> Celestia x Rainbow - The Truest Love
>  by Bronyxy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1 "Meet me over Canterlot"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A look of bewilderment spread over the cyan blue face of Ponyville’s most easily recognisable weather pony and Wonderbolt wannabe. Sure, she was an excellent flier, but there was that rainbow mane and tail that were to die for, let alone her undeniable charisma.

She looked down again wearing a puzzled expression, head on one side to study the embossed invitation, but it still didn’t make any sense. Then again, it looked legit enough that it might be genuine; after all, who could pull this level of prank?


Dear Rainbow Dash,

If you are free, please meet me over Canterlot at 2 pm this afternoon.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia


“Weird or what?” she pondered, vocalising her thoughts to nopony in particular.
She checked the time - quarter of an hour before 2 pm; there was time to get to Canterlot from Cloudsdale without any real hurry.
She lifted an eyebrow inquisitively.

“Yeah, OK” she said to herself, making her mind up almost as if having flipped a coin and waiting for it to fall. If Princess Celestia really was waiting for her, she wouldn’t want to be late, but if it was a practical joke, the perpetrator had at least earned the credit of seeing her turn up.

Still unsure what she would find waiting for her, if anything, Rainbow sprang into the air and left Cloudsdale behind as she headed south east, the sun shining off to her right. Even if she didn’t have an innate inbuilt sense of direction, the sun's position would have ensured that even the most inexperienced novice could have navigated their way unerringly to the nation’s capital.

As she approached the gleaming metropolis, she mulled over the wording of the invitation and toyed with the few words that had been written “… meet me over Canterlot …”. Well, the skies looked pretty clear.

She looked again and way above the altitude of nap clouds were a few dots.
“Surely not …” she thought “Nopony would be way up there. Would they …?”

Rainbow didn’t want to think that she could be seen to be falling for a prank, so convinced herself that even if there wasn’t anypony up there, she would have wanted to go there anyway to look at the really cool view over Canterlot and way beyond. Why shouldn’t she? She was the best flier in Equestria, after all.

Climbing higher, she could see the small dots barely visible from the ground start to form into puffy cloud shapes and became intrigued. You just didn’t see clouds like that up this high, so now as a conscientious weather pony, she felt compelled to take a closer look out of professional interest.

A fleck of gold flashed uniquely from one of the clouds, catching her eye, immediately distracting her attention from any of the other small clouds that seemed to be lazing around at their ease.
“Ah hah!” she said to herself triumphantly “I have you!”

She continued her climb until she was above her target and then took in the sight, which as the note had implied was a large white pony, perched on a cloud with her legs tucked serenely underneath her.

Celestia watched the rainbow ribbon unfurl as the cyan blue mare creating it grew closer until she could begin to make out some of the more recognisable features, such as the flowing mane and brightly coloured tail. She admired Rainbow Dash and took delight in seeing her in action, at home in her natural element.

Rainbow slowed to a more respectful speed as she closed towards her target, admiring the unusual spectacle of seeing Princess Celestia resting on a cloud, but what made the whole scene doubly unusual was the fact that this was the wrong type of cloud for this altitude. She now noticed a second cloud close by that which Celestia was alighted upon and fluttered gracefully over to land onto it.

“Good afternoon Rainbow Dash” said the regal alicorn “I’m so pleased you could find time to meet me today.”
“Hey, no it’s fine Princess” she replied, still perplexed by the whole unlikely scenario “Did you fly up here or did you use your magic?”
“A little of both” she chuckled “I summoned these clouds from further below with my magic, but I did fly up here; these old wings aren’t just for decoration, you know.”
“I thought the clouds looked kinda out of place, and that makes sense now.”

“Rainbow Dash, I know you as the Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, but I should like to avail myself of your honesty.”
“Hey, if that's what you want, then Applejack’s the one for you.”
“No, I require an expert flier who can speak to me honestly. I am the only pony remaining who saw General Firefly lead her team of pegasi as they created a shower of magical lightning at the first display when the Wonderbolts were formed. That was a performance that you would no doubt liked to have witnessed yourself. In time, I suspect that you too may fulfil your potential and become a Wonderbolt at least as famous as her, but first I should like to ask something of you.”

Rainbow was lost for words at the respect Celestia obviously held for the Wonderbolts and how she was being compared directly to the group’s founder. Suddenly she felt the weight of history bearing down on her shoulders and could only nod her head numbly in response.
“Good. You have mastered the sonic rainboom, a feat unparalleled in pegasus history. Are you sufficiently versed in its onset that you can estimate how close you are to achieving it at any given moment?”
“Yeah” she said pensively “Yeah, I can probably nail it down by feel to about the nearest 10%.”
“Very well then. I want you to accompany me and inform me of my speed” said the white pony, all hint of humour having evaporated from her “But you must be truthful.”
“Er … right” said Rainbow, even more perplexed “Couldn’t you just make a sonic rainboom or even a double rainboom just by using your magic, what with you being an alicorn and all?”
“I could” she replied “But this has to be by my wing power alone. Will you fly with me?”
“OK Princess, but if we start to get close to a sonic rainboom, we’ll have to be some distance apart or the resulting shock waves would be really bad news.”
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash” she replied resolutely “Shall we?”

Celestia lifted off the cloud with large wingbeats that took her cyan blue companion by surprise; she had been so used to seeing the Princess transported everywhere by chariot it was most unusual to see her fly, let alone be this close to her as she was doing it. She was the largest of the alicorns and far bigger than any pegasus, so the effect Rainbow saw and felt was quite breathtaking, but once having overcome her brief moment of surprise, she too lifted into the air to accompany her Princess.

The pace built, tipping into a gentle dive and building power, Rainbow amazed by the sheer force of her massive wings and ensured to keep a watchful eye lest she get caught in the slipstream.
“You’re doing well, Princess!” she called reassuringly.
Celestia had become focused and did not hear. She had a strong reason to fly her fastest; one that Rainbow may have assumed at face value to be merely a point of vanity, but the truth was far more significant and not something that she would ever share with anypony if she failed. She pushed on as hard as she could, as if the fate of Equestria hung on her success.

