//------------------------------//
// Sunset 
// Story: A Fluttery Day: RotE Episode 5 
// by Dream Volt 
//------------------------------//

	After my session with Applejack I went home.  Sunset was just beginning.  The sunrise was so fast, but sunset was much slower.  It was so pretty too.  I didn't do it too often, but there were plenty of little white clouds left over after the storm so I grabbed one to watch the sunset.  Celestia was such an amazing artist, but I guess Luna did the night sky in the first place, and that was lovely too.  I then heard some hoofbeats.  Thankfully one of the little clouds was near my house.  I have such trouble moving them.  They seem so slippery.  I don't know how other pegasai move them so easy.

"Oh my."

I blinked.  I spun around and looked down.  I thought the voice sounded like Celestia, but I was still surprised when I saw her in my yard.  Though I suppose from up here it does look a great deal like a clearing in a forest, even if it is a small one.  I fluttered down, landed in front of her and bowed.  When I looked up she was smiling, but she also had tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry.  I don't know what I did princess but…"

"Oh you did nothing wrong.  Nothing at all.  There are simply some memories that evoke great emotion, regardless of time.  It's been so long since I've felt a magical grove like this.  Luna is right, or at least nearly so."

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand."

"That's perfectly alright dear."  Then Celestia blinked.  "Or maybe it isn't.  You are confused both about Luna being right and what memories I mean, correct?"

"Yes, but you don't have to tell me anything.  It's okay, really."

"Well first as to Luna being right, I mean about you being the incarnations of the elements, rather than just wielders.  I'm still not truly sure of such, but you are at the very least far more than normal ponies."

I looked down.  "That scares me.  The others don't seem to care, but it's so much.  All that responsibility.  And the danger.  And the immortality.  It's already bad enough when I'm mortal.  Now all my little friends will die over and over forever."

"Oh my.  That…"  She trailed off  "That is certainly different, but something I should have seen.  Do you know why I am here little pony?"

I shook my head.

"I am here because Rarity came to my student with her worries, and while you think none of your friends care, Twilight most certainly does."

"But she never shows it, and, uh…"  I then stopped.  "Oh, I shouldn’t say that, it sounds so mean."

"Yes, Twilight is for the most part not good at hiding worry, but that doesn't mean she can't.  She also guessed what might be troubling you, as well as what I now believe to be a surprisingly accurate guess what is happening to you."

"You mean with the antlers.  They're, fine, really.  I don’t' like them but I'm sure Rarity's right and with time…"

"No.  That is not true, and I think missing the point.  Come with me.  There is something I wish to show you."

Then she took to the sky.  She was so graceful in the air.  She really was incredible.  I couldn’t help but think how horrible my flying must look next to hers.  It wasn't as bad as it used to be, but still really awful.  She flew off at a nice pace.  I could easily keep up.  Then I noticed we were flying over the Everfree forest.  I was about to say something when her horn glowed.  The mists seemed to suddenly clear around us, and the winds became eerily calm.

"Oh, I guess you can…"

"You can probably manage the same, though I'm not sure of that."

"What but…"

"It is not any great magic, and it is mostly even air magic.  Though I suppose your affinity with that is unusually low."

"So any pegasus could do it?"

"No, but any alicorn could."

She stopped right before I did.  I barely managed to stop my wings from freezing up.  Celestia had a big grin on her face, but it was gone in an instant.

"Oh dear, I guess that is not a little problem for you, is it?"

"I'm sorry."

She sighed.  "I'm the one that nearly shocked you out of the sky and you apologize?"

"I'm sor…"  Then I stopped.  "Uh, I guess I don't need to say that."

"No.  But this is something you already knew didn't you?  You may not understand how little it means, or how close you really are, but you do have some idea."

I nodded.  "But what do you mean how close I am?  I remember Twilight saying how Pinkie looking like an alicorn doesn't mean anything but…"

"You have the antlers, but what you don't understand is having a horn, wings, and the full magic of both is not what makes us astral beings so different from other ponies."

"But I'm almost there?"

"Somewhat.  You went in the other direction to reach the same relative point, but the equivalent for nature, yes."

She then turned around and started flying again.  It was a little slower, but I was so distracted it was harder to move forward.  I tried to keep it all strait in my head, but it was a lot to take in.

