> A Thousand Years and I Still Love You > by Smokey Majenta > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > To the moon > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- How long has it been? Thought Celestia. The poor Alicorn had lost track of all the years that followed her sister's one thousand year banishment. Her tail drooped and stopped flowing with it's brilliant polar-light colors, and her mane moved on occasion as the wind howled. She stared up into the sky, at the moon that never seemed to wax or wane, making Nightmare Moon's image a horrible sight she was bound to stare at whenever she looked up. Celestia thought that maybe, just maybe, it was close to one thousand years, and then she could finally see her little sister again. The grown mare walked away from her window and chose a wide open spot on her balcony to stare at the stars. She didn't know why she did this. The night sky only made Celestia more depressed and cut off from the world. The Princess thought about times when she and her sister were still together. Still happy. There was Luna's 634th birthday... "Sister, that is NOT how you eat cake!" "But Tia..!" "This is!" And with that Celestia had used her magic to throw Luna's cake onto her face. She had blushed, screamed, and in revenge, she threw the entire punch bowl onto Celestia's head. Good thing it didn't break. Then came the fateful thought that always brought Princess Celestia tears. Nightmare Moon was threatening her ponies. She had no choice. So with the mighty Elements of Harmony and magic of her own, Celestia banished her sister to the moon for one thousand years. Celestia remembered the rainbow light that swallowed Luna up, and a tear rolled down her face. "Sister?" a familiar voice called. Celestia automatically perked up. "Luna! Please, come sit next to me! Isn't your moonlight beautiful?" The Sun Princess chirped. "I raised it for you tonight so you wouldn't be so tired, and-" "Celestia, we have important things to discuss," Luna said. She curled up on Celestia's bed and smiled. "Then, if you wish, we may 'hang out' as thy subjects call it." "What is it you want to discuss?" Celestia asked, curling at her sister's hooves. "Celestia...I'm afraid I cannot keep coming here to see you." In that moment, Celestia's heart shattered into a thousand bits all over the floor. "Sister...Luna no!" Tia shouted. "I do not have the energy up here to visit you as a ghost. A voice mightier than yours has been telling me that there is someplace I must go." "I said a thousand years, and then you could return! Can you wait no longer?" Celestia whispered, in an effort to fight back tears. "No Celestia." Luna stood. "My ghost has roamed the moon for 1,999 years in wait." "That's...that's not right..." Celestia ran a hoof through her mane. "Because when you banished me to the moon, you didn't say One Thousand Years. You said, and I quote,"May the moon capture you and hold you there for thousands of years."" "I'll go crazy without you!" Celestia could no longer contain her tears, and they began to flood. "No! No, you'll go crazy if I don't leave!" Luna countered. "I mean, look at the six ponies that you have entrusted with the Elements of Harmony! The pink one has gotten murderous and kills ponies and turns them into food, the one that's obsessed with clothes is the sluttiest mare i've ever met, the rainbow mare has all-together vanished, the one that does apples only knows the one word, that animal pony is catching ponies and re-naming them and calling them bunnies, and the one you know as Twilight Sparkle has changed her name to Dewdrop Dazzle and walks around like she's as drunk as Berry Punch! And you have done naught to revive the friendship among the six ponies because you only await the fate you thought you had given to me." Celestia was finally defeated, as she found nothing to say. The day was growing young. The sun would have to rise soon. "I'm going to leave you, tonight, and never see you again." Luna got comfortable next to her sister. "But it's been over One thousand years, and I still love you, sister. I forgive you, and I will always remember you." For the next few minutes, the two mares bawled into each other's manes. At exactly five o'clock, Luna stood for the last time. Celestia watched, tears still falling, as Luna walked onto the balcony. With all the energy she could muster, Luna began to lower the moon. Just as the moon was on the horizon, Luna collasped. Then, a miracle. Celestia ran over, horrified to see her sister's mane glowing a brilliant white. Then her torso. The glow continued to swallow Luna. "Luna, what's happening?" Celestia cried. But she already knew. "I love you, big s-s-sist..." And with the stutter of her words, Luna was gone. Gone with the voice mightier than her own. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Celestia looked at the moon that night, but differently. Nightmare Moon was gone from the moon's surface, and in it's place was what Celestia decided was a heart. Looking upward, Celestia quietly whispered, "I love you too, little sister." Celestia was running. She was running through the streets of PonyVille, not bothering to stop when somepony showed their concerns. Finally, Tia reached her place of destination: a large tree house in the middle of the village. Using her horn's magic, Celestia levitated six objects in front of the door. Reaching out a shaky hoof, Celestia tapped the door ever so slightly. The mare that opened the door didn't LOOK like a Dewdrop anything. "Twilight...?" princess started slowly. "Yes...?" Twilight replied just as slowly. "Oh thank Goodness. I've heard rumors that you called yourself Dewdrop and became something of alcoholic. > Regroup the elements starting with Twilight... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight looked at Celestia as if the Princess had gone crazy. "No..." she said slowly. "That's actually my most successful spell yet!" Twilight gestured to Spike, who was standing in the background eagerly, to bring her her purple clipboard. "Why in Equestria would you make another you?" Celestia mumbled, then added "And a drunk one at that?" Taking the clipboard from Spike, she levitated it near her face and began to explain. "Well," she said, beginning to pace, "Pinkie Pie came to me last night. We all know that she decides when our numbers come up, and she threw me a party last night to tell me i'm next. After Pinkie left, I knew I had to do something, so I conjured up a long forgotten spell that even Star Swirl the Bearded didn't know! With Spike's help, I managed to create another me." "But her mane is white," Celestia countered. "I was about to dye it before you knocked, your highness. As for her alcoholic behavior, I tested her by giving her some punch that I got from Berry Punch. Obviously, that punch wasn't just punch. But whatever," Twilight said, turning away from the princess to set down her clipboard. "Pinkie will take Dewdrop and I will be a safe, lucky pony that can never set foot outside again or Pinkie might see me oh no what am I gonna dooo!!!!???" Shaking her head, Celestia turned away and started off for Pinkie. > Pinkie did what!? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everything felt oddly different as Celestia found her way to Sugarcube corner. For one thing, ponies weren't bustling in and out of the cake shop like the normally did. For another, a bloody, broken sign hung in the window. It read 'We're closed forever." Taking a gulp of air, Celestia opened the door with her horn and ventured inside. "Hello? Show yourself, mare, and make this easy for me!" After an eternity of silence, the princess wandered farther in before hearing a squeaky, threatening voice. "Get lost. No cupcakes-cakes-ca-ca cakes for Y-O-U here...HEHEHEHE!" The princess actually became frightened for a moment, then regained her composure. "Pinkie Pie, if that's you, I need to talk to you. And i'm not here for cupcakes." Then a knife flew from behind the counter to the west, and nicked Celestia in the wing. Cringing in pain, the Princess galloped forward and levitated the pink party pony by her tail. Speaking in her traditional Canterlot voice, Celestia said, "Rumor has it that you are a killer. The fact that you just tried to kill me sells the rumor as true. Now explain yourself!" But Pinkie merely giggled in response. "Don't go in my baaasseemeeentt...you fucker bitch CUNT WHORE PONY PRINCESS WANNA BE HEHEHE!" Angrily, Celestia dropped the party pony, and then bucked her as hard as she could. Blood spurt from the pink pony's mouth, and brains gushed from her ears. Calming down, Celestia walked around the messy cake shop in search of the basement. Cake batter and frosting and sprinkles covered the once pink floor. Said floor was now dyed a mushy red and rusty brown that the princess had no will to know the source of. Upon finding the door the Celestia assumed led to the basement, she hesitated. Did she really need to do this? Even if she got all the other elements back together, the efforts would be for not, as she