Walking the Moonlit Path

Celestia’s wings beat steadily as she arced and angled through the winds in the skies over the garden, adjusting ever so slightly to descend to a better vantage point. Her horn glowed steadily, keeping herself and the pair of guards accompanied her hidden from view.

Despite her centuries of practice with patience, her every movement carried with it a measure of tension. Not anything anyone save the most keen and observant would notice, but she could feel it.

When she received word that her student… that Sunset had attempted to open the gateway into another realm, to flee from her own…

Fear.

She’d been forced to leave the delegates without an explanation, as time was of the essence. She’d even teleported back to Canterlot, an expenditure of magic she rarely used.

“Up ahead,” the guard on her left called, knocking her temporarily from her thoughts. He pointed to the clearing.

She couldn’t— no, she wouldn’t lose another. Time for reflection would come later, now she needed to see her. But… She glanced at the guards to her sides. “Thank you, I can handle it from here. You’re both dismissed.”

One appeared as if he’d wanted to say something, but thought better of it. After a moment, they broke off, leaving her alone in her descent.

Alone to her thoughts, albeit briefly, she realized she wasn’t sure at all what she’d say. All she knew was that Sunset was hurt, and it was her fault, and she didn’t know how, and that scared her.

Just like with Luna… A pang of pain ripped at her at the thought. Just like with her sister, she’d failed to be there for Sunset.

She had many years to contemplate one loss. The last thing she wanted was more years to contemplate another.

She should have never told the guard to monitor, and only monitor her activities while she was gone. She was lucky Sunset stuck around.

But what could she say? What was she supposed to tell her? Kindness hadn’t worked. Nor had discipline. Sunset was so difficult sometimes. Worth every moment, but so difficult.

The ghostly azure flora greeted her. Not where she’d expected to find Sunset, and not somewhere she’d have looked—her eyes widened. Sunset wasn’t alone.

Wallflower Blush, Celestia mimed her name, genuinely surprised. She stopped, hovering in place.

It seemed they were… just chatting.

Celestia looked around, spotting an area well away, a hill with plenty of bushes. She angled down and made her way, gracefully touching the ground silently.

She watched on.

A curious pair, she thought. They seemed to be… getting along, she wanted to say, but cringed when she saw Sunset frantically waving a hoof about, clearly upset about something.

She was fearful of the escalation, and she almost decided to put an end to it, but decided to hold on. After all, while Sunset was prone to fiery outbursts, they always flickered and faded if the right words were supplied. And although Celestia hadn’t spoken often with the reclusive, self-conscious and quirky gardener, what words she had exchanged with Wallflower had always come after finding common ground.

She looked up, gazing into the moon, a twinkle in her eye. A common ground, such as her sister.

She closed her eyes, letting the breeze wash over her. She liked to believe it was Luna being there to let her know that it’d work out, that she had it from there. It was comforting. She let out a sigh.

Soon, you’ll be home…

She pried her eyes open, they blinked in surprise when she focused back on the duo. It seemed their time was coming to a close… Was Sunset waving at Wallflower? Celestia peered closer, and saw that yes, Sunset was waving. And Wallflower seemed to be in good spirits as well.

It had worked out.

She let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

She thanked the stars, she thanked the moon… her sister.

She smiled, brighter than she’d ever had as she stared back into the orb in the sky.

“Even in your absence, you bring ponies together.”

The current changed, the breeze billowing from the front, as if to answer her, before it stopped altogether, leaving nothing but the stillness of the earth beneath her.

“Thank you.”