"Are you sure about this?"  I then gasped.  "Oh, I'm so sorry.  I'm sure you're sure.  I meant no disrespect.  Please don't put me in jail the place you banished me too."

Celestia laughed.  "Oh Twilight, you silly mare.  She reads the full penal code but then forgets what the harshest punishments are even for."

"Oh, so you can't even banish me if you wanted to?"

"Under the law.  My sister has been fond of banishing ponies to the moon for brief periods of time since she's returned.  I think banishment to the sun is very harsh, even for a moment, so I don't do such a thing."

"Oh.  Uh…"

"Come on my little pony.  By air this journey is not nearly as long."

Then we came up over it.  The old castle didn't look half as scary in the light.  I followed her down to the back of the castle.  The bridge led right across the chasm to the front of the castle, but there seemed to be a little forest behind the castle on this side of the chasm as well.  It looked odd somehow.  The trees were much lighter than the surrounding woods.  As we landed it was clear this was not jus the leaves, but the bark and grass too.  Everything looked strangely overgrown, but so much more healthy.

"Is this really part of the Everfree?"

"This is the true heart of the Everfree, but in some ways no, it is not.  Come now."

I followed her, noticing how there were ruins all around us, but also so overgrown it was hard to tell.  In many cases the trees grew right though the stonework.  I felt sort of strange as I kept following Celestia.  Then I saw it.  The ground sloped downward, and at the lowest point there was a huge tree.  In fact I now realized what I thought was a small forest from the air was almost entirely this single tree.  In fact all the other trees around me might be connected to it through their roots.  The roots were not as obvious, but they were everywhere.

"What is this place?"

"As I said, the heart of the Everfree.  This area used to be the Everwood, a lightly wooded area that surrounded our castle.  It was a very pleasant place."

"What happened?"

"Two events.  The second was nightmare moon.  She corrupted the forest in an attempt to torment and threaten me.  It worked fairly well."

"Oh, Luna did mention that.  Though she didn't put it like that."

"Even that much surprises me a little."

Then she walked down the steps that led to the tree.  She stopped in front of a small stone in front of the tree.  I couldn't help but notice that there were a great deal of statues of alicorns with specific features on top of small grey buildings.  As I looked around I realized something.

"Is this place…"

"A graveyard?  No, merely a monument to those who once walked these halls but for one reason or another left.  With one special exception."

Then she looked at the stone in front of her, and with a brief shimmer of her horn, the vines clinging to it were set aside.  There was a mass of greenery about the base.  I noticed she was crying again.  Then I saw the text on the stone.

"Here lies the horn of Gaia, greatest and last Queen of Equestria." I said

Celestia nodded.  "My mother."  She looked up at the tree.  "Somehow he found a way to do the impossible.  To stop the unkillable.  To render she who controls nature into countless pieces and left control of her domain to no one."

I took a step back.  "A-a-a-are you saying."  I swallowed hard.  "Y-y-you saying, I'm…"

"Her replacement, long overdue?"  Celestia nodded.  "I believe so.  We hope to one day restore her, but it is difficult to say the least."

"B-b-b-but I…"

"Calm yourself.  It is even more than you expected, but it is also not something you need to take up immediately.  Or even at all.  Accepting responsibility you are not truly ready for is dangerous as well.  It can wait."

"But it must be important."

"It has…"  Celestia the paused, wings ruffling a bit.  "…been empty for many years now.  I'm sure a few more will hurt nothing."  She smiled.  "Yes, no matter how long it's been a few more years…"

Then suddenly she fell to the ground sobbing.  I was confused for a second, but then realized how painful this had to be for her.  All this was so scary.  What it meant for me was terrifying.  Somehow Gaia was in pieces, but not dead.  It was confusing and made no sense.  There was also the fact there was something so powerful the mother of the Princesses couldn't defeat it.  All of this scared me so much I couldn't stand it.  But ultimately there was a pony in front of me who needed comfort, even if the idea of trying to comfort her scared me too.  But I stepped forward and sat down next to her, draping one wing over her as she cried, and rubbing the back of her neck with one hoof as she cried.

I muttered a "there there" or some other little nothing phrase every so often.  Her mane had somehow become just plain pink, like in the storybook Twilight showed us.  It was so strange to see her like this.  She just cried and cried, not stopping.