Students of Heaven
1-10
 
 
Post 1
 
>Dear Princess Celestia,
>Things are well here.
>The sun shines, the birds sing in the trees,
>and I see you were right again;
>life is so much easier with friends.
>Snips and Snails have taken quite a liking to me.
>They sulk around, destroy things, intimidate the students,
>and most importantly of all,
>they recognize my greatness.
>They do so much for me I can just sit back and bask in the misery.
>See? I'm making progress!
>You may have refused to make me an alciorn but it doesn't matter.
>There's no magic here anyway, and I already rule without it.
>This whole area is "under my thumb."
>Don't they have the cutest expressions?
>But it's true:
>I rule.
>I rule a school, yes, but the wails of a child are no less real.
>Their anguish is felt just as keenly.
>Their tears are just as sweet.
>I rule a school, yes, but it's a school of flypaper, and they're the flies.
>They can't run without tearing off their own legs;
>their society, even their families turn on them if they try,
>hurting them in ways I never could.
>In fact, their entire futures are destroyed if they don't graduate,
>so they find no rest no matter where they go.
 
 
Post 2
 
>They're trapped with me.
>In a way adults never would be.
>And it's all thanks to you.
>Every time Snips and Snails steal for me,
>every time someone is late for class because they're too afraid to pass me in the hall,
>every time I lie to Flash, and he lashes out in my defense,
>every downcast eye, every fearful whimper, every tearful breakdown;
>they're all because of you.
>I want you to remember that.
>I may be on the other side of the mirror,
>but I am still me:
>indomitable, unstoppable, me.
>And everyone here is mine.
>Remember that.
>You're the kind of pony who would care.
>They aren't your ponies, they aren't even ponies at all,
>but you care.
>Sleep well Princess.
>See my face when you close your eyes.
>Dream about what I've done, and so, what *you* have done through me.
>Dream too, about all the suffering still to come.
>The sweet, sweet suffering.
>I wonder how much longer it will be before I rack up a suicide?
>Wish me luck!
>Your faithful student,
>S
 
 
>I leave the book and walk slowly to my balcony
>Something's got to be done about Sunset.
>My poor little student, so very lost.
>Pegai flit between my towers.
>The faint sound of hooves on stone echo among my walls and gardens.
>Ponyville and Cloudsdale dot the horizon.
>All of Equestria spread out before me.
>But I don't see it.
>Instead, I see the past...
 
 
Post 3
 
>Nowhere
>Aeons ago
 
>I'm alone.
>I've always been alone.
>That's how it feels.
>Emptiness stretches out around me,
>cold, silent blackness above and below.
>Time passes.
>There's no way to know how much.
>I don't want to be alone anymore.
>I summon my power and a star springs into being.
>More magic
>I create a planet, beautiful and blue.
>Sunlight glimmers off the water and high cloud-tops.
>Eventually I descend, and call land from the waves.
>It makes me happy, but I can do better!
>Mountains, and prairies, islands and rivers!
>Sometimes I form them myself,
>but most of the time, I let the processes I set in motion do the shaping.
>Eventually, I am satisfied.
>I take pieces of my world and shape them further.
>Some please me, and some don't.
>Eventually, I create a kind I like more than all the others:
>4 legs, hooves, a tail and mane.
>It's pleasing. So much so that I adopt it myself,
>twisting and molding my own shape to mimic it.
>Larger, of course, to suit my majesty.
>I give life to my creations and scatter them across my new world.
>Now it's time to wait.
>Eventually, some will be born with the potential to ascend.
>I'll find them, and guide them, and when they are ready,
>I will help them through apotheosis.
>Then, I won't be alone anymore.
 
 
Post 4
 
>Canterlot
>Present Day
 
>Sunset was right, I hadn't made her an alicorn,
>but I hadn't made Twilight one either.
>I'd merely given them the seed of divinity, as I had a few others,
>and tried to guide them in a way it would sprout true.
>Sunset had so much potential, but she'd never had patience.
>She'd left before I could make her understand,
>and still carried the seed within her.
>That made her dangerous.
>Very, very dangerous.
>If it grew while she still harbored so much darkness the results would be terrifying.
>Even in that banal world she now inhabited, her powers would be immense.
>Made even more formidable by being the only magic there.
>It would be much the same as if Nightmare Moon had usurped my throne.
>I can not let that happen!
>But what to do?
>She won't come back, and even if she did, she would still be the same corrupted unicorn.
>How can I save her?
>I look down on the ponies preparing for the upcoming Princess Summit.
>They'd soon be on their way to the Crystal Empire, and I'd follow at my leisure.
>An idea forms.
>Sunset didn't know the origin of my "sister" Luna,
>or how close Starswirl had come to ascending himself.
>But Sunset does know about Cadance, and what she used to be.
>She doesn't know about Twilight, or Twilight's ascension, or her crown.
>But what if she did?
>I return to the book and levitate my quill.
>I close my eyes and summon all my knowledge of both ponies.
>I'll only have one chance to get this right.
>I compose the letter in my mind again and again.
>Eventually, my eyes open, and I begin to write.
 
