//------------------------------// // Going for a Walk // Story: The Sun, but Not // by PerpetualMotion //------------------------------// The Sun was rising, and Celestia was just watching. It had been about a week since Twilight Sparkle's coronation, but this was still a novel experience. Her first idea was to sleep in for the first time in centuries, just skip dawn for once. Really revel in her newfound freedom. That turned out to be physically impossible, though. Every morning, like clockwork, she was up well before The Sun had crested the horizon, and no amount of lying in bed could let her rest. Magic was always an option, but a mind-altering spell, even one as benign as a sleep spell, was never something she was comfortable with. Thus, just sitting and watching the sunrise became her "thing." "Still at it, sister?" Luna said as she touched down on the balcony of their suite in Silver Shoals. Like Celestia, she'd thus far failed to adjust her sleeping habits, remaining a night owl for the most part. Not that she'd have it any other way at the moment. "Isn't it wonderful, Luna?" Celestia asked. "Equestria is at peace, our duties are completed, and we get to just... watch." "Your duties are completed, perhaps," Luna responded, rather put off. "As I've told you already, I left Equestria without a guardian of dreams for a thousand years already. I am not about to do so again." "Luna, I didn't mean..." Celestia sighed. "You don't need to shoulder this for all eternity. I know you feel guilty, and Twilight wasn't a suitable candidate for your dream magic, but there are still steps you can take to shed this burden you've placed upon yourself." "Oh?" Luna raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You can always search for your own successor," Celestia said. "It may take a while, I certainly had my own fair share of failures before I discovered Twilight," she grimaced as memories of Sunset Shimmer, among others, flashed through her mind, "even the rarest of spells are rarely completely unique. Surely there must be some unicorn out there you can mentor. Who knows, they might even make a good princess themselves someday!" "I will... consider it." Luna stood there fidgeting in awkward silence for a bit, and Celestia could tell that she was trying to come up with something to change the subject. "So... What are you doing today?" "Oh, not much. I was invited by our neighbors to officiate a game of Bingo this afternoon, then I thought I might join a painting class! I never had time to indulge in art as a princess, but now I have all the time in the world!" "That sounds... lovely," Luna said before turning with a yawn to go inside and sleep. "I hope you find what you're looking for, Celestia. Good day." "Sleep well, my sister." Celestia turned back to look at the sun, now completely over the horizon. This time, however, she couldn't summon her previous smile. Instead, Luna's words echoed in her mind. I hope you find what you're looking for... Three days had passed since her conversation with Luna, and Celestia was still walking. She had set out from Silver Shoals on hoof immediately after Bingo, never attending the art class she had been looking forward to, and only leaving a note for Luna. She only intended to be gone for that day, just to get some fresh air and think about things, but when the sun finally set, she was no closer to figuring anything out, including what exactly she was trying to figure out in the first place. Everything was fine, right? A thousand years of sacrifice, pain, and planning had concluded in overwhelming success. Her work was done, and now she had the rest of her life to do... Do what? Fade away like the mentor's ghost in your average heroic fantasy? She couldn't even relate to the other retirees at Silver Shoals. Like her, they had completed their life's work and finally stopped to rest. Unlike her, they were living out their golden years, of which there probably wouldn't be many left. Celestia, on the other hoof, had time. Celestia had more time than any ordinary pony could comprehend. And so she kept walking. Perhaps a bit of adventure could spark an idea? She had the sense to keep Luna informed of her whereabouts, at least, using the same spell she had used to send Spike the Dragon so many letters over the years. It could send to all sorts of recipients, provided they knew the magics to connect themselves to the network. She had been walking along a river for a most of that day, as she had moved beyond lush coastal forests and into a more arid part of Equestria, where having water on hoof was much appreciated. Eventually, she came to a calm pool, near the entrance to a canyon that had been carved out by the river. A lone tree managed to thrive on the riverbank, providing a convenient source of shade for a short rest. After drinking her fill and sitting at the base of the tree, she closed her eyes