Chapter Ten

"Royal Pains"

I roamed and roamed through the darkness of night as the low branches and sudden twigs churched as I stepped on them. I looked around for

the slightest sign that Princess Celestia could've left, so I could find where she went. The little stunt she pulled back at the campsite really

bothered me deeply. Whenever I talked or told a story, she wouldn't look at me directly. And when she did for that matter, she had a blank

expression on her face that looked of pure boredom, or as if she had an issue with me. At least, that's what I originally thought, until she

suddenly frowned with utter sadness and began to tear up a little. Right as I ask her what the issue was to, she just closed her eyes tight and

stood up, leaving the campsite, and all of us. I mentioned before that this wasn't the Celestia I had seen or known, and I'm almost certain

Twilight and Rainbow Dash haven't either. I kept my eye out for any little paths that Celestia could've walked through, but as closely as I

searched, I couldn't find anything. The area I looked for her looked exactly as the time I first saw it here, untouched. I sighed and shook my

head, not knowing what to do now. I was out of options.

I looked one last time, then turned to head back toward the campsite. I didn't want to break the bad news to Twilight and Rainbow Dash though,

telling them I was a failure for not finding Princess Celestia during this hour of night. I could only imagine the looks on their faces if I were to say

so. I bet they would be upset and loose hope for their ruler, and it would all be on me for not finding her. What if-

Suddenly, I looked to my right and saw a white blob in the distance. Grabbing the branches ahead of me and pushing them out of the way, I was

almost certain it was her. She was sitting down, looking up at the sky, surprisingly with no trees in her line of sight. I stepped over a fallen tree

and walked my way over to the Princess, who didn't move a muscle.

Finally, I had reached her. She kept sitting though, looking up at the sky. And to my surprise, this area had no trees! In fact, we were on a huge

stoned floor, which overlooked a valley below. It reminded me of the one at Sweet Apple Acres back in Appleloosa, the one Applejack and I looked

over at sunset. But this time, instead of a valley of apple trees and Applejack, it was a valley of grass and Princess Celestia.

I walked up to her, but not too close enough to scare her. I tilted my head a little and looked ahead to see what she was looking at directly. Well,

it was quite hard to tell actually. All she did was look at the sky, or the moon to be more specific. She would still let out an occasional sniffle or

cough after her crying earlier, which meant she still wasn't back to normal yet. I needed to do this now.

"T-that was quite a performance back there, Princess…" I said, joking around to lighten the mood a little.

She jumped a little and let out a yelp in fear, not knowing I was right behind her. She looked startled as she finally looked at me truly, seeing that

it was only me and no one else. She then calmed down a little, turned her back on me and looked down into the valley below, sighing aloud.

Okay, either she was really angry with me or she just didn't want to speak to me. Either way, I was getting to the bottom of this.

"Princess…what's bothering you…I want to help…." I asked her softly.

She shook her head and suddenly inhaled quickly, and from the sound of it, she had tears coming once again. Then, she finally spoke.

"Why would you want to talk to me…after what I did…"

What…?

I walked over to her so we sat side by side, my soft and caring side showing so she'd eventually feel comforted enough to tell me everything that

was upsetting her.

"After what you did?" I said, confused, "What do you mean..?"

She took her right hoof and wiped her tears away, which made more fall out. The way her tears shimmered in the moonlight made a huge

impact on me, based on overall beauty, and comfort. And to show it, I rested my right hand on her left shoulder and looked her in her wet, hurt

eyes. Then, she looked down to where we were sitting and explained everything.

"When…I teleported you away from Equestria…I never forgave myself for putting you through that…"

Oh...

"Princess…" I said softly, "What you did wasn't your fault…you had to do it or else your title as ruler could've been in jeopardy!"

She nodded and finally looked at me in my eyes, which shined back up at hers from the full moon's glow.

"Look," I continued, "Rainbow Dash told me the whole thing, and when she did, I never was upset with you. In fact, I thought of what you did

as a royal and responsible action. I never would've stayed if it meant that your job was in trouble. A-And the fact that you kept extending my

time there was so nice of you…it really showed how much of a great ruler you are.."

