Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying

by l0x0r

Gotterdammerung - Part 2

I miss Butterscotch Sundae.

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Twilight and Princess Celestia left the grassy knoll behind, the remnants of their picnic already being cleaned up by several serious faced ponies wearing black suits. For some reason, Twilight was reminded of several books she was waiting for back in Ponyville from the Canterlot Book Depository Company. She made a mental note to get Spike to check on just where the delivery was once she got back.

In the meantime, she fell into her familiar place at Princess Celestia’s side, just a half step behind, so that they were walking together, but not together together. Entering the palace, Princess Celestia led them through several twisting hallways and passages that were vaguely familiar, until, passing through a final archway, they found themselves at the Royal Concourse.

The mirror polished marble runway was empty, the chariots and other traveling conveyances used for official Equestrian business were lined up in their bays along the walls with military precision. In one corner of the massive room, furthest from the large opening that allowed egress into the wider world, several guards were lounging, obviously off-duty, judging by their varying states of relaxation and most lacking their full uniform. One of the pegasus stallions, his bristling mane free from the confines of his helmet, was laughing uproariously at something one of the other ponies had said, when he caught Twilight and Princess Celestia’s arrival out of the corner of his eye. He lazily turned in their direction, his mouth quickly transitioning from an easy smile to an O of surprise. Leaping to attention, he called out, “Greetings to her Royal Majesty, Princess Celestia.”

Alerted by his announcement, the rest of the ponies fell over themselves to rush into a line and salute, save for one young pegasus who dashed off into the nearby offices built into the side of the concourse. Soon an older pegasus came running out, his coat grey, his mane and tail a mixture of salt and pepper. He hurried over to them before dropping into a low bow in front of Princess Celestia. “Your Majesty, you grace us with your presence. I apologize, but I wasn’t aware of any flights today, outside of the usual. If there’s been a mistake somewhere, I’m truly sorry.”

“Not at all,” Princess Celestia said, lifting her hoof to indicate he could rise. “My friend, Twilight, and I have decided on a last minute outing to the art museum, and we were hoping, if it isn’t too much of a bother, for an escort there, so that we don’t have to fight through midtown traffic.”

The pony had risen, but kept his head respectfully bowed. “Of course, Your Majesty. We’ll prepare an escort for you at once.” He bolted over to the pegasi still standing at attention and began to speak to them in a low, clipped voice. One by one, they sprang into action, like perfectly balanced parts of a greater machine. In a matter of moments one of the nearby golden chariots had been positioned in the middle of the concourse, and a few of the ponies had disappeared, only to reappear wearing immaculate gold ceremonial armor which sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight. Two of them settled into the chariot’s traces while two more took up flanking positions behind the chariot. A fifth, who was larger than most ponies, his coat white, his jaw square, and who had the air of having just stepped off a recruitment poster, smartly saluted Princess Celestia and announced, “Your Majesty, your chariot awaits.”

“Thank you so much,” Princess Celestia’s eyes darted to the stallion’s collar. “Leftenant.” Turning toward Twilight, and with a jerk of her head toward the chariot, she asked, “Shall we go?”

“Yes, let’s.” Twilight replied as she strode past the guards and took her normal place. Princess Celestia settled in close behind her, and with a piercing shout from the lieutenant, and a silky smooth take off, they were airborne.

The Canterlot Museum of Art was relatively young, as a foundation it had existed for only just over three hundred years. Throughout the history of Equestria, there had been periods when artistry in one medium or another had waxed or waned. It was during one particularly utilitarian period when the famous collector Cosmos Medicheese had died. He’d been a wealthy son of an even wealthier family who enjoyed patronizing the arts, mostly to create works which glorified the Medicheese family and their largess and generocity. However, Cosmos’ descendants lacked their father’s appreciation for fine art, and upon his death, found themselves with a villa packed with all manner of useless paintings, tapestries, and sculptures. Some of which dated back to before the founding of Equestria.

Though poor in their appreciation of the arts, Cosmos’ children had great business acumen and decided to start charging for tours of their father’s estate. Over the years they added to the collection and purchased additional buildings to contain the growing body of art. A few hundred years later, and on her deathbed, the final descendant of the Medichesse name gifted the collection and all the buildings that housed it to the then township of Canterlot. Since that time, the collection had grown larger, and had been consolidated and moved several times. The latest move had been into the first purpose built building designed as a museum for the most well known and deserving pieces to be displayed in. It had been completed a little over forty years before Twilight had been born.

