Dune Goddess

by Prane

Chapter 5 – Recollections

The bell by the door jingled happily when Celestia and Sunset entered the workshop.

“By the dunes!” Rashid grabbed his turban in surprise. “What’s happened to you two?”

The ponies looked upon each other, smirking at the hopelessness of each other’s appearance. Celestia’s flowing mane was an absolute mess: the pinks were clashing with the blues over her forehead, ceruleans stood up straight like horns, and turquoises decided it would be best to just wave downwards like tentacles. The alicorn lost one of her linen boots, though she wasn’t certain whether it happened during the fight with the jinn or did she just get a little careless on their way back.

Sunset looked no better. She was equally banged up and kept turning her head to the sides to remove the excess of sand from her ears. The bruises caused by ramming into, of getting assaulted by various bronze objects were numerous, much like in her mentor’s case, but she was still standing. She dropped her bag before slumping down a little, and the impression she gave was that of being ready to explore anew if asked.

Celestia and Sunset were also, for want of a better word, dirty—dusted from the tips of their hooves to the tops of their foreheads, with their coats in a desperate need of a good grooming. Despite all that, however, they returned to Al-Hoofuf as victors, if somewhat tired from their adventure.

“We are quite alright, Rashid, thank you for your concern,” Celestia said. “As good tourists, we acquainted ourselves with local architecture, and just when we gazed upon the facade, it occurred to us that your village’s devotion to the Dune Goddess is not misplaced… if you know what I mean,” she added.

Sunset leaned in. “Translation: job done, your ponies are safe now.”

“B-but what happened? What did you do?” he asked, but immediately dismissed his inquiry. “On second thought, the less I know about it the better. I couldn’t sleep after Kalila told me her story and, judging by your looks, I’d stay awake for a week if I heard one word about the things you faced. Foul and powerful magic, am I right?”

“You have no idea,” the filly replied.

“All I can say then is thank you, both for sparing me the details… and for that other thing.” Rashid clapped his hooves. “The return of my two Equestrian friends, this calls for a celebration! Let me just fetch my wife so she could prepare a feast in honor of your success. As for myself, I know there is no way I can express my gratitude as you deserve it, but we’ve just received these two rolls of silversilk,” he said, pointing to the iridescent material on the counter. “Perhaps I can get you a fine garment? Free of cost! Princess?”

“There is no need for that, really. Sunset and I are most—”

“I could use a cloak.”

Celestia’s smile was gone, replaced by a serious glare, but apparently her student didn’t see what the problem was, responding with a voiceless “what?”.

“Please excuse us for a moment,” Celestia said to the stallion. He trotted to another room, looking back and bowing every two steps while mumbling something about his measuring tape. “Sunset Shimmer. Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“What do you mean, Princess? Mayor Rashid clearly wants to repay us for what we did at the temple,” Sunset replied. “I didn’t exactly get my three wishes from the you-know-who, so I thought we could pick up some nice clothes while we’re here. You know, souvenirs. We deserve it.”

“Have you learned nothing from our stay here? Silversilk is an important trade good for those ponies, so if they devote it to your selfish needs, they will lose a substantial part of their revenue, thus limiting the growth of their community,” Celestia lectured the filly. “They may be safe from sandstorms now, true, but what if another threat arises? This isn’t Canterlot, Sunset, this is a poor village in the middle of a desert which needs every source of income it can get to break even.”

“But they can profit from foodstuff even more now that the Dune Goddess will keep them safe,” Sunset protested. “It’s not like I’m stealing from them, right? Rashid said it himself: they barter what they have for the things they can’t get themselves, and they wouldn’t solve the sandstorm problem without our help. So, you could say that we offered our services as magical problem solvers and we’re getting our payment.”

