The Garden on the Sun
And She who Tends to it
Celestia flapped her wings, despite how unnecessary it felt, after all, space flight was nothing like flying through the atmosphere. But once you spend several lifetimes flying it becomes an act of habit, and she'd never quite got used to the feeling or method of space traversal. She had an appointment to keep, however, so she'd just have to get through her own discomfort. Granted, she set the appointment herself and no one else was the wiser for it, but she had already put this off for too long.
She caught herself before a sigh escaped her, image was everything, even if there was no one else around to see her.
This would be the first time in a few decades since she last traveled through space. Magical propulsion was easy, you just needed to be able to give yourself enough of a boost; after that it was just a waiting game till you arrived. Assuming you calculated your trajectory correctly before setting off, that is. She wasn't particularly worried though, for one she'd made this trip many times before, and secondly she could always just give herself another boost to re-adjust.
It didn't take long for her destination to make itself obvious. Of course she had seen her sun from the moment she set off, but the specific part of it she was seeking was now coming into view. Orange rocks floating upon the surface of the sun as if placed there by hooves. Of course she knew they had been, in a way, but nopony would actually believe her if she claimed this place was real. Then again, maybe some would, her subjects were after all very quick to take her side in all matters.
Something that had always bothered her sister to a great degree.
As she got closer she started to flap her wings with more fervor in order to smooth her lading. As she approached she noticed something else in the middle of the rocky road: A white coated mare with long black disheveled mane. Celestia frowned, she had not expected them to be here waiting for her.
Touching down on the floating rocks she folded her wings and prepared to greet the mare; but was quickly beaten to the punch.
"It's been a while, Celestia."
There was a small smile on the monochrome mare's face, and it was hard to gauge how genuine it was. But Celestia was never one to turn down a pleasant surprise, a small smile spread on her facade.
"It has. But I'm glad that you seem to be doing well, Sol."
Sol gave a small chuckle in return. "How can I not? I have been quite busy since the last time you stopped by, after all."
The last time? A small frown was threatening to spring up on Celestias face, but she pushed it back. Either way she did not get the opportunity to reply as Sol simply turned around to face the other direction while setting off at a light trot, flashing the solar eclipse cutiemark that adorned her flank in the process. Celestia set off at a decent pace and with her larger gait quickly caught up with the other mare.
"Yes I can see that, I don't recall these floating rocks adorning the surface of the sun the last time I stopped by," Celestia remarked in attempt at pleasantries.
A small grin spread across Sol's muzzle. "The things one can do with earth pony magic is quite astonishing. But then, that is something you should know, given that you have all three kinds."
This time the frown did make it past Celestia's facade, Sol knew her well enough to say just the right thing to cut where it hurt the most. "We both know that's not-"
"Earth pony magic, Celestia."
She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, she wasn't going to win this one, it seemed. And it wasn't exactly an argument she wanted to get into at this point anyway.
"How have things been for you here?"
"For me? Well, outside of some experimentation, which you have already taken note of, not much really goes on here. If anything I should be asking you that question, how have things been down on the Equis?"
Celestia smiled at her companion, this was more what she was hoping for when she came here; a talk amongst friends.
"Things have been going quite well down there, running Equestira has been getting a bit hectic, especially what with everything that has happened these last few years..." She realized quite quickly a critical error in her plan to make small talk over life on Equis; she rarely took part in it herself these days.
Sol grinned and eyed her over. "Yes, I would imagine so, given Luna's return. Speaking of which, did you figure out a new closet to throw the poor mare in?"
Celestia nearly stumbled in her step, but only nearly. "...and how may I ask that you came to know that she had made a return?"
"Oh it's quite simple," Sol flicked her mane as she walked. "A while back both the sun and the moon were up in the sky on the same time, meaning I could for once see the moon from here. And given that the sealing spell etched onto it's surface was gone, it was not too hard to guess as to what had transpired," Sol had quite a smug grin plastered onto her face as she spoke.
"I suppose I should have figured you'd notice" Celestia conceded. "As for my sister, she is doing quite well, it's nice to have her back again. Not to mention it cuts down on the amount of paper work I need to partake in."
