//------------------------------//
// 26. Steampunk by Knight of Cerebus 
// Story: The Sun and the Stars: A Twilestia Prompt Collab 
// by Fuzzyfurvert 
//------------------------------//


by Knight of Cerebus


***



Clockwork. 

The city of Canterlot ran on steam and clockwork. Ponies marched down even, paved streets in boots made from synthetic leather. A proud bell tower tolled, and the lunch break had begun in earnest. Celestia and Twilight sat on the balcony over top of the city, their perch an even height to the smokestacks of factories and the face of the giant clock that rivaled Canterlot Castle in size.

"Do you ever look back on the days when this was all countryside, Tia?"

Twilight swallowed, looking down over the bustling, smelly, mismatched metropolis in indifference.

"Of course. And I look back from there onto the days when this was a jagged mountain city made to defend earth ponies from King Sombra's armies. And the days when this was a court lit by bonfires and the streets were nothing but blankets of straw. It is one thing to read about those days, Twil--"

"Alright, alright. I didn't need a good-ol'-days speech." Twilight rolled her eyes, pointedly ignoring the outstretched tongue her sass was met with. "I was just thinking back to Ponyville. I still do, sometimes. I miss the thatched rooftops, and the forests all around, and the way the--"

"Hypocrite." Celestia wrapped her wing around Twilight and nuzzled her. "It is hard enough to let go of any one part of an era. But to know that a century has passed you by magnifies the longing for all the things that made it special."

Twilight leaned her head against Celestia. "Five in particular come to mind." She felt the muscles press more tightly against her."

"I know, my sunshine. And maybe one day we shall find a way to set them free.The best way to cope, I have found, is to live in the centre of each one moment, and never let any single one take special place in your heart. But then, you've always learned best through experience."

Twilight's brow furrowed, and at once the ancient memory of student and teacher flashed to the surface. Some things stand the test of time better than others.

"What about me? Before I became, well, one of you. Wasn't I just a flash in the pan to you?"

Celestia shook her head, correcting her student's misconception. She also leaned against Twilight, propping her lover back up again.

"It's not a blur to me, Twilight. My first time giving birth, the day you confessed, Luna's return, they all fall on the same spectrum. The spectrum of life, my dearest Twilight. I do not choose favourites amongst equals." She saw Twilight's sceptical face. "Well, maybe just a few." Celestia led Twilight away from their perch in front of the city's skyline, the pair intermingling amongst the crowds until they became a part of the mass of ponies.

Steam rose from a city wound like a clock. Around the central clocktower, imbedded in place, were five glowing stones and a plaque. "The Elements of Harmony. Sleeping, until Equestria needs us once more."