The dive became steeper and Celestia pushed harder as if possessed. From a safe distance to one side, Rainbow looked on amazed to see the onset of a shockwave begin to form from the tip of her horn while her powerful wings pushed her forward in one of the most unusual sights she had ever seen. Surely, she wasn’t going to rainboom, was she …?

For her part, Celestia was focusing hard on pushing through the buffeting that surrounded her and sapped her energy, recognising that she needed to dig further into her reserves to get through it. Even though she was starting to feel it slip away from her, she kept pouring in as much as she could, desperate to achieve her goal.

Rainbow was taking in the bigger picture now, not just a near-supersonic Princess, but also the fact that the ground was coming up to meet them really rather fast and Celestia was making no attempt to acknowledge that making friends with it had the potential to hurt. Celestia’s lip was starting to draw back and flap in the airflow revealing her teeth gritted in supreme concentration; a yellow trail streaming out behind her.

“Princess Celestia!” she called “PULL UP!”

As Rainbow waited for a response or even an acknowledgement, the ground started to loom dangerously large in front of her.

She drew in closer.

“PRINCESS CELESTIA! PULL UP NOW!”

Still with no response and the ground growing to a quite terrifying size, Rainbow did the only thing she could think of; she accelerated and flew immediately underneath the frighteningly oblivious alicorn and pulled up fast. The resulting rainbow trail drowned Celestia, flooding her consciousness with the overwhelming dazzle of bright colours and snapping her back to reality in an instant.

Rainbow pulled up as hard as she dared given that she was only just a fraction short of the speed needed to rainboom. She knew if she had gone any faster, then the resulting sonic rainboom would have created a shockwave of such magnitude that no flier following could have hoped to recover through that turbulence, not even an alicorn.

She had calculated her move finely, and had just enough room to level out at treetop height, the thin trunks and upper branches bending with the effort of trying to resist the forces sucking them in behind the fleeting pegasus, and then springing back again once she was past and the pressure wave subsided. She found herself jinking to avoid the highest and most sinister looking trees – this was way too low to be safe at this speed!

All she needed was to clip a branch now and it would all be over!

Pulling back gently to gain height her mind suddenly turned towards Celestia. Had she been able to pull up in time or had she sailed obliviously into the ground at very high speed? She was too focused on avoiding what was in front of her to even risk a look round, and her mind flashed images of being blamed for the loss of Equestria’s beloved Princess along with how she would fill the lifetime of exile that was bound to follow …

When it was safe to look back, she risked a glance over her shoulder and saw to her immense surprise that there was a white pony shadowing the exact trajectory of her recovery, her purple eyes wide with fear of imminent collision with either the ground or the cyan blue pegasus or both!

Rainbow continued her climb out and gently rolled over onto her back, giving Celestia something to focus on lest she had become disorientated, whilst also providing her space to recover. They were slowing down now and she watched as Celestia’s countenance grew to resume one of more familiar regal composure.
“Come on Princess” she soothed “Let’s go find a cloud to rest on.”

Celestia nodded and followed as Rainbow led her at a much more sedate pace to a large cloud that had crept in under the watch of the weather ponies. Normally Rainbow would have bawled out the pegasus responsible, but for now it was just what her Princess needed, so she allowed herself a grateful smile to cross her face as she flared and landed effortlessly. Next to her she heard the slower beat of powerful alicorn wings and felt rather than watched Celestia land.

“Way to go, Princess!” said Rainbow warmly.
“I was stupid, and you know it” commented Celestia, reproaching herself.
“We’re safe now, so don’t sweat it.”
“We wouldn’t have been if it weren’t for your quick thinking. Good call, by the way.”

“So, what’s all this about then?” asked Rainbow “It isn’t about proving something to yourself, is it?”
“I suppose you’ve at least earned that much, but I must swear you to absolute secrecy, no exceptions.”
Rainbow’s eyebrows raised at this shock announcement.

“What is going on Princess?” she asked.
> 2 Secrets Shared
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“First, tell me honestly how fast I was travelling in terms of reaching the threshold for making a sonic rainboom” asked Celestia soberly.
“I expect you were already feeling the buffeting, and that’s a good indication that you’re about 90% the way there.”
“Oh yes” she replied sadly “I was speeding up nicely and then all that turbulence started bouncing me around and seemed to drain all my energy.”
“Yeah, that’s right. You’ve made a really good start, but you’ll need a bit more practice to get through the buffeting. Oh, and a bit more situational awareness too; you know, like looking out for the ground before it hits you” she smiled.
“Yes, don’t remind me. When I saw you cut underneath me I suddenly saw how low I was. That was a little too close, I think.”

There was a brief silence then Rainbow prompted again “So what is this all about, Princess?”
Celestia hung her head sadly and paused as she summoned the courage to share one of her deepest secrets.

“I have been using my magic to contain a malevolent creature. It arrived in Equestria one day a long time ago. I couldn’t return it, because I didn’t know where it had come from, but it was so aggressive even back then that I knew I couldn’t release it. I also knew that if I brought its existence to public attention, there would be an outcry and it may be released, so I kept it secretly hidden within the confines of a protection spell.”

“I hoped originally that over time, its aggressive tendencies would moderate such that it could be integrated into Equestrian society, but it has only become more dangerous. Then I hoped that it would age and die in captivity, thereby unburdening me of the responsibility of taking more dramatic action. However, it has continued to grow stronger over the centuries and I am forced to conclude that it has a much longer lifespan than I thought possible and may even be immortal. Not only that, but its increasing strength has meant that I have had to apply ever more of my power to ensure that the protection spell is sufficient to hold it back. This has taken more and more effort over time to keep it bottled up, until now its demands are consuming too much of my power and something must be done.”

“I have searched for references to this creature within my library, but over hundreds of years my searching has been fruitless and I still don’t know what it is, where to return it or where I could send it. Equally, I cannot condone a pre-emptive sentence of capital punishment for a crime I have never given it the liberty to commit, even though its malevolence makes its intentions clear.”

