Being an alicorn is wonderful... except when it isn't. There are plenty of things that put a damper on limitless vistas of possibility afforded by such a long life: Court, mortal needs and expectations, the occasional decade of ennui.
And the dreams, of course. Agelessness comes with its own special kind of dreaming. Celestia finds that her own "Inner Court" is a bit too literal, and it--and she--are troubled at the prospect of a near-immortal Twilight Sparkle.
If only she could articulate exactly why that was.
art by spectralunicorn
Part of the Monophysite Quartet, which also includes Celestia Isn't Real, Have You Considered My Servant, Twilight?, and The Esoteric Rites of Darkness. All four stories have a common origin point in an old story idea I called "Monophysite" and touch on who or what Celestia really is in some way. They are otherwise unrelated.
Interesting. I shall follow this.
Not bad. I hope in next chapters we will see Twilight*s inner court too.
Should be "bare" as in "reveal," not "bear" as in "carry."
Minor typo. 'Then'should be 'than'.
Those massive gaps between the external world and the 'Inner Court' scenes had me expect hidden text. It's a habit trained by a single story, but it's never gone away.
Other than that, this is quite an intriguing story.
I dunno I think the Sartre quotes are pretty spot on.
7140928 he's okay.
I cant' tell if I hate him and he's terrible or if I hate him and he's the best. It is rather problematic.
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I think he would have approved of your confusion, though.
7141290 please continue
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And then they're back down, and then they go back up.
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Will this have Twilestia in it? The synopsis makes it sound like it does. I know it doesn't have a romance tag, but you'd be surprised at how many authors accidentally leave out tags that apply to their stories.
7141583 yes. Maybe not how you expect, but yes
I'm' not feeling flashbacks so much as echos, I think. The cycle continues onward and upward. I look forward to what comes next ~
Most excellent. I rarely comment but I had the sudden urge to. Always been a sucker for dreams and ships. I dream of ships...
well this is dark, although to be fair this is you I should be more used to it by now.
This is fantastic! I love the presentation and characterization of Celestia and Luna here both. Appropriately old and deep, while still
humanpony. The conceit of the inner Court is great, and particularly interesting to me.Keep it up!
7141862 I actually felt it was less dark then I usually get.
Great story! the Inner Courts, and the depth of character they allow, are amazing. Eagerly waiting for more. One minor error:
...should probably be ponies.
7142036 I will not miss that rendezvous
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Yeah, I wouldn't call this dark. This is just alicorns being people with their own issues.
7142399 of course after Redeem and Suns everything else I've done is like fluffy sunshine rainbows
Commence read.
Twilight, assisting in an experiment involving herself, reminds me of the 'Doctors make the worst patients' thing.
7142805 hehe yes.
Commence read.
Husk, that's a rough one.
Interesting turn of events.
Fuckin' A. This is some quality writing.
Commence read.
Waxing and Waning. Twin shenanigans.
Luna's inner council seemed a bit more diverse.
Commence read.
Cadence with the Greek.
7142938 ye, she is basically the embodiment of the Four Loves
So, exposing foibles in both personal and political venues?
Sounds like this is a script for a
(wait for it...)
... Sartre.
Ok, not one of my better ones. :D
Also, I bet there IS a child aspect of Celestia. None of the members of the Day Court reflect her prankish, mischievous side - the one to set Philomena on Ponyville, to say 'Gotcha' after pretending to drink her tea, or to tell Luna that bat cloaks and the Royal Canterlot Voice are required usage when visiting towns on Nightmare Night (still my headcanon there, but no one else would have done that).
Celestia may have repressed this aspect of her nature for so long she forgot about it, but I bet it's there.
Commence read.
Great stuff.
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7143874 the aspects both reflect and do not reflect--they are exaggeration, or through a mirror darkly. Sometimes they reflect the psyche, and sometimes they more reflect the attributes of the thing they are attached to.
They also change!
I think you're right actually. Dusk can be playful but she's not quite mischievous enough
how are you writing so quickly and fluently and so well and so non-redundantly
this is amazing
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Because class is so godawful boring, that's how.I've always composed swiftly and often messily.I'm actually not happy with Luna's dialogue in this fic. It's been hard to switch for some reason between the sisters, and I'm really struggling with the moony one. If I weren't spending more time trying to work on the weirdness factor and basically purging this idea I probably would have really reread through ZOMG's The Shield's Protector because his Cadance is my favorite and is so much fun.
The depth is legit.
I'm not satisfied course.
Though I never am
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i love interaction between Celestia and Luna in this story.
Would that I had more thumbs, sir.
Hmm... the fact that the members of Cadence's "court" are all benevolent aspects of love, with no manifestation of obsession or self-destructive aspects kind of implies that Cadence is the purest of the three so far...
7148187 perhaps, but she's had less time.
Beyond just the four loves and matron I had planned a Jealoysy but held off mostly because I had been reading Vanstone's lil phenomenology of love: Loves Endeavour, Love's Reward and had realized that his conception of love (which is mine) would not include jealousy in the way I had planned. However, I do think in a century or so Jealoysy will show up as an antagonist in the court of Love--a devils advocate of you will.
Commence read.
Keep on.
Are you quite sure there's no rejoicing? Because I'm not sure what else this feeling could be.
I'm starting to wonder if I've done you a disservice, expecting everything you write to have similarly bittersweet melancholy as what you had with The Night is Passing. That felt like something that took a toll to write, and in retrospect I expect it was as much a curse as it was a triumph. Not to belabour the point too much, but for all its wonderful moments, it lacked a certain intrinsic joy that I already feel in this.
This isn't to say the subject isn't given your usual gravity, but rather that this already feels hopeful, that the best days are yet to come rather than buried long in the past.
Maybe I'll change my mind as I go further, but these are the kinds of thoughts I'm having right now. I suppose you have a knack for bringing that side out of me?
Oh, how I cannot wait to see how dear Twilight Sparkle defies all expectation!
'It's' is a contraction of it is. The correct word in this case would be its - the possessive.
On a more positive note, this portrayal of Celestia's various...personas? Selves? Moods? Fascinating. I should really go back and read some of your older stuff. The characterisation is wonderful.
7151159 I end up using the word aspects because it's not quite any of those--the Court isn't just a straight reflection of the alicorn but a blending of them with the thing they are attuned to. It's like... an amalgam, I guess?
Good speech.
7151331 I totes stole that lead in from Blade Runner
As soon as I read that, I knew what was coming next. Love you for doing this.
7151828 It's beautiful.
It's one of the best cinematic moments in history.