This was one of the best stories I've ever read. Thank you.

Status: Incomplete
So we can get a third part?

As heart-breakingly crushing as Celly's journey was at times, this conclusion is incredibly uplifting. The prologue and epilogue sharing a title seems fitting, since you've brought her...hmm, perhaps not full-circle, but once again to a place of peace and dare I say happiness. She deserves it after all the emotional turmoil she was put through.

I do think I liked the first part of this story better, or perhaps it was just that I found it more emotional. I think the greatest strength of this story is how Celestia is depicted slowly and realistically descending into her monotonous madness, and then clawing her way back to life. I'm reminded of the song 'Wearing the Inside Out' by Pink Floyd in a way.

This story is easily one of the best on this site, and I thank you immensely for writing it.

That was really great. I did not heed the warnings and read your interpretation of Celestias ghosts and now I kind of regret it; now sure how to fully express why at the moment.

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Whoops - is complete. fixed.

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(((
I want epilogue from Luna* POV.
Anyway good story with, "happy end". Surely Celly return to her sister and they can rule together.

I thought that the ending was going go an entirely different way, but I still love it!

You know there's a lot of truth in this story. As you get older, you change. You get smarter, but is it really cagier? One gets more cynical and jaded. When I think back to how I used to play with my dog when I was 14, compared to how I treat my dog today (several dog-lives later), I can see the playfulness and joy is gone. I know it is and I know its gone forever. I sometimes fake it and go through the motions if I need to train the dog with praise. There are lots of hikes and adventures we do together but I can tell I'm not personally as fun as I used to be. Imagine being thousands of years old. You'd change so much you wouldnt even be human mentally. For sure you'd act more like a machine regardless of the tasks at hand. Even if you were an evil emperor or a force of good, you'd be doing it like a robot.

Only a few writers have really addressed this in the MLP fiction, and yours really tackles the subject head on. There was another-- One with Twilight stuck in a ground-hog-day type of scenario where her total lifespan if you counted up the parallel universes was like a trillion years. She had phases of good and of evil and madness and finally ended up like Celestia in this fic, just taking life as it came and relaxing in to it.

And yes some of us WOULD like a little more. Like someone suggested, a chapter from Luna's point of view. Perhaps in a thousand years? Or a few chapters of Celestia's adventures. Perhaps she discovers an actual interest that motivates her to get up in the morning. Perhaps magical research or finds a human or other worlds. Or perhaps she finds a way to stick the ghosts in her head into their own bodies and they take on the world.

As much of a good ending as I could have hoped for. Glad you didn't have Celestia completely healed at the end, it would have definitely cheapened all of her prior struggles. After all, wounds that deep cannot heal without leaving a scar.

I am a little miffed you just glossed over Celestia's confessions about past events. I really would have liked to see Luna's reaction, I would like to think that It was a pretty crushing thing to learn that one of the events that so angered her was such a mentally scarring event for Celestia. But I digress, this was a story about Celestia not Luna so I guess it would have been a little pointless to insert.

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I had thought about including a scene akin to your description, but it ended up on the cutting room floor. I feel it would have been a non-sequiter in the last chapters, where the primary focus was on the present and future instead of the past. There is already redemption and forgiveness on both sisters' ends, so there didn't seem to be much storytelling profit in rehashing yet another old conflict between them.

As a final, more personal excuse... this fic was already a showcase of guilt and depression, even to the final chapters. I am quite ready to stop dragging my favorite characters through the mud. >_>

In any case, thank you for finishing this with me.

6174585 Indeed, it was well-worth the time to read. Thank you for writing it.

And so this tale comes to a close. I greatly enjoyed it throughout and it's probably one of my favorite stories to come out of this site. Thank you for sharing it with us!

Finally read the complete story, and, wow. I wasn't expecting Celestia's abdication to Luna, but you handled it very well. I also enjoyed the way the story ended. It wasn't everyone sitting around a table, eating donuts and laughing as the camera irised out, but it couldn't be and feel genuine to the rest of the story. Much like a piece of broken pottery, Celestia was repaired by the end, but she'd never be the same pony she was at the start. You deserve many props.

I...

Wow. This hasn't happened in quite a while.

Rune Soldier Dan, you have moved me to tears. Like, actual, honest to goodness tears and crying. Not just once, but since the time Celestia came back, and at least once a chapter since. That hasn't happened since I read Glim back in October, 2012. I went back and even looked the comments up.

Dan, you've done an excellent job. You've taken my unwilling feelings on a ride they have rarely experienced. I didn't enjoy the ride, but I feel better for it. For that, I thank you.

Yupp. That was every bit as beautiful and heart-wrenching as I wanted it to be.

That was a bitchin story,although it was sad in places. Illness of the mind is so misunderstood and it could not have been easy to write descriptions for celestias visions. Well done,i hope to more from this author.

