Due to the importance of Canterlot, and the business that went on within its walls, snow was a bit of a rarity, even in the deep of winter. There was the occasional snowfall throughout the cold months of Equestria, but it never amounted to more than an inch or two. It was that fact, more so than even the large magically-adept population of Canterlot, that was responsible for the capital of Equestria’s record-shattering Winter Wrap-Ups, year after year.
This year, it seemed as if Canterlot would finally lose that number one spot. An error of the weather department caused the capital of Equestria to be given a massive amount of snow, much to the annoyance of its citizens. Ponies who seldom had to step onto the snow at all were suddenly up to their bellies in the freezing white fluff. Understandably, they were aghast, and demanded that something be done about it.
Princess Celestia had her mail bombarded with requests and demands to have much of the snow melted. She wrote back to as many ponies as she could, letting them know that she understood their frustration with the weather situation and that she was doing her best to remedy it. Truth be told, Celestia actually was doing everything in her power to fix the problem, but what many citizens didn’t understand is how truly difficult it is to organize and compensate enough pegasi, unicorns, and Earth ponies to do an extra, albeit smaller, Winter Wrap-Up in the middle of December. Still, she managed to have it scheduled for Saturday, a mere two days away.
Two days would be plenty of time.
Celestia was very careful with her schedules. Every appointment, public appearance, and congressional meeting was allocated a very specific amount of time, for very specific reasons. This was so Celestia had complete control of her day, or as much control of it as a ruler of a country could have. It also allowed her to sort of save away minutes during the day, so that she could afford to take a few short breaks. A few minutes for tea and a scone might not seem like much to some, but it was like a three-day weekend for Celestia. This week, however, in the two days before the snow was due to be melted, Celestia did not take her several breaks of four to five minutes. Instead, she took a single fifteen-minute break at the end of her lunch. She did this so she could stroll through her beautiful, snow-laden courtyards.
Celestia felt the snow crunch beneath her hoof and smiled reminiscently. She was reminded of her childhood, however so long ago that was. Her family hailed from the northwest of the country, in what was now known as Vanhoover. It got rather cold there during the winter, and the snowfall was often incredible. Celestia looked down at the bright white snow, chuckling slightly. Her mother would take her and Luna out in the snow all the time. Every snowfall, almost without fail, the three would spend hours in the cold, laughing and playing. That was before Celestia knew she would become a princess of Equestria. Back when her mind was as innocent and pure as any child should be.
Celestia stared out at her frozen courtyard, enjoying the slicing of the cold wind against her chest. It felt natural, yet also bizarre. She was so absorbed in her memories that she never heard her personal aide approach behind her.
“You are needed in the Day Court, your majesty,” said Raven. She was bundled in her warmest clothing, a wooly hat on her head and a scarf around her neck. “In fact, we’re running a few minutes late. I’ve delayed it as much as I could, but the nobles can only get snubbed so long before they start causing a ruckus.” Celestia sighed, watching the cloud of her frosty breath rise and swirl into nothing.
“Very well. Let us go,” said Celestia. She began to walk beside her aide, who took a nice, long look at her princess.
“You should consider bundling up, your highness,” warned Raven. “It’s freezing out here, you might catch a cold.”
“Which would not be the worst thing in the world, I believe,” said Celestia. “Sometimes, it’s nice to get cut, if only to remind yourself that you can bleed.”
“Oh. I… I never thought of it like that,” said Raven, adjusting her glasses nervously. “Er… We really should get moving, princess. We’re falling behind.”
Celestia nodded, knowing full and well that the true meaning of her comment soared over Raven’s head. It hardly mattered, anyway. Celestia knew that only one mare in Equestria would understand, and she was currently away on diplomatic business in the Empire. Celestia knew she wouldn’t have to wait much longer. Luna would be returning to Canterlot soon.
Hopefully before the snow melted.
The next day, Celestia took great care to allocate herself a bit more time than she did yesterday. She managed to do so by skipping breakfast and rushing through her first meeting. Now, she should have a whole twenty-five minutes to herself. She could do anything she wanted. She did the obvious choice, and strolled out in the freezing cold, yet again.
Celestia recalled the last winter she shared with her mother. It was nothing like their others. Of all of her years of her youth, this was easily the hardest. Celestia remembered wishing that her father was there, but her mother quickly reminded her that his job was very important, and, therefore, called for sacrifice. Even knowing that, Celestia wished that her father could be there with them at her mother’s sickbed. It seemed as if her days were numbered, and the entire family should have experienced them together.
