What if using the elements wasn't so easy for Celestia?
When Celestia banished Nightmare Moon, what if she had to pay a price? Nothing so easy as death, no. Just something that carried her down into depths far deeper than Luna ever went.
Here. She was here. It's been... too long. Long enough, hard enough, that she didn't want to think about it. Oh, Faust, it was Luna! She could finally correct the worst decision she had ever made. She could finally put her hoof where her mouth is and stop lying to sweet little Twilight. Oh, please, let her fix this. She needs to fix this. The first thing to do was to put on the mask.
Turning her head towards the dark blue mass of magic, but not quite as dark as it had been just moments prior, she began to fill the canyon. "Luna! Oh, Luna, it's really you!" Princess Celestia cried out, allowing her precious sister any amount of painful space she needed, attempting to bridge that space with an outstretched hoof. Luna, her Luna, spoke to her for the first time in a thousand years. "Sister! I am so sorry, please forgive me! I promise not to be bad again, please don't send me back!"
That was not what Celestia had been expecting. She had expected rage, the divine smite of a thousand lunar phases condensed into a single magical beam. She had expected what was whispered in her ear for the last 400 years and expected to see Luna leave without a second glance. She had even expected, or more accurately prayed, that Luna didn't remember and she would be free of any trauma. She definitely did not expect... this. Her own sister, cowering at her hooves like they themselves did in the early days. Quickly shoving that memory aside with years of painful political experience, Celestia did what she does best. She pretends to be better.
"Luna-" Celestia began, and then stopped, seeing how Luna flinched away. Taking a breath to steal her nerves and calm down, she tried again. "Luna, I promise I will never send you back. I didn't send you there because of any action on your own part, but because of what you turned into." Finally, finally, she began to see Luna relax. Each word spoken acted like a soothing potion, and Celestia allowed the thought that maybe the voice in her head might just be wrong, after all. "Magic has progressed significantly since then. We no longer live in fear of ponies transforming into evil caricatures. After I banished Nightmare Moon, I spent years researching into the why, and I promise this will never happen again. Please, Luna, come back to the capital with me." Luna was so close, almost in her grasp. She just needed to bridge the final gap, and then the healing could finally start. "I promise everything will be explained. And, more importantly, righted." The solar princess finished with a deep breath and an extended hoof, waiting in anticipation that she has never felt before.
"OH MY GIDDLY GOSH DARN WHAT??? I DIDNT KNOW ANY OF THIS!!! TWILIGHT!!!! WE HAVE TO REWRITE EVERYTHING!!!" Like a bomb exploded, the once fearless princess of night and naught ran into the surrounding forests. Oh, faust. She was so, so damning close to no issues. Did the elements ever do anything besides make her life a living hell? This new iteration of the element of laughter definitely was giving the elements a run for their money by herself, though. And, Apparently, the other elements shared the sun princess' belief. After a brief and shocked silence, watching Luna fade into the distance, the elements got over their stupor. "PINKIE PIE!" The collective shout made the pink earth pony almost shrivel up into herself, once again laughing the face of every universal rule and law Celestia herself created.
"Pinkie," Twilight began, "you of all ponies should know when a situation needs to be handled carefully, and when a "Pinkie Surprise" needs to be rescheduled." Sometimes, Celestia thinks the only good thing she ever did was teach Twilight. Yet even that was born of selfish needs. But self loathing can come later. There are issues to address, after all. And there probably wasn't a better time to save what little self image the pink blob of energy has left. "Everypony, please listen." Good, Celestia now has the attention of all six blobs of warbling magic in front of her. Time for a patented Royal Speech To Lesser Beings.
"Princess Luna, better known as Nightmare Moon, has just been reformed into her better self. She is in a state of mind that even I am not quite sure how serious it is, and she has just run off into an area where she is ignorant of the dangers. Please, go back to Ponyville and spread word to those you know to not approach her in groups, and for those who can, to please be incredibly welcoming and warm and to open their very houses to her." Seeing the blobs start to vibrate in the "I can't believe this" way, she decided that maybe she should add on a few things. "That is a lot to ask, I'm aware, but please understand that Luna is not Nightmare Moon. Please, do everything you can to help my sister." She needed to really sell her point. She could feel that these elements, aside from the element of kindness, weren't so willing to help out. Celestia couldn't do this on her own. Celestia needed the princess.