The up and down side to immortality and mental illness, your going to suffer from it eventually, and eventually you'll recover from it too though entire generations many come and go while your in the grips of madness, and mortal friends will likely never see you recover as eventually can be a LONG time

To Try for the Sun, was the story that introduced me to you. After this story I just have to say you write gold. The descriptions you made in this story are ridiculously well done, some even invoked a sense of fear, Celestia's character/mental illnesses are top notch. So great job, this was a joy to read.

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Thanks a lot! This one is very much my baby, and I'm always happy to see it get buzz.

Yet another Celestia fic that's been sitting in my Read Latter folder that was very good.....

In short I really liked this fic, but then again it had Celestia being deep and that is really all I need. I think it would be wrong to criticize your characterizations and how they are not consistent with the cannon (not even the show does that right ey-yo ), it is most obvious that this story revolves around a (very) different interpretation of the cannon and pointing out that the way you portray characters doesn't make any sense is a moot point. I would comment that I didn't quite care for the way you wrote the Mane 6 or Cadence and Shining Armor but they all serve minor roles and you are consistent with their portrayals so it is little more then a nit pick.

Celestia was the main reason that I tuned into this and I not disappointed. She's a character with ridiculous amounts of untapped potential and seeing other people's interpretation of her is always fun. I think the schizophrenic, emotionally-dead Celestia is an interesting angle to take and you ran with it. I really enjoyed how you never where up front with what was wrong with her, showing us but not telling. The resolution of her character was well thought out, I agree that she will take a long time to right her self and that she may never be "fixed" but its good to see her at least reach peace and remember how to think of herself. Celestia's plot line was solid and very interesting all round.

Celestia's character building rested on the shoulders of the secondary cast and I thought they where all very well done. Chief among them was Luna, who was not the loner,dark worrior badass, with a softside and angst that she usually is and I liked that. She medaled in 'Tia's offairs like crazy and did seem to over step her bounds several times but wasn't over bearing, winey, or irritating to read about (mainly because of how well you showed that Celestia had issues). Just the right mix of awesome, venerable, sage-like, and immature that I like in a Luna.

Celestia's hallucinations where also a joy to watch. I especially enjoyed Nightmare Moon, there where several times that she had me outright laughing. Just such a bazar mix of pure evil and petty childness. The slave that Celestia fries and the foal that she comforts on her death bead both brought tears to my eyes in the story and they both continued to be powerful in Celesia's dreams. Sombra was Ok, I don't care for his character all that much but thought his dry snarky realism served as a good voice of reason for Tia. Rooke was also really likeable, some not hostile fun and "wholesome friendship" was something that Tia desperately needed. All together it was really cool to see how all these entities worked to keep Celestia functional for a thousand years and THE FEELZ behind pretty much all of them were intense. They were a very cool way to show how a character worked, without right telling us.

However, then we get to Absalom..... I personaly haven't read much Lovecraft but I did find his concept and style appropretly epic, I don't think you could have done better with an end of days foe to crack the mask. I would criticize some of the concepts but I think that commentary would be better laid at Lovecraft's feet and not yours. I think the biggest problem with it is that he kind of shows up out of the blue in the middle of the story. There was no build up and it felt cheap the way he was implemented. However, he as a character also wasn't important up to that point and you had to get the set up and a thousand years of mask making out of the way before he came so having him foreshadowed in some way would have killed the urgency and mystery of this timeless abomination and the spontaneity and detachment that made him so terrifying as a foe. I think including Celestia having to fend off monsters (of a vastly inferior caliber) and other opponents that threatened the nation would have worked. And as time went on you could have had her start to delegate the tasks out to others (hence Twilight's discovery of the Elements) as she became even too cold to fight. Then Absalom could have burst on to the scene just like he did with much less shock. Just a thought, Absalom was a very cool if poorly executed foe.

I think I've blathered on about all of this stuff enough all ready so, in conclution: nice story, have an upvote, like/fav, and an absurdly long comment.

I give it 7.5 out of 11 schizophrenic buddies

Carry on...

7080122

Thank you for your delightfully huge comment. I believe this is the work I am most proud of, and I am happy to see it enjoyed.

For what it's worth, the initial plan was for Celestia to see hints of the rising Absalom in her dreams, but be unable to really distinguish it from her other nightmares (meanwhile, Luna picks up in her first night back that something is fishy in Dreamtown). Dropped for 2 reasons:

-As noted, Absalom is entirely added as a means to build Celestia's character. To have omens and implications would have distracted from the deliberately intensely-personal nature of the chapters. I instead opted to make him an unpleasant surprise for the characters (which unfortunately created an unpleasant surprise for the readers...)

-While I might've been able to work build-up for him in without sacrificing the feels, Wayward Sun was an emotionally exhausting undertaking for me, and trying to shoehorn a subtle introduction alongside everything else proved beyond my willpower's endurance.

