//------------------------------//
// 255. Daisies by Palaikai 
// Story: The Sun and the Stars: A Twilestia Prompt Collab 
// by Fuzzyfurvert 
//------------------------------//


by Palaikai


***



Princess Celestia didn't like to think of herself as easily spooked, but when Twilight Sparkle wasn't to be found in the library, her tongue hanging out in that adorable way of hers as she buried her face in a dusty old book, something didn't seem quite right with the world any more. She searched the castle grounds, the school – though it was a Sunday and even the janitor had gone home – and finally the town of Canterlot itself.

“Is everything all right, Your Majesty?” asked a concerned citizen.

“Have you seen Twilight Sparkle?” seeing that he didn't recognise the name, Celestia expounded, “A small purple unicorn filly with a star-shaped cutie mark.”

The pony thought for a moment then a light seemed to go on in his mind. “Ah, yes. I saw somepony very much like that heading that way.” He pointed a hoof in the direction of a rolling green field just beyond the train station.

“Thank you, my little pony.”

Celestia approached the hillside containing Twilight Sparkle slowly, not wanting to startle the filly; she seemed lost in concentration, eyes closed, her horn aglow, her tongue sticking out. In front of her, bunches of yellow daisies swirled through the air, caught in Twilight's magenta aura. The expression on her face tightened, and the flowers stopped their wayward dance; the filly brought them together until their stems were almost touching, and with a maddening delicacy, she began to knot them together into a chain.

It was a beautiful demonstration of her growing finesse, and Celestia silently cheered her faithful student.

“Princess,” Twilight said, her voice containing a faint trace of embarrassment. In fact, she seemed so abashed that she forgot to curtsy, something which – despite Celestia's insistence to the contrary – she kept doing. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to see that your powers are truly something to behold.”

“I … it's nothing,” Twilight replied, releasing the daisy chain from her grasp. She stood up, straight and tall, with a poise that belied her age. “Shall we go?” she asked formally.

Something was troubling her student, but Celestia was torn between asking her about it and respecting her privacy; whenever she had problems, Twilight would often come to her first, even if they were comparatively trivial. Now she was silent, almost standoffish.

*

Fifteen Years Later

It had been about a week since Twilight Sparkle had moved to Ponyville permanently, and though she had her sister back thanks to the efforts of the Elements of Harmony, there was still a hole in Princess Celestia's heart that a lavender unicorn once filled. She stalked toward her room, ignoring the guards, even ignoring Luna, and slumped down on the bed. She felt old without the younger mare around.

Sitting on the nightstand was a glass case containing a daisy garland. Princess Celestia had done some research into their significance; it was unlikely the innocent filly Twilight had been when she'd made the chain fully understood their meaning, but she would know now. Just like she knew everything else.

Hesitantly, she brought her magic to bear on the case and examined the lovely sunflowers up close. Not a single petal had withered over the years.