Short Shorts

by Coranth

36. Daniel Meets Celestia... One Thousand Years Before...

1000 Years Ago...

'Another day of Court. Another day of resting thy flank upon this accursed throne. Another day wearing this accursed armor...' Celestia mused as she suppressed a forlorn sigh. The armor was indeed accursed - a horrible thing forged of solid steel, gold, and jewels, which covered her whole body such that none of her Little Ponies could see her. They had insisted she wear it - her form was Divine, they said, too pure for mortal eyes to view - and so she did. But by Faust did she hate it! Silent was she as court progressed - her words, too, were Divine; her Ponies thought her to be the Right Hoof of Faust herself and her words the Wisdom of the Great One, so it was that she spoke only when necessary. How long had it been since she'd felt the Sun upon Her Royal Coat again? She didn't know.

Every day she would raise her Sun for her Little Ponies... But she could never see it. Every day she would don the accursed armor they had made for her... And it was so very heavy. Every day she would hold Court, listening to the Nobles as they droned and politicked on, and on and on... And she would be bored, and so terribly lonely; an Island in a Sea of ponies. Every eve she would set the sun, and then remove the armor; thereafter she would move into the bathroom where her Gelded Attendants would help her with her evening ablutions... Before she would move abed and cry herself to sleep. Every day since the banishment of Nightmare Moon - no, Luna, her Beloved Sister - had it been this way. All were a repeat of the last. On, and on, and on... Repeat, repeat, repeat...

Suppressing a sob - for She could never cry before her ponies - within the gilded cage of her armor, Princess Celestia lowed her head; as she did so the Chroniclers in attendance gasped softly and frantically recorded the movement. They recorded her movements every day. She wished they wouldn't. She wished that she could be like other ponies; she wished there could be an end to the horrible soul-crushing loneliness she carried in her heart every day; she wished for a special somepony - somepony to hold her at night as she cried, somepony just to touch her for faust's sake, to treat her as Celestia - as a faust-damned mare! But alas... She was The Princess. The Princess, spoke they whom had entombed her immortal form, was Divine. The Princess could not have fun; she might abandon her Duty. The Princess could not eat what she desired, only what they fed her; for Her Form might be Polluted. The Princess could not know the love of a Mortal Pony; she must remain Pure. The Princess could not... The Princess could not... The Princess could not...

And yet - as she clenched her teeth and shut her eyes to stop her tears from falling, fighting desperately to quell the storm of emotions - Princess Celestia wanted... she desired... anything, anything to soothe the aching loneliness within. And so - as yet another day went on - Celestia wished, and she wished and she wished... Abruptly, the sound ceased. Suddenly, the isolation, the solitude, became unendurable. While the voices of her Little Ponies had sounded, Court had still seemed alive. Now suddenly, there was a change, the passing of something - and all that remained was this gaunt quiet. The Princess looked up and saw a beam of hazy sunlight shining down through one of the high arched, stained-glass windows of the Palace Throne Room... onto a Man. 'Prithee,' thought Celestia, her jaws agape and eyes wide with awe and confusion, 'how didst He get here? And how knowest We that he be a Man when we have never seen one of His like before in Our Court?'

Leaning forward, the Princess of the Sun squinted closely 'neath her armor... as the figure seemed to emerge from the sunlight like an apparition. Dark wraparound sunglasses marked his placid face. He wore corduroy pants, a faded denim shirt. And though he carried no luggage, his cheap canvas shoes looked like they had some miles on them. For a moment, the man just stood there, taking everything in with an air of confusion as the nobles of the Court looked on in awe and fear. Then, the man looked upon her - she looked upon him - their gazes locked... and suddenly, for the first time in countless centuries, the Princess moved; an unknown force compelled her to rise from her throne and move - head forward, gaze seeking, nose questing - toward this man. She knew not what force compelled her. She knew not why she was drawn to him so. She knew not this stranger - this man appeared in her Court - ... and yet... deep within her heart, her aching heart that drove her onward, she did know this man; he would save her, he would soothe her, take all her hurt away...