Her mother lay in bed, fighting off the illness as best she could. There was no cure, or even a name, for what plagued her. Even to this day, the princesses could only guess what it was. It seemed obvious that the disease would claim their mother’s life. She slept for days at a time, hardly spoke, and stared at her daughters as if she couldn’t see them. The look she gave Celestia still haunted her nightmares.
“Hello, Celestia. I have returned.”
A familiar voice broke Celestia’s train of thought. It was quite appropriate, honestly. Even while awake and with no use of her magic, Luna had an uncanny ability to tell what her sister was thinking. Luna could tell by Celestia’s stance that she was thinking of their childhood. She would always distance herself from her kingdom when she wanted to reminisce, and she couldn’t get much further than her courtyard.
“Care to join me?” offered Celestia. “I intended to take a short walk.” She could hear the snow crunch beneath Luna’s hoof as she trotted to her sister’s side.
“Are you not cold?”
“Freezing. It feels good.” Celestia chuckled slightly. “It feels familiar. You know, there is quite a lot I fail to recall about our childhood, but I remember this feeling perfectly.”
“Yes, I agree. The winters we spent with Mother,” said Luna. The sisters began their way through the courtyard, neither saying much to the other for a while.
“You think of her often?” asked Luna.
“Every day. More during the winter, I’m afraid,” sighed Celestia. “A thousand years later and I still expect to see her notes. Do you remember those?”
“Hm. She said that was how she met Father.” Luna chuckled ever so slightly. “She would carve love letters into the snow for him. Oh, how red he would get whenever she brought it up!”
“The only times I recall that man ever showing his feelings was with our mother,” said Celestia. “He didn't even cry at her funeral.”
“I believe he must have, but only in privacy. Imagine how you would have reacted if you saw him cry as you imagined he would. It would have destroyed us, and Father understood that.”
“Perhaps.”
In the silence that followed, Celestia had another flashback. That last winter, just as soon as they thought their mother would pass, she rose from her bed. She never spoke, hardly even looked at them. She walked out of their home, gesturing for her daughters to follow.
“You should learn to forget,” said Luna.
“I’ll never be able to forget,” said Celestia, shaking her head. Luna sighed, then grabbed a hoofful of snow, unnoticed by her sister. She grinned slightly to herself.
“Then, at the very least, you must try to remember the good parts, as well.”
“Luna, of course I-” Celestia felt a soft, cold splat against the back of her neck and lost the rest of her sentence. She met eyes with Luna, who simply gathered more snow for another snowball.
“No magic?” offered Luna. Celestia grinned, then scooped up a snowball.
“Just like old times,” confirmed Celestia. She chucked her snowball at her sister, who ducked it fairly easily. Luna scampered forward, rolling up a ball of snow in her hand while she did. Celestia hopped to the right to avoid Luna’s next freezing projectile, and managed to gather up one of her own.
Celestia had followed her mother out of the house, keeping close to her. She watched in fearful confusion as her dear, sick mother smiled weakly before scooping up a small hoofful of snow. She threw her snowball almost tiredly, the frosty fluff bouncing against Celestia’s coat.
“Imagine if she could see us now!” laughed Celestia, leaning to avoid a shot from her sister.
“Powerful beings who control the sun and moon reduced to snowball fighting foals,” said Luna with a grin. “I imagine that she’d be quite proud.”
Celestia couldn’t exactly shake the memory. She was certain that her mother had meant nothing malicious, but Celestia couldn’t help but harbor dark feelings towards her. Celestia dropped her snow, staring down at her hooves.
“Sister…” Luna dropped her ammo and carefully trotted her way over to her sister. “Do you recall what happened on that last night?”
“I can’t help but remember. I wish I could forget,” sighed Celestia. “I’m positive that she only meant good. I know she wanted us to feel at ease, but…”
“I understand. Seeing her collapse haunts me just as much as you.”
“We saw her use up the last of her life, and she did it for us.” Celestia tried to forget, tried to let the image fade from her mind like so many others had in her life. All wounds healed with time, or so she was told. This one in particular just took longer than Celestia would have liked.
Celestia’s mother lit up her horn, projecting a thin, shaky beam of magic down onto the snow. It was almost unreadable, at least at first. She cut line after line into the ground as Celestia watched in horror. She tried to urge her mother to stop, but she refused. She needed Celestia to know.
“She was in pain, Celestia. You mustn’t think of it in that way,” said Luna. “She would have… faded. If not that day, then one day soon, and it would have been agony until the day that she did.”