To complement the treasures it held, the building itself had been designed as a work of art. It’s long, windowless walls made into long sweeping curved shapes that swirled and connected to one another tangentially. One critic had compared the building to a bank of clouds. That is, if clouds had been designed by unicorns and built by earth ponies. The design had split opinions when it had first been revealed. It’s emphasis on a horizontal structure in a city that embraced the vertical had not gone over well when it initially opened. However, over time, it’s design had become iconic. So much so that the Pony Express had commemorated it with a postage stamp that was still in use.

Twilight had visited the museum several times as a filly, mostly during various school trips. While she could appreciate art just as well, if not more so than anypony else, she’d seldom felt the urge to get jostled by the crowds in order to go stand in front of a painting that she could just as easily see in one of the many art reference books in the library.

Such thoughts were running through her head as the guards accompanying them jetted ahead to clear a space for them to alight. The chariot touched down on the wide white granite landing located halfway up the stairs leading to the main entrance of the museum. They landed next to a colossal bronze statue of an earth pony bursting from the granite, frozen in mid-leap. She looked as if she were about to fly across all of Canterlot in a single bound. Her defined, lifelike muscles and jaunty grin reminded Twilight of Applejack, if Applejack would grow her mane longer and let it fly freely in the breeze.

While Twilight was examining the statue, the guards had established a perimeter. Outside of which a few dozen ponies were gazing at Princess Celestia before hastily dropping into bows of varying depth and accuracy. Twilight followed Princess Celestia as she stepped down from the chariot, still wearing her rose tinted glasses. She smiled and gave the crowd a regal wave as she looked over her subjects.

In a clear voice that easily carried, yet still sounded warm and intimate, she said, “Yes, yes, how are you all doing, my little ponies? Thank you all for being so wonderful, but there’s no need for you to continue to bow. I’m just here on a date with my friend Twilight Sparkle. Like you, we’re just here to enjoy the museum. There’s no need to stand on formalities, so please feel free to stand up. Now then, if you’ll excuse us …”

Princess Celestia didn’t so much cut through the crowd to walk up the stairs to the museum, as it melted away before her like staphylococcus confronted by penicillin. Twilight trailed in her wake, until Princess Celestia stretched out a wing and nudged Twilight’s flank, causing Twilight to hop forward in surprise and begin to walk abreast with her mentor. Behind them, the pegasi pulling the chariot took off again, while the other three took up positions around Princess Celestia and Twilight, close, but not too close.

The granite steps up to the museum were low and wide, and in very little time at all, Twilight and Princess Celestia pushed through the museum’s thick glass doors and found themselves in a large, mostly deserted rotunda well lit by the many skylights overhead. Along one wall was a large desk labeled, “Tickets & Information” Nearby was the entrance to the museum’s well stocked gift shop.

Boldly striding up to the desk, Princess Celestia elegantly cleared her throat to attract the attention of the unsuspecting employees. It wasn’t the first time Twilight had watched as somepony toiling away at some task glanced up only to find their ruler, their princess, the very pony who rose the sun every morning standing before them. But the way their jaws dropped, as if their brains had suspended all their higher functions never seemed to get old.

“Excuse me, but my friend and I would like two tickets, please. How much is it for two adults?” Princess Celestia asked as she smiled warmly down at the dun colored pony who was gaping up at her agog.

His amazement at the appearance of his divine monarch lasted long enough for it to almost tip into being awkward. With a clack, he closed his mouth and beads of sweat began to flow down his forehead. “Um, th-there’s no need, Your Majesty. I-I mean, Your Highness? You can just go in if you’d like.”

“Now I might be getting on in years a bit, but I didn’t think the senior discount was that generous.” Princess Celestia pouted slightly and then ripped a hole in space and time in order to retrieve her wallet. “To be honest, I’m on vacation today, so I would appreciate it if you would treat me just like any other pony.”

“I-I-I understand, ma’am. Then would you like an adult and a senior ticket?”

Princess Celestia’s smile froze slightly. With an even but firm tone, she said, “No. Thank you. Two adults, please.”

“That will be fifteen bits then, ma’am,” the stallion replied, calming down now that they were back on his regular script. Placing a stack of coins on the desk, Princess Celestia accepted two pamphlets the stallion handed them in exchange. “These are maps of the museum, and also serve as your tickets. The main entrance is just to the right and leads to the main hall, immediately off of which is this month’s touring exhibit. From the main hall there are several galleries you can chose from, each with focusing on their own artistic movement. Bathrooms are here in the atrium, next to the gift shop, as well as on the second floor, and in a few more areas marked on your map. Food and drink are prohibited, and while photography is allowed, we ask that you refrain from using a flash. Any questions?” The stallion’s well rehearsed speech was delivered with a smooth cadence that belied his earlier nervousness.

