//------------------------------// // Interlude // Story: That Particular Instance I Performed Metempsychosis As An Equine Named After A Piece Of Silverware // by Yuri Fanatic //------------------------------// Princess Celestia, former co-ruler and now unrivaled sovereign of Equestria... She was the protector of all ponykind for over the last millennium, and at the moment she was sitting at her desk. The room she resided was her office. Cupboards, ink bottles, and parchments littered the room as the sun shone brightly behind her through stained glass. The Sun Goddess was looking over various documents laid upon her desk, a pile stacked neatly beside her. Some were stamped and others had to be looked over with scrutiny before being tossed aside and denied. It was a monotonous process, one that required her full knowledge and wisdom to enact. Proposals and rules were coming in on the daily and her supernatural senses allowed her to skim through all of it under a couple of hours. Yet, something was distracting her greatly. She glanced to the side without turning her head. A guard was there. He was one of the regular cadets that were assigned by Delusional Spear, a guard captain that was recognized for his fast response against threats in large part due to his paranoia. He was skilled with a spear and was in charge of recruiting, ordering, and training new guards that came in. It so happened that today this cadet was on princess duty- well, technically he had been on shift since the day before. He was sitting perfectly straight with a stern posture, and he hadn't shifted at all since the previous night. As far as Celestia knew, not a single guard ever relaxed their posture within her presence. The Sun Goddess was bathed in his stare. It was unceasing, barring a few blinks. The pressure was indescribable. Surely he didn’t mean to intimidate her. He probably only wanted to be ready to assist her at a moment’s notice, but Celestia truly wished he would give her a break. This was probably true for anypony, but she felt awkward with somepony constantly staring at her. She felt like she must have been doing something wrong even if nothing had happened. Under normal circumstances Celestia wouldn't have felt anxious at all, but ever since that incident... she had been afraid to make any mistakes, especially now. The biggest issue was that anytime Celestia made the slightest move, he would sync up and silently begin to move with her. Let’s be frank. It was torture. Of course, Celestia was the absolute ruler. If she told the guard to stop, he surely would. But remembering the look on his face when she brought up the subject in a roundabout way, she couldn’t bring herself to give him the order. So she disregarded the issue and continued her work with the grace of what a princess should have. Once again she stamped a proposal and placed it on top of the stack beside her and saw the next page. It was then the monotony of the office was broken. Celestia blinked, then looked over the letter again. "Dear Princess Celestia, Consider this a letter of resignation. Your pupil has already caused a significant amount of damage on school grounds. All of which includes blowing up the chemistry lab twice, turning me into a newt, and now summoning a chaotic slime that melted the entire west dorm! I cannot sit here and continue teaching while knowing my students will be endangered constantly throughout the next couple of years. For months I and a couple of other teachers have requested you to do something about her, but your refusal to do anything had led me and a friend to resign from our position as professors. I will be moving my office equipment by the end of the week and I wish you and your School for Gifted Unicorns the very best. May we meet again on better circumstances, Professor Slug Horn." The Sun Goddess faceplanted her muzzle on the top of her desk and groaned in anguish. She had been lucky that the last few incidents hadn't resulted in anypony being seriously injured, but this incident with the slime would be sure to finally snap a few occupants into leaving the school entirely. "Princess?" The guard next to her asked with worry. "Pay no heed, I'm just expressing my frustrations at this letter," Celestia explained. "Is there something that we can do for you, your highness?" The guard pony pressed. Celestia was about to deny the request until she thought about it for a couple of seconds. "Actually, yes, could you get a slice of cake from the royal pantry? Actually no, make it the entire cake." Of course, cake was comfort food to her, but it also served as a large source of neutral magic. The sugar it contained would be able to keep her awake through the entire night. Celestia never liked the taste of coffee, no matter how much sugar was added. "How many layers?" The guard