Three Hundred and Sixty-Three days until the next Summer Sun Celebration
Shining rubbed his eyes then looked at a nearby clock. It was just passed midnight, and he was still here. Here, meaning the deepest bowels of Canterlot castle with his little sister and Galea watching over them. If there had been any solace in the events of today, it was that the sun had set. That meant that Celestia was safe at least and doing her duties, even if she wasn’t doing them here.
“No. I’m telling you, Twily, no mind can take that amount of magical output for that long.” Shining closed the book he had been reading that confirmed that suspicion. “Unless you want them to end up as a vegetable after three days. It’s too dangerous to even think about.” He could feel his thoughts lagging behind, sleep deprivation slowly catching up with him, but no matter what he was going to fight Twilight on this point.
“An alicorn could.” Twilight replied, glaring back at her brother. This was a matter of academic superiority now, and Twilight did not like to be wrong on matters like that.
“Celestia is gone, Twilight. So unless you’re going to sprout a pair of wings, that thread is dead.” Shining stood up and sighed, rubbing his eyes with a hoof. This honestly may be an impossible task at this point, the amount of magic needed to cover an entire city was unfathomable.
“What about Cadance?” That rebuttal was not from Twilight, but rather Galea. The siblings looked to the captain of the guard with a mix of surprise and worry at the suggestion. “What?”
“Nopony knows where Cadance is, only Celestia knew.” Twilight mumbled out. “It’s for the better, alright? We can do this without her.” That surged Twilight’s confidence, a little challenge to her personal comfort.
“I don’t believe you.” Galea retorted as she moved towards the stairs. “Clean up and go home, the both of you. We are done for the day.” With that said, the older mare walked up the stairs, leaving the siblings in a confused and slightly frustrated silence.
“I know I can do this, I know I can figure it out.” Shining reached a hoof out, he was going to try to coax Twilight down. He understood the feeling of finding a brick wall with no way over or around, he understood the need to brute force a solution. It wasn’t the right way, though. Twilight’s head shot up and her eyes widened. “No one pony can handle that much magic going through their head, but what about two?”
“The amount of coordination is impossible, Twilight. To make a self-sustaining barrier like we’ve talked about takes...well, it takes a lot of concentration and coherent thought. Two ponies wouldn’t work.” There was a spark in Twilight’s eyes, one that Shining did not like the look of. It was an idea, obviously, but the pit in his stomach told him it was not a good one.
“A melding of minds would work. Two minds existing as one, twice the power, twice the concentration.” Shining was speechless, that kind of magic was not even legal. It bordered too much on taking away free will to even be in the running of ideas that were okay. “It wouldn’t be too hard, not with two unicorns that were...oh, I don’t know, related? Who shared a connection that spanned their whole lives?”
There was this part of Twilight, an oft not explored part, that was a little too ‘mad science’ for Shining’s liking. It dared to think those taboo thoughts and experiment a little too liberally with the boundaries of magic.
“Twilight, you’re not messing with my head. No way.” Shining hardened his tone, hoping his ‘stern big brother’ mode would snap Twilight out of this. “Nopony is after Cadance and you should know better than to even suggest it. I’m disappointed in you.”
“This isn’t anything like Cadance!” Twilight protested. “I wouldn’t be taking away your free will, in fact you would have just as much access to me as I would to you! We need to protect Canterlot, Shiny!”
“You think that justifies it? You think anything you say can justify it to me? If you do, you couldn’t be more wrong.” Shining shook his head and piled up the books he had been using. “We don’t mess with ponies’ heads, Twilight. We just don’t do that. You and I, we’re better than that. We’re above it.” Shining sighed and closed his eyes. “I’m just going to forget about this, okay? I’m going to forget you said anything and we’ll come back here tomorrow and figure this out together. We’ll find a sensible, ethical, legal solution. Am I clear?”
“Fine…”
----
Galea was not one to wait on other ponies, or for them to get over their personal or ethical hangups when the safety of the country was on the line. That included the Sparkle siblings and their supposed power and talent in the magical field.
If she had to wait for a slow and ‘right’ way, then waiting she would not be. If Cadance was a salvation from this problem, then Galea would find her. DEqI had been attempting to locate her for years, just in case a situation such as this arose again. Sadly, their ineptitude shone once again and their reluctance to do any actual hooves-on espionage left the country high and dry.
The icy mare pushed open the door to Celestia’s private quarters and narrowed her eyes.
Like always, she would have to do it herself.
----
Vinyl picked her head out of her hooves as she heard the handle to the door jiggle and unlock from the other side. The surge of relief that flooded through her was quickly supplanted by a wave of rage at the absolute gall of Shining Armor to be gone all day without a single word.
