//------------------------------//
// 449. Caramel by Knight of Lycaeus 
// Story: The Sun and the Stars: A Twilestia Prompt Collab 
// by Fuzzyfurvert 
//------------------------------//


by Knight of Lycaeus


***


Sequel to Frame

Dawn had broken not even an hour ago and already Celestia's heart was racing. Her sleep had not proven as restful as she had desired, not while a familiar image taunted her mind about what might be.

She swallowed in an effort to help calm her shaking nerves. The motion had little effect on helping her to calm down her breathing. The scroll, the source of her current problems was lightly held before her.

The scroll itself was rather innocuously, but its content on the other hoof was like a deadly poison. Now in cool air of the early morning she prepared herself to cast the reveal spell again. She needed to be sure, to know that what she saw last night was not a dream.

She tried to calm herself again this time through careful breathing which had some success in calming her racing heart. Even so she could still feel how heavily her hesitation weighed on her even as she sought the answer she wanted.

The truth is what mattered, one had to be certain.

Slowly her golden magic aura coated the scroll as she casted the reveal spell. After a few moments the golden glow slid off the scroll and slowly formed into a shape.

A Sun. The image that formed before her was clearly a sun and not just any sun, but her Sun. Last night her mind had not seen falsely and that truly she herself was responsible for Twilight receiving a missive that should have never been sent.

She just sat there mutely looking at the image formed from her golden aura. She did not notice the passing of time not even when the servants arrived half an hour later with breakfast. Hot, steaming buttermilk pancakes topped with fresh sliced strawberries, a thin caramel sauce, and a large dollop of whipped cream.

It wasn't until her meal had been laid out fully that a servant coughed lightly that she tore her eyes from the hovering sun. The servant asked if she needed anything else, to this she shook her head and thanked them as they left the room.

Despite her hunger and the wonderful smell of the finely prepared breakfast, all Celestia could do was stare as the image of the sun faded away.

The truth mattered, but it didn't mean that it didn't sting.