A Rude Awakening
“Never have I seen someone like her. Radiant and warm like the sun itself, there was no question that she indeed was nothing less than a goddess. Anyone who thinks different is a fool.”
General Lightning Star about Princess Celestia
142 BLB (Before Lunar Banishment)
12th January 1003 ALB (After Lunar banishment)
The Royal Palace
Canterlot
Tia opened her eyes, but she was greeted by absolute darkness. She stood up to her hips in water, but could not make out anything in the darkness that surrounded her. Trying to walk forward she found it was quite difficult to move at all. Her enhanced hearing was able to pick up only one sound: A slow dripping could be heard and it was close. She squinted her eyes and tried to see anything but it was a useless effort on hr part as she was still not able to see a thing. She felt heat touch her back and she turned around. As she had turned around she was greeted by the sight of her beautiful sun. Celestia tried to look at it, but its brightness forced the goddess to avert her eyes.
“That is not possible!” she exclaimed in shock, but her voice seemed strange. Her thoughts were interrupted as she finally saw her surroundings. The immortal goddess gasped in shock when she saw that the fluid all around her was not water, but blood. A sea of blood seemed to cover everything and disappeared into the horizon. Her sun’s heat seemed to increase even more and Celestia began to sweat. She never sweated before in her immortal life and not even the greatest heat had bothered her.
“What is going on?” she exclaimed and noticed the panic in her own voice. The dripping caught her attention again and this time she was able to make out its origin: Her beautiful white wings were covered with the crimson substance and the blood slowly dripped from them into the sea below them. The terrible silence suddenly was interrupted by a faint noise. It sounded like the boots of a thousand soldiers slowly marching towards her in perfect synchronisation. It grew louder and louder, going from something she could barely hear to a cacophony that was loud enough to make thinking difficult. The sea of blood in front of her lost its calmness as the marching boots came closer. Celestia was barely able to supress the urge to scream as heads rose from the crimson ocean. As thy drew nearer to the princess the rest of their bodies rose from the deep red fluid. This time Celestia did scream in terror as she saw the bodies of the people approaching her. They were barely alive. Many had open wounds, burns or even missing limbs. The most unsettling detail though was what they wore: Every single one of those walking bodies wore the uniform of the Sixth Equestrian Legion. The Legion that had been completely wiped out almost 1500 years ago. Panic filled the princess’ heart as she tried to draw upon the power of the sun to keep those undead creatures away from her, but the sun above hr seemed to double down in its pursuit to burn her and she fell on her knees as the heat grew almost unbearable.
“No..” she was able to cough as the fallen of the Sixth Legion drew closer. Now they were only a few meters away.
“Monster!” a thousand voices screamed and it was so loud that Celestia tried to shield her ears with her hands. The dead finally were upon her and their hands moved towards her agonizingly slow.
“No.” she exclaimed again. “Please… No! No! NO!”
Luna watched her night sky with a small grin. They said that complementing your own work was vain, but she had to admit that this time she outdid herself. With a sigh she focused on the moon. She would need to lower it in a few minutes as her sisters day would begin soon. After that she…
NO!
The scream made her jump in surprise. Celestia! She would recognise her sisters voice everywhere and not even glancing back at her night sky she immediately ran towards her sisters room, not caring for whatever or whoever stood in her way. When the lunar princess finally arrived at her sisters bedroom the guards had already rushed in and the door stood wide open. Fearing the worst Luna ran inside only to be met by Celestia lying on the floor next to her bed and the guards trying to talk to her. Usually Luna would have laughed, because her sister obviously had fallen out of her bed, but Celestia’s expression of panic and terror immediately killed that notion. She pushed one of the guards out of her way as she drew closer to her sister, who was unresponsive to the solar guards enquires.
“Leave us!” Luna demanded with authority and the two gold-clad guards nodded and left the room, closing the doors behind them.
“Tia?” she asked softly and her sisters eyes finally met hers. Luna cringed as she saw the look on Celestia’s face. It was a look of utter panic and defeat that hit Luna’s heart. Never had she seen he sister like this before. So weak and vulnerable. Celestia had always been the more powerful one, both mentally and physically. Seeing her like that hurt the Lunar Diarch. She knelt down and engulfed her big sister in a tight hug. Luna’s eyes widened, as she felt something wet on her left shoulder.