Confusion and terror gripped her guts as her tears flowed - she ought to have this man locked away for making her feel this way - and yet... placid was she as she rested her head in his arms. Docile was she as she felt the pressure of his hands whilst he worked to undo the clasps which held her helm in place. Overwhelmed was she as he gently lifted the helm away, finally revealing Her face to Her Little Ponies, and allowing her to properly see him for the first time. Then... a gasp escaped her as he touched her with his hands, smoothing dull pink mane away from tear-streaked eyes, and at his touch, she gasped - choked upon a sob threatening to burst from her throat - as memories overwhelmed her... memories from a thousand years away... She did know this man, intimately so! He was hers; her Beloved Consort, her Only Companion, her human stallion, he was... he was her... "Dahn'yel..." breathed she - her breath hitching as she spoke his name for the first time even though she'd spoken it many times before.

Drawing air into a suddenly dry throat, she coughed then tried again - she had to speak his name properly, she had to! "Daniel," mouthed she... and the man nodded, smiling. "Hello sweetie..." said he, gently; then he was holding her as she fell unto her haunches and wept, bawling like a newborn foal. "DanielDanielDanielDanielDaniel..." said she through her tears, the name a soothing balm for the wound rent in her heart. He was here. He would not care if she wept before Him, for He was Her Daniel; He knew and Understood. As Daniel - her Daniel! - made to remove more of her accursed armor that He might hold Her better suddenly a great cry went up - "HE REMOVES THE ARMOR OF THE DIVINE! NONE MUST SEE HER FORM! PROTECT HER PURITY!" - as a squad of Solar Guards, led by one of Her most devoted Priests - a Pony of the Equuleus Unicornia - made to surround and apprehend Him. They... they sought to take him from her, sought to execute him! 'Neigh,' thought she even as she continued to weep in his arms, 'thou shalt not touch him!'

Enfolding one of Her angelic wings about his form - that she might spare Him always from Her Wrath - Celestia looked upon Her Priest Unicornia and Guard; then "NEIGH!" whinnied She with the Voice of Faust. "CEASE! CEASE! AWAY WITH THEE!" Then She made Her eyes glow with all the power of Her Sun and that was enough to send the Guard - and the Nobles of Her Court - fleeing; though her Priest remained resolute. "But... thee fiend hath touched thee, mine Princess! 'Tis surely grounds for execution twice over as none may look upon or touch thy Divine Form. Thou art the Sun; of Our Holy Land; thou must be protected!" With those words, the Priest - a young stallion barely out of colthood - withdrew from his Robe a silver sacrificial dagger and raised it high above his head, hoof shaking as he made to strike for he had never done this before... but the strike never came for Celestia in her Wisdom did wrench the knife away from him! Unfurling Her angelic wing from about the form of Her Daniel, She stood and struck down the Priest with Her hoof; then as he lay on the Throne Room floor, crying and begging for Her Mercy did She prepare to burn him unto ash with the Light of Her Sun... Until a hand placed upon Her muzzle by Her Daniel did bring Her to cease.

Daniel looked at her, and his look... it was filled with such disappointment, such terrible sadness! That look could have made her curl into a ball and die, then and there! Shying away from him, girding her loins, Celestia swallowed thickly, then she moved to the Priest where he lay clutching his bleeding muzzle. For Her Daniel She would show Her mercy. "KNOW YE NOT PRIEST" whinnied she, "WHAT THOU PENNED IN THINE SCRIPTURES, UPON THINE FIRST HOLY PAGE?" Quailing in fear of Her Divine Rage, his heart hammering in his chest, the Priest bleated, "YES, YES!" And then did he quote, "There will always be a Princess. There will always be a Man by Her Side. And he shall love and protect her until time reaches its end." At his words, Celestia nodded regally before She turned unto Her Daniel and softly stated, "Prithee, Mine Daniel, please remove thine coverings from about thine eyes. Mine Priest shouldst look properly upon whom it was he nearly slew..." Nodding, Daniel did so; he carefully removed the wraparound sunglasses from his face... and then, the Unicorn Priest was on his back, submissive, hooves in the air as he wailed with terror. He had nearly slain the Man; He whom would be the Protector of His Princess!

