Sun and Daughter

by brokenimage321

Chapter 7

The train whistle blew, long and loud, in the cold, still air.

“Mom,” Luster said finally, her voice slightly muffled. “Mom, I gotta go.”

Celestia opened her eyes, and realized that some of the other ponies were staring. She was standing there on the train platform, hugging her daughter--and had been so for several minutes now.

Celestia lit her horn, opened her arms, and slowly lowered Luster to the platform. “Sorry,” she muttered.

“It’s okay,” Luster said, turning away to pick up her trunk, heavy with fresh school supplies, what was left of her Hearth’s Warming treats, and another two dozen chocolate chip cookies from Celestia herself, still warm from the oven.

As Celestia watched her daughter double-check that she had her new earmuffs in her pocket, she felt her lower lip begin to tremble. And there was that old fear again--here she was, watching the pony she loved most in the world, loved more than life itself, leaving her again for another six months. And who was to say if she would ever see her daughter again? Oh, she trusted the Equestrian Rail system implicitly--but Celestia would add far too many gray hairs to the jar before she returned…

“I think that’s everything,” Luster muttered to herself. She looked up at her mom and smiled. “Another hug?” she asked. “A quick one, though.”

Celestia bent down, and Luster reared up on her hind legs and wrapped her arms around her neck. Celestia put one arm around her and drew her close—

And suddenly, Luster spoke.

“Just send her a letter already,” she whispered into her mother’s ear.

Celestia froze. Slowly, she pulled away from her daughter’s grasp, just enough to look her in the eye.

“Send who a letter?” she asked, though she already knew the answer.

Luster blew a strand of mane out of her eyes. “The Princess,” she said. “She misses you, you know. She asks me about my mom a lot, though I play dumb, like I promised.”

Celestia nodded numbly.

“So just send her a letter,” Luster insisted. “She misses you, and you miss her. Just get it over with, already.”

That was another benefit of Luster’s social awkwardness, apparently. She had no concept of her own social standing, and thus, had no fear of offending others by getting straight to the point.

The whistle blew again, sharp and urgent, and both Luster and Celestia looked up.

“All aboard!” called the conductor, prompting a new flurry of panic among the ponies gathered on the platform. Luster rolled her eyes, then turned back to Celestia.

“Just write her, okay?” Luster said hurriedly. “Promise me? It’ll make you both feel better… and…” she shrugged. “Life’s too short to wait so long.”

Celestia’s gut turned to ice.

“Well… not for you, anyways,” Luster added, chuckling to herself.

And then, she was gone--nothing more than a flash of red-gold tail disappearing into a train car, followed closely by a trunk heavy with signs of her mothers’ love.

Celestia blinked, then ran after her. But the door slid shut before she could reach it. And, with a mighty blast from the whistle, the train lurched forward.

Celestia scanned the windows frantically, searching for her daughter, but the glare from the winter sun blinded her. Still, she turned and chased after the car, hoping against hope that Luster would somehow see her, see her and leap free from the train and come home again, home where she could care for her, just the two of them, mother and daughter—

The train was picking up speed, faster and faster--and suddenly, Celestia ran out of platform. She stumbled into the snow, nearly fell, and, after a few precarious seconds, resumed her chase. She hadn’t even said Goodbye, not properly--and that might have been her last opportunity to say it at all. She didn’t plan on kicking the bucket before Luster returned for the summer, but who was to say? And her jar was filling faster and faster…

As the train began to climb the hill out of their little valley, Celestia’s desperate gallop slowed to a trot, then a walk, until finally, she stopped moving altogether. She lifted an arm and waved at the train, but it was already too late--even if Luster finally had looked out the window, her mother would have simply been a speck of white-on-white, lost against the snow…

She stood there until the last of the train cars had vanished from view--stood there until, she imagined, the train had climbed the next peak, and the next one after that, and stood no chance of returning until its appointed time. And still she stood there, waving, a lump in her throat and a chill in her bones that had nothing to do with the snow.

Finally, when even she had to admit the effort was futile, Celestia retraced her steps back to the little town of Bobsled. She stopped at Filbert and Hazel’s for lunch, though her sandwich sat before her for nearly an hour before she could admit to herself that she simply wasn’t hungry.

And so, Celestia made her slow, winding way home, returning to the cold and lonely house that, just a few short hours before, had been a home full of light and warmth. She let herself in the front door and took off her parka, which she let drop lifelessly to the floor.

Celestia walked to the living room and shot a spark from her horn at the fireplace, making it blaze into life. She took her seat in the armchair and stared deep into the flames.

Celestia watched the fire burn down to embers, watched until the sun had set and the moon started to rise. Then, without a word, she stood and walked towards her kitchen table. As she moved, she lit her horn, and a small roll of parchment, a fresh quill, and a bottle of ink began to trail after her. She sat at the head of the table, then used her magic to smooth out the parchment in front of her, uncap the bottle of ink, and dip the quill inside. With her glow, she picked up the quill--set it back in the bottle--picked it up again--and set it down again.