Again she tried to get trough to her sister. “Tia…” she pleaded “Please talk to me. Are you all right?” Luna wanted to hit herself. Are you all right? Obviously not!
“No.” she heard the meek voice of her sister. Damnit! Celestia had never been meek before. Luna tightened her grip on Celestia. She never thought that this would ever happen, but Tia needed her right now. After a few seconds she loosened the hug and looked at Celestia. The other woman had her eyes closed and her lips formed a straight line.
“Lulu…” she heard the nickname Celestia used to tease her. Normally Luna would glare at her, but this time she just smiled at her.
“Yes, Tia?” Celestia took a deep breath and she opened her eyes. The defeated and terrified look from before was still there, but underneath those magenta eyes was something she was not able to recognize.
“Am I weak?” Tia finally asked and Luna gasped.
“What do you mean?” she asked her sister and Tia sighed sadly.
“So many died, because of me. I have sent thousands to their deaths. I could have saved them if I had been stronger…” she trailed off and this time Luna’s anger grew. She slapped her sister across her face. Celestia jumped back, more in surprise than pain.
“Now you listen here!” she roared at her sister and poked her chest with a finger. “You are the strongest person I know. You protected this country – nay this world – for millennia. You are anything but weak.” She told her sister who again sighed. Luna swore she heard her sister mumble a maybe. Celestia rose up from the ground and wiped away the tears in her eyes.
“Thank you Lulu. I needed a good slap.” Her sister told her with a smile, but Luna immediately saw that it seemed forced. The Lunar Diarch sighed.
“Tia…” she mumbled and looked towards her beloved sister. “You know what?” she told the Solar Diarch. “Tia! As your sister I order you to take a day off.” Luna said and Celestia rose a single eyebrow.
“Lulu, are you…” she tried to say, but Luna interrupted her, as she but a hand over her sisters lips.
“No! I am the mistress of the Night. You take a day off. Equestria won’t collapse if you don’t appear on Day-Court for once. I will just appoint someone to act in your stead.” She dismissively ordered and Celestia sighed. She knew that there was nothing that could convince Luna to let go of her idea.
“Fine.” The Solar Diarch said and Luna grinned.
“Now ,sister dearest, you should get clothed. And as it is your day off, try to choose something less… regal.” She told Celestia and left with a grin.
Lieutenant Bright Shield hated this assignment. One ill-timed joke about the captain and he had been assigned guarding duty. Not of one of the princesses thought. That would have been an honour and true pleasure. After all every single of them were the very definitions of beauty. Nope. He had been assigned guarding the armoury. Unless some soldier wanted to get a sword for training he only saw any action at the beginning and the end of the shifts, when the Guards arrived to get or bring their weapons. His eyes drifted towards a beautiful glass window and he quirked one eyebrow. This one was new. It depicted all four princesses smiling. Shield sighed at the picture. He had actually joined the guard to meet one of the princesses.
He remembered living in a small village south of Canterlot. As a young boy he had seen the pictures of princess Celestia and his grandmother had often told him about the solar princess. How she protected all of Equestria and how she was a goddess. Unfortunately he had only seen her from afar this whole time, as she was almost always busy – or at least so the veteran guards said - and that too was the case with the other princesses. He tried to see the princesses Cadence and Twilight Sparkle, but he missed the chance, as he had been ill the same days. Princess Luna… Well she kind of… sort of… scared him. There was just something about the Lunar Diarch that made him want to turn around and run away.
So deep in thoughts had Bright Shield been that he had not even noticed someone approaching.
“Excuse me?” a soft velvet like voice shook him out of his thoughts. Expecting a superior to stand before him he couldn’t have been more wrong, but also more right. His mouth opened and he gaped in shock at who stood before him. Princess Celestia herself! She was different from the pictures he had seen. She did not wear one of her long flowing white dresses, but instead some simple jeans and a shirt. Her usually long open flowing mane of multi-coloured hair had been put into a messy ponytail and for some reason she did not wear her crown. Shield found himself staring at her. Seeing her from up close he had to admit that she really was the very definition of beauty.
