Celestia awoke not in her modern, somewhat luxurious room, but a somewhat more modest room: the old Canterlot castle, built in a rush after her and Luna’s falling out. It was a bittersweet place for her to be, but the crates of unpacked things gave her time to take inventory as she stood up, briefly stretched, and lit her horn to check on some of the boxes of different things; many of these were things she hadn’t seen in ages. Old flags, furniture, an old map of Equestria… And a peculiar doll.
The doll was a mock-imitation of Celestia, made of old socks and bits of dirtied fabric, stuffed with a bit of straw that poked out as the mane and tail, with eyes made of painted glass. It had been a gift to her, long before even the present in the simulation; she received it as a gift from a relative when she and Luna had first been crowned. It got lost in the move to the new Canterlot castle in the Celestia’s real world. She decided she wouldn’t let it happen again, kissing the doll’s forehead gently and setting it on her nightstand. It was a bit of a childish gift for a grown mare, but she appreciated it nonetheless.
Celestia turned her attention to the map. Equestria was far smaller in the simulation, representative of the area. Some of the land was uncharted still, and the borders were tiny, marked only by small forts and towns. She’d have a lot of future work to do, but she also acknowledged the disguised blessing that it was: A smaller kingdom would be far easier to rule, especially with her now-extensive knowledge of ruling. She might even have time to do things for herself. That was an exciting possibility to the sun Princess, even despite the odd melancholy that came with unpacking a room that time had forgotten.
Not too long, one of the castle servants would come into her room. “Oh, Princess! You’re already awake!” They exclaimed.
Celestia smiled warmly and turned at them, attempting to make things feel natural. “Yes, well, the unpacking will only get done as fast as I get up to do it, won’t it?” She supposed.
The servant nodded a bit. “Of course, your highness,” They replied curtly. “Your breakfast is ready, if you’re ready to come and eat,” They invited.
Celestia nodded and began to follow them. “Of course,” She replied contently. She wasn’t particularly hungry, but she had a feeling that hunger worked differently, given that this simulation wasn’t real. She wondered if she could get hungry, but of course, didn’t say that out loud.
As Celestia sat at the table for breakfast, she was surprised at the spread before her. Nowadays, it would have been nearly a four-course meal for her, and here she was expected to eat the several plates of assorted fruits and baked goods and even an entire bowl of scrambled eggs. “Oh, how I miss my youthful metabolism,” She thought silently to herself, beginning to eat and looking at the clock. It wasn’t quite time for sunrise yet, so she took her time, eating her way through the veritable banquet placed before her. Everything tasted exquisite, and even better, she didn’t feel any sort of overstuffedness despite the quantity at the table. She let out a content sigh as she finished, taking in a deep breath. She could get used to not having to watch her eating.
Celestia stood up and walked to one of the balconies of the castle, her horn lighting to lower the moon and raise the sun. It had been a while since she’d handled both duties, but she hadn’t forgotten how to perform both. She figured she’d need to get good at managing both, given that she was the sole ruler in the simulation. Once she was done, she walked back inside, meandering her way down to the castle throne room to address any other royal duties she might’ve had. Like much else in the old castle, it wasn’t nearly as lavish as the gleaming halls of modern-day Canterlot Castle, but it had a sort of nostalgic charm to the sun princess; something about the rough-hewn stone bricks and slightly ugly wooden beams and tresses made Celestia feel at home.
She was surprised to see a single letter on her lectern, marked “Royal Bills”. She was used to stacks of paper that started at the floor and came to her chest; intricate permits involving several overlapping parties, all of whom wanted to compromise in different ways. Days of back-and-forth with haughty noble types who didn’t understand that no meant no, and they couldn’t buy their way out of such an answer. She expected the worst as she opened the letter, but it was a simple military report from Fort Buckswood. A somewhat lengthy one, detailing the state of the fort and the troops’ morale, but nothing that needed more than a simple stamp and return-to-sender to confirm she’d seen it.
Celestia looked up at the letter to the retainer standing off to the side. “Excuse me,” She began to address them, “Is this… It for bills of address today?” She asked.