“Where have you been?!” Vinyl was on him as soon as the door opened, her face in his and eyes narrowed and full or ire. “You think it’s okay to just leave me here for sixteen hours without a word of where you are, huh?” She pushed the larger stallion, causing him to stagger backwards.
“Vinyl, calm down. I was at the castle with Twilight and Galea literally all day.” Shining pushed passed Vinyl and lumbered over to the couch, where he promptly fell over. That did nothing to quell Vinyl’s anger.
“I was worried sick! What if you had another episode? What if you had gotten hurt? Celestia forbid, what if you had an accident and…” She couldn’t even finish that thought without a million more springing up and dragging her mood from angry to depressed.
“Listen, I’m sorry. I just…” There was a struggle behind Shining’s eyes, Vinyl could see it. He wanted to say something but didn’t know if he could. “I’m going to tell you something, alright? You cannot tell anypony, it cannot get out. Do you understand?” Vinyl nodded, trying to hold back the emotions that roiled within her. “Celestia has gone missing. Twilight and I were tasked with safeguarding Canterlot until she can return and we were working all day on how.”
Vinyl’s mind honestly and legitimately blanked. How could anyone process all of that? Celestia? Missing? What? It didn’t make any sense. Vinyl had just spoken to her.
“I…” Vinyl shook her head free of the clutter. “Next time just send somepony to tell me you’re okay, alright? That’s all I ask, I worry about you.” Vinyl didn’t feel bad about getting angry, why should she? There was legitimacy in her rage and sadness, no doubt about it.
“C’mere.” Shining rolled onto his back and opened his hooves, beckoning Vinyl into them. Vinyl fell on top of him, her hooves wrapping around him as she found comfort right where she always did. “I’m sorry, I should’ve sent somepony. You’re right.” He whispered, kissing Vinyl’s cheek. “It was a long day, and I was completely focused on the Celestia thing. I’m sorry, Vinyl.”
“Just don’t do it again, okay?” That’s all she wanted now, just to not to be left in the dark as much as she was today. She hated losing ponies, and just the thought...it hurt. It hurt just as much as the memory of her parents’ deaths.
“I promise.”
These moments, in the embrace of a lover with no more words, only the sound of soft breaths and heartbeats, were wonderfully perfect. The world was on pause and Vinyl felt like she could stay here forever in Shining’s grasp.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything intimate.” Oh right, Ray. Before Vinyl could say anything to let Twinkle know what was going on, he sat up straight, nearly throwing her to the floor with a yelp.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” Vinyl watched his expression as he saw the full scope of the pony before him, and then she saw his expression turn from suspicious to sour at the sight of the hybrid.
“Well.” Vinyl picked herself up from the far side of the sofa with a grunt and stood up. “This is Ray, an old friend of mine. She needs a place to stay for a few days and I offered. She’s staying in my studio, alright?”
“Can you give us just a few minutes, Ray? Please?” Shining was looking at Vinyl while addressing the other mare in the room. Ray meekly nodded and went back into Vinyl’s studio slash converted guest bedroom. “I don’t want her in my house.”
“MY house.” Vinyl corrected. “And why not? She’s a good pony, alright? I trust her.” Vinyl’s word should be enough in her opinion, and if it wasn’t then they had more problems than she thought.
“Vinyl…” She could feel something stupid brewing in Twinkle’s throat, she could just sense it. “We are in the middle of a national emergency. If the news gets out, I want to be absolutely certain of the allegiances of everypony around me.”
“Now what is that supposed to mean, huh?” Vinyl cocked her head to the side, her stance becoming a bit more hostile. “She’s Equestrian just like you and me. Celestia is her Princess, same as us.”
“I’m not getting into this, Vinyl. Not right now.” Shining huffed and rolled his eyes. “Fine, but the first sign of seditious behavior and she’s out. I don’t put up with that stuff.” Vinyl rolled her eyes in response and just trotted off to bed with Twinkle.
More would come from this later, she would make sure of it.
----
Somewhere over a distant desert
Celestia was not one to act irrationally or suddenly without planning, but for the last few days she had not quite been feeling herself. Self-doubt had been gripping her, hatred of her past acts and how she had handled certain...things. It had all been building up, and after Cadance had went on her little tirade, then Vinyl confirmed that Celestia was just...not anywhere compatible with normal ponies, she just snapped.
She had told her servants she wanted to disembark from the train last, she had waited and waited, then just teleported to her room. She dropped her vestments on her bed, opened the window, and flew away.
At first, she did not know where she was going, but apparently her mind had already been made up. The desert below was familiar, after all it was where she had received her cutie mark all of those eons ago. She would say she did not remember most of that time, but something about the locale made those distant times so much clearer.
