Arboreal Grieving

With a snap, Celestia regained consciousness. Unable to move, every limb in her body cried in protest as she tried to get up.

Carefully restraining her panic for the moment, she tried to sense if anything was broken. Her wings hurt the most, but were folded and receptive. She still felt her drenched coat, and her hooves were responsive as well. Celestia silently thanked her alicorn durability.

Tracing her memories, Celestia realized she was likely crashed somewhere in the library. Although her eyes refused to open just yet, she felt the wood paneling beneath, meaning she wasn’t hanging in the rafters or branches. However, she was trapped with a weight of some kind. Struggling to move, she could not lift it, finding her muscles too weak for even the most simple of tasks.

With a gasp, the weight was suddenly lifted. Creaking her eyes open to newfound light, Celestia saw a purple-green form moving over her. With some focusing, she realized with some relief that it was Spike, his spines unmistakable.

Mustering up energy, she managed to sound out her surprise. “...Spike?” she asked, “I—is that you?”

Spike lifted yet another weight off of her body, freeing her legs. “Princess, why are you here? And what happened to you?” From what Celestia could see of his expression, he was greatly worried.

She closed her eyes and sighed inwardly. “I-it’s a long story,” she said, awkwardly. “Could you please pull me out of the water?”

With a grunt, Spike lifted her up. Finding herself placed down on a dry table to the side of the room, she hissed as a bruise on her side made itself known. She glanced upwards, taking in her surroundings.

The room was completely destroyed. To her dismay, half of the room was caved in, rainwater pouring in relentlessly. Glancing at the bookshelves, they were in an even worse state—the books themselves were reduced to piles of mulch, with the shelves a scarred, collapsing mess. Her heart panged as she realized even the door had been shattered, something she had helped paint a good number of years ago. The green color was barely even noticeable, now.

Shocked into silence, Celestia didn’t even realize she was tearing up until Spike interjected. “Princess, what happened? You’re crying, the library is destroyed, what’s going on?” His baffled expression moved her to explain.

She started to speak. “I…”

Pausing a moment, she noticed a shadow move in the corner of her eye. Turning her attention to it, Celestia panicked a little, struggling even with what little strength she had. “Spike, hide me, or something! She can’t see me like this!”

“What? Why?” He asked, growing even more concerned. “Who’s coming?”

With a glint of light, the shadow moved into the center of the view. Transforming, the shadow grew upwards, solidifying into a pony like shape. “Princess Luna!” Spike exclaimed. Celestia winced as her sister immediately rushed to her side, pushing Spike aside.

“Celly, what happened to you?” Luna was clearly distressed now, far from the anger Celestia had expected. “I worried for you!”

“I got too caught up in things, and I tried to wrangle a storm to save the library.” Celestia shrunk from her sister in shame, only to be wrapped in a crushing hug.

“Sister, don’t do that ever again. Please.” Celestia, with renewed tears, silently nodded. She pulled Luna in tighter.

Sharing a moment, the two said nothing.

Spike cleared his throat, still standing behind them. “Princess, I still want an explanation…”

Luna retreated from the hug, fixing her sister intensely. “Now that I am assured of your safety, I want one as well. Why does Twilight trouble you so, after so long?” Spike gave a sideways glance of bafflement.

Celestia paused, finding her words. “I—I got too stressed over Twilight. I thought that if I tried hard enough, I could force everything to stay the way it was…” She pulled in her legs, looking skyward to avoid the gazes. “Obviously, it didn’t work. I know that now.” She gave a bitter laugh, devolving into a cough as she overexerted her lungs.

Luna took on her worried look again. “Celly, what caused this? Was it...myse—”

“No, Lulu, never you.” Celestia interrupted, even more deeply ashamed. “I… lost control. It’s my fault, entirely. I should’ve just moved on, instead of clinging…”

“Hang on here,” Spike interjected, “That’s what this was about?” He glanced at the wreckage. “Does that mean you caused this?”

Celestia quickly shook her head, saying, “No! I don’t know how this started. I was talking of my own waywardness in Canterlot… I grew obsessed with Twilight’s legacy, everything she left behind.” Tears formed in her eyes again as she looked at the ruined house behind the two. “It just hurt, I didn’t know how to stop it.”

“Nobody does, at first,” Luna replied quietly. “I’ve lost lovers in my time as well, you know that. You could have come to me.” She lowered her gaze.

“Twilight was, like, my mother,” Spike added, “You can always talk to me about her.” Glancing at the room behind him yet again, he sighed. “Although, it’s probably going to be a little more often than I would’ve expected. No way I can stay here after this.”

Celestia grimaced. “We can discuss that later. It’s yet another reason I wish I could have saved this house.”

“But you saved the rest of Ponyville,” Spike countered, “Twilight’s old library was definitely not something I wanted to burn down. But the rest of the town is saved.”

“I do wish to raise the question, how did you get so damaged by a single storm?” Luna questioned, glancing at the still-pouring rain in the background.

Celestia sighed. “There wasn’t a single cloud in sight, except over the Everfree.”

Luna’s eyebrows raised. “You managed to direct an Everfree storm? That’s an… incredibly impressive feat, Sister.”

“But it wasn’t enough to save the library, or the surrounding houses.” Celestia hung her head.

“Oh, the library isn’t that important, Celestia,” Spike asserted, “We all miss Twilight, but we don’t need a gigantic tree to remind us of her.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Celestia admitted, “I was so focused on the things around Twilight, that I forgot to remember the mare herself—for herself. I can’t believe I let myself get caught up in that.”

“Celestia, we all make grave mistakes like this someday. It’s a part of life. After all, I’m reminded of her at the end of every day.” Luna said, “It’s in the name, after all.”

“Oh, that was terrible, Lulu.” Celestia said, trying and failing to hide her smile.

“Wait—that wasn’t a joke!” Luna protested, “I swear!”

Celestia smirked. “With how bad yours are, Luna, how am I supposed to tell?”

“Oooh, She’s got you there!” Spike said, laughing despite the situation.

“My jokes are not terrible!” Luna scoffed.

Celestia found the energy to bop Luna on the snout. “If your jokes are so good, go tell Spike one right now!”

“I—what—oh, fine!” Luna grumbled, turning to Spike. Clearing her throat, she paused for a moment, glaring at the other two. “Why did the bike fall over?”

Spike facepalmed, while Celestia tried to hold in a giggle. Luna blushed, rethinking her decision. “Don’t criticize before I even finish it!” she stammered indignantly.

“No, no, finish the joke, I insist!” Celestia said through a hoof.

“Because it was too tired.” Luna finished lamely, without a hint of inflection.

For a moment, all of them were silent. Celestia and Spike looked at each other, and then back at Luna. After a moment of held breath, both erupted into laughter.

They continued laughing as Luna stomped outside, grumbling. “If you two are done laughing, I’m going to go help the townsfolk!” As both continued to cackle, she huffed.

“Ugh, you two are the worst!”