All at once, the various colored ponies stood before their Sun Princess, Royalty above Royalty, a Living God, with disbelief. For Princess Celestia to lower herself to this, for her to do this.... She meant it. She meant her request, not just as a princess, but as a pony. The Celestial Princess and, for the last 1000 years, Only Ruler of Equestria, Raiser of the Sun and Moon, Bestower of Crops and Light, Bringer of Seasons and Life, The Emponyment of Peace and Prosperity, Princess Celestia Systema Solis, Bowed to a group of commoners. At this sight, this.... desecration, there was only one answer.
Of course they would help. After all, when faced with the request of a goddess, how could you not help?
I have to run away. Nothing that noisy could possibly be good for my health, or the health of any unfortunate ponies near. Distantly, I can hear ponies yelling, but I don't know what they're saying. I hope that they can run fast, for their sake. As for me, I have absolutely no clue where I am going. If only the memories of Nightmare Moon stayed, maybe I would be more familiar with these woods. As it is, my legs are getting tired and I need to find shelter and food. Faust knows I won't be accepted back into pony society, although I suppose that is for the better. I dread to think what would happen if I transformed again in the middle of a town.
I suppose I should slow down, and assess my surroundings. Lighting up my horn, I look around. "Let us see... Trees, Trees, and More Trees. Wonderful. We suppose thou above are laughing at our plight, huh?" I inquired into the open air. Resting my tired legs, and lungs, I sat down onto a relatively clean area. Although it still dampened my hindquarters. "Lousy forest," I muttered. Taking this moment as a breather, I tried to do something about my current predicament. I don't have any tools or clothing for warmth. The only thing I know is magic, and I would never be fool enough to try that, lest what becomes of the surrounding area or myself. Well, I suppose I can at least try to ma-
"I may believe you a fool," a ghostly voice spoke from behind me, causing me to jump out of my thoughts and twirl around to face whatever attacker is there. There they were, a cowardly pony in a cloak, too afraid to even show their face! I started to get ready to charge as they approached. "To come into the forest without a single tool," they continued, slowly revealing their face to be that of a.... zebra? How far south was I? Apparently, the fact I hadn't charged my horn made this zebra feel emboldened, as she continued to speak. "Come, let us get you of the dirt, before you seriously get hurt," she rhymed.
Am I being kidnapped? I have to find a way out of this. "Before thou addresses us so casually, explain your intentions!" I said to her. Apparently, these zebras are unused to interactions with royalty, as she staggered backwards. Taking a moment to regain her composer, she continued her strange rhyming scheme. "Now Princess, please do not be loud. I assure you there's no reason to shout." Do all zebras rhyme now? Surely not, right? If I am to survive, I should do my best to not escalate this situation. She seems friendly enough, so maybe I should consider this a weird farce of diplomacy and try to emulate her speech? Although, something she said was nagging me that I cannot allow her to pass. Dropping the royal voice, I hesitantly spoke my thoughts. "If we are supposed to trust thou, tell us. Thou knew our station how?" Maybe I should have paid more attention to Celes- No. We are not thinking of her right now. Focus on the present.
"It is written in the stars, Princess Lunae Systema Solis," The zebra said. "Safety, known as Zecora's Hut, lies before us." Was that her name, Zecora? It certainly sounds Hippotigrian, but with how her very speech is so different, it still is a mystery to me. "Safety, thou says?" I ask of her, baring my fangs a little more. I need to make sure she isn't a threat before I follow her anywhere, no matter how much I want to. "How do we know thou won't slit our throat in the night?" I sincerely hope I can eat soon. One thousand years doesn't do too much for a full belly. "If I was to attack, there would already be a knife in your back." Zecora confidently stated. "I mean you no harm, but the same cannot be said for what lurks near your arm." Slowly, I let my gaze travel down to where she was now pointing.
Oh. It's just a leech. At least she is attempting to prove her statement of amnesty. Reaching down to pluck it with my other arm, Zecora moves with frightening speed to stop me. I begin to believe that her comment about ill will was truthful. "Do not pluck him so eagerly, for if you do, illness will set in quite dearly," the zebra warned. "Do not fret, for I have a potion already set." As soon as she finished, she started walking away without giving me a second glance. Considering I have no other good options, I set a course after her, hoping that she truly means her words.
With the problems Luna running off into the Everfree forest created, I almost wished I still had to fight Nightmare Moon. Almost. For now, I have to not only find her, but make sure that she is safe and create a plausible excuse to delay all my political duties until tomorrow. That conversation with Raven promises to be more of a headache than Monkey See. For now, I need to bolster the local town to make sure that, in the worst case scenario, a full return of Nightmare Moon does as minimal damage as possible. I also need to consult with an expert on the modern creatures inhabiting the forest, and for all of that, I need to travel to the Canterlot College to speak with Professor Zecora and the Head Guard.