 
Post 5
 
>Canterlot
>c1300 years ago
 
>I follow Luna through the cool air.
>It's always cool at this height, among the clouds.
>She'd woken up early this afternoon and asked me to come with her;
>to a meadow high up on Canterlot Mountain,
>with a large piece of gneiss jutting over the valley below.
>It's honeycombed with tunnels and passages, and had been an active jewel-mine in her youth.
>Now depleted, and abandoned.
>I know she visits from time to time.
>This time we're together
>We set down in the grass and make our way to the pond
>A beautiful, pure thing fed by a waterfall
>We sup and bathe, talk and play,
>then, as the time for night draws close,
>make our way to the tip of Canterlot Rock.
>A gentle breeze blows, and insects softly buzz in the flowers.
>I lay down and look out on my kingdom
>A contented sigh escapes my lips
>I smile
>"Surely there is no pony so lovely, and so well beloved as I."
>Luna laughs a little bit
>"What a thing to say, Sister!"
>"There's no harm in telling the truth, little sister."
>"We do not say it doth harm. We merely observe that...modesty hath never been among thy virtues."
>I say nothing and look out
>She's right, of course. But why should I be modest?
>The ponies are here to serve me.
>No, not me: us!
>At long last my dream is fulfilled!
>Another pony was born: gifted and beautiful!
>I taught her and trained her and eventually, gave her the spark of divinity.
>Not long ago, she blew that spark to flames and became an Alicorn.
>My very first!
>My dear Princess Luna;
>my sister from that day forth!
>But still so young;
>eventually she'll learn the ponie's proper place:
>beneath us.
>"We haven't offended thee, have we?"
>Now it's my turn to laugh
>"No you have not."
>"Good. We would not be pleased to have soured the mood."
 
 
Post 6
 
>A gorgeous smile spreads across her face.
>"We hath prepared a spectacle of such majesty!"
>"This is why we hath asked thee to come:"
>"this is our favorite place in all the land, and we wish thou to savor it with us."
>I smile and lower the sun
>"Show us, little sister."
>She closes her eyes and channels her magic
>The moon rises
>Her eyes open, and she lays down beside me
>The soft light from her horn casts our shadow on the rock
>"Keep watching the sky!"
>Stars pop into being
>flashing silver and blue and red against the black
>then fading to steady twinkles
>shooting stars fall like rain
>brilliant streaks sheeting together from right to left
>Suddenly, it occurs to me the streaks are falling in formation
>taking the shapes of gryphons, dragons, minotaurs, and of course, ponies.
>They burn out as they reach the rows of new stars
>Falling in sequence so as to seem to walk along them:
>A road of stars with meteor-creatures dancing along it.
>Eventually the creatures reach the glowing orb of the moon and vanish.
>Then the star road winks out
>one by one until the moon alone remains.
>I nuzzle, and lean against her
>"That was beautiful sister."
>"We are glad thou appreciated it."
>"We wanted thee to know thy decision to grant us demense over the night was a proper one."
>I lay my head atop her shoulders
>"I had no doubts before sister, now I doubt I ever will."
>She smiles and looks at me askance
>"Good. As the beauty of mine nights becomes known, thou will rememebr not to become *too* jealous."
>I summon a mildly biting look and stare into her eyes
>"Sorry it has to be this way, princess, but the day will always outshine the night."
>Then raise my snout to the sky, letting my pink tresses fall between us
>A moment passes
>then two
>Have I hurt her more than I intended?
>At last she laughs
>"Just as we have said; modest as the sun itself!"
>She resumes our lean and we pass the night together.
 
 
Post 7
 
>The Crystal Empire
>Present Day
 
>The thing about Twilight is, she's not my apprentice.
>She never has been.
>Oh she's my student,
>and the most talented magic user I've ever encountered in my long life.
>I love her dearly.
>But she isn't like me;
>she's like my sister, Luna.
>Sunset though, is me.
>Younger, less magically potent, but so much like me it borders on the incredible.
>Her confidence, her power, her bearing and wit.
>Very much like I once was.
>Which is probably why I did it;
>gave her the seed before she was ready.
>I was sure, because I saw so much of myself in her.
>She needed guidence and temperance, but surely she could not fail?
>*I* could not fail.
>Not again.
>But I did.
>I learned from the mistake, and was able to turn Twilight in time,
>but I am the sun, and my sister the night.
>Sunset, too is the sun, and Twilight the night;
>there must be both.
>So here I am, about to risk everything I've accomplished:
>millions of lives, millennia of pony-history
>and the unknowable expanses of time since I created the world.
>All for the sake of one lost unicorn.
>And it's worth it.
>Because she has the potential to be so much more.
 
