“The Sun is Tired.”

Part 1

Fic-a-day #3

MaskOfData

(Why the hell am I writing so many of these about Celestia?)

        Celestia woke up. She had been sleeping on a bed made of donated Pegasus feathers, with sheets of the finest silk. Overall, her bed had cost what the average pony makes in a lifetime.

        She stood up, putting on slippers that were lined with gold leaf. She walked to her window. Outside, a palace of marble stood on a mountain. She had over 400 servants in said palace. At any moment, she could ask for anything she pleased, and she would get it in seconds. Everypony in the land she ruled over loved her unconditionally, and they all thought she was the wisest being to ever grace the land.

        She hated every second. She hated the adoration. She hated the power. She hated the excess.

        She had always felt this way, even though she tried to hide it for her subject’s sake. That task was getting harder and harder to do, however. Things had gotten worse since her sister’s return. Having another Princess in town seemed to make ponies even more careful not to offend her. Maybe they just assumed that double the Princesses equaled double the power? It really wasn’t making sense to her.

        Or maybe her attempts to lessen the hate had backfired. She tried to be more playful, more mischievous, but that seemed to only make things worse. Making a giant statue of herself with the word “OBEY” below it, then getting a team of ponies to pull it down for a camera seemed funny to her, but scary to everypony else. She had tried other things, like starting a royal wheat factory that made terrible food, then admitting the food was awful on purpose, but those only strengthened the rumors.  Horse-drawn trains, an apple-pie armed army, and Parasprite parades hadn’t helped, ether. The final straw, however, was the Grand Galloping Gala. She had tried to lighten the mood by inviting Twilight and her friends, but most ponies assumed she was trying to demonstrate her ultimate power. Twilight had received no punishment, but everypony thought that was because she was some sort of spy for Celestia. There was nothing she could do to lighten the mood.

        She grunted in frustration, then turned and walked out her door. Another endless day of pointlessness. Let’s see... She had to dedicate a graveyard, answer letters, and judge a few contests. Great, that sounded fun.

        A guard greeted her outside the door. “Celestia, anything I can get for you?”

        “No, that’s fine, thank you,” She said, trying hard to keep her pleasant demeanor.

        A cook rushed up. “Would you like some hay? Apples? Anything at all!”

        “No, I’m not that hungry,” She muttered, starting to walk away. Where did she even come from?

        Celestia made it to her chariot. Why did she even use it? She had perfectly working wings. Oh, right, “safety.” Really, would it kill the God of the Sun to exercise a little?

        The Chariot took off, the Pegasi pulling it struggling visibly. God, they were practically killing themselves. Why? Why was she so special?

        It was a half-hour ride to Phillydelphia. Celestia stepped off the chariot, looking around. They had touched down in a pretty deserted area. Good, she might be able to get to the graveyard without-

        “Princess Celestia!” A unicorn screamed, bowing. “It is an honor to be in your presence.”

        Why? I’m powerful, sure, but I’m not better then you. Celestia thought. This was the worst part. The bowing. Ponies sometimes fainted in her presence. She didn’t deserve it. She ruled as best she could, but she wasn’t perfect. They always glossed over the bad parts. Accidentally trapping her sister for a thousand years instead of one. Deciding to go ahead with a mining operation that killed nearly a thousand ponies. Making a trade treaty with the Griffons that had cost the country millions. Or, really, any other mistake. Her citizens all loved her, and something wasn’t right about that.

        Well, loved wasn’t the right word. Celestia knew that much. The right word would be feared. They were deathly afraid of her. Afraid that she would decide to let the sun go out, that she would kill them all if they didn’t treat her perfectly. She was a tyrant, and she had never even tried.

        Whenever she tried to stop, things only got worse. A while ago, she wanted to lose some of her power, so she thought about getting a Prime Minister to do most of her duties. The position would be based on popular vote, and would have most of the real power. She would still be trapped in her palace, and would still have to raise the sun, but at least somebody else could decide the treaties and such. When she suggested it to a guard in passing, however, his reaction was strange.

        “Oh, no, your highness,” he began, bowing, “Nopony would be anywhere near as wise, brave, beautiful, or kind as you.”

        Celestia looked in his eyes. Fear. He thought he was being tested, that if he had liked the suggestion, he would be killed or worse.

        She tried to shrug it off, to consider it a fluke, but everypony else reacted the same way. Fear. Intense, burning fear. And it was tearing Celestia apart. She had been alive for a long time, and she knew that fear wasn’t even a full step away from hate. The two emotions were linked closer then her and the sun, and that was saying something.

        She sighed, breaking out of her reminiscing. “The pleasure is all mine, ma’am.”

        She started walking to the graveyard. Everypony she saw bowed on the trip. It was almost unbearable. This was supposed to be about the dead, not her.

        She finished the dedication quickly, then galloped back to the chariot. Screw the letters. They were nothing but the same love note over and over, never a real request. She needed a break.

        “Take me to Ponyville. Fast.” She said, curtly, to a guard. She had a friend to visit. . .

***

        It was only a few hours trip to Ponyville. When she arrived, she stepped out of the Chariot, nodding to the guard, then looked around. A clock on the wall of a bakery informed her that it was around noon. Ponies all around were at various levels of shock, some just surprised, others frantically running inside to change into something nicer now that the princess was here.

 She hadn’t really thought this through that well. Twilight would probably not take a random visit from her well, considering the level of stress she had reached on a planned one. Well, she couldn’t back out now. She turned towards the library.

As she walked, she noticed the same strange, methodical bowing that followed her everywhere. She tried to get her mind off it, but it disturbed her. She felt like only one pony bowed out of actual respect, and she was going to visit said person now.

Celestia finally arrived at the library. Sighing, she opened the door. When the guards tried to follow, she motioned for them to stop.

The door closed behind her. The library was in what she imagined to be its usual state of disrepair, with more books off the shelves then on them. Twilight was nowhere in sight, although she did hear what sounded like somepony attempting to find a book in a pile coming from upstairs.

“Twilight?” She called, getting nervous. What did she plan to do?

The noise stopped. Celestia could practically see Twilight’s facial expression.

“Who is it?” She called, an edge to her voice.

“Celestia. Twilight, I need...” Celestia’s words caught in her throat. “Just, come here please.”

She heard a short silence, then the rather loud clomp of hooves on wood. Twilight was standing on the stairs in front of her quickly, but she didn’t look happy to see her. Concern was written all over her face, but it wasn’t concern for herself, unlike what most ponies would have in the situation. Twilight was concerned for Celestia.

Celestia quickly regained composure. “I was close by, and thought we had time to get lunch. Care to join me?”
        “Well- Oh yes, Princess. That would be lovely,” Twilight said, sounding nervous.

Celestia found it difficult to keep face. Twilight was nervous not because she was afraid that Celestia would do something bad if she had any mishaps, but because she was afraid Celestia would like her less if that happened. She was perhaps the only person in the world who would think that.

Then again, her perception of Celestia wasn’t completely untainted. She had thought Celestia would banish her for hurting her bird. Then again, hurting the pet of a princess was never good. Maybe Twilight had thought she would be crushed if anything happened to Philomena, and would react instead of thinking about what to do. But, even if that wasn’t the answer, Twilight feared her the least, and that was good enough.

“So, where do you want to go?” Celestia asked, careful to sound cheerful. She had a feeling Twilight could tell she wasn’t however.

“Wherever you want, Princess.” Twilight responded.

“Twilight...” Celestia struggled. Was this a good idea? Well, only one way to find out. “Can you please call me Celestia? And I want you to pick the restaurant.”
        She had let her guard down a little. A glance at Twilight told Celestia that she knew this visit wasn’t a fun one. She didn’t look concerned for herself, however, so Celestia guessed she had done the right thing.

“Well, Celestia,” She began, trying (and failing) to hide this knowledge, “The Cakes’ bakery is pretty good, as is The Daily Hay. However, I’m in the mood for a good sandwich, and I prefer the Cakes’ place to TDH in that regard.”

Celestia smiled genuinely. Twilight was rather young, but she talked in a way beyond her years. “That sounds lovely.”

Celestia turned, gesturing for Twilight to follow her with a wing. “So, they’re right down the street, right?”

“Yes. On the left.” Twilight responded.

The guards practically jumped on Celestia at the door. She brushed them off with her wings, gesturing to a spot a few feet behind her. They got the message and followed at a distance.

Her and Twilight walked in silence. They were both feeling strange about what was happening. Celestia had just given her permission to call her by her first name, something only Luna generally did. It was rather awkward for both of them.

They arrived at the bakery shortly. Celestia walked in first, noticing the shocked look of the current patrons.

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cake,” Celestia said towards the counter, sitting down. Twilight sat next to her.

A waiter immediately rushed over, carrying menus. “Your highness, is there anything I can get you?”

Fear again. Celestia wanted to explode, break down, start begging him to actually like her. However, she only glanced at the menu and said, “I’ll have an Alfalfa and Wheat sandwich, Apple Dressing.”

“I’ll go with a Rye-and-grass, hold the dressing, please,” Twilight said, glancing around the restaurant. Celestia did as well. Everypony else wasn’t eating anymore, and a good portion of them were still bowing.

Futilely, Celestia tried to get them to go back to their normal routines with a hoof gesture. When that didn’t work, she rather tersely (and loudly) said, “Everypony, my presence here isn’t the end of the world. You can stop bowing and eat your sandwiches.”
        The minute she said that, she regretted it. Everypony in the store reacted so quickly, and so nervously, she knew that she had ruined their day. They would probably be afraid for a month. Celestia snorted in frustration, causing most of the ponies in the bakery who weren’t frozen in fear to jump.

“Your food, m’am.” The waiter said, placing their meals on the table.

“I think we’re taking this ‘to go,’ so I’ll just pay now,” Celestia said. It was almost painful to talk in a room filled with so much terror.

“No charge, your highness.” The waiter said, turning away from her.

“I’m paying for my damn food, sir,” Celestia said, smacking the table with a hoof. A fork fell to the ground with a ting, breaking the silence.

“Sure, ma'am. Ten bits.” The waiter was actually shaking. God, why did she have to react like that?

She took a few deep breaths, then glanced at Twilight. That only made things worse. Twilight’s face was contorted into an expression conveying fear and genuine concern for her at once. Celestia tried to calm down, then said, “Here you go. Can we get a few boxes?” while placing eleven bits on the table.

“Sure ma'am. Right away, ma'am.” His voice was shaking. Celestia could almost taste the terror.

In about 30 seconds, he had managed to get two bags and bring them to her. Celestia rather tersely placed the sandwiches inside, then stood up and motioned for Twilight to follow. They walked out the door, leaving the people in the shop to wonder what was going on.

