Sunrise, Sunset
Perihelion
By Sunchaser
It is most certainly a dream; but is it hers, or is it mine?
Does it matter? Regardless it would be forgiven, for it's a good one.
She stifles a yawn, raising a hoof to scratch absently behind an ear, catching it in the tangles of her misbehaven mane. I can't help but chuckle as she pulls a few pastel strands free along with it. She doesn't get those back, you know; and my but wouldn't the populace panic in the streets if they heard that their Princess of the Sun was losing her hair.
Celestia glances back and tries to glare, she really does, but with her bed mane and the morning sun not yet risen, the most she can muster is an adorable pout, the sort usually reserved for ponies who come up to her knees when they stand upright. It really doesn't help her case.
She looks away from my snickering, her chin at an indignant rise, and she storms out onto her balcony in a huff to raise the sun.
Would that all days started like this.
~ ~ ~
Breakfast is fresh, light, and scrumptious, not least because with the sun risen, Celestia has her usual glow again, and I'll not lie to say I'm unappreciative of it.
Better yet, you can't even tell that the soft rose streak of her flowing mane is four hairs short this morning. I cheerfully tell her as much—it's such a relief, how can I not—and she eyes me, but there's a bit of a smile that she can't quite hide.
The tea is lovely, mint and lemongrass. Just sharp enough against the honey toast. It's an old favorite, she tells me, going back to somepony she knew long ago. There's a certain glint in her eye: nostalgia, a touch of longing? But she looks to me again and smiles, and it's whisked away by present company.
I can't blame her, really. My company certainly brightens my own spirits.
~ ~ ~
Bless her noble charity, I can't help but shake my head that Celestia holds court on saturdays. For that matter, she'd probably do so on sundays as well, if it weren't literally her day, and thus given to her for rest.
The one article in the national charter probably helped too.
I understand why she does it, of course. Truth be told, I probably wouldn't be much different, were I in her gilded shoes; it's for them, the gathering of ponies from all callings and creeds, lined up not-quite-out-the-door (but it is the weekend, and most of them like their two days).
It has its detractions, of course; the adorably scheming nobility and their dramatic plays at politics know no rest, business day or otherwise.
She still listens; just a touch less...intently, than she did to, say, the weathered group of farmers that had petitioned an hour ago. As the noblepony drones on at her, she glances at me, her eyes desperately pleading save me, but I smile and shake my head. Forgive them their petty trespasses, I silently say. They don't know any better.
She sighs, nodding, accepting her sentence with dignity and grace. I manage to restrain my laughter; it wouldn't do for the baron—or was it marquis?—to know he was just being humored.
Of course, he knew he was just being humored—well, most nobles did. It was just how the dance was performed. But one had to stay in character while on stage, no?
~ ~ ~
With dinner comes decompression, the crown being gently set down on the table when in truth it was wished to be thrown out the nearest window, but that wouldn't do; they were expensive things.
I press, just a touch, with a raised brow and curious mien, but she's not telling that story. A pity.
Court has closed, and the bottle is opened; steaming garlic bread and rich tossed greens are accompanied by a sparkling white, something with a tart sweetness I find myself surprisingly fond of. Celestia smiles; she hoped I'd like it. I'm not terribly partial to her typically favored red, you see.
It's a quieter meal than breakfast was, but such isn't a bad thing. We trade a few words; she wished her sister was about—I'd find her quite amenable, she says. The sunset colors the sky in brilliance, red and orange and indigo in a dance of degrees as the stars play chase, and it's quiet, just the two of us.
She doesn't have moments like this anymore, she says quietly. Her smile is fragile.
~ ~ ~
The stars shine brightly against an ocean of secret wishes.
You wouldn't think it to look at her, but get her crown off and sit her down, and Celestia is a talker. Her country, her ponies, her protégé, even herself—if you know the right questions.
I've gotten very good at asking the right questions.
I won't, of course, spill her secrets for all to see. I'm great at digging up said secrets, but that's in no small part because I'm also the best keeper of them I've ever known. Trust, after all, is a thing not just given, but earned, and carefully kept.
Celestia...her trust is a precious thing. I'll give you that one for free.
Her chambers have since fallen silent, however. Now we stare out at her sister's stars, and relish the cool night breeze. Because it's this, right here, right now; these moments are full to bursting with life. These moments are treasured, never to come again. These little snippets of time are sacred. She understands that, as I do.
