Those Forty Years

by Spell Writer

Unity 11 - Comfort

Celestia and Luna idly relax in the castle gardens. While the castle is complete, the gardens still need to be fully populated with flowers and hedges! So, the two sisters take it upon themselves to make the area look nice with some supervision by the local florist and arborist. However, due to their positions as Princesses, the pair quickly realize that the two professionals let them do whatever they like.

Celestia is the first to notice this, approaching the two professional ponies and tilting her head. "I wanted to get your actual opinions. You don't need to feel so restricted just because we wanted to help." She giggles a little. "Luna and I just want something to do together, so we'll stick with our patch, and you two are free to do the rest of the garden as you please."

The two professionals stammer a little, the florist shaking her head. "No, no! Princess, it's alright! We like what you're doing!" She says with a grimace before sighing. "But, say you wanted to make the place more pretty. It would be best if you move the roses from the center to the exterior of the circle patch." She says with a careful smile, giving a suggestion as carefully as possible.

Luna peeks over, hearing what was said. "Got it!" She happily says as she glows her horn. The flowers quickly get transplanted around carefully. The arborist is getting a bit of nerve off of the successful suggestion.

"Also, perhaps a willow would do better there instead of an Oak tree?" He points over the corner. "It would tie the area together and bring a feel of wholeness while also enclosing the area better."

Celestia smiles. "See? We don't bite." She giggles as she glows her horn, helping adjust the trees. "We're just here to help. So please, don't be afraid to ask us to assist as you would any of your employees." She tilts her head with a gentle smile before trotting back to help plant more trees.

Celestia and Luna happily work on their small plot, which Twilight set aside for the two to plant whatever they like. Celestia hums a little as she looks towards the castle. Planting some red posies and sun blossoms idly. "You think Mom is okay?" She tilts her head, asking Luna idly as the pair chat.

Luna giggles. "Mom is okay. I'm personally more worried about Discord." She sighs. "He was angry with us. Not that we had much of a choice in the matter." Luna pats the ground gently, neatly planting some moonflowers, a perfect duality to Celestia's side of the plot. Half the flowers will bloom at night, and half will bloom in the day. Luna mumbles quietly to herself. "We did sorta mess up, though."

---

Twilight sighs as she listens to Discord continue throwing his tantrum. She had long zoned out and begun thinking of other things. There were a few ceremonies she had to go to. A couple of new restaurants that she had to help open with the ribbon cutting. Heck, she even had to go to the brand-new orphanage and hospital she funded. Of course, however, she couldn't leave Discord in this mood. Waiting momentarily, she finally sits upright on her throne, the largest of the three thrones in the throne room. "Let me get this straight then, just to recap. You're angry because we beat your sister? I mean, that's understandable. She was sorta evil and crazy, though."

Discord squinted at Twilight. "You weren't listening, were you?" He says with a little bit of gruff in his voice. Mildly peeved that someone dared to ignore the Lord of Chaos!

Twilight sighs. "Sorry, Discord, but you've made it clear that we aren't friends right now, and I have a lot on my plate. Forgive me if one of your famous tantrums isn't exactly what I need right now." She says bluntly. Twilight leans forward with a flat look on her face. She doesn't want to deal with this stuff, but Discord would eventually be a friend she valued.

Discord grumbles, "I was promised I'd be the one that defeats her. That's why I'm angry." He says with a glare. "What did you even do to her? Did you actually...?"

Twilight blanches. "What?! No! Of course not!" She says with a huff. "I don't do that. Not anymore. Not ever again!" She says with a shudder. "She's still around. Waiting. I may have even convinced her." She says idly, sighing a little bit as an old wound in her heart opens back up. "Just a bit too late, I guess." She mumbles quietly.

Discord gumbles a little. "And you still refuse to tell me where she is?"

Twilight smiles weakly. "Sorry. You don't know the location in the future. So I can't tell you Discord. You understand, right? You did make the rules yourself." She says with a little bit of vindictiveness behind her voice. It's a poison that doesn't go unnoticed by Discord.