Twilight and Princess Celestia studied the maps in front of them before exchanging a shrug with one another. Twilight answered the stallion, “No, I don’t think so.”

“Well, if that changes, feel free to come back and ask us anything. I hope you have a wonderful visit.”

“Thanks, you too,” Twilight said by reflex. She cringed as she realized what she’d done. Hurriedly she corrected herself. “I mean, have a nice day. Thanks.” She beat a hasty retreat with a smirking Princess Celestia closely following after her. Keeping her pace at a brisk walk until they’d passed into the main hall, and out of site of the stallion at the front desk, Twilight called over her shoulder to Princess Celestia, “Thank you for paying for my ticket by the way.”

“You’re welcome. Luna said that you helped her pick out these glasses, so I thought I’d show you my appreciation for them.”

Glancing over to the bespectacled princess, Twilight let out a giggle. “I have to say, they do look good on you, but how long are you planning on wearing them?”

Princess Celestia’s smile grew wide enough the shine of her perfect teeth could be seen. “Actually, Luna and I were discussing that this morning. We’ve entered into something of a wager as to whether or not I’ll keep them on until somepony else says something about them. Unfortunately for her, I don’t like to lose.”

Twilight chuckled, wondering who would be the first pony brave enough to confront Princess Celestia over her new fashion statement.

The museum’s main hall stretched the length of the building, subtly curving in a serpentine manner. Large skylights were placed at regular intervals in the otherwise dizzying ceiling. It was made up of stones cut at varying heights and facets jutting down, bouncing the sunlight throughout the large, mostly empty space. The ceiling, the walls, and the floor were colored with muted off-whites or light greys. The walls were sparcely ornamented with a few modern paitings made insignificant due to the hall’s sheer scale. The floor was covered with a standard commercial carpet, just thick enough to abate the noise of hoofsteps in the otherwise echoingly empty space, but not thick enough to provide any sense of comfort to anypony’s hooves. Along the middle of the long hall were several larger artwork installations. One was a mishmash of eclectic hardware parts assembled into a pony riding a bicycle along a track, marking off the hours of the day as it pedaled. Another was a monumental alabaster pony who appeared to have just woken up and was pulling herself up through the floor. There was another made up of interlocking panes of glass, and another which seemed to just be a normal sink, freestanding and disassociated with anything else.

There were a few ponies scattered throughout the hall, grouped in twos and threes, but there seemed far fewer than one would expect based on the crowd that had been outside. Abruptly, Twilight wondered what had happened to the guards that had accompanied them to the museum. Twisting her head back and forth, Twilight couldn’t see them anywhere. With a shrug, she decided it wasn’t really her business how they did their job. She instead turned her attention to unfolding her map of the museum. “So, since we only have a few hours, we won’t be able to see everything. Are there any exhibits that you’d like to see in particular, Princess Celestia?”

“Hmm,” said princess vocalized. She leaned down to study Twilight’s map, pressing her face close enough to Twilight’s for her to feel the warmth of her skin, and for her to breath in Princess Celestia’s scent, an exclusive perfume made just for her by the same family for the past three hundred years. It’s formula was a closely guarded secret, but Twilight had always thought it smelled like a breeze blowing across a summer field full of sweet grass and delicate wildflowers.

Apparently not noticing their close proximity, or just not minding it, Princess Celestia’s eyes flicked across the map in front of them. “It looks like this month’s rotating exhibit is about the history of political cartoons. I think we can skip that part of the museum. Every single cartoonist who has tried their hoof at political commentary draws my flank absurdly large,” she groused. Her breath was warm and tickled Twilight’s eyelashes, but not in an unpleasant way, if that made sense.

Fighting against the urge to take a step back and establish a clear boundary between them, Twilight said, “Well, that’s off the list then.” Licking her suddenly dry lips, she blurted out, “I’m not a huge fan of post-modernism, so we can skip that exhibit too.”

“It looks like the Proto-Pre-Raphaelitons have been grouped chronologically with several other exhibits beginning with the Greco-Romains. Why don’t we begin at the beginning here, and see just how far we get before we have to go home?” Princess Celestia proposed, her hoof pointing to a spot on the map while her sparkling purple eye, framed by her dark, thick eyelashes examined Twilight from beneath her billowing bangs.

