Only shadows of the past...

by Phoenix Quill

Ch. 12 5/13/1113 Celestia

It was time again for the event to end all events, the Grand Galloping Gala, and again Celestia was looking forward to it's end.

Over a hundred years ago, when Ink Well suggested that Celestia would throw the biggest and grandest party of them all for her subjects, she had imagined a grand masquerade ball with the best musicians, entertainment, and decorations money could buy.

She got the decorations, musicians, and a room filled wall to wall with noble ponies that would make the common ponies that came, if they dared to, feel as unwanted as they truly were in the nobles eyes.

To the nobility, the commoners, the descendants of the miners that had founded Canterlot years ago, and the third generation of ponies that were displaced from Everfree, were nothing more than an ends to a means to make sure that there was somepony that they could actually all agree upon that they were above.

Princess Celestia had come to truly hate her own party. She loathed the Gala.

The Gala, once a symbol of equality of all ponies, and a chance for Celestia to cut loose in front of some of her closest friends, was now just another event for stuffy know it alls and high brow nobles to try and win her favor and cut each other down.

Celestia walked slowly through the castles gardens as she contemplated these facts, lowering the sun all the while letting dusk settle in.

The wandering was not truly as aimless as she tried to make it appear, and soon came to a fenced in area in the back corner of the gardens.

Her gentle neutral expression never left her face as she nodded to the two guards standing at attention. Nor did she allow the frown that was tugging at her lips to have its way as she walked through the gate.

Instead a small sad smile settled on her lips as she sat down midst a field of graves, and looked on at the tombstones.

"It has been a long time now, hasn't it? You have been gone for almost fifty years, and yet I feel like it were only yesterday when you were last here."

The stone before her marking the final resting place of Inkwell stood as a silent testament to her words as Celestia sat down before it, "It's funny now, how out of all the ideas you had for me, that the one you came up with for my own well being might be the one that undoes me."

She sighed a little bit to herself as she looked back at the castle, "I'm just glad that you got to see your plans come to fruition, and that you never had to live long enough to see them spoiled."

The last rays of the sun disappeared over the horizon, and Celestia almost lazily cast the spell needed to pull the moon up from the east, "When will I ever learn to let go of the past?"

Celestia looked at the newly raised moon at the image of her sister glaring down at her. "At least you don't have to worry about my petty problems where you are sister," she said before starting the walk out of the small private cemetery, "But I would give anything to have shared the same fate as you, it must be better to be alone than to watch others die as you go on living alone."

The guards opened the doors to let Celestia back into the castle with a salute, and as she walked in she turned into a wash room and grabbed the nearest towel to wipe off her face of the tears that the memories brought her.

She only was in the room for mere moments before a knock jolted her back to reality, "Your majesty? Are you ready to see the groomer? The guests will be arriving soon."

Her face immediately fell back into its calm neutral as she called out, "Yes I am ready!"

Celestia opened the door and saw a pony she never met before, she was steely in color with bright blue eyes and a forced on smile that poorly hid the worry in her eyes, "Then let's go, before Lord Boysenberry arrives and makes a scene with Duke Scrollworthy."

The two mares walked down the wide halls of Canterlot Castle with equally false smiles to the grooming salon when Celestia looked down at the other pony and asked, "My little pony, why do you seem so worried?"

The steel colored pony jumped slightly before looking at her princess, "Oh well, it's my first day on the job and I guess I am just a little nervous, My mother expects me to live up to very high expectations."

Celestia tilted her head, "Why?"

It was a simple question, but one that made the grey pony visibly jump as she tried to think about how to answer properly, "My grandmother was Ink Well, your highness. My mother thinks that because I work here as a servant I can move up and become like her, but I'm nothing like her. I get nervous around other ponies, and then I ramble and oh my I'm doing it again aren't I?"

Celestia gave a genuine laugh at the behavior of the maid and smiled, "Never fear, just be yourself and everything will be alright. What is your name?"

The grey pony blushed slightly as her ears fell back, "Steel Resolve, your highness."

Steel Resolve and Celestia stopped before the castle's salon, "It was nice to meet you Steel Resolve, I shall see you around the castle I am sure."

The steel grey earth pony smiled as she went down the hall and Celestia smiled a little bit before going into the salon to be pampered by a dozen ponies so she would look her best for an event she hated to go to these days, "Perhaps, this year will be different."

________________________________________________________________________________

Nightmare Moon looked over the last pieces of her once mighty armor. One hundred years ago, this would have covered her entire body for battle.

Because of her habit of wearing the armor on a near daily basis, the only parts that were still recognizable were the shoes, necklace, and helm. Everything else that had moving plates to cover her legs and body was falling apart.

She looked sadly at the pieces that were no longer usable and gave off a sigh as she cast a spell to melt down the silver, "I have tried to be calm, and I have tried to forgive myself."

Her magic picked up the molten silver and she poured it into a mold that she made from carving the rocks into shape, "I have tried to see past my suffering, one hundred years of loneliness and nagging hunger." She pulled the now more solid silver out of the mold and dumped it into a small basin of water, "I can never forgive my sister, my subjects, or even myself."

As the worked metal cooled in the water, Nightmare Moon put the necklace, helm and shoes on with a sad look.

Using her magic to pull out the newly formed silver knife from the water and held it before her eyes to examine it, "I have not been able to forgive anyone, so mother forgive me."

The blade flew forward and plunged deep inside of her chest "Let me be free."

Nightmare Moon blinked a few times as her heart bled out into the dust, and a smile crossed her features.

She was finally free.

________________________________________________________________________________

A month went by before her body was fully decomposed, and the knife fell out of her rib cage.

Another month went by as her body reconstructed itself. When Nightmare Moon awoke, she found the knife lying on the ground next to her.

She looked at the knife for a few moments before she turned away from it to see the stars, "Mother, why can't you let me die?"

Comments

[zero588]

If this is how Nightmare Moon is after 100 years, how will she last 1000?

P.S (Yes Celestia, you are petty.)

[Iroh Legoman]

Why?