Celestia wanted to explode. She took off into a gallop, Twilight following close behind her. The Guards attempted to catch up, but Celestia put a magical barrier between them and her. They crashed into it, collapsing in a pile of feathers and fur. She made it to the library, waited for Twilight to catch up, then locked the door. She was breathing hard, and filled with a mixture of rage an despair. She turned to Twilight. The little unicorn was very tired, but she still seemed intensely concerned for Celestia.

Celestia turned around, looking at the library, then did something she had wanted to do for a while.

She screamed.

(part 2)

---

.“The Sun is Tired”

Part 3

(Part 2 is here)

Fic-a-Day #5 (Well, Fic-every-other-day)

MaskOfData

        Twilight practically slammed the door behind her, causing Applejack to jump. She shivered slightly. Well, the moment of truth was here. Applejack braced herself for the end, shutting her eyes tightly. Sorry, Applebloom, she thought.

        After a few minutes, she opened her eyes again. Nothing had happened. Strange.

        “Are you done yet?” Celestia said, turning to her. She had sat down.

        “Done with what? Aren’t you going to–” Applejack began, before Celestia cut her off.

        “No, you’re not dying!” Celestia said, exasperated. “To be honest, I don’t know why you’re this worried.”

        “Are you sure? Because it would sure be cruel to get me all cozy, and then kill me.” Applejack relaxed a bit. Celestia obviously wanted to talk.

        “I’m positive,” Celestia said. Applejack noticed that she hung her head slightly while doing so.

        Applejack looked around. No guards, no torture instruments, nothing that looked like an interrogation would be taking place. Well, she didn’t have much to worry about then. She let herself relax a bit more.

        “To be honest, your reaction seemed a bit. . . strange for you. I thought you would have trusted Twilight more.” Celestia said, walking towards a shelf. She seemed to be avoiding Applejack, as if it was painful to look at her.

        “Well, I would, but–” Applejack said, then stopped herself. Telling Celestia this would probably not be the best idea.

        “But what?” Celestia looked genuinely confused. She took a breath, then faced Applejack, trying to smile warmly.

        “Well, it’s a bit of a long story,” Applejack began. She might as well admit to it. “It started a while ago. I had just got back from the Gala, and I was tellin’ Big Macintosh about what we had done. So he gets this funny look on his face and starts lookin’ around, like he was trying to make sure we was alone. So he asks me to follow him into the barn, and I do, and he starts talkin’. He tells me that you probably weren’t really happy with me, and that I should be more careful. I ask why, and he gestures to the – ya know, the rhubarb I was growin’ in there...”

Applejack paused, looking uncomfortable. She continued, talking faster, “I know its not legal, see, but some of Rainbow’s friends wanted some, and Granny Smith needed a hip replacement, and I was gonna stop after the Gala but the stand was a failure, so I thought I’d just be doing it for a few more–”
        Celestia cut her off. “Okay, you were growing rhubarb. There’s really not that big a penalty for that, as I’m sure you’re aware. That still doesn’t explain why you would mistrust Twilight so badly.”

“Well, it wasn’t just that,” Applejack began, shuffling again. “I had also been talking about – with some of my friends, see – how I thought rhubarb shouldn’t actually be illegal. I mean, sure it can be used as a poison, and was very famously with the Mayor Cloudchaser, but it’s so delicious I thought it was worth the risk, so I told Big Mac, and he tells me how you don’t question the princess, and gets real nervous, and says how Twilight probably told ya.” Applejack’s voice began a crescendo, turning into a scream.  “Then he goes on this big story about how he had a friend who thought that treaty with the Gryphons was a bad idea, and was telling Mac about it at a bar, and then, he says, these ponies come up and tell his friend he shouldn’t be talkin’ ‘bout that kind of thing, and they rough him up a bit, so Mac starts yellin’ about how I put them all in danger, and how I put Applebloom in danger, and how when people came I should go silently or they might hurt my family, and he starts cryin’ and I’d never seen him cry before, so I start thinkin’ about what might happen to my family, and I start to-”

Celestia cut her off, trying to sound in control. “Applejack, you’re rambling. And screaming. I don’t care about the rhubarb. It was a silly law anyway. I only put it in place after Cloudchaser was assassinated in an attempt to comfort his family. Everypony breaks it, myself included; I don’t know why you’re so worried about the whole thing.”

Celestia closed her eyes for a second. Why did those ponies hurt Mac’s friend? she thought. She got that feeling again, like she was drowning in sand, but she suppressed it. No, no time for that now, she had more pressing matters.

Applejack blushed, then muttered, “Well, Big Mac was yellin’ a lot, and...”

Celestia walked up to her, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “Look, you don’t need to be afraid of me. Nopony does. . .”

Her voice trailed off.  For the first time, Applejack looked into Celestia’s eyes.  They didn’t look powerful and wise, like she had expected. Instead, they looked sad and confused.

They stood in silence for a while. Then, Celestia spoke up.

 “Actually, that’s why I’m here. . .”

***

“So, Mr. Cake, did anything happen while I was gone?” Pinkie Pie said, putting away yet  another bag of flour. She had been supervising the import from Manehatten for the past few days.

“Well, Celestia stopped by,” Mr. Cake said tersely. Pinkie had never heard him talk in that tone before.

“Oh, Super-Duper!” Pinkie said beginning to bounce, getting flour all over herself. “Did you make her cake? Ooh, did you throw her a party? I hope not, I would have liked to be there!”

“Well, no.” Mr. Cake said, lifting another bag onto the shelf. “It didn’t really go so well.”

“Why not?” Pinkie said, ceasing her bouncing. Why did Mr. Cake sound so... scared?
        “Well, she and Lampsworth had a bit of a run-in.” Mr. Cake said. “So we fired him.”

“Fired him?” Pinkie asked. She had liked Lampy. He was nice. A bit of a filly-izer, but nice.

“Well, yeah. I don’t want to have to pay his life insurance.” Mr. Cake muttered, avoiding Pinkie’s eye.

Pinkie stopped lifting bags, then looked at Mr. Cake. “What do you mean, life insurance?”

“Well, shouldn’t it be obvious?” Mr. Cake grunted, heaving another box. “He disrespected the princess.”

“So?” Pinkie asked. Mr. Cake had never been like this before.

“Well, he’s not going to around much longer, is he? The Princess can just do whatever the hay she wants. It’ll be a miracle if she doesn’t go after us as well.” Mr Cake slammed the next bag on the shelf, grunting, then seemed to catch himself. “As she should, I mean. She is the wisest being in Equestria, and we dared to disrespect her.”

Pinkie looked at Mr. Cake. His eyes were wide, and he looked - well, he looked terrified. He noticed her looking, then snapped, “Pinkie, go outside. I got the flour.”

Pinkie was astonished. Mr. Cake had never been this nervous before. Pinkie walked out the door, and bumped into Twilight.

“Oh, Pinkie.” Twilight said. She was in bad shape, tears leaking from her eyes. “I wanted to talk to you. Celestia needs some help. Could you come with me?”

Twilight appeared to brace herself for something horrible, digging her hooves into the ground. Pinkie hadn’t seen her so upset before either. Well, today was a day for firsts.

“Okie Dokie Lokie!” Pinkie said, attempting to lighten the mood by bouncing again.

“That’s it?” Twilight said, relaxing. “No yelling? No screaming at me for betraying you?”

“Silly, why would I do that?” Pinkie said. She did feel uneasy, but she trusted Twilight more then Mr. Cake.

“Oh. Okay then. Well, I guess we’ll get Rarity next. . .”

***

Rarity dug, once again, into her closet. Celestia was in town, and she had to have a good dress for the occasion. No, she had worn that to the Gala... this was too cheap... that went out of fashion a year ago...

She slammed the door in frustration. She was going to have to make an entirely new dress. And at such a short notice!

Rarity set to work, turning on the sewing machine and getting out some paper. She had to look perfect for Celestia. She dreaded to think what might happen if she didn’t. With one comment, the princess could make her the laughingstock of the fashion world. Or, for that matter, the most renowned dressmaker in Equestria.

Rarity was just beginning the designing phase when she heard a knock. She put down her pen and walked to the door.

By looking through the peephole, she was able to determine that it was Twilight and Pinkie knocking. She opened the door a crack.

“Hey Rarity, we were just looking for you!” Pinkie said, bouncing again.

“Hello, Rarity,” Twilight said. She looked downtrodden.

“Oh, hello girls,” Rarity muttered, “I would love to come outside, but I’m a bit-”
        “Rarity, that can probably wait. Celestia needs you.” Twilight said flatly. She certainly wasn’t that happy.

“Really? Like, now?” Rarity asked, beginning to panic.

“Yeah! As soon as possible!” Pinkie said, cheerily.

“As soon as...” Rarity went into full-on panic mode. She muttered “One minute,” and ran back into the shop.

I need something new! And fast! Rarity thought, running to her closet. She quickly grabbed a rather plain white dress, then ran to a sewing machine. In the space of thirty seconds, she had managed to sew a few jewels onto it, and gave it a floral pattern. It didn’t look amazing, but it was acceptable, at least.

“Okay! Coming!” Rarity yelled at the door, hastily putting on some shoes. She stumbled out the door, and almost fell on her face.

Pinkie caught her. “Rarity, you have your right shoe on your left hoof.”

“Oh, yes I do.” Rarity muttered, looking down. She quickly fix the problem, then asked, “Where to?” If the princess needed her, it would probably be in her best interests to get there quickly.

“Well, first we have to get Rainbow and Fluttershy.” Twilight said, looking as if she was dreading the task.

“Well, that shouldn’t be too hard, should it?” Rarity said, looking towards Twilight

The look on Twilight’s face told Rarity she was wrong.

(Part 4 should be done sometime today.)

---

The Sun is Tired:

Part 4

Fic-a-day #6 (it got submitted really late at night)

Mask of Data

“Okay, there you go.  Stay off that leg!” Fluttershy said, closing the door. She walked to a chair and sat down. She didn’t often get three patients in one day, and she was tired.

A knock at the door. Fluttershy was beginning to worry. Why were so many animals getting hurt today? She got up from her chair and trotted to the door.

A look out the peephole informed her that it wasn’t another hurt animal, but rather Twilight Sparkle. Relieved, she opened the door. “Twilight, how nice to see you!”

Twilight looked at her. “Nice to see you too. Fluttershy, I need your help.”

Fluttershy instantly became concerned for her friend. She had never seen Twilight so sad. “With what? Is everypony okay?”

Pinkie Pie bounced into view. “Oh, we’re super! But Celestia isn’t.”

“Celestia?” Fluttershy asked, confused.

“I’ll tell you later. Can you get Rainbow Dash for me? I would, but I can’t, well, fly.” Twilight said, avoiding her gaze.

“Oh, right away! She’s clearing the clouds. I’ll be right back!” Fluttershy said, taking off.

