Years passed.
And the world was alive.
Queen Fairweather Haven stood beneath the aurora borealis that cut across the night sky, as the wind sang its song to her. Her wings spread, tasting the shape of the air in ways they never had before with a few careful flaps. It was a wonderous thing, how the sky reached into her and filled in gaps that she never knew were missing. A light shining from within, filling her to bursting with a gentle warmth that stole her breath away.
Magic seemed too inadequate a term, to describe how the open air called her home from the furthest reaches of her very soul.
She sank to her haunches, keeping wings ever so slightly spread to enjoy the novelty of wind through her feathers, and she watched her daughters. They flew circles around each other, laughing and playing as they shaped the atmosphere in ways they never could have imagined. No wires, no trickery. Just youth and freedom, as it was always meant to be. The two of them came to touch down by their friends, the unicorn and two earth ponies, though one was now something else entirely. Something new, something of legend. Her horn and wings shone with light, as if that was all they were. The magic had returned, and marvels along with it.
Pipp caught sight of Haven after some excited chatter with her friends, and she reared up to wave a hoof. Haven smiled back, spreading her wings to their full length in a show of triumph and pride. The unicorn caught the action, her eyes darting between Haven and her daughters, before she gave Pipp a gentle nudge. Haven couldn't hear what she was saying for distance and for all the other clamoring around them, but she could guess: "go see your mom."
The two broke away from the small, ragtag group with just a few more words to them. Promises to meet up again that night, perhaps. They trotted towards her, their wings in constant motion to enjoy the new sensation flowing through them.
"I'm so proud of you," Haven said as soon as they were close enough. She nuzzled her daughters with a love that burned fierce through her. That rivaled the rush of magic pulsing through her.
She wrapped the both of them in a hug, one under each wing, just as she did when they were children. Together, they lay on the ground, taking joy in each other's company in one of the rare moments they were allowed.
"Sorry for messing up everything," Zipp said. There was a laugh on her muzzle as she added, "The whole arresting thing, I mean. Not the stealing the crown and fixing magic thing."
Haven hummed, her own smile tugging at her lips and a laugh bubbling in her chest. "Well," she said, "I suppose the magic situation makes up for it."
Pipp gasped, the reality of their situation piercing through her elation. "But what are we going to do? They all know we were lying--"
"One day at a time," Haven said, pulling them both closer to her. "We'll get through this. We do have publicists." She hoped. But it was not a night for speculation and what if's and possibilities, she thought. It was a night for celebration. She nuzzled each of them in turn again. "I know your father would be so proud of you both."
For once, a mention of Thunder did not settle over them like a storm cloud. She wished he had been alive to see this, to see the wonderful mares his daughters had grown into and what they had managed with their new friends. But as magic flowed through her, and the sky danced with a rainbow of lights that pulsed with the heartbeat of the world, she was sure he knew, wherever he may be. And he loved them still.
"I love you, Mom," Pipp whispered.
"Yeah, me too," Zipp said.
"My beautiful girls."
They sat like that for some time. It was a picture perfect moment, if ever there was one, and below all the motherly pride a small part of her lamented that there weren't any cameras around. But that would ruin the moment, she supposed, and everyone was too caught up in the sheer joy of the moment to pay them any mind.
And she supposed she was okay with that, just for now.
Eventually it was Pipp who broke away from her. She wiggled out from beneath her wing, her own wings fluttering as her hooves tapped an excited little dance. "Oh my gosh I have so many ideas for videos!" She squealed, lifting off the ground with a graceful flap and clapped. "Actually flying!"
Zipp followed suit, launching herself into the air after Pipp. "I can show you all kinds of tricks," she said. "If you tilt your wings--"
The roll of Pipp's eyes came with an auditory moan. "Not your stupid aerodynamics."
"It's not stupid! It's--"
"Whatever you say!" Pipp cut in, twisting lazily in the air. "But I would love some tricks. I'll even credit you."
There was a beat where they glared at each other. And then, they laughed. Whatever tension and childish argument that was building between them was swept away on the breeze of dizzying awe. Zipp turned to Haven, her smile broad and her eyes bright.
"You coming, Mom?"
"No," she said. "I'll join you in a bit." A pause, a laugh of her own, though it was rich with disbelief. "Go have fun with your friends."
"We'll hold you to that!" Pipp somersaulted, though not as graceful as she would have liked. Her wings did not carve the wind the way they needed to as she came out of it, creating the flight equivalent of a stumble that was quickly righted. Her brow furrowed for just a moment, before it smoothed away with a shrug. It was new, they would need to learn.
The two took off, and Haven watched them from below. She would join them in time, touching feather to sky and shaping the atmosphere with her own magic. But for now, she was content to be ground bound. Witnessing her daughters take flight and lay claim to their birthright.
In that glorious, shining instant, nothing else mattered.