At the Gala
It was the day of the Grand Galloping Gala, and for the first time, Celestia didn’t have to go.
She went, of course. She could hardly ask Twilight to host it for the first time by herself.
“You know,” Celestia commented, “I may miss many parts of my time as Princess, but this isn’t one of them.”
Twilight snorted. “Tell me about it. The first time I came was a disaster, but at least it was interesting. This… I don’t know how you stood this for so long. I see why you took to spicing it up.” There was a pause. “Why did you do it, by the way?”
“Why did I spice it up?”
“No, why did you step down?”
Celestia smiled down at Twilight. "Because I knew you could handle it.”
Twilight smiled back up at her, before frowning. “No, that’s a reason why you could, not a reason why you did. I know it wasn’t the most exciting job in Equestria, but you were happy, I remember that.”
Celestia sighed. “I… I was. But sometimes our happiness can’t come first. It was over a thousand years on the throne, and it was time for Equestria to have a new princess in charge.”
“But it had been a thousand years! I don’t… what was the urgency? And you were a good ruler, why couldn’t Equestria keep you?”
Celestia looked down at the ground and briefly closed her eyes. “I… there was urgency. You are right about that. And you deserve to know the truth.” An ironic smile touched her lips. “Celestia knows I’ve asked so much of you. You deserve to know why. But… please, give me some time to collect my thoughts. May we speak- in private- after the Gala?”
Twilight looked at Celestia, concerned. “Of course! But if something’s wrong-!”
Celestia shook her head. “No, no, nothing’s wrong. Actually, everything is just right.”
The Grand Galloping Gala, at long last, was over. The last of the guests had filed out, the last of the cake taken home by any staff who wanted it, and the last of Fluttershy’s bird choir brought back to the train. Twilight and Celestia sat down at a now-empty table, Twilight using her magic to quickly clean it off.
After a few minutes of just leaning back and resting, Twilight looked over at Celestia. “Are you ready to talk about it?”
Celestia made an inscrutable facial expression. “I am, but are you? You look quite tired. Maybe it would be better to do this on another night.”
Twilight shook her head. “No, I- Well, I am tired, but I know you well enough to know when you’re putting it off. If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to, but if you do then I’m here.”
Celestia shifted. “No, you’re right. I should tell you.” She took a deep breath. “A thousand years ago, I lost my sister. I spent a thousand years waiting for her to come back, but even though I knew she’d come back, I could never be sure if she’d ever return to me as Luna- as herself- or if she’d be the Nightmare forever. And during that time… I ruled alone.” She gave Twilight a wistful smile. “You brought her back to me. And I can’t thank you enough for that. It is the greatest gift anyone has ever given me.”
Twilight smiled.
“When she came back, I swore to myself that I wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes of a thousand years ago. I had made the necessary arrangements within the government so that upon her return, she could step in as a second princess with as much ease as possible. And so she did, and I tried. But as time went on…” Celestia lifted her head up to look out the window at the moon. “The cracks began to show.
“Many of the problems in Luna that had led to her becoming the Nightmare were still present. And a thousand years of ruling had seen me slip into habits, doing things my own way, and far too often I found myself doing that over what she wanted. She felt like she wasn’t being given equal treatment as a princess, and honestly, I wasn’t giving it to her. My controlling nature was in constant conflict with her independence, and we began having little fights almost every month, then almost every week.
“We tried to ignore these problems, at first, which was perhaps the worst thing we could have done. But they kept coming. Until one day, an unexpected visitor showed up in the palace.”
“Who?” Twilight asked.
“Starlight Glimmer. That was the day the map sent her out to fix a friendship problem. I’m sure you remember it?”
Twilight shuddered. “Vividly.”
Celestia laughed. “She handled it as only she could. And it’s a good thing she did. But there’s a part of the story which I don’t know if you know. At one point, while trying to ward the nightmares away, I saw a nightmare from Starlight herself. It was a nightmare that she failed her friendship problem. Luna had become Nightmare Moon, and I… I had become Daybreaker.”
“Daybreaker?” Twilight asked in a whispered voice.
“Daybreaker. She had a mane of pure fire and a voice like thunder. She wasn’t real, of course. I’ve never been Daybreaker and Starlight hadn’t seen anything like that- unless she saw something in one of those parallel timelines which you hadn’t mentioned?”
Twilight thought back to a world of dust under a hot sun.
“No, nothing,” she said.
