Never

by shortskirtsandexplosions

XI

She sat on her throne, emotionless, lifeless. There were no guards present. None of the torches along the Palace walls were lit. Princess Celestia of Equestria was alone.

Through the walls of Canterlot Castle, the loud noise of roaring cheers and booming orchestras shook the foundation. From a great distance, a strobe of light kissed the shadowed hallways leading to the throne room.

For once, Celestia stirred. Her white wings flexed and unflexed. In a melancholic slump, she gazed at the far end of the room. Eventually, she came out of her stupor, trotting down the steps and crossing the distance from the throne to the chamber beyond.

Through the dark and abandoned hallways of Canterlot Castle, Celestia marched. Her hoofsteps made ghostly echoes against the rows and rows of marble pillars. Soon, though, even her graceful shuffle was masked by a loud noise of righteous euphoria emanating from beyond.

All of the guards and royal servants had been granted the week off. Any pony that could have been filling the halls of the Royal Palace were absent. As Celestia stepped out upon the balcony and graced a warm, shimmering glow, she was reminded as to why.

The entire city of Celestia was full of ponies from all walks of life. They were holding a candlelight vigil, filling every street and alleyway and corridor of the mountainous city with a lively glow under the purple shroud of night. Dancing hues of red and yellow and blue flickered as far as Celestia's rosy eyes could see.

In the center of the mass—heralded by hymns as old as time—an ornate, burgundy balloon was being lifted high into the starry sky. Hanging from the balloon was a bright platform, flickering. It was a funeral pyre, and the remains of one unicorn soul turned to ash and smoke from deep within the levitating blaze.

All over Equestria, ponies honored the memory of Starswirl the Bearded. In the far distance, just beneath the edge of the black horizon, similar celebrations were being held. The stretching, emerald fields came alive, sparkling in random clusters of rainbow-colored light. Several bright orbs lifted against the constellations as every city in the kingdom released burning balloons of their own in respect for the greatest sorcerer who had ever lived.

Celestia heard and witnessed it all, and nowhere in that grand reverie was there a single lament or a single wailing sob. As Starswirl's ashes billowed into the sky to join the dust of the cosmos, Celestia felt her breaths becoming shorter.

Everypony shared the same breath, the same song. Equestria was alive in the utter essence of communion. There was more magic there in the streets of Canterlot than there ever was at the foundation of the world.

The glorious sight of it all wasn't what made Celestia collapse. Neither did she weep when the glow of Starswirl's balloon finally died out. The Princess gazed up towards the heavens. She saw the Mare in the Moon. In a lonely breath of bittersweet release, she allowed the tears to fall as she spoke to the glowing body that was as far from her as her heart had long flown.

“You were right, dear sister.” She cried, and yet she smiled. Everything was somehow warm once again. “You were right all along.”

Comments

[Psyco Josho]

Aww... Celly...

[Future Regret]

No, Celestia, YOU were right all along, just led astray.