"Come on, Anon! We should get to the top!" >Celestia changes her gait to the trot. "Princess! Hey, wait!" >You start huffing, as you sense that you can't keep the pace. "I only have two legs, y'know!" >Celestia slows a bit, and begins to ascend unbelievably long spiral staircase. You can only guess, where it leads. You still haven't been to this part of the Palace. No surprise, considering it's fucking enormous, like a city within a metropolis. "That's a bloody murder!" >Complain you. >And feel like heavy rucksack on your back lifts into the air, suspended in the golden aura. "Cant't this place have an elevator or something? I don't remember last time when I walked this much!" >You pant heavely. >Celestia's hooves emit a stream of steady loud clopping far in front of you. "Anonymous, do you realize that it is not healthy?" >You don't answer anything, because you have hard time breathing. >Several times Celestia slows even more, for you to catch up with her. >And at last you seem to reach the top of whatever you were climbing on. >Celestia opens the largest trapdoor you've ever seen and goes out. >You take a few minutes to calm down your pulse and follow. >Powerful wind would have probably blown you away if not for metal rails. Celestia, of course, is unfazed by the wind at all. >You both stand on an open gallery atop the gigantic spire, as tall as Empire State Building. > You are gawking at the view. From here you can see enormity of the Canterlot, which sits on it's gravity defying plateau. >The grandeur of the Canterlot mountains. Imposing ethereal bulk of Cloudsdale in the distance. >The sea of green below the mountain with occasional congregations of buildings here and there. They look like toys from this distance! >Celestia smiles at your dumbfounded expression. "Ok, it's fuckawesome and all... But still!" >Celestia approaches the edge of the platform and opens her wings. "Get on my back, Anonymous." >Wait, what? "Um, are you sure?" >Golden glow envelops you, lifts, and places right onto Celestia's back. >You gulp and prepare to complain. >But Celestia's having none of your shit. Without disabling her telekinesis she lifts her majestic white wings up and in one powerful flap takes off into the sky. >You grasp her around the neck. Wind howls like a banshee, but the golden bubble of her telekinesis protects you. >You wonder what's your actual speed is, as a clouds and the land below zooms in a flash past you. >After a while you begin actually enjoy this flight. Your grasp on Celestia's neck loosens a bit. >Celestia sees something down below. She does a half roll and begins a fast descent. >Somehow her telekinesis around you protects from a barotrauma as well. >You are heading to a blue mirror of water. Looks like a large pond surrounded by the trees. >Princess lands softly. Despite her mass a couple of energetic flaps is enough to quell the inertia. >She tenderly sets you on the grass. >You sigh and begin to unpack the rucksack with various food and utensils for a picnic. >Meanwhile she trots to the pond, lowers her head and begins to drink. "Hey, Princess, what are you doing?" "Drinking, obviously" >She answers without turning to you. "But this is the pond water!" "Anonymous, come here." >You approach her. "Drink. Try it." "Thanks but no thanks! It the fucking pond water!" >Celestia looked disappointed for a second." "Anon this is not your lifeless twisted world. There is nothing in the water you can't handle." >You look at her sceptically. "Anon, my power protects you, does it not?" >You contemplate on this, remembering rescent flight. "It's tasty." >With a hesitation you lower your hand in a cold, clear water and scoop some. It's really tasty. Even tastier than the water from a Palace tap. >Celestia smiles and then begins to outright graze on a meadow. "Erm, should I graze too?" >She laughs. "If you want to. But I don't think you'll find the dandelions any appetizing." >You return to the picnic blanket. Open a rather big lacquered wooden box. Slices of cake inside look battered but largely intact. >Celestia approaches you. She uses her wing to shake some stray specks of a dirt from her muzzle. Then, with a great grace, she lowers herself on the ground. "Let me, Anon" >She puts the cake on two plates, opens a porcelain thermos and pour tea in a cups. All simultaneously. >You both are silent for a while, savoring the cake and the tea. >After this you lie on a warm grassy ground and look in the sky. Celestia's sun shines brightly, but if you turn your head a little bit you can stare into azure bottomless depth without any discomfort. "Princess, why are you doing all this?" "What 'this'?" "I mean you can just teleport here, aren't you? And bring the whole inventory along. And the grass, the water? You have all that master chefs back in the palace!" >Huge alicorn frowns slightly, then sighs. "Anon. I can do many things. For example, I can make an ocean boil. I can melt mountains." >You begin to feel a bit uneasy. But Celestia continues. "Or I can make a huge rock in the sky change it's trajectory. If I want, I can rearrange every atom in this cup of tea and make it into something completely different. You could call it 'awesome' or 'exciting'. But it's just who I am." "I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't mean to-" "No, Anon, it's alright. But you know, when I climb up the stairs, or brush my mane, or fly, or eat the grass... I experience something different. I experience what is it to be somepony else. What is it to be like you, or Rainbow Dash, or Raven. I mean, it's so minuscule on the scale of eternity, but it's so bright, so wondrous in a way." >You sit up, looking at her with a surprised expression. "Sometimes, I feel guilty. I can enjoy all of this undisrupted, without any fear." >She pauses for a bit and then continues. "But actually, I'm keeping track of time like this. Because when I am there-" >She looks in the sky "-there is no time. It exists, but I cant feel it. It's my guilty pleasure, Anon." >You feel the mighty need inside yourself. The need to hug. And you hug her tight. She smiles and envelops you with her wing. >You both listen to birdsong that's coming from around.