“That sounds like a plan to me.” Twilight chirped out. She folded the map with a snap and set off at a brisk trot, feeling a bit conflicted about Princess Celestia’s proximity. Truthfully, only a few months before, she would have welcomed such closeness, and while it would have made her heart race to be so near the princess, it wouldn’t have felt quite so awkward. But now that she was planning on confessing her feelings to Luna … Twilight didn’t dare to finish her thought. Instead she concentrated on refolding the map so that it displayed the part of the museum they would be visiting, and tried to lose herself in trying to understand the art pieces that they passed.

By the time Princess Celestia had caught up to her with her usual unhurried stride aided by her much longer legs, Twilight had successfully buried her strange feelings. They turned off the main hall and into one of the side galleries that had a much lower, more intimate ceiling, and which eschewed skylights in favor of using soft artificial globes to illuminate the works of art. Soon Twilight and Princess Celestia were walking amongst the chipped and incomplete marble and ebony busts and statues of the pre-Equestrian world.

Along one wall was a large and colorful mosaic next to a plaque stating it was from the foot of Mt. Veshoovious. It depicted Romain racing chariots being pulled by teams of seating earth ponies. Nearby was a life sized onyx statue of a pony sitting on a pedestal. His muscular hooves were wrapped in gauze and his empty eyes, looking out from a scarred and battered face, were turned questioningly in Twilight’s direction. Opposite him was a large, menacing statue of a half bull, half bear creature who had, according to legend, grown jealous of the gods of the time, and had rebelled against them, resulting in his having been transformed into salt for the effort.

“Oh, there’s Erac,” Princess Celestia said, pausing before the life-like and hideous statue. “I had wondered where he went. We used to have him on display in the garden, but for some reason he kept attracting the deer, and you know how hard it is to keep their attention as it is. I guess this is where they moved him to.”

Twilight read the plaque at the statue’s feet and noticed that it indeed said the statue was on loan from the palace’s collection. Since the princess seemed to have personally known Erac, Twilight asked her, “Did he really look like that, or did they deliberately exaggerate his ugliness to scare ponies?”

Princess Celestia looked down at Twilight with her lips pursed in an uncomprehending frown for a few seconds. Her eyes opened wide in realization and she said, “Oh, yes, this statue.” With a smirk she said, “I’d say that this is a very close likeness to when Luna and I confronted him for enslaving several pony tribes. In fact, it’s quite lifelike, wouldn’t you say?” She sighed as she continued to examine Erac’s snarling face and her voice lost much of its levity as she ruminated, “The world was a much crueler place back then, Twilight. It seemed like every thug, warlord, and despot wanted ponies for one reason or another. Either to use as slave labor, or as food, or simply because they were sadistic brutes preying on the weak. Erac was one of the many monsters we had to face back then, but unfortunately, he was far from the worst.” Princess Celestia tore her gaze away from the statue and assumed her normal cheerful demeanor as she turned and led the way to the next part of the exhibit. “But, thankfully things are much more civilized these days. Now nopony would dare try anything so fulsome with the citizens of Equestria.”

Twilight lingered for a few seconds longer, narrowly studying the statue. Princess Celestia’s reaction had planted a seed of suspicion in her mind. “Wait a second. This isn’t actually Erac, is it?”

However the princess ignored her question and simply urged her, “Hurry up, Twilight, there’s a pony embroidered on this tapestry that looks just like your mother.” Not wanting to be left behind, Twilight gave the gargantuan statue one final glance before racing off after Princess Celestia.

They passed several early pony paintings, depictions of the founding and settlement of Equestria, scenes from primitive rural life, images of Dream Valley, things of that nature. All the paintings felt crude, lacking a clear understanding of scale, proportion, or how shadows worked. But as she and the princess walked forward, through time, Twilight found that the artistry began to improve. Soon they entered the early Reneighsaunce period, where ponies began to copy the best works of the pre-Equestrian societies while breaking new ground in both technique and composition. There were paintings with vanishing points and appropriate proportions. There were plenty of paintings of ponies in poncy pantaloons, doublets, and all sorts of frilled collars, chronicling the then current events. There were also paintings of a more spiritual and abstract nature, mostly depicting Princess Celestia and the sun.

About halfway through the gallery though, the subject matter took an abrupt and almost universally dark turn. The colors became darker, as well as more fluid and dynamic. Most of them depicted Luna, or more accurately, Nightmare Moon and her battle with Princess Celestia. The transition was jarring and caused Twilight to think back over the artwork they’d already passed. While there had been depictions of Princess Celestia throughout the gallery, there hadn’t been any representations of her sister until these showing her fall from grace.

