Sitting in the Shade
Celestia trotted through the garden, turning her head this way and that to take in the beautiful hues of the summer flowers. It really was her favorite time of the year, summer, though it probably had something to do with the fact that it was the season where her sun shined the most. All of the smells came from the vibrantly colored flowers and drifted along the occasional cool gust of wind, scattering their scent over the entire castle grounds. In the days of old, when she had to manage the entire state of Equestria alone and without the help of her sister, this place had been a place of solitude and peace. It had been, and in a way it still was, an escape from the hustle and bustle of her life.
She had ordered it planted soon after Luna had been banished to the moon, originally intending for it to be a place where she could sit in solitude to pray for her sister’s recovery from the nightmare that she had become. Of course, soon she was forced to use it to keep her sanity when the full weight of an entire nation began to press on her shoulders alone. A smile crept into her face as she remembered trying her hoof at planting her own patch of flowers, a small, insubstantial way to try and repent her negligence of her sister. Surely she could devote enough time to a square of pretty plants. She had even tacked up a sign that read Luna’s Garden in silvery letters before she started to work at the soil.
She wasn’t a green hoof in any sense, at all. Her gardeners had to usher her away from the gardens and return later to fix the terrible mess that Celestia had made in the ground. She gave a wistful smile at the crooked sign that she had once made with her own magic, pausing for a moment to sniff the flowers that were there. They smelled like a pleasant winter night, tickling her nose with the scent of snow and calming her body with every breath. She really did love this place more than any other.
It had also been a classroom, at one time. When she first took on Twilight as her pupil, Celestia had no idea where it would even go. Hay, she hadn’t ever had a pupil before she decided to help teach that little unicorn filly who had nearly brought the school crashing down on top of everypony inside of it. Even to this day she couldn’t quite put her hoof on why she chose Twilight Sparkle to be her mentee, but she had somewhat of a vague guess. Twilight Sparkle had just been… special, there was no denying it.
And that little filly had grown into something else, a mare that had exceeded her every expectation. Twilight certainly was something special now; even Luna had to admit it. Running Equestria by herself, aided only by the occasional advisory comment from Shining Armor and Cadence, was no small feat. Celestia, with her ages of rule under her saddle, knew that even she wouldn’t have been able to handle some of the situations that Twilight had somehow been able to maneuver around and come out of on top. It always gave her a sense of pride, watching her old student surpass the teacher.
A rustle in the leaves drew her out of her recollections, bringing attention to the fact that she had been standing still in the sunlight for what seemed to be an hour. Celestia stretched her body, groaning lazily as each of her limbs made a satisfying pop as they rid themselves of the tension that had built up as a result of standing for so long. She looked skyward at the sun, smiling when she saw where it was hanging in the sky. It’s time.
Turning her back on the old study-spot that she and Twilight had visited all those years ago, Celestia made her way over to a tree that was set just a little bit out of the normal garden space, nestled in the space between two gentle hills. It was a sturdy thing, resisting the rain that sloshed over it and threatened to wash it away at every downpour, pushing back against the wind that sometimes gusted through the garden to rip leaves from the bushes. Honestly, Celestia wasn’t sure if a magical explosion would phase the towering cylinder of wood. It had been planted by a grieving Twilight Sparkle, sown in soil wet with tears. It had been years since the thing had been planted.
Settling into the reassuring hardness of the trunk, Celestia prepared to wait. Of course, she didn’t have to wait long for a familiar, ridiculously schedule-oriented pony to trot over one of the hills. She couldn’t help but smile at seeing her old student walking towards her with an air of equality, not a veil of deference. One thing that drove Celestia crazy during her own ruling period was the fact that she didn’t have anypony to have as an equal; even Luna had treated her as if she was the absolute last authority on anything official.
Her smile began to turn down at the corners when she saw how frazzled poor Twilight Sparkle looked, mane and regalia out of sorts and a harried look haunting the younger alicorn’s eyes. “Hey there, Princ—,” she caught herself before she managed to complete the formality, “I mean, hey there, Celestia. You would not believe the day I’ve been having.” Celestia watched as her student passed right in front of her, smiling again as her protégé’s aggravated tone filled the air as she began to rant about how the griffons and zebra empires were on the verge of total war and she had to somehow work out how to make them not go at each others’ throats.
Celestia leaned back against the tree next to where Twilight had thrown herself down, nodding every once in a while to her student’s ranting. There wasn’t a lot of advice she could offer, having never had to deal with both of the empires’ new rulers. The tree they were leaning against held a lot of memories, being the witness to Twilight’s transition into a scared new ruler into a serene princess. Well, serene in public, at least. Celestia couldn’t help but reach over and pass her hoof through her student, wishing that she could touch her in some way.
Hard to tell somepony you’re there when you’re dead. Be as that may, she still nestled back against the tree, listening her student tell her about life as a princess in these new times.
Every week they did this, sitting in the shade graciously provided by the tree that Twilight had planted to honor Celestia’s passing, talking about a different kind of tree that Celestia had planted even longer in the past.
After all, she had to keep admiring her garden, even though it was only as a passerby.
”Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
-Warren Buffett
Author's Note
Just something I thought I'd try. A bit of a.... writing exercise, if you will.
The idea: Look for inspirational quote from the internet and write a story from it in only a few hours.
Well.... I think I'll be doing more of these. It was quite fun and challenging to do this all in one day like this without any further planning.
EDIT: I know, it isn't a completely polished work. That wasn't the point of it.