“Well, in any case, there she was. And I wasn’t her, but… Starlight’s dream was closer to the truth than she knew. Luna had been getting increasingly angry about all the public-facing work I did, my constant smile, feeling like I was trying to steal the stage again. And I’d gotten used to ruling without her, and while I’d never want it to be true, on an emotional level I was feeling very much like she was trying to take control away from me, trying to do things the wrong way, even though she was doing exactly what I’d said she could. Like I had any right to be the one who said what she “could” do at all. If Starlight hadn’t interfered, I believe that either the Nightmare would have returned or Daybreaker born within the year.” Twilight gasped.
“Seeing the problems that the other one faced each day did a lot to help, I think. Still, emotions aren’t always rational. And neither were we. I'm... I’m used to a thousand years of wearing a smile; it can be hard to open up. Neither of us were willing to admit our problems, so neither of us could face them.”
“But you’re admitting them now!” Twilight said, anxiety having fully replaced the sleepiness on her face.
“Yes, but only because I’d been forced to face it. Do you remember that day when you held the play for my ‘onesversary’? In particular, what the big special effect wound up being?”
“Yeah, you raised the sun.” Twilight answered.
“Yeah.” Celestia repeated bitterly. “I raised the sun. My sister had become the Nightmare and I’d been forced to banish her for a thousand years, because she believed ponies cared about my day more than about her night. We had been fighting because she believed that my publicity tours were doing much to enhance my image and that she was being left in the shadows again. And what did I do? In the night, in her night, I raised the sun, to gather applause.”
“Oh.” Twilight softly stated.
“She was furious. Rightfully so. After the play, we fought, and it was the closest I’ve come to seeing the Nightmare return. Seeing that, seeing her anger, seeing her like that… it was something I couldn’t refute. Until that very moment, I couldn’t even see that what I was doing was wrong. And once that happened… we knew the situation was untenable. Staying on the throne, staying in power, would keep leading to more and more anger, and eventually, one of us would snap. We couldn’t take that risk. So we decided to step down. We wanted to leave it to you, but we were nervous. We weren’t sure what you’d do if something like our situation happened to you, and we couldn’t risk putting even more of a bomb on the throne. Because with your control over magic, and your intelligence? Even together, I don’t know if we’d have been able to stop you.”
“I’d never hurt you!” Twilight said. “Never!”
“I know you wouldn’t. Not while you were in your right mind. But we didn’t know if something would be likely to break you just as it did Luna. And then Cozy Glow did what she did.”
“Cozy Glow?” asked Twilight. “What did she have to do with anything?”
Celestia looked off into the distance.
“I had a student once, before you. She was brilliant, kind, empathetic, gifted… strong in so many ways. I loved her. But I didn’t do a good enough job of showing it. I had gotten used to being in control of things by then, and I was trying to control her. Control her life. Every day, everything we did, every lesson, all planned out long in advance. And she began to realize it. It made her resentful, made her feel like I didn’t trust her… and I suppose I didn’t. In ways, I didn’t trust anyone.
“Eventually, things… came to a head. We had a confrontation, and she wanted to rebel. She wound up doing things she’d regret, things I’d regret having ever happened. And then she was gone, having left Equestria entirely. Gone forever, I thought, lost to herself, lost to her resentment of me. But years later… She got better. She grew into a kinder person, like she had been long ago. She came to regret all that she’d done, and made amends. But I didn’t get better. I kept up my anger, kept wanting to control, kept wanting to make decisions that I thought were the best for her. And I thought it was best to- stay away.
“She thought I hated her. She was scared to come back. And when she finally did, when circumstances forced her to… Tell me, Twilight Sparkle, what expression was on my face when Sunset Shimmer first returned to me?” Twilight opened her mouth- “No. Not like that. Don’t give me the answer you think I want to hear. Tell me honestly. Do not spare my feelings.”
Twilight grimaced. “You looked… stern. Not quite angry, not quite disappointed, but… quite nearly both,” she said, reluctantly.
Celestia nodded. “That sounds about right. Even then, I still hadn’t gotten over my emotions at the betrayal. I did forgive her soon after, of course, but it was too late. She’d built a new life for herself. In many ways, she was already lost to me forever. And we forgave each other, but I don’t know if either of us have truly forgiven ourselves.”
Twilight thought back to some of Sunset’s most recent journal messages. “I think she has.”
Celestia gave a small laugh. “Sounds about right. She should have. Being able to forgive herself… That’s something that she’s better at than I might ever be.”
“But you, Twilight. When Cozy Glow betrayed you- I know you weren’t as close as myself and Sunset were, but it was still a betrayal. And you… you didn’t blame yourself. That’s a good thing, to be clear. You shouldn’t. You did everything you could, and it’s good not to dwell on it. And it was seeing that, seeing you staying true to yourself throughout the whole ordeal, which gave us the confidence that you would truly be able to handle the throne and anything which was thrown at you. And knowing what you’ve done since…”
Celestia and Twilight looked out the window into the castle gardens, where two stone statues stood on a pedestal together. Two, not three.