and listened to the noises of nature around her. Crickets chirped in the evening air, and even the calm river made trickling noises as it flowed over rocks and the occasional frog made a leap for its dinner. Perhaps I could just spend my days as a wanderer, appreciating the land I worked so hard to save. I've earned that much, right? Before she could contemplate any further, though, a new sound caught her attention. It was high-pitched and entirely unnatural, but so faint that she hadn't even picked up on it until a coincidental lull in other background noises. It almost sounded like... crying? "Hello?" Celestia called out, opening her eyes and scanning the environment. As far as she could tell, she was the only one there, but still the cry persisted. This called for some more aggressive tactics. A quick flash of light emanated from her horn, and immediately all sound in the area was silenced, even her own breathing and heartbeat. Now, if I adjust the filter a bit... After a second, smaller flash, she could hear the crying again, but this time it was the only sound she could hear. This made it much easier to pinpoint, and soon she managed to find its source: a tiny winged creature hidden in tall grass a short distance away, with golden coloration to match the dried grass and a plain, white mane and tail that rendered it practically invisible to anyone not already looking for it. Kneeling down for a closer look, Celestia recognized the creature to be a Breezie. A very out of season Breezie, as their annual pollen-gathering journey wasn't scheduled for at least two more months. "Hello there, little one," Celestia said warmly, ending the noise filtering spell. "Are you okay?" The Breezie lifted their head from their forelegs and looked up, managing to squeak out a short sentence in the Breezies' native tongue before beginning to sob again. "Hmm. That won't do." Celestia's Breezie was... rusty, to say the least. She hadn't spoken a word of it in centuries. Luckily, translation magic was an essential part of any diplomat's toolkit. One quick casting later, and Celestia tried again. "I should be able to understand now, my friend, if you want to explain to me what happened. What is your name?" "I..." the Breezie began, wiping tears from her eyes. "My name is Willow Wisp. I never thought I'd find anyone. Ponies are so far away. We had to try, though. The Light, it's..." she shuddered. "It's..." "The Light?" "Please come back with me!" the Breezie shouted, rising into the air on delicate wings. "Our magic is too weak, but you are strong, yes? You can help? You have... to..." Willow slowed briefly before slumping and collapsing in mid-air, drifting back down unconscious as if she were a leaf fallen from a tree. The golden aura of Celestia's magic enveloped her, catching her before she hit the ground. "I will do everything I can, Willow Wisp, you have my word," the alicorn said, standing up with newfound purpose. Even if she didn't have an aim in the long term, helping creatures in need took precedence over everything else. The first thing she needed to do was get Willow back to her village and survey the situation. Luckily, if she remembered her geography correctly, the entrance was nearby, just at the end of the canyon. Assuming it's even open, that is. Celestia shook her head, banishing the thought. She'd cross that bridge when she came to it. Knowing that time was not on her side, she stretched her wings for the first time in days and took off upriver. The walls of the canyon rose up on either side of her, the ancient formations reminding her that she was not the oldest thing in this world. Not by a long shot. As she neared the canyon's end, though, Willow began to murmur in her sleep. That much was understandable, she had been through a lot, but it became worrying when a strange orange glow began flickering across her antennae. Breezies were certainly magical, but to Celestia's knowledge, the color of that magic, insofar as magic had color, was a soft white. Altered magical auras were almost always the result of outside influence, whether from an artifact or powerful being. "Please... Just listen..." Willow whispered. "This is wrong... We have to... fight..." "Please hold on," Celestia said, though she knew that Willow likely couldn't hear her. "Keep fighting, and stay strong." At the end of the canyon, the river flowed inside over a rather pretty waterfall, but Celestia's goal was the small cave entrance halfway up the wall next to it. If memory served, the portal to the Breezie Village was inside. The interior was damp and cramped, forcing the alicorn to fold in her wings and walk once past the entrance. Finding the portal, luckily enough, was easy, as the cave had no real twists or branching paths. The problem was that it was obviously created with Breezies in mind. It was far too small for even a foal to slip through, and it was