Celestia shook her head. “We’re not mercenaries, Sunset. We’re—”

“We’re just tourists, yeah, I know,” the filly cut in. “But we’re also something else now: we are guests, and the guy in charge of this village wants to show his hospitality and gratitude. Again, I’m not an expert on the cultural aspects of the visitor-host relations in Saddle Arabia, but wouldn’t it be a bit disrespectful if we didn’t allow him to please us?”

“Huh. So you did read the orientation materials I gave you after all.”

“All thirty pages, Princess.” Sunset shrugged. “It was a good read.”

With that, Celestia lost the last of her arguments. She paced around the workshop, pretending to browse between colorful fabrics on display.

There was a cyan roll which reminded her of Sunset’s shield bubble spell. She passed her hoof along and gave a deep sigh.

She wasn’t irritated by Rashid’s generosity, or by her student’s eagerness to accept it. There was nothing wrong with either. In truth, she couldn’t get over the fact that the Nightmare dared to make its appearance so soon, or rather that she had not foreseen it. It was weak in its current state, of course, merely a whisper which she couldn’t even pick up during the sandstorm—but it was out there nonetheless, and posed a real threat to her ponies.

The reign of day was supposed to be still long enough. Celestia herself, she was supposed to still have time to prepare, but the latest events suggested she no longer had that luxury. Was it too late? Were the ponies already in danger? Union said the Nightmare had come to her in her dreams. If that was the case, she had to investigate the Dreamworld as soon as possible. It wasn’t her forte, but for the sake of her subjects she had to try.

More importantly, she had to prepare Sunset. The filly didn’t know it yet, but she was Celestia’s chosen for bearing the Element of Magic, and to make things more complicated, she was also her only choice. Ponies capable of assuming that role were a once-in-a-generation find, centuries of running a School for Gifted Unicorns proved that. Sunset aside, there probably wasn’t going to be a unicorn equally talented in magic in the coming decade. Unfortunately, Sunset was yet to comprehend the value of friendship that was essential to master the Elements of Harmony. She had to form a bond with other ponies, just like Celestia had shared a bond with her sister long ago.

Luna…

Celestia snapped out of her musing.

“—sure, that will do. Oh, can I get a hood with that? Great!” Sunset said to Rashid who was jumping around her with a measuring tape. She took notice of Celestia eyeing her and her confidence dwindled. “I mean, if it’s not too much trouble. I-I just, uh, hate when sand gets into my ears. I mean, I don’t expect to run into many sandstorms back home, our storms are made of, you know, rain and snow. Occasionally ice,” she squeaked as Celestia started walking towards her. “Maybe we should just forget the hood?”

Rashid’s pride was evident. “You can relax, Miss Sunset. It will be nice to work on something more complex. I usually only sell veils and turbans!” He scribbled a batch of numbers, then turned to the alicorn. “Oh, mighty Princess Celestia, do you require a cloak for your brilliant figure as well? Or perhaps something else? Say a word and it will be done.”

Celestia didn’t want to think how many rolls it would take to tailor a cloak for her, with or without a hood.

“A cloak, no. How about… a scarf? Nothing too extravagant, mind you, maybe about… this long.” She marked the length of the shortest possible scarf in the history of scarves. “Please know that the safety and well-being of your village is our greatest reward.” She joined her hooves on her chest and bowed her head in a local show of respect while glancing to the side. “Isn’t that right, Sunset?”

Sunset quickly caught up on what the alicorn was expecting of her, and repeated the gesture.

“Always happy to help, Mayor Rashid. Al-Hoofuf is awesome.”

Later that day, Celestia and Sunset were sitting on a lovely roof terrace perfect for stargazing, their stomachs full of exotic drinks and meals. When the time came, Celestia attended to her everyday practice of setting the sun and raising the moon—she sunk the blazing ball of fire below the western horizon, and replaced it with the smaller, but equally important orb. The day had concluded, and soon pleasant chill embraced the land.

At the table, Sunset struggled to get her mane into order. She was jerking the comb, tried different angles, but was getting nowhere.