I'm glad it wasn't a deal-breaker, and I thank you again for your kind words.

This was not the story I expected. It was beautiful and bizarre and I'll have a very hard time forgetting your Celestia. I don't think I'll ever want to. Such a strange twist, and yet it wasn't the end I thought it might become. And even through it all I think I'll still call it a happy ending. As I take time to absorb and assimilate your words, so too shall I be eagarly awaiting your next.
Thank you.

Young hooooorse,
Be freeeeeeee,
Tonight!
Tiiiiiiime,
Is ooooooon,
Your siiiiiiiiiiiide!

8096196

Thank you for the good vibes.

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The real question is, did he get some snazzy pants when being knighted? And I love that there's a clan called 'Pants'. That just begs for some sadist of a parent to abuse the naming convention of 'X Pants' so much. Like having a kid with the dignified name of 'Grumpy Pants' or something worse. Would I be wrong in guessing he's an ancestor of Fancy Pants?

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Would I be wrong in guessing he's an ancestor of Fancy Pants?

You are not. Caesar and Fleur got ancestry name-drops too in some earlier chapters. Maybe Blueblood...? Been a while.

Question: In the prologue, I took the way young Tia and Luna were portrayed to indicate that they might have been born alicorns, yet here I'm wondering just how they work in your world with what's been said. Are Celestia and Luna born alicorns, or not? If so, what were they before? Are they biological sisters or honorary/blood sisters? And was Luna's aging stunted from being in/on the moon? It seems to be implied, but a confirmation would be nice.

I suppose Dancanon for the story is that they were siblings who became alicorns from unicorns as teens, which meant they got the princess hot seat despite being woefully unprepared for it. Alicoronation is a combination of magic pony genetics and the fulfillment of potential... I cut a few chapters about the Celestia comic and Sunset Shimmer in which it got a bit more explanation of where the alicorns come from... can post what I have if you're interested in a 4,000 word unfinished flashback covering the battle in the Celestia comic (with a vaguely Lovecraftian bent, because that's my jam).

As for Luna, it was pretty much per canon - her age regressed briefly, then rebounded. Because magic.

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Sure! Just PM it to me and I'll be glad to read it when I get the chance.

This is a fantastic and easy favorite. The symbols, dreams, and characters - no matter how little they appeared - were all vivid and engaging. It was hard not to read this.

On the nature of the ghosts and trial dreams, I thought from little hints that seemed to be there that Sombra, and maybe Rooke were really ghosts - at least at times - whereas Nightmare Moon was purely a product of her injured mind. Especially since the reader knows that Luna isn't dead.

I can't believe that this story has gotten so little of the love I'd expect something of this level to have. I honestly don't know why - it's an amazing story.

I'd suggest adding a couple more character tags (OC? Sombra?) though simply because the current tags of just Luna/NMM and Celestia make it look like a run of the mill 'Celestia banishes Nightmare Moon/Luna' story when it's anything but that, and the setting isn't purely historical.

And do you have any plans to touch on similar portrayals of these characters in any other stories? From what I've read, Luna seems to be pretty constant, while Celestia varies a bit (the Celestia in To Try for the Sun doesn't seem to match up with this one and so on. The Sombra in here, as I've said before, is nothing short of fantastic and really intriguing, and so is the relationship he has with Celestia.

Before I read this, what is the Gore tag for ?
And how bad does it get ?

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The effect of Celestia's sun magic on an army in the first chapter, then much later the bone-burning difficulty of fighting a rival demi-god. I despise gore-porn myself, but if you've seen your share of ICUs or R-rated war movies you'll be fine. It gets dark, but I don't feel ever gratuitous, and only in a few chapters.

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Thanks for the positive waves.

And do you have any plans to touch on similar portrayals of these characters in any other stories? From what I've read, Luna seems to be pretty constant, while Celestia varies a bit (the Celestia in To Try for the Sun doesn't seem to match up with this one and so on. The Sombra in here, as I've said before, is nothing short of fantastic and really intriguing, and so is the relationship he has with Celestia.

Ssssort of? I have a super-tentative plan for a Sombra one-shot, but it's more "Rise of Evil"-style than snarky realist. And I rarely *don't* have a plan for a Royal Sisters one, it's just a question of what I actually sit down and write.

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Your snarky realist Sombra is to die for, but any well written Sombra and new material from you is something to look forward to! :D

And then, suddenly world ending super monster out of literally nowhere. Bad choice if you ask me. It was otherwise and interesting story.

This was a pretty cool story. The only part I didn't like was when Absalom introduced himself to the waking world. All those titles made me say: "Oh, it's one of those villains." Otherwise, it was pretty darn good.

