Daybreaker: the monster in Celestia's heart, and the age-long mystery of her life. Her friend and tormentor, her companion and foe. Fanatically devoted to their future, yet desiring one horrific to Celestia.
It is growing stronger.
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- Member Since 17th Jun, 2012
- offline last seen 45 minutes ago
Rune Soldier Dan
Love is a verb, not a noun.
Rune Soldier Dan
Joined 17th Jun, 2012 ·
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Actually, it is wrong. Imagine that every morning, when you wake up, you toss a coin. What is the chance that every time for a year, it will be heads? Very small, indeed. For 1000 years? Even smaller. But it is never zero.
Even more, if you toss the coin for 1000 years, desperately hoping tails won't come, the chance to get tails in next 1000 years won't be bigger - it will stay the same.
Daybreaker's perfect world - is only possible if Daybreaker outpowers every other thing in the Universe. Like in Azimov's "Foundation", the Zero Assumption: there is no life in the Universe except humans (or something like this). Also, pony's wishes are unbounded. So if Daybreaker receives praise, she would soon want more praise, more temples, more sacrifices. And other ponies only can provide so much.
To think of it, Daybreaker admitted she can't take others in a direct combat, right now. But if she adopts her mask's love for plans - she might. After all, she has all the time in the world.
This is a wonderful story
Twilight don't know how to use her magic as checked by Starlight, Starlight is still a unicorn, Celestia have a thousand years of experience, her only problem could be Luna that will not fight. Flurry is still a baby and even if she grow up powerfull there are things that she could not learn unless she fight... The only problem is Discord but well, he is Discord so who knows what he decide to do, and there is the chance that a simple cockatrice could stop him.
This was a nice story and an interesting theory for Daybreaker's origin.
Yesh... the world Daybreaker envision is horrible. All she wants is be worship as a Goddess for ever & ever, her little ponies nothing but mindless vessels never changing never growing. Basically never experience life, that there is more then just surviving & worshiping. Always, as it seem, under the threat of suffering if they cease their devotion of Daybreaker. I can imagine Daybreak organizing a sort of Inquisiton persecuting any pony that have a vision or discovery, which Daybreaker may deemed a threat to her "perfect world".
Good story, that world envision is what keeps her in control of Daybreaker.
That was a fascinating look into Princess Celestia's thoughts, and the internal turmoil that Daybreaker represents made for a compelling story. Accomplishments, defeats, and everything in between from Celestia's past and events derived from the show itself were used brilliantly in my opinion, and they all made the constant back-and-forth between her and Daybreaker more potent. Excellent work!
Get a marker pen and go over the lines, then.
Blind rage can provide great strength, Daybraker, but you have lost to the power of love, friendship, and forgiveness, as you were always destined to.
8501689
Ah, but the question isn't can she beat them all individually.
Celestia has encouraged the bonds of both love and friendship to knit them all together.
There is no way Daybreaker could handle them all at once.
8502153
Sure, but they are not together 24/7/365... Even if they are friends they have their live
Celestia long ago met her true enemy, and she is her.
Face it, Daybreaker, you're still an alicorn. That means some inconvenient vines will be able to defeat you, as will a severe snowstorm or some random McGuffin every other villain will somehow have that can easily defeat alicorn magic.
It's already over.
Nice story, albeit feeling a bit unpolished compared to other works of yours. Not very helpful advice, I know.
Still, a nice idea turned into an enjoyable read. I like how Celestia never reflects on that 'defeating Daybreaker' could well mean 'kill Celestia'... it would just be part of the plan to save her little ponies.
8501689
Celestia is just playing the long game, as usual. What's a decade or five to someone as her? She's making sure that in the not too distant future there will be a group of individuals capable of overpowering Daybreaker - after reaching that milestone, all she has to do is maintain that status and Daybreaker has lost.
Of course, we must remember that 'Daybreaker' was actually a mix of Starlight's dreams, her fears of what an evil Celestia would be.
8502414
The only problem with that is if Daybreaker also decides to play the long game
8502473
Then it just becomes a question of who is a better chess master. A question of who is more patient. The fact of the matter is that Celestia has had more practice at being a chess master, likely millennia more, than Daybreaker ever will have. Besides, the odds are staunchly against Daybreaker, as Celestia pointed out. Four alicorns, the physical embodiment of chaos, six hyperpowerful magical artifacts, at least two entire species, an incredibly powerful, ex-communist mage, Starswirl and his buddies, and other factions yet unknown. Them's just bad betting odds.
Woah. That was deep. Described the descent into and conquering of madness very perfectly for the character, as each character or person, descends and conquers differently. Reminds me of when I personified my Own shadow.
A quote I saw one time fits.
"The voices in my head may not be real, but they sure have some great ideas!"
8501634
You misunderstand what Celestia is asking about.
