A ruler bears responsibility for everything that happens to their subjects. Be it the tragedy resulting from an accident, or acts of evil causing terrible disasters.
Princess Celestia has brought prosperity to Equestria after her return from exile from the throne, despite the initial distrust between her and her ponies. But with the return of Nightmare Moon coming closer, she stands to lose everything, and is forced to ask herself what makes a good ruler.
And if she's ever been one to begin with.
Chapters (1)
Nice little story. Ponies don't need Celestia but she needs them. And they have the strength to face challenges without her.
Nice to see that your writing paid off Iry, enjoyable story.
Nicely done! I especially like the brief but detailed descriptions which get the job done without bogging down the story.
There should be more stories like this one, exposing Celestia more "equine" side as a benevolent if flawed ruler rather than an overpowered machiavelan Princess.
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There's only so much she—or anyone—can do alone. For however much she wants to protect her ponies, sometimes she has to rely on them.
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Thank you!
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That's pretty much how I see her, and how I intended to portray her. I'm glad to hear I got that across.
Nice. Reflections has always been my favorite comic arc.
The imagery at the beginning of Celestia struggling with raising the moon is bittersweet, and a great mood-setter opening for the story. Well-chosen place to start things off.
In general, your imagery skills are fantastic. The muddled night sky, the lightstones, the hydra... All of it is impactful and well-executed.
Also, I like the headcanon on where the prophecy came from. I don't think that prophecy has really been explored much! (Unless it was in the comics. Admittedly, Anzel reads those, not me.)
Oof... And then you get right into the core subject of this story: Celestia's waning image of herself. Another well-executed element (pun intended). Her view of the Elements is going to be skewed by that fateful event. I can absolutely understand why she'd see them as such a burden to Twilight, even though in the show we never see her or her friends act like they're a burden.
To Twilight and company, they're an honor. A duty. A greater purpose to help save Equestria.
To Celestia, they're what banished her sister. Harsh difference in perspectives.
Ugghh... The hydra bit still punches me in the gut each time I read it. So well done. Perfect execution of "single sentence paragraph".
The interaction with Sombra and Celestia is just lovely. I love the little "carefree slice of normal life" feel amidst all the... sadder slice of Princess life. It's a nice breath of air before we dive back into Celestia's self-doubts and concerns.
I am envious of your way to just naturally insert scene descriptions. That is one of my biggest weaknesses, and here you go, describing this hallway without slowing things down or getting stuck in the details, but not passing over them, either. (like me.)
Alternate Trixie is also characterized well here. Her self-doubt in the show universe drove her to excessive showiness; here, it seems to have driven her to quiet but wholly determined research. Either way, that core is still there, and you showed it well.
I also like that you/Celestia let Trixie handle it. If Celestia had said the words Trixie is saying, it could have come off as a little hypocritical. Sometimes that's fine; she's just as "human" as we are, in the sense of flawed reasoning and whatnot. Sometimes telling someone something we need to hear ourselves can push us to act.
But here, I think Celestia observing is best. She's not telling Sombra what she needs to hear. An unbiased third party is saying the words. It's easier to take a lesson to heart when someone who doesn't even know you need the lesson is talking.
The lesson here is great. It's not about whether Celestia is good or bad, which was what was plaguing her the most. It wasn't trying to make her feel good about herself and that everything she did was perfect. It was about taking a look at what you are doing, not what you've done, and if there is a better way in the present. About not trying to take every burden on yourself, past, present, and future. About knowing what's within your control and what's without.
At least, that's what I took away from it.
Well-written, well-paced, and well-everything'd. I really hope you continue to write.
From start to finish you do an excellent job of connecting back to the central theme of Princess Celestia questioning just how good of a job she has done ruling. You naturally transition from her self-questioning in the beginning to her trip to the Mirror World. Which is an excellent call back for anyone who has read the comics. I know for myself that the Mirror Arc was one of my favorites for the art alone.
Once in the Mirror World you keep the question running, but instead of having it be directly related to Princess Celestia, you've made a situation that mirrors her own. Not only is that a fantastic piece of story telling, but it also is something that often works better for people. Seeing a situation from the outside frequently lets someone better grasp it when they aren't personally in the middle of it.
All in all, an interesting look at one way that Princess Celestia might view herself and a fair bit of world building to boot.