“I feel more sure of that than ever. You are a Princess, Twilight, and that is more true than ever. You’ve done so much, and I am so proud of you.”
Twilight looked away. “I don’t… Not like you, Princess. I haven’t even ruled for a full year. It’s too early.”
Celestia smiled. “Maybe. But I trust you.”
The two sat together, under the moonlight, for a few minutes.
“So… how are you and Luna doing now?” Twilight tentatively asked, breaking the silence.
“Wonderfully. We’ve never had a better relationship. Stepping out of the limelight, and going into a position where we could more easily take breaks from each other if necessary… it’s made a world of difference. We’re truly happy together. Whatever I’ve said tonight, I want you to know that- that now, we truly are happy.”
Twilight beamed. “I’m so happy to hear that it's- that you're better now!”
Celestia looked up at the moon again, pale white, looking exactly as it had over a thousand years ago, before the first thoughts of Nightmare had been born.
“So are we.”
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A VERY good story, and I like what this implies.
A nice little story. I often hear people bemoan over why Celestia or Luna would want to retire at all, but I always figured in my head that...it was probably for reasons such as this. It was just time for them to. They had done their part for Equestria and now it was time to turn it over to someone else who could take it on to new horizons that they themselves could not.
Though that said...Cozy was all right to reform and release, but not Chrysalis and Tirek, hmm?
11702884
No, I think both of them absolutely were redeemable, given enough time and enough effort. And I figure both of them would have been freed, given enough time. But it's not even been a year, and releasing all three at the same time is probably a bad idea until they're a bit more sure on Cozy first- I sort of figure her to be around S4 Discord or early S6 Starlight levels at the point this story is written, where she's definitely trying to be good, but there's many ways where she isn't yet, and many ways where it's probably best to be a bit careful.
11702898
That's actually a nice change from the norm, as I see far too many attempts at reformation stories that doesn't stop to consider that it probably would never be an overnight thing and thus come across as...implausible. Nice to hear that doesn't seem to be the case here.
Oh hey, then you've actually put some thought into it!
Anyway, I didn't really want to get too into that, seeing it's more just an added bonus to the story rather than the core focus and didn't want to detract too much from what was really more important about it, because that part shines pretty well.
I really like this. Better explanation for why Twi took Celestia’s role than we ever got in the show. Like how you dissected Celestia’s main go-to line. Looking forward to read more from you!
Very nice! I like this interpretation of things a great deal!
Celestia using her own name in this way strikes me as a bit off, but that's really all I noticed in the way of editing!
Great work! I hope to see more from you soon!
11703022
That was an intentional choice. I considered having her say “Twilight knows” as an indication of Twilight stepping up, but decided against it as too confusing. Her using her own name was meant as a sort of “I know what I’ve been doing”, combined with a sort of playing ironically with her having this image of being this flawless goddess while talking about her own flaws. Maybe it didn't come out well, but meh, I like it.
...did she just..
Really enjoyed this fic!!
11703111
Oh, I see! That makes sense, and I like it as well!
I feel that that could be made a bit clearer, and to that end, I might recommend adding apostrophes around the word 'Celestia', or otherwise adding emphasis in how it's typed to show that she's saying it ironically. Alternatively, you could communicate some of her attitude outside of dialogue, i.e. by saying that she chuckled before speaking, or rolled her eyes, or otherwise spoke in a way meant to communicate irony without you needing to alter the way the dialogue is typed.
I'm not an expert, of course, but I hope this can be of some use to you.
Again, I genuinely really enjoyed the story! Thank you for writing it!
11703494
That’s what the “sad smile” was meant to do. I’m having trouble visualizing how to do the special way of writing the text, though. I’ll think about it, maybe change to “laughed ironically” or something, not sure! Thanks for advice!
I heard rumors that Celestia and Luna found a special rainbow that took them to meet a creature they have never seen before and have even made friends with that said creature ever since.
images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/abcb0596-8170-47ff-a82e-0f135897547c/de7sxzz-2969ec51-5e54-402d-970e-53f3cb6677df.jpg/v1/fill/w_982,h_636,q_75,strp/megan_hugging_celestia_by_zackromento_de7sxzz-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NjM2IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYWJjYjA1OTYtODE3MC00N2ZmLWE4MmUtMGYxMzU4OTc1NDdjXC9kZTdzeHp6LTI5NjllYzUxLTVlNTQtNDAyZC05NzBlLTUzZjNjYjY2NzdkZi5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9OTgyIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.zMWI73_HIlrBKAbG6s7z7LgBofyUyKsQh5QRBG3azB8
derpicdn.net/img/2018/10/16/1857678/large.jpg
11702884
Cozy Glow is a child and a pony. Tirek and Chrissy are not and repeatedly tried to destroy Equestrtia.