had just bucked the Element of Laughter to death. But with the glow of her horn, Celestia siezed the knob and opened the door. She almost gagged at the sight of piles and piles of dead, bloody, ripped apart bodies. Some were missing horns and wings, ripped and cut off of them and leaving only bone in their place. It was too much for even the wise old ruler herself to handle. Not bothering to find Rainbow Dash, who had disappeared in SugarCube Corner, Celestia ran out, only stopping to look at the pony she had just killed. > Giving Up > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the pony princess ran from the cake shop, tears began to flow freely from her eyes. This was so much harder than she'd thought it'd be. Pinkie Pie was gone, Twilight was going insane, and she didn't even was to know what happened to Rarity and Applejack...or Fluttershy. The thought that the kindest pony in Ponyville could've been corrupted was frightening. Now that she thought about it, there were almost NO ponies at all out here. The sulking Celestia walked over to a random house, now curious. She knocked a hoof against the door, then shouted, "PONY! IF YOU'RE THERE, SUBJECT, YOUR PRINCESS WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOU!" To Celestia's dismay, there was no answer. This frightened Celestia, as her worst fears began to flow into mind. Taking a step back, she turned around. Gave herself and the door some distance, then bucked it with her hind hooves as hard as she could. Just like she had done to... No. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind and entered the house, soon realizing it was Derpy's. Pictures of the filly cross-eyed Pegasus covered the walls, and the whole place smelled like bread. Upon discovering the kitchen, she saw nohing but muffins. The fridge was covered with muffin magnets. The counter had muffin upon muffin on a platter, stacked almost to the ceiling. There were only muffins in this house. Celestia walked back towards the door. She was just rounding the corner as a grey, winged blob landed in front of her. "HI PRINCESS!" Derpy screamed as she crashed to the floor. "Derpy? Why were you on the ceiling?" Celestia asked, still shaking the shock of the Pegasus's sudden entrance. "I wasn't, you highness. I just happened to crash through the ceiling. See, my eyes make flying kinda hard sometimes. I have to fly to be a Pegasus though, so I have to put up with it sometimes. Nature wouldn't allow a Pegasus to not fl-" Celestia cut Derpy short, sick of her rambling. "Where are all my other subjects? There's almost no ponies here." Derpy looked confused for a moment, then said ,"Hmm," and began to munch a muffin. After the muffin was demolished, which was about two seconds later, she spoke out gleefully. "Oh, oh! You know that observatory in the Crystal Empire? Well rumor has it that Nightmare Moon disappeared from the moon, and all the ponies in Equestria have been called there to see it! 'Cept me," Derpy added sadly. "I'm a stupid cross-eyed mailmare." Celestia took in this information. It was hard to accept it, because she knew what happened. No...no. She had to get to the Crystal Empire. But as she almost walked out, she was stopped once again, but this time by two of the Crystal Empire's royal guards. "Celestia?" one of them asked. "No, Princess Celestia, mind you. Ruler of all Equestria. Thus you called me Princess Celestia or just Princess. But don''t you ever address me as 'Celestia' again, understood?" Looking into her eyes, the guard on the right nodded. "Deepest apologies, Princess. Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire requests that you come and speak with her as soon as possible. Please come with us." Sighing, Celestia followed the guards out of Derpy's house. But wait. There were extra hoofsteps . The guards made a glass-like sound when they stepped, Celestia was wearing hoofcups, so... She turned around to find Derpy following her closely. At first she wanted to become angry, but for some reason she just couldn't. The poor Pegasus was left out of everything, and her derped up face was so...adorable! The group of four stopped, and all attention was on Derpy, even Derpy herself. "Sorry, Princess. Want me to stay back?" The Princess pondered this. She was so eager. So happy. So ready to do something and hated being left out. She was a lot like Luna. "No, please stay, Derpy!" Celestia cried, more intentionally than she thought. The shock that crossed Derpy's face pleased the princess. She watched as the shock became sheer