Celestia felt the change in the air first. The warm and stagnant summer air permeating Canterlot castle was stripped away by a crisp, cool spring breeze. Ripples ran through the hairs of her lustrous coat, chasing away odors of ink and of fireplace smoke. She took a long, slow breath, filling her lungs completely with the scent of a pure and natural world; a world untouched by war, industry, or petty bureaucracy. The light pouring in through her closed eyelids was almost enough to blind the mare after having spent many hours hunched over her desk, reading through missives and proposals by candlelight. There was always so much that needed to be done after court, and so little time left at the end of each day to relax.
Fortunately, she mused, time was a concept of little importance on the Astral Planes. Leisurely, Celestia allowed her eyes to open, soaking in the verdant surroundings. Monumental leaves draped from high above, dispersing the sunlight and casting a golden-green glow on the valley floor below. The stems of massive plants curved downward and took root in the soft earth, providing partial shade for the violet foxgloves that peppered the hillside. A small path began at her hooves, heading downslope towards a softly splashing stream.
Celestia’s muzzle broke into a weary smile, and after another moment of blissful tranquility she lifted herself from the ground and began her descent towards the riverbed. Her body felt as light and as free as when she was in her early one hundreds, before the many burdens of ruling a nation had taken their toll; before her heart had known sorrow or lonesomeness. The experience was heavenly, though she knew that her physical body would still be a sweaty, aching mess upon her return. She turned her attention back towards the approaching river, putting aside all thoughts of the long day to come. Her body drifted between berry bushes and past a small copse of alder, facing always towards the water.
Moist, dewy grass greeted her hooves as she took her final steps towards the water’s edge. A breathy sigh escaped from her lips, harmonizing with the tranquil babble of the stream below. She had stood here alongside another once. Many times could she recall coming to this place to while away the hours with her first and greatest friend. Oh, how they had run across the bounteous fields and soared through the everlasting skies, chasing after spirits one moment and after each other the next. Laughter and playful cries once filled the air with the joy and innocence of youth. A wistful smile turned tired as a much older mare lowered her head to the water. She drank deep from the cool stream, trying to wash away memories that brought joy and sorrow in equal measure. Though clear and refreshing, the draught did little to ease her aching spirit, and the ageless mare found herself craving a cup of her favorite tea.
Her muzzle rising from the water, Celestia once again caught a whiff of smoke. She wondered how the smell had persisted into the astral planes, and briefly considered bathing in the cold waters, but she quickly determined that the scent was coming not from her fur but from upstream. Squinting, she could see a thin trail of white smoke rising over the brambles. The mare’s brow furrowed slightly. It was quite curious to see smoke in the quiet fields of the Planes. The spirits had no use for fire, and very few beings of the material world were capable of crossing over into this realm. With cautious steps, Celestia abandoned the riverside and followed the brush line until she came across the opening to a narrow path. Though quite tall for her kind, she soon found herself swallowed up by the branches and unable to see more than a few paces ahead. On her left the merry, bubbling sound of water waned and waxed in volume with each turn, and the tickling smell of smoke kept her moving in the right direction. She pressed onward surreptitiously, avoiding any wayward sticks or dry leaves that might give way to her approach.
The sound of a crackling fire became audible as she drew near, and with it came a familiar scent, one that sent a chill along the ancient mare’s spine. She had once been graced by its lingering aroma each morning as she walked the halls of Canterlot Castle. Not that she had appreciated it at the time, of course. She had been far too busy soaking up the adoration of her subjects to have payed attention to the smell of flowers… or to the pony hanging them from the sconces. Since the loss of her sister, however, the soft scent of lavender was almost painfully poignant. A flood of emotion threatened to bury her as impossible thoughts raced through her mind. She couldn’t be here, could she? After years of trying to make contact, years of silence, could her sister have also come to seek solace in their playground of yore? Abandoning all pretense of stealth, the white mare galloped through the maze of bushes, bursting with need for one pony and one pony alone.
