Chapter 1
“P-princess, you really shouldn’t have,” Twilight said, glancing at the richly laden table, almost drooling at sight. " S-so much food...”
“I disagree, Twilight,” Celestia said. “Once again, you girls put an end to a danger threatening Equestria. This is the least I can do.”
Luna smiled ironically, rolling her cyan eyes. “Hrmph! Please… We all know you just wanted an excuse to eat the best cake, sister.”
“Certainly not! But... it would be rude of me not to eat with our guests, would it not?”
Before Luna could reply, Twilight interrupted their little feud. “Princess, we’re honored to have been invited to this lovely feast—”
“Talking about the feast, can we start already?” Pinkie said as a gurgle let her stomach. “I’m starving here!”
“For once, I have to agree with Pinkie, your majesties,” Rarity said. “The cuisine served on the train was... not palatable.”
Celestia smiled, licking her inner lip. “Very well, please help yourselves.”
And they did. Listening to the pleasant music coming from the gramophone in the corner, all the element bearers began munching on their food like there was no tomorrow. Then there was dessert and some cider. Two dozen mugs were enough to get everyone in the right mood, quickly starting the conversations about anything and everything. Soon, everyone seemed to have a good time. Except for one pony.
“Is something wrong, Rainbow Dash?” Celestia said, seeing Dash glancing at the empty mug of cider, lost in thought.
“Um, it’s nothing...”
“Not fond of parties, are you?”
“It’s... It’s not that,” Dash bit her lip. “I-I don’t want to be insulting.”
Celestia smiled. “Is it because I ate your part of the cake?”
“Nah. I don’t like cake…”
“So, what is it, Rainbow Dash? Do you want to ask me something?”
Dash’s eyes began darting from left to right until she sighed forcefully. She glanced Celestia in the eyes with an unexpected serious face and fired away.
“Why do you never help?”
“... pardon?”
“Why do you never help us fight bad guys?” Dash fired again, intensifying her gaze. “I mean, I know we’re the bearers of elements and stuff, but... Why do we always have to do everything ourselves—”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight interrupted with a glare. “I think you drank too much cider.”
“Maybe I have, but… Ugh!” Rainbow angrily smashed the table with her hoof getting everyone’s attention. “Twilight will never say it, but Fluttershy and Rarity almost got squashed by a giant rock on that last mission!”
“Rainbow Dash, that’s enough!”
“No, Twilight! I want to know why she never helps! She moves the sun, for pony’s sake! With her magic—”
“Enough!” Twilight put a bubble of silence around Dash, and with a guilty sigh, turned towards silent Celestia. “I’m sorry, Princess. Cider doesn’t agree with her very much.”
Celestia stood up and, with her magic, turned off the music. Quietly, she walked towards one of the windows overlooking the land and began staring at the horizon. Rainbow Dash’s weak head was no news to her, but drunk or not, she had a point. After a few more seconds of silence, Celestia let out a sigh. It was confession time.
“My apologies to all of you. I realized how that looks. Is she just lazy, or maybe she is not as powerful as everyone thinks? I bet you had asked yourself that question, at one time or the other.”
“Princess, we would never dare to—”
“No, Twilight. You, would never dare,” a bitter smile filled Celestia’s face. “But that is because you idolize me. I think it is time you all learn why I try to steer clear of all the recent trouble.”
“Sister, do you really think they need to know that?” Luna’s said, with worry in her voice. “Those memories are in the past.”
“They are the bearers of the elements, they have the right.” Then, Celestia turned to Rainbow Dash. “What do you know about Badlands?”
“Um… Only that’s it’s a lifeless desert, located between Changeling’s hive and Equestria. Why?”
“Did you ever wonder, why is it almost perfectly spherical in shape?” Rainbow shook her head. “Let me tell you all a story. A story about, how, Badlands got their name...”
***
Seven hundred years ago...
Celestia walked through the battlefield towards the command tent, her nostrils filling with the stench of the swamp and rotting wood. Of all the places on Earth, the damn rebels had to choose this stinking dump as their hiding spot. A bad place to live, but an even worse place to die.
Even though her nose was high, and stoic expression was beaming from under the helmet, Celestia’s eyes secretly scrutinized the bowing troops around her. Earth ponies cavalry, pegasi air support and reconnaissance, noble unicorn warriors and spell casters. Today, all sitting in the same stinking mud, all waiting for the upcoming battle. Unless she could stop it.
As she entered the tent, a seasoned pegasus bowed down. His scar covered face a witness to many battles.
“Your Highness! We’re ready to proceed as planned.”
Celestia smiled. “At ease, Semper Fi, before you stretch something,” he complied, smiling himself. They were alone, no need to be formal. “What is our assessment of their forces?”
“I’m afraid that even more raiders joined them. Our reconnaissance team estimates twenty thousand minotaurs and the same number of diamond dogs. We also spotted about ten thousand griffons. They also seem to have some dragons, and even command some timberwolves, among other creatures. All in all, we estimate they have about sixty thousand troops.”
“I see… What about our forces?”
“With griffon mercenaries, we have about ninety thousand troops, but… half of those are barely trained conscripts.”