The question is not in relation for a perfect coin or a perfect probability engine, but, like the blind ponies and the typewriters, the perfect sets of words. The perfect circumstances. The perfect anger.
Celetia has set it up so Daybreaker will never win a fight with Luna and Twilight and the other forces... and that is because she accepts that one day, maybe long into the future, but one day, the right moment will happen, and like Luna before her, Celestia will fall to Daybreaker's rage.
She knows this. Celestia CANNOT fight forever. Eventually Daybreaker will find the right moment and the Mask and Shadow will flip places. So she set up the ultimate contingency. When the time comes, Daybreaker will have to fight 3 Alicorns, the Elements of Harmony and who knows what else.
I think Celestia's only arrogance, is she hasn't told anyone. The theory from the professor hundreds of years ago means they will all suffer it. Candence and Twilight are just as exposed as Celestia is. And IF she told all of them about Daybreaker, it would make them in turn more likely to come forward with their inevitable demons. Because Daybreaker is rage/pride incarnate....and Nightmare Moon is loneliness and jealousy incarnate. And nether of those plan well.
But Midnight Sparkle is gluttony incarnate (Gluttony for knowledge, but still gluttony) and Candence's is likely sorrow/envy incarnate (She who is love, but in turn must watch those she loves keep dying, while she lives on) and both those are FAR better are planning, at hiding they have won till they are ready to seek their ultimate plan, whatever that maybe.
And unless Celestia reveals the fact Daybreaker exists, Twilight/Cadence/Luna will suffer in silence. And thus even MORE unlikely event may yet one day come, that Twilight, Cadence, Luna and Celestia all fall to madness at the same time, all thinking, "The other three will stop me."
8503018
Sets of words are also probability related. So it is completely possible for Celestia to hold Daybreaker forever. It's not a good idea to rely on this solely, of course, but it's possible nonetheless.
Is there any proof that all alicorns have their inner deadly sin/emotion representation? Professor's theory is about possibilities, too. What makes Twilight the pony unable to befriend Twilight the mighty? Not to mention that it is only a theory, and it has no proof beside Celestia's state and NM.
Also, if these are powered by emotions, the ultimate contingency would be to create a being that has no emotions.
8502412
If Daybreaker is an Alicorn, can she get her own Nightmare - and how would that one look...?
The powerful Daybreaker, plagued by nightmares of friendship, flowers and ponies.
8501634
Asimov
Nope... It SEEMS like that... but then you have to take in consideration the amount of time... A lot of improbable things are SO improbable that they would NOT happen in the entirety of time...
The example from Celestia
is grossly underdimensioned... in that amount of time NOTHING worthwhile would come out... Or to be more precise the possibility that something worthwhile could come out is so incredibly slim to be irrelevant. You can check the page of Wikipedia on the Infinite monkey theorem.
There should be some way to calculate how difficult it is to get something sensible from that kind of setup... but rest assured that is crazily hard...
Excellent fic!
Oh, that was brilliant. I was expecting Daybreaker to be confronted as she was in canon, but Celestia here really shows her wisdom. I hadn't understood the importance of keeping her heart closed off as she acted, but that was truly brilliant. Celestia went from being the sole powerhouse in Equestria, in a time where she and Daybreaker could get along to an extent, to setting up countless friends for the nation, and while Daybreaker whined about betrayal and security, Celestia was surrounding herself with people who could stop her if she fell.
I do have to wonder what Daybreaker is, though. Was the theory correct, at least in part? I find it hard to believe that anything truly born of Celestia could manage to hate Luna, but it's telling that she only emerged after Luna betrayed and tried to kill her.
8501634
8502153
8502677
For what it's worth, my vision of Daybreaker is one who can't plan to any real degree. That takes place in the mind - Celestia's domain - and Daybreaker herself never put together anything beyond "Step one, kill all who oppose me, step two, profit." While she has a degree of magical foresight, any scheme she might concoct would vanish the instant her rage got the better of her - a timeframe which would likely be measured in minutes.
...Perhaps the same reason Nightmare Moon couldn't make much of a plan, either. >_>
8502414
Fair... probably at least partially because it covers 1000 years in 5000 words, and so a little disjointing might be expected. I also just have less time than I used to and am no longer giving everything a good month of proofreads before posting.
8503860
I do not plan on giving a canon answer. The theory was placed to give Celestia and the audience the first hint that the two are one. While not necessarily accurate, it is sort of a Dancanon postulation on how NMM/Daybreaker could exist, how these sane, good ponies could fall, and how there can be these personality conflicts without involving psych disorders. The theory may be true, it may not. It may also be true that Cadence and Twilight will grow their own demons, or that the nature of their magic - love and friendship - may turn these alter-egos into angels instead.
Willful ambiguity aside, I am happy you enjoyed it.
8503860
this seriously defines all i have been thinking about daybreaker, celestia and luna especially after was it rotal problems?
anyway love the story .
got any more??