She flew for about five minutes before seeing the familiar streak of Rainbow hair. Fluttershy flew a bit closer, then called out  “Rainbow!”

Rainbow turned around, confused. “Who’s calling... Oh, Fluttershy. I didn’t expect to see you up here.”

She swooped over to Fluttershy. “Did you get on the Emergency Weather Patrol too?”

“What’s the Emergency Weather Patrol?” Fluttershy asked.

“They just formed it. Since Celestia’s going to be in town for a while they decided the weather had to be perfect, so they got almost every pegasus to try and clean up the storm we were supposed to have today.” Rainbow said, out of breath. They had evidently been working hard.

“Well, no.” Fluttershy said, glancing around at all the pegasi kicking clouds. Rainbow was right, everypony was working on it. “Twilight sent me. She said that Celestia needs help.”

Rainbow laughed. “Celestia? Really? Help with what?”

“I don’t really know, but she seemed a bit frantic,” Fluttershy murmured.

“Twilight? Twilight Sparkle?” A bright white pony threw himself into their conversation. “Isn’t Celestia staying at her house?”

“I think so,” Rainbow said, looking a bit annoyed that he had interrupted them. “But, Snowflake, we were-”

Rather rudely, Snowflake interrupted her again, talking rather loudly. Several other Pegasi looked in their direction. “That pony is so lucky! I didn’t even know Celestia was into-”

Rainbow quickly cut him off, looking embarrassed. “Snowflake, it’s not like that at all.”

Snowflake rolled his eyes, then spoke again. “Still, it would be an honor to even be in her presence.”

“Why?” Fluttershy asked behind her. Rainbow turned around. Normally, Fluttershy wasn’t this assertive.

Snowflake looked at Fluttershy. His eyes made Rainbow uneasy. “What, darling?”

“Well, I’ve been to a few parties with her, and she didn’t seem to make a huge deal about things.” Fluttershy said, shivering a bit.

“Well, you obviously weren’t paying attention. Celestia is so wise, so brave, so regal that even being near her is a great honor.” Snowflake said, his voice dipping in pitch.

“Well, she seemed like a pretty normal pony to me.” Fluttershy said, her voice getting even closer to silence then usual. “She seemed to like pulling that joke with the Phoenix...”

Several ponies gasped, and began to scan the skies. Rainbow had never seen then all so nervous.

“Celestia is far too intelligent to enjoy simple pranks,” he said, moving closer to Fluttershy. “Plus, I doubt the wisest, most beautiful being in Equestria would waste her time on you.”

Snowflake spoke up. “This pony doesn’t like Celestia very much!”

A guard flew below, not paying much attention. Everypony in the sky began to breathe faster, tensing up. They were terrified.

“And I don’t think she should feel that way!” Snowflake was screaming now. The look in his eyes would have been disturbing on anypony, but Snowflake’s normal pleasant demeanor worsened the effect.

“Snowflake, stop it!” Rainbow hissed. Things were getting entirely out of hoof.

“Oh, somepony else agrees with her!” His voice was shrill and hysterical. “So, we have two traitors!”

“I’m not a traitor, and you’re screaming.” Rainbow said, suddenly getting nervous. An awful lot of ponies were looking at her. She tried to move between the crowd and Fluttershy, but Snowflake blocked her.

“Oh, screaming, am I?” Snowflake said, scanning the crowd. “Well, maybe I should be! If you’re stupid enough to think Celestia could possibly be wrong, then maybe you’re stupid enough to get us all in trouble!”

A pony to his left shouted “Yeah!”

Rainbow saw the crowd being riled up by Snowflake. She felt a sudden burst of fear, a desire to fly far away. Oh, no. She looked to her right to make sure Fluttershy was still close.

“And, maybe,” Snowflake began, his voice wild, “Maybe we need to stop you from doing so!”

“He’s right!” “Yeah!”

“And, maybe, we should take you to her!”

Rainbow felt a wave of pure terror. What, exactly, did he plan to do?

“Take ‘em!” “We have to!” “Save ourselves!”

“Fluttershy, get out of here! Fly away!” Rainbow screamed.

Rainbow felt a hoof on her wings. She struggled, trying to break free, but she saw that more ponies were coming at her. She struck out in a burst of adrenaline and fear, but it was no use. There were too many. Beside her, she heard Fluttershy scream.

“Let’s take them!” Snowflake shouted again.

Rainbow felt yet more hooves grasp her. One hit her. She tried to scream, but another hoof covered her hand.

More blows, more screaming. She was disoriented, panicking, screaming internally. She barely even felt the hooves hitting her. She saw Snowflake standing above her, his eyes bloodshot and wide, eyebrows arched, his mouth contorted into a terrifying smile. Then, mercifully, she lost consciousness.

***

Applejack left to reassure Applebloom. Most likely, the poor kid was probably still crying about her ‘dead’ sister. The farm wasn’t that far away, and Applebloom wouldn’t take that long to fetch. Applejack promised that she would be back within the half-hour, possibly bringing Applebloom along.  

About fifteen minutes after she left, Celestia heard a commotion outside. It sounded like a large crowd of ponies screaming. She tried to ignore it, but then a slam came from the direction of the front door.

She rushed to the door, then hesitated. Maybe she shouldn't open it...

Another slam. It sounded as if somepony was throwing something at the door. Well, this couldn’t be ignored. Celestia took a deep breath, then opened the door. On the step, two familiar ponies lay, bloody and battered. She recoiled in shock, then looked up to see a crowd of pegasi.

At its head was a brilliant white pony, bloodstained in places, grinning like a maniac. “Celestia, these ponies insulted you and denied your superiority. We decided to put them in their place - at your feet.”

Celestia felt, briefly, that drowning feeling, before it turned to intense, burning rage. The moon above tinted slightly red, reflecting the light from her sun.

Snowflake glanced into Celestia's eyes. Instead of praise, he saw a thousand years of hatred, directed on him and him alone.

“What. Have. You. Done?” She roared, her voice resonating across the sky. With a shiver, he realized the sound was coming from the sun as well as her mouth.

---

“The Sun is Tired”

Part 5

Fic-a-day 7 (increasingly inaccurate title)

MaskOfData

        Twilight looked up, concerned. It had been almost ten minutes since Fluttershy had left. Where could she be?

        Is that... it is. The moon is red. Why would it be- she thought, but stopped when a voice resonated from the sky.

        “What. Have. You. Done?” It was ancient and powerful, frightening in a way she had never thought possible. Yet, it was familiar...  it was Celestia’s.

        Twilight froze. What could have possibly made Celestia that angry? She started to gallop in the direction of the library. Rarity and Pinkie followed close behind her, just as frantically. They were about a mile away when they stopped, shocked. The sun sprang out of the sky, larger then Twilight had ever seen it. She began to sweat - it must have been hotter as well.

        With it rose two figures. One was instantly recognizable as Celestia, her horn glowing, with an expression of such fury Twilight could feel it. The other was much smaller, but still had wings. Twilight’s heart skipped a beat. Fluttershy? But no, this was obviously a stallion, and a white one at that.

        He was struggling, obviously terrified. Twilight noticed that he was glowing. Celestia must have been holding him aloft.

        Suddenly her vision darkened, as if she was wearing sunglasses. She tore her eyes off the two to scan the sky. It had been encased in some sort of magical barrier for as far as she could see. Such a spell would have required enough magical energy to kill a regular unicorn, but Celestia didn’t seem to even struggle. She looked the white pegasus in the eyes, then flew even higher. Twilight realized with a chill that Celestia’s eyes were glowing with magic.

        Celestia was barely visible at this point. She seemed to summon strength, then release. Twilight waited for a minute. Then two. It looked as if nothing would happen.

        Eight minutes later, she saw she was wrong. A tendril had broken off from the sun, and was moving closer faster then she had ever seen anything move. The white pegasus saw it too. Even though he was at least a thousand feet in the air, Twilight could have sworn she heard the screams.

        Twilight closed her eyes. She couldn’t watch. Two minutes later, she felt heat on her face, a flash burning though her eyelids. It was terrifying. She looked up. Where two figures once were, one remained, glowing with magic. Celestia slowly flew down to earth. Twilight didn’t know what to do. She stood there for a long time.

        Then, she felt something falling on her shoulders. She looked back. Pinkie was still staring at the sky, and Rarity had fainted. She checked her shoulder. Ash. She had a feeling she knew who it was from.

        She went to the side of the road and threw up.

***

Celestia struggled to regain herself. More magic then she had used in a century pulsed through Celestia. It was a good feeling, being so completely in charge of the world around her, but it had an effect on the mind. She regained most of her control, then smiled, extending her wings to glide.

        It had been a spectacular display, a brilliant show of force. That mob wouldn’t be trying anything like that again. She giggled slightly, remembering Snowflake’s begging when he first saw the flare. Did he really think she was going to forgive him for what he had done? What an idiot. He deserved what he got.

        Celestia faltered. Had she...

        Oh Sol.

        They were right.

        She was a tyrant.

        In every way.

        She started breathing faster, hyperventilating. She should not have come to Ponyville. She wasn’t a victim. They were right. She was a tyrant.

        She was suffocating in sand, buried alive, her throat severed. She couldn’t breathe. She had to breathe!

She forced air into her lungs. There was something else she needed to take care of... something important...

Rainbow and Fluttershy were still on her doorstep, probably bleeding to death. She tucked her wings in and dived.

 She landed a few yards away from the library, then galloped towards it. The pegasi weren’t in good shape. Blood everywhere, numerous obvious broken bones, but nothing a bit of magic couldn’t fix...

Oh Sol. Their wings. Oh no. She couldn’t fix that easily. They were bent off at odd angles, the feathers gone. Rainbow had a huge gash down the middle of hers.

Gingerly, Celestia lifted them via magic. Slowly, methodically, she started to move them. There was a hospital in town where their condition could be stabilized, then they could be rushed to the Royal Infirmary.

Celestia glanced at them. Fluttershy appeared to have broken several vertebrae, and Rainbow’s other wing was almost ripped clean off from her body. No, she couldn’t take them to a local hospital. She had to get to her palace immediately.

She summoned what energy she had left. Teleporting three healthy ponies together was dangerous, but this was almost suicide. Still, she had to try.

She released the energy. She didn’t quite know the mechanics of teleportation, but she did know that a million things could go wrong. She braced herself, knowing there was a chance the pegasi would die.

She looked in the direction of their floating, comatose bodies. A quick magical check told her they were alive, but fading fast.

She scanned the area. She had managed to teleport them less then a mile away from the Gates to the castle. Good, the Infirmary wasn’t far beyond those. There were some guards running in her direction, fear on their faces.

“Celestia, what happened! We saw you raised the sun early, then we get reports of a solar flare hitting the earth, then-” one began, but stopped when he saw the state of the ponies Celestia had taken with her.