“I’ve never heard of it” said Rainbow, surprised.
“That’s because I’ve been keeping it under control; out of sight and out of mind.”
“So, what are you going to do?” asked Rainbow.
“I want to see if I can reverse time to go back and take a decision that I could have made in the beginning, but I cannot take now.”
Rainbow looked askance “Wha …?”

Celestia caught Rainbow’s astonishment and mistook her formative question “What I should have done was to banish it to the far side of the planet, onto a desert island where nothing grows. I should give it a chance; I owe it that much. My only other option is one that has haunted me all along, and that is cold-blooded murder. This way, it may survive or it may not, but at least it won’t be able to predate on ponies. The trouble is, it has become too strong for me to do that now, so I must go back and do it earlier.”

“Er, no.” interrupted Rainbow “I get that bit. It’s the turning back time bit where you lost me.”

“Oh, sorry” said Celestia “If a sufficiently strong magical spell can be cast whilst flying around the planet in a direction opposite to its natural rotation at a speed in excess of a sonic rainboom, then it should be theoretically possible. However, my magic is depleted and I must conserve as much of it as I can for the spell to work, so that’s why I must fly fast enough by the strength in my wings alone.”

“Can’t Princess Luna help out, what with her being a royal alicorn and all?”
“Sadly, no. She hasn’t regained her magic yet, and thus I have all the alicorn magic in Equestria within me. So you see, it falls to me and me alone.”

Rainbow paused as the explanation sunk in, then she turned to look Celestia in the eye “I’m with you Princess. We can do this together.”
Celestia smiled. For the first time since this whole sorry episode had started, she now felt a ray of hope.
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash. You have no idea how much your support means to me.”
“OK Princess. You want us to do more now?”
“I don’t know if I’m up to another close shave like that again just yet.”
“No, no - I mean you’ve got a lot of power and all, but the way for you to go faster is technique” said Rainbow, then adding secretively “Only, don’t go telling nopony how it’s done will you – it’s kind of a trade secret.”
Celestia chuckled “Well then, it seems we have a secret apiece. I think that’s a fair and equitable way of developing a relationship, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yeah, I guess so; your secret’s safe with me and mine’s safe with you. Way to go!”
“Now about this technique, if you please Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow applied herself to explaining aerodynamic theory with a verbal dexterity that seemed to command the very air itself to comply with her desires. She made it sound easy in the way that only a true master of their craft can ever achieve and Celestia followed her every nuance and detail, leaving nothing to chance.

“Well, now you’ve heard how its done, what say we put it into practice?” said the young teacher to her pupil.
Celestia was motivated and had put the fear of imminent disaster that she had experienced earlier behind her, but not without retaining the important message of watch where you’re going.
“I may be immortal” she lectured herself silently “But I can still break my horn or my wings and then what use would I be as an alicorn to lead Equestria? Also, Celestia, you still feel pain.”

“OK, same routine as before, but remember what I’ve taught you.”
Celestia nodded, eyes focusing as she ran through her checklist of objectives for this flight.
“One more thing” added Rainbow as Celestia tensed to take off.

The Sun Princess broke her concentration to turn and face her instructor, her purple eyes looking inquiringly.
“Listen out to anything I tell you. It may be something you missed from our chat, or it could be something really important for safety. Either way, listen out, OK?”

Celestia marvelled at how confident this pegasus had become; barely old enough to be called a mare, but with a talent that belied her tender years. She was right, of course, but such assertiveness being directed unflinchingly at the most powerful pony in Equestria was still a little surprising. Such confidence also meant that Rainbow wouldn’t try to soft-soap her if she wasn’t doing it right. She had asked for honesty and she had found it.

The white mare nodded and smiled her thanks; thanks for the honesty and also for the promise afforded that only this expert flier could give her in achieving her goal, before refocusing and springing majestically into the air with renewed clarity of purpose.

They climbed gracefully, expending as little energy as possible to get back to the two clouds where they had met earlier in the afternoon. The sun was a little lower now and the curve of the planet was more noticeably tinged with a lustrous soft blue sheen. Both caught sight of its other-worldly beauty, but neither said anything, not wanting to distract the other from the task at hoof. They paused on their individual clouds while Celestia recovered her strength and composed herself, focusing on what she knew she had to do. Rainbow could see her thought process at work and kept respectfully quiet and still so as to give the Princess her best chance of putting the theory lessons into practice.

With no fanfare of introduction, Celestia sprang off her cloud, her long loping wingbeats building in intensity as she entered a shallow dive accompanied by her instructor. The speed built up, Rainbow watching every move to see how closely she was following what she had been taught. While she was a little rough on points of style, she wasn’t doing anything that was really wrong, so kept a close eye and made a series of mental notes for the debrief.

Celestia encountered the onset of turbulence sooner than before, due to the tips Rainbow had shared with her for more efficient high speed flight and progressed through her mental checklist of items gleaned from her briefing.
“Way to go Princess!” called Rainbow “You’re doing great!”

The windspeed ruffled her lips as before, but Rainbow thought she could detect a smile trying to form on her face. She was definitely quicker than before, but how far would she be able to go?

The shockwave became more noticeable, amplifying the buffeting as Celestia reached forward with a single forehoof as she had been shown, creating a spike around which the forming shockwave could crystalise, punching a hole in the air for her to follow through and reducing the drag.
“Come on Princess” said Rainbow under her breath “Come on now!”

Celestia’s face bore the extent of her concentration as around her the developing shockwave became more pronounced and concurrently more acute.

She looked up for a better view ahead and suddenly her head snapped back.

Her wings lost their rhythm as she fought to regain control and her hard-earned momentum bled off. The shockwave was gone and along with it her hopes of making a sonic rainboom on this attempt.

She cursed herself. She had followed everything Rainbow had taught and she was doing so well, but somehow she had lost control and she had failed. The ground was too close to try and build up speed again, so she reluctantly coasted to a gentle glide cursing herself loudly with words, some of which Rainbow had never heard before. The white mare headed for a solitary cloud over a deserted patch of ground, plomping herself down gracelessly and burying her head in the cloud where she let out a few plaintive sobs of frustration.