"Forgive me!" Beseeched he of the Man. "Please, please forgive me! I knew not what I did...!" Then, he burst into tears. He had committed a Great Sin! He... had failed his Princess! He was unworthy! He was... he was... being gently picked up by the Man, cradled gently in His arms. He opened his eyes to see the Man, looking down upon him; then a gasp escaped him as Daniel began to gently wipe away his tears and the blood from his muzzle with a hoofkerchief from his pocket. But... but he... he'd committed a Great Sin and was unworthy of such treatment.... wasn't he? Soon, the confusion filling his mind faded as the Man held him close, rocking him gently as he turned to walk back to the side of his Princess. "My name," the Man stated, "is Daniel. Who might you be, little one?" The feeling of being in the arms of the Man - the softened words and tone of his voice - was almost enough to lull him to sleep as the fear-adrenaline left his body... but then the Priest startled awake as the man's name registered. This was Dan'yel--no, Daniel, the one Written of in the Holiest of Scriptures--the Protector, the Consort of the Divine. The Consort of the Divine... who was rocking the Priest gently as he cried, who was removing his robe, casting it aside that he might better stroke his coat and mane. "Mmmh... Chionesu," murmured he, remembering the question the Man had asked. "High Priest Chionesu, of the Order Solarii..."

Daniel nodded; then at some unseen signal he bade Celestia transport the three of them to Her chambers wherein the Princess did remove her armor revealing to Her Consort and High Priest her Divine Form in all its radiant glory. Chionesu shied away, closing his eyes - he wasn't worthy to look upon her - but His Princess coaxed him with Her Voice to look. Daniel alone was the Only One who could touch her, he knew, but still, she was so beautiful... Soon he was taken unto the Holy Waters of her Sacred Temple wherein Daniel and His Princess did bathe him and clean his wounds; then when Chionesu had been cleaned thoroughly the young stallion was toweled off. Shortly thereafter, High Priest Chionesu was lain upon the bed betwixt Daniel and His Princess; then did Daniel make to brush the young colt's coat, comb his mane and tail and stroke him everywhere with his hands, every touch was a balm unto his ravaged soul. His Princess, too, did touch him - she curled herself about his unworthy self and held him unto her barrel, nuzzling and stroking him with Her angelic wings as he wept, silently, eyes open as he felt the love between Her and Her Consort, Daniel - felt them give it unto him through every touch they laid upon his form - as he watched them nuzzle, kiss, caress. Foal-like, Chionesu stretched and wriggled between them, heard Divine Consort Daniel chuckle and His Princess coo softly unto Him. He was Cleansed. He was Blessed. He was Forgiven. "There will always be a Princess," Quoted He from the Holiest of the Scriptures. "There will always be a Man by Her Side. And he shall love and protect her until time reaches its end. And They shall find Another; then She will become Their Daughter... or He will become Their..." - he choked, utterly overcome with emotion - "... He will become Their Son..." And His Princess, Celestia, looked down upon Him... and she nodded.

Comments

[Seraph973]

I am confused, but I said that I won't ask anything......

[Taliesin of the Forest]

[Coranth]

2515249 Think of it this way, there will always be a Princess; ergo Celestia and Luna will exist, are existing, have existed, in all times. That's why Celestia will know, is knowing, has known Daniel when she's never met him before in this snippet.

Herein we see a harsher time, wherein Celestia has just banished her sister, where she has to wear that awful armor because her ponies think her Divine; where to look upon Her means Death. Where her Great Burden - her duty - comes before her happiness. Her heart aches, yet She must Endure for her Little Ponies and so she does.

But she is a mare. A mare imperfect. She wants. She desires. She wishes and she wishes. Sometimes a wish can be a powerful thing... enough to alter the destiny of a sad, lonely mare...

"There will always be a Princess. There will always be a Man by her side. And he will love and protect her - ever and ever, always and always - until time reaches its end."

[ReaperManX15]

And the priests ancient descendant is ...
For some reason I want to say Fancy Pants.