Celestia knew that even before he told her. They would probably win, but with the loss of life, their victory would taste as bitter as defeat.
“Do you think they will accept the offer?”
“I... I shall make the best efforts that—”
“Cut it, Semper. We are alone, speak up your mind. Do you think they will take the deal?”
Semper Fi let out a sigh, then shook his head. “I doubt it. I don’t think they fight for something. I think that right now, they simply fight against us. They’re not in this to win, but they want to make sure we won’t win either.”
Celestia’s mask shattered then, revealing the face of concern behind it. Even if deep inside, she thought the same way, this wasn’t the news she wanted to hear.
“Celestia, I know you’re not a warrior—”
“I beg your pardon?!” Celestia frowned. “I had led Equestrian’s armies to battle before you were even born, mister!”
“Oh, I didn’t say you don’t know how to fight. I’ve yet to win a battle with you,” Semper smiled. “But we both know you want peace above everything else. But this time, I don’t think you’re going to get it. I’m sorry.”
Celestia glanced away, trying to hide her worries, but it was a futile effort. “Maybe… Maybe I should send somepony else—”
“No! If you want any chance of this to succeed, you need to send someone important. As a second in command, that’s me.”
Celestia’s eyes went to the floor in silence. Once again, she knew he was right, as usual. But that didn’t stop her gut from nagging her.
“Don’t worry, we will take every precaution. I doubt they would be stupid enough to attack the emissary,” Semper smiled reassuringly, but his twitching eye was a dead giveaway he wasn’t sure of his words. “My men are waiting for me. I need to get going.”
Semper turned towards the exit, but as soon as he made the first step, Celestia’s magic enveloped him, pulling him closer.
“F-for the record. You came the closest to winning that battle...” She hugged him tightly one more time, and he returned the embrace. “Please, be safe.”
“I will, Tia. I promise.” Semper said and left the tent, and soon the encampment.
Celestia watched as his chariot left towards the enemy camp, disappearing a moment later. It was time to turn the hourglass and wait…
Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. Celestia was nervously trotting inside her tent, waiting for the news.
“What’s taking him so long...”
“Um, I’m sure, general Semper Fi will be back soon, your Highness,” captain Stone Spear, the leader of the cavalry, said, but the skepticism in his tone was clearly heard. He was a good soldier, but couldn’t lie to save his life.
“He should be back already...”
“Maybe, he’s negotiating the agreement? You did give him a lot of leeway.”
Celestia knew that she did, and she wanted to believe that Semper Fi was, in fact, negotiating. But that lie wore thin after the first hour, let alone two. Something was wrong, she just knew it. She needed to act and act now.
“Stone Spear, send a covered reconnaissance of our best pegasi watchers. Let them assess the situation. I need to be sure that—”
“Y-your Highness...” The voice of a young unicorn suddenly interrupted her. She smiled immediately, she could recognize that high pitch tone anywhere, it was Plucky Charm – the youngest member of Semper’s guards. He was back after all.
“Finally! I was starting to worry that something happened.”
Celestia turned around, only to see some blood on Plucky’s usually white coat. His face was white as death, and he levitated a basket in front of him.
“W-where is Semper Fi?” The only effect her question had was an uncontrollable shake of the frightened unicorn. “Where is he?!”
Plucky’s breathing intensified, filling the air with short gasps. Then, his eyes widened and locked onto the basket he was levitating. Slowly, Celestia approached the container, trying her best to remain calm. But then, she opened the lid...
“No... NO!” All her efforts went to hell, filling her face with dread and shock. “P-please, no...” Her hind legs turned to jelly, and her rump hit the floor with a thud. This couldn’t be happening.
“What is it, your Highness?!” Stone Spear asked, but seeing Celestia frozen, he glanced inside, immediately regretting it. “Oh, my... Ugh!” The view of Semper Fi’s mutilated head made the content of his stomach splatter on the tent’s wall. “Those bastards! Those… goddamn bastards!”
For a moment, they all remained in a loop, Stone Spear swearing, Plucky shaking in fear and shame, and Celestia staring like some gargoyle statue. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she managed to utter a single word.
“H-how?”
“A-ambush. We tried to fight them off, b-but we were outnumbered ten to one,” Plucky’s eyes went to the ground, and filled with water a second later. “T-they killed everyone but me. And only so that I would d-deliver the... p-package.”
Once again, silence filled the air, but this time Celestia broke it quickly. “Leave me…” She said, her stoic mask back on. “Both of you get out of my sight.”
They left without a word, and Celestia was left with nothing but silence. With her empty stare locked onto the ground, she curled into a ball and her lip started to tremble. She sniffled and whimpered, quietly at first, but getting louder with each passing second. Her whimpers turned into weeps, then loud sobs, until crescendoing into a powerful wail that turned her eyes into a stream. Alone, broken and hurt, she was crying her eyes out, like some abandoned filly.
When she had thought it couldn’t get any worse, all hell broke loose.
“We’re under attack! Battle stations—”
A massive explosion echoed through the air, quickly followed by a frightening roar.
“Dragons! Dragons! Unicorns, shields! Protect the Princess!”
“Too late!”
There was a glow, and in an instant, the entire tent turned into a blazing inferno. It collapsed onto Celestia a second later, burying her under the fiery remains.