“Oh yes,” Princess Celestia murmured as both she and Twilight slowed to a stop. “I’d forgotten about this … unfortunate school of art.”

“What happened?” Twilight asked as they paused in front of a monumental painting that stretched to the ceiling. Near the top, flanked by cherubic pegasi and crowned by the sun was a resplendent Princess Celestia standing atop pearly white clouds spread over a verdant Equestria populated by jubilant unicorns and earth ponies. Below which, suspended in a field of stars was a freshly smote Nightmare Moon, her face twisted in rage and her body wracked in agonizing contortions as she fell into the craggy lunar surface at the bottom of the painting. Twilight was shocked that such a detailed and well crafted piece of art didn’t spark a hint of recognition in her memories.

Princess Celestia sighed. “There was a full solar eclipse around five hundred years ago, and while I love my little ponies dearly, I’ll be the first to admit that they don’t take such drastic and sudden events such as that very well. Astronomy was in its infancy, and I, well, neglected to tell anypony it was going to happen. Consequently there was bedlam in the streets for a few hours. That prompted a renewed interest in the story of the mare in the moon, and for a decade or so, that seemed to be all that anypony could talk about.” Her head drooped, and her mane became listless. “Everypony wanted to paint it as a triumphal conquering of evil by good, of the night by the day.” She turned back to Twilight and earnestly said, “I tried my best to point ponies’ interest in a different direction. I didn’t want to bring up the old pain, the old regret. Whether there could have been something I’d done differently, whether the punishment I’d given her was too harsh. Thankfully, around that time we had a series of border disagreements and the legend of Nightmare Moon was eclipsed by a rise in nationalism and patriotic fervor. Since then, I’ve done my best to discourage the glorification of Nightmare Moon’s defeat. With limited success, I’ll admit. Though, I have enjoyed a bit more success in focusing the contents of school books to other, more important topics.” She let out a mirthless chuckle.

Princess Celestia’s eyes lingered on the defeated and twisted portrayal of Nightmare Moon. The artist had taken several liberties with the subject, but the cutie mark on her flank, and her distinctive helmet, freshly struck from her head, left no doubt who the pony depicted was. Twilight studied the painting as well. She felt an unpleasant queasy feeling in her stomach. Had Luna seen these works of art? She hoped that she hadn’t. She hoped that she never would. Maybe that was one of the curses from living for so long, the past refusing to stay in the past.

Not entirely sure why she did so, Twilight asked, “Do … do you regret imprisoning Nightmare Moon?”

Slowly blinking as she thought over the question, Princess Celestia took a deep breath before whispering, more to herself than Twilight, “I did. I still do.”

Twilight couldn’t ever recall seeing the princess look so sad as her eyes fell down and reflected on a time long lost to history. Her voice became rougher with unshed tears and she had to clear her throat from time to time as she said, “But at the same time I don’t. I can’t. I’ll never regret doing what’s necessary to protect the ponies who depend on me. Still, I’ll always feel guilty about everything that led up to that moment. I’ll always regret the fact that I had to punish my little sister because I wasn’t there for her when she needed help, to steer her away from her self-destructive behaviour. I regret that I had to be the ruler Equestria required, not the sister Luna needed.” It looked like Princess Celestia had more to say, but nothing else came as she opened her mouth a few times, just to close it again before thickly swallowing.

Twilight could feel a sympathetic lump in her own throat. For a few moments they were both silent as Twilight searched for the right words to say. Not sure she’d been successful, but wanting to say something, anything, to help assuage Princess Celestia’s pain, Twilight said, “I know I wasn’t around back then, so I can’t say who was in the right or wrong, but I don’t think that Luna sees things the way you do. I think she comes down on herself pretty hard for being weak enough to become Nightmare Moon, while maybe you’re being too hard on yourself for not seeing the warning signs before her transformation.” Twilight licked her dry lips. “Have, have you two talked about it since … well, since she came back?”

Princess Celestia glanced up at Twilight for a moment, before guiltily cutting her eyes away. “No. Not really. We did have a short discussion about it, I suppose. But it was just us both apologizing to each other. Nothing in depth.” She bleakly smiled. “Honestly I … At first, I was afraid of opening old wounds and rekindling our old arguments that had led her to becoming Nightmare Moon. Now, it’s just so awkward to approach the subject. Ever since she’s come back, I’ve seen that Luna has been trying her hardest to be a better pony, and ever since she’s become friends with you, she’s been happier than I can ever recall her being before. I don’t want to throw all that away by needlessly dragging up the past.”

