A Pony Displaced: Homeward

by NoLongerSober


Chapter 37 - The Best Night Ever (Part 2)

“What seems to be troubling you, Princess?” Barrier inquired as he sat down onto one of the large cushions, drawing a sigh from the majestic alicorn in front of the mirror.

“It has to do with Luna.” Celestia’s focus didn’t stray from the mirror as she spoke.

“Speaking of, where is she?” The dark stallion started to lay back, getting more comfortable. “One would think she’d see this as an opportunity to get her face out there.”

“Unfortunately, Luna’s fallen ill, hence her absence.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that, Princess Celestia. How bad is it?”

The alicorn mare placed a hoof on her chin at Barrier’s question. “Well it’s the strangest thing. She’s started vomiting not long after waking up for the past few months. To make things even more peculiar, her belly’s been becoming swollen as of late.” Her eyes moved over to the unicorn’s reflection, where he was now looking at her with shock and worry. “Do you have any idea what could be the cause of this?”

Oh dear Faust above, I just keep getting myself into more trouble! First I sleep with Fleet, ruining my relationship with Daring, but now I’ve got Luna pre—

“Pfftt…” A snort came from the royal mare, drawing Barrier’s eyes to the reflection of her face. He saw she was biting her lower lip to keep from laughing, her eyes starting to water. “Gotcha.” She tittered before wiping a tear of laughter. “Sorry, Barrier. I needed a tiny bit of levity and the look on your face was just priceless.” 

Coughing into her hoof, she straightened her face. “No, Luna’s actually just dealing with a bit of a bad cold.”

“The prank was terrible.” Barrier gave her a flat glare. “At any rate, what’s the real issue with Luna?”

“Right, down to business.” Celestia turned away from the mirror before sitting down in front of Barrier, still a head taller than the charcoal unicorn. “Barrier, what do you know about a holiday called Nightmare Night?”

“Very little, to be honest.” He looked deeply into the alicorns magenta eyes. “I think I recall Daring mentioning something about it once or twice, but the name seems to indicate Nightmare Moon’s a part of it.”

“Correct, Barrier.” The alicorn nodded, her long ivory horn nearly kissing the tip of his. “A few years after Nightmare Moon’s downfall and the reclaiming of Gallopfrey, the ponies created a holiday around Nightmare Moon and rumors about her soon became legends. For centuries after the two of you were sealed away, the public thought Nightmare Moon was just an old pony’s tale about a monster who’d eat any unsuspecting pony who wasn’t clad in a costume and offered her a small portion of sweets.”

“Princess,” Barrier leaned closer to Celestia, his eyes becoming sharply focused. “If you don’t like this holiday, why did you let it go unopposed? Could you not have ordered them not to do something like this?”

“Indeed I could have Barrier, but I am no tyrant.” The princess closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before speaking again. “However, I had such an image many years after I liberated Gallopfrey from griffin occupation. I rained fire and death like I had never done before or since. I reduced three-hundred and eighty-six griffins who tried to stop me to ash. I swatted Grimhilde aside like she was nothing before binding her in chains and taking her with me to the mainland. I stormed through King Alarick’s castle, blasting through doors and walls as if they were dried out paper before tossing his formerly most trusted officer at his feet. I made clear in my anger over those past few months and expressed that if I had so chose, I could have destroyed his entire kingdom.” 

Celestia’s eyes opened slowly, sorrow clear as Barrier looked deeply into the magenta pools. “And thus, the war ended. Gallopfrey belonged to Equestria once more and Equestria was feared the world over for over two hundred years.”

“Princess…” Barrier leaned closer, tempted to place a comforting hoof upon her, but held back.

“Still, what stung the most was the day I learned how much my own little ponies feared me.” Celestia grimaced as she continued her reminiscing. “Sometime later, I forget how long it was. Probably a few years. Anyway, I was going on a stroll through New Canterlot, not really paying attention to where I was going when I heard a loud crunch. I looked down and saw not only the remains of a wooden toy I had stepped on, but also the frowning face the foal the toy belonged to. I reached a foreleg out to try to comfort the child, but then her mother snatched her up and pulled her away.”

Celestia looked away from her charcoal companion with a sad smile. “Do you know what she then said to me, Barrier?”

“W-what did she say, Princess?” Barrier nervously asked as she Celestia started to chuckle and her eyes began to water.

“Apologies for my daughter’s insolence, your highness. Please do not execute her, I shall make certain she receives a proper beating at home,” the alicorn answered in a sweet tone before sighing. “I tried to stop her, to tell her it was my fault and I’d gladly replace her daughter’s toy, but she ran off before I could say anything.” 

Celestia tiredly laid her head down upon her cushions with a groan. “As she ran off, the crowd started to mutter about the whole event, all of them certain I would do something horrible to that foal and her entire family. That’s how I learned how the ponies then felt about me. That I was a monster they obeyed because they feared the destruction I could bring down upon them.”

Sitting back up, Celestia’s horn dimly shined as a crystalline container carrying an umber liquid levitated to her, followed shortly by a pair of glasses. “Might I offer you something to drink?”

“No thanks, Celestia.” Barrier gently declined, pulling his flask from his cummerbund. “I decided to bring my own entertainment.” 

The unicorn’s remark brought a genuine smile to the princess’ face as she slowly poured herself a drink.”

“Well at any rate, Barrier; that day was a major wake-up call for me.” Celestia carefully swirled her drink around before taking a light sip. “It made me see that I had a lot ahead of me to regain the trust of my ponies, to repair the damage I’ve caused to how the world viewed us…” Steeling herself for an instant, she quickly shot down the rest of her glass before pouring herself another. “But it also brought a moment of clarity about Luna. About how she must have felt when she’d turned… and the challenges she’d have to face if we were to restore her to the side of angels.”