Finally snapping out of it he bowed deeply. “Your highness.” She told him to rise in her melodic voice and Shield did just that. “How may I be of assistance, your highness?” he asked the beautiful woman and she looked at the armoury behind him.
“I was here to get a sword.” She told him and he looked at her confused.
“A sword, your highness?”
“Yes. Or a spear if you do not have one at hand.” She added and Bright Shield looked at her confused for a moment, but who was he to question the ruler of Equestria. He rushed back into the armoury and grabbed one of the best and most decorated swords in there. It belonged to Major Flame Walker, but she was on leave for the moment so he was not concerned in taking it. Getting back out he again came face to face with the princess and had to force himself to stay calm, as he handed her the sword. It honestly should be a crime to be too attractive.
“Bright Shield, right?” the princess asked and took away his breath. She KNEW him? His surprise must have been obvious and Celestia looked at him almost sad.
“I never would forget the names of those who risk their lives for me.” She told him and Shield nodded still in shock. She seemed to think for a few seconds. “Lieutenant Shield. Could I ask you to accompany me to the training field?” she asked and again he found himself confused.
“You do not have to ask, your highness.” He immediately replied, but Celestia shook her head.
“Officially I have a day off, so I can not order you to do anything. I dismissed my usual guards a hour ago, but then it dawned on me, that I would need someone to assess my performance with a weapon and if I got rusty. So I ask you again, Bright Shield: Would you accompany me?” she asked and her beautiful magenta eyes bore into his skull. Shield felt as if she saw straight through him into his very soul, but it was not a bad feeling.
“It’s no problem, your highness. The next shift will be here in 10 minutes and my shift ends there. I think I can finish early today.” He said and Celestia send a small smile his way that made him blush crimson. Thank every deity out there for his helmet.
Both of them made their ways towards the training field drawing many gazes. He supposed the princess would get those everywhere she went. Some people looked at her confused, while others just stared at her in amazement. They stopped in front of a dummy and Celestia unsheathed Major Walker’s sword with a quick and elegant movement. Shield positioned himself across from her to have the best view on her and the dummy.
With speed that was faster than his eyes were able to register, Celestia began to strike the dummy. The steel in her hand became a blur of grey as her strikes continued to hammer into the dummy. Again Shield found self himself stare at the princess with an open mouth. Never in his life had he seen someone fight like that. Where Captain Shining Armor was power and Spitfire was speed, the princess combined both those elements. Trying to keep up with her movements Shield tried to assess her fighting prowess and her skills and he found himself amazed again. There was not a single flaw in her style of fighting. There was not a single opening in her guard and every strike of her hit a vital area or point on the dummy. Shield had to admit that – even without her overwhelming power and speed – she would probably wipe the floor with nearly every single guard in Canterlot. As fast as she had drawn it, Celestia sheathed the sword, but she was far from finished. Her whole right arm began to glow with golden runes and Shield’s eyes widened.
“Magic.” He whispered and looked in amazement as the princess’ superpowered fist collided with the poor dummy. A shockwave nearly threw him off his feet and as he looked up again, there was a small crater where the dummy used to stand.
“Tell me, Bright Shield… How did I do?” she asked him and this time she did grin. The weirdest thing though had been, that Shield could have sworn that her eyes had turned a fiery orange for a second there. Probably just had been his imagination.
As Celestia finally entered her bedroom again she found herself smirking at her reflection in the mirror. She still was as powerful as when she fought Nightmare Moon. A thousand years of peace had not dulled her reflexes or her skill. The young guard too said so after he had recovered from the shock of seeing her fight. Her thoughts returned to the dream she had the night before. Sighing she had to admit that the voices had been right. It was her actions that cost all of those brave men and women their lives. It had been her weakness. Not her physical weakness, but the weakness of her willpower.
Turning away from the mirror her gaze turned towards the sky. Staring directly at the sun Celestia made a decision. It had been her weakness that cost all of those people their lives, it had been her weakness that made poor Lulu fall into despair and it had been her weakness that allowed Chrysalis, Sombra and Discord to walk all over her. She was supposed to protect this country but she had to scream for help from some young women not even a thousandth of her age. This would end today. She would never be weak again.