“Luna! Luna, is that you? Please I’m sorry, I–”
The alicorn halted at the edge of a small clearing by the river bed. Standing close to the water was a tall creature, clad not in navy but in a simple green robe. Its stout body was supported on two legs ending in sandal-clad feet, not unlike an Equestrian minotaur. A long and voluminous gray beard fell from the creatures wizened face. Though Celestia had never seen such a being before, she could not mistake the genuine concern radiating from its expression.
“I am sorry,” It spoke, “but I do not think that I am the one whom you are looking for.”
Celestia stood frozen at the end of the path, wide eyes fixed on the strange creature. Then, with a resounding sigh, she let her eyes shut as her long neck dipped towards the earth.
“I… apologize. I should not have approached your camp in such an unseemly manner. Please pay me no heed, I did not mean to disturb you.”
A calm smile spread across the creature’s flat face. “There is no need to apologize. I would never claim to be disturbed by a majestic creature such as yourself.”
The strange being stepped away from the sandy river bed and sat down on one side of a small fire pit. A simple porcelain teapot with a red spiral adorning its side sat above the flames on a metal pedestal.
“Would you care for some tea?” He asked, or, at least, Celestia assumed that it was a he. “It would seem that I have brewed more than I can drink on my own, and I would certainly appreciate the company.”
It took a few moments for the great mare to register what the creature had said. While her body still felt heavy from the disappointment of not finding her sister, it would be unbecoming of her to spite the generosity of another. She nodded her head and strode over to the fire to sit, attempting to salvage her regal persona. The growing scent of lavender as she neared the fire was making it difficult to keep her emotional state in check.
“I would be honored.” She spoke quietly as she took her seat, looking down towards her host.
“The honor is entirely my own, miss…”
“Celestia.” She muttered.
“A name befitting one of such radiant beauty.” He replied.
The comment caught Celestia off guard. She was no stranger to flattery as the Princess of the Day; the word radiant was thrown around by her subjects as if they were constantly blinded in her presence. It had been a very, very long time, however, since she had been complemented in such a genuine manner. There was a light in the eyes of her host that did not shine within the crowded confines of her court. For what felt like the first time in years, Celestia did not need to fake a smile in response.
“Thank you.” She beamed. “Might I ask your name?”
He turned his wrinkled face up towards Celestia before responding, “I have had many names and titles, a fate I expect that you have shared. Now, however, I am known only as Iroh.”
He turned his attention back to the steaming tea pot, checking the temperature and color of the tea. With a satisfied look, he lifted the pot from the fire and poured a steaming rivulet of golden liquid into two small handle-less cups. He offered the first to Celestia, who gently took ahold of it in the golden aura of her magic. Iroh’s eyes widened briefly, but he made no comment on the matter and soon had retrieved his own cup from the ground. Celestia brought the cup up to her muzzle. The aroma was overwhelming, but she felt compelled to drink it, to face the scent she associated with her lost kin.
Lavender: Luna’s chosen flower, hung nightly to bring peaceful sleep to the realm. After being forced to banish her sister, it now brought her only nightmares. Though the flavor drew painful memories to the surface of her mind, it was not so unbearable this time. She allowed them to rise like the tides, filling her with sorrow and regret, and then let them flow like water down a stream. Closing her eyes to hold back the tears, a sigh escaped her lips for a third time that day, not of sorrow but of catharsis. After a few moments spent reigning in her emotions, the alicorn opened her eyes to the smiling face of her host.
“I often find that a hot cup of tea is something that can be appreciated no matter where a person is from.” Iroh said, taking a quiet sip from his cup. “Though, in my experience, a pot shared between friends often tastes the best.”
Celestia smiled at this, recalling having made similar observations while sharing tea with her various pupils. So often her personal students needed academic instruction less than they needed help understanding and empathizing with other ponies. Looking back on how she had treated her sister, maybe the same could be said of her.