“And…” Barrier paused to consider his words for a moment before having quick swig of liquid courage. “What if she couldn’t have been saved?”

“I’d thought of that horrible scenario for many a year, Barrier.” Celestia sadly stared into her glass, seeing her reflection in the dark brew before her eyes wandered over to a single drawer in her desk. “Suffice to say, I was prepared for it.”

“Getting back to the subject at hoof,” Barrier swished his flask around before taking a sip. “I assume there’s going to be something going on involving Luna and this Nightmare Night.”

“Indeed. Luna is planning to go to Ponyville and attempting to connect with the town’s citizens and join in the festivities.” The solar mare tilted back her drink, sighing as she finished. “I have doubts that things will go that well. Unlike you and presumably your housemates, Luna’s still rather antiquated with things like speech and attitudes. I’ve tried to help her adapt, but you know the saying about old habits. It does little to help with the way she isolates herself from nearly everypony in the palace.”

“I know what you mean. Forge and Gem still aren’t that comfortable around griffins.”

“Well, Luna believes this will be a great way to get back in the ponies’ good graces, despite what I’ve said. I tried to talk her out of it or let me come with to help her, but she says she wants to stand on her own when it comes to this. I was barely able to make her agree to have some guards with her.” Celestia’s horn lit once more as she poured another drink. “That’s where you come in.”

“You want me to keep an eye on her?” Barrier’s eyebrow rose as he took another swig.

“Something like that.” The princess twirled her drink around in her magic before staking a quick sip. “You and your housemates have gone through similar tribulations, but you’ve also gotten out much more and interacted with modern ponies much more than she has. You could probably help her get over some of the hurdles she’ll have to face.”

With a tired sigh, the towering alicorn rose up; setting her drink aside. 

“Barrier, I’m not asking as a princess to her soldier, but as a friend. Would you please go to Ponyville on Nightmare Night?”

“I doubt I could ever say no to you, Celestia.” The charcoal stallion rose up as well, tilting his flask back yet again. “I’ll probably say the kids and I are asking Twilight about this modern stuff.”

“Thank you, Barrier.” Celestia smiled softly before stretching her wings out, pulling the unicorn into a warm embrace. After a moment of nervous hesitation, Barrier returned the hug.

“No problem.” Barrier pulled away from her and straightened out his mane. “By the way, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you about. About Twilight and a former student of yours.”

“Oh…” Celestia looked away from the dark stallion, her eyes drifting towards the mirror.

“Last time I really spoke with her, she told me about how much she worries that she’s not doing enough as your student. That even with everything she’s done, she still needs to push herself even harder.” 

“I see.” Celestia’s eyes slowly moved back, her warm magentas meeting his cold blues. “I’ll be sure to talk to her about this once we return to the party. Thank you for mentioning it to me, Barrier.”

“There’s a bit more to it, Princess.” Barrier stepped closer to the taller mare. “She said that part of the reason for all this was because she didn’t want to end up like your previous student. Would you mind shedding some light on what happened with this mare?”

An uncomfortable silence was held for a long, tense moment before Celestia sadly sighed, turning to face the mirror once more.

“My former student, Sunset Shimmer was a bright and talented young mare, much like Twilight.” She gently placed a gold clad hoof upon the mirror’s smooth surface. “She would forgo interacting with other ponies or making friends, much like Twilight used to… but for a much different reason. She lusted for power and to become a princess. I tried to raise her to be a good mare, but...”

The mighty alicorn took a deep breath, shaking slightly as she closed her eyes. “One day, I showed her something she wasn’t truly prepared for. She demanded I teach her ways to make her powerful, to make her a princess. We argued and then…” Celestia swallowed, steeling herself to continue.

“A wedge was driven between us because of this. Later that night, she ran away, despite the guards best efforts to stop her. I haven’t seen her in the years since.” 

Bringing her foreleg away from the mirror, the princess faced Barrier. 

“I believe there’s no such thing as a bad student, Barrier. Only a bad teacher.” Celestia trotted up to the charcoal stallion, the smallest sign of water forming in her eyes. “What happened with Sunset’s turn was because I failed to be a good teacher to her, much like I failed Luna all those centuries ago. I’ve made countless mistakes over my long life and I pray that before my time finally comes, I’ll be able to make up for all of them.”

Celestia raised a foreleg, firmly placing a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder.

“But for now, we can only do so much. Shall we return to the party, Barrier?”

“Yes, Celestia. Let’s.” He gently placed a reassuring hoof atop her own. “I hope you and her will be able to patch things up someday.”

“Thank you, Barrier.” Gently pulling away, Celestia’s horn flared with golden light. 

In an instant, the two found themselves back in the hallway they had vanished from.

“Hopefully, things haven’t gotten too—” Barrier was interrupted by a screaming orange blur that zoomed past him, followed swiftly by a blue streak chasing after. Despite how fast the pursuer was running, he could make out the image of a longsword being carried in a light blue aura.

“Get back here, rapscallion! Honor must be satisfied!” the streak shouted, following after its prey.

“Beg pardon, your highness!” a mare in golden armor exclaimed, darting past the surprised alicorn. “Swift, for the love of Zacherle, stop!”

“...Crazy,” Barrier sighed as he slapped a hoof to his face. “What sort of insanity did those kids bring?”

“Oh don’t worry too much, Barrier.” Celestia smiled as she strolled back into the ballroom. “I’m certain they’re just making this gala just a little more tolerable.”

With a groan, the weary unicorn followed after her. “Is it too late to accept your offer of alcohol?”