>You wake up with a splitting headache and bright light begging to blind you. Meaning you're physically conscious, but you absolutely refuse to open your eyelids.
>You don't even remember what happened after Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash coerced you to go to your official welcoming party after you've dodged and weaved any mentioning of the word "party" ever since you arrived.
>Ugh... Day 32 in Equestria. Your existence in this pastel plane has been made and set.
>Your throat feels like it's made of sand, and your mouth is sore for some reason. You poke your tongue out, and realize it's covered in sour sugary powder. Definitely not something you'd want to wake up to.
>Suddenly you feel a slightly cool sensation as a shadow blocks the sun from pushing into your eyes. You sigh out in relief.
Oh... please, please just... just stand there for about 10 minutes.
>"Okie dokie." Motherfucking Pinkie Pie. At least she's doing what she's told. For the most part.
>About three minutes of silence goes by before "Oh! Actually I was supposed to tell ya that Mr. and Mrs. Cake told me to tell ya that you should move so they can open up shop."
... Am I the only one here?
>"Nope."
Oh good.
>"Just you and me!"
Oh damnit.
>You open an eye, and point it upwards. Pinkie has that face. That... ugh. She's too damned happy always kinda face. It's aimed at you, but it doesn't look like she's looking at you, her eyes are closed and her mouth is curved upwards in a cute, innocent smile.
Alright... okay. I'm up.
>You pull yourself up from the floor, your whole body feels like jello. As soon as you're on your knees, you hear a violent uproar of cheering coming from outside. Your head snaps in that direction.
>Through the display window of the Sugar Cube Corner, you see an asinine assortment of enthusiastic eloquent equines lined up outside the store, all looking at you through the gratuitously grand glass.
>You freeze. Then you look up. The sun is way way out. ... Holy fuck. It is noon.
Pinkie, what time does this bakery usually open?
>"Nine o'clock, sharp! But, uh, you're kinda big. Mr. and Mrs. Cake didn't want to bother waking you up so up until now they sorta thought that you'd might be up by now maybe. Y'know?"
Sorta. Could you stand beside me?
>"Okay?" She obliges, walking to your side, facing the glass. "Like this?"
Perfect.
>You lean towards her and plant your pale pasty palms onto the back of the puffy pink pony parked beside you, and you heave yourself up. Pinkie Pie supports you, for the most part.
You alright?
>"Yep! Now you're up! Now you can go. See ya!"
Uh... yeah.
>Stumbling, you manage to make it out the door, into the afternoon sun, right before you hear a ton of rushed trotting noises storming into the bakery. You really want to just go back to sleep, or at least take some kind of shower. Man... a cold, cold shower would be amazing, in fact. Maybe you can try to flatter Rarity enough to let you use her magnificent, massive bathtub. ... But you're doubtful.
>The sun hates you today. Not a cloud in the sky, and you feel like all of Celestia's hateful sun rays just focus directly onto you. Your hand covers your eyes so you can look for a place where you can rest in the shade. It's no use, everything is just too bright for you to focus. You rub your restless and hurting eyelids. You could just die.
>Suddenly the heat pounding into your body lets off. You look up to see what happened, when you realize you're standing in an isolated spot of shade. You looks straight up to see a lone cloud hovering about five feet above you and you grin madly.
Dash?
>"Oh, uh, oh Rainbow Dash went home late last night after the party." Pink and yellow poke out of the bottom of the cloud.
Oh. Hey, Fluttershy.
>You sit on the ground and lean back against your hands, letting out a major sigh of relief. She smiles down at you.
Ahh... thank you. I don't remember you being at the party last night.
>"Oh, um, I only came for a short time then I had to leave to make dinner for Angel and his friends. I heard everyone had a wonderful time, though..."
You could say that. I'm having a rotten morning.
>"But it's the aft-"
Rotten afternoon.
>"Ah... I'm so sorry to hear that, Anon... um... anything I can do to help?"
There's a lot of things you can attempt to do, but nothing that you can accomplish. The shade here is just fine, though, thanks.
>Fluttershy nods, disappointed. She hops off of the cloud and slowly hovers down beside you, sitting promptly. "Can I... um..."
I smell pretty bad. Like...
>You sniff at your sleeve.
Ugh. Cotton candy and body odor.
>"Oh, I don't mind." Shy is adamant. You shrug.