Sol raised her eyebrow at this "Oh, I didn't actually think she could be saved," her frown morphing into a light smile. "But that's lovely, must be nice to be up two alicorns again."
"We are four now, actually" Celestia replied with a coy grin.
Sol stopped dead in her tracks from hearing that, turning her head to face Celestia directly. "Four? Where did the other two sprout from?"
Celestia came to a halt a few steps past Sol. "Well, Cadance ascended over a decade ago, she used to be quite the lovely pegasus before. As for the other one, she was my student and is the current wielder of the element of magic," her smile turned a smidge larger as her thoughts traveled to the lavender mare that once occupied a big part of her life.
Having recovered from her momentary shock Sol once again started walking and quickly caught up. "That must be nice for you then? You used to be quite lonely when it was only you. And I already know you don't approve of... other means of immortality."
"Let's not delve on past mistakes, regardless of whom is to blame" Celestia replied curtly. "But yes, the others are quite nice and perhaps you could meet them one day?"
A silence overtook the duo as they walked along. Sol seemingly having lost appetite for the conversation and Celestia herself wasn't quite sure how to follow up on it. Or rather, she knew full well what she wanted out of it, it was the reason she came here after all. The question was as to how to get the conversation going in that direction as well as getting her friend to agree to what she wanted. The two were coming up towards what seemed be a structure of some kind in the distance, it was quite hard to make out what it was due to the nature of the sun and the flickering plasma.
At this point she figured being blunt about it might get her further than trying small talk or planting seeds of longing. "Sol, I was wondering if you'd like to join me in going back home this time?"
The mare in question glance up to her side. "Home? This is home Celestia."
Both dread and disappointment welled up in Celestia, she had avoided dealing with this for too long. While there was strictly speaking no need to remove Sol from the sun's fiery surface, letting her remain here wasn't ideal; especially not to her conscious.
Once the two got closer to the building it's purpose was made quite clear, she had initially thought it to perhaps be a house, but that was not the case, at least not in the traditional sense. Before them was a square building made out of slabs of the same rocky material that was floating beneath their legs. The building had no roof and the sole entrance was large and equally square, facing the road. Inside of it there was clearly grass or weed of some kind growing as well as the occasional flower.
A smile spread across Sol's face. "Here we are, my garden. I must thank you again for getting me those boxes of seeds I asked for last time; they have grown quite lovely."
"I'm surprised you managed to get them to grow here of all places, but perhaps I shouldn't be, you were always quite skilled at the unconventional."
"Oh it wasn't easy, that's for sure." a tiny smile graced Sol's features. "But it gave me something to do with my time, there is quite some joy in watching your hard work blossom," she raised her hoof and rubbed her forehead.
Celestia walked into the walled garden and sat down in the grass. "Do you want me to summon some tea to have while we talk?" This was clearly the locale Sol had chosen for their outing, she often did have a specific spot in mind for their meetings.
They'd always meet at the same spot and from there make it across the surface of the sun. She didn't quite know what the mare had in mind for half of the spots she'd chosen over their many encounters, but they she could guess as to this one's.
"I suppose we can do that, for old times sake?" Sol sat down opposite to Celestia, making room for the tea set, her smile spreading further.
With a nod Celestia called forth the magic in her horn and brought out her pre-prepared tea set out of her extra-dimensional storage space. It was always quite draining to keep one of those running, but in this case it was the best option since she couldn't well teleport the tea set here all the way from Equestria. Nodding to herself she started pouring the tea in the two cups, interrupted only near the end by a light giggle from her companion.
"I'm surprised you haven't noticed it yet, or do you simply not want to dignify it with a comment?" Sol remarked, a sly expression on her muzzle.
"Notice what... exactly?" She replied while finishing filling up the last cup and eyeing Sol up. This was apparently the wrong thing to do since Sol broke down into a giggle fit.
"The flowers!" The mare eventually managed to get out.
Celestia eyed over the flowers growing in the garden. Having been to enough garden parties to sate her for life she often just disregarded flowers as noise and ignored them. "They are quite lovely, though the arrangement could use a little work."