Discord glares at Twilight. "So we're playing that card then. Fine. My deal was with your daughters anyway, your Majesty. So, as long as you're in charge, there won't be any consequences. But when you're gone, and your daughters are in charge. I will tear through Equestria to find my sister. Just you wait!" He says with a growl before snapping his fingers and vanishing away in a small explosion of glitter, coating the entire throne room in the sparkly, hard-to-remove substance. Twilight's barrier blocks the glitter from hitting the thrones, at the very least.

"This is gonna take forever to remove." She groans a little as she falls back on her cushioned throne, sighing as she stands up and trots out of the room, stopping next to a guard. "Someone tell the maids that there's a glitter emergency in the throne room. They'll know what it means."

A guard nods and trots out with Twilight as she heads into the lower city. The guard splits away to go to speak with the maids. Twilight hums as she walks past the garden area, smiling as she sees Celestia and Luna working contently in the gardens. She leaves them to their own devices, though, heading down into the city and waving to the various ponies she comes across. Some smile and wave back. Others still don't fully believe in her. But in general, everypony is quite happy. She had decided to rule in the way she knew best, being fair to everypony.

With a jaunt in her step, she heads towards the noble sector of the town. She knocked on the door of one of the larger mansions in the area. The mansion itself could easily be confused for a small castle or keep. Being five stories tall and as long as a hospital, it houses a noble family and then some! "Plaid Skirt! Are you home?"

After a moment, loud crashing noises can be heard behind the door. "ACK! Neat Quilt! I told you not to store your sewing machine here!" Suddenly, more noises of mass destruction are heard behind the door, including but not limited to A kazoo, several pieces of armor crashing to the ground, two cardboard boxes being crushed, a small explosion, and, of course, the sound of somepony stepping on building blocks! Finally, the door opens, revealing a very neatly cleaned-up foyer and a frazzled 34-year-old mare peeking from the doorway. She's a cream-colored mare with a brown mane, her cutie mark being a sewing thread weaving through buttons. "Oh! Your Majesty!" She says with a smile as she steps outside of the house. "My apologies, I thought we were meeting at five-thirty!"

Twilight giggles a little bit. "It is five thirty, Plaid Skirt." She says with a little chuckle. "Don't worry about it, though. I had a feeling you'd be busy today!" She giggles a little. "Your foals are getting ready for buck ball tryouts after all, not to mention the new line of clothes coming out for all three of your stores in the area." She nods gently. "So I came to you this time. Consider it me learning my lesson this time. Finally." She says with a smile.

Plaid Skirt smiles and leans gently. "Hmhm~. It only took you a month of trying to rule completely by yourself." She giggles a little bit. "So, what did you need help with, Queen Twilight?" Plaid Skirt tilts her head gently.

Twilight stretches a little. "Well, Celestia's ACTUAL birthday is coming up in a month or so. We always have a small party for it at the castle. But." She sighs. "Well, I want this one to be exceptional. So I was hoping you could point me in the right direction to a few nobles that are good at organization that could help me plan an entire holiday for the day."

Plaid Skirt nods. "The same for Luna's birthday the month afterward, too?" She says idly with curiosity.

Twilight nods. "Of course! I want everyone to remember the two celebrations forever! Then, of course, there's the gala, but I have that handled. There are just many parties to handle at the end of the year. So I do need help to handle that." Twilight grimaces. "Last year was a total disaster trying to handle it myself." She laughs a little to herself.

"Well, that is what happens when you underestimate the amount of work that goes into running significant events like that. Even Eternal allowed us to help from time to time. Well, you did that, is." She shrugs. "Don't forget, not all of us nobles are here to try and drain Equestria for their benefit. Some of us do wish to help." She smiles softly. "I'll get you that list of nobles that could help during the two timeframes." She says as she heads towards the door. "I suggest you speak with them soon so we can get a head start! After all, a festival isn't a festival if no one could get the day off or something silly!" She says as she digs behind her door, freeing a pile of papers. After a moment, she passes the documents over to Twilight. "These are the nobles you'll want to speak with. I can vouch for each of them. Just beware Golden Bit's son. He's a little. Problematic."