Iroh took another long draught before continuing. “Many years ago, I would often share tea with my nephew. He never really understood the finer aspects of the drink, but the two of us enjoyed the time it allowed us to spend together.”
Celestia’s thoughts drifted back to Luna. “I used to share tea with my sister during sunrise and sunset. She enjoyed dark, smoky teas, while I always preferred a smooth jasmine. We often argued over what to have.” Her eyes took on a distant look as the memories came flooding back. “We argued over a lot of things. Foolish things.”
Iroh frowned at this. “I cannot fault your sense of taste, but sometimes it is better to listen to what somebody else wants, even if it means you end up sipping a bitter tea every now and again.”
“Yes, well… it seems that I learned that lesson too late. I thought that everything had to be my way for so long, that the world itself revolved around me and my radiance. I didn’t think enough, didn’t care enough about how Luna might feel, what she might be going through, and…” A small sob broke through. Celestia set all of her focus towards keeping the dam from bursting as the cold reality settled in once more. “My sister is gone, and I do not know if I will ever see her again.”
She set her cup down, turning away from the fire to stare at the sparkling stream. The pair sat in silence for a time, letting the flow of water and crackle of flame fill the void.
Iroh broke the silence after several minutes. “I was a general once.” He stated, a little of his prior enthusiasm gone. “I led thousands of men in great feats of conquest all around the world.”
“Conquest?” Celestia asked, looking at Iroh in surprise. Thin tear lines had soaked into her fur. “You don’t seem the type to seek riches or glory, or to wish harm upon others.”
“A lot can change about a person over the course of a life.” Iroh sat his half empty cup back on the ground, looking thoughtful. “In my youth I wanted nothing more than to be the greatest leader that my nation had ever known. I was the eldest son, the first in line for succession. I was a masterful warrior and a military strategist of great renown. I had a beautiful wife and a strong and dutiful son, to whom I would have been proud to pass the title of Fire Lord to one day.”
The old man let his head fall, obscuring his face from the alicorn’s gaze. “I thought my life was perfect, but by only looking after my own needs I neglected those of the one closest to me. In what I thought would be my finest hour, I sent my son into battle to claim victory. Only when he did not return did I understand the weight of my failure.”
Celestia’s regal mask broke entirely, tears running freely down her muzzle. For a time, the two friends sat looking at the ground, allowing their tea to go cold.
“Were you ever able to forgive yourself; knowing that if you had been more thoughtful, more considerate of what was best for them and not just for yourself, it might have all been avoided?” Celestia asked, not knowing which of them she was really asking.
Iroh grabbed a nearby stick and poked it into the small fire, trying to coax more heat out of the dying flames. Eventually he spoke up once more, his voice heavy with emotion. “The pain of losing my son, my Lu Ten, is something that never truly went away. My wife passed not long after, and I felt so alone. My grief consumed me, and I spent many years in solitude, wandering the world and wondering what had happened to my life.”
Iroh reached down and took hold of the teapot, offering first to refill Celestia’s cup. She obliged him, holding it steady in her ethereal grip. He topped off his own tea before returning the much lighter pot to the low fire. Taking a bracing sip, he looked at Celestia with renewed vigor in his eyes.
“What I came to understand was that, though my old life had fallen apart, there were still people who needed me. I also realized that if I wanted to recover from my loss, I needed other people as well.”
“Your nephew…” Celestia offered.
The old man’s smile returned. “Yes, my nephew Zuko. We had always gotten along well when he was young, and not long after my return he was sent away from his homeland in shame by my brother, who had assumed the throne in my absence. I may have felt like a failure as a father, but I knew that there was another young man who needed my guidance. I chose to leave with him to help him find his purpose in life, and in doing so I found my own once more. We traveled together for many years, and eventually we would both return to rule our nation. More importantly though, I found my true calling in guiding the journeys of others.”