Actually taking the time to eye over the arrangements however... something did indeed seem off them. In fact, weren't they all the same colour? Turning her head to take in the rest of the garden made it obvious that they are all the same kind of flower too, weren't they?
"Wait, are they all..." a chill ran down Celestia's back once it hit her.
A snort escaped Sol's mouth. "Yep!"
"...They are all sunflowers, aren't they?" Celestia tried to stop the undignified groan from escaping her; she did not succeed. Sol on the other hand had no issue with breaking out in full-blown laughter. Celestia opted to sip on her tea till her companion recovered from her fit.
Eventually she calmed down enough to start drinking her tea, taking her cup with more gusto than the polite sips Celestia preferred. This was turning out to be a good outing at least, Celestia had hoped she could convince Sol to come home today, but even if she failed at that, at least the mare was seemingly doing a lot better than the previous few times she had stopped by.
"So, I take it you planted only sunflowers just for the irony. But I had assumed you wanted to do more, you did ask for several crates full of all kinds of seeds I could get my hooves on."
Sol smiled and looked up at her. "Yeah, I did try planting a variety of things as soon as I got them, but then I had this idea after finding the sunflower seeds so I had to go for it." She offered a light giggle while gesture at the crates that were stuffed into one of the corners.
"I still keep them all though, and I plan on growing a bigger variety of them after today, I want to make my home even more beautiful."
Celestia nodded and took another polite sip. Sol had never really been someone she thought would be into gardening, while her stature suggested otherwise, she had once been one of the most brilliant minds in Equestria when it came to magic research. Glancing over she noted that the smile had escaped the lips of her companion and a disgruntled expression now filled it instead, while her eyes glanced away.
"Is something amiss?"
"It's just... never mind." Sol opting to sip her tea instead, a sure sight that she was stalling.
"I'm here for your sake, you know? We might not be as close as we once were, but I had hoped you could still be open with me about your worries?" Celestia offered while putting down her tea cup on the plate resting in the grass.
Sol sighed. "It's just... you said something about the last few years being hectic. So that makes me wonder, did something happen to my... well, brother?"
And suddenly Celestia fully understood the discomfort. Sol's brother was kind of a sore point between the two, given that he was the reason everything between them went south in the first place.
"We..." She stopped herself, not quite sure how to handle this topic. She knew a response was needed of her, Sol deserved as much, yet this topic would hardly lead to happy places. Resigning herself to a conversation that might very well turn into a shouting match she continued.
"We did check in on him, we had to stop by into Tartaros anyway due to... other inmates, both new and old. He was still securely sealed there, which I assume will bring you some comfort at least?"
"You know what would actually bring me comfort in regards to him Celestia."
She could only nod in response. "That's true... and while the schools of magic has progressed much since your time we have still not found a way to undo what he did to himself."
Sol's gaze hardened. "You don't need to dance around the matter, you could speak it plainly: You have still not found a way to kill that darn lich."
Celestia frowned. "While that may very well be true, he's still not going to be threat to anyone while stuck down there. He might not fade from this world like he should, but at least we can take comfort in that he can't hurt anyone else."
Sol only snorted at her. "As if you're any better yourself..." She spoke under her breath.
Celestia sighed, she had known this would be a sour topic, and indeed all it did was bring up old wounds. She wasn't really sure she could salvage this meeting anymore so she might as well just ask the mare the question she came here to ask and then leave. Maybe in a few years she would have changed her mind? Not that she counted on that happening.
"I- I realize that we are not quite as close as we should be, and that today didn't go the best but..." Celestia frowned, more so to herself than to Sol, she shouldn't mince words. "Please Sol, can you just come back with me Equis?" She pleaded.
Sol sat there contemplating things for a while before responding, which honestly made Celestia more hopeful that she was actually considering her offer this time.
"Celestia, how long..." Sol did a vague gesture in the air with one of her hooves. "...has it been since you buried my daughters?"
"I-" This was not the direction she wanted this to go, not in the slightest. "I think it has been a little over three centuries at this point?" Sol curtly nodded in response.