The leader of her herd sent her off on her quest, as she did with all fillies who had come of age. The only clue given was a direction that the elder had said was given to them by the stars above. Celestia was told ‘west’, so west she went.
The monarch could not even remember the faces of those in her herd, nor their names at this point. They were blurs. Most things were in her memory.
For a young filly, the desert was a place that most would not survive. However, destiny had been on her side. She was meant to survive the harsh climate, she was meant to make it through and find that hole in the ground.
Celestia needed to find it again, for guidance.
It was the only way she could go back home, she needed to first get her mind set straight and commune with the spirit of the sun itself like she had done in her youth. Back then it had given such good advice, it had set her on the path that let her find Luna and conquer Discord.
Celestia kept her eyes on the rolling dunes of sand below, just looking for that elusive spot. Instead, here in the most inhospitable of places, she spotted a dotting of huts. Curious, she banked hard towards them and descended the best she could against the intense updrafts rising from the ground.
When she landed, the smattering of creatures did not greet her with reverence, instead they beckoned her as a fellow traveler. They were not all ponies, in fact there were Griffons, Zebras, Bat Ponies, even a lone Minotaur. They all wore loose clothing with white hoods over their heads.
The first one to approach her was a Zebra, and that was when she first saw it. All of these creatures were blind. Every one of them had the faded and cloudy eyes, they all traveled along cloth pathways carefully laid out and leading to all of the different huts.
“Greetings traveler.” The zebra bowed. “Have you come to bask in the wisdom of the sun?” Celestia blinked at the question. It was actually quite odd to hear the sun referred to with such reverence without her own name in the same sentence. It was actually quite primal.
Then again, that is exactly what Celestia had been looking for. It was the reason for her being here. So if fate wished to see her delivered into the hooves of those who could guide her, then she would follow.
“I am.” Celestia responded. The Zebra said nothing in return, instead he turned around and began walking away from her along the cloth trail. Celesita assumed she needed to follow him and did. “What is this place, if I may ask?”
“A sanctuary.” Was the curt reply she received. “No one ever means to come here, and yet they are brought here to ruminate in the sun’s wonderful light. Some leave, satiated by what they found. Others, the true seekers of wisdom, stay and devote their lives to the unlocking the ancient wisdom.”
“Is it a cave?” Celestia ventured a guess. “A very big one with a pool in the middle, a hole at the top through which sunlight streams and shines on the pool?” The zebra stopped, but other than that did not seem all that fazed by Celestia’s description.
“You had a vision of the holy place, then.” The zebra continued to walk, now with a renewed sense of urgency. Celestia easily kept up, her hooves sinking into the burning sand with every step.
“No, I actually visited it a very long time ago when I was young.” Celestia took a breath and decided she was going to need to tell a fib. “I am afraid my life did not go down the right path and I seek additional guidance.” It was a very big fib, mind. Celestia was the strongest pony in the world, both in terms of political power and raw destructive potential. So her life was not exactly horrible.
“A mortal flaw, no doubt. The sun is not wrong, only our interpretation is.” Celestia nearly laughed at the word ‘mortal’. There were many words you could use to describe her, but that was certainly not one of them. She had even taken a crossbow bolt to the chest at one point from a scholar who really wanted to see if she was immortal. It hurt, she was not invincible, but there was not wound that could kill her.
After a few minutes of walking down a very steep dune, Celestia found herself at the mouth of a massive cavern. If it was the same spot that she visited as a filly, then time and erosion had truly done a number on the once filly-sized opening
“Enter, sit by the pool, gaze upon her beauty and find her wisdom.” And with that, the Zebra left. Leaving Celestia alone to retrace her steps and face the same thing she did all those centuries ago.
The inside of the cavern was the exact opposite of the climate outside; cool, damp, and pleasant. She followed a well worn trail from the mouth of the cavern to a place that took about five minutes to walk to.
In the deepest reach of the cavern was a pool, moss and orange wildflowers growing around it. High high above, a hole was in the ceiling. It was never covered or filled by the desert around it, and if it was daytime the sun was always streaming through, even if the occasional cloud passed by.
It was a place of ancient and primal magic.
She had been instructed to sit and watch, but she knew that was wrong. At least she felt like it was. The last time she was here was nothing more than a whirlwind of emotions in her mind, nothing concrete she could latch onto.
Instead, she sat by the poolside and placed her front hooves in it. The water was cool, even though it was bathed in sunlight. She closed her eyes and opened her mind, opened her ears to the sensations around her.
At first it was quiet, but it was there. A small voice vocalising a tune, it felt so familiar. It felt like something that Celestia knew deep in her heart. After a moment of hesitation, she began to hum along with the little voice. This went on for a minute or two, until the voice spoke.
