Chapter 3: Idle Conversation
Princess Celestia smiled as she looked down at the card in her hoof. There's a party in Ponyville, it read, and you're invited! Be there at the town hall, thirty minutes before sunrise, for friends, food and fun!
The glitter was a bit much, but her student's cheer and excitement shone through in the way the words were written. The playful loops and swirls almost suggested the very tone of voice she would have used, had she been there saying it in person.
“Pinkie really can get things done when she puts her mind to it, can't she?” the Princess said.
The captain of the guard standing next to her blinked. “Yes, ma'am, she can. Uh... was that a rhetorical question?”
Celestia looked down at him. “That's quite alright, Shining Armor. I was talking to myself, but I think I would enjoy having a conversation at the moment.”
“Right,” Shining replied.
There was silence for a moment. Shining cleared his throat.
“Your chariot is ready, your Highness, whenever you wish to leave.”
“Wonderful. Then let's be on our way.” Celestia smiled again. “It wouldn't do to miss a celebration in my own honor.”
The walk through the palace was quieter than usual. At this early hour of the morning not many of the servants were awake, even in the castle of the Princess of the Sun. As they stepped out onto the runway, the chariots were lined up for take-off, in classic formation, with the herald cart in front, the royal carriage, and the chariots for the guards all in formation. The Princess turned to Shining Armor.
“Would you care to join me, captain, on our trip? I meant it when I said I desired company this morning.”
Shining paused. “Ah- yes, of course. As you wish, your Highness.”
The two stepped into the royal carriage, and the team of pegasi pulling it took off. The castle and city of Canterlot dropped away below them. The towering spires and minarets curling gracefully upward were a sight to behold, even in the dim light of the pre-dawn moon.
“You've met her, I'm sure,” Celestia said idly.
Shining Armor blinked. “Pinkie Pie?” he asked. “Yes, I've met her. The whole castle must have met her at least once. Everypony there knows her. She's your student.”
“Yes. My student...”
From where Shining was sitting, he could not see the Princess' face. Her flowing mane concealed her eyes.
“She's very... outgoing,” Shining said. “I tried to get my sister to meet her once or twice, before she moved away, but it never worked out. I think Pinkie would have done her good. Maybe even gotten her out of the house for a while.”
“Your sister lives in Ponyville, yes?”
Shining nodded. “She does. She wanted to research the monsters that live in the forest nearby. The Everfree.” He sighed. “It... worries me, sometimes. Her being so close to danger like that...”
“If she is in Ponyville, then I'm sure you will see her at the party,” Celestia said. “Everypony was invited, you know.”
Shining didn't say anything.
“I'm sure Pinkie Pie has thrown you one of her wonderful parties, too,” the Princess said. “She throws them for everyone who stays long enough.”
“Yes,” Shining replied. “She threw me one.”
Celestia looked at him. There was a sad smile on her face.
“Was that the time when your fellow guards tried to spike the punch, and Pinkie ended up drinking the whole bowl to keep anyone else from getting drunk?”
“That's the one,” Shining said. “Were you there, Princess? I didn't see you.”
Celestia frowned. “Even with my best effort, I'm not able to attend every party my student throws. But she tells me of them, afterward. Pinkie is very proud of them. It's her special talent, you know.”
“Y- yes. I know,” Shining Armor frowned. “Excuse me, Princess, but why are you telling me this?”
The Princess stared at the night sky for a long, long moment.
“No reason,” she said at last. “I just wanted to talk about things. Little things. Important things, like that. Things that shouldn't be forgotten.”
Celestia turned back to the captain. “Do you know the history of the Summer Sun Celebration?” she asked.
“Not particularly,” Shining grimaced. “Sorry.”
“The tradition began one-thousand years ago, as a celebration of my victory over the Mare in the Moon,” Celestia said.
“The Mare in the Moon?” Shining asked. “You mean, the pattern on the moon that looks like a mare's head?”
“She was a real pony,” Celestia said. “An alicorn, like me. Pegasus wings, unicorn horn, taller than any earth pony, with a coat as black as night, and a mane made of the stars. She had many names. One of them you might recognize; she is the pony Nightmare Night is named after.”
Shining Armor's eyes widened. “Nightmare Moon? The Mare in the Moon is Nightmare Moon?”
“Yes,” Celestia said. “Nightmare Night and the Summer Sun Celebration used to be held on the same day, as part of the same great feast, before I changed it. Nightmare Moon may have attacked on the longest day of the year, but I wanted to be able to remember it as a happy time. So I separated the two; Nightmare Night recalls the defeat of Nightmare Moon, and the Summer Sun Celebration is just that. A celebration of the Summer Solstice.”
“... Princess,” Shining said. “If it isn't too much to ask... Why did you decide to hold this year's celebration in Ponyville? It's not a very notable town.”
“Oh, but it is. You said it yourself, earlier. Ponyville is the only town within fifty miles of the Everfree forest. In fact, it's right on the forest's border.”
