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// When Even The Sun Has Fears 
// Story: When The World Bets Against You 
// by Tie RoamingHooves 
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    Princess Celestia sighed and looked up to the sky. The entire night sky was visible here in the deserts of Saddle Arabia unlike back in the city of Canterlot. She was on the balcony of the local town center. She was in a tiny village to the west of Red Rock Canyon. The possible sightings of Twilight here filled the princes of the day with untold amounts of hope. But there was always a chance that it wasn’t. The princess decided it was best to stop thinking and enjoy the view. The moon is a little brighter here. It was relaxing.

The princess hummed a bit and continued watching the night sky. She then chuckled a bit at a cliché question foals would ask their parents while star gazing: Do you ever think somepony else is out there?

The goddess of the sun knew the answer by heart. Yes, there is... and it is her fault. Unbeknownst to most ponies there is something their princess fears more than anything: Mankind. She never really shaken the trauma from that period in Equestrian history but she doesn’t show it outwardly... but its still there. Hidden beneath thousands of years of coping strategies and amnesia spells. But she could never truly get rid of the memory nor should she.

Because of Princess Celestia, humanity is somewhere out there among the stars. whether they’re on the verge of extinction or thriving, she never wanted to see one again. Their very nature brought up some primal fear inside of her like that of a griffon bring up the prey fear that lies dormant inside her little ponies. At one point they were her greatest ally... but when they turned on ponykind and sought world conquest, they were her greatest enemy. They left the greater half of her kingdom in ruin and slaughtered countless numbers of her subjects.

It was in their nature to be sly, conniving, and claw to their way into power. If they needed to manipulate somepony then it would be done no questions asked. And now she has one in the dungeons and yet she still fears it. She is afraid that it is the prelude to their return and needs desperately Elements of Harmony ready in case such an event should pass. That meant heinous means of information gathering were warranted. She couldn’t stand to look at the human so she couldn’t do it herself. As much as she had told Shining Armour that it was because she wouldn’t be able to contain her anger, that was a blatant lie. Celestia was afraid...

The goddess of the sun... was afraid.

Not only was she afraid of their unrivaled magical abilities... she was afraid for here kingdom... for her ponies... and for herself. Another war with man would spell doom for her kingdom today. Her subjects have grown weak and complacent over the last thousand years of peace and prosperity that Celestia had worked so hard to maintain for them. Humanity has obviously gained the upper hand in a technological sense after seeing the equipment at the humans initial arrival point. If they are anything like what they were back.. their tools for war must be numerous and absolutely terrifying.

Princess Celestia had once vowed to never let this kind of atrocity befall ponykind again. That’s a nearly impossible promise to keep but she will never break that promise. If not for her kingdom... then for herself.

The safety of the world depends upon finding Twilight Sparkle. And her body has been located unbeknownst to the solar diarch by none other than the brother of the missing pony: Shining Armour himself.