The retainer nodded. “As far as I’ve received, your highness,” He replied, “Nothing interesting from the scouts yet, I’m afraid, and there don’t seem to be any major revolts or issues.”
Celestia nearly screamed out in joy from the realization at how much smaller and simpler Equestria was to run. She remembered it being much more laborious. “Is there something else I’m supposed to be doing today?” She asked after a moment of self-recollection.
“Weekly guard inspection is later this week, your highness, but your only other duty today is setting the sun, I believe,” The retainer replied curtly.
“I see, good… Thank you,” Celestia said, stamping the letter and handing it to the retainer for resending. She then turned, leaving the throne room, trying to decide on something to do. She settled on more unpacking; she didn’t feel like leaving the castle yet.
A few hours later, Celestia looked contently at her room, taking in how neatly it was set up. She’d accrued so many items and trinkets over the centuries in the real world; to see everything fit so neatly on shelves and in closets without crowding the floor was enough to nearly make her swoon. Eventually, her content smile turned into a small frown. She was normally so busy that a multiple-hour personal task would’ve taken her a few days, and yet now she was done one and it was barely the afternoon. She hated to say it, but she wasn’t entirely sure what to do with herself, so she spent some more time just quietly walking the halls of the castle, taking in the sights that were, to her, rustic.
“What did I do all day when things were so simple?” Celestia asked herself quietly, letting her inner monologue entertain her ears, “Surely, a bill like that didn’t take me hours to read. Guard inspection’s only once a week, I still have servants, so tending the castle grounds aren’t the issue…” She quietly thought aloud.
She decided to head out into the capital to interact with some of the locals, letting that occupy her time. It was a bit weird to talk to ponies that Celestia knew weren’t real, but they kept her mind busy just the same. It had been far too long since she’d had extensive time to get to know and observe her subjects. Watching them from the throne room or balcony was entertaining, but it didn’t enthrall her the same way that actually interacting with them did. Even stranger to her, however, was the fact that nopony seemed to find it unusual of her. They greeted her and waved and showed them their well-behaved (and less well-behaved) foals. It was nice for her. Refreshing. Liberating, really. She knew this was just the sort of thing she needed.
After a long, fulfilling day, Celestia returned to the castle for dinner. It was a similar affair to breakfast; a big meal that her real self couldn’tve dreamt of eating. Once again, she ate with gusto, comforted by the knowledge it wouldn’t affect her in any significant way. “This has been wonderful,” She thought to herself as she ate, “If all 365,250 days are like this, I won’t have any complaints.”
After dinner, Celestia stood up and walked to the castle library. If she was going to have so much free time, she may as well find something interesting to read. She walked through the aisles of books, taking her time inspecting each one, seeing as she had a few hours to kill before she needed to lower the sun, anyways. She was surprised to find a spellbook, not behind any sort of lock: Ignima - Living Flame. Celestia couldn’t recall such a spell tome existing in the real world; she wondered if the spell incorporated worldly knowledge into the simulation to make it less boring. After all, she couldn’t have met every pony from this time period in the real world. She also pondered what would happen if she found the simulation book within the simulation, but decided that wasn’t a productive line of reasoning. A thousand years of free time was plenty on its own.
Celestia took the spell tome and brought it to her room. It was a fairly thick book; it would take her a significant amount of time to read through it all, most likely. Judging by the table of contents, the fire was not simple spellfire; there were instructions on caring for the flames and maintaining them. It certainly piqued Celestia’s curiosity; she’d never considered how similar fire was to a living thing. Not to mention, a controllable extra set of hooves would be very useful. She wouldn’t start reading it right away; she wanted to explore the simulated Equestria for a bit longer; let herself have some room to breathe, and perhaps figure out what occupied so much of her time in the past.
Before she settled in for the night, Celestia walked to the balcony, seeing that it was about time for sunset. She lowered the sun, briefly savouring the view as she often did, and raised the moon, sighing slightly as she walked back to her room. She did wish that the daylight hours would take care of themselves somedays, but she also knew better than to complain when she already had so much spare time. It was hardly a pittance compared to the hours of work she had in the real world. She didn’t even do much after setting the sun, deciding to sleep for that night. She had a thousand years to enjoy the simulation, she didn’t mind sleeping early here and there.
