The Changing of the Sun

by brokenimage321

Chapter 8

At first, the rain was gentle, just a mild drizzle. Soon, though, the heavens themselves split open, and the rain lashed at the earth as if trying to wash it away entirely.

Celestia huffed. Someone in the local Weather Patrol was on a bit of a power trip…

She sat in a shallow cave, her pathetic half-fire at her back, staring out at the rain. She was almost entirely insect by now: her right leg was still white below the knee, and a little of her native hide remained on one flank, but otherwise, she was entirely covered in glossy black changeling plates, with an orange saddle of sorts on her back. The plates had claimed her mane and tail as well, replacing them with some sort of stiff, thick fiber (reddish-orange, as always) that just sort of… hung there. She tried to blow her new mane out of her eyes, but it barely swayed.

Of course, her transformation had made things a little easier for the journey. For one thing, with so much of her already Changeling, she didn’t really need the makeup anymore. It had proved simpler to convince others, when they asked about her white patches, that she was simply piebald than than to lug all those jars around. But, regardless, of the convenience, she could still feel her own alicorn magic slipping away. And, with it, what remained of herself.

She snorted. Herself. What did that even mean, anymore? The plates had consumed what was left of her cutie mark two days ago—and, worst of all, she hadn't even noticed until that evening. Did she have anything of herself left, at this point?

Celestia tried to blow her mane out of her face again, with similar results. Whatever was going on, she would know. And Celestia was going to find her, if it was the last thing she did.

Celestia had been on the road for almost a week now. She didn’t dare trust herself to the major highways, disguised or not. But she needed to make the journey. No one, not even Twilight, not even Rarity, not even Luna could have dissuaded her. And she was going to make it even without a guard, without a chariot, without even a clear idea of where she was going. It was a silly, stupid idea, but it was the only idea she had. If this wouldn’t help, then, well…

Celestia watched the rain for a while, trying steadfastly to ignore the gnawing pit in her gut. All too soon, though, she looked over at her saddlebags lying next to her pathetic little firepit. Almost reflexively, she tried to levitate them towards her—before she remembered that using her magic seemed to speed up her transformation. She sighed, then stood, walked over to the bags, and nosed open a flap. She stared at the contents—rough peasant bread and a hunk of shriveled yellow cheese—then sat and began to stuff it hungrily into her mouth with both hooves.

Though each of her many, many tailors and seamstresses had tried to avoid the topic, Celestia had always been completely aware of one fact: she was big. And, true, she did have a little paunch she’d been meaning to work off, but it was more than that. Keeping her big body alive took a lot of calories. She’d gotten used to tucking away portions that would, and often did, make even the most dedicated bodybuilders stare. She had been a little self-conscious about her appetite once, but she’d come to accept that it took a lot of fuel to keep her fires lit, and had packed for this trip accordingly. And so, on this trip, she’d made a habit of stopping at any village she passed, putting on whatever disguise popped into her mind first, then gingerly asking the local shopkeep for whatever meals he could spare.

Even so—she was still hungry. More than hungry. When she ate, she could feel her stomach filling up, sometimes so full it hurt—but she still felt strangely empty, no matter what she ate. She had tried everything—even a little meat jerky she had traded some griffons for, which had very nearly made her ill—but, even when she stuffed herself to bursting, the hunger remained.

This time, Celestia ate noisily, with the manners of the lonely and desperate. When she had eaten what remained of the cheese and a good third of the loaf, she sat back and sighed heavily. After a moment, she stopped and pricked up her ears. Slowly, she turned and gazed out into the rain.

For a moment, she saw nothing. She was almost ready to turn back to her bags when she suddenly saw it: something yellow, made blobby by the veil of the rain, bobbing in her general direction. She watched it for another moment, then swallowed. No mistaking it: whatever it was, it was coming this way.

About fifteen minutes later, a pony in a thick yellow raincoat ducked inside the cave, followed closely by a second. The two ponies stood side-by-side, one examining the cave carefully, the other shooting an uneasy glance at their companion.

“I say, Twilight,” Rarity said suddenly, removing her hat and shaking the water off, “I hope you’re right about this one. There was an adorable little bed-and-breakfast in the last town, and and I am so tired of spending the night in dank old caves—”

“Shh,” Twilight hissed, still gazing intently around the cave. Her eyes passed over a small corner of it, then stopped. Twilight stared for a moment, then smiled a little. “You can come out, Princess,” she said aloud. “We know you’re in here.”

For just a moment, nothing happened—then, with a flash of orange flame, Celestia appeared, sitting in the in the back corner of the cave, looking guilty.

“How’d you find me?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Twilight grinned. “Simple, actually,” she said. “One: locals saw a big mare hiding in a cave on the hill. There are very few ponies I know who have a black-and-orange coat, after all.”

