The last solstice

Chapter 3: Solitude


Luna was right.

I was right too! Mirage thinks.

The Moon goddess said that her sister will probably greet her new guard in the form of a letter. And Mirage suspected that the alicorn of the Sun was listening. The cobalt stallion smirked. He imagined the picture. The all mighty Celestia, the ruler of Equestria nestles up to the door very closely. Probably with an anxious look on her face, for she worries because her calm loneliness is disturbed.

“Ha!” Mirage exclaims loudly, as the picture he imagined fills up his soul with luscious pleasure for a moment.

The cobalt earth pony seals his mouth with his hooves, like a young colt who’s been caught lying. She gazes at Celestia’s door and listens carefully. There’s no sign of life, just the silence. It’s starting to get on his nerves already. Mirage snorts. That’s when he notices the envelope. He stares at it for several minutes.

The crimson seal in the middle is like a blood drop on the white paper. Sealed with wax… very old fashioned. Only royalty uses this technique these days. A symbol is printed in the candle wax: a fiery sun disk with an arabesque letter “C” in the middle. Mirage immediately recognizes the mark. The official seal of the Solar Princess.

The dark blue stallion picks up the envelope and opens it. A short message on a high quality note-paper. Straight lines, distinct, italic letters. Such elegant, orderly writing is only possible with magic. The letter is very short, consists of only a few lines.

“Dear Nocturnal Mirage!

Allow me to welcome you in the Ivory Tower! First of all, I’d like to convey my gratitude to your efforts in the service of the Crown. I hope you are provided with everything you need and your stay will be pleasant.

Secondly, I ask you to respect my privacy. This is the first and the last personal letter you’ll receive from me. In the future, you’ll only find a list of items of what I need. As you may probably know, I keep myself to myself. I expect the same from you. Think of me as non-existent. I repeatedly ask you: respect my privacy at all times! Do not disturb my peace! This is the only thing I desire from you as your Princess.

I wish you a happy life, brave Guardian!

In hopes of a peaceful coexistence:

Princess Celestia”

Mirage gazes at the curly letters. He reads the message over and over again. I cannot believe it!
The earth pony stoops and searches for the tiny gap between the door and the floor. He finds it and moves closer. His muzzle is pressing against the wood. Mirage pushes his eyes to the limit. It’s dark inside. Eventually he spots a pair of snow white hooves in the gloominess, idling nearby the door.

So it is truly her! Nopony has seen her for so long… I thought she was dead. the stallion thinks. It’s like the Princess would have read his mind, she backs away with unsure steps. Mirage gets up from the floor. A discrete grin forms at the corner of his lips.

“Hmm. I bet everypony does that on the first day.” he murmurs and trots inside his half of the Tower.

He’s amazed by the suite. Four large rooms, one gym, a balcony, a small library, recreational room, huge bedroom with a fluffy bed.

“Oh sweet!” the royal blue stallion exclaims in anticipation.

Days pass by until he realizes that his assignment has made him a prisoner. He shares the solitude with Celestia. He lives in luxurious surroundings admittedly, but he starts to miss the open fields and the fresh morning air. And this is merely the first shift! Who knows how many will follow?

“How does she endure this for a decade?!” Mirage yells loudly.


Two days later, his first shift is over. Mirage is expected in Luna’s tower.

“How was your first week?” the alicorn of the Night inquires.

“Uneventful, your Highness. As predicted, your sister left me a welcoming letter by her door. She has not communicated with me ever since, but sometimes I’ve heard her pacing around and screaming late at night. Besides that, the Princess has shown no sign of life. She had no special requests." Mirage pauses for a moment, while the alicorn looks deeply into his eyes. He gets a little frustrated, but hides it effectively.

"I placed the food in front of her door and locked myself into my own suite, as ordered. I’ve observed by the leftover she sent back, that the Princess consumes less nutriment than the ideal amount. That is all, your Majesty.” Mirage finishes the report in a very formal manner.

“Hmm, impressive.” Luna smiles. “You are precise indeed... Oh, and do not worry about my sister’s nocturnal behavior… It’s when the windmills of her mind grind the fastest.”

“What do you mean, Princess?”

“Her own personal demons haunt her at night. She cannot get rid of them.” the cobalt alicorn closes her eyes and bows her head sadly.” It is very hard, but… just ignore her.”

“Ignore her?! With all due respect, she was screaming like she was on fire or something! It’s very unsettling and eerie in the middle of the night.” Mirage replies passionately.

“Yes, I understand. But you cannot do anything about it. None of us can.” Luna counters.

Mirage nods his head. Since the Moon goddess remains silent and got lost staring into nothingness, the stallion thinks the audience is over and tries to back out of the room quietly. But, before he could close the door behind himself, Luna addresses him.

“Mirage, just one more word.”

“Yes, your Majesty?”

“Most of your predecessors did a somewhat despicable job. They have failed to understand that my sister – despite her current state - is still the Prime Princess of Equestria, and treated her like a madmare. I don’t want you to make the same mistake.”

“Of course, Princess.”

“Your report was quite thorough. Usually, Captain Shining Armor attends to Royal Guard business, but from now on, you’ll report to me personally. You seem to be a good observer, report everything you experience, even the tiniest of details. We’ll meet here every week, after your shift. Is that understood?” Luna asks, while she’s pacing around slowly.

“Yes, your Highness.” Mirage replies firmly and bows.

“Excellent! Good day!” the Lunar Princess exclaims, and turns her back on Mirage but there are warm colors in her voice.

Mirage passes the gate of Canterlot Castle and inhales deeply. Finally! One week of Freedom! The cobalt stallion trots towards his favorite bar, but suddenly halts, his hooves send a small cloud of dust up in the air. Mirage looks around and blinks in utter perplexity. There’s nopony nearby. He furrows a brow.

“Hmm… I could swear there was somepony behind me…” he mutters and heads toward the bar.

His intuitions were correct nevertheless. He was only confused about the direction. Up in the highest tower of the Castle, a dark, graceful silhouette emerges behind the pale window. A pair of warm, yet sharp purple eyes lock onto a distant figure of a royal blue earth pony and follow him until he disappears in one of the buildings.