Chapter 26: The Sun and the Earth
Nocturnal Mirage has always considered himself as a stallion who can hide his emotions effectively. His face usually conveyed neutral calmness, which is why ponies thought of him as an apathetic, cold and calculating being. However, it couldn’t be further from the truth. His origins were responsible for his behavior. While most ponies were extroverted and easily showed their emotions, the place where Mirage was born had different standards. The isolated land, far away in Eastern-Equestria has existed for countless centuries without the knowledge of others. Nopony has ever heard of this place called Terra Absolutia… the land of Ultimate Earth. Just like the unique magic that dwelled in this place, the emotions ran deep in the earth ponies who resided there. Mirage was no exception. He’s always experienced his feelings on extreme levels and in depth, while they remained unrecognizable for the outside observer. This was one of the few times where everything was visible on his features. The stallion’s eyes grew large; his jaw was hanging down in shock, forming a silent scream as Celestia finished her story and the quietness settled on the room.
The snow white alicorn observed the speechless earth pony in front of her with that deep stare, yet she was avoiding direct eye contact. Her mane and tail swirled around her anxiously, sparkling in the dark colors of a summer shower, while she emptied her glass of wine at once. Her thoughts were chasing each other violently, and the same thing was true about Mirage. None of them were able to speak a word for at least half an hour. Now that the pieces were put together, the cobalt stallion understood everything: Celestia’s exile, her late night freak-outs, her self-hatred, the carvings on the wall, the busted mirrors, everything. He recoiled in horror as he imagined what unspeakable ordeals the Princess have been through. What he suffered in the nothingness after he vanished along with the Crystal Empire for a thousand years was nothing compared to feel disgusted by his own self, like Celestia felt.
This ambivalent figure in front of him continued to dazzle the stallion, even after what he had heard. The sun goddess showed uncertainty and calmness, vulnerability and strength at the same time. Despite the fact he braced himself to hear an extraordinary story; he wasn’t prepared for what Celestia told him. A constant urge slowly overwhelmed him to say something, anything, yet he could not find the words. Mirage knew he should say something reassuring, for the solar Princess was eagerly waiting for his response, even though it wasn’t visible on her alabaster features at the moment. He was tangled in the web of his whirling thoughts, unable to speak. He realized he let the moment slip away when he spotted the flow of tears on Celestia’s cheek, as she was crying silently. Her purple eyes were reflecting the stallion’s own thoughts; they were begging for a reaction.
Why don’t you say something? Anything!
Mirage comprehended the importance of the gesture of the solar alicorn. He knew he somehow earned Celestia’s ultimate trust, the proof was the sad story of her misery, yet he could not break free of the shock. He heard about the destruction of Neigh York and Manehatten in the news, but he never suspected the Princess was involved, even after she disappeared in the Ivory Tower, for it held little relevance to him. Of course he never imagined he’ll find himself in this bizarre scenario back then.
The royal blue earth pony glanced at Celestia again. She was still struggling to hold back the eruption of sorrow and was near the breaking point. There was no way out of this situation and Mirage felt cornered. The pressure was too much. The fate of ponykind, the anguish and the trust of the sun goddess clang onto his soul, like giant boulders and he could not take it anymore. He knew he put everything on risk when he eventually opened his mouth to speak.
“Excuse me, Princess… I… I need some time alone to think this through.”
“Of course.” Celestia replied quietly. “You know where to find me… All my doors are opened to you now.”
Mirage nodded and left the room quickly. The white alicorn watched him trot out with resignation, being certain he will not come back. She began to think she made a mistake by telling him the truth. Nocturnal Mirage was the only pony in over a decade who grew close to her heart for some unexplainable reason. He was so opened to many different things and took the knowledge she offered. Over the course of the month they have spent together, she thought there was a mutual bond forming between them, which granted her soul the stability she was deprived of by the events of the past. She knew the day will come when she has to choose to either put their relationship to the test or sealing the truth forever. But her honest nature wouldn’t let her keep it a secret for too long. The stallion always looked at her with questioning eyes, filled with curiosity and the Sun Princess sensed this intense emotion in him, until the point where she couldn’t handle it anymore. Now he knew everything and ran away just like all the others.
