Title:           Sunrise - Chapter 4
Author:          Pozenbot
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/DXXGFa4K
First Edit:      Sunday 28th of September 2014 01:52:29 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Last edit on: Sunday 28th of September 2014 04:46:54 PM CDT

>It had been another two days since you were stabbed
>That following morning, you'd made it to the hospital to have your guts checked out
>When they asked how it happened, you brushed it off as a freak horse accident
>When they ask how you got sewed up, they didn't think that answer was as funny
>Regardless, after some scans and tests, you seemed to check out and they prescribed you pain medication
>Now laying in your bed, you figured since nothing happened the previous night that there would be something tonight
>To be honest, you kind of hoped you wouldn't go back
>You seemed to be worse off every time you went there
>You'd probably lose a limb this time
>Regardless, you took a pill and kept the bottle in the pocket of your pajamas just in case
>They worked quickly and you were feeling pain free but drowsy in no time
>You listened as you dozed and heard sobbing as the now familiar feeling of laying on a stone floor reached you
>It could never be a nice soft bed or couch or something, could it?
>Sitting up, you winced and held your stomach
>The pills took the edge off the pain, but using those muscles still hurt
>You peered around to see shattered glass and stone scattered about
>Golden shoes, tiara and neck piece all lay thrown against a distant wall, glinting in the moonlight
>Looking up, the moon shone through a gaping hole in the roof
>The moon was full, but there were dark craters on it that made the image of a horse
>Realizing the sobbing had stopped, your eyes landed on a slumped white figure sitting surrounded by stone orbs
>Her wings lay ungracefully from her sides as a large, wavering mane filled with a multitude of colors covered her entire upper body, hiding her face
>Standing and walking towards her, you stubbed a toe on a stone laying on the floor, sending it skittering away
>Clenching your jaw, you hopped in place muttering something vulgar
>The sound startled Celestia and you caught a glimpse of her face from behind her mane
>Her expression reminded you of the scared little pink and white filly you'd found in a dark forest nearly a week ago
>It didn't last long when she saw it was you
>Her wings lifted partially off the floor and her face had the look of a child who wanted to be picked up
>Walking over to her, she pulled you down into an embrace, wrapping her forelegs around you followed by her wings
>Her breathing still came in a series of short gasps and you noticed her face was damp as she rested it on your shoulder
>Unsure what to do, you wrapped your arms around her neck, once you could find it from beneath her wings
>It seemed to be the right choice as she hugged you tighter
>You stayed that way for a while, sitting in silence, and you could feel her breathing return to normal
>Hearing the creak of large doors in the hall opening, Celestia lifted her head from your shoulder and the doors slammed shut
>She heaved a sigh and unwrapped herself from you, standing at full height
>Standing as well, you looked to her and saw she was slightly taller than you now
>After a moment, she turned and looked back at you
>Her eyes were dull and bloodshot but her expression was contemplative
>"Come with me," she croaked
>Her voice was thick from crying and you weren't sure you understood what she said
>In a moment her horn lit and you were lifted off the ground and placed onto her back
>"That was not a request," she sniffled
>With you on her back, she walked to the doors of the hall and opened them
>There was a small group of guards waiting on the other side
>They were surprised to see their princess who had obviously been crying, with no regalia on and being ridden by some strange creature
>Celestia didn't pay them any attention and continued down the hallway
>A couple turns later, she opened a smaller door and brought you into the room behind it
>You were weightless a second time as she set you on a large, sumptuous bed and climbed up next to you
>Looking at her, there was now nothing behind her eyes
>Her pupils were like voids that absorbed all light and reflected nothing
>She scooted closer to you, shaking the bed and rested her head on your shoulder again
>"Anonymous," she started, her voice sounded very tired
>"You're the only living being left that has known Lu-" she choked on the name and swallowed before continuing. "-my sister and I since we were foals," she lifted from your shoulder and magically liberated your shirt from you
>A well polished hoof made slow circles on your chest as her lips brushed your ear
>"You've always protected us and I've wished to thank you for a long time," her hoof stopped moving and easily pushed you onto your back
>Was sun horse really trying this shit right now?
>She held you down lightly and you tried to sit back up until your stomach muscles told you that wasn't happening
>She pecked you on the cheek.  "Thank you, Anonymous"
>As she leaned in for another kiss, you held up your hands to stop her
>A disappointed look spread across her face, her vacant eyes disturbed you as you spoke
"It was no problem, Celestia.  It's what any decent person would do."
>She looked down at your revealed stitches.  "I somehow doubt that," and proceeded to nuzzle into your hands
>"Not good," you thought to yourself
>You were losing her, her voice was getting softer and she was pressing more and more against you
>Taking a hand, you held the hoof that had resumed circling your chest and pulled it off you before propping yourself up on an elbow
>It didn't work very well on the plush mattress, but at least you weren't entirely prone anymore
>Wincing from holding an elevated position, you asked, "Can you help me sit up?"
>Celestia still rested against your other hand, her eyes now glazed over as she bit her bottom lip
>She held a large hoof in front of you to grab
>Taking the hand from her and grabbing her hoof, she gently pulled you up and kissed your cheek again as she did so
>Glaring at her, her half-lidded eyes, drooping ears and drunken smile told you she was all but gone
>Bracing yourself, you stood from the bed and looked for your shirt
"Celestia, you need some sleep."
>You'd found the shirt, but before you could walk over and get it, she pulled you back to sitting on the bed with her
>"Then sleep with me," she proceeded to circle a hoof on your back
>Your face snapped to hers, still with the same drunken expression
>As you stared at her, her smiled faded
>Without saying anything, you stood a second time and quickly grabbed your shirt before she could do anything else
>"You're not leaving, are you?"
