Don't you remember?

by PinkieIsMahWaifu

The Rising

Do you remember, chalk hearts melting on the playground wall?
Do you remember, dawn escaped from moonwashed college halls?
Do you remember, the cherry blossom in the market square?
Do you remember? I thought it was confetti in our hair.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Celestia finally stopped laughing, and you had given your now under-control wings a few test flaps, you flew back to the castle. As you had a bit of time on your paws, you though it might be time to ask Celestia about her blank flank.
'So uh... not that I've been looking, or anything, but... I mean, since you asked me about my wings, I..... I was wondering if I could ask you a question.' You rambled nervously.
'Yes?' She grinned at your incoherence.
'Umm... how come you've got no cutie mark?' You asked nervously.
You didn't exactly get an answer, as before Tia could give you one something strange happened. Her horn started to glow, but not just normal glow, a blinding, bright glow. It shocked you, and it seemed to shock her just as much. So much, in fact, that she stopped flying. She was just suspended there, mid air. Her eyes began to shine bright white, as some powerful instinct ingrained in her blood awoke. The night was pierced by the sudden rise of the sun on the horizon. It peeked just above the hills, shading the clouds pink, like cotton candy. Celestia's magic stopped as quickly as it started. Her eyes returned to normal as she powered down, like a mechanical toy. Before you knew it, she was plummeting fast towards the ground.

You kicked into action as you sped after her. You were sure that you wouldn't make it, but you managed to catch her just before she hit the grassy floor. You landed on your back legs, holding her in your front paws. She was drifting out of consciousness and was clearly magically and physically drained. Despite all of this, she gave you a weak grin and managed to whisper a few words.
'What do you mean? No.... cutie.... mark...' She gasped breathlessly, before passing out in your arms.
You glanced down at her flank, and as sure as anything, a cutie mark was there. A bright shining sun, swirling out on her white coat. A golden embellishment, sparkling like nothing else witnessed before by pony eyes... You were quite stunned. In fact, it took a few moments for you to realize that your eyes were not, perhaps, were a gentleman's eyes should be.

Averting your gaze away from her flank, it suddenly hit you that there was most likely, well, almost certainly something not good going on when a pony passes out mid-flight for no apparent reason. It had not occurred to you that Celestia's cutie mark, the rising of the sun and her freakishly powerful surge of magic were linked. To say you panicked would be an understatement. In fact, you were pretty sure you were going to pass out with her, and you probably would have if a powerful emotion had not overtaken you.

That emotion was a curious one. An emotion that many poets had tried to pin down with words, but never quite succeeded. An emotion that could not be controlled. At the time you thought it was just sheer terror that if you did not do something quickly you would lose her, but it was not. It was the strongest, most powerful form of love that had ever occurred in the history of Equestria. Thinking about it, the pain you must have felt in some later parts of your life must have been excruciating; having that emotion ripped from you by the one you loved so dearly. That is yet to come.

As you stood there holding her limp body, fueled by feeling, you knew something had to be done quick. You tore from the ground, allowing no obstacle to hinder your journey. You were at the castle soon, crashing through a stained glass window into the courtroom. The whole royal guard turned to stare at you. Only two words were needed at that moment.
'Get..... Zecora....' You gasped for breath, placing the unconscious body of the Princess down on the elegant red carpeting. Red seemed fitting for that moment, as it was all you felt. Red. Others might not understand how that made sense, but to you, it most definitely had been a red day. Sometimes things just didn't have to make sense in your mind.

A few of the 'higher-up' looking royal guards had started to whisper among themselves. You saw out of the corner of your eye a few ponies running out of the room, most likely to fetch the healing zebra. You reached out with your paw and gently stroked the side of the alicorn's face, hoping it might wake her. It did not. A highly-decorated member of the guard, a white unicorn, stepped forward and used his magic to remove your paw from her cheek.
'I'm going to have to ask you to step away from the Princess, sir.' He spoke politely, which you found quite surprising.
'No.' You replied, perhaps a touch too firmly. You needed to know she was okay. A few of the pegasus guard were roused at your response, stiffening, as if preparing to attack. The white unicorn raised a hoof, gesturing for them to remain where they were.
'I'm sure you're probably thinking I'm asking you to move away because of your... uh, species.' The unicorn stepped forward. You wondered if you should have been offended by that remark.
'Oh?' You gave a skeptical look to the unicorn.
'I'm not. I just think we should give her some air. Wait for Zecora to arrive.' The unicorn's voice was kind. You could tell he wasn't like the rest of the brutish guard. You slowly moved away from Tia, glancing at the guard, just in case his kindness was a fake facade and he was planning an attack. He wasn't: in fact, that unicorn was the only guard in the room that wasn't, but the others would not move without his command, unless they wanted a court-martial.

The ornate wooden doors at the front of the room swung open as Zecora burst in, rather unprepared for the sight she would meet. The zebra's eyes widened in horror as she saw the Princess's crumpled body.
'Oh what am I going to do with you?' The striped pony gasped. 'What trouble have you gotten into?'
Zecora ran to Celestia's side. Unsurprisingly, the first thing she noticed was the shining addition to Tia's flank.
'Oh my stars... She raised the sun?' Her voiced was laced with terror. 'This will not end well for anyone...'
You walked as quickly as you could over to Zecora, hobbling slightly with the cast on your leg.
'What happened to her? Aren't her species built for controlling the sun and moon?' Your voice was grim. Zecora turned to the white unicorn guard.
'To Princess Luna, you must go.' She faced you again. 'Discord, tell me all you know.'

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Author's note ~
Hey guys, thanks for reading my story so far. I'm really sorry this chapter took so long to come out, but I've had a load of stuff happening recently and I haven't had much spare time. Also, I know this chapter is pretty short and might feel a bit like a filler but I'm trying to build up to something and I will try and make it up to you guys soon. Anyway, love you all!

PinkieIsMahWaifu XOXO

Comments

[punisher143]

So Celestia first raising the sun was an accident? Interesting. I can't wait for more.

[ZaeroZX]

This is now more awesomer than it was, even if it was awesome before./5

[Troypony]

The plot thickens....and is stared at by Discord...

[Troypony]

The plot thickens....and is stared at by Discord...

[PinkieIsMahWaifu]

188704
I see what you did thar.

[Feren]

Well, time to do my thing:

"...for you to realize that you eyes were not..." - your?
"...his kindness was a fake facade and he was planning attack." - "planning an attack" or "planning to attack" ?
"Zecora and three or four members of the royal guard
galloped in." - this one just has a weird break.

As for the chapter - yes it was short, but that doesn't mean it was any less enjoyable and it certainly did not feel as a filler. Things happened, the story moved onward and left us at a cliffhanger - feels more like a full-yet-small chapter to me.

I do wonder though if her cutie mark had anything to do with Discord asking about it, or it was just a massive coincidence...

Either way - cheers for taking some time out of your busy schedule to bring us this chapter.

~F~

[PinkieIsMahWaifu]

189597
Did I tell you that I love you?
Thank you for your support throughout this story!
I have indeed taken into account your advice, and just thank you again just for being awesome.

[Dark Colt Sabata]

And it all goes downhill from here

[Frosty_Rainbow]

Averting your gaze away from her flank,

It's confirmed, Discord likes too gaze at Celestia's ass