deadpanned, knowing full well that this happened before. "Two, no three, please. Thank you." The royal cake hoarder answered while ignoring the deadpanned tone of his voice. The guard lowered his head before exiting the room. Celestia then exhaled an intense sigh of relief, the pressure of the room relieved itself. "Finally. I thought he'd never leave." The Sun Goddess said to herself after making sure the guard was out of earshot. She looked over the letter a third time without reading it, idly thinking to herself about what to do. If only I hadn't failed with Sunset Shimmer. She recalled how her former student betrayed her and disappeared through the mirror portal to further her studies. She remembered her conversations with her, trying to guide her on the path to friendship and future greatness. Yet, Celestia didn't realize where her ambitions and loyalty truly lay until it was too late. "If only I had realized in time." She expressed solemnly. Her attention was then taken away as the door to her office knocked loudly. "Ah, that must be him!" Her mood shifted drastically before welcoming back her guard. "Come in!" The door opened to reveal, not a guard delivering a frosted three-layered cake, but an Alicorn. Her coat was a pale, light grayish cerise and her mane and tail fashioning streaks of moderate violet, rose, and pale gold. The Alicorn's light purple eyes locked with the Sun Goddess', "Hello aunt Celestia!" "Greetings Cadance!" Celestia welcomed warmly. "What brings you here?" "I just wanted to check-in. I heard that you didn't sleep since the day before yesterday, and from the looks of the bags under your eyes it seems that they were right." Cadance stepped forward worriedly. "Are you taking care of yourself? We can't have you collapsing on us now." Celestia chuckled. "I'm fine my niece. I can last far longer awake than a normal pony would." She tried to reassure her, but her body conveyed obvious signs of weariness. "Celestia, no offense, but you've been losing sleep since... you lost your future vision." The Princess of Love stepped forward until she reached the edge of her desk. "No need to remind me, my niece," Celestia sighed again, looking over herself in the nearby mirror. Her hair was slightly frazzled and her eyes held bags underneath. "Do I really look that bad?" She asked timidly. "Yes, you look really bad." Cadance decided to be completely truthful and earnest. The tired Goddess looked in the mirror again and expressed an exasperated sigh. "I'm sorry, I've just been worrying so much now." "About what?" Cadance tilted her head. "This." Celestia handed over the letter of resignation. Cadance looked over the letter before her expression turned dim. "Oh. I see. Well not to worry aunt Celestia, I'll go over there and make sure to have a proper conversation with her!" "Yes, that's good, but that's not the only thing I'm worried about," Celestia admitted. "Huh? What do you mean?" The Goddess of Love paused before having a chance to leave. Celestia paused, seeing how much her niece has cared for her. She saw how she worried about her those years back when she first lost her future sight. How she comforted her during her panic and ignored her screams about Equestria ending because it's all her fault. Even now Cadance tried to relieve some of her duties by saving her the time to explain to her new student, Twilight Sparkle. Celestia pondered whether to tell her, to come clean, and finally share some of the responsibilities of a being Princess. She would refrain from omitting anything due to the nature of her future sight, but ever since she lost it six years ago, she could only grow more anxious with each year. "Celestia?" Cadance asked with increased worry. Under normal circumstances Celestia would have told her 'not to worry about it', but now she found herself unable to use the same excuse she'd given again and again. It was then she decided to come clean about it. Using her magic, she locked the door to her office and cast a spell over the room. The spell would prevent any scrying attempts, mind reading, or anypony from listening in on the conversation. "Cadance, what I'm about to tell you is royal confidentiality. Under no circumstances you are to tell anypony about it, even your coltfriend." "Y-Yes!" Cadance stood up straight, now facing her aunt completely. "Ever since I lost my future vision, I've been paranoid." Celestia started. "Paranoid of all the potential mistakes I will be making, and what consequences they have to offer." Cadance raised an eyebrow, "But Princess, you've been ruling Equestria since forever ago. Surely you have enough confidence to rule a kingdom." The Sun Goddess shook her head. "Perhaps I should. However, for the past millennium, I've been using my future vision to solve every problem Equestria had until now. Ever since