“Hey Princess” coaxed Rainbow “There’s no need for that. You did really well on only your second attempt.”
With no response forthcoming, she landed on the cloud where Celestia was crying, but closer than she would have chosen due to its small size.
“Don’t beat yourself up, that was some great flying.”

Celestia stretched a wing out over Rainbow who felt a little intimidated by the action.
“Thank you. It was all going so well and suddenly I lost control and panicked. I just don’t think I can do this!”

“Firstly” said Rainbow in her most soothing voice “You got up to speed so much quicker than before and secondly you got into the right stance …”
“So what went wrong?” wailed Celestia piteously.
“You lifted your head and your horn broke through the shockwave, creating more drag and that pulled your head back. There’s no pegasus ever had that problem before!”

Relieved, Celestia leaned over and nuzzled Rainbow affectionately.
“Thank you” was all she said.

They lay there on that cloud contentedly watching the sun cast its lengthening shadows below.
“I have duties to attend now, and I have distracted you enough” said Celestia at length “When would you next be free to continue the lessons?”
“I could make tomorrow morning, if that’s OK?”

“We could make an early start if you wanted to spend the night in Canterlot” she offered, something within her that she couldn’t explain really wanting the cyan pegasus to stay with her.

“OK, I’m free tonight” confirmed Rainbow.

Celestia’s heart skipped a beat.
> 3 The Secret Guest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“My dear Sister, I should like to introduce you to Rainbow Dash, probably the most capable flier Equestria has ever seen, and Rainbow I should like you to meet my Sister, Princess Luna.”
“Charmed” boomed Luna in her Royal Canterlot voice.

Rainbow bowed politely, hoping she would be able to recover her eardrums before they were ever needed again.
“Luna is still adjusting to modern day life in Equestria” explained Celestia “Things have changed quite a bit since we last ruled together.”

Luna stared imperiously down on the young mare.
“We remember thee” said Luna “Thou wert among those who did rescue us from Nightmare Moon.”
Rainbow gulped. She hadn’t seen Luna since then and was more than a little concerned how her actions would be received now she had time to reflect on having been stripped of all that power.
“Yes Princess” she said levelly “I was there.”
“Good. We commend thee for thy courage.”

“Luna is doing a good job recovering her magic and will soon be able to raise and lower the moon by herself once more” said Celestia “We are both very grateful to you and your friends for bringing my Sister back to me.”
Rainbow heaved an inward sigh of relief. She had been prepared to take on Nightmare Moon by herself and only stopped in her act of folly by Applejack grabbing her tail, but while her determination burned undiminished, she realised that now it was more important to follow Celestia’s lead in supporting her reformed sister.

After a formal dinner during which she participated in the three-way discussion in her familiar courtly Canterlot etiquette, Luna excused herself to begin a night of study leaving Celestia alone with Rainbow Dash.
“So how do you feel about handing over control of the moon to your sister?” she asked.
“Oh, I shall be delighted as it will mean that she is well on the mend. To be honest, I should welcome somepony coming along to take some of the burden off me. She and I used to work so well together so I am really looking forward to her resuming her full place by my side in a new era of peace and cooperation.”

“You really love her, don’t you?”
“Yes, yes I do.”
“Then that must have been tough to send her to the moon all those years ago. That’s right isn’t it? – I’m not much of an egghead so I may have got it wrong.”

“It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but there was no choice. I would do the same again to protect the ponies of Equestria, but I don’t believe Luna will ever put herself in that position again. I truly believe she is fully reformed.”
“Just talks kinda funny, huh?”
“Well, believe it or not, that’s how we all used to speak at Court – can you imagine?”

The two friends laughed and began to relax more in each other’s company, something about Celestia making this seem like more than just casual conversation between friends.

“I’m leaning on you a lot for this, Rainbow. Would you like to see the horror that has driven me to seek out your services? I warn you, it will give you nightmares.”
Rainbow didn’t need to think twice.
“Hey Princess, my loyalty is to you. You said you wanted to unburden yourself, right? So, I guess a problem shared is a problem halved?”
“Very well then. Follow me.”

Celestia led Rainbow down corridors and flights of stairs until they reached a sturdy looking door protected on either side by guards who sprang to attention at the approach of their Princess.
“Gentlecolts, good evening” bade Celestia “I trust you are well tonight?”
The guards responded politely.

“I wish to escort Rainbow Dash into the chamber. I will close the door behind us and open it again once we are ready to depart. Please ensure that we are not disturbed.”
One of the guards approached the door and inspected each of the two large keys on an iron ring round his belt, selecting the correct one for the lock. He inserted it, looking at Celestia just to ensure she was serious about her request. When she did not flinch, he turned the key and pulled the door open just enough to allow the two guests in.

The white mare entered through the eerily cracked open doorway with Rainbow following in her shadow.
The room was poorly lit and clearly served as an antechamber, a buffer between the sanity she knew and the unknown hell beyond. Rainbow watched as Celestia steeled herself for opening the door on the far side; if an alicorn of her power was as apprehensive of what lay ahead, then what manner of horror could possibly lurk within?

“Are you sure you want to proceed?” asked Celestia.
“I’m with you” replied Rainbow with more bravado than she truly felt.

A white forehoof extended and raised the latch that secured the door. It creaked its protest at being called upon to open, announcing loudly their arrival to whatever lay inside. As Celestia’s body blocked the doorway, Rainbow peered ahead as best she could through the white mare’s legs. She had no reference points to determine just how large the room was, only that it was poorly lit; all she could see was a pink glow, the surface of which appeared to be curved from what little visibility she was afforded.

“Hello Celestia” came a voice that dripped pure malice “I do so enjoy our little chats.”
“I cannot say the feeling is mutual” she replied.
“Oh, I sense you have brought me fresh meat today. How thoughtful.”
Rainbow flinched. For a fleeting second, she wondered if she been brought in as a living sacrifice to whatever it was, before realising that Celestia would never do such a thing; or so she hoped.