She leans in, resting her head against my shoulder, and I'm not surprised (nor disinclined, truth be told. Would you be?)
I pull her closer to me, and she's a little surprised, in that I'm so direct. Shouldn't I be unsure, nervous, worried of social standings? Shouldn't I be ruled by the same petty concerns as everyone else?
Well, maybe I should be, I tell her, but I've never been so good at just doing what I'm told. I'm far better at doing what I wish, and so I hold her close to me; stroke her flowing mane, gently teasing out a nascent tangle.
She buries her head against my neck and cries.
I don't blame her.
~ ~ ~
The moon hangs low on the horizon, and the stars flee the rising rays of the dawn.
She slept peacefully. It's a rare thing, and for the fleeting moment she can, she treasures it. But it's quiet now, and there's little left to be said: dawn is coming. She feels it, an impatient destiny bearing down on her hopes and dreams, and she would cry but for already having done so.
She rises, eventually, knowing who always wins in contest between her and the inexorable sun.
"I think I could love you," she whispers into the still air.
But night has given to morning, and I'm already gone.
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EDIT: 2 views, 6 likes. seems legit.
I may or may not have been ridiculously sad after I finished this.
It just gets me, man. Right in the feels, right in the heart. It's the chance that never came. I don't know how to say it! Words are dumb sometimes.
Good work.
Oh, Celestia.
I--I can't write now. Can't. You've taken all the good words, and left none for us poor souls. I think I shall open Scrivener and simply stare at it in respectful silence.
Marvelous work, Mr. Chaser. Marvelous work.
A really touching story, I liked it very much. Five suns. A great rating for a great piece.
Discord. It's Discord isn't it. I'm calling Discord. He's the only one who would be so carefree about what he does and what Celestia and others think.
2410976 I noticed that myself. Up to proper sort of count now, though.
2411036 Oh, you.
I'll not dispute that I do blossom under such praise, mind.
2411040 You know, I never considered that. I'm not going to say "you're right", but I won't say wrong, either. It's certainly possible.
2411140 Comparing sizes, Its the only one that made sense to me... Nopony else is really the same size as an alicorn.
Like and fave.
It is Discord, though, isn't it? I had originally thought it to be Twilight or Luna, but those theories got shot down fairly quickly. The only other being who could possibly relate to Celestia so deeply would have to be Discord.
2411040
Social standing doesn't sound like something Discord might be expected to care about. Even if he did, they're both Demigods at the least.
2411162
2411589
The Saddle Arabians are about the same size as alicorns.
The narrator could be a visiting dignitary. That would explain his presence at court. An outsider might also be less likely to care about relative position. Perhaps he(she? it?) is a minor Arabian lord, serving as a junior consul?
2411850
Everyone actually expects people to conform to some aspect of society. Even Discord, were he free in this story (or at least with Celestia), would be expected to conform to a norm of society somehow. But that's just it. He doesn't! That's where I pulled my quote from. (If you didn't happen to read it, it went like this:
)
It could still easily be him. I don't expect it to be a Saddle Arabian or similar sized dignitary (like, say, a larger griffon or a teenage-sized dragon) because, while possible, would they really be sleeping in the same bed as her, sharing meals with her, know her intimately? Would they really? Now how about instead the, yes at one point evil, newly reformed Draconequis that Celestia had known for centuries, even if a thousand years of that time was spent with him in stone. I know the story isn't a DisLestia fic, but it seems more likely than any other alternative.
since I'm wont to playing guessing games, my own speculation steers me toward some phantasm, the ethereal physical presence of a said faithful student
but there are a lot of interpretations. the first two lines steer us toward luna, while other details imply a person of lesser, non-royal standing
awesome story. i love reading your prose—delicate and beautiful without being overbearing or purple. i would love to see you write a longer series centered on celestia because your characterization of her is amazing
2412131
I could be mistaken, but that doesn't sound like something Celestia would say unless the two are not yet acquainted, or only slightly so. That makes my think Celestia and the narrator have not known each-other very long, or if they have, it was from before Luna returned.
Hence my idea of it being a foreigner, although there's no evidence for it. It could be anyone. That's one of the perks of being a Sun Goddess, you can invite anyone you want to your bed.
2411140
I noticed that the story has an 'Other' tag, and not an 'OC' tag. Does that mean the narrator is a canon character?
Time to stir the pot!