Honestly, this is a huge disappointment.
Up until the mid-point Wayward Sun is simply fantastic, like 10/10 fantastic, because of its compelling premise (which I believe not many fanfic writers tackle) of telling Celestia's story AFTER Nightmare Moon banishment.
Equestria is broken, spiteful and corrupt, and Celestia alone has to deal with it - doesn't this sound like a fun read? And it is. Celestia is written to be a relatable character, and the problems she encounters are unique and interesting. Pretty much exactly what you would want to see from this idea.
Unfortunately halfway through the story the fanfic suddenly takes a 180 degrees turn and completely abandons this premise to instead go for a generic Evil-Thing-That-Threatens-The-World route. Yeah, no thanks; been there, done that. Not to mention it's also predictable and unoriginal all the way. 5/10.

Well, so I guess that's the total of 7/10 for the whole fanfic. Seems fair. In the end, except for that unfortunate story shift, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with Wayward Sun, and I will leave it at that.

I've gotta agree with others - you should have used a different tool to break Celestia out of her plaster cast. Decent as villains go, Absalom was a ham-fisted tool to that end. Plus first you foreshadowed that he cheats and then... he didn't.

Still, the rest of the story was great. I loved the depth you'd given the characters. And Celestia's mecha-soul...

This is a very good story, it had a bright start and a bleak middle but in the end, it had a satisfying ending.

Though I have one thing that bugs me... what the heck was Absalom going to say just before his death?

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It is willfully left unknown.

I loved reading this.
Thank you.

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Thank you very much. This was a work of passion and I'm very happy you enjoyed.

Celestia is one of the only characters in fiction I flat-out love, and this story is entirely why. I couldn't' express how much I love this story in poetry, though that is because I am also bad at poetry.

Wow. Celestia basically had a mental breakdown. Everyone, even immortal princesses, have a breaking point. This was a very interesting and good story to read, but it will not become my headcanon for Celestia. I will, however, assign it to an alternate universe. Thank you for the entertainment, it was well and truly great.

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Thank you for your kind words. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into it, and I am happy you enjoyed the read.

It always feel awkward to say I like fics such as this, that deal with dark topics like mental disorders, but I did like you depictions of it at least. My only two active dislikes were Absalom(name sounds familiar to boot) and the lack of Cadance.

I can understand that you didn't want to focus on the crises we knew, like Chrysalis, Tirek, or Discord,but...It's evidence enough that Celestia was both completely blindsided by Twilight's letter, and fortunate enough to remember Twilight's name, that we don't really have to wonder about what happened to Sunset Shimmer since Celestia's routine is so static.

A new alicorn though? The fact that they're apparently borne/ascend in pairs? THAT wasn't an anomaly worthy of registering?

Would have thought she'd be so busy that actually officiating a wedding would be rare, and thus remembered as well.

There was that (short) scene in which Twilight tries to befriend Celestia after realizing that she only knew the Machine before...but Cadance doesn't try the same? She arguably would be the only other pony close to Celestia pre-Return Luna, so her absence was noticeable.

(I wasn't really clear on whether Cadance and Shining were in Canterlot when Absalom declared war, or if they suited up in the Crystal Empire and teleported down before Twilight and friends showed up. Even then a weekly or monthly train ride shouldn't be too much hassle.)

But again, I very much liked your writing here, and thanks for the fantastic story!Even if you maimed best ponies Rarity and Fluttershy you monster!

You can has review!

I haven't read a story that broke down Celestial so thoroughly since device heretic's Eternal, and even then I don't think it quite matches the gravitas you've developed in this story. In particular, the way you so nonchalantly take apart Twilight and Celestia's relationship, which is conventionally one of the strongest bonds in the FiM-universe, really emphasized just how far Celestia had fallen and diverged from the pony we understood.

As with your other stories, I absolutely love your style of drama, which stays poetic and poignant without ever straying into melodrama.

“Then take a year,” Luna said breathlessly, returning the hug with all its force. “Or take a thousand. And when you grow tired of flying, come home and rest your wings.”

Gah, it's just so great.

Re: Absalom - while in-story it feels out of place, I can appreciate his symbolic characteristics. And though I was much more interested in Celestia's introspection and Luna's attempts to help her sister, I can't pass up an opportunity to see you writing heroic, defiant ponies.

Solid story. Thank you for it.

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Thank you very much! I know this story has flaws, but it remains what I most poured my heart and soul into, and I love it. I am glad that you enjoyed.

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She had no idea when it happened – when that first word had been removed from, “Perhaps one day I will return.” Nor could she say what feeling had changed her mind. She did not miss Canterlot in the slightest. Not the scheming bureaucrats, not the endless burden of the crown. The thought of returning to that place brought her a chill unmatched by the snowy ground.

In this paragraph I was suddenly reminded of the song "The Cost of the Crown" by Mercedes Lackey

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I am glad you enjoyed the story. This one has a special place in my heart and I am happy you found it.