“Why does that make it a good place to hold the Summer Sun Celebration at?” Shining asked.
“Because this year's Celebration is also special,” Celestia replied. “It is the one-thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. It has been exactly one-thousand years since I defeated Nightmare Moon and sealed her away.”
“... Why does that matter?”
The Princess smiled, softly. “Monsters are not the only things the Everfree has to boast of. Did you know I used to live there? There was a castle, the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. That was where I did it. Where I fought the Mare in the Moon.”
She sighed.
“And that, if anywhere, will be where she returns.”
“What?!” Shining cried out. One of the pegasi flying the carriage looked back, but the captain and the Princess paid him no heed.
“There are predictions,” Celestia said in a hushed tone, “prophesies, that she will return on the longest day of the thousandth year of her banishment. I do not know if they are true, but if they are, then the Nightmare is certain to descend on Ponyville first. It is closest to where she was banished, to where she will return. And if she does show up... I will be there, waiting for her.”
Shining Armor just stared at her. The carriage flew on.
“I'm sorry,” Celestia said. “About your sister. ”
Shining shook his head. “No, your Highness. She knew it was dangerous when she moved there. And if Nightmare Moon is real... if she really does come back... nowhere will be safe.”
He looked up. “That's why you were talking about Pinkie Pie,” he said. “You're worried about her.”
Celestia's face was impassive.
“If the sun does not rise today,” she said, slowly, “if tonight is the last night, for all of eternity... Then Pinkie deserves to spend it outside of the castle, for once. With everypony else, having one of the parties she loves so much.”
“You'll keep her safe, your Highness,” Shining said. “You'll keep everypony safe. You'll see.”
Celestia stared up at the sky and said nothing.
Some time later, the carriage arrived in the little town on the borders of the Everfree.
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Look at that pony. So worried about their beloved little sister.
A little break, before the party happens and things go down. Just setting things up a bit.
4017483
I love your story.
This is good. The dialog felt real and unrushed and gave good info. 5 points.
Damn, that's pretty heavy. Celestia has either forgotten about the Elements, or she's convinced that there is no way they will be there to stop Nightmare Moon the second time.
Either way, things are definitely looking more dramatic.
4017592
Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it.
4017626
Five points! Awesome!
Yeah, that's what I was trying to go for. A realistic conversation that Celestia might have had while brooding on her sister's return that also helped set up the readers for when it actually happens.
4017628
Well, the Princess isn't telling everything right now. Notice that she never mentions her relation to Luna when she tells the story. It's all very detached.
Celestia is at the point where she's made all the preparations she can, and now all she can do is wait for things to happen. That's a kind of time where someone can start to dwell on everything that could go wrong. She's not given up yet, but she's still worried about the very real worst possible outcome.
That's why she wanted to talk to someone. To come to grips with what's about to happen.
Celestia is kind of a downer. Get her some cake, stat!
4017967
Right. Conservation of detail, between the lines and all that.
Disregarding my relative failure at interpretation, it's still a very good scene. You're doing really well, is the gist of it. So you just keep that up.
4017483 Since this was a short chapter, can we get the next chapter soon?
4018469
Ha ha! Maybe. I have something written out for it, but I'm going to have to change it a bit before it's ready to post.
4019250 Soon. Make a Pinkie Promise for soon.
This is good characterization -- you're showing someone's personality in their writing, and even the non-text aspects of the message. This is interesting, as I'm writing something right now which I may succeed in finishing today (the second chapter of Corruption at Nightfall) in which I'm attempting something similar as a minor effect.
Of course, Pinkie's personality is naturally extreme.
I can so easily see Pinkie doing something like that.
"Especially since we all might be dead in a few hours," being Celestia's unspoken thought accompanying that, I bet.
I like this explanation. You've unknowingly answered a question someone raised to me in e-mail, about Celestia's whole attitude toward Nightmare Night. It also makes further sense in that if Princess Luna had her own festival the obvious time for it would not have been as part of a harvest festival (the origin of our Halloweeen and probably also of their Nightmare Night before the Banishment), but on the Winter Solstice, the natural Longest Night of the Year. And I doubt that when Luna was one of the Ruling Princesses last time round anyone thought she was going to eat them if she didn't give them candy!
The tone of this chapter is awesome. Knowing what we know, you are conveying so much of Celestia's personality here. And her statement regarding Pinkie Pie is both logically-impeccable and shows her love for her -- and what she figures Pinkie will soon have to be doing.
Really good writing!
4024371 4024413
Thank you so much for your response. I couldn't stop grinning for minutes after I read it.
Conveying character was one of the main things I wanted to do in this chapter. I'm glad it worked out so well here, and I'll try to make future chapters live up to it.
I was really interested in this story when I first saw it pop up, and I put it on my read later list to check out when it was finished. The tag changed to complete, and here I am... And man, am I glad to be here! This is SPECTACULAR.