Celestia brushed past him, taking care not to move her passengers to fast. The guards regained their senses and formed a standard V formation behind her. One ran off towards the armory, presumably to get some heavier weapons. Celestia rolled her eyes. She had just incinerated a pony, and they still thought she needed guarding.

She made it to the hospital, a small trail of blood behind her. The nurses inside froze for a minute, staring at the damage, then set to work. Within the span of two minutes, Rainbow and Fluttershy were safely in the OR, the best medical unicorns in the nation working on them.

Celestia felt sick to her stomach. She wanted to crawl up in her bed and sleep, but she had other matters to take care of. Twilight and her friends would probably want to be at the hospital, waiting to see if Dash and Fluttershy would be okay.

Celestia got up to tell a guard to fetch them, then stopped. Twilight had probably seen her kill Snowflake. Explaining that to her wouldn’t be easy... Still, she had to try.

She started to walk outside, but had to sit down again. She had used a lot of magic, and she needed to rest. She groaned, causing a few nurses to rush to her side and start taking vitals. One of them explained, rapid fire, that she needed to sleep immediately or she could suffer permanent damage.

Reluctantly, Celestia told a nearby guard to fetch Twilight and her friends, then closed her eyes. She was asleep immediately.

***

Rainbow spread her wings to glide, savoring the wind on her mane. These joy-flights always managed to lift her spirits. She smiled. Having flying as a special talent meant that doing this for a living was probable.

She flapped a few times, gaining altitude. As long as Rainbow was flying, she might as well train. After getting to a comfortable height, she tucked her wings in to dive. Being able to do a Sonic Rainboom at will would be sure to impress them Wonderbolts.

She felt the familiar friction on her face. Rainbow had only done this twice, but she would never forget the feeling. Just being in the air was absolute bliss, but breaking the sound barrier, being that powerful... That was the best feeling in the world.

Then, suddenly, she lost speed. What was happening? She wasn’t diving anymore, she was falling, spinning out of control. Looking back, she gasped.

Oh Celestia. She had no wings. Her wings were gone. Ripped clean off. By what? Why?

No time to think of that now. The ground was approaching fast. She closed her eyes, waiting for the end.

The best young flyer in Equestria hit the ground.

Rainbow Dash slowly woke up, the effects of magical anesthesia wearing off. She had a splitting headache. Groggily, she tried to remember the last day or so.

Let’s see... The organizers had formed an emergency weather patrol since Celestia was in town, she was clearing the sky, then Fluttershy had told her that Twilight wanted her. Then... Snowflake had started talking, and...

Snowflake. Why did she feel hatred at the name? She liked Snowflake. He was a pretty nice guy. So why did her skin crawl...

Oh Celestia. The mob. She realized, for the first time, where she was. Magical machines beeped in time to her pulse. The walls were a stark white. She was in a hospital.

She looked around, her vision clearing. Princess Celestia was beside her. Rainbow supposed she should bow, but she was in no state to do so. Beside Celestia, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie stood, concerned. How bad did she look?

She tried to turn her head to the left, but a searing pain stopped her. There was obviously something wrong with her neck.

Behind her, she heard a groan. The voice was unmistakable, even in pain. Fluttershy had obviously gotten hurt as well. Rainbow tried to speak, but had trouble. Her mouth wasn’t working.

She waited for a few minutes, then tried again. “I... Uh... I.... What...” Her head was still foggy from the surgery she must have had.

“What is... what’s... wrong...” Rainbow coughed. Her voice was raspy, and her throat felt like sandpaper. Celestia, this was awful. She coughed again, blood coming out. She wasn’t doing too good.

A unicorn in a white coat walked from a set of double doors in the corner of her vision. He glanced at the machines, then went to Celestia and whispered something to her. Shock registered on the princess’s face, her wings involuntarily flaring out behind her. She glanced at Rainbow, then turned away for a minute. The doctor continued speaking, but Celestia nudged him away, saying, “No, I’ll tell her.”

Celestia walked up to Rainbow, head down. “Hey there. You doing alright?” she whispered. Rainbow could tell that Celestia was trying to be as warm as possible.

Rainbow tried to speak, but coughed instead.

“Well, first off, Snowflake’s dead.” Celestia said, unsure if that would make her happy or not.

Rainbow was confused. “Wh-Why?” She managed to choke out, before going into another coughing fit.

        Celestia really didn’t want to have her explain this. “Well, they brought you to me, and I saw what they had- and- I lost control. I didn’t just kill him, I blasted him with a solar flare. I- I...”

        Celestia’s voice trailed off, then, in a near-silent voice, she murmured “I’m sorry.”

“And, well, Rainbow,” Celestia started shuffling on her hooves, dreading the next part. Still, she pressed on, “That mob... Well, they beat you guys up pretty badly. And, well, your wings got... a lot of the damage. We suspect it might have been intentional. But, anyway, a... a lot of damage was done. The doctors tried as best they could, but...”

Celestia took a deep breath, looking away from Rainbow, who was already crying a bit. “And, while they were able to fix some of the damage, they had to use a few long-term spells. You’re not going to be able to fly for a while.”

“How... long...” Rainbow choked out between coughs and tears.

“Well, the doctors don’t really know. Pegasi wings are quite delicate... and yours were damaged pretty badly.” Celestia said, trying not to be too blunt.

Rainbow broke into a new fit of sobs. Not flying for a week would drive her crazy, but a month or, more likely, a lot longer...

“Hey, it’s not that bad!’ Pinkie piped up, trying to sound positive, “You’re still alive!”

Rainbow wasn’t sure if being alive was a good thing. She loved flying. It was her special talent. She was born to soar above the clouds, to gain enough speed to break the sound barrier, to be the best flyer in all of Equestria. And, now, she couldn’t even get off the ground.

“Look, why doncha’ sleep?” Applejack asked, her voice wavering. Rainbow was normally such a strong pony, which made her breakdown so much worse.

“No, I ca-” Rainbow muttered, struggling to turn her head, “Flut- Flutter- Fluttershy, is- she- flut-”

She coughed again, more blood staining the white sheets.

Celestia gingerly laid a hoof on her shoulder. “Be still. I’ve got you.”

She turned the bed Rainbow was on so she faced Fluttershy.

Rainbow wished she hadn’t asked. Fluttershy was a mess. She had several stitched-up gashes along her flank, most of her fur was missing, and she had obviously had major internal injuries that had required surgery. A few unicorns stood by her side, keeping her encased in a purple cocoon of magic. They seemed to be taking special care with her back.

Rainbow closed her eyes, a nauseous feeling in her stomach. She couldn’t look anymore.

Celestia turned her back around, but she didn’t open her eyes. She was sleeping again.

“We should go for a while.” Celestia said, quietly, to her friends. They left the room, leaving Rainbow to a fitful sleep.

---

The Sun is Tired

Part 6

Fic-a-Day 8 (I had the flu, okay! The space was a hiatus.)

MaskOfData

Celestia left Twilight and her friends at the door to the palace, telling the guards to treat them like they exactly would have treated her. While a few cooks and guards fussed over Twilight and her friends, she walked slowly up the palace stairs. She had killed somepony. Not just killed him, but made an example out of him. She had whipped him to death with a solar flare, so everypony on the ground could watch. Could learn.

        She made it to the top, intending to go to bed, when she saw her sister. Ah, that might be able to cheer her up.

        “Luna?” She called, her voice unsteady.

        The small alicorn froze. Celestia hadn’t expected that. Slowly, Luna turned around to face her. “Yes?” she asked, in a voice near silence.

        “I- I want to talk a bit,” Celestia said. Why was Luna looking at her like that?

        “Oh. Sure, sis.” Luna said, somehow getting even quieter. She slowly paced to Celestia, then looked up at her. “What about?”

        “Well, I don’t know. Anything.” Celestia said. Luna’s eyes...

        “So. Ho- how was your day?” Luna said, her eyes shifting away from Celestia.

        “Well... not too good.” Celestia said. Luna’s voice wasn’t as cheery as usual. “How was yours?”

        “Well, okay, I guess. I had a lovely breakfast. And I think the moon was nice.” Luna muttered, then seemed to catch herself, “...of course, uh, your red sun was better. Very neat.”
        Celestia jerked back as if slapped, then tried to hide it. “Oh. You saw that.”

        “Yes. Everypony in Equestria did. It was very impressive.” Luna said. She was visibly distressed.

        “Oh.” Celestia said, entering her own private hell. Everypony. Everypony had their suspicions confirmed. She swallowed, trying to hide this realization, then continued. “So, what was the breakfast you liked so much?”

“Well, it was some nice apples and hay - grown in your brilliant Sun, of course - mashed up in some oatmeal. It was very good.” Luna said, still avoiding Celestia’s eyes. She shuffled slightly on her hooves.

        “Oh. That sounds lovely. So... did you do anything fun today?” Celestia said. This conversation was getting worse by the minute.

        “Yeah. I went to the garden and flew around a bit in the spectacular sunlight. Then I answered some mail. Then I got fitted for a dress for the Summer Sun Festival.” Luna muttered, shuffling again.

        Why is she praising the Sun so much? Celestia thought, her heart sinking. She had a hunch as to the answer to her question. “Was the dress nice?”

        “Oh, yes. Very much so.” Luna muttered. Her distress seemed to get worse.

        “Luna, are you alright?” Celestia said, bending down at the knee to look her in the eye.

        She immediately regretted the action. Her sister’s eyes contained no love, no affection in any way. They were wide, black pools of terror, screaming at Celestia in fear. Her eyes wanted to run, to hide, to get away from the monster standing before her.

        Celestia tore herself away from Luna’s gaze, then galloped down the hall. She had to get away. She had to leave.

        Celestia got into her room and locked the door behind her. When Luna walked by later, she heard sobbing.

***

        Once Celestia had went upstairs, Twilight and her friends were immediately escorted to a large kitchen, where about thirty cooks fussed over their food needs. Twilight wasn’t hungry, but Pinkie Pie asked for a few cupcakes. The cooks, obviously eager to please, quizzed her on the intimate details, from the sweetness (very) to the frosting (liberal amounts) to if she wanted any toppings (rainbow sprinkles).  It was almost scary, how fast they had managed to get the baked goods.

        After Pinkie had finished, a few servants practically stampeded them.

        “Is there anything we can do for you?” One asked. Unlike the others, he had a small gold star pinned to his lapel.

        “Well, not really...” Twilight had the sudden feeling that he was afraid of her. She brushed it off, then continued, “So, where exactly are we sleeping tonight?”

        “We have only the finest amenities. Would you prefer separate rooms?” A black pony next to the leader asked, stepping forward.

        Twilight glanced at Applejack, who mouthed “Together.” Twilight agreed; that would give them a great place to talk.

        “We’ll be together, please. We’ve had a rough day.” Twilight responded.

