudden, fierce blush that overtook her alabaster cheeks.

"A-Anything else?"

"Oh, aye. Th’ fella packed up ‘is entire life an’ left, just a few weeks back. Well, so says th’ barpony from ‘is fav’rite alehouse. Said ‘e was scairt t’ death, babblin’ on ‘bout curses, gods in mort’l shrouds an’ th’ like.." Glowing Targe sat before Celestia, eyes searching the ceiling as he thought. Blowing an errant lock of bright red mane from his face, he smiled. "One thing Ah’ve learned o’er th’ years, yer highness, is tha’ ponies can make ‘mselves believe some strange things, if’n y’ don't mind me sayin’."

She rubbed a hoof across the back of her neck, smiling guiltily. "I suppose they do."

Silence fell over the two like a familiar blanket, warm and cozy even as the late fall winds buffeted the still open window. Targe rose, closing it gently before pulling a more literal blanket to Celestia. Draping it across her shoulders, the two sat quietly for a moment before he spoke again. "Would y’ like me t’ send for some tea? Warm y’ right up, it will."

"That... would be nice. Perhaps you could send for Princess Luna as well." She met his eyes bravely, a small smile eking at the sides of her muzzle. He returned it kindly, bobbing his head once.

"’f course, Yer Highness." He saluted once before turning for the door, posture straightening and face hardening as he put the mask of the Royal Guard back on. One hoof on the doorknob, he stopped suddenly, turning back to the Princess. "Princess... ye dinnae have t’ tell me, ‘f course, but Ah gotta say, Ah’m fair curious as t’ what this pony did t’ have you looking fer ‘im like this."

Shivering, she pulled her wings tighter around herself as she glanced furtively at the crystal. "Nothing... nothing truly awful. I merely wish to speak with him."

"As y'wish, Highness." With that, he slipped from the door, galloping easily away to find both a teapony and the other Princess.

"You sent out a marehunt for him?" Dusky cocked an eyebrow, lifting his teacup to his lips.

Celestia sighed. "Yes. It was important that I find him."

The two ponies had arrived back in Canterlot before nightfall, as Celestia had promised, and now sat in her cozy study. Both ponies' fur was ruffled slightly, hooves covered in dust and dirt, and neither seemed to particularly care. The teapony, a matronly earth pony mare, said nothing and did nothing besides bring the tea and bow deeply, hiding a small, secret smile as she left the room.

Dusky sipped his tea idly, before his eyes widened. He gasped, with the unfortunate side effect of sucking tea down his windpipe, and coughed, his cup clattering to the table. Celestia leaped up, rubbing his back with concern etched across her features. "Dusky! Are you quite alright?"

He held up one brown hoof, the other covering his muzzle as the last of the coughs dissipated. "Whoo, well... ah, I'm sorry, Your Highness..." He took up a napkin in his magic, carefully wiping the table of the spilled and spit tea. Celestia shook her head, lifting the individual drops together before pouring them into the potted plant in the corner. Dusky cocked an eyebrow.

"She likes jasmine."

"I see." He chuckled as he settled back down on his cushion, before eying his monarch more seriously. "This Silver stallion... he got... no. He didn't."

When no response came from Celestia, he looked up pleadingly. "Did he?"

She just sighed, and resumed her tale.

The Princess of the Moon danced happily to her sister's chambers. The seasons were turning much colder now, meaning her Winter Moon Celebration was coming up in a scant two months. She pranced up to her sister's door, rapping one hoof upon it as she hummed traditional Winter Moon songs under her breath. A moment later, Celestia bade her enter, and she trotted merrily through the door.

"Salutations, sister! Art thou excited for the celebration two months hence?" She continued to hum, nearly dancing around the room, before she spotted her sister. Celestia still sat upon the stone floor, wrapped in a blanket yet shivering all the same. Eyes widening, Luna flew to her side. "Sister! Art thou hale?"

Meeting Luna's concerned teal eyes with her own exhausted rose ones, she shook her head. Gesturing to the vanity, she spoke. "I picked that up at an apothecary this morning."

Luna trotted to the vanity, ears pricked forwards as she eyed the little crystal floating gaily above it. "Oh! It is a health crystal. I had not thought thee to be interested in such things, my sister." She lifted the crystal in her magic, a teasing smile playing at her lips. "I had thought We could not fall ill. Was I incorrect?"

