If you came to this thread due to the rather unwieldy large title on display in your notification box, then it has served its purpose in drawing in potential commenters such as yourself. Apologies for the length of it, as I failed to think of a better shorten alternative.

Anyhow, on with the thread topic. Be warned that it will probably devolve into an incoherent topic of rambling.

Today I recently finished on reading a binge of sad Celestia fanfics, mostly dealing with the inner turmoil and feelings of guilt in the mind of our one and only princess of the sun. To be precise and to the point, it recently ignited an insatiable curiosity of what would happen if Celestia happened to have a complete and utter mental breakdown of the type that renders her emotionally vulnerable to the maximum extreme possible that nearly every thought that goes through her head is one of conflict with her own inner soul.

In other words, I wondered what would happen with a broken bird Celestia, how it would affect those around her, and the response to said breakdown.

Now, I don't consider myself an expert in psychology, far from it. More of an enthusiast in studying psychology for the fun of it. I do however, hold some familiarity on the emotion of guilt. (Do not mistake this for professional expertise please.) I find myself fascinated with the emotion in question. It can make and break characters through the tactical placement of the feeling in question to further on character development, as well making almost any character damn near sympathetic. (Save for characters that wangst for the sake of it thought, of which I may or may not have had a hand in creating.) Thus, my interest especially with Celestia and this emotion, due to her history and the many circumstances that the fandom has invented to fill up her character development in lieu of any from the show.

Recently, I posted a rather lengthy comment on a relatively under the radar story.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/153892/1/goodnight-my-sister/the-folly-of-the-queen

Though certainly neither the worst nor best fic that has ever blessed the site, it did get me thinking as to how one could maximize the emotional potential for a guilt ridden Celestia fic. My comment here is as follows on the story. Think of it as a how to use a guilt ridden Celestia advice comment... Thingy...

I really need to find a way that will supplement my lack of eloquence...

Hmm... Not a bad attempt at one's heartstrings, but this chapter seems to be rather rough around the edges.

I suspect this may be due to the lack of further development and insight into Celestia's own pain. Nightmare Moon could potentially have done so much more to wring Celestia into a hysterical, quivering ball of crying pony.

My apologies for the lack of precision in words over just exactly what I am talking about, though I shall do my best to convey what I feel is lacking in the story, and what can be done to improve it. Keep in mind this is from my own perspective, and as such may or may not apply to what your original intent with the story was during the initial planning stages of this young oneshot.

Now, one of my own many versions of perceived fanon Celestia has her wrought with guilt, a chain tightened across her entire body, rendering her paralyzed and most sluggish. Though for the most part, she keeps this hidden behind a regal gaze of kindness and radiating compassion. From my perspective, it would seem that you were attempting to dwell into the depths of Celestia's psyche, examining her own inner turmoil, frustrations and many sorrows that the alicorn may have bottled up inside her. You know, the typical feelings of guilt, ghosts of past centuries haunting her every failure along the way, be it real or perceived. Most especially at the top of that list of many troubles is the banishing of her own sister. Now, ones fanon can vary wildly in this regard, considering the fandom's many diverse interpretations of Celestia's character, her past, backstory, personality, you get the idea. From what I can see, it would appear that you are trying to wring the chain that binds Celestia in such a way that strangles her heart and mind.

Being an immortal would probably do that to a being such as Celestia. To me personally, I would imagine that after enduring one thousand years alone and without her sister, it wouldn't be out of the question that Celestia could possibly have grown a tumor of bottled up guilt, woe and angst. This would probably become especially most prevalent after regaining her sister from banishment, influencing how Celestia interacts with the world and those around her. I.E: Becoming obsessed with her duty to Equestria, her own personal moral ideals, principles and integrity, ensuring that her younger sister is never again neglected, all at the expensive of Celestia's own personal comfort so as to ensure nothing bad ever happens again, harboring a perfectionist attitude toward her own performance.