        “Oh, lovely,” the pony said, trying to hide his fear with false cheer. “Right this way!”

        Twilight followed him through the palace. Everywhere, she saw gold and marble statues of Celestia, paintings of Celestia, busts of her head... Twilight could see why she didn’t like to live here. Getting stared at by yourself all day had to be terrible.

        That wasn’t the only thing she noticed.  Ponies around her generally looked away as she walked by, but those that didn’t... Twilight could feel the terror like heat on her face. A few even bowed. She tried to ignore it, but. . .

        They arrived shortly. The servant opened the door, then stood outside as she and her friends entered. Twilight gasped. This was the guest room? The ceiling was ludicrously high, and the floor probably had more surface area then the entire library. It looked as if a pegasus could fly comfortably around inside it. Sitting in the middle was a set of four beds, with what seemed like a hundred decorative pillows on each. There was a large mirror on one wall, an even larger wardrobe which was probably filled with dresses that would make Rarity jealous on another. Twilight walked inside. A door off to the left probably went to a bathroom, which was most likely just as luxurious. Pinkie Pie ran past her, immediately jumping onto the bed.

        “Hm, this doesn’t seem to be too bouncy,” she said, then promptly laid down. “But so comfortable! Wow, no wonder Celestia likes it here so much!”

        Twilight could tell that Pinkie Pie was trying really hard to be positive. Still, what could she do? Twilight also plopped herself down on the bed, surprised at how comfortable it was. She was almost falling asleep, despite her nerves. It was rather nice, really...

        Then she noticed a small hole just below the pillow. Sticking out of it was was-

        How did Celestia get pegasus feathers? As far as she knew, those weren’t easy to grow back, and Rainbow had only shed a few in all the time Twilight had known her. Twilight trusted Celestia, even after what she had done, but this was still unsettling.

        Twilight trotted to the door, earning her a strange look from Rarity. The servant was still at the door.

        “Excuse me?” Twilight muttered.

        The servant jumped, then turned to her. “Yes, miss?”

        “I was wondering... how exactly did you manage to get so many pegasus feathers?”

        “Oh, those.” The Servant look relieved. “Well, Celestia often gets them in the mail along with letters, as a kind of tribute, so we have the royal seamstresses make pillows and beds out of them. Down comforters and beds are very rare, you know. We normally don’t use them in the guest room, but Celestia wanted us to treat you like we would her, so...”

        The servant let his voice trail off. Twilight turned and walked back in the room. A tribute. As far as Twilight knew, a lot of pegasi kept their old feathers, as a memento of sorts. Anything to do with their ability to fly was very special to them. Rainbow had lost one at her house once, and she had promptly picked it up and flew back to her cloud home, without even saying goodbye. When she returned, a few minutes later, she apologized to Twilight and explained that she had kept all her feathers in a jar. As far as she knew, Fluttershy did the same. Giving a feather to the Princess would have to be either an act of extreme fear or deep love, to the point of fanaticism. But she really didn’t want to think about that now. It reminded her too much of her hospitalized friends.

        Applejack was waiting for her at the door. “I think we need to talk, Sugarcube.”

        “I know, Applejack.” Twilight sighed. She had that same look again.

        “Well, see, I left Applebloom back at the farm, and she probably saw the whole thing. And she really didn’t look too certain that Celestia wasn’t really mad at me. So, I think she might be back at the farm, worryin’ that I’m next on the Sun lightning bolt thingy-”

        “Solar flare,” Twilight corrected

        “Solar flare, right, well anyway,” Applejack continued, “Well, she might think I’m next on her solar flare list. Or that Snowflake was me.”

        “Well, you do have a point. I’m sure all the fillies and colts in Ponyville were disturbed by that...” Twilight considered this for a minute. Everypony had just seen a member of the community executed in front of them, in the most spectacular way possible. It was almost as if Celestia intended them to watch. “But that pony had wings. I think she might have saw that.”

        “Well, what if Big Macintosh saw it, and thought it was me?” Applejack questioned, “I mean, he probably saw it, but he would have been to far away to see any details.”

        “Well, that’s out of our control,” Twilight said. “You could always ask Celestia to send someone.”

        “I might take yah up on that offer.” Applejack said, starting to panic again.

        “Guys, have you tried these beds?” Pinkie said, starting to bounce on the bed, “So comfortable! I mean, it’s like you’re sleeping in a mound of snowflakes! Oh, wait...”

        “Anyway, darling, I’m sure they’ll will be fine,” Rarity said, jumping into the conversation, “Although I’m still not sure that Snowflake deserved that...”

        “Well, he did almost kill Fluttershy and Rainbow,” Applejack muttered, “And Celestia was probably pretty angry. But, I mean, what if she’s angry about the rhubarb?”

        Twilight noticed Applejack beginning to panic again. She was concerned, before what Applejack had just said hit her.

        “Wait, rhubarb? What about it?”

        “Well, uh, I was growin’ some, ya see,” Applejack’s panic was briefly overtaken by awkwardness, “In the barn, ya know, to get some money for Granny Smith. Celestia said she was okay with it, but if she was just lying to cheer me up...”

        “Hey! Guys! You should go and get some cupcakes from the kitchen! They were so good! Especially the sprinkles!” Pinkie Pie said, swinging her hooves in the direction of the door while in mid-air.

        “And she could have just been messing with us the entire time! What if she never really wanted help, and just wanted a way to get rid of us? Rainbow and Fluttershy could have been a happy accident! And now, we’re not only in Canterlot, but in her palace! Rainbow and Fluttershy could be gone already, and we could be next!”

        Applejack was almost hyperventilating. Twilight tried to calm her down. “Applejack, I don’t think she needed to lure us here. Snowflake proved she doesn’t need to be subtle. Plus, you saw Rainbow and Fluttershy. They were being taken care of. If Celestia wanted them dead, she could have just left them where they lay.”

        Applejack seemed to calm down a bit, although Twilight could tell that her nerves were still on end.

        “Well, I don’t think she has anything against us, but I’m rather shocked she actually killed Snowflake. I never really though of her in that light,” Rarity said, joining in again, “And Snowflake was probably begging for his life the entire time he was up there. That must not have been easy to ignore.”

        Twilight thought about it for a while. “Actually, I’m pretty sure she couldn’t even hear him. The amount of concentration that kind of magic would require... well, I don’t know if Celestia even registered anything around her.”

“Well, that might be true, but-” Rarity began, before Pinkie Pie cut her off.

“Girls, you need to cheer up a bit! We’re going to the kitchen. Now.” Pinkie shouted, grabbing Twilight by a leg. She proceeded to drag her out the door and down the corridors the servant had previously lead them down. Rarity and Applejack followed behind her, exasperated. Twilight wanted to continue talking, but Pinkie Pie was obviously taking the situation pretty hard.

Halfway down the hall, a guard rushed them. “Excuse me, ladies, is there anything I can do for you?” He bowed halfway through the sentence.

“No, we can get it ourselves, thanks,” Twilight said, still being dragged by Pinkie Pie. When she looked back later, the guard was still bowing.

They reached the kitchen shortly after. A few cooks were still standing around the entrance, apparently waiting for somepony to request something. When they saw Twilight and company, they quickly bowed.

“Is there anything we can get you, ladies?” One asked, her face still touching the floor.

“Cupcakes! Those delicious ones you made for me!” Pinkie Pie said, starting to bounce.

The cooks immediately got up and trotted into the kitchen. Twilight was glad they left. Having people bow to her wasn’t exactly fun.

Pinkie continued to bounce, evidently happy her plan had succeeded. Nopony talked for about five minutes, then the cooks came back, carrying a tray of cupcakes. Pinkie promptly began to walk towards the dining room, Twilight and company following behind her.

After they sat down, the cooks placed the tray on the table, then bowed their heads and retreated back to the kitchen. Twilight took a bite of her cupcake. Pinkie was right, these were delicious.

They finished their food in silence. Applejack got up, still obviously nervous, and began to walk back. Twilight did likewise. Rarity and Pinkie didn’t look like they really wanted to leave, but they followed Twilight all the same.

Applejack was still pretty far ahead, evidently desperate to get back to their room.  She turned a corner, then abruptly halted, bending her front legs at the knee in a deep bow. Twilight took about a minute to catch up to her, expecting to see Celestia, but this princess was smaller, her coat the blue of a bright night sky. Twilight gasped slightly, then bowed herself. She hadn’t seen Luna for quite a while. She was mysteriously absent from the Gala, most newspapers, and even word of mouth. Nopony really talked about her much. That, combined with the fact Twilight had hit her with ridiculous amounts of magic at the last Summer Sun Festival, meant Luna probably didn’t like her very much.

“I would like a word,” Luna said, gesturing for them to rise. She turned and walked down the corridor, expecting them to follow.

---

The Sun is Tired:

Part 7

Fic-a-day 9 (and now, back to our regularly scheduled lying)

Mask of Data (With Steve McStevebro And ZekeSulastin Nagging/Helping) (BANNED FOREVER)

                Luna closed the door, making sure to lock it behind her. A guard rushing in would not be good. She swallowed. This was mostly likely a very bad idea, but she needed answers. She took a deep breath, then turned around to face the others.

        They were standing in a rough semicircle some three feet away from her. The purple one -Twilight? Yes, that was her name- was standing slightly ahead of the others. Luna decided to address her.

        “Okay, on to business. Could somepony please explain what is going on?” Luna said, bracing herself. She had gotten over most of her initial fear of Celestia, but it still lingered.

        “Well, a lot of things are going on. Could you be slightly more specific?” Twilight said, evidently surprised at her question.

        “Well, there are a lot of questions,” Luna said, still trying to be at least a bit reserved. No, this wasn’t working. Being blunt would be best. “I want to know why my sister, whom I have never seen shedding a single tear, is sobbing like a mother who found out her filly is dead.”

        Twilight recoiled slightly in shock. Hm, so she didn’t know after all. This might be a waste of time...

        Twilight cleared her throat, then spoke in a measured tone, “Well, there might be a few reasons for that... She did just kill somepony.”

        “I don’t really think- I mean, she started when- I think it might be my fault.” Luna felt her voice lose some of its authority.  “She seemed stressed but okay, then I started talking to her, and...”

        Her voice trailed off. It was as if she had lost the ability to speak. She took a few deep breaths before continuing, “I was scared of her, and I tried to hide it, but... I think I failed.”
        Twilight seemed confused. “But why would you be afraid? You’re also a royal sister, right?”

        “Well, I thought we were pretty equal, yes,” Luna began, suddenly not wanting to be in the room, “But she just- She made the sun red and-”

        Suddenly Luna started talking faster, frantic, “And she moved the moon out of the way! Without a second thought! And there was so much magic in the air- I got hit with the Elements of Harmony, and I had never felt that kind of power before! She didn’t even have to think to push me out of the sky! I thought she had struggled to trap me in the moon, that she regretted it, but after that, I think she might have been merciful! I’m disposable, she can easily raise both on her own...”