Go ahead. But I mean, we're in the middle of the street. Public display and everyth-...
>She doesn't care. She's already pressed up against your waist like a cat. What a sight you two must be. A curious cloud in the middle of the street, over a pony casually laying beside an annoyed looking human covered in baking batter bits. A wonderful start to the morning.
>"Mister... Anonymous?" A new voice. You throw your head in the general direction to find a curious looking gray pegasus equipped with what looks like a mail carrier bag.
... Yes?
>Fluttershy remains undisturbed. The gray pone flaps her wings in excitement. "Oh boy have I been looking for you! I brought you a letter!"
What? Really?
>"Uh huh!" She reaches back into her mail and pushes her nose through all the papers that poke out of the bag. You have been in Equestria for quite a while now, but in all that time you have never had any mail directed to you. "I checked with the barn at Sweet Apple Acres and they said you were out so I asked Twilight where you were and she said something about a party so I was like 'Pinkie Pie knows everything about parties!' so I went to Pinkie Pi-aha!" She faces you once more with a bright yellow envelope in her mouth. "Hrr yh rr!"
Uh... thanks.
>You take the envelope, and she promptly nods. "Have a great day, Mr. Anon!" says the gray one, just before flapping away.
>You look at the letter. Around the border of the front is a golden lacy design with a sun, similarly stylized, parked in each corner. No return address, just a cursive, very delicate name on the front. "Mr. Anonymous". Fancy. You sit up straight, which makes Fluttershy shuffle slightly, but otherwise undeterred.
>You turn the letter around to see that the flap is sealed with a large dob of crimson colored wax, with the sun impression stamped directly into the substance. Super fancy. You press your thumb on the bottom of the seal, careful to not damage it, and slowly press it away from the letter, just enough that it opens and remains attached to the flap. You're thinking about saving this letter, it's so nice looking.
>You flip it open and pull out the lighter colored paper inside, folded all nice and neat looking. Pushing the fold up, you reveal the same type of border printed around the edge. The same handwriting (hoofwriting?) spells out a short message for you.
>"Please visit me as soon as possible, it is of dire importance. You will find me at Beau Blossom's Bed and Breakfast, and ask for Sunny Shores. Be sure to come alone."
>Hmm... you don't think you've heard of that place before. Bed and Breakfast though, so at least it's a homey environment. No signature however. Curious. You shrug, figuring you really don't have anything better to do right now.
Fluttershy, have you heard of Beau Blossom's Bed and Breakfast?
>The soft-yellow pone's ears twitch and her head lifts up from the ground. “Oh, yes! It's at a wonderful little townhouse that's not too far out of the way, surrounded by a assortment of oak trees and pine trees and some maple-”
Where is it at?
>”It's, um... near the end of town. I can show you if you-”
No thanks. Directions are just fine.
>Fluttershy frowns. “Okay... walk that way until you see a trail on the forest edge. The Bed and Breakfast will be at the end.”
Thank you. I have to go.
>You scratch her ears, and she smiles in content. “Okay... I'll see you soon?”
Maybe.
>You hop up, still slightly groggy, dust off your pants, and wave to yellow pone before walking off. It's still fucking hot, holy balls. You instantly miss the improvised shade your little admirer provided you, having to shade your eyes with a hand. Ugh, and you still smell. Well, whoever invited you over had better be prepared, you seriously don't give a fuck about your appearance right now.
>You reach the end of the town and spot the trail Fluttershy mentioned. There's also a big ass sign right on the entrance of the trail, with “Beau Blossom's Bed and Breakfast” emblazoned on the front. Well.
>As you head down the trail, you're embraced with the cover from the sun that the trees surrounding the path create, and you are even blessed with a small breeze. The lighting down this path has dimmed to a much more comfortable level, and you relax your shoulders a bit. At the end of the rather small trail you see a humble two story home, decorated almost identical to something you might see in a small southern villa. It was a very soft pink in color overall, with a rosy complexion that covered the roofing and chimney. Beside the house is a little side building and a shack, for who knows what.
>You walk up to the front and up the stairs onto the front porch classically adorned with a small wicker furniture set. A little unsure of how to proceed (you really don't know how bed and breakfast places work), you rack your knuckles against the door.