Lying immobilized under the burning wood, and feeling the fire consuming her surroundings, Celestia realized it was their plan all along. To lure the second in command into a trap, and attack while she was being tormented by the loss – that was the real purpose of the ‘peace talks.’ They never intended to negotiate. They thought they could win by taking out two key commanders and sneakily attacking while the army was still in chaos.
The screams of dying soldiers, the carnage coming from outside, and the roars of feasting dragons, were a dead giveaway that everything was going according to the enemy’s plan. Except for one tiny detail. She wasn’t just Celestia. She was Celestia, the Princess of the Sun! And she was far from dead. The fire around her and the sounds of slaughter were building out her rage. And once it started, there was no stopping it.
“Cowards… Murders… I AM GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY!”
Celestia launched into the air along with the burning pieces of her tent, with hollers louder than the roars of the few dragons around her. With liquid fire covering her eyes and horn glowing red like a piece of molten steel, she looked like a demon out of hell. With a powerful spell, a wall of pure energy hit the dragons looming above her, sending the house-size creatures crashing down onto the army of the enemy, squashing dozens of troops. But that was just the beginning.
The sky above Celestia turned into a blaze, getting wider and wider, hotter and hotter, until reaching an exploding flashpoint a second later. When it happened, the sun’s shine intensified a millionfold, focusing its power onto the enemy. Then, it was armageddon.
The air filled with liquid fire and vaporizing everyone and everything it touched. The extreme heat turned ground under the enemy’s army into a molted lava, swallowing those few sheltered from the direct blast. Dragons roared in agony, writhing on the molten ground for a while longer, but even they were no match for the heat. Their cries stopped abruptly as their bodies turned to ash, and a second later, blown apart like leaves in the wind. The sun returned to normal then, and it was over.
For a while, everyone froze, just gaping in horror at the glowing crater of lava. What was a green, stinking swamp, was reduced to a lifeless pool of molten stone, boiling and bubbling. The liquefied fury of the Princess of The Sun.
“All hail Celestia!” Some soldier suddenly shouted, breaking the silence.
“All hail Celestia!” Another repeated
Then another, and another, and before she knew it, the entire army was cheering her name. The view of her handiwork, and shouts of joy, extinguished the fiery inferno burning inside her, turning the Daybreaker, back to her original form.
With the stoic mask back on, Celestia landed near her cheering troops. The battle was won, and this war was over, but the struggle inside her, had just begun…
***
Back in the present, ponies in the room stared at Celestia with expressions ranging from confusion to shock. Rainbow Dash was in the latter camp, gaping with jaw hanging low. Until...
“That was... AWESOME!” Rainbow shouted with a grin of joy. “You defeated the entire army by yourself?! Wow—”
“NO! It was not awesome, Rainbow Dash!” Celestia frowned and shook her head. “Do you not understand? That day, I learned the true potential of my magic and what it can do.”
“Yeah, and you kicked some butts!”
“Rainbow, I did not defeat them. I vaporized them. All of them! In a blink of an eye, I had killed thousands of creatures and turned a pile of land into a lifeless desert!” Celestia stopped, then turned around and sighed. Those were the memories she would rather forget. “The thought of how easy it was, still haunts me...”
“So, when you fought Chrysalis—”
“Could I have vaporized her on the spot? Not without vaporizing everypony else around her. My full magic is powerful, but it lacks precision. Besides, after that day on the battlefield, I promised myself I would never use my full potential again, ever.”
“Because you fear to lose control?” Twilight said, timidly. “I... I don’t mean to be rude, but... I have never known you as a mare with a temper.”
Celestia smiled. “Seven hundred years is a lot of time to get my temper under control, Twilight. Even so, it is still there, lying in wait.”
“And from my experience with Nightmare Moon, I know what an alicorn with a temper is capable of becoming, once she loses control,” Luna said. “That’s why both my sister and I prefer diplomacy over power.”
“Luna is correct. Thanks to the diplomacy, friendship, and reformation, there is no danger that either of us becomes Daybreaker or Nightmare Moon.”
“Still...” Rainbow grumbled. “You could help us from time to time, you know. It’s not like we chose this job.”
“And I did not choose to be a princess either, but sometimes fate plays cruel tricks on us. Like it or not, you have been chosen to be a bearer of the element, and yes, that means responsibility, but also adventure and thrill,” Celestia smiled again. “Do not tell me you, of all ponies, have a problem with that?”
Rainbow bit her lip and blushed gently. “... touché.”
“Besides, Rainbow Dash, just because you do not see it, it does not mean I am not helping,” Celestia’s smile turned into a sly grin. “You think that rock that almost squashed Rarity and Fluttershy missed them by chance?”
Dash opened her mouth, ready to ask for details, but Luna muffled her with her hoof. “No! You don’t want to know! Trust me… Suffice it to say, Celestia’s almost as obsessed with your well-being, as she is with cake.”
“A lie!”
“I said almost, dear sister. Everypony knows nothing beats the cake,” Luna’s snicker earned her a usual frown from Celestia. “Speaking of which, are we gonna get back to the party or what?”