I would imagine this could even possibly go so far as to self harm and torture, as penance for her own perceived failures throughout her life. All this is done without anyone, including her own sister, knowing about this at all of course, owing to the duty and pressure that Celestia's has mounted upon the sun princess's own back. As a novice writer myself, I would see this as an enticing opportunity to probe the psyche of Celestia's mind, with many opportunities to inflict misery and woe on her without mercy. The goal of this would be to build up the pressure that Celestia feels on an everyday basic to the point that she eventually crumples into a never ending nightmare of every negative emotion known to human kind. Self loathing, anger, jealousy, guilt, despair, agony, sorrow, you get the picture. From here, one can exploit the aftermath of any number of potential breakdowns that Celestia might suffer to further develop the relationship with those around her, most especially Luna. I cannot imagine a more heart provoking scene than Luna comforting a shattered and broken Celestia desperately trying to control her volatile emotions and failing, with Luna taking an ironic twist of fate in their roles being reversed, the younger sister comforting Celestia and attempting to draw her out of the broken shell of which she has built up over the centuries, with not much success of course. Perhaps even to the point where Celestia can no longer perform her own duties with any efficiency.

This gives an all too tempting and many opportunities to develop highly emotional scenes for a story, with further development between the two sisters. It would be especially intriguing to see how the roles between the two be reversed in contrast to Celestia's usual appearance. I.E: Celestia looking for redemption where none is needed, and Luna becoming horrified to the extent of Celestia own self loathing that would even bring the seemingly stable monarch to inflict agony upon herself as punishment, ensuring the reader knows just how dire Celestia's deteriorating mental state has become. Cue emotional scene after scene as the two attempt to help each other, with many moments of heartwarming to sprinkle in the story in a rare but most satisfying moment of daaaww.

Image: http://th08.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2013/202/c/b/i_m_not_leaving_you__celestia_by_secoramoondragon-d6ebv40.jpg

Something like this, only on an intensely more vast scale for dramatic effect and character development in terms of themselves and their relationship with each other of course.

The point is, show no holding back when revealing the raw intensity of Celestia's turmoil and the recovery of her mental state. One must be careful however in not overdoing the dramatics, lest they lose their effects in diminishing returns after repeated use. Subtleties are important here. If wisely planned and directed, a story could emerge at literally turns the emotions of the reader into that of a marionette.

For now, I shall end this commentary here. If I went on, I would be here for another hour typing down this comment.

However, I shall wait for the time being and analyze whatever response you may provide me.

Good tidings to you good sir.

As you may or may not imagine, I felt the itch to further discussion of the topic and analyze it down to the last bit of text. Thus I posted here in hopes of stirring up your answer to how such a situation like the above would play out, the plausibility of any set scenarios that match the description, and how effective it could be as a tool to ring readers in if used carefully in a conservative but powerful few set of events and what not, plus a few other questions that I may or may not have missed.

Here is another story (the chapter specifically) that exemplified roughly what I mean in question. Take them as you will.

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/135392/3/many-moons-ago/dust-and-shadows

I will add further details as they come and when time permits, as well as posting this thread in another group after sufficient time has passe so as to not spammed the notification boxes and bump off other threads in the groups tab.

In the meantime, be a dear and add something to this discussion if you don't mind and if it is worth your interest.

My apologies if the thread is of poor quality gentlemen. My skills in presenting a thread topic are unfortunately lackluster for the time being. Hopefully this could be rectified in the future.

Commence thread discussion.

2779208
Call me lazy, but this was too much to read for me. I stopped after the third paragraph.

PS: Cute pic at the end.

2779208
I honestly don't know what to say on this. I've read a lot of fics that go down that route, and at a certain point they all start sounding the same. And at a point I get annoyed and latch onto the idea that despite the pain, despite the loss, Celestia continues to move forward and remains strong.

2779234 ...
Thus this comment proves that I am a complete idiot when it comes to creating anything that even resembles something engaging.

Bloody it all to hell.

2779256 ... And this comment leaves me wondering why I decided to bother in even creating this thread in the first place. So much for trying to be original.

A done to death idea presented in a most confusing and utterly dull fashion.
Again, I am at a loss as to how I even thought this was a good idea.

Oh well. My apologies for the wasted thread gentlemen.

2779408
Whatever you want to say with that.

2779208

The thing that most of these stories hand-wave away is the question of "why now?" Luna is back and redeemed, and Twilight and Co. are good friends of hers. Life is pretty good now. Why is it NOW rather than immediately after Nightmare Moon's banishment or her return that Celestia breaks down?

I figure that if she's been as effective for 1000 years as it seems, that she already dealt with this kind of thing in the distant past. This kind of guilt will make or break you and it seems to me she's made it; she's already found a way to cope. If she's going to break down now then something truly momentous must happen - and after dealing with the deaths her ponies for 1000 years I doubt thatone of the elements passing would be enough to cripple her.