Nightmare Moon's banishment, I've trained myself to use this ability effectively, so that... a catastrophe made by my own oversight will never happen again." Cadance only returned that fact with silence, taking it all in. Celestia continued. "Unfortunately, I've grown too reliant on it. In the past whenever a problem arises with Equestria, such it be a dragon migration, espionage, or invasion, I'd resolve it through negotiations or by performing certain actions. I'd first use my future vision to see and narrow down the possibilities to favorable outcomes. Then I'd perform the role my visions have given me to the letter. I'm not exaggerating when I say I resolved every issue with this power. With this power alone, I managed to grant Equestria an era of peace and prosperity." The Sun Goddess then lowered her head. "Yet, none of the possibilities I've witnessed had shown me that I would suddenly lose my future sight. It was unexpected and... terrifying at the time." "Oh," Cadance paused, "so that was what you meant with all that screaming..." "Yes, I initially had thought that maybe somepony had undermined my spell. That they saw everything and planned something terrible for me and Equestria. Or that the universe itself was going to backlash at me by throwing every possible outcome that I'd avoided until now." Celestia revealed. "Yet, none of those happened. I was only left with the realization that any action I would make from then on would have consequences that I couldn't foresee. I couldn't be the perfect pony Equestria needed me to be anymore. I would be making mistakes, horrible mistakes as I've done before." The Sun Goddess' voice trembled at the last sentence, causing Cadance to rush over to her aunt. Cadance was not fazed by the sight. The first time she witnessed Celestia having a mental breakdown greatly disturbed the Princess of Love. However, the next six years have proven her aunt to be much more relatable than she initially had thought. It was a welcome change, a change that she couldn't judge Celestia of having. Her wing outstretched, she hugged her aunt tightly. "It's okay Celestia, I'm here for you." Celestia smiled wearily, but gratefully as she wiped some tears out of her eyes. "Thank you." She said as the Princess of Love performed her title's namesake. A couple of minutes passed then, just the both of them embracing one another until Celestia had calmed down fully. "Thank you," the Sun Goddess repeated, "I've shown an unsightly side of mine again." "N-No, it's not a problem at all Princess! I'm just glad I'm here to help." Cadance backed away before smiling. "Right, thank you... now, where was I? Ah yes." Celestia paused before telling her niece the truth. "I plan for Twilight to become the bearer of the Elements of Harmony." "WHAT?!" The pink Alicorn's wings fluttered in surprise. Celestia silently mused at her surprise but continued. "Yes, my student will be the bearer of Harmony." "B-But, how?! And why?!" Cadance exclaimed, now knowing why Celestia insisted on her foalsitting her student. "Because the Elements do not respond to me." The Sun Goddess admitted. "They haven't ever since I've banished Nightmare Moon." "T-They don't!?" The revelation hit Cadance like a truck. However the more she thought about it, everything fell into place. Celestia never once used the Elements because her future sight allowed her from coming into a situation where it was needed. However, hearing now that she actually couldn't use the Elements was disturbing. "Ah... that makes some sense now, but... why Twilight?" The Goddess of Love asked. "Because that was one possible outcome I've seen before I lost my ability," Celestia said. "Trust me when I say this my niece, Twilight wasn't the first option I chose to be the artifact's bearer." She then reminisced about her former student. "There was one before her, Sunset Shimmer. My visions had shown me she had great potential, however, she betrayed me by leaving through the mirror portal. I had lost my future vision then, and I couldn't predict that she would betray me like that." "So Twilight was your second choice?" Cadance pressed. "Yes, she is. I've seen her in the future using the Elements against Nightmare Moon along with five others, all of which are currently located in a backwater town named Ponyville." She said. "Nightmare Moon comes back!?" Cadance was again shocked. "Yes. In many possible futures, this is certain." Celestia revealed. "And within these futures, there are some in which we lose and Nightmare Moon covers all of Equestria in eternal night. Yet, in others, Twilight uses the Elements of Harmony to defeat her with the help of her friends. I never thought that I'd be losing my future sight, so I didn't glimpse anything further than that." She said solemnly. "So Twilight is the only option we