“For once, we are in agreement. We had gathered here to celebrate, and this party turned into a wake,” Celestia said and restarted the music. “Pinkie Pie, could you help get the party back on track?”
With a stoic expression, Pinkie saluted, then grinned. “Come on, girls! The day is still young!”
“I will join you shortly, I need to move the sun.”
Celestia left towards the west window, but before she could start her work, Luna interrupted her.
“Can I ask you something?” Luna’s said, suddenly serious. “Semper Fi... He was more than a friend, wasn’t he?”
For a moment, there was no answer. Celestia just stood motionless, her eyes locked on the horizon, thinking. Then, as the memories once again hit her, she let out a deep sigh, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.
“Yes... Yes, he was.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, Tia, he seemed like a good pony. But I just want you to know that neither his death nor the incident was your fault. They started this rebellion. They were the ones raiding towns and killing innocent. And when they killed him, they ignited the fire that consumed them in the end. It was all on them, not you.”
“Maybe... But that does not make me feel any better. I just hope that once Twilight takes over, she will never have to do something like that.”
“With friendship and harmony by her side, she will lead Equestria into an age of peace and prosperity.”
“I hope so...” Celestia sighed, quickly moved the sun, and then a little grin filled her face. “Come on, sister! Before they eat what is left of the cake.”
“Hrmph! I knew this whole thing was just an excuse to eat goodies!” Luna smiled and rolled her eyes. “Lead on.”
I wrote that because I always thought that Celestia is always holding back. That's the reason why she gets her butt whacked so easily those few times in the show.
It makes sense if you think about it, how else would she be able to defend Equestria against dragons for a thousand years, for example? Still, she fears her powers and prefers diplomacy and compromise over dead bodies.
I always liked to think of her as someone like that. Someone who has the power to wipe out armies in a blink of an eye, but understands what using that power can lead to.
What do you think 
?
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I agree entirely with your sentiment. Celestia is the PRINCESS OF THE FREAKING SUN! A massive, thousand times the size of the earth sphere of NOTHING BUT PURE, UNFILTERED, UNRESTRICTED, UNRELENTING HEAT AND FLAME. One misstep on the part of her enemies that would break her resolve... EVERYTHING dies. She could drop the sun itself on her enemies and melt them into a statue of ash and dust blowing away in the breeze. Tirek doesn't know what kind of power he wielded when he absorbed Celestia's power. The same could be said of Luna or Cadance or Twilight.
Luna. Princess of the Moon. Never put the moon down again, freeze everything. Or just drop the moon on her enemies. Or she could give them never ending nightmares and then make them real.
Cadance. Princess of Love. Suck away their capacity to love anything. Their planet, their families, their own lives. They'd walk into a bubbling pit of molten lava and not give two shits about the pain.
Twilight Sparkle. Princess of FREAKING MAGIC! Piss her off and she can do ANYTHING to you. Once she comes into her power as the Princess of Magic, she'd have the ability and capacity to do LITTERALLY ANYTHING to ANYONE. Turn them into ooze. Turn them into bugs. Turn them into the hay or grass other ponies eat. Hell, she comes into her REAL POWER... she could erase them from existance. Magic, just the general term "magic", encompasses A LOT. She comes into her power, she can easily be THE most powerful being in all of Equestria.
My eyes are not deceiving me, this in fact has 0 views.
It’s actually a decent read, too, it deserves at least some readers.
10065183
Is that a
- 
?
10065214
I like the way you think
and yeah, that's pretty much what I think also. Alicorns are a very powerful period. That would also explain why dragons didn't burn Equestria to the ground with Celestia around. Heck, after hearing about the incident in the story, dragonlord Torch was probably so impressed he proposed peace himself.
10065218
I posted that like... 10 minutes ago (or maybe 20), so this is normal, the views are not refreshed in real-time but ever 15 or 30 minutes. Thank for the read, glad you like it
A sign of true power is control.
Stating that, this basically means for all her age and experience and raw power Celestia's at the most basic level of combat magic.
Which boils down to her not learning to use her power rather then be used by it and failing to realize war is war, even more so since she's content to torture creatures for millennia.
Hooves aren't really clean in past or present, it ms just as stated that ponies idolize her.
Rainbow Dash will forever be my favourite. "Why do you never help?"
reminds me of another fanfic.
"A world of matchsticks." basically Celestia pulling a superman speech about always holding back in fear of hurting someone innocent.
10065230
The problem is it borders on might makes right- and at this point any villain with the common sense to kill them instead of keeping their power drained persons around to gloat would win by default.
If all four Alicorns are dead can't exactly send the power back to them, and you can't really use harmony when the main foci for it are missing due to death.
Well done. I had a similar idea. My idea was also allways she "created" the badlands, and vowed/sealed that power away. My side is that it was before she got the elements and froze discord. Dont forget there was around 1000 years before luna got seated for 1000 more. My only problem was where starswirl would be at the time. I dont remember his timeline.
10065237
What we've seen in the show is contradicted by the fact that Equestria is still standing after 1000 years of her rule. If she really were that poor of a fighter (magic, or otherwise), I doubt Equestria would be where it is now (if it would exist at all).
You're probably referring to her keeping Luna on the moon.