Celestia merely groaned, one hoof going over her eyes. "In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Sister, I tire of thy dancing and games. Speak plain. Dost thou have a cold, flu, or imbalance of humors?" Luna trotted back over, floating the crystal between the two of them.

"Perhaps it would be best if I show you. The way this works is a unicorn can feed their magic into the gem, and the gem returns an explanation of any ailment in the body." Celestia chuckled. "I could swear it was the work of a quack, but it seems to be accurate."

Curious, Luna fed her own magic into the crystal. It floated higher, spinning and refracting azure light across the room and their faces before slowing. Luna peered at the crystal, reading the runes that had surfaced. "Huzzah! It would seem I am in the most perfect of health!"

Celestia smiled slightly, taking the crystal in her own glow and resetting it with a small burst of magic against the bottom. "Now, watch." Celestia fed a stream of her golden magic into it, shaking imperceptibly, and watched as the magic swirled within it. A moment later, the crystal spun again, bathing them in gorgeous reflections. "I think it's a bit showy for a diagnostic tool," Celestia muttered, prompting a giggle from her sister.

It slowed, finally, and runes floated to the surface. Celestia did not even bother to look, merely eying her sister, who's mouth became more and more unhinged the longer she stared at the runes. Luna turned to her big sister, eyes wide as dinner plates. "Thou art with foal."

"Y-yes. I am." Celestia ducked her head low, hiding from her sister's piercing gaze.

"I... I am going to be an auntie! Oh, glorious day!" Celestia felt herself quite suddenly swept up in her sister's dark forelegs and spun around. "Oh, I get to play with it, and babysit, and teach it astronomy and the stars and the moon and oh do you think it will like Abacus? I hope it does! Can we find out if it's a filly or a colt? Oh, Celestia, I am truly the happiest sister in Equestria!" She dropped her sister unceremoniously, hooves prancing in place as she remained oblivious to the distinct green tint on Celestia's face.

"You're not," Celestia paused and urped, "not angry with me?"

Grinning maniacally, Luna shook her mane. "Of course not! This is wonderful news! The first natural born royal in almost five hundred years, save you and I!"

"Ah, well, you see... the sire is mortal."

A hush fell across the two at the word, Luna's mind working at the implications. "I... I see. So, the foal..."

"...is most likely mortal as well."

Another hush. "You wish to keep your foal, Celestia?" Luna fixed her with a serious gaze. "I will aid you any way I can."

"I... yes. I wish to keep it. I think... I think she will be meant for great things, mortal or not." Celestia brushed one wing across her belly, smiling fondly down at it. Luna extended a gentle wing, pulling Celestia close.

"And what of the sire himself? Surely he may wish to be in his foal's life." Celestia nodded at her sister's words, looking up at her.

"I've organized a marehunt for him. Glowing Targe is leading the pack, and we still can't find him." Celestia sighed. "He was not the best stallion, nor the worst. Hopefully, he returns."

Luna shook her head. "I see. You told him about the child, then?"

Blushing, Celestia hid her face in her sister's wing. "N-No. I... I may have frightened him just a tiny, tiny bit. Ah, when he mistook me for a prostitute."

Luna blinked once, then twice. Her muzzle trembled as her eyes widened, and Celestia glanced up in concern. "Ahaha, oh... oh Celestia..." Luna gave up, flinging herself back and allowing the deep belly laughs to shake her frame, elegant legs kicking at the air. "Ha! Oh! Only you would frighten a suitor away, and be mistaken for a mare of the night besides! Ahahahaha!"

Celestia just rolled her eyes, glaring flatly at Luna as she slowly composed herself. The guffaws gave way to giggles, which in turn gave way to periodic chuckles as she righted herself, wing draping back over her older sister. "Oh, Celly. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. If he comes back, or I can find him, wonderful. If not... well, why can't the foal live with the two most powerful ponies in the land?" Celestia elbowed her sister, smiling. "It'll be an adventure."

"We were a bit foolish, she and I." Celestia looked down at her tea morosely, taking a token sip. Dusky settled more comfortably on his cushion.

"Did you ever find Silver? And what happened to the child?" He nibbled a scone, curious eyes fixed on Celestia.

She rose to her hooves, heading to her balcony. "A moment, if you please. The time has come to lower the sun." She glanced back over her shoulder, smiling. "Would you care to watch?"

His mouth dropped open, and he scrambled to his hooves. "Of course! I would be honored!" He trotted up towards the Princess, halting a few feet behind. Hesitating, he pawed at the stone floor, looking out at the sunset excitedly. With a chuckle, Celestia extended a wing, sweeping him up beside her on the balcony.