But most people like black and white. She's older than we can imagine and so must have so much loss that she's broken. Just like she hasn't had a single day off in over 36,500 days.

I kid you not this was actually a discussion we were just having on another thread - http://www.fimfiction.net/group/1216/celestia-is-the-best-pony/thread/85704/your-most-hated-depiction-of-her - Might be some things in there that interest you.

As for this topic with the unwieldly large title, aka "Breaking Celestia", I think we could envison several possible routes-

Let's presume all instances start from canon or near enough to, and that long term and unresolved guilt is the leading factor here. Trigger can be whatever you want it to be, it doesn't specifically matter

A brief compendium of Broken Celestias (+5 points if you complete the whole set!) ((I'm making up ze names as I go along, but I'm sure you'll recognize the generalities of each))

The Firestorm. The strain of being seemingly perfect and the reality of her imperfect being becomes too much. Like a tension wire suddenly severed, she lashes out with violent intensity. This is a classic Broken Bird scenario. When a housewife stabs her husband 67 times in the torso with a steakknife it's because of this, the building of pressure over years. In milder cases this usually involves Celestia browbeating somebody stubborn with a rare display of her actual power. The irony in 'tia's case that the action spurred by guilt causes guilt of its own.

Development potential - Depends on the extent of the incident. In smaller cases (ie - a moment of temper) we could develop her anger-managing activities, perhaps have her see for the first time in a long time what it's like for one of her subjects to be openly afraid of her. It's not often we see Celestia in the role of the transgressor looking to set things right, and there's the open question of "once someone recognizes you as a giant, immortal, intensely powerful being capable of scary outbursts, how do you change that perception back to what it was before? Can it even be done?"

The Regal This Celestia fails to express her guilt directly, instead fleeing from it. This may turn to mostly benign decadence, but could easily and even likely over time sour into a temperment of entitlement and arrogance. Tyrant Celestia sits firmly atop a throne made of this trend.

Development potential - the devolution from wise ruler to benign aristocrat to consumptive dictator itself is development, albeit of a backsliding sort. "Mother knows best," from Tangled might sum up the concept nicely.

The Exile Celestia flees her guilt in the most literal sense possible, disappearing to anywhere in the world she chooses, shedding routine, duty, home and memory. This Celestia is still probably benign, but is also incapable of doing anything beyond the immediate sense. Until she reconciles her past, she wanders a la Samurai Jack

Development potential - quite a lot. Without the setting and habits of three hundred lives of men to dictate her existence, just what does Celestia do? Does she become a hermit, or adopt a persona and hideaway in plain sight? Does she wander or settle, and if she settles what does she occupy herself with? BONUS idea: she's still receiving letters from those wanting her to come home all this while. Does she answer them or not. Good potential for an introspective Celestia journey tempered by a distinct physical setting with events and characters doing their thing without hinging on Celestia's guilt to actually drive the story. Example - Sunny Skies All Day Long could be considered an uber-bright iteration of this general concept.

The Ascendant Tricky if you are fussy about just how divine/not-divine Celestia is. If she residith more at the godly end of the scale, than this is a viable direction. Simply put, Celestia withdraws herself mentally and emotionally from this vale o' tears. In the grand ordering of the cosmos and solar motions emotions are not important, after all. At least so she may tell herself for a while. Pretty much regular old denial in fact, 'cept with god-bits stuck on.

Development Potential - not a whole lot. Seen this type more than I can recall, which usually aims for Sublime and Aesthetic in scope but instead becomes Bland and Pretensious. That said, when it's done right it's a beauty.

The Intervention No mare is an island. This could be a bait and switch from Firestorm potential if the warning signs are spotted. Basically, someone's seen that Celestia is troubled and have had the good sense to pop the kettle on and make a nice cuppa.

Development potential: surprisingly (or not) underutilzied in fimfiction far as I've seen considering the diversity here. Celestia talking it out, not so much broken or even breaking as instead mending. Sometimes all we really needed was a sympathetic ear and a hug. Why should Celestia be different? Heartwarming, sensible, and a good bonding experience (particularily if its with Luna), where Celestia can drop the mask and be vulnerable for once without all that nonsense about overreacting and soapy drama.

Any other iterations you think?