We don't know whether Celestia had the power to release her earlier or at all. And yes, I know what Lauren had posted a few days ago on Twitter. But assuming Celestia was the one who released Nightmare Moon, the fact that she waited until she was ready, paints her as a responsible and emotional leader, not a monster.
She had to choose between her sister and her ponies. She knew that without the elements, she would not be able to contain Nightmare Moon again, and many would perish. Instead of going with the instincts, she made a decision to keep Luna trapped until she finds new element bearers. She made a choice she should have made and suffered the consequences. Granted, Luna got the short end of the stick, but unless Celestia is an emotionless bitch, she was suffering every time she had to raise the moon.
What else could she have done?
I... am not sure if I got that right. But if I did then, keep one thing in mind. The fact that Celestia says she promised herself she would never use her full potential doesn't mean that's written in stone. If a villain powerful enough were to invade and push her to the wall, she would cook him.
She prefers diplomacy, because it works better for all parties in the long run, and because she doesn't like killing.
10065240
Well, in the show, she was the one to complain 'Twilight, Princess never helps!" so she was the natural candidate for the role. Add to that the fact that she like cider and... ;]
10065246
Interesting... I had the one you mentioned in 'read it later' shelve. Need to give it a look.
10065282
Oh, never thought about 'sealing' her magic away, but it's an interesting idea, I admit.
Was that time-frame stated anywhere in the canon? In most of my stories, I always assumed that Celestia and Luna are about 1200 years old, and the battles they fought for Crystal Empire, Discord, and so on happened in those 200 years.
I can definitely see Celestia possibly holding back if she can't control her full power. Or is worried about becoming Daybreaker, so she tries not to use too much power.
Pretty sure Daybreaker was never anything more than a dream figment.
10065338
Equestria also controls the sun and moon.
The number of creatures able to do so is limited so normal conflicts would not be worth the potential catastrophe from any normal nations front.
So yes, Equestria standing for over a thousand years with no internal strife from dissenting factions against the literal god-queen and no external strife due to the sheer fear mongering brought by that one act and the continual hoarding of magical power means her skill in combat is nominal at best in any known context.
Add to this the literally useless military and her competency has either deteriorated or she's turned away from the issues to prevent having to face her own shortcomings on that front.
I'm also referencing the fact Tartarus isn't a prison so much as a wasteland where she dumps her problems, if they aren't deposited into another world for those people to deal with(Starswirls his own can of worms), the alluded use of petrification, I.E driving prisoners to insanity and destroying on a level no sane individual would consider Justice.
Or the fact that we now have cannon confirmation that Celestia actively freed Luna with no plan B should anything have gone wrong with Twilight, much less the rest of the orchestrated Destiny she set in place.
The we have the "Harmony was fine with Luna" excuse being ignored when she went above and beyond on Discords' suggestion, ignoring his continued actions with no justifiable reasoning, to petrify three individuals, two of whom were in the category of torture seeing as she did nothing for over a thousand years with Tirek and dropped the idiot ball big time with Cozy, much less the general stupidity when dealing with a known threat like the Changelings twice over.
Her skill is at best in manipulation, as any sane creature would have no reason to start a war with them on principle of the power Equestria's basically had handed to them by fate. Or, more accurately luck, greed and manipulation.
Edit; too add, we know they have access to alternate worlds. Worried you can't train and control it here, move to an already barren lifeless plain and practice there instead of just going nope, not even going to try.
Not the first time I've seen this idea floating around here, but fairly well done nonetheless.
Some errors.
air
warriors
What's taking
leeway
While not technically incorrect 'writhing' or 'twitching' might be a better word here.
The
becoming
she is
Love the stories picture...
Absolute power corrupts, absolutely. Celestia is right to fear her power; to fear bringing forth Daybreaker.
Never underestimate the killing power of vast quantities of microwave radiation.
cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/357345911330045966/673675943478296576/i_was_there_07_by_baron_engel_d9e8pc5-fullview.png
10065351
With Nightmare Moon, she saw first hand what could happen if her dark side ever wins. But I think the other reason is that she really tries to avoid violence. It would make sense too. After Luna's banishment, she probably had to fight many battles. Imagine having memories of leading your troops into battle and then seeing half of them lying dead or dying on the battlefield. And on top of that, imagine being immortal and accumulating such memories with time. Knowing what war leads to, wouldn't you want to avoid it, even at the cost of some compromise?
One of our Polish kings, Casimir III, did just that - trying to avoid war when it was possible by compromising. Now he's known as 'the Great' because thanks to peace and diplomacy, Poland was able to prosper for many years.
I would imagine Celestia as that kind of a leader.
10065374
Well, whether Celestia turned into that Daybreaker from her dream, or something resembling it, is up to the interpretation. But she got pissed off to the point of destroying the entire army withing seconds, so whatever it was, she doesn't want to turn int that thing again.
10065395
Why do I have the feeling you don't like Celestia very much
? Anyway...
And what would be the problem to trap Celestia and force her (or her unicorns) to move the sun, while you rob the land? And what about the movie? If the Storm King could move the sun with his staff (with embedded alicorn's magic), what would stop somebody else from just taking Celestia's magic by force?