        She had run out of breath. She tried to inhale to continue, but Twilight spoke before she got a chance. “Well, there was a reason for the red sun. I mean, she was already under stress from all the fear, and seeing Fluttershy and Rainbow like that... I think it pushed her over the edge.”

        “Wait, fear?” Luna’s panic was replaced by sudden confusion. Celestia had never spoke about fear to her.

        “Of all her subjects. The normal ponies that fear her, you know. She’s told you about this, right?” Twilight looked concerned, then took a step towards Luna.

        “Well, no... And, wait, what happened to Fluttershy? Rainbow? Those names seem familiar.” Luna said. Everypony else in the room was staring at her. “Aren’t they friends of yours? Celestia reads your letters to me sometimes, I think you mentioned them once or twice.

        “You... You really don’t know anything about this, do you?” The orange one to Twilight’s left spoke for the first time. Luna shook her head.

        “Well...” Twilight attempted to speak, but she evidently had no idea what to say. “Maybe it would be a good idea to- H-here, let’s-”

Twilight  was interrupted by a loud banging on the door. Luna froze. Who was it?

“Are Twilight and her friends in there?” Celestia said, sounding panicked. “Something happened. With Fluttershy.”

There was a collective gasp from the smaller ponies in the room. Luna didn’t know what was going on, but Twilight and company were evidently very concerned. The pink one rushed to the door, struggling with the lock for a while. Twilight and the other two quickly followed.

Finally, she managed to unlock and open the door. Celestia saw them, then started galloping in the direction of the hospital. The others followed hot on her heels. Luna thought for a moment, then chased after them.

***

Fluttershy awoke with a jolt. She had been dreaming that she was... that a mob was...

She tried to sit up, but couldn’t. Why couldn’t she? Why wasn’t she...

She tried again. Nothing. She tried to move her wings. Nothing. She opened her eyes, just now registering that she hadn’t done so. She was laying down in a bed, but it wasn’t hers. She wasn’t even in her room. The ceiling above her was white, not the green she had. She tried to move her hind legs again. Nothing. She tried to move her neck. That, at least, worked. She lifted her head slightly.

Oh Celestia. All her fur had been shaved off. She had a horrible, long, surgical scar straight down her stomach, and several more off-shooting that. That wasn’t the worst part, though. All over her body, various instruments protruded. A large tube stuck out from her stomach, two smaller ones went from blood vessels in her arms to a large machine, and various metal rods stuck out from most of the bones in her body. She felt something coming from her neck as well. Her hooves were strapped to the table, as if to prevent movement.

Fluttershy stared at it for a moment, then tore her vision to her right.

There was a doctor standing there. Maybe he could explain what was going on. She tried to talk, but only managed to throw herself into a coughing fit.

A medical unicorn turned around. “Oh, horseapples, you’re awake. Here, Celestia wanted to know right away. I’ll send a guard to fetch- ask her if she wants to come here.”

As he ran off, Fluttershy remembered it all. The mob... Snowflake... She had liked Snowflake. He was so nice. But- but he- but...

    A cough from beside her derailed her train of thought. Fluttershy managed to turn her head to the left, then immediately regretted it.

    Rainbow Dash was sprawled on the bed next to her, wings in some sort of harness. A nurse rushed up to Rainbow and wiped some blood from her chin. Normally Rainbow seemed so strong, but now... she had such a look of hopelessness that Fluttershy couldn't look at her. She turned away, looking at the ceiling.

        She still had no feeling in her legs. That, combined with the various metal she had sticking out of her back, suggested a spinal injury. Fluttershy knew there was a chance she wouldn’t be able to even walk after this was all over. Then again, she was in Celestia’s royal hospital. The medical Unicorns here were the best in Equestria, and Celestia herself might be willing to donate magic for her recovery. . .

    Fluttershy’s thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. Through it walked Celestia. Fluttershy attempted to bow her head, but the tube on her neck got in the way.

Celestia swallowed. “Can you understand me?”

Fluttershy wasn’t sure how to respond, so she tried to make an affirmative noise. It didn’t sound good, but Celestia evidently took it as a “yes.”

“First of all, I’m sorry. So sorry.” Celestia said, sighing slightly. She looked down for a moment, then continued. “The magic wasn’t enough. You were hurt too badly. The doctors... They tried something different. An old earth pony method. The metal should make sure your bones grow back correctly. You’ve been in surgery for almost a full day.”

Celestia looked to the ground again, then seemed to summon strength, and continued talking. “They are also going to try to use it to conduct healing magic, but it might not work. There is a possibility you won’t be able to walk again. Flying again is unlikely.”

Fluttershy had no reaction. Why didn’t she react? She should be afraid- or sad- or depressed- or angry at Snowflake- or anything. But she couldn’t seem to feel any emotion. Just... hollowness. It was worse then anything else.

Celestia swallowed. “But you don’t want to talk to me. You probably don’t want to see me. And you have good reason...”

She walked to the door, muttered “Sorry,” and exited.

A few minutes after she left, the door opened again. Twilight, tentatively, showed herself. She had been waiting, panicking, since Celestia had hastily explained the emergency surgery. “Fluttershy?”

She saw the broken pony on the hospital bed, then quickly sucked in a breath. Nothing could...

She tried to summon some energy, something that would let her continue with her head up, but to no avail. Slowly, near-tears, she walked in. Applejack tried to follow her, but stopped at the door. She managed to force her legs to keep walking, to keep her upright, but she wanted to collapse. She had never seen anything... No, she couldn’t think about that. She took a few more strides. Rarity tried to enter as well, but it was too much. She retreated back into the waiting room, then fainted.

The last to enter was Pinkie Pie. She went through the door bouncing, but stopped after getting a look at Fluttershy. For once, Pinkie Pie didn’t feel happy at all. This was worse then thinking her friends didn’t like her parties. So much worse. She tried to talk, to say something that would make everybody happy like she always did, but nothing came to mind. Something always came to mind. She was Pinkie Pie. She was the Element of Laughter. But... there was nothing here to laugh about.

Pinkie felt something she hadn’t felt for a long time. She had banished the emotion from her mind the minute she saw that beautiful rainbow and decided to throw a party. It was that feeling that things would never get better, that she would be stuck on a rock farm her entire life, that the world was gray, that parties couldn’t make anything better. She felt a tear slip from her eye. She hadn’t cried in a long time.

The feeling brought with it a flood of thoughts. She had the worst special talent in Equestria, didn’t she? Parties might make people feel better for a short while, but they were temporary. She’d never make beautiful music, or feed hungry ponies, or draw a beautiful picture. She just threw stupid parties. She was worthless. She was absolutely-

A noise from the other end of the room snapped her out of her thoughts. She glanced over. Rainbow lay in her bed, still a bit out of it. “Pinkie, are you...”

“No. I’m not.” Pinkie said, full-on crying now. “Why did this happen?”

“Because... I don’t know.” Rainbow coughed, her lungs sounding worn out and dry,“There was really no reason. I guess... I don’t guess.”

Pinkie nodded. There was no reason. The world used to make sense. Everypony was happy. No, that wasn’t right, she saw that now. They acted happy, but they weren’t. Things had always been this way, hadn’t they?

“You’re right. No reason.” Pinkie said. She didn’t feel like Pinkie Pie anymore.

Twilight glanced at Pinkie. She should say something, but she couldn’t. A few tears slipped from her eyes as well. She looked at Fluttershy again.

Her eyes no longer had something to them. They were lacking a certain luster, a certain uniqueness. They were empty. No fear, no love, no hate, no... anything. Twilight knew she would probably get over it, but seeing her like that now... it was awful. Pinkie was the same way. 

        “I’m sorry. About all of this. If I hadn’t tried to help...” Twilight caught herself speaking. The words had just slipped out.

        “It’s not your fault.” Dash said. She looked as if she wanted to say more, but she remained silent.

        From a crack in the door, her thought was finished. “It’s mine.” Celestia whispered.

---

     The Sun is Tired

Part 8

Fic (or chapter) #10

MaskOfData

        Celestia paced away from the door. She didn’t need to watch anymore. She went to a nearby window. Luna reached out to grab her shoulder, but Celestia gently nudged it away. She looked her sister in the eye. They stared at each other for a second. Something passed between them, and Luna made no attempt to stop Celestia as she jumped, her wings automatically flinging out behind her. She almost wished they hadn’t. She descended in a smooth spiral, hitting the ground softly.

        She looked around. Nopony was around the hospital this early in the morning. Good. She didn’t want to see anyone. She began to walk again, head down.

        I’m a murderer. I’m a tyrant. I’m a tyrannical god. She thought, not paying any attention to her surroundings. I am the reason two ponies are lying broken in a hospital bed. I made somepony beg for his life for ten minutes.

        She couldn’t think of anything else. She was an awful pony. She walked in silence for a few hours. She should probably be raising the sun, but she didn’t. She didn’t have the energy.

        Ponies began to get up, surprised it was still night. Uneasy, most went about their business, before stopping and bowing after seeing Celestia. She glanced fleetingly at a few. All were shaking, terrified beyond measure. Everypony in Equestria had either seen her kill somebody, or heard the story by now. There would no longer be any slight fears. Terror would reign from now on. And she could do nothing.

        She walked on. She had no real idea where she was going. Just... away. As far away as her hooves would carry her.

        She briefly thought about flying, but decided against it. The temptation to tuck her wings in and just fall would be too great, and her dying was the only thing worse then her living.

        She had made it out of Canterlot, and was now on a small mountain road. Nopony else was around. Good.

        After about three hours of walking, she glanced around. She had gotten off the mountain and into a large empty field. It most likely belonged to a farmer who was resting it this year.

        Celestia looked around. The grass here was really tall... Probably tall enough to hide her. She walked about a hundred yards in a random direction, then collapsed on the ground. She had walked at least fifteen miles today, and she hadn’t slept for a while. She was asleep in seconds, Luna’s moon still lingering over what should have been a nice day.

***

        I’m diving, my wings tucked in, gaining speed. I must escape. I need to escape. My life depends on me flying as far away as I can as fast as I can. They cannot catch me.

        The world around me is a canvas of dim purple light. It’s the middle of the night, and I am being chased by an unknown force. I force my wings out, breaking the dive, and flap hard. I use my magic to aid my flight, reaching speeds that I never thought possible. But still they gain. Their leader grabs me.

        “You murdered me.” The white pony says, ash leaking from his burned eye sockets. “You killed me in front of everypony I knew.”