2411162 There are some stories out there, mind, where Celestia is rather a different mare when she takes off her crown. Just a thought.
One of the things they talk about is Twilight, though. Really, you can't begrudge Celestia her pride. Some phantasmic, ethereal presence, though? Now that's an interesting idea...
2412213 Does it? Or am I just terribly clever.
2412283 Like in Sunny Skies All Day Long? Yea, then it could be anypony. Now the real question is did you have a specific character in mind that you don't want anyone else to know, are are you just messing with me? (See Scrimshaw's "Other" tag comment)
2412308 Oh, there's a specific answer, but I'm far too pleasantly impressed with the conjecture going on here so far to spoil it this early on.
2412320
Dotted Line! There, I called it. Please say it to be so.
My first thought was Philomena, but that quickly turned out to not really work.
Is the narrator Nightmare Moon, before her release? Possibly, based on the title and her appearance and disappearance over the course of a single day, after being semi-dreamlike-released, visible only to Celestia, for the day of the year when the planet is closest to the sun? Maybe Celestia has a bit of extra power to spare at that time of year and wants to talk to her sister even in the form of Nightmare Moon, having done this once a year for a thousand years?
To me the most reasonable answer is the personification of Death. The "sad" tag implies something that seems more than what is on the surface -- if her own core is starting to burn out, though (so Twilight is intended to be the Second Celestia) it makes more sense. Or I'm way off and thinking bizarrely like usual.
2412475
2412610
both of these conjectures make a lot of sense
if my knowledge of astronomical terms isn't too terrible, perihelion refers to the point at which a heavenly body is closest to the sun. perhaps there's a symbolic meaning behind such a word choice
once again kudos to sunchaser :) i love these kinds of stories
It's a dream, I think. The narrator is a pony Celestia is dreaming of, or Celestia is simply the dream of the narrator. That's my guess.
2412942 Perihelion is, indeed, the moment when one is closest to the sun.
2412972 It is most certainly a dream; but is Celestia the sun, or is she the one close to it?
Well, I read through it twice, as well as all the comments...and crap dangit I still can't rightly figure who the narrator's supposed to be. I could guess, sure, but it really depends on just how devious you were with things like the tags. It also depends on what your criteria for a sad tag is.
Hrrrrmmmmm...I'm going to say it's nopony at all, but rather an ideal lover who Celestia has dreamt or thought up. I'm probably wrong, but it beats tyring to match the little snippets of personality we're given to the many background ponies, most who's personalities are entirely subjective to the author anyway (and this is assuming that "other" tag is literal, and not a trick).
Case in point: spill the beans!!
P.S. Really enjoyed it by way. Why don't you write more, eh?
EDIT: Well scrap the whole comment because I just now saw yours. Time to think more.
So.
I'm not sure how I feel about this one. At first, I thought it was quite clearly Luna, so I found the "It's not Luna" reveal a little off-putting. I didn't realize the extent to which this is supposed to be a mystery, though. Or maybe it wasn't? But it certainly seems to have gone that way in the comments. I've read it twice now, once for the story and once with an eye to the logic. I've been through a number of ideas (though I'll admit Discord never occurred to me).
Twilight is right out. The narrator sounds absolutely nothing like her.
Rarity's a much better starting point. The voice of the narrator is distinctly Rarity-like. But there's a hint that the narrator hasn't met Luna, so that doesn't seem to work either. And, frankly, that eliminates almost everyone from contention. (I considered Sweetie Belle as well, aged up a bit, but the Luna bit seems to disqualify her as well)
So that leaves just a few clues. To whom would Celestia be willing to open up? From whom could she look for assistance in the Throne Room? Cadence? No. Even without the Luna problem, Cadence's voice has never been much like Rarity's.
Timing seems to be critical here. Is this set in the present, the past, or the future?
Nopony seems like a perfect fit to me, but three pet theories come to mind.
The first is Device Heretic's Sun from Eternal. This is perhaps the smoothest fit, but it requires an interpretation of the Sun as sharing Celestia's perception, which isn't quite Eternal canon. Split personality Celestia definitely fits here, though. And the story description points this way rather heavily. If I were a betting man, I'd probably put the Sun at 1:2.5.
The second, as someone has mentioned before, is Death (perhaps a la RBDash47). It makes the interlude about Celestia's mane much more sensible, as well as the sad tag (which really doesn't seem to resolve well for any other possibility, to my mind). It also gives a very different flavor to the absence of Celestia's sister and the narrator not knowing her. And to the passage about secrets and trust. I'd say about 1:3.5.
