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// A moment with Celestia// Story: Adventures of Jax, Wandering soul// by Nero_Nova//------------------------------//
Chapter 4 A Moment with Celestia
Jax paced back and forth in his room pondering his situation. “Great, now what do I do?” he asked himself. “I'm not supposed to get close to anypony, and there's already too many for that matter. Maybe I should just head back...” His eyes were drawn to his saddle bag, “No, I don't have the money for another trip, and I shudder at the beating I’d get going back without that bag or the money to replace it.”
Jax felt as if the walls were closing in on him, his eye twitched trying to think of another option. Many ideas came to mind, but none that were guaranteed to work. He huffed to himself as he took a seat in defeat. “It could be worse, at least they seem like they mean well.” Jax looked over to the bed plush and welcoming, soft to the touch. “Well... I get to sleep in a decent bed so... I guess it's not all bad...”
A yawn reminds just how long of a day it was, to call any of it unexpected would be an understatement. Jax moves a hoof to take off his cloak and call it a night until he heard steps coming to his door. Quiet as a mouse he runs to the side of his door where he would be hidden should someone come in. To his surprise, the hoof steps pass his door without missing a beat. Opening the door ever so slightly revealed Celestia stepping out onto the nearby balcony.
A sigh of relief escapes Jax as he calms down, reminding himself that he has never been to this place, so he has no reason to fear others yet. Walking back to the bed, he stops in his tracks thinking, “What could a Princess be doing at this hour anyway... I really should let this go, I don't want to get wrapped up in something crazy... again...” Jax shakes his head and go's the rest of the way to the bed, a hoof on the bed reminds him how well he can sleep tonight. However, he cringes as his curiosity gets the better of him and he goes out into the hall.
The sound of his hooves was nonexistent as he snuck his way to the balcony door. Peering around the corner Jax sees Celestia just sitting there on a pillow as if waiting for something. In the distance was a tower from the other side of the palace. On the balcony of said tower stood Princess Luna, who waved to her sister from afar. She waved back as Jax continued to watch wondering what was going on.
A gentle glow could be seen from Luna's horn, even from where he stood. She lowered her head and began to raise it slowly. As she rose, the moon began to peek over the mountains moving with her. Jax marveled at the sight questioning how she could move so perfectly with the moon, or better yet, why? “What is she doing?”Jax asked finally coming out of hiding.
Celestia turned to him, surprised by both his questing and his presence, “What do you mean? She's raising the moon.” She answered. Jax looked on into the sky as he notices a similar dark blue glow around the moon, perfectly matching the glow of Luna's horn. By all logic, she was truly controlling the moon.
Celestia saw the look in Jax's eyes, he truly had no idea what she and her sister were capable of. “You've really never been to Equestria have you?” A shake of his head confirms the question. “Well, many years ago, my sister and I took command of the sun and the moon. Luna commands the moon while I command the sun.” Suddenly the castle flag made sense to Jax as he took a seat next to Celestia.
The two looked out into the sky as Jax watched the moon inch closer to its rightful place in the sky. A brief glimpse at him and Celestia could see the true wonder in Jax’s bright red eyes proving once and for all he had never seen such a sight before. Only after the moon stopped moving and the glow faded did he blink, but Celestia couldn't resist adding to the moment. “Wait for it...” she whispered as Luna bowed her head once more only to raise it much faster this time. With her head held up high the dark sky lights up with an ocean of stars. The site brings a tear to Jax's eyes as if he had never seen the night sky. Celestia notices this, “Jax... are you okay?”
“What? Oh yes,” he says trying to reclaim his calm composure. “Just... something in my eye... it's not every night you see something like that.”
Celestia looked out to see Luna waving good-bye. “I am blessed to watch such a sight every night.”
Jax looks to her and notices the look in her eyes. “It's a rare thing to see...”
Celestia suppresses a laugh. “I suppose in other places it is.”
“Not the sky... it's a rare thing to see such love between siblings.” She turns to Jax surprised by the statement. “I've traveled quite a bit and one thing I've learned is how to tell what ponies are feeling. One good way is their eyes, and yours show nothing but the deepest love for your sister. It's a refreshing sight.”
“I do love her, more than anything...” Celestia lets out a sigh as her head lowers.
“Is something wrong your majesty?” Jax asks, sensing the sadness in her sigh.
“Nothing at all...” She says, realizing how transparent she was at the moment.
Jax raises an eyebrow and smiles, knowing something was on her mind, “If you say so.” He stands and bows his head, leaving. Just before he turns into the hallway Jax turns back to speak. “You know Princess, I have been known to lend an ear to a royal or two during my travels. I've come to learn that those in power often find it hard to talk to the one's they love about their worries. If you would like to talk, just let me know.” As the last word is spoken Jax realizes what he just did, making the opening for friendship he was trying to avoid. He turns the corner, walking fast hoping nothing more happens.