“Stupid hair… stupid comb. Why isn’t there a spell for that?” she murmured under her breath. “So, where are you taking me next, Princess?”

Celestia sat on a pillow behind her. “These are no trips, Sunset. These are lessons. You have a tendency of being a little ahead with the material your classmates are doing, which is why I’m willing to take you around Equestria and beyond. Tramplevania was first, Saddle Arabia is second, but we’re not going anywhere else unless you prove to me that you’ve learned something from this adventure.” She liberated the comb from between Sunset’s hair. “May I?”

“Go ahead,” Sunset said in defeat and allowed the alicorn to work her magic. Gently, with no jerking, and actually making progress. “Alright I learned that… that foreign cultures can be interesting. Their language is strange, but I bet that we sound strange to them too. Oh, and the temple was pretty, well, for a time at least. Also, now I get why silversilk is so pricey.” She patted a bundle next to her saddlebag. “Uh, in conclusion, I learned that even poor, forsaken desert villages may have something to offer.”

“Would that be all? I’m not impressed. Did you learn anything about yourself?”

She didn’t see it, but Celestia could easily imagine the look on the filly’s face: she must have rolled her eyes and groaned as she eventually swallowed her pride.

“I learned that I can rely on you, Princess, which I guess can extend to others as well.” Sunset turned in her chair to face the alicorn. “No matter how much magic I pour into a spell, or how much I try to win a fight on my own, I sometimes may—emphasis on may—need others to carry me when it gets rough, because, admittedly, there are storms which I can’t overcome by myself.”

Celestia nodded in delight. If at the end of each day left her student made that kind of self-discovery, she would have nothing to worry about.

“Yet,” Sunset added with a disarming smile.

Small steps, Celestia thought to herself. Small steps.

Author's Note:

Hello there! Thank you for reading my story. I am no longer writing pony fiction, but if you want to support my current creative endeavor, check out my content on Twitch!

Comments

[Prane]

Hello everyone! If you just received a notification about a new chapter in this story, be advised that it is not technically a new chapter - but there is some new content nonetheless.

It is a byproduct of editing changes I made while preparing the story for a special project: Tales of the Sun, a hardcover, printed collection of stories about Princess Celestia. It's from the same guys who brought you printed versions of (among others) Past Sins, Anthropology and Background Pony. There's also a compilation about Princess Luna - Tales of the Moon. Be sure to check them out!

Also, enjoy the new and improved version of Dune Goddess. It's so 4K you can see sand in Sunset's ear!

[ForSpite]

9583035
Thanks for the information. I think I'm going to have to re-read this one now to see if I can spot the changes.

[Prane]

9583113
Please do! I hope you'll enjoy it at least as much as the original version. :)

[LordBucket]

9583035

If you just received a notification about a new chapter in this story

This story has been sitting in my read it later box for five years pending that "it's finished now" checkbox. I guess good things come to those who wait, right?

[Prane]

9583142
No further changes are planned to this story, ever, so go ahead and check it out. Also, I think that five years is enough of a Read It Later Bax Jail. Time to break free!

[Alondro]

9583035 Yeah, after 5 years for a short story I read in probably about an hour the first time, I need to reread the whole thing anyway.

[Prane]

9583585
Enjoy! :)

[Alondro]

9583939 I'm still disappointed that this isn't about a pony Kwisatz Haderach riding a giant Tatzlwurm.

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[fanreader999999]

Wheres Sunset?

[Emerald Harp]

I loved the dynamic between Celestia and Sunset. (Not to mention all the sass Sunset has in her) My favorite part was the fight with Nightmare Moon in genie form. I read this in "Tale of the Sun" and it did not disappoint.

[Prane]

10869126
Thank you! The teacher-student dynamics are always so satisfying to explore when one of them is sassy, opinionated, or otherwise “difficult” to manage. Glad you enjoyed the story, happy to hear you’ve read it in the physical book too, I appreciate it! <3

[Emerald Harp]

10870279
No problem. Ya did good.