Worrying at the soft skin inside her cheek, Twilight said, “I don’t think it would be needless. To talk about the past. In fact, I think it’s something you two need to talk about urgently. Neither you or Luna want to hurt each other’s feelings, but from where I’m standing, it seems like both of you are still feeling guilty about what happened back then. I know it’s going to be painful to talk about it with her, but I don’t think that you or her will ever feel any better until you’ve worked things out.”

Twilight fruitlessly tried to tuck some of her hair behind her ear before continuing, “Neither of you are the ponies you were back then. Luna’s not Nightmare Moon anymore. She’s kind, and caring, and gentle. She tries her best, and, I mean, sure she has a bit of a self-esteem issue, and she can be a bit aloof and calculating at times, but she’s getting better about all that. And even if she’s a little heavy hoofed at times, the way her eyes sparkle when she knows she’s being incorrigible …”

Abruptly, Twilight realized that she was quickly losing focus on what was important and cleared her throat to cover her near derailment of the conversation. “And anyway, you’re not the same pony either. You’ve ruled Equestria for over a thousand years and have dealt with all sorts of political intrigue while being a witness to every foible a pony can imagine. Can you honestly say that you’d make the same decisions now that you did then?”

Princess Celestia had calmed down during Twilight’s speech, and was regarding her with considering eyes, weighing her words carefully. “You’re right, Twilight. I have ruled over Equestria for a millennia. But my experience as a sister is considerably less. Unfortunately the skills I’ve learned as a monarch don’t easily translate into the ones necessary to be a sister. It’s easier to see the historical and political necessities behind something than it is to understand another pony. I can more easily predict and prevent a famine than I can plumb the depths of Luna’s heart. But you’re right. This has been something that’s hung over both our heads for far too long. We do need to sit down and clear the air between us. But, when we do,” she looked down at Twilight with a fond smile. “I hope that it won’t be too much trouble to ask you to be there to act as our referee. I don’t think either Luna or myself would want you to see just how mean and petty we can be, so if you’re there, hopefully we’ll be capable of having a civil discussion.”

With a wry smile, Twilight replied, “Of course, Princess Celestia. That is, if Luna doesn’t mind me being there, I’d love to help you both.”

Wearing a ghost of a smile, Princess Celestia said, “Oh, somehow I think that if you’re involved, I’m sure Luna won’t have any objections.”

Composing themselves, they decided to continue their tour of the gallery and leave the depressing paintings behind. As they slowly walked away, Princess Celestia bumped Twilight with her shoulder and asked, “And when did my favorite student become such an expert on inter-pony relationships?” She wore a small but genuine smile.

Staggering slightly to recover from the unexpected bump, Twilight cheekily replied, “Well, thanks to a certain princess, I had to take a crash course on friendship. Occasionally with literal crashes. Somewhere along the way, I learned that if you don’t talk about the important things with somepony, they just kind of linger around until you trip over them in the future. Usually at the worst possible and most hurtful times.”

Princess Celestia cocked an eyebrow. “Oh? It sounds like there’s an interesting story behind that lesson.”

Twilight ducked her head while chuckling nervously. “I wouldn’t say that exactly. Just something that happened to a friend of a friend once. Just … I wouldn’t ask Rarity about sapphire encrusted shoes. She has a bit of a … thing about them now, and knows how to hold a grudge like nopony else.”

Letting out bell like laughter, Princess Celestia said, “I see. My lips are sealed about them then.”

The subject matter of the art they began to pass followed Princess Celestia’s earlier prediction. There were paintings of of ponies mustering, standing in battle formations, forging armor. All the aspects of war, save for any showing any actual bloodshed. There were city watches assembled in dark halls, golden armored stallions on lonely watches atop parapet walls, a herd of ponies bearing banners with Equestria’s flag and Princess Celestia’s seal as they charged toward an unseen foe.

Such militaristic images felt out of place to Twilight’s modern sensibilities. She knew that the world had been a violent place before the creation of Equestria, but she’d thought that such violence was an artifact of pre-history. She looked up at the absentminded visage of Princess Celestia, who seemed to be viewing the paintings without actually seeing them. “Those border issues you mentioned earlier, was there every any actual fighting?” She asked, wondering how many ponies had died in a conflict forgotten by Equestrian history.