Drifting down in front of the barracks of the castle, I spotted my first target: Punkt Schildes, the current head guard. Landing in front of him, I was greeted with a wave of salutes from those around. Not paying them any mind, I immediately spoke to Punkt. "It has come to my attention that there is a threat of major damage against a local town, Ponyville. It is quite urgent, although I can not be certain if it can not be defeated through other means. As such, I want you to take an entire company and spread throughout town, with a focus on the side facing the Everfree forest and form a final line of defense for the town in the case I fail. You are expected to be there as soon as you can and not a moment later. Do you accept your orders, Punkt Des Schildes?" I spoke in something just short of the age old royal voice.
As I gave him his orders, I saw multiple jaws drop out the corner of my vision. Of course, to order an entire company of 130 guards anywhere, but especially a small town like Ponyville? They must think me insane. It just goes to show the professionalism I have raised in my guards that no one spoke while I did, and Punkt never wavered from his resolute glare, his only response being a brief "Of course, your highness. I'll get to it on the double and protect the citizens of Equestria" and turned to issue a long stream of commands to his guards. I have enough confidence he will get this done with minimal leakage to the press, or I hope.
Next on the list is Raven Inkwell, my new aid. I sincerely hope her inexperience will not shine at this moment. I took off, with my new target being my own castle. Approaching the west wing where her quarters are is quite a small flight, so I was there rather quickly. I flew in through a side window into the wall, and approached the solid oak door leading to Raven Inkwell's chambers. Giving a quick, hard rap to the door with my hoof, I spoke loudly. "Dearest Raven Inkwell, I apologize for waking you at this hour, but I must have your skills now. I am going to open the door in 1 minute, so please make sure you are presentable." I spoke at the hard wood. A muffled "Wha-?" greeted my call, and I allowed a small smirk to grace my features before quickly returning to the gravity of the situation. After a minute of quite a lot of shuffling, the door opened precisely before I was about to do it.
A sporadically bobbing orb of purple magics appeared behind the door, and quickly let me in to a quite orderly foyer filled with various books, papers, and writing equipment I am only familiar with in the vaguest of senses. As I sat down on a cushion laid around a table in the center of the room, Raven Inkwell spoke. "P-princess Celestia! W-what an H-honor!" Raven stumbled over her words, not quite rambling. "For you to s-seek me at this hour, s-something must be truly w-wrong!" The poor mare almost curled into herself as she spoke, and I leveled my gaze at her, channeling my best caretaker look I could. "Please, Raven, be at ease. I suppose that with everything that happened tonight, I found myself stuck in Princess mode. Please, allow me to explain why I have awoken you before you kick my flank to the door," I cracked her a smile as I ended, hoping that a joke would help her preform her duties well. A quite and timid chuckle heralded success. "I s-suppose it would only be r-right to hear you out, Princess," Raven replied.
Taking a quick breath, I readied myself. "Raven, I am going to ask you to do something that I do not envy of you. Please delay all my engagements for the coming day, and if so requested for reparations, tell them I will personally look into the soonest I can speak with them officially if the event permits, and extend my sincerest apologies. If further pressed, I grant you permission to grant each party a maximum of 1000 bits." I spoke. Seeing her look incredibly nervous, frantically writing down every word, I decided to save myself some headache in the future. "Raven, please do not immediately offer 1000 bits, and instead, only only offer bits if every other avenue has exhausted itself, and try to minimize exactly how empty my wallet will be after the fact, ok?" I smiled at her, hoping she would calm down so I wouldn't have to deal with another disaster today.
"O-Ok," she shakily replied. "I'll get right on drafting the required letters, and managing the court officials for today." As she spoke, I could feel my smile slowly become more genuine. As I stood, I heard her quietly mumble to herself "You got this, Raven. The first steps..." and her voice slowly trailed off as I left to my next destination: The University.
The hut I was led to was embedded into the trunk of a still living tree. There were strange jars hanging vicariously off of ropes and vines from the lower branches, promising a solid headache if one were not paying enough attention. A few strange masks were littering the ground in seemingly random places. Were all modern zebras like this, or was this Zecora the odd one out? I couldn't begin to answer, yet I still was trusting my future in her hooves. I liked this plan less with each passing second, but maybe I could become a Hippotigrian citizen when all is said and done. And that process begins with the striped creature currently beckoning me into her house.
