Lullaby for a Princess

Chapter Five: New

Celestia yawned. What time was it? She turned over in her bed. Luna was quietly getting ready for sleep. Ah. Morning is here! Celestia jumped out of bed, brushed her mane, and raced outside to raise the sun. She decided to make it a little brighter today. Not too much longer to do this quietly. Your training is nearly done. Or at least, that's what Starswirl had said. The coronation was already planned for a week from that day, with festivities beginning with a public raising of the sun and ending with a public raising of the moon. Many changes were coming. Starswirl had insisted that Celestia and Luna have their own chambers as rulers of Equestria, so the grandest rooms ever seen by pony eyes were being finished, each personalized for the alicorn it would house. Celestia walked into her new room. Nopony was in there right then. Probably all at breakfast. The room that was to be hers had a large white door, with a golden sun. The chambers themselves consisted of a bedroom, bathroom, and personal study. The bed was in the center of the room, near the fireplace. A small desk stood beside it, and tapestries and paintings adorned the lavender walls. To the left of the fireplace was a glass door which had stars in blue and silver. Celestia had been informed that the sun was on the similar door in Luna's room. This one led to Celestia's study. But that wasn't what was attracting her attention at the moment. At a golden table and mirror sat the new symbols of her power: four golden shoes and a matching crown. They were fit for a Queen of Equestria, as was Luna's, from what Celestia had heard. Besides their own private chambers, the sisters now had a joint study, and the throne room of the Canterlot Palace had been remodeled to fit two thrones. It was all very grand....and scary. For twenty years they had been taught. Just a week ago, Starswirl had called them to him. His once silver name was white now, and for good reason. The pony had to be at least five hundred. He had lived this long because of his great magic, no doubt. He had told them to sit, and then began: "Dearest Majesties, I have watched you from your birth until now. You have raised the sun and the moon for twenty years today. You will have trained for twenty years tomorrow. It may seem like nothing but a blink for immortals like yourself, but you have learned much. I feel that you are now ready to take your places as Equestria's rulers." And the preperations had begun. Never before had anypony alive seen a coronation, not even Starswirl. It was a once-in-a-hundred-lifetimes chance. Celestia loved the attention. Only once had she appeared in public since the day she first raised the sun. Luna had been with her, just a leisurely flight around the mountain at whose foot Canterlot sat, on the green grass that made Equestria so beautiful. The sun had been rather lazy that day, as Celestia had thought it best for the farmers living around the area. The sisters hadn't thought of being seen. But alicorns, especially those rumored to be able to raise and lower the sun and moon, were hard to miss. During a rest, Celestia and Luna had been surprised by a group of foals, who ran up and asked for an autograph. Strange little ones. Celestia shook her head. She wasn't far from being a little one herself. At least, by alicorns standards. In normal pony years, she would be about the equivalent of twelve. But it was hard, with the aging difference. Celestia had read books on alicorns. She would stop aging when she reached normal pony equivalent of thirty. But those foals will grow old and die before that happens. That's a sobering thought. Celestia made a mental note not to think of that too much. She wandered back to the room she shared with Luna. Her sister was already sleeping peacefully. Her blue body now stretched to the end of the small bed, marking a growth spurt over the past twenty years. Celestia had grown too. The crown she had worn before the was too small now. Not that her new one fit her perfectly, by any means. The new crown was just big enough to slip over Celestia's head if she didn't have have her horn. So many new experiences, and I have yet to be crowned a Queen! But something was nagging at Celestia. Queen didn't sound right. Sure, she and Luna would be the sole rulers of Equestria, but the title.... That was Mother's title. Though she is dead, I don't like the thought of taking her place. Many ponies won't know why I refuse to call myself a Queen, but I will know, and Luna will know, and that is all I need.

Celestia lowered the sun that evening with a smile on her face.