Princess Celestia looked down at her in confusion. “Fighting?” After a moment’s reflection, she shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it that. There were merely some grumblings from our new neighbors, and some rather incendiary ponies who took delight in provoking them as well as riling up the rest of the pony populace. There was even a little militia of some well intentioned colts that camped out on the border for a while, but before any conflict could come about, I went and had a few discussions with the interested parties. There were some hurt feelings, but nopony was injured, and we managed to expand the size of Equestria by nearly a third.”

Surprised by the large amount of land that was gained by Equestria without any bloodshed, and putting the pieces together, Twilight asked incredulously, “You mean that’s the story behind the Mooisiana Purchase, and the great cow migration? So you’re saying nopony was injured at all?”

Smirking, Princess Celestia said, “Oh, there were a few ruffled feathers, but in the end we came to an understanding that peaceful coexistence was preferable to peaceful non-existence.”

With a scoff, Twilight observed, “Wow, you sound like you were a lot more …” She trailed off, thinking of a more delicate synonym for belligerent.

“Stern? Uncompromising?” Princess Celestia suggested.

“Sure, we can go with that.”

“Well, even a few hundred years ago, things were a bit different. Some creatures still remembered ponies as weak, defenseless beings who could be pushed around and exploited. They had to learn the hard way that was no longer the case.”

“I see,” Twilight said musingly as they passed through several landscapes of blooming wildflowers, stately watermills, and downtown vistas of Canterlot from centuries ago, when panniers were in fashion, causing the painted ponies to appear quit poofy. After that, they came to a group of paintings that felt much more modern in their composition, showing scenes of nature, or an unflattering depiction of Princess Celestia in a period correct hairstyle, but in an ancient setting which felt odd from the juxtaposition. At some point the gallery they’d been exploring had curved around, and they also found themselves back at the main hall.

Even though these were the paintings that they’d nominally come to see, Twilight was feeling a bit appreciated out for the arts. Especially when a nearby middle-aged, overweight stallion wearing socks and birkenstocks paused to take a picture of her and Celestia.

Turning to the princess, Twilight said, “I think I’ve had enough art for today. How about you, Princess Celestia?”

“I think I reached my limit about half an hour ago,” Princess Celestia admitted as she turned in the direction of the rotunda leading back to the museum’s entrance. Dodging a herd of school foals that had nearly barreled into them as they came around the corner, she proposed to Twilight, “How would you feel about going for some ice cream? I find that it does wonders whenever I get into, or out of a mood.”

Due to her light breakfast, and the emotional strain they’d been through earlier, Twilight was feeling a bit peckish. “That sounds great actually.”

“Excellent. Then let’s be on our way.”

They passed the museum’s enticing gift shop without a second glance, and exited through the tinted glass doors to find that they day outside was still quite bright and sunny. On the steps before the doors were the three guards they’d left behind, all standing at attention. Their stoic frowns seem to cause many of the ponies who’d climbed the steps to see the museum to decide on a better use of their time and turn around. Although there were a few young colts around one of the guards, who were making faces in front of him, and trying various ways to get him to break from his regimented posture.

“Well gentlecolts,” Princess Celestia called out to them. “We’re going for ice cream. Would you like to join us?”

The two lower ranking escorts shrugged while looking at one another, quietly murmuring, “Yeah, why not,” and “Ice cream sounds good to me.”

The lieutenant though kept his face stern as he said, “Your Majesty, we’d be delighted to escort you anywhere you wish to go.”

“Great. Then let’s be on our way.”

Which was why Twilight found herself at a relatively famous ice cream parlour near the Royal Palace, sitting at a small table made for average sized ponies. The table was dwarfed by Princess Celestia’s large frame sitting across from her. The princess was enjoying a bowl of birthday cake flavoured ice cream while Twilight had opted for a scoop of simple vanilla. At a nearby table the three guards accompanying them had removed their helmets to reveal their short blond manes. One of the guards had gone with mint chocolate chip ice cream, while the other had chosen chocolate mint chip. The lieutenant though had ordered a large, elaborate banana split, complete with a tiny paper Equestrian flag and two, still burning sparklers.

At the table on the other side of Twilight’s was a very young little filly who had let her chocolate ice cream melt into a brown puddle of sludge. She wore matching chocolate smears on her hooves and around her wide open mouth. Her attention had been fixed on Princess Celestia ever since she’d stepped through the door, and even at that moment, she was staring up at the princess, her head craned back, her expression a mixture of awe and devotion, her slack jaw revealing that she was missing her two front teeth. All in all, Twilight felt that she seemed like a cute but sticky little filly, and idly wondered if there were enough non-absorbent paper napkins in the restaurant to clean her up.