“No. She is a friend and you will not get into her mind.”
“I am disappointed Celestia. It is so lonely down here. Perhaps you would consider letting me out once in a while? It has been a very long time, after all.”
“No! I will never allow it to pass.”
“I wonder if your young friend knows how evil you are in keeping me locked away like this, not even able to see daylight or feel the sun on my body. How long has it been now, Celestia? How many hundreds of years? And no company except for your occasional visits; even caged display animals have more rights.”

Rainbow watched as the black coloured creature slithered menacingly behind the glowing pink magical force field, manoeuvring for a better view of the unexpected guest.

“So pretty. What lovely colours, what a fine spirit …”
“Enough! Do not start on her!” ordered Celestia.
“I was only trying to be friendly. You should try it some time.”
“I know too well what friendship with you means! Do not dare to try your tricks on her!”
“Or what?” came the goading response, hanging in the air like sticky treacle.

“Come Rainbow, our visit has served its purpose. Let’s go.”
“What do you mean it’s served its purpose? We haven’t done anything” she enquired quizzically.
“We have” said Celestia “It has been fed.”
Rainbow looked puzzled but asked no further.

“I am tired, and it is time for us to leave.”
With this, they turned, Celestia nudging her guest gently ahead of her.
“Goodbye Rainbow” said the voice thick with a tormenting lilt “I can't wait to meet you again.”
“Go Rainbow” said Celestia “I will follow.”

Rainbow did as she was told and once back in the antechamber saw a flash of light spatter round the partially opened door and heard a scream that made her fur stand on end. She froze, eyes wide as the door creaked further open and a pony edged through, only releasing the breath that she didn’t know she had been holding once she saw the reassuring white form of Celestia.

The Princess secured the door and took a moment to compose herself before making eye contact with Rainbow. For a moment, neither spoke.
“What was that?” asked Rainbow.
“The closest thing to a devil in pony form” replied Celestia.

They opened the door back to reality and emerged, Celestia looking haggard and Rainbow distinctly shaken. The guards caught sight of their expressions and quickly secured the door behind them. Whatever was in there, they didn’t want to see getting out – ever.

“Thank you, Sirs,” managed the Princess, but all present could tell it had been an effort and she was drained.
Celestia walked slowly towards her private chambers, Rainbow, concerned, close by her side.
“I must rejuvenate myself now. Would you care to join me?”
“It looks like you could use some company” confirmed Rainbow.

They approached another door with two more attentive guards stationed either side, both snapping to attention as their Princess came into view. She engaged them briefly in polite discourse and then one opened the door for her and her guest to enter.

Inside, Rainbow gasped at the grandeur; white painted walls, porticos, lots of gleaming gilt, framed portraits and mirrors. It was like somepony had hit the opulence overload button, in fact she could quite see her friend Rarity feeling completely at home in such a stately and imposing environment.

“When I need to recuperate I have certain facilities at my disposal” said Celestia opening a door and walking down a short corridor “This is my favourite.”
She opened another door and immediately Rainbow was hit by the smell of various scented oils and creams carried to her on a wave of steam.
“Er, Princess …” stammered Rainbow “I’ve never been in a spa before.”
“Well, in that case you’re in for a treat” said her exhausted hostess “And don’t worry, nopony need ever find out.”

Rainbow wrestled inwardly with the potential for her hard-earned machismo to appear undermined. Even if her friends didn’t know, she still would. However, it wasn’t easy to turn down the most powerful Princess in Equestria, so she followed on tentatively.

As she lay in the jacuzzi, she felt herself drift away from aches and pains she had lived with and never consciously considered before; she never knew she had them, but now they were gone she felt amazing. With every treatment, she felt herself being rejuvenated; perhaps Rarity was right to recommend spa treatments so highly after all. She wouldn’t tell her of course, just in case her snooty friend thought she was going soft, but she might just sneak in to see Lotus Blossom and Aloe when she knew nopony would see her.

“I am grateful you came with me this afternoon” said Celestia “You see now what I am faced with and why this exercise is so important for me. You are only the second pony to ever see my special guest, but I had to show you to reinforce just how important it is that I succeed. If I fail, then eventually I will no longer be strong enough to keep it secured and it will get out.”

Rainbow shuddered. There had been something horrible about the way the creature had been sizing her up, not just physically, but somehow emotionally too, like it had reached out with an ethereal claw of the purest evil to rob her of her happiness. She suddenly realised what Celestia had been putting up with in secret for so long and felt a wave of genuine compassion for her stoicism.
“We’ll succeed Princess.”

“Thank you, Rainbow Dash; you have no idea how grateful I should be to focus on more pleasurable activities instead of this dreadful duty.”
> 4 Teacher and Student
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia stood atop the highest tower of the Royal Castle and drew the moon down to its deserved rest. The sky lightened from the east, transcending through ever lighter shades of purples and pinks as one by one the individual stars that had formed the brilliant tapestry woven across the night sky faded and blinked out. Today the sun reflected Celestia’s eagerness and rose enthusiastically to create the first long shadows of morning and please its faithful mistress.

Yesterday had been hard, but had yielded its own rewards, and Celestia was keen to capitalise on the good start made with her flying. She had ensured that her young teacher had been given an early morning call as she had something of a reputation for sleeping in and awaited her to arrive for breakfast. Luna, still not entirely at ease with meeting other ponies had already excused herself and gone to bed leaving her sister alone at the grandly appointed table.

The servants still stood at their posts waiting for a signal from their Princess before bringing breakfast. Celestia flipped through papers of State brought to her by her Ministers to review and ordered tea with a few dried biscuits to take the edge off her appetite. She was clearly absorbed in the events she had been tasked with reviewing, tutting at some of the pages she read, while a few others brought a smile to her face. With each one she signed, she looked up for sight of her guest and after about ten minutes was rewarded with the sight of the cyan mare entering the vaulted room.

The Maître d’ stepped forward to accompany her to her place, but she completely blanked him as she trotted over to Celestia, leaving him standing with his mouth open, silently aghast at the obvious breach of expected courtly protocol.
“Hey Princess” greeted Rainbow cheerily “How are you doing this morning?”