I thought he was different… Celestia thought and drank what was left of the wine, smashing the goblet into pieces.
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On the same night, the voices emerged from the darkness once again. Celestia was tossing and turning in her bed restlessly, when that familiar coldness overwhelmed her.
What’s the matter, killer? the voice asked with a scornful chuckle. You honestly thought he will just deal with the truth? Did you really think he will like you after he’s seen your true nature?! DID YOU?!
“No…” the solar alicorn admitted.
The past doesn’t change! Nopony wants to be friends with a monster! That’s what you are! You can flaunt in the role of the all-knowing Princess, but you are responsible for their demise! You know what you’ve done!
“No… please! Leave me alone! I can’t take it anymore!” Celestia begged and broke out in tears.
Mu ha ha ha ha! Do you even hear yourself? the voice in her head continued relentlessly. Do you have any idea how pathetic that sounds?! You know this was merely a dream, an illusion! What you seek cannot be reclaimed! Just look at yourself! Your relationships with anypony are destined to fail in the very beginning! You doomed Neigh York, and you have to suffer the consequences for the rest of your life, murderer!
“Stop… please stop!” the Princess said on a dying voice.
That’s what you are! A murderer… murderer… MURDERER…
The voice suddenly vanished because of a gentle knock on the door. The large, wooden gateway opened by itself and Celestia heard Mirage’s voice from the library room.
“Princess? Excuse me for the intrusion, especially on this hour, but I heard you weren’t asleep… May I have a word with you?”
The solar goddess wiped off the tears from her cheeks, reorganized her mane to cover her scars, with a few lady-like movements and entered the other room of her suite, stopping a few feet away from the stallion. She didn’t say a word, but locked her eyes on Mirage.
“Listen, I’ve thought about what you said…” he began lubberly. “…and first of all, I’d like to thank you for your honesty.”
Celestia nodded a little, and the earth pony took a step closer to her.
“I don’t know why or how I ended up here, but I believe it is more than coincidence that our paths have crossed.”
Mirage took another step closer as he continued, since the Princess had no objections.
“And I just want to say… thank you.”
“Thank me?! For what?” the white alicorn asked back in surprise.
“For paying the ultimate sacrifice to keep Equestria safe.”
“Hah! Millions are dead because of my actions! Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters…” Celestia countered.
“Yes, defeating that demon had a terrible prize… but if you hadn’t done what you’ve done, perhaps that fiery evil would have consumed all of us eventually.” the royal blue stallion pointed out softly.
“There must have been another way, only I was too blind to see it! There’s no excuse for what I’ve done!” the solar Princess exclaimed as she took a step forward, closer to Mirage.
“It may be so. However, the way I see it, you fought at your best direction, willing to give up your life for the millions of others. Equestria has suffered a devastating blow that day, yes. But you’ve lost everything too, Princess.”
“I cannot say what happened was your fault or not, that is for only the Creator herself to decide. For a long time, I was taught to hate you for you were a tyrant, a war criminal and a monster, just like you see yourself as. Now, I know that’s not true. The time we’ve spent together made me realize that. You did what you had to and I wanted you to know… I don’t blame you.” the cobalt earth pony stated.
“You… don’t?” Celestia gasped as her eyes widened.
“No. We both spent too much time sitting in the shadows. Hatred was our food, our water… our blood. I let go of my hatred, and I’m going to help you let go of yours, so you can look into the mirror with pride once more.” Mirage replied gently.
“I… I… don’t…” the Princess stuttered, for this was one of the rare occasions her otherwise regal voice abandoned her.