Twilight nods. "Alright. Thanks Plaid Skirt. I appreciate it a lot." She smiles as she takes the papers and reads through them. "This will save me tons of time. I appreciate it. A lot." She then hugs the noble before excusing herself. Twilight waves as she leaves the large mansion's yard with a spring in her step. With all the time saved, she can pursue her interests now, too! How long has it been since she visited the library and just immersed herself in books?

Far too long, honestly.

Twilight takes a deep breath and trots to the library with a smile. As she enters the marble building, she takes a deep breath. Books lined the walls, but many empty spaces remained, revealing how much more the ponies needed to discover to recover all the greatness they had lost. 'It's so empty right now. I can't believe how many more books will line the shelves as the years pass.' Twilight sighs happily and trots up to the librarian. After an exchange of pleasantries, Twilight checks out five books. As Twilight looks up at the sky for a moment, her facial expression changes to a slight grimace.

"Well, we've been putting it off long enough, huh?" She idly says as she trots elsewhere.

At a quiet field, Twilight sits down on a blanket. It's been a year and a half since that faithful day. So much has happened, but everything felt so comfortable. "I know it's cliche, but I guess survivor's guilt is an actual thing." She laughs dryly to herself as she speaks aloud. "I wonder what you would have said to me right now—both of you. I bet you'd BOTH be so tired of me dragging my hooves around, eh? And you'd try to drag me into one of your crazy schemes again." Twilight laughs as she pulls out some flowers, laying them by two graves near her. "I know one of you is still around, at least regardless of whether you'll be a problem in the future or not; it doesn't make this any easier. But I'm doing good. I think. Equestria is happy, my fillies are sticking together, and there hasn't been a war in ages. I guess the honor of being the only soldier to fall in combat goes to you and you only, eh? I don't know if that's an honor, though."

Twilight tiredly smiles as she leans back against a tree, the sapling she planted to mark the area. With a little stretch, she settles down underneath it. "Ya know. You two were the best friends I've ever had in this era. Even the ancestors of my best friends don't measure up. Although I'm sure that was my fault. I need to see ponies and others for who they are. So I don't get tricked." She says as she wipes down one of the stones gently. "And so I can get to know them." She giggles a bit. "Home, you two don't mind me being a nuisance for a while. I haven't had a chance just to read a book in centuries!" She smiles a broad smile as she takes the two stacks of books she has with her. She places them nearby as she levitates the top book, a lovely black book titled "Pon's First Shop."

"Alright! Here we go!" Twilight says as she cracks the book open. "Once upon a time!"

Twilight enjoyed her books for the rest of the day. For once, she didn't need to worry about anything. There wasn't a monster to fight or a hero problem to solve. Not even a single friendship problem! No, today, she could rest, relax and enjoy the day. Twilight felt what it was like to be an average pony for the first time in a millennia. Just like when she was Celestia's student or a filly, she could relax and do what she loved. "I suppose today's lesson is to take some time for yourself. To take a moment and breathe." Twilight says to herself. "I'll do my best when the time for action comes, but for now. I think I deserve a break." She giggles a little. "So I sure hope that nopony comes wandering up with something silly and lets me relax!"

A little rustle from nearby is heard from nearby. But Twilight ignores it.

Twenty books to go~!

Author's Note:

Bookhorse being bookhorse~!

Comments

[Spell Writer]

Whoops. Forgot to press publish. LOL

[TheGJ90]

Looks like she's accepted that she's not going back home until it is time.

That's neither a good ending or a bad ending. It simply is... and the story is not even over yet.

[Spell Writer]

11747843
Twilight learned that living in the moment is okay. Even though it may make some things hurt more, there's just something special in not distancing yourself mentally from others just because of the pain that comes afterward and instead just... enjoying a good book or relaxing with the family. She knows she'll be home eventually and when that time comes, she'll be ready.

Till then, though, she's gonna actually enjoy being herself!

[TheGJ90]

11747925
Oh, I look forward to her having a long talk with present day Celestia and Luna when she gets back home.