Sad Celestia short

>You stand with two ponies just outside the gates of Canterlot

Remind me again how this happened.

>Shining Armor lets out a heavy sigh and looks off to the giant city surrounded by a translucent bubble

>"It started a week ago. She was acting kinda strange and said she needed some space. For some reason she put up a magic barrier around herself in the private quarters, but it started to grow. We tried to contact her but no one could get through. Within two days everyone was pushed out of the castle and we evacuated the rest of the city in case it got bigger."

>He turns his head back to you

>"And it did. Thankfully it stopped at the edge of the city, but nothing has been able to get in or out. We're worried and -"

Yeah yeah, I'm the only one immune to magic here, I got that part. So what? I just walk in, ask her to take it down and that's that?

>"I hope it'll be that easy."

And there's nothing else you can tell me about why she'd be doing this?

>"We do not know. She seemed.. distant. We've rarely seen her as distracted as she was before this happened," the moon princess replies.

>"And she has begun raising my moon once again. She asked if I wouldn't mind the day before she cast her barrier; said it was to make sure she hadn't lost her strength. I thought it was foolish, but I saw little reason not to have a night off. Since then every time the sun has gone down we haven't even had time to start channeling before the moon is already in its place."

>Without warning you start walking towards city

>"Wait!" cries Shining

>"Are you sure you want to just... walk head first into that?"

>You turn back to the stallion with your brows furrowed

Weren't you the one that had the idea to bring me here?

>"Yes bu-"

I was going to test myself against it first before walking in, but the longer I stay out here the more unstable she might become.

>"He is merely trying to voice his concerns for your well being Anonymous."

 

 

>You start walking back towards the bubble, this time a bit slower

Honestly it's not me you should be worried about, its your princess.

>Coming within arms distance of the bubble, you reach out and press your hand against it

>Or try to anyways, as your hand slips through as if the barrier wasn't even there

>A few steps later and you're completely inside

>Despite being less than a few seconds walking distance away, the city seems even more disturbing with it's opaque backdrop

>Also there's now a constant but soft whirring sound coming from all directions

>You rotate back to the duo outside

Can you hear me?

>The forms of Shining and Luna turn to look at each other briefly before staring back at you

>It looks like Shining is trying to say something, but there is absolutely no sound coming

>You spin back around and throw your arm out to the side with your hand as a thumbs up; hopefully he gets the message

>As you trek directly towards the castle your ears pop as if you were changing altitude

>You pick up the pace a little more, off-put both by the eerily deserted city and by the physical discomfort being in here is causing

>A few carts are left sitting in odd places in the road, and almost half the houses don't even have the front doors closed

>There's also a very audible echo coming from your footsteps

>And the air is so stiff

>You could swear the echo is getting louder the further you walk as well

>As much as your body is telling you to leave and get out you know you have to try to grin and bear it for Celestia's sake

>The front doors of the castle finally come into view as you round a corner

>Just like with the houses, the large wooden doors are slightly ajar; enough to step through, but not without having to turn sideways

>Squeezing through the gap does offer solace though, as the humming seems to dissipate a bit once you're inside

Celestia!

 

 

>You close your eyes and clutch your ears in pain, immediately regretting shouting

>It sounded like there were ten of you shouting right at your head

>You come to realize this bubble must be reflecting every noise you make

>And since the castle is in the center of it, your noises go out in every direction only to come back to its starting point

>When you finally open your eyes you're greeted by the site of Celestia standing in the middle of the foyer

>She doesn't look all that distraught; in-fact she looks exactly the same way she did when you first met her aside from not having that crown or any other jewelry on

>No baggy eyes, no crazy hair, there isn't even a slouch to her posture

>"Hello Anonymous."

>For some reason her words come out perfectly fine

>"What are you doing here?"

I -

>You quickly shut your mouth as you're once again overwhelmingly assaulted by your own sounds

>Celestia however doesn't appear phased at all

>Instead you simply point at her

>"Me? I'm fine though."

>Your face scrunches in incredulity as hold out your arms and gesture to try to present the area around you

>"Don't worry, the guards evacuated the city safely, I saw."

>That's not what you meant at all

>Maybe she can get you something to write with

>"Since you're here though, would you care to join me for tea?"

 

 

>You raise your eyebrows and hands in mock scribble status with one hand being the paper the other holding an imaginary pen

>"I'm sure I can find something you can write on. But first, tea."

>As she turns to trot away, you finally notice the first thing off about her

>She hasn't shown any emotion at all

>Normally you could at least see some show of emotional state on her, even if she hid her true state she would show another

>But there's nothing now, just a monotone voice with a neutral facial expression

>Trying to mull over what's gone wrong with her, you follow her with as light footsteps as you can

>After a few minutes of passing by doors, the two of you walk into the open gardens where a short table is standing

>Celestia sits down on the grass and with her expressionless gaze watches as you try to do the same without making anymore noise than necessary

>Once you finally get situated her horn begins glowing and a tea set appears on top of the table

>"I hope you don't mind, but I don't keep it too hot, just warm," she says as the kettle and cups start levitating

>You once again pantomime your need for writing with your hands

>"Oh. Right."

>And suddenly a piece of parchment with a pen on top pops into existence on your side of the table

>With gusto you pick up the pen and start writing, only to stop short after one letter

>The annoying echo is back and makes your writing sound like nails on chalk

>Steeling yourself for the inevitable onslaught of sound, you slowly write on the paper

 

 

::Why the barrier?::

>"To protect my little ponies of course."

::They are outside::

>"Yes, and?"

>You start to grit your teeth in frustration over her short answers

>She obviously doesn't realize how much your ears are ringing

::The barrier doesn't help anyone::

>Finally she shows the first signs of emotion as she scoffs at your sentence

>"I am in here, the ponies are safe out there. It's helping."

::They would rather be in here::

>"I'm not sure I could make a barrier large enough to house them all. Besides, that would cut them all off from the rest of the world..."

>You make a single line through part of your previous sentence and start writing at the end

::They would rather be with you::

>Celestia stares at the paper for a minute before her eyes begin to water

>However her face contorts to one of anger

>"Well they shouldn't want to! I'll only end up hurting them in the long run. I've made too many mistakes to let myself make any more that would harm my ponies."

>You grab your head with one hand as her shouting starts exacerbating your pounding headache

>"I can simply stay in here and perform my duties. They are better off without me interfering with their lives."

 

 

>Hesitantly you start to amend your last statement even further

::They would rather be with you and your mistakes than without you entirely::

>"Why?!" is all she yells in return

>You write the next line down as quickly as you can bring yourself to

::They care about you::

>A very visible trail of tears now marks Celestia's face but she offers no response other than a few sniffles

::Your friends and family want you back::

>"And why would they want that?" she asks quietly

::Because friendship is magic::

>Celestia stares at the paper with her mouth wide open before making her horn glow

>You lose consciousness as the sound of millions of pieces of breaking glass loudly assault your eardrums

 

>As you start to regain your senses, the first thing you notice is that you're propped up in a bed

>Secondly, your headache is completely gone and there's no more humming

>And opening your eyes reveals a guilt ridden Celestia's head resting next to one of your arms

>You move your hand on top of her head and start petting

>"Thank you.."

>"I'm sorry I put you and my little ponies through all this. I.. wasn't in my right mind."

Sunbutt, I want you to promise me something.

>Celestia starts to open her mouth, but closes it quickly

Promise me that if there's a next time, that you'll consult the people you're cutting ties from before you go and do it. We love and care about you, and it's okay if you need to hear us say it every once and awhile.

>She nuzzles her head even more into your hand and smiles softly

>"I Pinkie promise."