Celestia and Luna had no real reason to retire, and to do so in the first place is OOC for them. Also, Cozy was rendered harmless after she was defeated, with no alicorn magic or any way to manipulate anyone, and they could've, no, should've just put her and the other villains in Tartarus instead of turning them to stone and taking away any chance to repent. That's two reasons Season 9 should be officially revised. I invite anyone who agrees to join the Save MLP campaign and help make Hasbro give FiM the well-thought-out ending it deserves.
11703683
Cozy also tried to destroy Equestria several times. And showed zero remorse for doing so. People seem to deliberately ignore that.
11703782
Again, she's a child and a pony. That's basically it.
11703683
What 11703782 said--Cozy committed many of the same crimes as Chrysalis and Tirek, and quite clearly did so entirely knowingly and voluntarily. Child or not, she should still be just as culpable for those crimes. Therefore, if it's okay to try and forgive Cozy's crimes and try and reform her, then it's okay to do the same for Chrysalis and Tirek. Conversely, if trying to reform Chrysalis and Tirek is deemed too risky, then it's too risky to try with Cozy as well. It is not a matter where you can have your cake and eat it too--it's either all or nothing.
I won't even get into how gravely flawed, not to mention extremely racist, the "because she's a pony" part of your comment is.
11703802
Cozy absolutely did commit the crimes and should be culpable. But she should also be reformed and allowed to be free when she is, assuming she's trying to make amends to those she's wronged. Those sentiments can exist at the same time. And yeah, I do think the others can be reformed, but for clarification- letting all three be free at the same time is the risky part as far as I'm concerned, and since they have both a better grasp on Cozy's psyche and a better ability to control her (she can't shapeshift or steal magic), it made sense to start with her in the hopes she might be able to get through to the others when she's better. So I agree that it's okay to reform Chrysalis and Tirek, but their abilities are inherently more dangerous and therefore reforming them is riskier.
11703817
I know, I'm totally okay with your particular approach to the matter.
I'm just less okay with HumanSVD's outlook at it.
11703802
Racist? Lol, please. It's well known different species will give preference to their own.
Furthermore, she is a child. A child for crying out loud. There's a reason children who commit crimes are generally treated differently than adults. Stop trying to act so morally offended.
11703822
You will get over it.
11703880
The fact she's a pony should have nothing to do with it. Besides, Equestria's already proved itself fully capable of reforming non-ponies too. Heck, they reformed all the rest of the changeling species, so I think that makes them more than a little qualified to try, y'know?
Basically though, my point is that if you're going to try and reform Cozy, then it's only fair to try and do the same for Chrysalis and Tirek too--if not at the same time then in sequential order of the reformer's choosing--or else you still don't exactly have the moral high ground here. There's no real reason to exclude them that wouldn't also apply to Cozy as well.
11703888
She's one of their own and a child. A society will always tend to pick their own. You don't have to like it but that's a big reason. As the author fair said, she doesn't have any special powers vs the other two.
I think you are the one who needs to chill.
11703893
And she's also fucking evil, it's better to nip that in the bud. Like, if a ten year old murdered their family would go easy on them because they're kids
11703894
I'm missing the part where Cozy killed someone.
11703895
Arguably worse, she was a domestic terrorist. If a 10 year old kid was knowingly and willingly working with people trying to overthrow the government, would you go easy on them?
11703895
She nearly did--remember that class of students that very nearly fell to their deaths because of her scheme to steal the magic of Equestria?
I actually have wondered if there were any other unfortunate victims who suffered physical harm off-screen because of her stealing the magic like that...
11703921
Take it up with the author or the princesses.
11703931
Ask the writers of the show then.
This is a very good one-shot.
pretty great for a first story
well done!
Damn, the first story and already featured? Bravo
Great work!! Especially as a first story!! I love introspective Celestia works so much
11703921
ID STILL DO IT!
THEY ARE JUST A FILLY
maybe ill take the stone BUT NOT FOREVER!
THATS TORTURE
11705136
Cozy's age is just an excuse at this point for this fandom. Age shouldn't matter when the crime is this big. And Cozy was never once sorry about anything she did. She knew exactly what she was doing.
And didn't care.
11705550
Yet what she got was basically torture
11705550
It shouldn't Matter yes but
When the punishment is cruel and unusual? Thats where I draw the line
Besides if the elements weren't destroyed id use them against her to see if she can be reformed
11703742
Oh SHUT UP.