//------------------------------// // Chapter 20 - Above The Everfree. // Story: This is Home. // by Lucy_Marigold //------------------------------// ~Chapter 20 - Above The Everfree.~ 7:15 AM, June 23nd, 2 S.E. The Enigma Hive. Princess Celestia trotted into the old store room, completely calm as Twilight glanced up from the old little diary in her hooves. She closed it swiftly before quietly greeting the solar mare. “You… didn’t hurt him did you? It was an honest mistake, a misunderstanding.” “I did not harm Shining Armour in any way. He is simply suspended from his duties until he gets a proper mental assessment.” “Are you saying he’s gone crazy?” “Not in the slightest, although his soldiers seem to think so. It’s merely reassurance. He did disobey orders despite the fact he thought he was protecting me.” Celestia draped a wing over her former student, sitting down beside her.  “I see… “ The changeling mumbled, tapping a hoof against her chin.  “Since I’m here, would you like to see something?” Celestia smirked, smiling mischievously. “I mean sure. Why not?” With that, the alicorn shot up, grabbing ahold of Twilight as she pulled her out of the room and into the corridor.  Trotting down the hall, they halted in front of the paintings as Twilight got another look at the painting of her mother. There was a slight green hue that surrounded the painting before Celestia’s golden aura grabbed a hold of the frame. “When I was younger, your mother and I got up to a lot of things. I suppose she reminded me of Luna when we were fillies. The best thing we ever did was-” Smiling, she tilted the frame, a clicking sound echoing forth. “-make our tunnels.” 7:28 AM, June 23nd, 2 S.E. The Everfree Forest. “Happy Birthday, by the way.” Celestia sighed, as they stared out at the forest before them. They sat on the old wooden platform that sat above the trees as the morning summer air blew around them. Twilight, now disguised, stared out at the grand view with slight surprise. She turned towards Celestia, startled. “You knew? You knew my birthday wasn’t in January?” “Yes. I knew.” The regent of the sun hummed, nodding her head. “I was there, you know? When you were presented to the other queens. And when that was over, we came up here. Your mother loved this view.” A faint smile graced the pony monarch’s face. “I had centuries of fun with her. She would have been nine-thousand and forty-five this year.” “You miss her don’t you?” “As much as I missed Lulu. I’ve seen plenty of friends die, Twilight. But plenty of their memories have stayed with me.”  Silence overtook them, birds fluttering around the trees. This side of the Everfree Forest was much grander and stretched for miles, vanishing into the hills. Twilight could smell the floral scent of Celestia’s soap, her fur radiating heat like a warm summer’s day. After all the turmoil, there was finally some semblance of peace.  “I knew your real father as well. We had met only once but he was more polite than any of my guards.” Celestia murmured a frown appearing. “He was one of your mother’s guards. He died just after you were born.” “What was his name?” “His name was Vida. Odonata told me once that your father loved to read, unlike his fellow soldiers. I know where you get it from at least.” She ran a hoof through Twilight’s mane, letting loose a chuckle. “How’d he die?” “That is a question I never asked. Your mother never told me how he perished, only that he did.” Another frown. “I have something for you.” Celestia levitated a small box towards Twilight. “It is your birthday after all.” “But-” “Just open it.” Twilight held the box between her hooves, lavender wrapping paper tied up with a silver bow. She unfurled it, stripping the paper away. Using her magic, she opened the cardboard box, dropping it with a slight clutter as she realized what was inside.  She gently levitated the crown upwards, the black metal shining in the sunlight.  “Every queen needs a crown.” Twilight glanced upwards at Celestia, beads of tears forming in her eyes before she grabbed her former mentor in a deep embrace. “Thank you.” Silence gripped them again before Twilight hummed a small tune under her breath. A tune she couldn’t quite recall where she had heard it from. She spared Celestia and glanced before lifting the crown back up with her magic, setting it on her head.  “You look lovely,” Celestia commented, tapping her hooves together. “It feels weird wearing it, taking up my mother’s mantle and all.” “I assure you, Odonata felt the exact same way when her mother passed and she had to become queen. She sent me so many letters about how to manage things because she was afraid to ask the other queens for help.” “Why was she so afraid?” “She was afraid she wouldn’t be as great as her mother or her grandmother. And she was afraid she’d fail as a mother to you at the same time.” Celestia looked away for a moment, the alabaster alicorn shifting her stance. “But she didn’t fail.” Twilight whispered, raising a hoof up towards her new crown. Celestia didn’t respond, merely remaining quiet. “You know there’s something wonderful about this forest. It’s eerily beautiful.” “Indeed.” The alicorn of the sun sighed. ”It’s seen two kingdoms rise and fall. It’s seen creation and destruction. It’s seen death and it’s seen life. Yet it continues to bloom and grow despite that. Some myths have said that we could tame the Everfree, befriend it and its creatures.” “What, like some kind of master of the forest?” “Perhaps,” Celestia said with a knowing smirk. “Or perhaps we are simply meant to co-exist with it.” Twilight stared out at it again, releasing a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding in. “I’ve read in books that changelings have a connection to nature similar to how earth ponies have a connection with the earth. We tend to it, help it grow. But the Everfree…” “Grew beyond and without the help of its inhabitants. Unpredictable and wild.” Celestia removed her wing, tucking it to her side. “And that’s not always a terrible thing.” “Sometimes it can provide you with something unique, right?” “Exactly.”