joy. To Celestia, Derpy felt like a second chance. Another shot to have a close companion that she would love. She hardly knew Derpy, but it was like she didn't ever want to mailmare to leave her side. Believe it or not, Celestia and Derpy had an encounter before where Celestia felt an odd connection to Derpy. The princess was visiting the filly's school in Ponyville to give a speech. All the other fillies were crowded around Celestia. She hardly had time answer a few questions when the sound of crying became audible. All the fillies seemed to ignore it. How could they not hear that? No, they were ignoring the cries on purpose. Angrily, Celestia stomped past the crowd of fillies to the crying sound in the back of the bunch. There sat a weeping filly, a Pegasus. The grey Pegasus didn't even notice Celestia until Celestia used a hoof to turn the filly's head upward. Gently she cooed, "Everything's okay," but it only made the Pegasus cry harder. "What's wrong?" Celestia asked, still gentle, her voice grand and calming. "Nopony likes me," the small filly muttered quietly. "They pushed me to the back and I couldn't see you." The sadness in the Pegasus's voice pulled at Celestia's heart strings. "What's you name?" Celestia asked. "Well my mom calls me Daisy, but everypony's called me Derpy for a while." "Well, Derpy," Celestia cooed into the filly's ear, "I'm here for you. Even if nopony else sees good and happiness and an all around perfect filly in you, I do. To me, Derpy, Daisy, you are perfect and all of the other fillies cannot tell you otherwise." Turning her attention to the crowd, Celestia warned, "Leave this poor filly alone. This could've been any one of you. Good day," Celestia said to the teacher pony before she left. As Celestia strode out, she saw a awestruck, smiling Derpy out of the corner of her eye. > Celestia and Derpy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The two Crystal guards led Celestia and Derpy to a sleigh, or a chariot of some kind, made completely of a bluish-pink glass. As the princess and the mailmare entered it, the two Crystal guards attached themselves to the harnesses in the front and took off. Celestia wondered why she hadn't seen their wings and decided it was because it blended into their glass-like texture. Looking to her side, Celestia saw that Derpy was more than delighted to be in the chariot. This had to be the highest in the air she'd ever been. Or the first chariot she'd been in. Celestia was a stranger to fillies and mares, set aside from her sister, because all of her royal guard team was made entirely of stallions and the occasional colt. Only her servants and her sister were female, but Luna hadn't been around for thousands of years and she didn't exactly spike up conversations with the ponies that serve her for a living. Derpy was weird. Derpy was a Pegasus. Derpy was plain. She was a grey pony with an in-explainable cutie-mark. Her mane was a dull yellow, and her eyes were...well...Derpy. It was easy to see why she was bullied most of her life as a filly. But it didn't matter now. Derpy was next to Celestia, happy and calm and excited all at once. Celestia was going to make a few changes once this was over. For one thing, Derpy wasn't going to be a low-life mailmare. Celestia didn't even notice when the chariot landed and Derpy jumped out. "Princess?" Derpy derped next to the princess. "Princess Celestia? We're here, Princess!" Finally, the Alicorn looked up, confused and angry that her train of thought was broken. When she saw the smiling Derpy and Cadence at her side. "Greetings, Princess Cadence. I haven't seen you since the Canterlot wedding," Celestia stated, but Cadence ignored the welcome and jumped to the point. "CELESTIA! I've got ponies from all over Equestria coming to my observatory and you didn't even know about it!? Even Rainbow Dash and Applejack are-" "The Element of Loyalty and the Element of Honesty are here!?" Celestia interuppted. "Take me to them at once!" "This is no time for visits with your favorite elements of Harmony, Nightmare Moon could possibly coming back to Equestria to take revenge! Or worse!" "The way we could beat Nightmare Moon is with the elements! NOW LET ME TALK TO THEM!" Celestia shouted angrily. Cadence looked like she just had a pie thrown in her face, but she nodded and began walking away. Derpy was still next to Celestia, but her ears lay flat on her head ans she seemed a bit frightened. Celestia automatically felt bad for Derpy. She must've scared her with her Traditional