Celestia tidied her papers and surveyed the image of the shocked Maître d’, still looking like he had seen a ghost while the brash rainbow maned pegasus trotted up to her. Although every regal instinct told her not to, she couldn’t help but smile at her approach, Rainbow picking up on the mischievous sparkle in her eyes as she drew closer.

“So, you up for busting a few records today, huh?”
“Rainbow, how lovely to see you. Yes, it’s a beautiful morning, and I’m positive I can demonstrate some progress to you.”
“First thing’s first, I’m ready for grub” said Rainbow planting herself next to Celestia and nowhere near her formally prepared place setting.
Celestia smiled again at an even more blatant breach of protocol, but couldn’t find it within herself to point out the error of her ways.

While the servants all saw the anarchic humour of the situation, none dared show even a hint of responding. The senior member of the serving staff, the Maître d’ was still seething inwardly and was likely to rip anypony apart who would be so unwise as to show even the slightest recognition of any humour in the situation, returning to his post with quiet aplomb.

Given the choice of seating arrangement indicated by the Princess’s guest, a servant rushed in to remake the place setting around her, fussing around her with the same deference as if she was royalty and this was all perfectly normal behaviour. Celestia, tired of the straitjacket of formal convention did her best to suppress a smile, but made a note of those who had helped out or been put out of joint, with a promise to see them all properly rewarded later.

Breakfast passed with a variety of other diplomatic blunders by the unconsciously disruptive pegasus, Celestia regarding the rich seem of material unfolding before her that could so easily have provided the basis for a hit situation comedy.

Rainbow spent their time together at the breakfast table regaling Celestia loudly with anecdotes about her flying counterpointed by random pieces of aerodynamic theory that she thought the white mare would need during the morning’s forthcoming sorties.
Finally, they were ready and rose from the table, Celestia taking pains to thank each member of staff while Rainbow champed at the bit ready to get going.

They stepped out through the large double doors onto a balcony where to Rainbow’s surprise an aide stood waiting.
Celestia removed her tiara and glimpsed uncertainly towards Rainbow as she took off her livery collar, passing the symbols of office to the aide.
“I’m sorry” said Celestia, trying to hide her feeling of obvious discomfort “I’m so used to wearing my royal regalia that I feel a little naked without them.”

“Hey, that’s fine” replied Rainbow “I feel kinda silly wearing a dress. But since you’ve seen me in a dress and I’ve seen you without your finery, I guess we’re even.”
“Thank you” confided the Princess in a self-conscious whisper, slipping off her gold hoof guards and shedding the last of her unnecessary accessories.
“After you, your Majesty” said Rainbow, and Celestia beat her massive wings as she dragged her way skywards.

They climbed at a leisurely pace, exchanging small talk until they approached the altitude they both knew would be the threshold for the speed attempt. Celestia went quiet and Rainbow knew she was focusing her mind, getting into the zone for a feat of physical exertion that only she knew how demanding it would be. The white mare’s muzzle continued to point upwards, purple eyes fixed on an invisible point high above them in the azure sky.

Rainbow looked at her and was struck by two strong features that stood out; firstly her determination and secondly her beauty, one of these sensations causing an excited chill to run down her spine, but she wouldn’t be prepared to admit which it was, even if she knew.

The graceful white mare rolled over and tucked her wings back, letting gravity help her build speed while she gave her wings a brief respite.

Head down, horn forward, speed building.

She extended her wings once more and started adding power, real power into her descent. Rainbow watched, feeling a tingle of something telling her she was on the point of watching history about to be made, observing with both a highly critical eye and a deep sense of admiration. She was doing everything right, just as she had been told. If she was ever going to do it, it would be before the next minute was up!

Rainbow pulled away sideways as she saw the shockwave begin to form around her extended forehoof and feel the buffeting around her own body. They were still a long way up – there was plenty of time and space yet.

The shockwave became more acute as Rainbow urged her on, trying to give her any little added advantage she could. The majestic white alicorn’s face was screwed up into the very epitome of determination and her speed was still increasing.

“Don’t raise your head, Celestia” prayed Rainbow “Not now …”

The cyan pegasus felt the familiar transition through turbulence to the clear air beyond the shockwave and risked her eye taking on a sideways glance just in time to see a multicoloured disc burst into existence where she knew Celestia was.

“WAY TO GO!” she screamed as she too punched through the invisible barrier and followed the yellow streak that had Celestia at its front.

Anypony looking up would have seen the first double rainboom in Equestrian history with a bright yellow trail exiting it at high speed followed by a much more familiar multicoloured trail shadowing its every move in close formation.

Celestia kept staring downwards, not daring to raise her head even fractionally. All the terrible energy-sapping bumpiness building up to the rainboom had been left behind and she knew instinctively what had happened as she experimented with gentle manoeuvring procedures in her new domain.

After ten minutes flight during which she executed a gentle turn back to where she started, Celestia decelerated back down to normal flight, transitioning through her old nemesis of turbulence to glide effortlessly in the same way as one third of the population of Equestria did on a daily basis. She sought  out the nearest nap cloud and alighted upon it shaking uncontrollably as the adrenalin worked out of her system, unable to control her giggling.

Rainbow landed next to her in the cramped space remaining to congratulate her following her amazing achievement and felt a muscular white wing envelop her.
“Hold me” requested the alicorn, the need in her voice making rejection unthinkable.
Rainbow sensed her vulnerability and snuggled close, feeling her chest rise and fall rapidly and the warmth she radiated.
“I’m so proud of you” said Rainbow “That was awesome!”

Celestia did not respond, but just held her in an intense embrace. The strong smell of sweat from the closeness of their bodies mingled in Rainbow’s senses creating a heady mix, not unpleasant, not by a long way, but whether she was prepared to admit it to herself or not, somehow strangely alluring. She closed her eyes and drank in the new and untried emotion as a contented smile spread over her face.

As soon as Celestia got her breathing under control and stopped shaking she turned to face Rainbow, no longer the all-powerful Sun Princess, but now the grateful student wanting to pay homage to her talented instructor. Somehow, she felt guilty in this new role by having embraced Rainbow, when it should have been the teacher’s prerogative to have expressed her feelings if she had chosen. Guiltily, she withdrew her wing, but felt a shudder of delight as a cyan blue wing was immediately draped over her gently quivering body.