Petrification sucks, BUT, as far as I'm aware, the only one that was able to see and hear through his stone prison was Discord (probably thanks to his magic). When Twilight got petrified by the... chicken thing in 'Stare Maaster,' she later acted as if she did not remember what happened, and wasn't aware of the passage of time.
Because it's not possible that Celestia had plan B (and C and D) we didn't know about? Or that she was watching how the events unfold and making sure Nightmare Moon would not hurt anypony? If you want to believe that, that's your right. But this is just one of many possible interpretations there can be.
No idea what you mean by that. Unless this is something from the comic (which most people don't read, or consider real canon).
10065407
Thank you! I fixed some of the mentioned, but I'm not sure about these:
You sure there should be becoming here?
What's wrong with using contraction here? I know you can't end the sentence with contraction, as in:
But does the same apply here when she's is not the last word?
10065437
Um, you mean the story's picture?
10065468
We know she didn't have a plan B as Lauren Faust stated so, which severely crimps the interpretation part as that over rules with canon, more so when we've seen the only active force to defend Equestria is the royal guards.
Who are frankly useless against weaker threats then an Alicorn, and have no weaponry to deal with one.
The Staff used by the Storm King was stated to be an artifact, something not able to be replicated in modern day, so thats a moot point as finding these artifacts would be an arduous and very clear power grab.
Not to mention this was addressed in the point about keeping them alive instead of executing them once their power's drained.
Add to this the Average Unicorn is so weak as to rarely have more then base Telekinesis, as well as canon material stating how much power it took being debilitating to those using it, that starts a clock the instant it's tried with Doomsday at the end.
A cockatrice is not equal to, nor comparable to an Alicorn nor the Elements of Harmony. That's an animal using a defense mechanism, not a sapient creature choosing to punish(torture, mentally degrade or force into submission) another thinking being.
And trusting anything Discord does or says has proven to be both a fools errand at best.
The literal mirror. They've had since Starswirl made it.
It can go to more then location with proper application, lazy twat with bells just decided the best solution was to throw his problems into a realm with an entire civilization.
I'm not a fan of Celestia. I don't hate her.
I despise the constant handwaving of her faults by good intentions- which don't mean crap when you risk god knows how many lives for your selfish, personal ends and friends-and the main casts hypocrisy in this fandom and this is partly an extension of that.
The only thing that get's me is the name. I just... it just seems too simple, I guess? Like... something like, 'A Candle Burnt At Both Ends', or, 'As a Spark is To The Sun', would be nice. Something like that. Something more... cryptic, or, well, complicated.
Regardless, fun read, bruv.
I for one, think this video explain it perfectly
10065395
Lauren Faust has redacted that statement.
10065702
More then likely because she realized it doesn't paint Celestia in the perfect light the show demands her be, but redact doesn't mean the same a no longer applicable as my job irl often shows.
Unfortunately, the statements made and until any other canon information is presented it still holds as the only solid information ever supplied for the leading events.
F i r e
This is always the answer to a difficult situation.
10065670
I agree, my suggestion is And then I Saw the Sun
Makes sense. Fire is powerful, but it is a double edged sword at best.
Eh
10065468
You make a lot of good points but even Twilight has gone Nova with her mane. Doesn't mean she was posessed by some inner demon. In canon, when Celestia fought Chrysalis at the wedding, she was easily winning. She only backed off because Chrysalis let out a whimper of fear which seemed to suddenly made Celestia very uncomfortable with hurting her any further. (Probably due to not actually having it in her to ever go further than intimidation due to her own suffering from Nightmare Moon incident) Chrysalis convinced herself she won because of all the love she acquired, but most likely Celestia just lost her will to finish her.
10066161
Wow, that's an interpretation of that battle I never considered before. Though looking back on it...that surprisingly makes a lot of sense. I mean, even a single moment of hesitation could have been enough to make her lose a fight, and Chrysalis is definitively the one to take advantage of another's mercy or empathy if given a chance.
YES!
THIS. WAS. GENIUS!
You just perfectly listed out why I feel Celestia doesn't get involved in adventures anymore. She holds the power of the sun in her hands. It's almost like Superman, but without the control he's got.
This was an amazing story for a headcanon I've always agreed with, and I can't thank you enough for writing this.
Wonderful job. Thank you for sharing.
10065702
She most likely just "redacted" it because of backlash.
10065468
lol, my mistake I read the 'that' as 'of' for some reason, so it's okay as is.
Should have clarified that, while it's not technically wrong, it reads a bit awkward as is.
10066161
10066237
My personal favorite interpretation was :
10065907 Ooh, I like that one. What about, "As The Candle Burns"? Or, "When Sparks Fly".
10066383
I think I would go with As the Candle Burns, it's much more melancholy.
I think he meant warrior considering she seems to worry a lot.
10066406 Oh, what about something like, "Obsolescence". Something that illudes to her being a relic from a time long past.
10066450
Hmm... Nah. That wasn't the point of the story.
10066469 True. I think it's more of something implied. The only other thing I can think of is, "When God's Play". Not quite on the mark, but close. Or, "Sun Burnt". But, at this point, I'm just spewing symptoms.
10066472
When god's burn is the better of the two.