 
Post 8
 
>The mirror has been moved to a room close to Princess Twilight's.
>I have reduced the guard compliment.
>Now I wait, cloaked and obscured in my most potent magics.
>Even my dear sister would be hard-pressed to detect me.
>A flash of light tells me she's arrived
>I watch her stealthily creep among the corridors.
>Not stealthily enough!
>A bit of my subtle magic here and there ensures the guards don't spot her.
>How easy it would be to catch her now!
>But, she must be saved, not merely stopped.
>Oh Twilight, forgive me.
>You're a princess, and so, immortal; one day you'll be a goddess too.
>Then you'll understand.
>At last she finds what she's looking for.
>The Element of Magic rises in the darkness.
>This seems an opportune moment;
>I give the tiara a little push into the lamp.
>Damn it to Tartarus, she caught it!
>Well, let's try again;
>a touch of magic,
>Spike rolls in his sleep,
>Sunset trips,
>and the chase is on!
>A little magic to amplify the noise
>Now all the ponies are involved!
>Galloping and teleporting,
>all the way to the mirror,
>No! Twilight caught her!
>Sunset won't give up, especially with this incentive;
>I bounce the crown from one surface to the next,
>and finally, through the mirror.
>Sunset frees herself and turns,
>victory scrawled across her perfect face.
>"Sorry it had to be this way,"
>a smirking salute
>"princess."
>My jaw drops, and she's gone.
>I've often heard ponies invoke my name.
>But who does a goddess pray to?
>She's so very much like me.
>I hope I'm not making another terrible mistake.
 
 
Post 9
 
>Castle of the Two Sisters
>c1100 years ago
 
>"Here ye, here ye! All who gather, stand and bear witness!"
>Luna's Royal voice booms through the great hall.
>I gesture with my horn and all eyes fall on the Grand Door.
>As it opens my orchestra begins to play.
>A grand tune, full of triumph and honor!
>A lone unicorn stands tall, aged though he is,
>and proudly marches down the carpet toward us.
>All eyes follow him
>Not a trace of contempt or loathing on any of their faces.
>Stallions belong in the bedroom or the fields.
>That's the way it has been for as long as I could remember.
>They had said it to his face at first,
>when as a foal his magical talents began to outshine those of any mare.
>Then quietly, behind his back,
>when I decided to teach him.
>Now, they don't say it at all.
>Some of the other stallions even seek educations of their own.
>He stops before us, kneels, and smiles.
>Awed by us, of course, but also,
>by the sun and moon visible through the windows.
>Sharing the sky.
>Luna's idea.
>An appropriate display for one who has saved Equestria!
>The music fades, and Luna speaks again:
>"Know Ye, that reposing special trust and confidence in the fidelity and abilities of"
>"Starswirl the Bearded,"
>We do appoint him a Hero of Equestria!"
>"To be known as such from this day forth,"
>"and I do strictly direct and require all ponies"
>"to render appropriate respect thereunto."
>Her echos slowly die.
>My turn to speak
>"Starswirl the Bearded, Hero of Equestria."
>"For recognizing and defeating the Three Beasts of Song,"
>"receive this medal!"
>He rises to all fours and I place a Royal Seal around his neck,
>borne on a chain of solid gold.
>"Stand and be recognized!"
>he turns, and as one they all bow to him.
>I let him savor his moment.
>"Now, Hero of Equestria, speak!"
>"Name your reward. If it is within my power, you shall have it."
 
 
Post 10
 
>Canterlot Meadow
>that night
 
>Luna and I lie together, looking over our kingdom.
>"Why did you do it Celestia?"
>"Sister, please..."
>"We are not really sisters. Answer us."
>My dear sister is angry and embarrassed that the ponies still revere my days more than her nights.
>She has been for some time.
>But since the ceremony, she's turned frigid as ice, and now she says this?
>Luna; petulent and puerile even after all these years.
>But I will not rise to it.
>I will be an example to her, as I am to every pony.
>Eventually, she will realize how base her behavior is.
>I sigh
>"It was what he asked for."
>"But another, like us?"
>"He isn't an Alicorn yet, Sister."
>"He has a great deal to learn before the seed sprouts, if it does at all."
>A roll of her eyes
>"We know that, Celestia. We worked long and hard before our own took root."
>She lets out an incredulous laugh
>"But, Celestia, what will you do if it does? Send him to rule one of our protectorates?"
>I consider for a moment. "He isn't a mare..."
>"That's right Celestia, he isn't a mare. They won't accept him."
>"They'll play along. To his face, and ours, but nowhere else."
>My sister's words are sharp, and flung with annoyance.
>Why does she behave so?
>"He is not a mare, but I believe the job would suit him."
>Luna's expression changed to disbelief.
>"They will mock him, and maybe you too. It is no fault of his own,"
>"but his appointment will undermine our legitmacy in their eyes."
>Her expression darkens, and she glares at me.
>"But you know this, Celestia, don't you?
>I raise my nose and let my gaze ooze down upon her.
>"Meaning what, Sister?
>"You are no fool Celestia."
>A strange look flits across her face
>"But neither are we!"
>Her voice cracks
>"You think we have failed. You think us delinquent in our duty of the night."
>"You seek to replace us! To make him steward of moon and stars in our stead!"
>That's it?
>Oh how she is truly, my *little* sister.