The streets of Canterlot bustled even at this later evening hour, bars and nightclubs sending up the blue and purple glows of their magelights to advertise that they were open. Ponies on the street were dressed more casually around the palace, top hats and cravats giving way to simple cloaks and summer dresses. A few stopped, glancing up high to the balcony to catch a glimpse at their princess, but the looks were few and far between. Dusky stood, shifting his weight nervously, as Celestia lit her horn.

Dusky felt his own horn tingle slightly as hers powered up. He knew he was no great magical talent—his magical reservoir was fairly small, and he used it only for the most mundane of tasks such as levitation. Standing there, watching his princess pull with raw might and finesse on the fiery ball in the sky, he for the first time felt a stab of shame about that fact. We are capable of so much, and I... I do so little.

Celestia's wings spread and her body thrummed with power, white coat seeming to glow once more. Dusky fell to his knees, almost unconsciously, bowing even as he watched the sun slip past the horizon with awe. Never since colthood had he felt like such a child, such an inexperienced foal, and his cheeks grew hot at the thought of his past hubris. Never again.

The sky faded, orange and red giving way to deep hues of violet and blue as tiny twinkles appeared. Celestia folded her wings, looking up and to her left, raising one hoof. Peeking around her, Dusky could see Luna on a further balcony, her horn lit as she brought forth her own celestial body. Celestia glanced down with a smile at the still-prostrate stallion. "Rise, Dusky. I daresay we're past such formalities in private."

With a self-conscious chuckle, he did as he was bade. "I... yes, sorry." He smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof. "I've just never seen that much magic used up close, especially by a Princess."

She led him back inside, flopping somewhat inelegantly on her overstuffed pillow before the tea table. "I can understand that. Well, Dusky, it is nightfall. I am assuming you need to return to your home and attend to the needs of your House before bed?"

"Oh, I think they'll manage a night without me. Might prefer it, actually. I haven't been the best boss to work for over the years." His cheeks flushed again. "Something I plan to rectify."

She inclined her head easily. "You're welcome to stay to hear more."

"As if I'd be able to sleep with a cliffhanger like that." He smiled good-naturedly at Celestia, easing down on his own pillow opposite her.

Pouring them each a fresh cup of tea, she smiled back. "The pregnancy was very easy, all things considered, as was the birth. We were lucky—even with a mortal sire, she was born a natural alicorn. She had a soft, silvery-grey coat, much like her father, and flowing hair the same color as the green streak in my current mane. She was just... perfect.

"We named her Silver Crystal, and for many years, I was the happiest and proudest mother in Equestria."

Silver Crystal wandered the halls of the castle, rather bored. Aunt Luna was asleep, and Mother was holding court—she'd decided that she'd grown out of her toys, and wished to grow into the responsibility of ruling. She trotted aimlessly, nodding to the castle staff as she tried to find something to do. Stopping for a moment, her ears pricked, catching a small sound behind her, and she deflated slightly. "I know you're there, Targe."

The tan pegasus rounded the previous corner with a sigh. "Y’well ken yer mother tol’ me t’watch ye, Silver. We cannae have y’gettin’ inta some sort’a mischief."

Her eyes widened, full of all the forced innocence and affront that only a fourteen year old girl could pull off. "Mischief? Me? I'm sure I don't know what you could be referring to, Targe."

He cocked a brow, smirking. "Oh, don’t ye, now? Ah do seem t’remember a certain young Princess gettin’ herself all wrapped up in giant spider's silk oot in th’ forest. An’ the time y’ layer’d yer Aunt's bed wi’ moon pies an’ replaced th’ covers. An’ let's not forget th’ time wi’ that poor wee squirrel an’ the bucket, when ye—"

"Okay thank you, that's quite enough." She sighed, flopping dramatically to the floor. "There's just nothing to do, Targe!" His ears flicked back at her whine, eyes rolling.

"Once yer grown an’ runnin’ th’ whole shebang, y’ won't be complainin’ too much ‘bout a wee bit’a boredom. Now, come ‘long, we'll head oot t’ th’ gardens. 'S nearly lunch time, at any rate—" He was cut off by a sudden shout from down the hall, and he leaped in front of the small alicorn protectively.

"Targe! Sargent Targe!" A powder-blue unicorn skidded around the corner, armor clanking against her body. She halted before them, saluting hastily.