This acctually makes sense
Yeah, that has always been my interpretation of why Celestia never fights as well.
Nice work.
Wow, I went to sleep, and the story was barely moving, and now after a day of work, I learn that it made it almost to the top of the feature box. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside... Thanks, guys
!
10065506
Before I start, I just want to say that after reading your posts, I have a feeling that you expect Celestia to be some kind of saint. You pound her mercilessly for every mistake she made as if it was some grave sin or something. Maybe I'm wrong, but I've seen first hand how that kind of attitude looks (and what it does) in the real world, and your responses fit the picture. If that's the case, then we'll never agree. Still, I owe you a reply, so let's do it...
Source? Because if you mean this https://twitter.com/Fyre_flye/status/1220940739795795968 :
Then there is nothing about Celestia not having plan 'B' or anything like that...
But anyway... Since we don't have all the facts, we can only assume based on what we know, and at this point, we're both speculating. The problem I have with your approach is that (the way I understand it) it assumes that Equestria thrives not thanks to a strong army and competent leadership, but despite it. It pretty much comes down to 'Equestria was pretty lucky' and looking realistically, this simply doesn't make a lick of sense.
Equestria seems like the most prosperous country in the show, and you want to tell me that no bad guy, came with an idea to just capture Celestia and/or ponies and rob the place
? If Equestria and ponies really are so weak, then that should be easy pease, and forcing Celestia or a bunch of slave unicorns to move the sun, shouldn't be a problem either. So how the heck the gold-loving, dragons or griffons (for example) didn't rob it? How is that country not only standing but thriving?
Or let me ask it this way. What is more likely, that for 1000 years, the country thrived despite having a moron in command and a weak army. OR that it succeeded thanks to having a wise leader, and strong versatile (cavalry, air support, and magic) army? For me, the probability assessment indicates the latter
.
As for the rest... It is interesting and all, but that is your personal canon:
- If you want to believe that petrification by cockatrice is different than petrification by the Elements and/or ordinary magic, fine. But there is no proof of that (and frankly, looking realistically, in the real world, we usually try to copy animals' abilities with technology. So there is a high chance that ponies developed their petrification magic by reverse-engineering cockatrice's ability).
- If you want to assume that there is no other artifact in the world that could move the sun, fine. But again, that's your assumption that can neither be proven nor disproven (and it doesn't explain why someone could not just capture Celestia and force her to do his bidding).
- If you want to assume that royal guards and ponies, in general, are weak fighters, fine. But you're ignoring this:
i.makeagif.com/media/7-24-2019/wNXkRD.gif
(neither girl was at that point a trained soldier)
And this (yes, yes, I know he had an artifact...):
And this:
i.pinimg.com/originals/95/9b/8c/959b8cb458ac0f522a1dab8f7d4021e2.gif
And this:
i.imgur.com/nDFV7ah.gif
(A single UNICORN, able to produce a shield, covering a goddamn CITY, a shield that was able to take a pounding from an ARMY of changelings and failed only after Chrissi messed up his mind. If that's not power, then I don't know what is.)
Not to mention, both Celestia and Luna, kicking asses of Sombra, and Tirek without (as far as I know) using the elements...
As for this:
One, as you noticed, that predates Celestia's rule. As far as I know, she never dumped her problems to the other world (Sunset escaped there on her own accord). That blame goes to Star Swirl, and considering how they treated Stygian, Star Swirl and the pillars, made a lot of mistakes back then.
And two, if I remember correctly (don't remember if that was in the show or the comics), the justification behind ponies dumping artifacts to the EQG universe was that most of Equestria's magic was suppose NOT working there (Sirens magic was an exception, but even it was barely working, and they weren't a threat). Without magic, artifacts were useless. It wasn't until Sunset brought in the crown that the shitshow started.
OK... Explains something to me, please. Assuming Celestia was the one who released Nightmare Moon, was that a good or a bad thing, according to you
?
10065682
YES, this! This is very similar to what I wanted to show here. Nice video
!
10065670
10065907
I planned to go with some fancy title at first, but in this case, I decided to use the simple one because it acts as an instant hook. People have been asking themselves that question since season 2 or so. After seeing the title, they already knew what the story will be about, without even reading the synopsis.
Since the story made it to the top three places of feature box, I think the simple approach was the right choice
10065756
And guns:
Norma "Meltdown" Jessop:
10066054
And in this case, it's not just fire, but more like armageddon, so yeah... Having nukes is good, using them? Not so much...
10066097
Is that just "Eh," or an orgasmic "Eeeehhh"
? If that's an 'eh,' then what did you not like about it? Can't fix the problem if I don't know what's broken 
10066161
... you know, I don't know if that's canon or not, but... I LOVE your interpretation of that fight. Never thought of that before.
10066261
Well, I'm just glad you liked it
10066317
Yeah, that was my thought as well
(ironically, in the first draft, that sentence was 'of us becoming NM and DB,' but I changed it.)
Ah, after listening to the Word's Text-To-Speach a few more times, I think I know what you mean. Changed. Sorry about that. As a non-native speaker, I don't catch such things easily
10066359
Oh, hell. I need to read that one
Thanks!
10066414
Fixed, thanks! ... Ginger and Grammarly - I want my money back...