shrinking fast. Celestia estimated that she had about a minute before it disappeared completely. Her first thought was to bolster the portal with her own magic, widening it enough for her to pass. The Breezies' magic was foreign to her, though, and mixing foreign magic types was a dangerous proposition without proper preparation, study, and safeguards, three things she did not have time for. Her next idea was to teleport Willow and herself through the portal. Even if she didn't know where it led, a simple line-of-sight blink would do the job, since the portal created a physical connection through space. That, unfortunately, could have disastrous consequences for wherever she appeared. The massive difference in scale between herself and the village would mean that everything in her immediate vicinity could be crushed without warning. That left but one option: actually altering her size. A full transformation spell would take too long, she was no Changeling, after all. She'd need to use something quick and messy. She'd dabbled in shrinking spells under Star Swirl's tutelage, but that was over a millennia ago, and she'd never cast one on herself before. The closing portal was forcing her hoof, though, so the decision was made to make the leap of faith. She first levitated Willow Wisp through the portal alone. She needed her full concentration for this, and if she failed, at least Willow would be back home. "I'll be right there after you, don't worry," Celestia said to the no longer present Breezie, trying to psyche herself up. She closed her eyes and focused on her ancient arcane knowledge, envisioning the desired results. After a moment of building magical strength, her horn flared with an intense light and... nothing. Celestia opened her eyes and looked around. Nothing had changed in the slightest, and the portal had shrunk so much that trying again likely wasn't an option. "I'm so sorry, Willow," she said, staring at the ground. "I'll try and reopen the portal with my own magic, maybe by then it won't be too laaaaaAAAA-" Without warning, her form collapsed in on itself with remarkable speed, leaving a dazed, confused, and very tiny Celestia suspended several feet in the air, exactly where her center of mass had been. Within a second, gravity kicked back in and resized alicorn managed to instinctively unfurl her wings and stabilize before falling far. By this point, however, the portal was almost completely closed, leaving precious little time to reach it. Celestia poured on the gas, pushing herself to fly as fast as her wings could carry her. She managed to make it precisely nowhere, vastly underestimating just how incredible even seemingly small distances were to a creature the size of a Breezie. Marveling at the tenacity of the creatures would have to wait, though. She needed to pull off one last desperate gambit. As the portal shrunk to the size of a keyhole, Celestia managed to catch the smallest glimpse of what lay beyond, giving her just enough information to teleport herself through the hole as it sealed itself shut. Thankfully she was now small enough to avoid any potential collateral damage. As she was flying forward when she teleported, she entered the village in a forward tumble, hitting the ground hard and rolling a fair distance. Oddly enough, she was no worse for wear, despite the crash landing. Am I more... durable at this size? she wondered as she pulled herself to her hooves. It was certainly possible. She had no idea how the shrinking spell interacted with physical density or strength, though. An ant could lift things much heavier than itself, after all, but introducing magic into the equation complicated matters. Celestia took in her surroundings, astonished by what she saw. The Breezie Village was frankly beautiful, with buildings constructed around a central pond, which caught the rays of the now setting sun just perfectly. The architecture was surprisingly varied, too, with some houses carved out of large, luminous mushrooms, while others wouldn't have been out of place in the upper districts of Canterlot. The Breezies may isolate themselves for safety, but they didn't seem to be shy about borrowing ideas they saw in the outside world. Something was incredibly off, though. Besides herself and Willow, who lay a fair distance behind her, there was not a soul to be seen. The vibrant village was empty, and Celestia needed to know why. That meant she had to help Willow Wisp first. She was the only one who knew what was even going on. "I... don't want... to go..." the Breezie muttered in her troubled sleep as Celestia approached, the foreign orange glow on her antennae now a constant presence. It's gotten worse since I brought her here, Celestia realized. Is that because of proximity to the village, or time? There was only one way to find out. The alicorn tapped the Breezie on her shoulder with a hoof, attempting to rouse