The first thing Celestia noticed about sleeping in the simulation was how fast it was. She didn’t dream, didn’t toss and turn, and didn’t even wake up in the middle of the night. It was like a blink to her; down one moment, up the next. It was while she was lazing around in bed that she noticed a clock on the wall. It had not two, but three hands, and when she got up to inspect it she saw that just one hand had ticked a very short distance. “Must be how long until it’s over,” She supposed to herself, “I don’t think I’ll have to worry about that for a long time.”
Seeing as it was still a bit early for Celestia, she walked around the castle, occasionally straightening out a banner or other piece of furniture, thinking to herself. “What did I do that took up so much time when I was younger?” She asked herself, the discrepancy already starting to bother her, “It can’t just be that I was that much slower at addressals, could it? Nopony seemed bothered by me making public appearances, so perhaps I just did that a lot more,” She monologued in her head, “Have I become that reserved in the modern day?” She contemplated this as she slowly walked to the dining hall for breakfast.
Once again, breakfast was a particularly large meal. Celestia didn’t mind, of course; she ate, stretched a bit, and rose the sun so Equestria could get its day started. She walked down to the throne room to tend to any bills that awaited her, not expecting much given the day prior. There were not one, but two papers on her lectern this time. “Oh dear, a busy day it seems,” She hummed, taking her seat on the throne and taking the first letter. It was an update on another fort, once again featuring nothing that demanded her attention. She stamped it and set it aside, picking up the second letter. This one was a bit more complex; properly-formatted, thankfully, but it was a dispute over a farm wanting to cut across its neighbor’s property to get fresh water from the river, instead of needing a well.
Celestia looked at the retainer after a couple moments of pondering. “Would you mind taking a letter?” She requested.
The retainer nodded, grabbing their typewriter and some parchment to take the Princess’ word.
“Requisition a covered irrigation ditch through the neighbor’s property,” Celestia decreed simply, “The farm’s health is important, but the land needn’t be butchered or sold off.”
The retainer nodded, hashing out the decree. “Is that all, your highness?” They asked.
Celestia nodded. “It’s a workable compromise,” She replied.
The retainer seemed surprised as they brought the fresh letter over for her to stamp. “It’s unlike you to come up with a compromise so quickly, your highness,” They observed.
Celestia winced slightly. She wasn’t the best decision maker back then, but really? Were simple, workable conundrums like these what burned her out for days on end? “Well, we all have to learn sometime,” She supposed with a small smile, neatly folding the typewritten response and stamping it, handing it and the original inquiry back to her retainer.
The retainer nodded, taking the documents to return them to the sender.
Once again, Celestia found herself a wealth of free time, so she headed up to her room to finally start reading the spellbook she’d found the night prior. She got nice and comfy on the cushion at her desk and started pouring over the pages of the book on living flames, letting herself soak in the knowledge that it provided, to the point where she even allowed herself to summon a small living flame on a candle dish. It started off shapeless; a small “coal” of blue flame that burnt into yellow and scarlet. Celestia played around with it a bit, noting that it didn’t burn her hooves to the touch; the warmth was pleasant, and she fed the little flame slivers from her desk and bits of candle wax as she continued to read, letting it provide light to her as she read despite the daylight coming through her window.
Celestia found herself smiling as she watched it roll around in the candle dish, finding it charming. “And here everypony says fires are dangerous,” She chuckled, “We’ll have to find you a source of charcoal or something, won’t we?” She supposed, mentally chiding herself for talking to the small flame. Was she really letting herself get attached to an inanimate object already? Then again, it was a living flame, so perhaps it was more like an animal, she supposed. Following that train of thought, she lifted the candle dish in her magic and started to walk out into the town, looking for a source of charcoal for the small flame to burn; she didn’t want it going hungry, after all.
