One last gift at Twilight
Celestia hummed along to a song in her head, bobbing side to side in time with an imaginary beat. As she strode through the sands, a chilly breeze ran up the shore over Silver Shoals. A few ponies were packing up their things from the beach, hurrying to get inside and warm up for Hearth’s Warming.
She smiled as she watched the elderly ponies playing with their grandfoals, a few chatting with their matured children about the joys of adult life like taxes and job hunts. They were all content, she could see it clear as the day was long, with what they’ve done with their lives. To see their children succeed, foster their own families and make names for themselves… it was all many of these ponies needed in their twilight years.
“Hello, Princess.”
‘Speaking of which,’ Celestia thought.
Turning around, she found herself looking upon the ruler of Equestria, her mane a shimmering spectacle, as though the evening sky were bending to her head, her tail equally grand. Her coat a magnificent lavender, eyes a piercing magenta, and donned with the finest golds in the world.
Celestia bowed her head, took knee and lowered herself to the ruler.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” she said. “I am honored to be in your presence.”
Princess Twilight approached the alabaster alicorn, following her motions into a bow of her own.
“Princess Celestia, the Sol of Equestria and Heir of Fire and Sunlight.”
They held their bows for a moment, a tense silence hanging across the breeze before a snicker broke Celestia’s posture.
Unable to contain her laughter, Celestia fell over and started to laugh, rolling in the sand as she let out an uproar.
Smirking, Twilight stood up and chuckled to herself.
“Your poker face could use some work, Celestia.”
Her laughter dying down, Celestia righted herself, rolling into a position where she could sit up and meet Twilight at eye level.
“You know, of all the things to come out of handing off my crown, the Sun, and Equestria to you, I still find your abrupt growth spurt to be easily the weirdest thing after all this time.”
Twilight pursed her lips, nodding along.
“Yeah, it’s been pretty wild. I mean, I would have been fine if it was just a gradual thing over the course of the last few years, I wouldn’t mind, but nope! Just, Poof! Boom! Surprise!” Twilight said, stomping on the sand to emphasize her point. “Just wake up looking like a clone of you.”
Celestia furrowed her brow, frowning at the Princess.
“How absolutely dreadful.”
“I know, right?” Twilight said, sitting back. “My legs are too long, my horn’s all spindley and my flank!?” She pointed to her Cutie Mark as she leaned to the side. “I swear, this thing’s got it’s own gravitational pull! I don’t know how you could manage to walk with this thing.”
Celestia glared at Twilight. Twilight smiled back. The two held a long pause before breaking out into another fit of laughter. Twilight reached out and pulled Celestia into a hug, the both of them wrapping their wings around each other. Celestia shed a few tears as she squeezed Twilight.
“I’m so proud of you, Twilight,” Celestia said, her voice quivering.
Twilight snuggled into Celestia’s embrace, nuzzling her cheek into Celestia’s face.
“I had the best mentor a Pony could ever ask for.”
“Oh, stop it, I was terrible.”
“What? No you weren’t!” Twilight said, pulling away.
“Twilight, there’s no need to worry about my feelings, I know I wasn’t that good of a teacher-”
“Of course you were! You taught me so many types of magic, how to gauge the amount I put into a spell, organizing a schedule on a timescale most ponies would-”
Celestia put a hoof to Twilight’s mouth, who promptly turned to spit out a few bits of sand.
“Sorry! Sorry, got caught up in the moment.”
“PBLE! It-it’s fine, Celestia, but… you don’t actually think you were a bad teacher, right? I mean, honestly, this time.”
Celestia looked away, staring out into the sea, her wings ruffling at her side.
“I left you to fend for yourself when my sister returned, let Canterlot fall to Chrysalis at your brother’s wedding, sent you to an unwinnable fight against Sombra and forced you to take all of our powers when Tirek showed up. Every time, you and your friends solved the problem and I… well, I either got in the way, caused the problem, or left you to do all the work yourself… maybe all at once for a couple of those.”
“Celestia-”
“I just want to say that I’m sorry, Twilight. Sorry that I was such an irresponsible teacher for you, and that on top of everything, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when it mattered the most.”
A feather brushed a tear from Celestia’s cheek, Twilight adjusting her wing to comfort her former mentor.
“Celestia… Princess-”
“I’m not a Princess anymore, you can-”
“I will address you as you deserve to be addressed,” Twilight said, her tone absolute. “Princess, I know, more than any other mare in the world, that most of those things were entirely out of control. Yes, you did sort of leave things up in the air when Sombra returned the first time, and I was hurt at the wedding, but none of that matters now.”
Twilight placed a hoof on either side of Celestia’s face, pulling her close. At this distance, the white mare could see tears form in her student’s eyes.
“What matters is how much you cared, and what you did to help me grow,” Twilight said, her voice wavering. “You made sure I was as prepared as I could have been when I went to Ponyville and I don’t regret a thing that’s happened since. The friends I made, the things we’ve done, the precious time we’ve spent together, none of it would have been possible without you or your want to see me change. And I love you for it.”
Twilight pulled Celestia into a hug, openly crying into her coat.
“I’d never have found them, my calling as a Princess, or what my destiny really was if you hadn’t motivated me to go through with it. When I tried to use that, ‘Want it, Need it,’ spell, I wasn’t scared of just being tardy, I was afraid I’d disappoint you. You helped me find my way when I was a filly scared of her own power, when I was lost after Discord broke free, scared of never becoming a meaningful Princess before Tirek, and now, after all this, I want you to know that nothing, and I mean nothing, in my life, would have been possible without you being an amazing mare, with so much involvement in my life, and I love you, Princess.”
Celestia felt that she couldn’t hold back any longer and wept openly as well, tears dripping down her muzzle to Twilight’s fur.
“I love you so much, Twilight,” Celestia said, voice quivering. “Thank you so much for reminding me that everything was worth it. It was all worth it to see you grow up into the perfect mare you are now.”
The two alicorns sat there, holding each other as the sun sailed past the horizon, signalling the end of Hearth’s Warming Eve.
Eventually, they pulled away, wiping their tears and smiling.
“Thank you, Twilight, I needed this,” Celestia said.
“I needed it, too, Celestia. And, I think you’d like this too.”
Her horn alight, Twilight teleported a box before Celestia, wrapped in red paper with a green bow on its top.
“Aw, you know you don’t have to do this, Twilight, just visiting is a gift enough. But, I must ask, you got something for Luna too, right?”
“Spike’s giving her the present now, I’d assume.”
“Oh, I hope he stays long enough to drop by and say hi to me, at least. Haven’t seen him in a good long while.”
“Anyways, I’m sure you’d like it.”
Celestia smiled warmly at the gift as she took it in her hooves, careful to open it up. She carefully pulled out the ribbons, opened the box, and…
“‘Dieting in your Twilight Years; an Elderly Mare’s Guide to Weight Loss’...” Celestia read aloud from the cover of the book.
Twilight started to snort and chuckle before she laughed again, Celestia picking up the book and whapping Twilight over the head.
“Ah! Assault! Assault on the Princess!”
“It doesn’t count if you’re acting like a silly filly!”
Their laughs echoed through the night, the last jingle across the chilled air.