“Rainbow, I …”she gasped.

“Everything’s going to be alright” came the soothing reply as Rainbow leaned forward to give Celestia a tender kiss.


***


Lunch was an informal buffet on the balcony. Both ponies picked at a sumptuous spread of culinary delights; Celestia’s interest principally being drawn to the copious assortment of various cakes and pastries.

“I’m sorry about what happened on the cloud” said Celestia “I was out of line. It’s just that after the length of time I’ve lived, I have experienced every possible sensation and every possible emotion so many times that nothing is ever new. Then today, you gave me a novel experience for the first time in my life. I will develop my skill and perform the sonic rainboom in future, and every time I do, I will always think of you. As I am immortal, that means you will live with me forever.”

“I would like that” said Rainbow absent-mindedly.
“What, the thought that you will be immortalised for your sonic rainboom?

“No - the living with you forever part.”

Celestia gasped in astonishment, but her eyes sparkled with a look that betrayed her inner happiness at the comment. It had just come out so brazenly that it had taken her by surprise; Rainbow could never be accused of subtlety. Celestia leaned over to give Rainbow a kiss on her cheek, but the cyan mare saw it coming and turned at the last second to face her and the two met for a full-on lips on lips kiss that Rainbow had engineered, but Celestia had been caught in.

The depth of their feeling was now quite clear, neither wanting to back down and risk losing the tenderness and intimacy of the moment.

The Maître d' made a discrete gesture to the serving staff, who all filed away quickly, leaving two ponies alone to experience an uninterrupted moment of closeness in their unscheduled trist.
> 5 Confrontation and Return
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“How are you feeling today?” asked Rainbow, turning over in bed to stroke a few errant strands of blue and green mane from her lover’s face.
“Hmmmm …” hummed Celestia seductively, relishing the tenderness of a cyan blue forehoof gently brushing across her fur.

It had been a long time since she had taken a lover, and the new lease of life it had given her was palpable. Having somepony to unwind with after a busy day, somepony to share her most intimate thoughts with and somepony to hold when retreating back to her private chambers; it was a whole experience she hadn’t realised how much she had missed. Better still, Rainbow hadn’t chosen to get involved with Celestia because she sought political influence, desired fame or notoriety, but instead it was a match based on the purest of all motives – love.

It was difficult to pin down exactly who had courted who as both displayed their deep affection for the other on a complementary basis, but both were united in desiring the same outcome. They were such a perfect match and everypony could see how much in love they were; indeed, the popular press had been alive for months with rumours of a Royal Wedding.

Rainbow broke her reverie, indicating she had finished grooming her marefriend by placing a kiss on her lips, as gently as a butterfly landing on a fragrant flower. Celestia reached out and stroked her in return, her cyan blue face turning just a fraction as her eyes closed with the delight of pleasures to come.

The newly revitalised Celestia was riding the crest of a wave, and could feel her good karma helping to build her magical strength, strength that she could either use to keep the seething monster at bay for decades longer, or strength she could use to reverse time and attempt to end it. It was so tempting to simply extend the time before she had to make a decision and relish the sumptuous opportunity it bought with her marefriend, but deep down she knew that was the wrong approach. No matter how she tried to duck the issue, Celestia knew she was a pony whose core values would never allow self-indulgence at the expense of duty, and reluctantly turned her mind to the day’s momentous activities.

“Rainbow” she whispered across the rumpled sheets an hour later “I can’t put it off any longer.”
“You can do it Celly” said her marefriend supportively “I’ll be coming with you, right?”
“My darling, we’ve been over this” said Celestia leaning over and stroking her fur gently “I don’t know what will happen, but I am not prepared to risk you – you’re far too precious to me.”
“I would rather be with you. If you die, we die together.”

“Please don’t, Rainbow” desperation and sadness both creeping in to her voice simultaneously “I don’t want to do anything to you that I will have to carry in my conscience for all eternity.”
“Can I at least come to see you off and wish you well?”
“Yes, of course you can.”
"And you'll return back to the same place just a few minutes later if it all works out OK?" asked Rainbow, seeking confirmation of what she had already been told.
"Yes, darling. You'll barely notice I've gone."
“Good, because there may be something I want to say to you when you come back” said the pegasus with a cheeky smile.

Celestia’s heart skipped a beat – could it be a proposal of marriage? She felt lightheaded at the prospect and wanted, really wanted to play it cool, but failed and threw her forelegs around her, tears of delight running down her muzzle.

“Whoa!” calmed Rainbow “You’ve got to focus on the job ahead. We’ve got a whole lifetime ahead as soon as you return …”


***


After one more kiss, Celestia turned to depart and launched herself into the air, the cyan mare watching as loping wingbeats carried her love away to perform the duty she had been coaching her for. Rainbow wanted desperately to be with her, but Celestia had been adamant.

“Come home soon my love” she whispered as the white dot finally vanished from view, never having felt so alone in her entire life.

The white mare reached altitude and paused to get her breath on a single strategically placed cloud. She looked down; Canterlot lay behind her, Ponyville off to one side, but her destiny lay ahead more clearly marked than on any signpost. She wanted to return to her love and resolved that even if Rainbow didn’t propose to her, she would take the initiative herself and propose to her instead. But, despite the longing she felt in her heart, she parked her emotions and focused on what she knew she must do. As Rainbow had said, they would have a lifetime to express their love, after all.

Celestia slipped gracefully off the cloud and headed west, out over large swathes of unpopulated areas, to the very borders of Equestria and beyond. She built speed, now little more than a formality with all the practice she had received and soon entered the buffeting that had caused her so much trouble when she had first pushed the boundaries of high speed flight.

From her vantage point high up on the royal castle, Rainbow’s vigil of the western horizon paid off as she saw the bright flash of a sonic rainboom.
“I love you, Celestia” she whispered, staring at the horizon long after the colourful display had dissipated.

The words of the spell poured from the Sun Princess as she transitioned through twilight into the dark portion of her journey, racing against the spin of the planet. She did not see the stars; her head was down, keeping her horn inside the shockwave and she knew she dared not turn to take in the beautiful vista of the night sky that enveloped her.