>"The door is open, hun, come on in!" yells a fruitful, sing-song voice from behind the door, which you push open into a comfortable, rural looking living room, but instead of chairs you see a set of mats arranged on the floor. Oh, right. Horses. You smell something warm and sweet emitting from the room ahead, which you assume would be the kitchen judging by the glimpses of utensils you see. "I'll be just a minute!" You didn't catch it at first, but she has a similar drawl to her voice as Applejack, except a touch more refined.
Uh... actually I was looking for... Sunny Shores, I think?
>"Oh! You must be Anonymous?" You nod. ... She can't see that.
Yeah, that's me.
>"She's waitin' for you upstairs, darlin'. Just head up and knock on the door on the left, okay?" You nod again. ... Damnit.
Okay thanks.
>You walk yourself up the steps nearby, passing non-specific paintings for atmosphere, and rattle your fist against the appropriate door.
>"For the last time, Ms. Blossom, I really don't care for any tea!" calls a lighter voice. You blink.
This isn-
>"No 'morning brew', no 'afternoon blend', no mint tea, no green tea or blue or brown or yellow or even MAGENTA. Please. PLEASE. Let me rest. In peace. Beverage-free, if I can help it." You pause.
This... this is Anonymous? You called for me, letter-wise.
>"Oh... oh! I apologize. Please come in." You smirk to yourself before you push the door open. Inside is a grand bedroom, you'd guess about ten square feet larger than the living room you just came from, lined in various areas with wardrobes, a dresser with a massive mirror, several end tables, and what would be equivalent to a king-sized mattress sprawled out in the center of the floor, sporting a color and a style that doesn't particularly fit any other part of the room. In fact, judging by the obvious impressions in carpet behind her bed, you can tell that something's been moved rather recently. Resting on top of the mattress is a larger than average equine creature with a coat of the purest white you've ever seen, folded wings laying flat against her side. She smiles up at you with her off-pink hair covering one of her tired, restless looking eyes, flowing down her back in a triple banded ponytail (heheh). A familiar looking sun cutie mark was planted in the appropriate place.
Sunny uh... Shores, was it?
>It takes her a moment to respond, you only guess from the obvious sleep deprivation. "Hmm? Oh, right, I suppose I haven't gotten used to that name yet, eheheh..." She sighs. "You don't recognize me, do you?"
>You squint your eyes and furrow your brow, letting out a curious 'hmm' noise. She does seem incredibly familiar...
You're not related to Celestia, are you?
>She frowns. "Anonymous... I AM Celestia."
>You freeze. Silence follows for what seems like an eternity.
What? No. ... What?
>You stare at her with a thousand questions burning from your skull. She stares right back, prepared for anything you throw at her. You inquire about the first obvious thing wrong with this claim.
What about your horn?
>She nods. "It was destroyed."
Dest-... wh... Your hair. Your hair!
>You're barely forming sentences, but 'Celestia' remains direct, yet vaguely informative. "It was an unfortunate side effect after my horn. It seems like it defaulted to this color... I kept my wings, at least. Although I haven't had the energy to use them."
>You're floored. There's no way.
Explain this.
>"I had thirty days to remove someone in this universe that was not supposed to exist. I refused to do it, and as a result, I was stripped of my role in this universe. I can no longer control the sun, nor attempt any magic whatsoever." Her expression is bleak, but matter-of-factually. She's already accepted it.
That seems... incredibly harsh.
>"It's mild in comparison to what could have happened to me. I am grateful that I was so lucky to have ended up in this position. Keep in mind what I had done to my sister." You nod slowly.
Who did this to you?
>"The Triumvirate." Vague. You're not sure you want to push on that topic.
Who did they want you to remove?
>She smirks, but in a regretful manner. "You." You feel your body heave over as a fictional weight presses against your chest. "Do you remember the first day you arrived?" You nod. "I told you that bringing you here was a mistake, right?" You nod again. You remember waking up in Twilight's basement. You and Twilight practically screamed at each other for hours. "When you inquired on how to return home, do you remember what I told you?"
You said if you tried to return me home, I would be dead.
>"Because your body would have been destroyed just before you were pulled here."
Something like that. I try not to think about it.
>"The only way to return you would be to put you in the exact spot and the exact moment you were pulled. Then you would-"
Die, yeah, I get it.