“I know. It was terrible,” sighed Celestia. She looked down at the snow again, now with resentment rather than childish whimsy. It was nothing more than a cruel reminder of what was taken from her. Celestia knew that it was foolish of her, but she couldn’t help but blame the snow for slowly stealing away her mother. First her mind, then her body. All that was left were memories.
“Do you believe that she would be proud of us?” asked Celestia. Luna nodded stiffly, smiling as warmly as possible for her. It wasn’t very bright or happy, for Luna never especially was. Still, there was something oddly soothing about her stiff, almost joyless, smile. It brought Celestia back down to earth.
“I would find it hard to believe if she didn’t,” said Luna. “You do quite well for your kingdom, even when the universe seems intent on overturning all of your hard work.”
“I’ve made so many mistakes,” sighed Celestia. “Failed at so many turns.” Luna frowned at her sister.
“When I returned from my banishment, and was bested by Twilight, I begged for your forgiveness,” said Luna. “I apologized profusely, and started to punish myself when you refused to. You said something to me, and it is advice that I am unlikely to forget. You told me that it is not our mistakes that define us, rather, how we choose to rectify them. I implore you to recall your own teachings.”
Silence fell over the sisters, and it was clear that Celestia needed a moment to think on what Luna had said. After a minute or two, Luna wrapped Celestia in a stiff, awkward, all-too-familiar hug.
“I must return to the throne now. I will delay the Court, so take as much time as you need,” said Luna, walking off. She stopped a few paces away from her sister. “Celestia, you must understand that there was nothing you could have done. Stop blaming yourself for tragedies outside of your control. It would break her heart.”
Luna disappeared from the courtyard, leaving Celestia alone with her memories. She knew Luna was right, she scarcely wasn’t, though that did little to ease Celestia’s mind. She let the cold air nip at her for a bit before she sent a surge of magic through her horn. A thin beam of golden light burst from her horn’s tip, carving lines and curves into the snow.
“I love you too, Mother,” she whispered. Once her message was complete, she turned for her castle. The Wrap-up Team would be arriving shortly in order to begin the melting of Canterlot’s snow. Good thing, as far as Celestia was concerned. She had had enough snow for one winter.
Celestia stood out on the North Tower’s balcony, looking down on her kingdom just as her sun did. The snow was being pushed into large piles by Earth pony volunteers. Unicorns were levitating the piles into carts, or melting them entirely. The pegasi fluttered up to the points that the unicorns couldn’t reach with their magic to remove icicles and to dust the snow from the roofs. They had been at it for just under an hour, and the job would take only about half an hour more. Celestia watched them work in silent thought, considering that snow may not be the worst thing in Canterlot. The door opened behind her, and Celestia didn’t need to look to know who it was.
“Good morning, sister,” said Luna. She trotted to Celestia’s side. “I take it you remember your appointment with Twilight?”
“Of course. I don’t see my favorite student enough anymore,” said Celestia with a small smile. “She’s growing up so fast.”
“Yes, quite,” Luna agreed. She smirked sort of deviously, then added, “Soon, she may well surpass you.” Celestia chuckled, shaking her head at Twilight’s shockingly quick development from filly to mare to princess.
“Who is to say that she hasn’t already?” Celestia never stopped looking down at her city, but she could feel Luna inching closer and closer. Without a word, Celestia spread out her wing and wrapped it around her sister.
“I love you, Celestia,” said Luna. “I think you would do well to remember that. For as long as I draw breath, I will be by your side. Do not fear the future, nor the past, for nothing can hurt us for as long as we stand by each other.”
“I love you, too,” said Celestia, smiling.
Unbeknownst to her, Luna had lit up her horn with magic. She reached around the roof, gathering snow into a ball.
“Sister?” said Luna.
“Hm? What is it, Lu-”
The snowball splattered against Celestia’s muzzle. The princesses stared at each other, before jumping back from one another, using their magic to gather as many snowballs as possible.
There was still half an hour before the snow was gone, and they would make the best of it.
Author's Note
This was rather different for me. Whenever I do slice of life or one-shot type things, they normally end up as romances, comedies, or romantic comedies. This is most certainly not. It's a bit more sad at times than I originally anticipated, but I like it enough, and I hope you do as well.
Oh, and this was written for one of the January Prompts in the Monthly Writing Club, where three prompts are dropped every month and you're given the task of writing a story based on that prompt. This one was "Celestia and/or Luna takes a walk through freshly fallen snow."
Hope you enjoyed, remember to tell me what you liked and what you hated, and I hope to see you around in the next story. Until then, farewell.