“Wow, you’re so big.” That language wasn’t Equuish. Not even close, in fact, it almost sounded like...well, like her language. From when she was little. Somehow, she found herself replying perfectly in the very very dead language that not even history had documented.
“Well, it has been a while.” The language would explain the creatures who never left. Perhaps they were attempting to decipher it and truly understand what the sun was telling them. Celestia opened her eyes, to find herself looking down into the pool and at the reflection of a much smaller pony, her features indistinct.
How appropriate for the sun, to be embodied by a filly. So gentle and sweet, but at the same time with an unlimited capacity for destruction if left unchecked. It was quite apropos.
“Has it?” The filly responded, cocking her head.
“Well, maybe not for you. But my whole life has gone by.” She forgot that there are some things older than her in nature, those things with lives longer than her own. To the Sun, the time gone must’ve seemed like days or perhaps months.
“Are you going to die soon?” The filly asked worriedly, obviously misinterpreting the reply to mean she was at the end of her life. Celestia chuckled and shook her head.
“I hope not, my dear friend.” Celestia did not know what to say, to be honest. How was one supposed to talk to a star? What was she to say? Was there such a thing as small talk for something as powerful as the sun?
“Are you okay?” The little voice piped up after a prolonged and awkward silence.
“Can I be honest with you?” The silhouette in the water nodded. “I feel as though I am too far away. I have no one I can truly connect to, nor do I have anyone I can call a friend.” Celestia sighed, that was truly the root of her problems. She was just so...distant from those around her.
“You called me your dear friend.” The filly spoke again, her little hooves shuffling.
“Well yes, but you and I are linked. Forever. My power is yours, and yours is mine. Without each other, what are we? A weak pony with false power and an unknowable mighty star with no link to the world below. We need each other.” Celestia understood her link to the star above. It was something she spent many years thinking over, especially after what happened with Luna.
“...not that weak…” The filly mumbled out in defense of Celestia, much to her surprise. She was not expecting this embodiment to not see her as weak, after all without the sun, she was.
“Very weak, I am afraid.” Celestia sighed and lowered her head. “Without the sun, no cutie mark, no crown, no kingdom, no Luna. A very weak and sad pony left all alone in the wastes with her herd.” Celestia could not even fathom what her life would have been without the journey when she was little, without the revelation of the sun. She might’ve not even survived to adulthood.
“Luna?” The voice questioned. “Who’s that?” Ah, right, a lot has happened since last they spoke.
“My sister. You can see her in the sky at night, hanging up there among her bed of stars.” An intense sadness filled Celestia’s heart as she thought about her dear sibling, along with a twinge of fear. “She will be back soon, though. Down here with us once again.”
“Where?” What an inquisitive thing the sun was.
“East, in Equestria.” She thought about it for a second, honestly who knew if the sun could distinguish the borders between lands. “It is a wonderful place, where ponies live together in harmony. It is just wonderful…”
“I don’t understand why you chose me.” The filly veered wildly off topic, but who was Celestia to dictate a conversation with the sun?
“I didn’t. Fate brought us together, if you can understand that. We were both brought here for a very particular purpose in the universe. For what, I guess we have to figure out. I just want to hear what you have to say.” It was the honest truth, she was following where her heart was pulling her.
“Really?” Celestia nodded. “I guess...I am just worried. About my future. I don’t know what to expect.” Celestia scoffed, what did the sun have to worry about? It’s end would not come, it would always be up there, loving and caring for those below it. It would always rise every day, and it would always set. It was one of the universal constants of perfection and serenity. It had nothing to worry about.
“I wouldn’t worry, friend. You will keep going, as you always have. You are beautiful and strong and just perfection. You are my star who I look to for strength, so please do remain strong. For me.” She did her best to lend some encouragement to the star above, something to calm its nerves.
“Thank you…” The little voice responded. “I...I brought you a gift, if that’s okay.” Celestia cocked her head to the side in confusion, but nodded. The little shadow on the water placed something in the water, and within a second whatever it was rose to the surface on her end.
It was a little necklace made of bones of some sort strung together with rough twine. As she picked it up, her heart dropped. Each of the bones had a name carved on them, names that she knew but had forgotten; Cloud, Myriad, and Raspberry are what they translated to roughly.
“It’s my name and my parents’ names. You can keep it.” Celestia looked up at the reflection one last time, eyes wide. Instead of the shadow of before, it was a little filly. Her coat was as white as white can be, her mane a very soft and gentle pink with a little white horn peaking through it.
Words caught in Celestia’s throat as she was face to face with not the sun, but herself.