The spellcasting and the sustained high speed flying drew on her stamina and she was so grateful for all the work Rainbow had put in with her over the last few months preparing her for the ordeal. Soon she saw the dawn and returned to yesterday as she felt the warm sun on her coat once more.

She continued flying and casting her spell, the days and nights growing shorter and shorter until they were going past in a blur; a few seconds in her time elapsing as all around her, days past, then weeks, then months and finally years. Each individual day was now a single flash in a stroboscopic blur as the calendar unwound back to that point in time when the creature had first appeared.

Abruptly, there was another boom, and she dropped down suddenly into normal flight once more – she was there!

She had reappeared just to the west of Canterlot, where she had made her sonic rainboom at the beginning of this flight and flew over to a convenient cloud for a well-earned rest. Any doubts she had about the efficacy of the spell were quashed as she looked down at Canterlot, not the Canterlot she had left, but the one that had existed hundreds of years ago.

Celestia knew where she had to go and set off for the point where she had first encountered the black apparition that would become the bane of her life, knowing that she had to get there before the Celestia of this timeline would find her. Quickly she headed out to that fateful place for a meeting that had never happened but would now change the course of history.

She scanned the ground in a search pattern, frantically looking left and right until there was a black dot, more or less where she knew it should be. She circled and glided down, dropping majestically to the ground in front of the loathsome beast.

“What do you want?” it hissed venomously.
“I have come to do something I should have done a long time ago” said Celestia, her voice even and devoid of emotion.

The creature detected the sense of purpose radiated by its visitor.
“I feel no love within you” it seethed.
“That is because I know what you are.”
“You intend me harm, I sense it.”
“Nothing you can say will sway me from my duty.”
“Nothing? You do not know my name. If you do not know my name, then you will be able to do what you want with no remorse. If you know I have a name, you will be plagued forever by what you are about to do to me, and my memory will become a towering monolith of guilt that haunts your mind and drives you mad.”

Celestia started casting her banishment spell not focusing on what the creature had to say. A yellow aura built on the tip of her horn.
“My name is Chrysalis!” it screamed.
In a flash of yellow light, the frightening black image of a disfigured moth-eaten alicorn vanished, transported to the isolated island where it would doubtless die and never grow to threaten Celestia or Equestria ever again.

A relieved Celestia took off and climbed away feeling a sense that at last she could focus on her royal duties and her private life free from the worry of this creature that had been her curse for so long. The name ran through her head “Chrysalis … Chrysalis ...”

She dismissed it.

Climbing back up to altitude, she flew east and sped up as soon as she was able, creating the first ever sonic rainboom that Equestria had ever seen. Astronomers and philosophers would debate this strange signal in the sky for generations, but none would ever know for sure what it was; it would be a secret shared between Celestia and her marefriend waiting for her.

She repeated the time spell and once more, the days and nights flashed by as if staring into a stroboscope, speeding up beyond the ability of calendars to comprehend before suddenly dropping out of the manic procession through time and arriving back where she had left off.

Although she congratulated herself on a job well done, she was exhausted both physically and mentally; her wings had flown around the planet both ways at very high speed and her spell casting had drawn deep into her reserves of energy. By now she was running on adrenalin and the love of her waiting marefriend, who, as she recalled, had some special news for her.

Celestia glided gracefully back over the castle walls and alighted on the royal balcony.
“Rainbow, Rainbow!” she called “I’m home darling, I’ve done it!”

She walked inside. The bedroom was tidy. The bedroom was never tidy. Rainbow Dash, for all her wonderful characteristics could not be said to be tidy.

A pit opened in her stomach; a big, yawning, terrifying chasm.

She opened the wardrobe used by her marefriend. It was full of Celestia’s own clothes.
She called for an aide who greeted her with due deference and etiquette.

“Where is Rainbow Dash?” she asked, a lump rising in her throat and her eyes suddenly feeling unexpectedly sore.
“I believe she is on the guest list for a tour round the castle today with your student Twilight Sparkle.”

“Please have them sent to me” she requested.
“Of course, your Majesty” said the aide, departing backwards through the double doors.

Celestia was perplexed. Had Rainbow left her? If so why was she on a tour round the castle with Twilight?

She slipped on her hoof guards and livery collar, suddenly realising they had been off when she addressed the aide and feeling immediately embarrassed. She had just fixed her tiara when a knock at the door announced that her visitors were outside.

She crossed the room and opened the door, entering the antechamber where a lilac unicorn bounded forward to greet her while a cyan pegasus held back.
“Princess, Princess!” bubbled Twilight “How lovely to see you. I didn’t know if you would have time to see us today …”
“Rainbow Dash?” asked Celestia looking past her faithful student “How are you?”
“Er, I’m fine Princess” she replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck with her forehoof, no hint of recognition in her eyes.

“It’s lovely to see you both today” said Celestia feeling a boulder rising up inside her throat “I hope you have a nice time.”

As the two young mares expressed their thanks for their personal but very brief audience, Celestia turned back to her bedroom and opened the door. Her hooves would carry her no longer and she collapsed on the bed, the lump in her throat rising up into the most heartfelt sobs that shook her whole body as she gripped the pillow between her forehooves and held it close, rocking gently from side to side.

“Rainbow! Rainbow! NO!!” she cried piteously, knowing now that because she had removed the Chrysalis from this dimension, she had never sent the note to Rainbow Dash asking for her help and thus they had never formed a relationship. She also knew that in the dimension she had left behind was the Rainbow Dash she loved with all her heart still standing on a balcony waiting for her to return. That Rainbow would wait for her return until the day she died, never able to reveal the wonderful secret she was so desperate to share with her true love.

She hugged the pillow and cried so hard she did not lower the sun nor raise the moon. When her aide came to remind her of her responsibilities, the desperate strains of her heart breaking forced him to reconsider the wisdom of interrupting her grief and tiptoed away.

She was devastated.

On a balcony close by, yet unbridgeably far away, a cyan pegasus stared up at the sky waiting patiently for her true love to return.