“Are yew weally a pwincess?” The little filly eventually asked Princess Celestia, stars in her eyes.

Princess Celestia turned her attention from her ice cream to look down at the little filly who barely reached the height of her knee.

“Why hello there. Yes, I am an actual princess. My name is Celestia. What’s yours?”

“I’m Dawn Wunner. How did yew become a pwincess?”

With a beatific smile, Princess Celestia said, “It’s nice to meet you, Dawn. Becoming a princess is actually very simple, but it’s not easy,” she cautioned. “You just have to be the bravest pony you can be. Stand up and protect ponies weaker than you from things that would hurt them. Always tell the truth, and fight for what’s right even if it’s dark and scary and easier to just leave things as they are. And even if you fail, again and again and again, you get back up and try to do better each time.”

The little filly had nodded along with with everything Princess Celestia had said, and when she stopped, she clopped her hooves together in excitement. “Then, then, does that mean if I do all those things, I can be a pwincess two?”

Princess Celestia reached down and stroked the filly’s mane with her hoof. “Of course you can be, Dawn. So long as it’s okay with your parents, of course.”

She looked up at the pair of ponies who were also seated at Dawn’s table, who had frozen in place the moment Princess Celestia had sat down at the table next to them. Dawn looked over to them too. “Mommy, Daddy, did yew heaw that, I can be a pwincess two! Then I can stay up as wate as I want!”

“That’s nice, dear,” Dawn’s mother said through a frozen face. “But until then, bedtime’s still eight thirty.”

Princess Celestia gave Dawn one final pat as the filly deflated, and she let out a disappointed, “Okay.”

Their ice cream mostly finished, Twilight commented to Princess Celestia, “As fun as this was, we’d probably better start heading back to the palace. It’s getting late in the day, and knowing Rarity, it’s probably going to take a superfluously long amount of time to get ready for the part tonight.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Princess Celestia said with a small sigh. They quickly cleaned up after themselves and left the shop, along with the three guard ponies. The lieutenant had a hoof against his bulging belly and his quiet groans provided background noise as they stepped out onto the street. Pausing on the sidewalk across from the palace, Princess Celestia turned to Twilight and said, “I had a lovely time with you, Twilight, but I suppose all good things must come to an end. I hope that you’ll spare some time this evening for a lonely old princess such as myself, but if you end up losing track of time with Luna, I’ll understand.”

With a chuckle, Twilight replied, “You know that won’t happen, Princess Celestia. Of course I’ll have time for you tonight. You’re one of the most important ponies in my life. I’ll always have time for you.”

Princess Celestia’s smile twisted in a bittersweet way, as if she’d tasted something sour. “Well, that’s reassuring to know, Twilight,” she said as she leaned down and hugged Twilight with her neck. Twilight leaned up and tried to wrap herself up in the embrace, closing her eyes as she reveled in the comfortable warmth radiating from Princess Celestia’s touch.

They reluctantly pulled apart when there came the audible sound of a camera shutter, and they looked up to find a mare wearing a press badge holding a camera smiling back at them.

“Well, I suppose I should get going,” Twilight said with a slight blush on her face as she backed away from the princess. “I’ll see you tonight, princess.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Princess Celestia said with a wistful tone.

They waved as they separated, Princess Celestia returning to the palace proper, while Twilight turned toward the guest area she and her friends were staying.

---

Author's Note:

I may be dating myself, which is okay, because it’s not like anyone else wants to, but for some reason this whole chapter I was thinking of Goldeneye. With Luna as 006 and Celestia as 007. “For Equestria, Celestia?”

Which naturally led to her acting as Boromir in Lord of the Rings. “I would have followed you, my sister, my captain, my queen.”

Comments

[Celestia GF of the Void]

I admit I honestly forgot this existed it's been so long since it updated, but that being said it was a very nice update. I can't wait to see more, hopefully sooner this time, but just keep up the good work.

[Wydril]

Definitely not one I expected to ever see update again, but quite glad it did! Only got a notification for the second chapter going up, not the first; that's odd. This deserves a full re-read, but if it's going to be completed I'd like to hold out 'till then. Here's hoping!

[wd]

Hah, came back after a few years and saw this.

Hope you can finish it if you still enjoy writing it!

[WubsAndCellos]

Elite amazing story omg
Id buy a hard copy

[Midknight Defender]

Hopefully you come back again and continue this gem. You’ve done it before, so here’s hoping!