The third, and the interpretation which I far prefer – call me a Sunchaser canon nerd – is Reverie. The whole thing is framed as a dream, which allows for all sorts of weirdness, although this isn't the sort of dream in which Reverie usually gets involved. There's no reason to think Reverie's well-acquainted with Luna. Reverie's voice is closer to Rarity's than any other OC I know of, and may actually be a better match for the narrator's voice than even Rarity, Luna, and Death. It's debatable, but a lot of these passages could work pretty well for her, and the social standing thing certainly makes more sense here than for either the Sun or Death. There's some weirdness with the Throne Room scene, but if Reverie or Celestia were dreaming, this becomes a little less weird as it allows a certain familiarity. Probably not better than 1:6, but an interpretation I really like, even if it doesn't line up that well with the six chapters of Reverie we have and their phenomenal disconnect from court life.
2413585
I would guess that Celestia is real, but there isn't any in-story way to tell that I can see†. But if you take the view that Celestia is real, things make more sense and are more poignant. The narrator is a pony she can never have, who is with her for the length of a single REM cycle and then gone again. The story is a window onto Celestia's unspoken wishes and a degree of sadness comes from how simple they seem.
The other way round, we have a unknown entity who for some reason contours up a dream of Celestia. Heck, it could even be a brony who is having a weird dream*. Without knowing, I'm less inclined to care. So I choose Celestia-real.
*Well, I don't know where that thought came from.
†Though the last bit seems to be out in the "real world" which seals it as being Celestia's dream.
2412320
Oh come on, curiosity is eating me alive, here. Who is it? C'mon. You can tell me? Please?
For the record, I thought that the point was that the narrator was amorphous and difficult to pin down, underlining the possibility that it's just a dream Celestia's been having -- that's why the narrator is gone by sunrise. But now that I know there's an answer...agh! I must know!
2412365
Mind you, it works right up to the point where you realize it's Dotted Line. Perpetually grumpy aging bureaucrat, that's like catnip to gods, that is.
2414548 Oh, hmm... Could this be the "self-insert fic for the sake of showing they're not necessarily all terrible" that Sunchaser was hinting about trying earlier?
2414606
Oh, er, I guess that could be it too. I was more thinking of, say, the guy from "My Full Sized Goddess Horse" (My Little Dashie parody) and using it as an extreme illustration as to why I preferred Celestia-real.
But that could be it too. So Sunchaser had a weird dream and wrote about it?
Um, let's just go back to random speculation. How about Vinyl Scratch?
This was the best short story I have read so far.
Keep it up and I will check your other stories too. 
Came here for the name, but definitely did not leave disappointed :)
You paint some pretty vivid pictures with only a few short paragraphs, nicely done!
2414031 The Sun is a particularly clever idea that came up in discussion just before I posted the story, actually. But DH's Sun in particular? Oh, I like that flavor. And Death, indeed, has plenty of wisdom about the fleeting moments of life. But Reverie? Oh, Bradel, you make me so happy sometimes. You make a fantastic case. It could be Reverie.
2414548 2414577 Oh, Celestia is real. Yes, the very last bit is where she wakes up. But who ever said that one of them had to be the dreamer and the dreamed? And I never did restrict the possibilities to someone from Equestria...
If I had a weird dream, I don't remember it, but that's been the way of all my would-be dreams for a decade. Far as I know this came to me like any other story; but no, it's not my "self-insert for the sake of it"--there's a specific idea for that one. I'll admit I expected this option to drop a lot sooner than it did, though.
But I suppose it's simmered long enough. Since it looks like Perihelion is, sadly, not going to make feature and be inundated with rampant speculation as I might have hoped; though what conjecture has been made here has been lovely. My, look at how you all took it and ran.
Technically speaking, the answer is in the opening text. Perihelion, the moment closest to the sun, by Sunchaser, and then "Is it her dream, or is it mine?".
Technically speaking, the narrator is me. But that's also a necessary evil, such as it is, given it's first-person without a specific character anchor. So the narrator speaks in my voice, and acts like I do, for the reasons I would. Now per your idea, Bradel, Reverie is all the more possible precisely because she has part of me in her as well. All this in hand, I was a touch surprised when people suggested ideas like Discord; but you know? He and I wouldn't get along so badly.