Well, I skipped it all just to say, if you're gonna write something, just add a bit of pie. And I mean pie, like real pie. Not the fake kind. REAL PIE.

It will work. Trust me.

2779234 I stopped after the first!

2779755

The thing that most of these stories hand-wave away is the question of "why now?" Luna is back and redeemed, and Twilight and Co. are good friends of hers. Life is pretty good now. Why is it NOW rather than immediately after Nightmare Moon's banishment or her return that Celestia breaks down?

Hmm. Now that you bring this up, I now am beginning to recall having thought up that same problem here and wrote up a small outline detailing a solution to justify a breaking of Celestia somewhere in my ideas folder back in laptop. I think I am going to give a quick check to see if I had anything of the sort still there.
In the meantime, I will elaborate as to the "why now" question you have brought up to the front.

Though I am hesitant to put my faith in this idea after you brought up the aforementioned way that Celestia probably has been able to cope with as such for centuries. Back on topic, I recall thinking of perhaps a failed assassination attempt on Luna's life being one of the many triggers that could potentially send Celestia on the verge of a near panic attack. To lose her sister just after her banishment of 1000 years might be one of the things that could break her. As you brought up however, the possibility of this happening is somewhat low considering the fact Celestia has centuries of practice to maintain herself to the point where she is capable of removing any emotional baggage in an efficient manner which allows her to operate and lead the nation without hesitation, methods of which might even prevent Celestia from going into a complete mental breakdown.

So I suppose that would mean that attempting to write such a story that I proposed earlier is probably impossible, or at least extremely difficult for even advanced writers. What hopes do I have to even attempt such a target goal of making it plausible that Celestia ends up breaking down?

The only other option available is that Nightmare Moon returns as a separate entity to inflict massive psychological damage on Celestia herself. Going by the more recent iterations of canon however... Well, I suppose I might be able to pawn off a few dozen likes or so before the inevitable barrage of commentary pointing out the obvious of which I missed before.

Damn it all. Perhaps I should have examined the prospect of actually being able to execute such a concept professionally before I decided to submit this concept idea. Shoot me in the knee for that mess up.

2779766 Huh. I think I might have submitted the "Guilt Ridden Celestia" idea to one of the Luna groups here. I think I still might be able to find it if I do enough digging. I'll get back to you on that on a later date if possible.

As for the rest of yo-...

Oh you have got to be shitting me a complete log of oak tree.

Mr. Ambion, I do believe you might just have successfully snuffed out whatever chances of me bringing out a cheesy fanfic that would have turned into a wangst abomination of the highest caliber, thereby sparing the site from yet another crapfic. You did however bring up new ideas to ponder that might prove to make itself more than just something useful in the long run.

As for what depiction that seems to offer the most bang for your buck, the closest would probably be a combo out of The Firestorm, The Exile, and The Ascendant, with a few modifications of my own to add to the mix. The choices you presented could allow for any number of ways to approach the applying aspect of building up the story, forming into branching paths so to speak.

I.E: One idea that might hold merit is the role reversal between the two sisters in terms of taking care of each other. The scenario would be that Princess Celestia's mental barriers that prevent her from breaking down into a complete sobbing wreak in that they hold back the massive tide of memories that she holds (Depending on how perfect you want Celestia's memory to be in that moment.) are utterly annihilated by a powerful dark force that specializes in psychological manipulation. Like I mentioned earlier, Nightmare Moon could prove to be a suitable villain for this. Think of it as an attempt to take over Celestia's body, only to fail as Princess Luna manages to intervene in time to stop the take over, but not before Celestia's own inner mana that keeps her an alicorn are broken.

The end result of Nightmare Moon's failed take over attempt is a normal earth pony version of Celestia overwhelmed by a tsunami of memories that mercilessly pounding against her skull, rendering her into nothing but a quivering shadow of her former glory. Cue Twilight Sparkle taking up the role of managing the kingdom as Luna finds a way to help Celestia get back to her normal self, all the while discovering more and more about her sister as she went century after century without Luna by her side and how she coped while managing the kingdom.

In the meantime, I would imagine this creates the perfect opportunity for further mind break assaults, the aim of which is to taunt and even further break her into a catatonic state. This could be any entity besides Nightmare Moon, or perhaps even Celestia's own inner thoughts that turn into a self fulfilling prophecy.