Celestia hummed softly as she walked through the streets of the castle town, keeping the candle dish close to her so she wouldn’t lose sight of the small flame. After a bit of looking around, she decided to head to the blacksmith’s. If anypony knew where to find good charcoal, it would probably be a blacksmith. She headed inside, smiling at them curtly. “Excuse me, do you have a moment?” She asked politely.
The blacksmith’s eyes widened, and they bowed to her. “Princess! To what do I owe the pleasure?” They asked slightly frantically.
Celestia chuckled a little. “There’s no need to be so formal. I just wanted to ask where you source your charcoal from,” She explained, showing them the small living flame. “I’d like to feed my friend here something better than candle wax.”
The blacksmith tilted their head, standing up to look at the flame. “Charcoal? Well, I make mine in the pit out back,” The blacksmith said. “I don’t mind giving up some for your friend.”
“Oh! I didn’t realize you made your own; it would be very helpful to know I’d have a steady supply,” Celestia expressed. “I wouldn’t want this little one to starve, after all.”
The blacksmith nodded a bit. “Just a moment, your highness,” They requested, scampering out the back of the building.
Now left alone for a moment, Celestia sighed slightly. The ponies in the simulation acted like ponies and spoke like ponies, but Celestia’s knowledge that they were just simulations made the interactions feel hollow; as if she were talking to an (albeit interesting) mirror. That reminder refused to leave her mind: that none of this was real, and that it would all end and she’d go back to her normal, rigid life eventually. She did ponder the thought of doing things differently, just to see how the world might be shaped. Something had to make this interesting, after all. What would she desire to do differently, though? She looked at the little flame, still lazily rolling around the brass candle dish. This was already something different, wasn’t it?
“I’ll have to see just what sort of things you can do, won’t I?” She supposed to it, talking to it as if it were a puppy. Naturally, it didn’t reply, still lazily rolling around in the candle dish.
The blacksmith would come back with a decently-sized chunk of charcoal bound up in cord. “Just be careful with this stuff, Princess; it’ll stain everything you hold dear,” They warned, illustrating the point with the several new black marks on their back and legs.
Celestia nodded a bit, taking the bound charcoal in her magic. “I will, thank you,” She replied. “I’ll be sure to come back to you should I need more; thank you for your help.” She turned to leave, carefully managing both the candle dish and the charcoal in her magic as she walked out.
The blacksmith bade the Princess a quiet farewell as she left, returning to their own duties.
Celestia hummed, walking back to her room, setting the charcoal down in a small metal trough that would’ve been used for firewood. She unbound it, taking a piece of the shiny black substance and crumbling it into small crumbs with her magic, before setting a few in the candle dish for her little friend to burn off. The multicoloured flame would roll over the crumbs, picking them up and burning them off, getting just a little brighter. Celestia smiled ecstatically. “There we are. Now I know you’ll be well-fed,” She said contently, stroking a hoof through the reaches of the warm flame as she looked back to the spellbook it had come from, beginning to read again.
The level of depth the book went into genuinely impressed Celestia, sucking away hours of her free time as she read and re-read the passages to make sure she had a firm grasp of what she was doing; this was, in essence, conjuring a life, so she didn’t want to toy with it too much. It felt more real to her than other things in the simulation… She was real, and it was an extension of herself, so it was also real. That’s how it clicked in her head, at least. Why else would she feel so much more attached to the little ball of flames than to the acres of doting subjects around her?
“Princess?” One of the castle servants would ask. “It’s about time for dinner, your highness.”
“Oh, yes, of course,” Celestia replied, standing up, taking the living flame and a few small pieces of charcoal with her. “Thank you… I must admit, I’ve gotten quite sucked in to this little line of research,” She admitted as she walked out the door.
“May I ask what it is?” The servant asked.
“A spellbook I found in the library… Ignima, the living flame,” She explained, lowering the dish containing the flame so the servant could see. “It’s quite the little charmer. It’s been keeping me company all day while I’ve read,” She expressed contently.
The servant nodded, watching the flame bobble around in the candle dish. “It’s been a long time since you chose to take on a pet, your highness,” They observed. “It’s nice to see you rekindling that love.”
