Nightmare Night and the Raising of the Sun

by Comet Burst

The Sun Princess

(Keep the music playing. It may sound like one song, but the slow violin is where this part starts.)

Celestia graciously set herself down on the mountain, near but not on the ritual circle. She looked around, expecting the gathered creatures to be enraged and attack her. However, they all slinked off as if a spell had been broken. The thestrals all left in a large legion and flew to the north while the changelings followed their queen west past the forest to the badlands. The Ursas returned to the Everfree forest and soon there was no trace of the ritual Nightmare Moon was attempting to complete. With her task complete and not a single creature around, Celestia lowered her head and let a series of silent tears fall. Her baby sister, the most precious pony to her, was now gone, lost inside her monstrous alternate personality. Celestia continued to weep, thinking of her final promise to her parents that she would protect Luna, now Nightmare Moon and how she had failed them.

Steeling her nerves, Celesta raised her head and looked up at the pale and barren moon. She thought of her sister, working with her to defeat Discord and King Sombre and sighed heavily. How could it have come to this? She focused on the moon with her watery magenta eyes and felt herself begin to weave a spell. Slowly, the moon began to lower and the sun began to rise in the east, the ending of Luna's eternal night and the beginning of the era of harmony. Celestia took a deep breath as she continued the spell, one she would have to use every day from now on until Luna returned.

Down in the town of Ponyville, the royal guards shielded their eyes as the sun emerged from the east. The ponies living there slowly opened their doors and windows, coming out to see the sun with awe. In the distance, a bell tolled solemnly as the ponies gathered in the town's square to watch the sunrise. A dark spec appeared on the horizon, causing the royal guards to tense, but soon the unmistakable silhouette of Princess Celestia was formed from the spec. As she gracefully flew on her magnificent wings over the town, everypony young and old allall kneeled in silent respect. Looking down, Celestia felt her sad mood brighten a bit as she watched her beloved little ponies.

She continued to fly westward to other cities. Manehatten, Fillydelphia, Coltsburgh and Pranceton all gave a similar reaction that Ponyville gave, each citizen paying their respects to Celestia. As she flew, her thoughts stayed with her dear sister. Alone with her anger and madness, could Celestia really just turn her back on her? Celestia valued everypony, but this was not a mere subject. This was her own flesh and blood, her birth sister. However sad and horrible Celestia felt, though, she knew this was the best solution. Luna needed time to regain control of herself and staying in a prison cell would do more damage than good. Without realizing it, Celestia found herself crying again as she saw a beautiful city of white and gold glimmer in the distance. Canterlot, her home and capitol of Equestria, was as silent as the other cities, all heads bowed in respect for their princess.

Carefully, Celestia descended to the gates of the castle where every royal guard in Canterlot stood. At once, they formed a pathway to the gates, removing their helmets and bowing their heads as well. It was ingrained in them to do so, but it made Celestia uncomfortable. Still, she smiled to them as she walked the path to the gate. At the gate itself was the captain of the guard, a greying pony who had lead the successful campaigns on Discord and King Sombre's forces while the two princesses struck the final blow. Without a word, he pushed the gate open for her, standing as rigid and proper as he could. Celestia paused and smiled sincerely to him. As one of her most loyal and helpful subjects, the captain was one of the few ponies she considered a close friend.

It wasn't long before she stood alone in a room not far off from the throne room. Her coat was as white as it could be, her mane long and bushy and flowing. Golden horseshoes were about her hooves and a necklace of shining gold with an amethyst gem hung about her neck, giving her a most regal appearance. Taking a deep breath, she opened the doors and proceeded to the throne room. The walk was slow and deliberate as her servants and royal guards stood absolutely still, mesmerized by her. Her father, the last king of Equestria, always taught her to command attention in any situation, whether it be deciding the fate of the country or just a stroll down the hall. Today, she felt magnificent, beautiful and the luckiest pony in the world.

The overly large golden doors gleamed in the sunlight as Celestia approached them. The engravings upon them told of the sun and moon, depicting both Celestia and Luna on either side. Celestia felt a knot in her stomach as she opened the doors. Inside, the room was bathed in generous amounts of sunshine as ponies lined both walls, staring in awe at the alucorn before them. Slowly and well rehearsed, Celestia moved forwards down the red velvet carpet to the centerpiece of the room, the magnificent throne. A hymn was being sung by the crowd, one of hailing the new ruler and sung at every coronation since Equestria was founded.

Upon reaching the steps to the throne, Celestia halted, kneeling before it. Up on the dias next to the throne, stood the captain of the guard along with six mares on either side of the steps leading up to him. He removed his dress helmet, revealing himself to be a unicorn and spoke. Celestia waited as he repeated the well worn words of crowning. As captain of the guard, he was also steward to the throne, assuming control should a monarch die before arrangements could be made. Celestia was unsure if she would become princess, but with Luna turning on the kingdom, she had assumed the role she was born to take. The old unicorn asked Celestia a series of questions about being a fair and just ruler as well as other things pertaining to her rank. She answered affirmatively and with confidence, causing the crowd to let loose a cry of approval. The old unicorn smiled at her and he began to cast a spell as the six mares tossed rise petals on the stairs.

Celestia rose up and walked up the stairs to the throne. She stared directly ahead at the red velvet chair, noting it had been refilled with feathers and wool to make it more comfortable and bigger. She reached the top step and turned to face the crowd. Gracefully, she lowered her rump into the seat of the throne, noting how light and airy it felt. Her magenta eyes fixed on the stained glass window opposite her beyond the doors as something cold brushed the top of her head. A metallic object light in weight settled between her horn and mane, causing a chill to travel up her spine. The crown was far lighter than she thought.

The captain looked out at the crowd and said "I give to you your new monarch, Princess Celestia. Long may she rule." The crowd roared in response and Celestia allowed herself a smile. The sun seemed to glow a bit brighter and she turned to face it. Her vision filled with the light and warmth of the sun and everything faded to white.

Comments

[Celestias Paladin]

Fantasia... that brings me back, it has been so long since I've watched either the original or 2000.

The music selected worked perfectly with writings. There isn't much more I can add apart from good job in Celestia, and you misspelled Alicorn in the first part.

[WindyDayz]

This is great.loved the army part. And the word is Alicorn.

[Cerulean Voice]

Your first comment on this fic in over a year.
Feel privileged.

Quite a strange way of telling this story, but still entertaining. The imagery was all there.
Oh, just a heads up, but your music link is now broken Curse you, Disney!
It's all g, though. I just imagined the song in my head while I read. It worked a treat.
My mind is beyond boggled at how little attention this fic received. Was it your first story when you had zero followers?

[Grey Bard]

Night on Bald Mountain is one of my favorite pieces from 'FANTASIA' (and I'm sure everyone likes 'THE SORCER'S APRENTICE' with M.M.). Would like to see how Disney Studios would do this.