An optional addon for a more stable, yet still guilt ridden Celestia is have her become a run away exile, going on a sort of Sabbath in search for who she is as an individual, possibly while making friends along the way, or even perhaps a special somepony to further complicate things. (Cue insert of Princest to utterly troll people into submission. ) Back on topic, the main fic idea that I would be aiming for is the bonding between the two sisters. Originally I had some alpha developed concepts of this back in Season 1, back where such a fic might have been accepted during the time. (Considering that emotions are still volatile shortly after Luna's return, depending on how far down trodden you wished to make Luna, which in turn might make Celestia vulnerable to having her own private breakdowns.)

With us now being in S4 however, I suspect that this version of guilt ridden Celestia would be met with a barrage of downvotes high enough to build a miniature car. So unless I somehow managed to garner an audience who would be willing to drop the latter three seasons, I doubt this will meet with any success, even if the idea is well executed.

Bloody Nayru... What the hell was I thinking getting myself involved in this? Sometimes I wonder if I even hold a small potential to pull off a oneshot at the very least. Unfortunately, those types of stories are too short for what I have in mind.

Back on topic: The way you described the last Celestia in mending seems to be partly where I want to go, save for Celestia being an already broken mare that is in need of some very dedicated one to one TLC from her younger sister taking up the older sister role of comforting her, just as Celestia did for Luna in the past. Do you think a moment between a small earth pony mare Celestia being cuddled by Luna in an intimation of how her older did for her in the past would work well in gripping a reader's heartstrings? Be honest with me here. Is this an overly sappy idealistic idea of mine filled with so many holes that I should put this one out of the question?

Pfft. I am tempted to maybe include Princest somewhere, yet somehow I know that will not go well in professional terms. Bah. Stupid imagination seeing the potential for love for two ponies who might be the only ones of their kind. (Not counting Cadence, Twilight Sparkle, or Discord mind you.)

Though I am still hopeful of developing an idea of how such ideas would pan out ultimately and execute them into a smashing fic, I cannot help but feel that something will probably crash and burn no matter what I do, being inept at writing much of anything that can draw the audience in with speed. Lack of the right words to say, if you understand I hope...

____________________________________________________________________

2780753
2781161

If you didn't read the above, that is alright. I don't mind.

On a completely unrelated note, here is a video that is completely out of context of the thread discussion.

You two flatter me with your blunt honesty. *Insert half sarcastic, truthful comment here*.

2781816

It's not so much that I think she's found an "efficient" way to cope so much as, even though she's over 1000 years old, she's found a way to not let it build without end. That doesn't mean that something can't possibly set her off. I would expect her to go through a period of grieving should Twilight die, even if I doubt it would break her, but if Luna should die that's a whole different can of worms.

It's all about explanation and context. It's why I think Composure is a far better story than Eternal (even if Eternal was pretty good): even if they're similar on the surface, Composure does a much better job of tailoring the strength of her breakdown to the situation that is occurring.

2781816

Lots of words, eeee!

Here's another idea - The Celestia That Is Actually Perfectly Fine.

I mean, think about it. If you're going to be guilt ridden and memory addled by a thousand years, than you've also had a thousand years to make peace with yourself and sort that shit out.

Wouldn't it be interesting for angst (in healthy doses) of a different kind if Twi and/or Luna realize that even without them in her life, Celestia would wholly and truly be perfectly alright? How would Luna feel about something like that, knowing that the sister who banished her got over it eventually? Sure, part of her would be happy that Celestia isn't suffering for it, but wouldn't part of you in that situation just have to wonder how much you actually mean to big sis, if she can move on like that? Wouldn't part of you gloat and be so very smug to know Sislestia ached with guilt for all that time, for what she did to you?

2779755 My answer as to why now? It happens not IN SPITE of life for once being good, but because of it.

They'res types of deep sea shrimp that, if brought to the surface quickly enough, explode.
Celestia IS that shrimp, possibly. (there is also a shrimp that can create temperatures found on the SUN. CELESTIA --- > SUN < --- SHRIMP )

To explain - the accepted counterbalance to Celestia's guilt is her facade presentation, her constant duty to be a princess. She never broke down in all those years because she couldn't afford to, not with the threat of all that it entailed looming like a thousand tonnes of dark water overhead. The pressure is what's been keeping her together.

But now that Luna's back, with Cadence on standby, Discord at his proverbial best behaviour and Twilight ready to take charge? Celestia isn't needed. At least, she could perceive that she's not needed. She could go away for a weekend, and the world doesn't collapse. So maybe she does instead.