Celestia buzzed her insectoid wings a little.

“Two,” Twilight continued, “a freshly-extinguished fire. Even though you tried to put it out—” Twilight kicked at a streak of ash in the floor. “—the embers were still glowing.”

Celestia nodded weakly.

“And three,” Twilight said, with a wry grin, “your hoof was showing.”

Celestia looked down and sighed. There, peeking out from behind the rock she’d tried to hide behind, was the barest sliver of shining-white hoof.

Celestia looked up. “Well,” she said hollowly, “you won. What happens now? Are you going to bring me back to Luna? Banish me? Deal with me yourselves, right here and now? Whatever it is, I don’t—”

“Oh please, don’t be so dramatic, your Highness,” Rarity said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “After all, that’s my job. We’re here to take care of you, of course. But not like that,” she added.

Celestia, despite herself, raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” she asked.

Twilight took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. “You’re going to the Changeling Kingdom, right?” she asked. “We’re going with you.”

Celestia’s eyes widened, and, somehow, despite her dark chitin, she managed to blanch. “No,” she said, “y-you can’t—I mean, I barely know where—and we don’t know what—!”

“Nonsense, Darling,” Rarity interjected again. “That’s what Twilight’s for.”

Twilight lifted up the edge of her coat, revealing a saddlebag packed full to the brim with books and papers. Using her magic, she extracted a tight bundle of notes. “I don’t have exact coordinates,” she admitted, “but I do have Compass Rose’s account of her visit there, which should get us in the right neighborhood, at least. I’ve collated all the research I can find on Changelings, too, and—”

“What’s she’s trying to say,” interrupted Rarity, “is that she’s done her homework. Spoiler,” she added, flipping her mane, “No one’s quite sure what to expect. But there are guesses.”

“Good ones,” Twilight added.

“But guesses nonetheless,” Rarity finished.

Celestia looked between the two of them. “No,” she said finally. “I appreciate it, girls, but I can’t let you—”

“We’re not asking, Darling,” Rarity interrupted.

Celestia looked at her sharply. “Pardon?” she snapped.

“We’re. Not. Asking,” Rarity repeated, her gaze hardening. “You are doing everything you can to keep your friends from being there for you—running off without telling anyone like that, walking alone through this Princess-forsaken wilderness—if you’ll pardon the expression,” she added. “And I, for one, am sick of it. I mean, really—”

Twilight placed a warning hoof on her shoulder, and Rarity fell quiet. Twilight smiled at her, then turned back to Celestia. “What she means,” she said kindly, “is that we’re worried about you. And we don’t want you to have to be alone.” Twilight took a deep breath, glanced down at her hooves, then back up at Celestia. “Princess,” she said quietly, “I… I don’t think I ever wrote you about this… but…” She sighed. “One of the hardest lessons I had to learn in Ponyville was that, though it’s good to help others, you also have to let other ponies help you. Otherwise,” she said with a wry grin, “who are ponies going to help, in the end?” Her grin faltered, and she looked away. “I…” she began slowly, then shook her head. “I mean… I think you’ve been alone for a long time. You don’t like letting ponies do things that you can do for yourself. It makes you feel helpless.”

Celestia furrowed her brow. “How did you…?”

Twilight smiled. “Shiny’s like that, too,” she said. “I noticed you were the same way within a few months of starting school. But…” the grin blossomed into a genuine smile. “We’re here for you. We can help. We will help. You don’t have to be strong anymore.”

Celestia stared at her for a long moment. Suddenly, she lunged forward and pulled the two of them in for a tight hug. Rarity gave an awkward, undignified squawk, but Twilight grinned and hugged her back.

Celestia just held the two of them for a moment. “Thank you,” she managed to choke out—and, forever after, Twilight could never quite be sure if the the puddle under their hooves came from the water dripping from their raincoats, or whether Celestia was genuinely crying.

“Well,” Rarity said finally, worming her way out of Celestia’s grasp, “let’s see what we can do about this fire. After all, we can’t let the fact that we’re staying in a cave mean that we have to live in squalor…”

Comments

[unknowncape7377]

Wow nice story... I assume she's gonna see chrissalis

[GSandSDS]

I hope being around Twilight and Rarity eases Celestia's hunger a little bit. Normally I would say that hunger for love should be one of Celestia's least problems but then she HAD to leave everyone, who could give her love, behind.

[tsaukpaetra]

well she's well and truly lost her mind then. Of following her sleeper programming at this point, that would be a far more interesting explanation. And and brought food with her too!

[JazzyWaffles]

"Gee why am I so hungry despite eating food?"

I dunno maybe it's because you're practically a changeling?

Celestia the Wise, she is not.

[Frosty_Rainbow]

8950748
Lol

[Lurks-no-More]

Listen to the marshmallow, Celestia. Leave the drama to the professionals!