Before she could say anything else, Mirage took the final step that was separating them and he stood right in front of Celestia, slightly craning his neck to look the tall alicorn in the eye. There were only a few inches between them as the stallion bowed down before the sun goddess. Celestia's jaw dropped as she realized with surprise that Mirage was holding her right hoof in his own. Her shock grew even larger as the royal blue earth pony kissed the scars on her leg. At first, she wanted to draw her hoof apart from the stallion’s grasp, yet she did not. The moment lasted longer than expected; they were both stiffed in this position, like marble statues. The stallion broke the standstill and moved upwards. He kissed the mare’s upper leg, then continued to wander up North. Celestia winced a little when his lips touched the black scars on her chest, but didn’t move.
“You shouldn’t do this…” she whispered on a dying voice, yet she didn’t do anything to prevent Mirage’s actions, she just stared into the nothingness.
The stallion looked up at her again, gazing into the mare’s purple eyes. The Princess returned the deep stare, and Mirage could not control himself any longer. His lips moved up on Celestia’s dainty, swan-like neck, dwelling on the smaller scar on the right side. Despite the commands of her brain, the white alicorn bent down a little, as the stallion continued his way upwards. He put most of his weight on his hind legs, craning his neck like a giraffe, and the mare felt her breathing accelerate, as her rational mind was swallowed by the sensual moment and the soft gesture of the stallion. She tilted her head a little, causing her mane to flit from the right side of her face. Celestia closed her eyes and let out a long, relieved sigh when the stallion’s lips gently touched the old wounds on her blushing cheek. Tears of happiness ran down on her face and her mouth curled up into a joyful smile by a feeling she thought she will never experience again: happiness. Every move of the stallion revealed sensitivity and desire, making the moment perfect.
Pleasurable warmness overwhelmed the mare’s body, but suddenly Mirage broke the contact and took a few steps back. Celestia opened her eyes and stared at him in surprise, and her mane billowed softly around her, turning sparkly orange, red, and pink.
“I… I’m truly sorry, Princess… I shouldn’t have done that… That was totally not my intention… I… I… I just wanted to prove you can count on me… I really don’t know what came over me…” he stuttered nervously.
“No, no… It’s quite all right… I understand.” she whispered, still blushing, taking breaths quickly.
“I guess I should go now…” Mirage said hoarsely, his voice was barely audible.
He took a step back, however, without any sign, the sun goddess leaned forward with a rapid and instinctive move and their lips finally united in a deep, passionate kiss. The warmness suffused everything, like a shockwave and the rest of the world ceased to exist to them, its aspects narrowing down to this one moment. Celestia’s wings flared slowly during the kiss and the silky white feathers encased Mirage in their warm, sweet hug, covering him like an umbrella.
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AUTHOR’S NOTE: Okay, this won’t turn into a clopfic, I promise. It’s merely my first shot at a romance sub-plot. Actually I had the initial draft for this chapter 3 weeks ago, but I wasn't sure if I should post it or not. I changed a few things here and there, but I still think if I provide an explanation why I implemented this (I think pretty much predictable) turn of events, it would be understandable. I chose to go with this because of several reasons.
One: I was slightly drunk when I originally wrote this.
Two: I always thought an alicorn and an earth pony would be an unusual pairing, and Celestia is one of my favorite characters along with Luna, probably because they are so mysterious and we still don’t know much about them, their past and everything. I have several headcanons about the original alicorn sisters, so when I first came up with the character design for Nocturnal Mirage, I dreamed of him as an ambivalent earth pony who has a secret crush on Celestia, and loves and hates her at the same time.
Three: When I first came up with the idea of this story, after seeing the movie Colombus Circle, and wrote down the initial drafts, I was sure there will be a romantic sub-plot, (since two lonely souls encounter) which will not become a defining aspect of the main story-arch, but still be present nevertheless. I hope you like it. Throw me a few comments; I’m really curious about your opinions.