Now before you grab your pitchforks, that's the technical answer. The absolute answer, the answer I chose, as the author?
It's not who it is, but who it isn't.
The only two directly excluded from possibility are Twilight and Luna. Aside from them, it can be nearly anyone else. It could be Discord, it could be the Sun, it could be Nightmare Moon returned for a day of tea, and my the comment about Luna is weighty then; it could be Reverie Dreamflight, hell, it could be Dotted Line, if Ghosty's up for him being a philosophical softie in dreamland.
'The answer' is that it's whoever Celestia needs it to be. Perihelion is when the sun is closest; but closest to who--that's up to her.
2415633
I wanted to make an extended comment full of analysis and such, but, really, I can boil down my thoughts into a single sentence: You are made of awesome.
There. Done.
Regarding Dotted, he is a massive softie. The only reason it couldn't be him is that he would never enter a relationship with Celestia. He sees himself as indescribably unworthy.
2415633
It is technically you, because you wrote it but otherwise it's not supposed to be anypony other than not Twilight and not Luna. In that case, I'll stick with my living-dream idea although I am also happy to imagine Reverie Dreamflight.
I suppose that would make the mysterious white mare in her first dream Rarity. It's kind of nice that Reverie got to have a good Dream† for once. Appropriate that it would be with Celestia.
†Capitalization deliberate.
That... was simply amazing.
My first thought was Luna, having recently read your Lunestia fic. Then it was Twilight. Then I almost believed it to be Philomena, but I scrapped that idea since there was a romance tag. Then I thought Discord, thanks to those lines everyone else has already pulled from the story
Regardless of who I put in the place of the narrator, this is a WONDERFUL story. I really, really like it.
(oh, and I love the idea that one commenter said, that it was the Sun from Eternal. That would be awesome... I didn't even think of that! And the other one, Death. I like that one too.)
Anyways, have my fave and upvote!
2434920
There's a romance tag? Where?
It's not strictly impossible for it to be Philomena, it's just a little more of a stretch than other options. Mostly in that it requires some character surgery to expand her to fully sapient status.
2415633
*Story made*
Short but sweet sir/ma'am, but it has to be scootaloo.
Who else would be that manly.
(faved and liked, I wish I could watch you again)
I'm not sure if I can rate this story on it's own merits. I seem to be in a strange state of mind. I feel like the melancholy of Celestia is done too much, and is farther from canon than it seems, but I still like it every time I read it. This is such a short, nebulous story, and it did little more for me than tear up associations with other Celestias in other stories I've read, but that was enough. I cried, and I don't know why. I always know why. Why don't I know why? Help. It was too short, and said too little, but it was still brilliant somehow.
I read the comments and speculation, and saw names I recognized, and theories I liked (and theories that were silly) and I was a little disappointed that there was a word of god answer. The absence of Luna from the present tense of the story bugged me, and I don't really have an explanation for it. Prior to reading the comments, my guess at the narrator was some distant future faithful student of Celestia, y'know, after she promised Twilight she'd keep taking them on. It's not a perfect fit, but it could work.
Anyway, this is another thumbs up for you, and a step closer to wanting you on my follow list. Soon.
That's odd. When I first looked at this story's rating, it was 100 with 4 downvotes. When I went to add my upvote... it wasn't. 100 with 4 downvotes was the total after I upvoted it.
Apparently, my upvote was destined.
Since commenting on 'who the narrator is' seems obligatory, it's obviously a dream that Celestia is having, and a very lonely one. Here's my only unique contribution to the logic. Anyone with hooves would be unable to tease out tangles in Celestia's mane just by stroking it. She's dreaming of someone with fingers or claws.
Also, although it does little to reveal the narrator, if she can lose hairs or have tangles in her mane, she's dreaming of having actual hair. Her current mane is made of wavey aurora-stuff. Actual hair gives the dream a flavor of youth in context of Celestia, as she is usually depicted as not having had her auroral mane when she was young. This even though she's also clearly dreaming of herself as an adult.
A lot of the lines have sneaky extra meanings when you know that the narrator is literally the author - Celestia's mute appeal for help, for example, becomes less OOC-seeming, and the decision to mention her mane to her becomes very meta. Very nice.
2415633 I feel like I'm missing the point of the story, Apart from describing Celestia's melancholy, is the dream important some how? Is it all just meant to be a window into Celestia's mindset/experience?
I feel like I've missed some paragraphs or context.