        I want to beg for mercy, but he’s right. I go limp, waiting for him to hit me. He does, his charred hoof making contact with my chest. Another blow, a hoof to the face. I can feel my bones breaking, my wings being torn off. I am near death. I beg for it to come, to remove the guilt and pain, but it doesn’t. I continue being beaten. He forces my eyes open. Blood and ash pour from his mouth and eyes. Then, he drops me.

        I fall into a room. I’m suddenly fine now, but this fact seems to have no effect. A pegasus couple is eating dinner in silence.  The mare is crying. I realize the stallion is snow-white, and know who he is. Suddenly, he turns around.

        “You!” he screeches. “Come to finish the job?”

        Snowflake’s mother sees me too. “You bitch, you killed my colt! You killed him! And I had to watch, I couldn’t tear my eyes away! My poor little Snowy...”

        She breaks into a new fit of sobs as the father stands up. He has a knife in his mouth. I get into a defensive pose, then relax. I deserve this.

        He advances to me. Metal pierces flesh, and my blood is spilled all over his floor. He stabs me again, between my ribs. I feel it puncture my heart. I give into death gladly.

        I’m standing in the courtyard of my palace. Ponies in cloaks are bowing all around me.

        “All hail Celestia, the holy one!” they begin chanting.

        “No, I’m just a pony!” I’m screaming. “Just... No!”

        One of them brings a small filly up to me. She doesn’t even have her cutie mark yet.

        “Accept this sacrifice, oh great one!” he says, placing her at my feet. I try to run away, but I can only get outside of the circle before my legs stop working. I am forced to turn around and watch.

        “I want my mommy!” The filly begins to cry. “Mommy...”

        A pony walks up to her. She suddenly stops sniffling. “Mommy!”

        “Yes, sweetie, mommy’s here,” she coos. Maybe it’s not that bad after all.

        The filly is still laying on the ground. “Mommy!” She says happily.

        The pony suddenly pulls a knife from her cloak. “For Celestia!” She screams, then drives the knife downwards.

        I’m in Ponyville. I look around. I’m in the town square, ponies surrounding me. They are holding rocks in their mouths.

        Twilight approaches me, holding a paper. “For the murder of Snowflake, you are hereby sentenced to death by stoning.”

        She looks me in the eye, and I see she is crying. “How could you? I love you.” She whispers, then gallops off.

        A stone hits my flank. I don’t see who threw it. Another hits my ribs. I feel them crack

        More rocks fly, propelled by magic and kicks. They hit my legs, neck, face. My vision is going dark. I look back. My ribs are sticking out of my chest. Everything goes black.

        Twilight’s friend Applejack has a noose around her head. A hooded pony nearby pulls a lever.

        I try to scream “No,” but it comes out as “Yes!”

        I am forced to look to my right. Her sister is standing there. “That’s what she gets for growing rhubarb.”

        The voice is mine. The filly begins to cry, and I hear myself laughing.

        Sudden darkness, my laughter still ringing then a crack of light and silence. I am floating above my palace. I glance downwards.

I’m dead. I have hung myself from the balcony outside my window. I can still somehow see the scene out of body. Luna is trying in vain to raise the sun, but it no longer exists. Ponies all around scream, hug each other, share one last kiss. The planet drops in temperature. Ponies begin to weep, mother sobbing for the short lives of their fillies and colts. Ice forms everywhere. Some ponies decide that immediate death would be preferable to freezing, and jump off the various cliffs. A few pegasi fly high, then plummet to their deaths. I see one unicorn couple stab each other with their horns. The world goes black.

I’m back in Ponyville. Twilight and Luna stand above me. They’re both alicorns, somehow.

         “Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight begins, her tone mocking, “Today, I discovered that friends with power are the best friends. I also found out how much I hate you.”

        Luna laughs. “Twilight, shall we do it together?”

        Twilight laughs as well. “But of course!”

        Their horns both glow, and I am vaporized by the only two ponies who love me.

        

***

“Crack!”

The telltale sound of a stick snapping tore Celestia from her nightmare. Her eyes shot open, her heart racing. She had just... It was... Only a dream.

Well, running away isn’t going to change anything. She thought, still laying there. And I can’t take the coward’s way out...

Her breathing slowed, her heartbeat returning to normal. It was still dark. Celestia stood up, then froze.

A very old, gray stallion, presumably the owner of the field, was standing some three feet away from her, cowering in fear. He had a cart full of firewood strapped to his back.

“Oh...” Celestia muttered, but the stallion had already unhitched himself and started galloping away. “Wait!” She called after him, but he didn’t react. Well, he had just seen the ruler of everything and goddess of the sun asleep in his field. He had a right to be freaked out, really.

Celestia watched him for a while, then turned around. Things aren’t going to get as bad as that nightmare, she thought, then looked around. She could barely see anything in the dark. She had probably only been asleep for...

The dark. It was still dark. She hadn’t risen the sun...

It had been at least a day since anypony had seen sunlight. She muttered some choice obscenities, then opened her wings, rapidly gaining altitude. This was her responsibility, and she wasn’t going to leave it by. She had already caused enough harm. In her haste, she flew slightly clumsily, and managed to hit herself with a wing more than twice. When she was about 30 feet off the ground, her horn began to glow. Slowly, she forced the sun - herself, really - to rise. The entire process took about ten minutes, which was a lot longer then usual for her.

Celestia stayed in place for a while, flapping her wings only enough to stay up. She really needed to get back to the palace. Most ponies would probably assume she was leaving the sun down intentionally, as some sort of punishment, after seeing her vaporize Snowflake. Mass panic was likely...

She snorted in frustration. She had screwed up again. Any hope she had was running through her hooves like sand. Well, great. Maybe Twilight had some idea- well, assuming she didn’t hate Celestia for what had happened to Dash and Fluttershy...

She turned around. Well, nothing she could do about that now. She began to flap again, heading towards the castle. She was in Canterlot in a little less then thirty minutes.

She glanced downwards, then did a double-take.  Well, she was certainly right about mass panic. The city was a mess. A few buildings were on fire, and those that weren’t had most of the windows broken. Graffiti was everywhere, from ornate drawings of a dead Celestia (captioned with “Ponykind killed her”) to simple text (“Celestia is DEAD,” “we DESERVE this,” “WE DIDNT LISTEN.”) The city was almost unrecognizable, and it had only happened in a few hours...

Celestia flew faster. Her castle in the distance appeared to be untouched, but she wasn’t sure if the same could be said of the residents within. A few minutes later, she had made it. She touched down right outside of the room containing the broken ponies, then bolted for the door. She practically kicked it down, desperate to-

Celestia was hit with a burst of magic the second the door was open. She was knocked back a good ten feet before colliding with a wall.

        “You do not touch my fr...” She heard Twilight say, before she realized who she had just blasted. She gasped. “OH! Princess, I am so so sorry, I just thought that you were one of those crazy rioting ponies, and that you were going to hurt Dash and Fluttershy, and I really didn’t mean to-”

        “It’s fine.” Celestia groaned, attempting to dislodge herself from the drywall. “Just glad you’re okay.”

        “Thanks.” Twilight squeaked. “Here, let me...”

Celestia felt herself being tugged from the wall by Twilight’s magic, then being placed gently on the floor. She stood up, her head aching.

“Damn, I can see why you’re my prized pupil,” she muttered, trying to stay up. “That was some powerful magic...” She got up, before falling to the ground again. Maintaining consciousness wasn’t going to be easy.

        “Oh, I am so sorry, Princess. I was just afraid that...” Twilight began, before being interrupted again.

“No, no, it’s okay.” Celestia said, getting up again. “I’m glad you defended... wait, where are my guards? Shouldn’t they have been... you know... guarding?”

“Well, they’re all out looking for you. Princess, things have gotten really bad. The city is going to burn to the ground if you don’t do something.”

The sudden seriousness came as a bit of a shock to Celestia, but she shook her head and cleared her confusion. “Okay. I guess... would it... Twilight, what do you recommend?”

Twilight looked a bit taken aback that the princess was asking for her advice. She had always looked up to Celestia, and the thought that she wanted her input... it was almost touching.

“Well, I think a public address would be best. And soon.” Twilight said. “You’re not really going to have a chance to write anything, so I guess you should just... wing it?”

        Behind them, Dash groaned. “That was insensitive.”

        “Oh, sorry.” Twilight muttered, then turned to Celestia. “And, really, you should do it really soon. Like... now.”

“Okay.” Celestia said, starting to panic. She had never been good at public speaking, and that was with notes in front of her. This would be interesting, to say the least. “So... where should I do it?”
        “Hm. Well, a lot of ponies are in your courtyard, and those that aren’t probably followed you when you came here. You flew, right?” Twilight paused, then continued at Celestia’s nod. “Well, in that case, the ideal place to speak to as many ponies as possible would be that balcony outside your bedroom.”

Celestia swallowed. That was the balcony she had hung herself from in the dream. Well, no sense telling everypony about that. Besides, talking to Twilight had lifted her spirits quite a bit. Or maybe hitting her head had done that. Either way, she was feeling better.

A few minutes later, Celestia was in her room, preparing to walk out and face the crowd. Twilight, who had left the others in the infirmary with a few guards and followed Celestia, wished her luck, and she stepped out onto the balcony.

        As she faced the huge crowd of ponies in various states of panic, she realized she had no idea what to say.

“Um.  Hello, everypony...”

---

The Sun is Tired

Part 8.5:

Celestia’s Nightmare (Hyper Mode)

WARNING: THINGS GET REALLY BAD. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

I’m diving, my wings tucked in, gaining speed. I must escape. I need to escape. My life depends on me flying as far away as I can as fast as I can. They cannot catch me.

The world around me is a canvas of dim purple light. It’s the middle of the night, and I am being chased by an unknown force. I force my wings out, breaking the dive, and flap hard. I use my magic to aid my flight, reaching speeds that I never thought possible. But still they gain. Their leader grabs me.

“You murdered me.” The white pony says, ash leaking from his burned eye sockets. “You killed me in front of everypony I knew.”

I want to beg for mercy, but he’s right. I go limp, waiting for him to hit me. He does, his charred hoof making contact with my chest. Another blow, a hoof to the face. I can feel my bones breaking, my wings being torn off. I am near death. I beg for it to come, to remove the guilt and pain, but it doesn’t. I continue being beaten. He forces my eyes open. Blood and ash pour from his mouth and eyes. Then, he drops me.

I fall into a room. I’m suddenly fine now, but this fact seems to have no effect. A pegasus couple is eating dinner in silence.  The mare is crying. I realize the stallion is snow-white, and know who he is. Suddenly, he turns around.

        “You!” he screeches. “Come to finish the job?”

Snowflake’s mother sees me too. “You bitch, you killed my colt! You killed him! And I had to watch, I couldn’t tear my eyes away! My poor little Snowy...”

She breaks into a new fit of sobs as the father stands up. He has a knife in his mouth. I get into a defensive pose, then relax. I deserve this.