Liken her situation to an open wound. Take the pressure off and the bleeding resumes.

2783281 .... This is why logic is sometimes the ultimate killer of what would have been otherwise perfectly fine stories.

Rational reasoning is a double edge sword in this aspect. Even though I am a high proponent of it, the vision of what I have will burn to cinders if this was approached as you suggested it.
For me, it is especially heartwarming to see sister to sister reunion and recovery.

Sure, it might be more realistic to be able to shrug it off after 1000 years, but then what?
One might as well not bother writing fantasy fiction like I stated in the first place,. In fact, if logic were the supreme rule of this site, I am willing to bet nearly a good quarter of it would be sucked into the drain of no return.

But now that Luna's back, with Cadence on standby, Discord at his proverbial best behavior and Twilight ready to take charge? Celestia isn't needed. At least, she could perceive that she's not needed. She could go away for a weekend, and the world doesn't collapse. So maybe she does instead.

Liken her situation to an open wound. Take the pressure off and the bleeding resumes.

Though this part of your comment does bring up a good opportunity, I am afraid this has already been accounted for dude. The name is lost upon me, but a fic recently already addressed this issue.
As for why I wish to... Repeat what may be redundant, I wish to further refine the feelings I felt when reading those other stories I mentioned, and magnify it into pure ore that blots out the sun, no pun intended....

I will elaborate more on this comment later, but by Twilight I need my rest!
Sleep awaits me gentlemen. Don't start branching off into a debate without me to complete the picture.
In the meantime, sleepy time!

I am serious about not going on without me though.
I still have yet to complete my reply.

2785863 I just got accused of logic? Holy balls, that's a first.

Here's another comparison to work with - Celestia to Elsa of Disney'z Frozen. If you haven't seen it, it comes highly recommended. I want spoil anything, but it suffices to say that a lot of parralells can be drawn up between them.

Note eee fee caesh in!

I've written a story based on the generalities discussed in this thread.

Have a gander ~~~ http://www.fimfiction.net/story/166479/a-trick-of-light
(waiting on mod approval as of posting this comment)
((It's been approved!))

2781816 I hate Luna so much. But after watching that video I like her a little bit now.

Naaah.
Would Luna and others be so blind?
Would they remain passive and wait for shit to hit the fan?
In my version of events Luna takes matters in her own hooves and before Celestia ever could collapse, Luna begins a lengthy, difficult, but oh-so-rewarding process of healing her sister.
Starting by finding her a lover.

2787670 ... And your reason for your hatred? Clue us in as to why please.

2792285 Yet another voice has further invalidated the idea of which I wish to turn into a story. Great. Yet this damned image of what I wish to turn to paper refuses to leave my mind. Bloody it all. At least this comment gives this discussion food for thought.

2786542
2782326
I also found the thread in question that I have mentioned previously that might provide some insight as to what exactly I wish to aim for in any case.

THREAD IN QUESTION.
FYI, this thread and the one linked inside it are lengthy to the max. Grab yourself a lunch before reading them.

Alright, time to resume the discussion.
Now, where was I?

...

Eh... I might have forgotten a tidbit or two during the period of activity sated in this thread. Such as the curse for being a scatterbrain I suppose.

Might as well restart the discussion to get my memory realigned again.
Now, lets see what I can recall...

Oh, and Ambion? Your story ain't half bad by any stretch of the mind. Quite a surprise that my thread managed to generate a story out of all of this. Now if only I were capable of producing prose of the caliber that could measure up at least halfway. Alas, my skill with handling words with eloquence and grace are severely lack unfortunately.

Anyhow, back on topic then.

I suppose I should elaborate on exactly what I am personally trying to aim for when creating my own story on the subject matter that I bring here on forth to this group thread. What I want is to create a story based on the guidelines and objectives proposed up back in the first comment of mine. In other words, I want to create a gripping tale of sorrow that drags the beloved monarch of serene grace and radiating joy into a hell that will shatter the illusion of peace that composes Celestia's exterior character, leaving her bare for all the world to see. That said, I created this thread so as to gain some input on how to do that. (Thus, my inane rambling that I have written so as to give you guys as much detail as possible as to the vision I wish to paint.)