>Genuine concern and panic in her voice caught you off guard and you looked back at her
>"Please..." She wore that same child-wanting-to-be-picked-up expression from earlier.  " I don't want to be alone."
"You need sleep," you told her flatly
>You though what she really needed was psychological help
>"Will you stay until I wake?"
>The worried tone in her voice made your heart go out to her
>You let a silent moment go past before answering
"Yeah, I'll stay."
>Celestia sighed and smiled before levitating pillows from a corner of the room onto the bed
>As she laid down, she looked to you as you searched for something to sit on
>"Anonymous?"
>You looked to her
>"Will you lay with me?"
>Giving her an incredulous expression, she held out her hooves in innocence
>"No funny business, I promise"
>Regarding her for a minute, she seemed to be telling the truth
>Her gaze wasn't as vacant as before and her sanity seemed to have returned
>You nodded and she scooted over on her bed and patted next to her with a large wing
>As you clambered next to her, she draped her forehooves over your shoulders and onto your chest to pull you back to her own
"Celestia..."
>She rested her chin on your head and remained quiet and motionless after that, starting to snore softly
>You were feeling drowsy but knew you couldn't sleep in order to stay there until she woke up
>Celestia made it a bit easier as once in a while her legs and wings would twitch against you and she would say snippets of an argument
>It sounded like she was arguing with Luna about lowering the moon
>At one point during the night, a guard had slipped into the room to place Celestia's regalia on a table near the door
>He didn't seem to notice you
>A few hours later, you felt Celestia start to stretch
>She released you and you slowly got out of the bed
>Looking out a window, it looked like the moon hadn't budged all night
>"I apologize for last night," Celestia's voice was soft from behind you.  "I was not feeling myself."
>You turned to look at her
"What happened to Luna?"
>A pained expression shone on Celestia and she took a breath before starting
>"Over the last few hundred years, L-Luna has grown to feel that ponies do not appreciate her night.  She felt ponies unfairly praise the day with their work and play, and shun the night by sleeping through it."
>She took another breath before continuing.  "Last night, her jealousy and distrust transformed her into a monster and I h-had to stop her."
>You looked at her, as her eyes welled up with tears
"What did you do to her?"  You asked
>Celestia looked back out of the window at the moon with the dark figure on it
>"I used the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned her in the moon."  Tears started flowing down her cheeks
>"I used the Elements of HARMONY on my own sister! What a great harmonious ruler I am.  How are ponies going to trust me to take care of them when I couldn't take care of my own sister!?"
>Her breathing turned ragged again as she sobbed and hugged you
"How long will she be gone?"  You asked, rubbing her back
>"I-I- don't- know!"  Her words were separated by shaky breaths
>She eventually settled down again after a few minutes
>"Anonymous, I have a large question to ask you."
>She sniffed before releasing you from the hug and looking at you
>"Since your last visit, many things have changed.  One of which is I started a school for teaching gifted unicorns to help them advance their magic.  A side project I have had some of my top students help with is a spell that could likely keep you here, indefinitely."
>You looked at her surprised
>"I know it is selfish of me to ask, but would you stay here with me?"
>You were silent when she finished and she started shifting on her hooves, waiting for you to answer
"Would I ever be able to go back home?"
>"More than likely, no," Celestia frowned, "but we haven't looked into that yet."  She smiled hopefully
>You were silent again
>"You can stay here in the castle with us, we'll keep you safe and you won't have to worry about anything ever again."
>It was sad seeing her trying so hard to sell you on the idea of staying
"Celestia-"
>"Please?"
>She interrupted you and was standing on the tips of her hooves, looking down at you
"I have a life, Celestia.  A job, a home, a family.  You're asking me to abandon all of that."
>"But you can make a new life here!"  She stomped a hoof down.  "You won't have to work unless you want to, you will live here in the castle with me and I will be your family!"
>She was right in your face, wings flared out so she was all you could see
>At that moment, a knock came on the door to the room and a guard peeked in
>"Princess, I-"
>"Not now!"  Celestia snapped, pushing him out of the room with her magic and locking the door behind him
>She turned back to you.  "Please, Anonymous.  Please stay with me."
>You stared at her tiredly, letting a silence hang between the two of you for a moment
"Fine Celestia, I'll stay."
>"But I wo-" her mouth hung open
>"You'll stay?"  Her voice cracked a bit
>"Yeeaaahhhh.  Yeah.  I'll stay," you said as you rubbed the back of your neck
>Horse world was obviously dangerous and your family would probably miss you, but you had never had anyone need you to stay with them so badly
>Celestia let out a sigh of relief
>She looked to you happily and her front hooves fidgeted
>You could guess what she wanted to do, so you acted first and hugged her
"For whatever reason, it's apparently my job to protect you from dangers.  I guess that includes protecting you from yourself."
>You felt a couple droplets on your shoulder and pulled back from Celestia
>She wore the biggest smile you'd ever seen from her, but tears were still streaming down her face
>She then placed her forehead against your own and you were confronted with her large eyes
>"Thank you so much, anonymous.  I'll never be able to repay you, but I hope to try"
>You tiredly smiled back at her and she pulled away before walking to the window
>She looked sadly up at the moon and lit her horn
>As she put more energy into it, a prickly sensation spread across your arms and back of your neck, making the hairs there stand on end
>Looking out with her, you saw the moon begin to glide down to the horizon as the sky began to lighten
>Golds and reds washed into the room covering Celestia and you
>It was a beautiful sunrise