10066676
10066790
The alternative is that something like that:
Someone should make a story about that
And done! ... only took three hours
10066830
You're welcome! It's verra good, and the sequel/prequal is even better!
10066830 You know what? You are not wrong. I can't argue with that.
As much as Celestia being powerful is everyone's headcanon, I keep getting distracted by the fact that there is a discrepancy when Celestia brought down the whole sun and yet her base is untouched by the heat. She did mentioned that her magic is "powerful but inaccurate", but the evidence written here shows no proof that it hit any allied force or mentioned of how damaging the magic actually really was. It is hard to show just how strong everything is when others keep hearing the same thing multiple times, in this context, the sweltering heat, that it loses it's meaning. The word "literally" is used so much that it has lost it's meaning, for example.
I would try to focus more on how inefficient her magic was. Give good context to readers to help them imagine how strong the "powerful but inaccurate" statement really is. Like giving an example of "how big the enemy force is in terms of stadiums or anything easy to visualise verses about 1/4(ish) of Equestria that got affected by Daybreaker".
Number of "A" forces and number of "B" forces loses all meaning of actual size. Giving us an image to compare them to helps put things into perspective.
10066830
We've seen how useless the Pony military is-it's literally one of the show's running gags to the point a 1000+ year soldier is still familiar enough with the weaponry and armor in use to call them subpar and try and whip them into shape.
And the wedding-during-threat-of-invasion, poorly planned defense, sacrificing two guards to Nightmare Moon, Keeping a god of chaos(contained or not) in a public location, Cerberus as the only major guard of Tartarus, charging Blindly as fools towards Tirek(who drains creatures magic) not preparing defenses against Changelings at all after the invasion, using another world as a dumping ground for artifacts and monsters.
And the irony in pointing out the Element's out performing soldiers lay in a few points.
Both Rainbow, Applejack and Twilight far exceed the averages of their tribe-Twilight being one of three ponies born within the time frame of 30+ years to match a lower Alicorn like Cadence before ascending. Rainbow being the only Pegasus in 100+ years possessing enough magical(because it ain't physical strength that lets her fly) potential to break supersonic speeds. And Applejack typically showing above average durability, endurance and physical strength.
Add to this the Changelings actively avoiding harming them and the show's plot armor and I'm finding that a laughable point when the sane option would've been to put them down instead of capturing them and gloating-which I've already addressed.
I never said there wasn't another artifact. I'm saying finding it, using it and not having the Elements go "No, we didn't choose your species to lead the world into prosperity" is a horribly rough road to walk with arguably less pay off- as unless you found all of them(impossible due to a half dozen reasons involving both the logistics of tracking them down or even using/repairing them) someone else will pull the same stunt and everyone ends up dead.
And at this point every threat capable of
On top of that, a strong, wise, confident wouldn't be so selfish and daft as to repeatedly risk the world to further a students ascension when she has all the resources in the world to do so through safer, less politically charged(cough, terrorism, negligence and breaching of every treaty ever written, cough) methods then routinely letting these things happen.
Starswirl taught Celestia-yes, it predates her rule, but guess who had it in a closet for 1000+ years?
Yes, risking the entire civilization and wars untold to save your sibling is a bad thing. It's by definition selfish, entitled, and arrogant beyond any sane measure, even more so when anyone else doing it's immediately marked as a monster.
I don't expect a saint. I expect her to be held to the same standards as anyone else since she sets an example, not allowed to do whatever she pleases with no consequences like a god.
10066892
A few things:
One, she didn't literally brought the sun down, but instead, using her connection to it, intensified her magic to the point of causing local armageddon.
Two, it was inaccurate in the context of fighting a single foe. My idea is that when using her full power, Celestia can't just focus it on a single pony, or changeling, but instead needs to target a certain minimal area. When she was fighting Chrissy, using her full magic would mean turning part of Canterlot into singing ruins and killing everyone being there at the time.
And three, during that sneak attack, only the dragons (and possibly some other flying units like griffons) made it to the Equestria's camp. The rest was charging from their camp hundreds of meters away, hoping for the death of general and Celestia to cause panic and break the lines. But Celestia recovered in time to stop the enemy before they reached them.
I probably should have described the distance too, that would have made it more clear.
Hmm... I thought that giving the numbers should be enough to allow the reader to imagine sixty thousand troops, and how they vanish in a few seconds in the pool of lava. But, now that I think about it... a paragraph with some nice comparison would allow for a more vivid mental picture. Noted for future reference
10066897
OK, I think we both said everything there was to say. We'll just have to agree to disagree
However, there is one statement I have to address:
So petrifying ponies is cruel, but keeping Luna locked on the moon is... OK
? Don't you see a contradiction in your statements here? Or are you saying Luna deserved to be locked there forever for 'the greater good'?
I seem to be missing something here. It sounds like her troops were fighting the enemy, she vaporized a large area, the fighting stopped.
Did she target another area and the enemy surrendered at the show of force? Or are her troops impervious to fire hot enough to vaporize a dragon? Or did something else happen?
10066987
See this comment:
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/460125/1/why-celestia-never-helps/chapter-1#comment/10066983
I explained that in more detail.