To recount: As said before, I have been inspired by a few stories and art pieces which depict Celestia at her most vulnerable. To rip away that exterior of warm benevolence and radiating warmth, a coat of steely determination, never revealing her most excruciating emotions and the causes of them to the world.

That being said, it has been made readily apparent that this theme has been beaten has been beaten into the ground with a mechanized sledgehammer. So whatever aims of originality fly right out the window for all intents and purposes. Thus I have to focus on shaping up on figuring out how to project raw emotion for all participants involved, most especially Celestia herself alongside other characters close to her heart to the reader.

Problem is, when it comes to writing in feelings for a story, my ability here is painfully lacking and apparent. Other problems that must be accounted for is how am I to execute this, what other factors am I not accounting for, how am I to sequence a series of events that lead up to said breakdown, how to outline this into something that I can make sense of before writing up the actual story.

You get the idea I hope.

Long story short: My objective is to create a story centered around a broken and very vulnerable Celestia, one where emotional recovery is to be an emotional rollercoaster where she will need to the support of all that she holds dear, lest she is forever lost to darkness and whatever else that is sad to the known world.

And maybe with a little addition of shipping as the cherry on top to go with it. (I.E: Princest. *Cue groans of exasperation soundbyte here.*)

So yeah, more than a little part of self indulgence on my part, something which a commenter has addressed in the linked thread I have put above.

Fact of the matter is, I am both attracted and intrigued at how some story focused around these two manage to evoke emotion so strong, that I cannot help but be left an impression of them. Being the shipper I am, naturally I am inclined to ship both Celestia and Luna together as an optional addon if possible, regardless of the immense evidence to the contrary. (I stress optional here, with it not being needed if the reader desires otherwise.)

Though I have managed to find a few stories that involve both the theme of Celestia's intense guilt and romance between the two sister, they have been mostly lackluster in both how they are executed and the lack of length to them that I so desire. Thus, the reason for this thread's existence as to accomplish an objective that is to create a new, more powerful bond between Celestia and Luna, as well as analyzing the psyche of the solar monarch from my perspective, not accounting for the many other version of Celestia and canon that are out there.

So yeah. Some advice to add as a bonus to the discussion on how to make the above happen without turning into a complete crapfest would be nice indeed.

My apologies if the idea I have presented in question is complete and utter garbage for the site.
If nothing else, I wish to make it so that the story of which I wish to execute isn't a blight upon the reputation of this site. To those that are repulsed by the very idea of Princest, I-... err, I got nothing, save this image for your efforts.

So without further ado, let the thread resume activity.

Here is hoping this doesn't turn into a complete gutted for nothing wench.

2820369 Meh, I guess it's because she gets sooo much love. There has to be someone that hates her with an undeniably strong passion, right? Or am I just a biased fucktard? Hmmm.

Anyway, I just don't get why everyone jumps over whales for her. What makes her so great? I mean, she looks cool, don't get me wrong, but that's all I see. I mean, does anyone remember when she almost committed genocide? Sure, you could argue that it wasn't actually her and that it was Nightmare Moon. Still, I hardly doubt Luna would have wanted that to happen, but it happened nonetheless.

WARNING: The next things can cause serious debate.

Some people called Celestia useless, right? That she did nothing and was a complete troll. Well I'd have to say that Luna is just as useless.

Example: Discord is fucking shit up, Luna is nowhere to be seen. Guess what! Canterlot is being invaded and Celestia is out of commission cause she tried to save everyone! YO LUNA! WHERE YOU AT? WE NEED YO HELP! OH, WHAT'S THAT? YOU DON'T WANNA HELP? OK, THAT'S FINE.

Aight, I'm done now. This probably wont be read cause I took so long to reply but whatevs.

2910668 If this took place in the real world, I doubt most of the plot that happens in the show would even be valid. As in it would all capitulate upon itself the moment they tried to insert some sunny sunshine into it. They're appealing to a family friendly demographic, thus the plot induced incompetence.

But since when did we ever care about those oh so carefully hidden details?
We're talking about a show where colored pastel ponies have two rulers that raise both the sun and moon, and where somehow it is possible to negotiate with a dragon, and have an invasion with no casualties whatsoever.

As in this kind of silly.

A bolt round to the face and she survives.
Those rounds are basically miniature missiles that explode whatever poor fool they hit into bloody gore and body bits.

2913323 I don't know what happened. Anyway... (religious chant about donuts)