"And so, there is nothing there for me to go back to. Yet lately you insist time and time again for me to do so when you visit."
"Yes but-"
"There is nothing for me back there Celestia, you know that, you made sure of that." Sol snarled. "I was not being coy earlier when I said this is my home now."
Celestia glanced away, not wanting to meet the mare's eyes anymore. "I- I know. I can't really give you back the years you lost because of me, but you can still be down there and have a life! Not just endlessly wandering on the surface of the sun."
"I have my garden now, that will be enough," Sol closed her eyes. "It will have to be enough." Her eyes turned to the grassy ground which she rested upon. "If I go back there all that will happen is that decay will take me, you know this."
"But you might find happiness again too?"
"The answer is no Celestia," Sol's eyes refused to meet hers.
Celestia sighed, opting to go back to her tea again. Today had started so well, she reflected, yet the further it went and the more she pushed the worse things got. This is what had ruined the tea date for Sol, not so much had changed between them after all, it seemed.
The rest of the tea was drunk in silence and the two mares barely glanced at one and another. Celestia focused on taking in the garden instead, not that she had much else to do. It was quite haphazardly put together, along the walls there was flooring in the same style as the walls. Every other ground surface was covered in grass with the occasional sunflower having been planted at seemingly random spots. It was hardly the pinnacle of fancy gardens, but she hazard that it was never intended to serve that purpose; Sol cared as much for garden parties as she herself did.
Her attention returned to the mare in front of her when she hear them mumbling something.
"Pardon, I didn't quite catch that?"
Sol let out a sigh. "What happened to Lull? You never told me."
Celestia had to think back, it was quite some time ago. "I believe your sister passed on a decade and a half after our... disagreement. She seemingly never settled down with anyone and she never had any foals herself."
"I see," Sol replied while fiddling with her empty tea cup. "Was... was she happy?" She looked up at Celestia expectantly.
"As far as any pony could tell, yes. Obviously she was devastated over what happened to you... and him. She also took the time to try and be a big part in your foals life as they grew up."
Sol held a reserved smile. "I'm glad she lived her life to the fullest... and for being there." Celestia nodded.
The conversation sadly didn't last and the two went back to silence, but at least some of the tension had left. Weighing her options Celestia decided to try one last time before she had to depart.
"You still have descendants, you know." Celestia looked straight at Sol, their eyes once again meeting. "A decent few of the ponies that walk in Canterlot today could trace their linage back to you."
"I... guess that makes sense." Sol twiddled with her cup. "Though it's hard to think of my children as mothers, they were so young when I was forced to leave them." She smiled, but it was clear to Celestia that it didn't reach the entire way.
"One of the families even kept up the family name, on account of your sister."
"Oh, you know them then?" Sol glanced at her expectantly.
"Yes, I would think so. If you want I can arrange a family reunion." Celestia offered a smile before hastily adding an obvious out. "You can come back home afterwards, and nothing is really stopping you from leaving here without severing the link."
Silence reigned once again. The two just sat there contemplating what was said, and then.
"You know... I think- I think I would like that."
The last addition the garden would ever see were drops of tears.
Author's Note
Woop! I wrote this as a challenge to myself around new years between 2021 and 2022. I always aspired to being a writer ever since I was a young kid. But a bad case of dyslexia prevented me from getting anything done. I kind of just gave up on that dream back then.
Over the years I've always had ideas for stories in my head, but they were just that: ideas. I had two major fanfic ones I wanted to write, but starting something like that when you don't know if you can handle it or not? Not a great idea.
So this one shot was a challenge to myself: Write something, and have it be a self contained story. And you know what? I did!
I never published this story, before now, however. And the main reason why is because I never edited it. Having succeeded I juggled which of the two main story ideas I wanted to invest time into: The Sunset Time travel story or the a story revolving around an OC I created years ago for a tabletop RPG. If you're familiar with what I've put up on the site then you know I went with the former, though the latter will probably happen some day.
But I still think this deserves to see the light of day, even if it's not the best of stories. So, I hope you enjoyed! And more importantly:
Never think you can't write, give it a try and see where you can go; you'll learn more along the way.