Celestia nodded. “Yes, well… Having something to take care of motivates the mind,” She supposed. “Plus, it’s been so long since I got to indulge in learning new magic.”
The servant gave her a slightly perplexed look. “Of… Of course, your highness,” They replied hesitantly. “If I may, where did this sudden burst of inspiration come from, your highness? Usually you spend far more time on addressals.”
Celestia had to pause a moment. “Those addressals? They were quite simple, really; nothing that needed particularly intense mulling over,” She dismissed, shaking her head. “And, well, the extra time demands it must be filled somehow.”
The servant nodded. “Usually you’d take a day or two for such bills, it’s unlike you to be so hasty,” They admitted.
“So… Hasty,” Celestia pondered.
“You usually take a day or so for any given bill, your highness; you must think on them very intently,” The servant explained.
A thought crossed Celestia’s mind; one that horrified her. “Oh no,” She thought, “Young me must have been a procrastinator.” Her face reflected the agitation brought on by this self-discovery.
“Your highness, are you alright?” The servant asked.
“I… Yes, I’m alright. Just thinking about some things,” Celestia promised, forcing a smile as she got to the dining hall.
“Have a good dinner, your highness; perhaps you’re just hungry,” The servant said with a small smile.
Celestia took a seat and ate, feeding the small living flame as she did so; a bite for herself, a crumb for it. It was during this small series of interactions that made her realize what she was missing: A companion. In the real world, she’d missed Luna dearly, and once Luna was back, it was hard to let go. Now in the simulation, she had nine hundred years to wait before that was even a possibility. She looked at the little flame again. “You might just do,” She thought to herself silently, smiling as she stroked the flame gently again.
After dinner, Celestia walked back to her room to study the flames some more, getting to a passage that piqued her interest: Binding her magic to the flame. The book went into significant detail, with several examples of spells that bound mere drops of a pony’s magic, or a substantial portion of their soul. Celestia started with the smallest amount, taking the flame in her magic and closing her eyes. Just a couple drops of her magic seeped into the flame; of course, even a tiny amount of an alicorn’s magic was enough to shape the flame substantially.
When Celestia opened her eyes, the flame had shaped itself into a small pony, the blue core forming the body, with the yellow and scarlet trails forming the mane and tail. It was a tiny pony, barely longer than a table fork, but it was still a pony. She gently set the little fire pony on her leg, and it looked up at her like a nervous foal.
“Hello, little one,” Celestia greeted with a warm tone, gently leaning down and bumping noses with the flame pony. “I’m sure this is a new feeling for you, but don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe,” She promised warmly.
The little flame pony looked up at her curiously, putting its two front hooves on Celestia’s nose. She continued to smile down at it gently, letting it get its bearings as it shuffled around, crawling up onto her snout.
“Oh! Quite a little explorer, aren’t you?” Celestia supposed with a small giggle.
The flame pony crawled up into her mane and curled up, snuggling into her scalp.
“Aww… I guess even a fire can get too cold, hm?” Celestia supposed.
Moving gently so as not to disturb her little friend, Celestia stood up and walked to her balcony to lower the sun and raise the moon. The flame pony stayed nestled against her head, even as she performed the almost ritualistic action. Celestia pondered an idea for a moment: If she were to bind enough of her magic to the flame, could it also have dominion over the sky? She shook her head slowly. That wouldn’t be a good idea; it was still inexperienced, and learning about itself and the world. Giving such an infantile thing such power wouldn’t lead to anything good.
With her duties for the evening settled, Celestia walked back inside. “Oh, I suppose you’re comfortable, there, aren’t you?” She said with a small smile. The flame pony only responded by snuggling further into her mane. “All right, you can stay there while I sleep.” She smiled, horn illuminating, taking a small piece of charcoal and offering it to the small flame pony. The flame pony happily gobbled it up, burning it off cleanly. “There, a little snack before bed,” Celestia said, carefully sliding into bed and drawing the covers up over herself. “Good night, little one,” She bade contently. The little flame pony resettled in her fur, providing a comforting warmth as Celestia dozed off.