>Celestia nods, and looks away towards the mirror. "The day you arrived, the Triumvirate ordered an explanation of my actions. I told them it was a mistake, and they told me to correct it. I explained that I needed more time and they gave me a month." She's withholding a lot of detail from you, and you don't know if it's because she's keeping something, or she's just exhausted.
>She looked back at you. "I watched you, Anon, for the entirety of the thirty days. I needed to see if you were actually going to enjoy your life here,” she stated. You decided to sit beside her, but you're still pretty much covered in batter and flour, so you sit outside the bed. “Admittedly, your first week here could have fared better.” Truer words were never spoken. “But you managed to work your relationships progressively. The Elements have all grown to appreciate you in their own way. You worked out living arrangements with Applejack, and even I was surprised at how open she was toward you. You reflected those feeling back and you shared experiences like you've known her your whole life. You definitely connected with her faster than the rest of the group.
>”That being said, I loved watching you and Twilight discuss worldly differences, and I learned more about Earth than I could otherwise. I was impressed at how you handled each and every one of her prying questions. I know how... enthusiastic she can be at times.
>”Rarity's imagination has exploded with curiosity ever since you commissioned you suit. She constantly draws and sketches alternate costumes in her free time to fit your body type. I believe the fresh 'canvas', I should say, has given her new light. I expect you to hear from her soon.
>”Despite your visual frustrations with Pinkie Pie, her spontaneous attitude always brings out the most energy in you. You are the most active around her, and I know you're not willing to admit to it, but tend to enjoy yourself the most with her around you.
>”The affection Fluttershy gives you is rare, something she only shares with her animal friends, and your tolerance towards it has shifted for the better. She's fragile, and I am happy to see how you have kept her close.
>”You and Rainbow Dash have a curious relationship. I knew from the beginning the two of you would butt heads on a couple of occasions. You turned it around in an interesting manner, you're not much of an athletic person like she is, yet you stick to verbal jesting that push and challenge her. I can tell her performance has started to increase ever sense you came. You're good for her, Anon.
>“The final test was Pinkie Pie's party. You had avoided it for so long that I was afraid that you wouldn't ever be truly comfortable in a drastically foreign environment if you did not attend.”
>Holy crap, your entire LIFE was dependent on attending that party. Dash and Pinkie gain some bonus points.
>”I watched you at the party and was relieved to see how easily you fit in with the rest of the crowd. The townsfolk look at you just like they would look at any other resident. No stares, no murmuring, you have fit in quite well with everyone there. You smiled more than any other expression the whole time I watched.”
>”I knew then that I couldn't take you away from all this. All your friends that you've connected with... so I refused to remove you. Two of the members of the Triumvirate were outraged with my decision, but the last one sympathized with me. I believe ultimately, she was the reason I was spared such a lighter punishment.
>”After I was grounded, literally, I walked from Canterlot to here, carrying nothing more than a couple night's worth of bits.” She looked down on her bed. “Luna came by last night to pass me my bed from my chambers. I am... grateful.” Celestia wipes her tired eyes. “And so... here I am. Stripped of my title, and my power, and for the first time, exposed. It's... an interesting sensation, really. I feel as if an unknown pressure has jumped off my back, and left me empty.”
>You sit in silence, looking down into your lap. You're unsure on how to proceed with the conversation, everything feels heavy in your body, a profound sadness weighing you down.
I'm... not sure...
>You repeatedly stop yourself from speaking. Celestia has sacrificed almost everything to keep your here, to keep you alive, and there's nothing you can say or possibly do to ever make up for it.
>She smiles at your expression, almost as if she knows what you're feeling. After all she's been though, she still manages a smile. “Lay here with me, for just a little while? I'm tired, Anonymous... I haven't slept since this all happened.”
>You nod, but look down at your roughed-up exterior.
I'm not very presentable. Or the best smelling, currently.
>”Neither am I.” You both laugh. The heavy feeling has somewhat lifted.
>You remove your shoes and crawl over to her before you lay beside the former princess. She rests her head against your chest, and curls up against your side. She's bigger than the others that you're used to, but you're not sure you mind too much. Your hand runs down her neck and side, gentle, feeling the pearl-tinted fur glide across your fingers. A change in her breathing signifies her quickly falling asleep while you stare up at the ceiling and wonder what the world will be like now that the sun goddess has been lost.