Celestia looked down at her refreshed cup, watching as the leaves spun in the steaming liquid. “It has been years since I was forced to send my sister away. Nearly a decade in fact. I’ve ruled my nation for centuries, and I have lived for millennia beyond, yet this brief expanse of time has felt longer than all of the rest combined.”
She took a long draught of the lavender scented liquid, feeling a powerful loneliness sweep through her body. Yet looking at the old soul sitting across the fire, the feeling dispelled. This creature, this man as he called himself, had lost so much, and yet in spite of this hardship a sense of peace radiated from his being.
“Your story gives me hope that one day I might not be so burdened by this grief. I want to be a good ruler for my little ponies, but I know that they can see how my confidence has wavered. I hardly speak up at my own court anymore, and I haven’t made a public appearance in months.” Celestia confessed, looking sheepish from across the smoldering coals.
Iroh responded in earnest, “That is not good; a people need a strong ruler to look up to, both to guide them in times of crisis and to watch over them in times of peace. I found this to be true under my own reign as well as that of my brother, though we greatly disagreed about what true strength was.”
“Do you think that you were a good ruler?” Celestia asked.
“Oh no, I was terrible. I barely lasted a month.” Iroh chuckled. “Though I am rather proud of the National Tea Appreciation Day that I instated during my brief rule.”
He held his cup up with a bright smile. “My nephew became a fine ruler however. He has always done his best to help the people of his country, and never at the expense of those living elsewhere.”
Celestia slumped a bit. “It sounds like your nephew is truly a great leader.”
“Perhaps,” Iroh began, “but that does not mean that he has always been perfect. It took many years of struggling against adversity, both from forces without and within, before he found his way. Even after that he has always met with a certain amount of difficulty in governing his people, and he has not always made the right decisions. But, when he does stray from the path, he has good people around him to nudge him back into place.”
Iroh took a sip of his lingering tea, finishing the cup, before looking Celestia in the eye. “I suspect that if you take a look around, you will find that there are also good people, or ponies as you might say, who are willing to do the same for you.”
The alicorn monarch paused for a minute, considering what the old man had said. There had been a time when she knew the name and face of every member of her staff, but in recent years she had neglected this habit and hardly noticed the other ponies inhabiting the castle.
Yet she found that she could remember a few of them at least. She thought of her seneschal, who helped her to stay on schedule for her daily appointments, working tirelessly to ensure that she did not slack in her important duties. The castle chef came to mind next. He would always walk by her table a second time each morning to make sure that she had gotten enough to eat for the long day ahead. Finally, she recalled one of her former students stopping by just this past week, regaling her with tales of his latest experiments and showing her just how far he had come under her tutelage. Despite her failings, these ponies still cared about her, still needed her, and she realized that they would always take care of her no matter what happened.
Luna was gone, for a thousand years or maybe more. Celestia would never stop missing her baby sister, her oldest and dearest friend, but there were other friends in the here and now who would look after her, and a nation that was waiting for her to return to their lives.
The white mare finished her tea, allowing one final tear to fall from her eye before setting down her cup by the cooling coals. Standing, she bowed her head low and spread her wings out to her sides.
“Thank you, my friend. For the tea, and for all that you have said. I think it is time that I find my way once more.”
The old man smiled fondly. “I am glad that you chose to keep me company. You were not who I was expecting to find either, but I have long believed that if we focus too much on what we are looking for we can sometimes miss that which is right in front of us.”
The alicorn returned the warm smile with one of her own. Closing her eyes, she savored the sounds of the rippling water and the lingering scent of lavender. Slowly all of her senses faded away as she recoupled with her physical form. A new day was dawning over Equestria, and the ponies of the land needed their princess to raise the sun. Today, she planned to let them know how much she needed them as well.
Celestia often said that she felt the change in the air first when traveling to and from the Astral Planes. This time, however, she felt the change first in her heart, as the summer heat and the crisp smell of ink welcomed her home.