“Jax wait!” Just as expected Celestia called out, Jax's eye twitched as he felt the need to smash his head into the wall. The thought of making an excuse crossed his mind, but it was no good. He turned back to the door restoring his calm demeanor and went to reap what he had sown. To Jax’s surprise, his mind was set at ease as he met Celestia's lavender eyes. Eyes full of hope and love, but underneath was a deep sadness he could not explain.
Celestia seemed too nervous to ask Jax to sit with her again, so he took his seat himself. He kept his eyes on the horizon not wanting to further unease the princess with his gaze. Even from the corner of his eye Jax could see her struggling to find her voice. “It's difficult...” she forces herself to say, “I've always been the image of authority for the kingdom... even with Luna... I rarely express my inner thoughts.” She looks to Jax expecting a curious gaze but just as before his eyes were fixed forward. “But you're not from here... so I hope... I can speak freely with you, without you thinking less of me.”
Jax smiled and looked again to Celestias, “Royalty doesn't make you invincible, in some ways I know that better then you do believe it or not. Everyone needs to express themselves no matter what the outcome is. Besides, how can I think less of you? I barely know you.” Looking back out to the mountains Jax waits for Celestia’s next words.
A smile sneaks across Celestia’s muzzle, feeling a strange relief wash over her. “You said the love I felt for my sister was a refreshing view...”
“It is, not many can love someone so much, and I can only assume she feels the same for you.”
“She does... but... she hasn't always...” Jax turns to her surprised. “I love my sister more than anything, and I have never forgotten to think of how she feels... and that makes it even harder to understand the shadow I once cast over her as the princess of the sun.” The sadness hidden in her eyes grow more and more apparent with each word spoken. “When we were still young, Luna didn't get the recognition she deserved as the princess of the night. She felt shunned and hated by our subjects as they slept through her beautiful nights, but worked and played during my day. One day she couldn't take it anymore... and rebelled against me...”
Tears welled in Celestia's eyes as the memories ran through her mind. Jax could feel the pain of her past as if a force attempting to crush him. “A good sister would have let her younger sibling have their way for a short time. A good ruler would have struck down the clear threat to the kingdom. What did you do?”
Her eyes shot wide as the moment played in her head. “I could never hurt my sister, but I had to fulfill my duty as a princess. I used our most powerful magic... to banish her to the moon...” Tears fell from her eyes as if reliving the worst moment of her life. Jax knew this and kept his eyes forward so she would not feel shame from being seen. “For one thousand years she was banished. With help from Princess Twilight and her friends, Luna was cleansed of her anger and came back to us. But I still can't look at her without being reminded of what I did. Every night I think to myself, was there another way?”
“You could have killed her.” The words echoed in her ears like that of a demon. “For the greater good, that's what I would have done... good thing you're not me.” As her eyes raise to meet Jax, she sees him smiling still facing out to the horizon. “Your duty is to the ponies of this land, you can never forget that, but you have a duty to your sister as well. To save both, I don't think there was anything you could have done, at least not something that would give the same results.”
“During those thousand moons, I never once forgot about her.” she said as Celestia rose her head to gaze at the moon. “I often thought of how lonely she was up there. Every night I would sing to her and pray she could hear me so her time would be more bearable, even if only a little more.”
“Does Luna know how you feel?”
Celestia lowered her head again, “No, it's been three years since she came back, and we have never spoken of her time in the moon. I just don't have the courage to speak to her about it.”
“Ignoring these feelings is like not telling somepony they are walking into a trap you set by mistake. It sounds like a lack of communication is what caused the initial problem, to ignore these feelings further will only serve to repeat history.” Jax and Celestia’s eyes meet. “But you already know that and are afraid to act on it in fear of how Luna will react.”
Celestia turns away, ashamed of herself, “If she hated me, I wouldn't blame her for one second.”
“But she doesn't... talk to her... it’s better than crying in front of a pony you just met, wouldn't you say?”
Celestia laughed a little and turned to Jax once more only to find him walking away. “I said it once and I’ll say it again, it's rare for even siblings to have such love for each other. Don't hide that love fearing she may think less of you. Now you've heard it from someone else, so take your own advice and talk to your sister.” With that said Jax disappeared into the hall, leaving Celestia to shed the rest of her tears and dry her eyes in peace.
On his way back Jax could only feel surprised from his little moment with Celestia. He had never seen a royal so willing to open up to a complete stranger. It all held meaning to him in two ways. The first being how much everyone looks up to the princess of the sun. The second, that this ruler knew, as he did, that royals are just ponies with nice titles. “Maybe this place won't be so bad after all.”