She stared at the blank expanse of parchment before her--so small it had seemed, just a few moments ago!--and swallowed.

Finally, after several minutes, she lit her horn again, picked up the quill, and began to write.

Dear Twilight, she began, How are you? I know it’s been a while…

Author's Note:

This story began as a mistake. 

This story was actually inspired by another story--Shrink Laureate’s entry into the Imposing Sovereign II contest, titled “Time Enough.” In that story, Luster Dawn goes back in time to, among other things, have a conversation with Princess Celestia. During said conversation, Celestia starts getting all existential, to which Luster replies that she has something else important to do yet. Something important to her. She can’t say exactly what, given all the timey-wimey stuff going on, but Celestia picks up on the hint anyways. 

Shrink was pretty clearly trying to imply that then-future Twilight would go on to redeem Princess Luna… but, perhaps as a result of me reading the story late at night, my brain went a different direction. I interpreted Luster’s hints to mean that the “something important” was a child--and that child was her.
 
It was a rather epic misread, yes--but still, one that I found really, really compelling. 

And so, this story is something of a fanfiction for a piece of fanfiction, or perhaps a sort of an unofficial sequel--a world in which Luster is, indeed, that “Something Important.” Only, it turns out that there still isn’t “Time Enough” for the two of them. 

Thanks for the inspiration, Shrink. I hope that you appreciate this story--or, at least, get why I was so enthusiastic about my misunderstanding

Comments

[Mystic Sunrise]

So I'm lost on a thing. Celestia's been lying to Twilight for years about Luster and who her family is. Even though Luna and Cadance do know, and for some reason could never remove her head from her flank and tell her the truth.

Did I miss something? All of Celestia's bit didn't make much sense. But that could just be me. Still love the story.

[brokenimage321]

10841057
Celestia isn't lying to Twilight--she's cut her off, zero contact, cold turkey. She's afraid of what getting back in contact with Twilight will mean: after all, she's pushed one of the ponies she loved the most in the world into making the same devil's bargain that she did, with neither of them fully understanding the consequences. She's afraid of the things she'll have to explain and the apologies she'll have to make, and is terrified of what Twilight's reaction will be (though Twilight probably knows more tha Celestia thinks she does--gossip rags, paparazzi, and Cadence and Luna, among others). Does that help?

And, thank you for your kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Carbon]

Good story!
But i kinda want Epilogue with Twilight*s answer...

[Mystic Sunrise]

10841067
Does help. Twilight won't be happy for sure. Even if she has figured a few things out, she's going to be hurt that Celestia cut her off, no matter that Twilight tried to keep it going.

That Celestia didn't trust her enough to tell her herself.

I seriously doubt Twilight would treat Luster any differently knowing she is Celestia's daughter. Maybe.

[Teal]

Wonderful story! I love it!

[Graymane Shadow]

I'm glad I spotted this in the popular column, or I might have missed it. This story was a pleasure to read.

I am tempted to ask if you'll do a follow up...but I can also see the wisdom in letting it rest as is.

[RDT]

I read the Author's Note, and then I was like

... it ENDED?!

Yeah. Huh. I could read a novel's worth of content with these two.

[howard035]

Great story. One thing I'm not clear on: Does Luna know about Luster?

[brokenimage321]

10852894
Thank you very much! Glad to hear you liked it!

Luna was actually present at Luster's birth, though it's unclear how much contact they've had since then. Celestia, for better or worse, cut her off as well.

[Satto Kez]

This was a great read. Loved it.

On the note of you miss interpreting something I'll just say that after reading the synopsis and the first chapter... I someblw got to thinking that Luster is Celestia's and Twilight's kid. Strange really considering I don't usually ship the two. But then my mind wondered and came up with Twilight didn't know, Celestia was afraid and Luster may or may not have known.
And it was about trying to tell Twilight and how she would react.

Then I realized I was imagining all this while reading and needed to reread the chapter again.

Anyway, it's perfect as is. My mind just likes to wonder at times.

[FanOfMostEverything]

I never did comment on this, did I? Brilliant take on a post-retirement Celestia grappling with challenges she never thought she'd have to deal with, to say nothing of one of the most fascinating answers to the question of Luster Dawn I've ever seen. One that neatly sidesteps the possible nepotism issues her having familiar parents can present. Thank you for this. Glad I could help in prereading.

[brokenimage321]

10861018
As always, thanks for your kind words! And thanks for your feedback, too! It really helped!

[Sunny]

I've never been one for the idea that Celestia and Luna acquire mortality when they retire, but it certainly can bring for some interesting treatises, such as this :-) it was an enjoyable read!

[brokenimage321]

10897631
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your comment!

[Bright Roast]

Liked this one a lot. Would have loved to read about the reunification, but I guess the story works better as is.
Can't help it, there's just something about Sunhorse hugging Twilight just a little too long.

[Thyrrnatf]

Really good story

Damn i wish it didn't end on that note really wanna see what happens when she finally writes to hwr🤣

But really good story 🙂