"Please, do come inside from the night," the cryptic mare said. "I promise I do not bite." I wish I could be as jovial about this situation as my new host was. Ignoring her pointed smirk, I stepped inside into what could be called, if one were being generous, a home. There were even more jars and ingredients hanging from ropes and vines, and masks littered the surrounding shelves. In one far off corner, I could make out the bed Zecora presumably slept in, and taking up the center piece of the one room hut was a giant cauldron, currently empty and sitting upon a heap of smoldering logs and branches.
Following me in, the striped host addressed me. "I hope this is suitable for now. At least you will not hear the manticores howl," she said, already starting to pull out a fur lined sleeping bag from one of the surprisingly numerous nooks and crannies. It seemed like every word she spoke, every step she took, answered no questions and only raised more. Was the comment about manticores factual, or merely a joke? Only the most foolish, or hardened, individuals could live in manticore territory, but it has been known to happen rarely. Keeping silent, I trotted over to the sleeping bag she had provided and started to inspect it. It would be foal's play to cast simple guarding and detecting spells, but I was more than handicapped in that regard. I had to make do visually- It seemed there were no dangers, and so hesitantly I reached inside with my hoof. Satisfied there were no hidden spiders or knives, I tentatively left it in one of the various corners of the hut.
While I was busy inspecting her generosity, it seems Zecora had started preparing dinner. "I know your thoughts must be hectic, but please eat and allow me to explain it." The zebra said, pushing a plate of various greens and fruits onto the stool in front of me. Sitting on top of my new bed, I started eating after the third inspection of the day. Seeing me eating, Zecora started to explain and catch me up to speed.
"As your highness is sure to know, it has been a long time since the day of a thousand years ago. Manners and speaking have changed much, but the heart and mind are not as such. Ponies still care and love, but the rule of Celestia has changed much from above. Celestia, right after your fall, devoted herself to research in her grand hall. As the years passed and grew, so did the laws and the sister you once knew. Equestria is prosperous and fun, while we are under the rule of the sun." Well, that definitely would make sense. I mean, how could I not have been just a burden, holding Celestia back? The more I learn, the more I wish to leave.
Seeing my despondent glare, Zecora spoke with an increasingly caring voice. "However, the sun has a dark spot that not many suspect, and I think you can heal the hurt that was left." She said. Well how the hell am I supposed to heal the pony who ran an entire fucking country for a thousand years successfully? Apparently, I had voiced these thoughts out loud, as Zecora thought fit to reply "You left in a broken state, and now you can heal years of hate." After a quick and anger-filled glance, the zebra took the hint and the night quickly lapsed into silence.
"I suppose you can take a message at the very least, right?" I asked of the quite nervous filly at the front desk. Finally regaining her confidence when faced with a task she knows well, the receptionist bobbed very quickly while bending over to take some forms out form underneath her desk. Coming back up for air, she shifted into a clearly practiced tone while telling me where to sign and leave my message. While I was explaining the need to meet in very vague terms on paper, I let my mind drift to what legislation could be written to allow quick contact in case of outside emergencies. Maybe I could create a law saying that if you are high enough, you can have access to every institution's information on request? No, the chances for tyran- snap.
Sighing, I dropped my now broken pencil and my thoughts, and looked up at the counter filly. "Excuse me, but may I have a different pencil?" I asked, neglecting to mention exactly why I needed a new one. I saw a quick flare of red magic come from her, directed towards the abused piece of wood before quickly surrounding a new pencil in a pale blue aura and hovered it over to me. Taking it quickly, I finished the form without allowing my magical focus to waver.
After giving the form back to her, I quickly left the university and began to fly to my room. All the roles I could be expected to fill have been filled, and now nothing more to do then wait. And with the day I just had, I would need a major recuperative episode before I would be able to raise the sun in the morning, let alone take on extensive princess duties. Landing in my chambers, I allowed my magic to fade into the background for the first time in 2 weeks. All at once, my surroundings disappeared and my hell returned. Navigating to where I knew my bed to be, I landed snout-first and allowed my overclocked brain to stop.
Of course, she would return. She always did. "Wow, you really suck. My progenitor came back and I'm still here! You depressed fuck, did you really think your sorry ass can truly get rid of me? Even if you heal the pussy that is my mother, you think that the universe would magically fix everything and make everything better? Like the universe would ever give the major fuck up that is you a break! Ha, like you even deserve it!" Wow, I must be really lucky to only be getting the usual. Maybe I can even get 2 hours of sleep tonight.
As the hours, and taunts, went on, I slowly fell away from consciousness and into a dreamscape.
