//------------------------------// // Spring // Story: On the Road to '63 // by niBBoi //------------------------------// "The flowers smell lovely today." "Thank you, Luna. I've put a lot of effort in my garden these past few years." "I can see that." Celestia smiled at the compliment as she continued tending to her flowers. Luna was right. Their fragrance was wonderful although the season seemed to have had a large part in that. Spring was in the air, and plants and animals were starting to wake up and bloom once more. Celestia didn't really have a single favourite season, but spring was up there. While winter and autumn had breathtaking fantasy-like scenery and summer had the boundless energy of the sun, spring held the beauty of life flourishing after a long sleep like no other. It was art - a miracle of the natural world. How the flora and fauna that inhabited the earth just disappeared under a blanket of snow and then came out a few months later like a phoenix full of life rising from the ashes was incredible and so much so that the ponies of Equestria dedicated an entire ceremony to be a part of such a wondrous process centuries ago. It held many names, but "Winter Wrap-up" was apparently the one everyone eventually agreed upon. As a cool breeze flew by, thoughts began making rounds in Celestia's head, and somehow, like always, she was back. She was back there. She was back in the war. Celestia wasn't a pitiful drunken sod anymore, but the war still scarred her in a way that would likely never be healed. It was the ultimate test of her will, and while Equestria survived and won in the end, was it worth it? She dropped her morals and nearly gave up her entire sense of self just to win against the changelings. She wanted to be strong for Equestria, but in truth, she felt like she was weak to give in like that. Old Princess Celestia couldn't solve the problem with the Elements, and so in less than two years, she broke and shattered and then made herself anew. Like a terrible phoenix rising from the ashes, she emerged as Daybreaker and unleashed her wrath upon the changeling invaders, but at what cost? Celestia tarnished the flower of Harmony, sent people to fight and die, and changed Equestria forever from a peaceful land of friendship to a vigilant nation who had had a taste of war, loss, and bloodshed. However, if there was anything Celestia learned in the past couple of years, it was that she should always look at the bright side. Despite all her faults and all her mistakes, Equestria thrived. The war was won, and they all came back home to continue their lives. It wasn't perfect and it wasn't easy, but in the end, they still had each other, and there was hope for the future. Celestia remembered how every year, she would always go to visit the memorial in the Canterhorn Valley. The place always broke her without fail, and she would invariably end up lying on the flowers there for hours deep in the past. Her heart ached as every flower in the valley there represented a life forever lost to the war. The fields stretched on for miles upon miles as far as the eye can see. Nevertheless, the flowers symbolized more than just death as the valley was initially left as a war-torn wasteland, but throughout all the killing and all the destruction, they bloomed in tiny patches and came to cover the entire valley after the war when the time came to heal and to reconcile with past foes. Equestria emerged from the storm renewed and with hope like a beautiful phoenix rising from the ashes. It was Equestria's spring. It was surreal, really. Celestia closed her eyes, and basked in the sunlight around her, and determined that it was all actually happening. She was back home, and she had Luna and Twilight and Cadance and all their friends to be with. She wasn't alone. It was all real. Every time she breathed, she could feel the air rush down her throat and into her lungs. When she took a shower, she could feel every drop of water trace a path along her body and down onto the tiled floor below. Every meal she had, she could feel her food dancing gracefully in her mouth. Whenever she saw Luna... Celestia turned her head. She had to make sure. Luna was there on the patio. She had sat down on a chair to drink some tea. She was there. Celestia's sister was there having tea. Luna was having tea, and Celestia almost cried. Tears forming in Celestia's eyes, Luna turned to check on her sister. "Is something the matter, dear sister?" "No. Everything's fine." A thousand years of pain and regret and four years of war and misery... After all that, Equestria was experiencing prosperity under her faithful student's rule. A new era had begun. Spring had finally come. Everything was going to be okay.