have?" Cadance dreaded the answer as she asked. Celestia shook her head. "It's the only option that I could get a glimpse of. There may be other options, but none are guaranteed, not like before." Slowly the pink Alicorn pondered her aunt's words, then her confidence dwindled as she recalled the recent incident described in the letter. "Do you think Twilight will ever be ready?" "I'm not sure my niece. Under normal circumstances, I would simply choose the future that I want and make it happen, but now... I can't ever be sure of anything anymore." Celestia sighed. "Which comes the reason why I decided to tell you all this," Celestia paused for dramatic effect, "In the event that Twilight cannot properly harness the Elements of Harmony by the time Nightmare Moon is released, I want you to aid me in my battle against her." "W-What?! Me?" Cadance staggered back at the abrupt proclamation. "B-But I know nothing about fighting! Why don't we just have some of the guards-" "The guard would be useless against her." Celestia cut her off. "I'm sorry Cadance, I know that you favor the guard so, but Nightmare Moon has years of battle experience that precedes all of them; including your coltfriend." She added. "B-But, they can still help!" Cadance objected. The white Alicorn sighed as she closed her eyes, "No Cadance, they can't. Nightmare Moon is much more terrifying than you know. The guard has no chance against her." Celestia stated solemnly. "Listen, when we first fought a millennia ago it was after her transformation. She had no plan but to destroy me with her newly found power, and she could have very well had if it weren't for the Elements of Harmony." She paused, before looking her niece in the eyes. "I know her, I know what she's capable of, and she has a thousand years of planning at her disposal while I solely relied on an ability that I lost. When she comes to Equestria prepared," she emphasized, "I nor the guard will stand a chance." Cadance was greatly disheartened by the fact as she sat next to her aunt with her ears drooped down. Celestia however laid a hoof on her withers, "But with you at my side, we can increase the chances to where we do win. I can train you, teach you some defensive spells, and prepare you as much as possible before the time comes." Cadance could only face her aunt with a doubtful expression. "And if it's not enough?" Celestia couldn't answer her for some time. "If in the event where I do fall in battle, I need you to flee and gather Twilight and her friends. Make sure nothing happens to them, as they are the last defense Equestria has against Nightmare Moon." The Princess of Love grew even more disheartened at this, now knowing fully well what she and possibly Twilight will have to go through. She loved Celestia, and she loved Twilight. She couldn't imagine a world where anything bad happened to them. Cadance recalled the last time she saw her. The purple unicorn was happy to be around her, ecstatic even, and she was happy in return. To imagine her going through the trials of being an Element of Harmony, seeing her teacher fall to Nightmare Moon, and being the last hope Equestria has, her heart couldn't take it. "W-Why does it have to be her?!" Emotions swelled in Cadence's voice. Twilight was like the little sister she never had. She wanted to protect her. To protect that innocence and smile she had when it came to anything she did. "Why can't somepony else take the mantle? Somepony else who's more suited for that role!" She yelled shakily. "Please calm yourself Cadance." Celestia tried to reassure her niece. "It's not a role I wish to force upon either. However..." The Princess of Love closed her eyes, as she already knew what she was about to say. "It's for the good of all Equestria." It was Cadance's turn to break into tears. "B-But Celestia..." The Goddess of the Sun lowered herself and wrapped her wing around her niece. "Shush, I know... but as Alicorns, we have a sworn duty to protect ponykind." The Princess of Love leaned into her aunt's chest, crying out tears into her pristine and royal coat. "I-Is... is there truly no other way?" Celestia paused again. "I don't know, but we can try. The Equestrian guard hasn't been properly militarized in the past millennium, and we hardly made any advances in offensive magic or the military since then. We have only a couple more years until she is released." She lowered a wing, wiping the tears and dripping mascara Cadance had when she looked up at her. "I may not be able to guarantee everypony's safety like before, but we can certainly try." Then in the corner of her eye, she could see her guard trying to desperately push the three-layered frosted cake through the bottom door slit. Cream, bread, and frosting squelched through onto the tiled floor. She wearily sighed again. "We can certainly try."