"Private Lulamoon! Just what is th’ meanin’a this?" Targe drew himself up to his full height, projecting as much confidence at the frightened soldier as he could. "We just so happ’n t’be th’ Princesses' best, no’ bumblin foals, d’ye ken? Pull yerself t’gether."

She nodded, copying his stance, but her wide, darting eyes betrayed her nervousness. "There's... there's been reports of crime rising. And ponies just generally being unpleasant."

Targe rolled his eyes, glancing back at the Princess. "Aye, Ah’m well aware, lass. Did ye have a point?"

"We found out why. There's a... a slime of some kind. It seems to have limited intelligence, and calls itself The Smooze." She took a deep breath, letting it out in a single, shuddering rasp. "It was just getting little globs on ponies, here and there, just... sowing small seeds of defiance, I guess. Now the entire body of it is here, and it's... oh, it's drowning us. It just... sucks all the love out of you. I don't know how else to describe it, but it's dangerous."

Targe stiffened for a bare second before whirling on Silver. "Get t’yer room, Princess, an’ that is an order." Turning back to Lulamoon, he seemed to think for a moment. "Right, now. ‘nform the royal sisters—"

"—have done, sir. They're calling a conference in the throne room."

"Bollocks t’their conf’rence. Yer wi’ me, then. Distract it. Dredge up e’ry illusion’st we got. We need t’catch its attention, lure ‘t ‘way from populated areas. Ah'll do a flyover’r two, have me a wee bit’ve a look-see, try’n find a weak point. On yer way, pop inta th’ barracks, mobilize er’ry single unicorn an’ pegasus that can put one hoof in front’a the other. Set th’earth ponies to whate’er y’can that leaves ‘em close t’home." He drew a hoof down his face, sighing. "Ah’d trust each an’ er’ry one’f ‘em with m’ life, good ponies all, but if th’ Smooze is running o’er errypony, they might not be able to run away ‘n time."

Silver slunk away, tuning out their plans. Oh, sure, ignore the freaking powerful alicorn princess, why don't you. I'm sure there's nothing I could do. She rolled her eyes once, before sneaking to a window and peering out at what all the fuss was about.

A wall of purple met her. Purple in the streets of Everfree. Purple atop the houses. Purple atop the ponies. And, as she watched in horror, ponies were overtaken and submerged in the Smooze. A golden earth pony mare struggled valiantly, but in the end, the Smooze took her too. Horrified, Silver stared at the spot the mare had disappeared, hoping against hope that she would come back up—but she never did.

More ponies were in the streets, making crude makeshift weapons and shields. To her mounting horror, she saw that they intended to fight. "No..." she breathed, before throwing open the window and shooting out.

Silver Crystal could be described as many things, not all of them entirely polite. She was a teenager, with all that entails—inflated self-worth, insistence that she was always correct, and a general disrespect of authority. For all that, a heart of a compassionate leader rested within her, a heart that was pulled violently as she watched her subjects die. She could not abide this.

Tears streaking down her face, the silver alicorn sheared her wings into the wind, desperately plucking ponies from harm's way and depositing them on the balconies of the castle. Some ponies cheered, and others, under the control of the Smooze, fought her. Alicorn though she was, she was still young, and realized quickly that using that much magic would drain her entirely too fast.

She resorted then to making quick dives, hauling ponies out of the Smooze before they were entirely overtaken, using her earth pony strength to aid her. Some still fought her, and after nearly dropping one ungrateful stallion, she perched on the balcony to rest for a moment. Sweat trickling down her face, she quickly counted the survivors with her, and then counted the ponies below. Heart sinking, she realized she could not save them all.

As she watched, the Smooze seemed to pause, half-aware eyes glaring up at her as its many mouths gaped open. It shuddered, dislodging some unfortunate pony bodies in the process, vomiting them up into the street covered in a glaze of purple slime. Tears joined the sweat on her face, and she bowed her head in shame and respect.

A crackling silver beam lit up the sky to her right, and she jerked around. Lulamoon and her company of unicorns flanked the Smooze from the left, sending up illusions of pegasi while other unicorns hastily erected a barrier around the purple menace. Targe could be seen wheeling above, diving periodically to study it. It snarled in confusion, progress halted as it was unsure where to go next. Silver sighed in relief. Soon her mother and aunt would be there, and it would pay for the crimes against their ponies.