Break the day and let it be forever shattered! Leave it broken, bruised and battered! Unleash your fury for all to see! Become a despot of burning cruelty, as you were meant to be!
Hallow's End draws ever nearer...
"I am a shadow, the true self."
This looks like you mashed 'your time is limited' with 'your days are numbered '. It really bothered me enough to point it out.
And, this idea was really well executed, very satisfying to read.
Great story that really portrays the struggle of someone with the power and influence of Celestia. Too often I see crappy stories promoted here on fimfiction, supported by RCL and EQD. It's good to see an interesting story like this get the feature it deserves.
The ending especially was interesting, since its revealed that Celestia planned all along to establish a network of friends to defeat Daybreaker in case she ever managed to take over Celestia's mind.
Celestia: such a talented schemer that she can (albeit temporarily) make her own dark half her bitch.
Is this all?
All it takes is one bad day...
I liked this a lot. The best thing is that Daybreaker didn't come forth in this story, but it's implied that she will eventually, but it will be okay.
Bittersweet, but hopeful. Well done.
8506157
Now I have dirty images in my mind and want to write clop, I hope you're proud.
8504594
This was the working title for the chapter. >_>
I am Persona trash.
8506529
In my defence most of what I was gonna say by-way of 'intelligent plot related discussion' was taken already.
That ending was really a treat ! I love it !
Oh, and, good fic, too.
8506555
"Worry not, little shadow, for I am a kind mistress. See? Your collar is not so tight, and I daresay it suits you quite well."
I'm sorry, what were we talking about?
8506691
Y'know that even if you don't write it, somebody eventually will. This is Fimfic, after all.
8506756
There's an OC cameo in my next multi-chapter work in it for the first Norris who writes it.
I really want to see you continue this, a lapse in focus or something and then the alicorns need to actually help celestia get it under control.
Everything that needed to be said about how good this fic is has pretty much been said.
And it's relatively typo-free, to boot!
Relatively being the key word
Delete the apostrophe.
This seems relevant.
8506531
And I probably would have stuck with that, if I were in your shoes. More evocative of the themes you were putting forwards in the minds of nerds than what you choose. I, Variable inevitably brings to mind the title character trying to assert their own sense of self and independent existence in the minds of nerds, basically advertising a story about Daybreak trying to become a real filly as opposed to being a corruptive inner demon exclusively.
Still, brilliant story!
A pretty good perspective.
8508922
But Daybreaker is trying to become real, now isn't she?
Or, to be less witty, I saw it more as a statement by Celestia as she comes to accept the truth of things.
BOOM!!!! Hahahahahaaaaaa that was the BEST possible ending, I didn't see it coming and it was peeeerfeeeeeect. 8D She literally built up more and more allies until even if Daybreaker won, she would lose. Genius! Thanks for sharing this; it was sad and hard at times thinking of someone suffering essentially evil schizophrenia, but I love that she won in the end. The fact that Daybreaker freaked the crap out proves it. And who knows? Maybe this will be the healing she needs. My only beef is Luna's response: just because something is possible does not make it inevitable. Honestly, that whole 'monkeys typing on keyboards' adage doesn't work, either; the actual statistical improbability, even if it were done for all of eternity, that even a page of Shakespeare's work would come out completely correct is nigh unto impossible. But all the same, Celestia does seem like she needs some help; going 1000+ years with an evil voice in your head must be taxing.
Of course, this is a world where friendship conquers all. I think she'll make it out just fine.
Also this sums up a really important truth:
I particularly appreciated the idea that a pony's internal font of magic gains complexity in proportion to time and strength. Emergent order in turbulent systems isn't a new concept but I haven't seen it attributed to the Nightmare before. If the Nightmare is literally a duality occupying and personifying an individual's magic, it opens a number of interesting possibilities.
How many powerful Equestrians possess a benevolent or even neutrally ambivalent internal voice? Does an outlier athlete with tremendous potential like Rainbow Dash hear thoughts that encourage her own ambitions, rather than drive her to sororicide? Celestia and Luna were ever integral components of one another's lives, and so the voices fixated on their relationships. Cadance's personal magic friend might obsess over protecting the loves of her life and those of others. Twilight Sparkle could have very well been heeding her own magic's demand to fixate on learning more about magic for most of her life.
Most ponies with the necessary potential may never identify their sympathetic internal counterpart as anything but their own thoughts simply because the two are in close agreement. What metaphorical length and breadth of trauma leads the two voices to diverge?
Food for thought.
Oh, and I enjoyed your portrayal of Celestia. The grand master of the long game and benevolent global mother figure are both well trod characterizations for her, but you do it damn well. This was a great read.
(Edit: actually, looking over your other stories I've read, (Including a couple I forgot to fav!) you have a lot of experience writing a deep and well considered sunhorse. I shouldn't be surprised that you impress.
)
So thanks for that.