Canterlot Voice, as Luna liked calling it. Pulling with Pegasus under her wing, Celestia whispered, "I'm sorry little one. Please don't fear me." This made Derpy perk up and smile, and Celestia was relieved to see how quickly the Pegasus recovered. About twenty minutes later, Celestia, Derpy, Cadence, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and ten ponies Celestia wasn't familiar with were sitting around a large Crystal table. Cadence was speaking. "...Shining Armor is putting up a defense system around Canterlot, Rainbow Dash has agreed to get the Wonderbolts to act as a small militia for the Crystal Empire, and then we have all the other places in Equestria to cover. We weren't prepared for this, and Nightmare Moon could be anywhere." "Perhaps," spoke up a Unicorn with a white mane and black fur,"we draft ponies from the smaller places, like Appleloosa or Manehattan?" "That wouldn't work!" Piped up Applejack. "Appleloosa is a small town that was built in less than a year! All the ponies that live there are poor and weak, and they're all somewhat close to a buckin' death sentence!" "You just want anything associated with apples to be safe from harm," Rainbow Dash chirped with a laugh. "Or," Celestia added, "We could take everypony from Cloudsdale and put all of them on the front lines!" Yes, the princess knew that Luna had...died...and that's why the symbol on the moon was gone, but she wasn't going to tell everypony that! Better if they thought Nightmare Moon was going to attack than know that Luna was dead. Cadence began pointing to different regions on a map of Equestria that she had laid on the table as everypony argued. "Enough! I'm calling the shots on war plans! I used to be a war Alicorn myself. Now, Gun Runner, I want you to take half the army from Trottingham and cover Rainbow Falls and Winsome Falls with it. Tartarus can handle itself, what with all the evil things being kept there. As for Baltimare, Las Pegasus, and Foal Mountain..." Celestia felt a tugging on her wing and looked to her side. Derpy was gesturing towards the exit with her hoof. The princess didn't want to hear more war business. She wanted out of that room. "Excuse me," Celestia cut off Cadence from her plans about Tall Tale to say, "I'm going to step outside for a moment. Someone fill me in on what I missed." "Princess, the topic should be very personal to you. It's Luna we're talking about." The words hit Celestia like a dagger to the hoof. It was personal, but the Princess had no intentions on letting out the truth. "I said, tell me later," the princess barked, then followed Derpy outside. As soon as the door swung shut behind behind Celestia, Derpy stared into Celestia's eyes, grabbed her mane, pulled her close, and kissed the princess. > The Death of Derpy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The mare had an odd way of kissing. She moved her tongue all through Celestia's mouth, then pulled away with a sly smile. "Still willing to bet that I'm derped up? I kiss like a king!" Derpy cried. Celestia blinked, then looked downward at the mailmare. "I never said you were derped up, Dai- Derpy," Celestia said with little interest. Her mind was a flurry of emotions. And she almost called Derpy by her real name. But before Celestia could say another word, Cadence came out of the meeting room and complained. "Celestia, this is Equestria! Equestria belongs to YOU! Get in here and HELP US OR SO HELP ME!" The sudden bark of orders angered Celestia. She was sad, and confused, and angry, and slightly aroused. She didn't want to handle it all; she hardly knew what to do about Eqestria going into total lockdown. So she just yelled all her problems to the world. "FIRST OF ALL, CADENCE," she started, "I GIVE THE ORDERS AROUND HERE. AS RULER OF EQUESTRIA AND ANY SURROUNDING LANDS, I CAN HANDLE THE PROBLEM QUITE WELL WITHOUT SITTING AROUND A TABLE OF PONIES. AND DON'T ORDER ME AROUND, CRYSTAL MARE, OR YOU'LL BE THE ONE ON THE MOON!" Derpy and Cadence stared at the Alicorn. "AND....and Luna's gone and it's my fault!" Celestia cried, defeated. This isn't how she was supposed to behave, but things were falling apart around her. Luna died. Equestria was in a panic. The Elements of Harmony had all become insane, save of Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "Whatdaya mean, Princess?" Derpy asked from above the crying mare. Celestia had buried her head in her hooves and rattled violently with her tears. "I mean Luna's not coming back. She died," Celestia finally admitted. Cadence's mouth dropped. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner!? Equestria is in great panic!" the pink mare shouted. "Because it's personal for me, okay!?" The Princess shouted back. The two argued some more until Celestia grew sick of it and flew off, not forgetting to grab Derpy. "What happened back there, Princess?" Derpy questioned once the two were long gone from the Empire. Celestia only shook her head and sighed, giving the impression that she had no patience at the time. When the Princess didn't answer, Derpy sadly laid on Celestia's back and stared at the stars. The two flew in absolute silence util the sound of fast feathers could be heard behind them. Derpy, who'd fallen in deep slumber, awoke at the sudden sound, and found Cadence flying full speed, hooves extended to give herself better aim. "PRINCESS CELESTIA!" Derpy shouted, and cowered as she clung to the princess's mane. Celestia turned, looked back, then with wide eyes simply stared as Cadence ran SMACK into the princess. "How...DARE....YOU!" Celestia cried, and shot a large beam of light from her horn. Candence countered the attack with a shield in the shape of a heart and the color of a deep blue crystal. Celestia's light beam came right back at her, and it singed the end of her wing, hardly missing her flank as it passed. Celestia shot once again, but quickly and less powerful this time, then quickly teleported to Cadence's right, and shot again. She teleported to her left, and shot. Her back, and shot. Then she faced the front again just as quickly as she left and watched the four beams of light strike the unsuspecting Cadence. Cadence fell with a mighty roar, her wings seemingly uncontrollable as the Crystal Princess panicked. Celestia watched with a smile as Cadence hit the ground thousands of feet below her with a THUD. "Are you okay, Derpy?" Celestia said, craning her neck behind her to get feedback from the Pegasus. But to her dismay, the pegasus wasn't there. "Derpy?" The princess whined with worry. She looked below her, and thought she saw something move. Celestia was scared now. She loved Derpy the way a Princess shouldn't love, and now Derpy might be hurt. Folding her wings behind her, Celestia pluted downward. The roar of wind in the mouth and mane left her ears ringing, but she reopened her wings and landed safely about a hundred yards before she met the ground. The Alicorn ran here and there for a while, looking up trees and in bushes for her fallen Pegasus friend. Then she found her. R.I.P Derpy Hooves. Mailmare and muffin freak October 10-April 18 > Celestia Vs. A Door > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia moped home that night, angry and confused. She tried to open a door with the magic from her horn, then walked forward only to find that the door was still shut. She crashed straight into into it and fell on her side, bruising her left cutie mark. Standing up, Celestia cursed, then rammed the door with her entire body. The door remained standing. Celestia did not. "What the..." the princess mumbled to herself. Well she had to get in somehow. Looking around, Celestia saw a ram that the guards used for training. The problem was that she was on her balcony, and the ram was in the middle of a field, at least 20000 yards away. So she kept looking. And looking. And looking. And eventually broke a window. She stuffed a long leg into the window and reached for the balcony's doorknob. "Damn," Celestia thought. "Too far." So instead she tried to use her magic once again. She was able to entrap the knob in her sparkly light, but the knob just wouldn't turn. Her next motive was the shout for a guard. "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!" she screamed. Two guard ponies came running immediately, but when the saw Celestia looking forlornly through the window, both of them started to laugh. The one on the left even fell over and had the hold his stomach. He started to practically cry. "You babbling idiot!" Celestia roared. Both guards stopped laughing when Celestia shouted, and the instead moved to the door and opened it with ease. Celestia stared for a moment. "But there was something wrong with that door!" she said to a guard. He shrugged. "It wasn't locked, your majesty. And you could've just knocked. Me and Moon Dust were right out here." Celestia only stared. Then she stood. Then she walked over the the guard pony. And with a flash of light and a mighty shout, she cried, "TO THE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!" and the guard disappeared.