He advances to me. Metal pierces flesh, and my blood is spilled all over his floor. He stabs me again, between my ribs. I feel it puncture my heart. I give into death gladly.

        I’m standing in the courtyard of my palace. Ponies in cloaks are bowing all around me.

        “All hail Celestia, the holy one!” they begin chanting.

        “No, I’m just a pony!” I’m screaming. “Just... No!”

        One of them brings a small filly up to me. She doesn’t even have her cutie mark yet.

“Accept this sacrifice, oh great one!” he says, placing her at my feet. I try to run away, but I can only get outside of the circle before my legs stop working. I am forced to turn around and watch.

        “I want my mommy!” The filly begins to cry. “Mommy...”

        A gray pony walks up to her. She suddenly stops sniffling. “Mommy!”

        “Yes, sweetie, mommy’s here,” she coos. Maybe it’s not that bad after all.

        The filly is still laying on the ground. “Mommy!” She says happily.

        The pony suddenly pulls a knife from her cloak. “For Celestia!” She screams, then drives the knife downwards, impaling her filly’s neck, just missing the tracea. It makes a dull thunk

        The filly screams. “Mommy! You said you loved me! You said you-”

        Her mother puts a hoof over her mouth. The filly is writhing on the ground in intense pain.

        The mother tries to whisper so I can’t hear, but I do anyway. “I’m sorry, but Celestia demands it. I need to save your sisters and everypony else in equestria. I still love you.”

        The mother hugs her filly for the final time. The filly is trying to escape her mother’s embrace, though she knows she’s dying. The mother holds her tightly, then releases. The filly has gone limp.

        She lets out a few tears, before gaining resolve. She puts on a determined face, ponies behind her prompting her to finish the job.

        The mother brings her knife up and around her skull. It stops cutting in a few places, and she has to force it. After the cut is done, she struggles with tearing the skin off. She has to use the knife to help in a few places, covering herself with the blood of her daughter. Finally, she removes her daughter’s face and brings it to me.

        “Are you satisfied, princess?” She looks up, eagerly awaiting approval.

        “No, I would never-” I manage to choke out, but then my body freezes again.

        The mother looks down. “Sorry, princess. I know!”

        She stabs herself as well. When I don’t say anything, she tries to twist the knife in her chest, causing more pain to herself for my pleasure.

        Suddenly, I’m in a small room, strapped to a table. Twilight is next to me.

        “Princess, are you sure you want to-” She says, her voice depressed.

        I cut her off. “Yes, Twilight. I can’t... I can’t...”

        She nodes. I see her horn glowing, and suddenly I’ve left my body. I can see her work.

        She makes a clean incision around my neck, removing my head. She grabs a machine from a nearby table.

        “As long as she is kind of alive...” Twilight says, starting to cry.

        She places the machine on my neck. My body is still alive, but Twilight thinks Celestia, the pony, is gone.

        But she is wrong. My immortality has trapped my personality in my body, not my brain. I can see nothing and I cannot communicate with the world. I will be trapped there, forever, fully conscious.

        I’m in Ponyville. I look around. I’m in the town square, ponies surrounding me. They are holding rocks in their mouths.

        Twilight approaches me, holding a paper. “For the murder of Snowflake, you are hereby sentenced to death by stoning.”

        She looks me in the eye, and I see she is crying. “How could you? I loved you.” She whispers, then gallops off.

        A stone hits my flank. I don’t see who threw it. Another hits my ribs. I feel them crack

More rocks fly, propelled by magic and kicks. They hit my legs, neck, face. My vision is going dark. I look back. My ribs are sticking out of my chest. Everything goes black.

        Twilight’s friend Applejack has a noose around her head. The hooded pony pulls a lever.

        I try to scream “No,” but it comes out as “Yes!”

        I am forced to look to my right. Her sister is standing there. “That’s what she gets for growing rhubarb.”

        The voice is mine. The filly begins to cry, and I hear myself laughing. “Guards, she’s annoying me. Remove the problem!”

        A white pegasus in uniform brings down a hoof hard on her head. Her skull cracks open. She’s dead before she hits the ground. I begin to laugh again.

    Sudden darkness, my laughter still ringing then a crack of light and silence. I am floating above my palace. I glance downwards.

I’m dead. I have hung myself from the balcony outside my window. I can still somehow see the scene out of body. Luna is trying in vain to raise the sun, but it no longer exists. Ponies all around scream, hug each other, share one last kiss. The planet drops in temperature. Ponies begin to weep, mother sobbing for the short lives of their fillies and colts. Ice forms everywhere. Some ponies decide that immediate death would be preferable to freezing, and jump off the various cliffs. A few pegasi fly high, then plummet to their deaths. I see one unicorn couple stab each other with their horns. The world goes black.

        I’m flying, away from Equestria. I’m not even on the planet anymore. I know what I must do to escape the fear.

        I find what I am looking for, and touch down. I can live on this comet for as long as I need to. I had to leave. I had to relieve them of their fear.

        I put my head in my crossed legs. I am going to be here. Alone. For the rest of my life. It’s the only way things can be normal there.

        I look up. My sister flies by. We were considering being together, but it would get too painful, only having one to talk to. Going mad from loneliness will be preferable if it comes sooner rather then later.

        I’m back in ponyville. Twilight and Luna stand above me. They’re both Alicorns, somehow.

        “Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight begins, her tone mocking, “Today I discovered that friends with power are the best friends. I also found out how much I hate you.”

        Luna laughs. “Twilight, shall we do it together?”

        Twilight laughs as well. “But of course!”

        Their horns both glow, and I am vaporized by the only two people who love me.

        

---

The Sun is Tired:

Chapter 9

Note: I apologize for the lack of updates.

        There had to be something. Something that could resolve the problem, some option that would be best for everypony... It was an opportunity to fix everything, free herself and her citizens from her tyranny. This could be her last chance...

        

        She had been opposed to telling the truth in the past. After all, everypony would probably think it was a test of their loyalty, or something equally ridiculous. But now... She was just too damn tired. There was something about the state of the crowd that did it. The fear in their eyes was all-consuming - What terrible punishment would the divine ruler inflict upon them? Would their colts and fillies ever see another sunrise?

        The fear consumed her. And, strangely, she suddenly knew what to do.

        She opened her mouth slowly. “I’m sorry.”

        A murmur went through the crowd as she continued. “I’m going to be honest with you, citizens. I know what I’ve done. You’re all scared to death of me, terrified that I’m going to kill you if you disobey. That I’ll put out the sun if you rebel.”

        She could practically feel the wave of shock going through the crowd. “I’ve put you through hell. Ponies have done horrible things in my name - and I’m done even worse things to them in return. I’m sure you’re all aware of what I’m talking about.”

        The crowd seemed to nod in unison. “Well, everypony, I’m ending this now. I wish that I could stay amongst you, be loved by you, but I’ve done far too much damage for that. I don’t know what you’re going to do, government-wise. Maybe you’ll make some sort of system where everypony votes, or something. But I’m going to leave.”

        “Where I go, I cannot know at the moment. But... I must bid you farewell, my loyal citizens. You deserved a far better ruler then what I was. I hope that you get what you rightfully deserve after I leave.”

        The crowd erupted into pandemonium as she trotted back inside. The door closed behind her, shutting off the noise.

        “Princess?”

        Celestia looked into Twilight’s eyes. They were wide in shock, and a tad afraid. Celestia spoke. “Twilight. I’m sure you’ve done some research on how you could help me - remove my power. I can only hope...”

        Her voice trailed off as Twilight spoke. “Well, I do have an idea - but - It would -”

        Twilight seemed to have trouble speaking, so Celestia filled in the words for her. “It would kill me, wouldn’t it?”

        Twilight nodded, holding back tears. “You’re old, and if you weren’t the sun... You’d disintegrate into dust.”

        Celestia considered this for a moment. “...I will do what I must.”

        The next weeks passed in a blur for both of them. There was a lot of crying - Mostly by Twilight. Celestia spent most of her time in Twilight’s library, hiding from the citizens outside. Since Twilight’s idea required all the elements of harmony, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had to heal before they could try it.

        There would be a few events that would stand out in Twilight’s mind. Celestia meeting with her sister was the worst. Celestia didn’t cry - She seemed to be past that point. But Luna did. Luna cried a lot. Celestia had said that it would be okay for her to stay as the moon, but she refused. They had some rough patches, but Luna couldn’t even think of continuing on without her sister. It would be “too lonely.”

        The night before they decided to try Twilight’s idea, they all stayed up together. Celestia, Luna, and Twilight. They didn’t talk much. They just sat there, huddled together on the library floor. Their skin felt warm against Celestia’s. She treasured that warmth, put it away in some small corner of her mind. If there was anything after death, this is how she wanted to remember her life. Huddled next to the ponies that loved her, their bodies warming her body almost as much as their hearts warmed her heart.

        They did the spell in the Everfree forest. Twilight and the others stood in a circle around Celestia and her sister.

        Twilight was crying. “Are- Are you sure that you want this?”

        Celestia thought for a moment, then nodded. “I don’t see any other way.”

        Twilight glanced to her left. Everything seemed to be in order... Normally, the elements would disperse a normal pony’s magical abilities across their entire race with the spell, since said abilities were impossible to destroy. She hoped that performing it on the princesses would put the solar cycle on autopilot, but she couldn’t be sure.

        Still, she had to try.

        She began the spell, sobbing as she did so. This is what Celestia wants. This is what she wants, she thought. It was the only way that she could possibly bring herself to do what she was about to do.

        The princesses were encased in a transparent, glowing purple shell. Twilight could see them slowly disintegrate as the spell went on, their bodies decaying into sparkling magical dust. For a moment, she was worried they were in pain - Until she looked at Celestia’s eyes.

        She seemed... Content. As if a great burden had been lifted from her. Just before her torso disappeared, Celestia spoke.

        “Thank you... Thank you for not hating me - For- Lov-”

        And then she was gone.

***

        Celestia awoke. Well, that was a surprise.

        

She was in a meadow, of some sort. There were trees immediately ahead of her, a forest, of some sort.

There was a strange feeling in the air, some sort of buildup - Like she was about to embark on some sort of journey.

There was another feeling too... Something she couldn’t explain. For the first time in a long time, she felt excited. She was anticipating something. She didn’t know what, but she couldn’t wait for it to happen.

The problems of her life - for, surly, she was dead - were gone now, and she felt... Free. Safe. She was no longer drowning in the sand of her power, but she was flying - Swimming free, her destiny in her own hand. She was going to redeem herself. She was sure of it.

And she felt like - No, she knew - That she was going to see Twilight and her sister again.

She didn’t know how she knew all of this. She just did.

And she also knew what she had to do.

Celestia, princess of the sun, galloped into the trees, towards the future. 

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