her. "Willow, please wake up. I need your help!" Willow stirred a little, letting out a squeaky groan. "That's it, come back to me, at least for a little while..." It was at times like this that Celestia wished she had the power to purge sickness from a creature's body. She only knew of one unicorn with such a gift, and she was long gone on her own quest for atonement. After about a minute of prodding, Willow Wisp finally tried to stand, having a very hard time of it. "Here, let me help you." Celestia lifted the Breezie with her magic, gently setting her upright on her hooves, supporting her as needed. At her current size, she was actually a fair bit shorter than Willow, doubly so if she counted her antennae and wings. "There, how are you fee-" Willow had opened her eyes, and what Celestia saw stopped her dead in her tracks. No longer did she see bright, intelligent eyes staring back at her. Instead, the orange magic had enveloped those too, giving off a haunting glow as if they were lit by some distant, flickering light. "...Willow? Are you there?" Celestia asked, dreading the worst. "I... am..." Willow answered in an eerie, detached voice. "...not Willow...?" Her mind is being... subsumed. By this "Light," perhaps? Celestia had to act fast, before Willow Wisp was lost forever. Luckily, a corruption being forced upon the mind was easier to track and dispel than a physical sickness was, so she had a point of attack. Celestia closed her eyes and focused, casting out tendrils of thought to make contact with the Breezie's psyche. Her spell quickly ran into a problem, though. She found thought and activity, yes, but nothing to latch onto and make contact with. It was as if everything left in Willow's mind was an echo, not of her own thoughts, but of... someone else's. Many someones, in fact. There has to be something left! She was just saying things a minute ago! Celestia had an idea, though. If she couldn't go to Willow, maybe Willow could come to her instead. "Willow Wisp!" Celestia shouted across the attempted link, hoping that the name would reach something buried just out of reach. Everything halted, even the disparate voices echoing in Willow's mind seeming to take notice of the intrusion. Something... reached back. A magic Celestia had never felt before, and yet was strikingly familiar. ...Luna? Then it all clicked. These thoughts consuming Willow's mind. They weren't waking thoughts! It was a dream! A very deep and powerful one that Celestia wanted no part in. The dream brushed against the alicorn's defenses, not attacking, but almost... curious? A single image, the Sun, immense and blazing bright in a sparkling orange sky, flashed across Celestia's mind, but she dismissed it out of hoof. This was powerful magic, and very dangerous, especially without a spell like Luna's to interact with or dismiss the dream outright. "...Hello?" a familiar voice echoed across the mindscape, drawing the attention of both Celestia and the "Light." Celestia's call had resonated with something beneath the dream, and Willow Wisp's thoughts broke through the invasive noise. "Can... Can I go home now? I just want it to be dark again... The Light hurts my eyes..." This was all the opportunity Celestia needed. She rushed ahead of the dream, even as it moved to submerge the glimmer of independence before it, and completed her spell, forging a direct link with Willow's mind. "You... came back?" the Breezie said, marveling at Celestia's radiant presence. "We can do this! We can win!" Through the link, Celestia's mental barriers encircled Willow's mind and pushed back against the Light, cutting it off from advancing any further. In return, the sheer strength of Willow's newfound determination bolstered Celestia's confidence. "The creatures of Equestria are under my protection!" the alicorn declared. "Begone, and do not return!" The Light wavered, seemingly confused by such resistance. Rather than crash against Celestia's defenses, it seemed to acquiesce, retreating and taking its myriad of voices with it. However, just before vanishing completely, a tendril of the dream lashed out with impossible speed. It didn't pierce Celestia's barrier, but it didn't even seem to try. Rather, it simply pressed against it, forging it's own sort of "connection" before- HIGHER BEING. YOU TREAD UPON MY DOMAIN. THESE CHILDREN ARE MINE, AND I SHALL NEVER FADE AGAIN. LET ME BE FREE, AND YOU WILL BE ALLOWED TO DO THE SAME. The Light vanished as quickly as it struck, leaving Celestia and Willow standing in stunned silence as the blindness faded, their mental link severed by the dream's direct contact. Not since her first battle with Discord had the alicorn encountered something so alien and disconcerting. Whatever this Light was, it was ancient and very powerful. One thing was abundantly clear, though Celestia may not be welcome here, but she was exactly where she needed to be.