She began to chock up again, but this time, I was here to stop it. I got up from my spot, and since she was tall enough to match my height

when I stood, I gave her a hug to stop her from crying again. But it was too late. Before I knew it, she had began to cry once more into my

shoulder, making my shirt sleeve wet. I didn't care for it being wet though, I just cared about Princess Celestia becoming herself again.

She cried for a few moments as I hugged her close, then she finally stopped and put her hoof around me, embracing the hug I gave her. It was

really different from Rainbow Dash's hug though since she was a little smaller than Celestia. It actually felt like a human hug, rather then a pony

hug. Then, she spoke once more, still hugging me.

"W-What kind of ruler sends a-away somepony? I-I could never forgive myself for doing so!" She whimpered.

I did the only thing I could think of to show my care and support. Besides, Rainbow liked when I did it. So I began to motion my hand up and

down on her back so she would feel comforted again. Now this time, I broke the hug and made her look at me. Square at me.

"Now look Princess.." I said with more demand in my tone, "You did what you had to do and I was never effected by it. But showing me this side

of you honestly disturbs me. The whole time I have seen you, and I'm sure Twilight feels the same way here, you have never shown any bit of

sadness or sign of a negative emotion. You're a strong Princess and I applaud you on it. You just have to continue on as being yourself. Being the

Princess Celestia you have always been, and will always be. You will have to make some decisions and actions that some ponies may not agree

with, or you may have to send somepony away, just like you did with me. But know that it is never your fault…"

I exhaled after pouring my heart out to her. She bit her lip, taking everything in that I just told her. She then closed her eyes once more and

hugged me this time. She wrapped both hooves around my back and rested her head against mine, whispering down to me,

"Thank you Lone Star…for you have helped me through this harder part of times. What you have told me is true, and I cannot stay the way I

was back there. I appreciate your words and care for my being, and for that, I shall have the upmost respect for you, always."

Oh damn…I just got Equestria's ruler to have the upmost respect for me.

Pretty good day right there.

As both of us began feeling better, we took one last look at the valley underneath. It was beautiful, seeing all of the land, submerged by the

bright, white glow of the full moon ahead of us. We then looked at each other and nodded. I knew that she was feeling better, and seeing her feel

better made me feel better. I knew everything with her was going to go well from now on.

I got up from the spot and began to walk back toward the campsite, where Twilight and Rainbow Dash were waiting. I looked back, seeing

Princess Celestia admiring the same sight I was a few seconds ago. I smirked a little.

"Coming, Princess?" I asked, laughing softly.

She turned and nodded, walking over toward my direction.

"Earth is quite the beautiful place, if you find beauty within it's limits." She said, looking ahead toward the way out. I thought for a moment on

what she just said, realizing how true and powerful the statement was. It was one thing to make her feel better mentally, but it was another

when she was feeling better about where I truly lived. I guess my talk really got to her for the better.

We walked back to the camp together, both smiling a little from what we just shared together. A little bit went a long way, I guess, especially with

somepony as big of a heart as Celestia's. It was a job well done, and if I could make the Princess of Equestria feel better, I assumed talking to my

next two pony friends wouldn't be as hard.

"We're back!" I said, a little cheer in my voice as we entered through some branches. Princess Celestia followed behind me and walked back to

where she originally sat, her smile returning.

"Is everything okay now?" Twilight asked us.

Princess Celestia and I looked at each other and smiled, nodding.

Twilight smiled and nodded too, looking back at Rainbow Dash, who was looking into the fire that was starting to burn out.

"Well, I'm going to get some rest now," Princess Celestia said, lying on the floor, "I'll be up before the sun!" She giggled a little.

After putting that sentence together, I giggled too as she laid down and closed her eyes. After watching her, I looked behind me toward Twilight

and Rainbow Dash, who eyed me back.

One talk down, two talks to go...

(Celestia's Chapter 10 is finished! Hope you enjoyed! The next talk will be in the next chapter, and you'll have to see what's next! Stay tuned!)

~LS