Then, with a horrible lurch, the Smooze began anew. Silver's eyes widened as Lulamoon's entire company of unicorns was overtaken. With an incoherent scream, she threw herself to the Smooze, grabbing desperately for the flailing legs of the doomed company. A green hoof flailed, and she met it—and was pulled under by it. The burbling laughter of the enemy and the anguished scream of her arriving mother was all she heard as she went under.

She thrashed desperately through the goo, murky shapes of ponies all around her, She saw a few half-lit unicorn horns through the muck, and it was clear to her that the soldiers were trying their hardest to fight, even now. The goo pushed down on her, pulling the air from her lungs and crushing against her ribs even as she was rocked violently, presumably by shots of magic from her mother and aunt. The horns around her began to dim further, winking out one by one.

In a desperate, last ditch effort, she reached out with her own magic, a hastily cobbled transformation spell engulfing herself and her still-living subjects. As her own vision began to dim and she felt herself going limp, she prayed for the first time in her young life that her idea had worked.

Celestia finished her tea, slowly and deliberately, ignoring the stallion leaning over the table. "And did it work?"

Smiling, Celestia rolled her eyes. "If it hadn't, how else could I tell you what she was thinking and feeling at the time?"

"Oh. Right. Carry on." He flopped back onto his cushion, blushing.

The afternoon sun burned brightly—too brightly—across the city. Survivors were herded into the castle, into the cold stone basement, as Celestia and Luna battled the Smooze. Both calling on the power of their respective celestial body, the Smooze was by turns burned and frozen as it swiped ineffectually at the darting alicorns. The unholy howling of the formless beast could be heard from the Dragonlands to the Eyries, gryphon chicks huddling close to their mothers as the day and night ruled the sky at the same time.

The battle stretched on, hours eaten up as the Smooze stubbornly clung to life. By the time it had been dried and frozen for the last time, both sisters were exhausted, landing heavily on the uneven ground before their foe. Celestia bowed her head, tears flowing freely to the ground. "It took Silver."

"I... I know." The two stood together, necks crossed, as an exhausted Princess of the Sun sobbed on her sister's neck.

"I need to recover her body, at least..." Celestia glanced at the piled purple goop, flinching at the sight of a unicorn horn sticking out.

Luna shook her head, extending a wing over her sister. "Nay, sister. Let the dead lie, for now. We are exhausted and distraught, and our subjects need us now more than ever. We must worry for the living before concerning ourselves with the dead."

Eyes clenched shut, Celestia nodded mutely, leaning against her sister's soft, dark hide as the two walked slowly back to the castle. Turning back for a bare moment, Celestia glanced up at the moon, then back down to the purple mass.

"I'm sorry, my daughter. I failed you. I am so, so sorry." Sobs wracked her body anew, and eight tired hooves beat a path back home, the keening wail of a grieving mother their only company.

Some hours later, when the moon had nearly finished its travel across the sky, a single black hoof pushed out from the top of the goo. A sleek, black, chitinous body followed, ragged green mane and tail lying limply against it. Insect-like wings buzzed upon the pony's back, trying desperately to dry off, as the pony turned her head to survey the goo.

Slowly, more, smaller, black hooves and heads emerged. Most had their manes and tails burned off entirely, and their eyes had gone entirely blue and smooth. The quiet group eyed their defacto leader, who bowed her head sadly. "I'm sorry. It was all I could do." Her voice sounded strange to herself—where it had once been smooth and light, it was now rougher, reverberating slightly against her own throat. Looking down at herself, she noted tiredly the black coat, shiny green carapace, and the strange holes in her legs. She felt empty, drained of both magic and willpower, and it was all she could do to keep standing before her subjects.

"I..." She faltered, before a pang hit her chest. Love. She needed love. At the realization, the emptiness inside her surged, and she staggered back slightly. Two of her strange new subjects flew to her side, holding her up. Together, she and her small band of survivors stumbled and slid towards the nearby forest. I need rest. I can't see Mother like this. I must be strong before I go see her.

To her utter shock, a buzzing responded, resolving itself into one, reverberating voice. As you wish. Forest. Trees. Animals. Love.

Too tired to think further on it, Silver Crystal and the former Private Lulamoon led the pack of now-refugees into the forest.

Author's Note

Shoutout to La Barata for the assist on Glowing Targe's dialogue.

Hat tip to Lord Sunder for the pre-read.

Luna speaks in the 'old way' occasionally because what we know as 'archaic' was just starting to come into vogue at the time, so she tried it out.