Celestia XVII

by brokenimage321

Lost Memory: The Day She Died

Two quick knocks came at my door, before someone pushed it open. I heard two sets of hooves walking towards me, but I didn’t care. I lay on my bed, among a pile of Power Ponies comics, the Peytral around my neck, my wings still damp from the funeral, my eyes glassy and unfocused.

Slowly, two ponies crept into view: Twilight, with a boquet of lillies, and Mrs. Velvet, her mother. I saw them, but I didn’t react.

“Go on,” Mrs. Velvet prompted Twilight.

“I-I brought you these,” she said, hefting the boquet slightly. “I don’t know if you like lillies, but Mama said they were…”

She swallowed her words, then glanced nervously at me over the top of her glasses. I didn’t move.

“Thank you, dear,” Mrs. Velvet said. “Now, go put them somewhere, then go wait outside for me, okay? Cece and I need to talk about something.”

Twilight nodded, then turned and walked away. She paused, then stood on tip-hoof and slid the lillies onto the top of my dresser. She shot me another nervous glance, then scurried out of view.

Mrs. Velvet watched her go, then lit her horn and pushed the door closed behind her. Then carefully, she walked to my bedside, brushed a few of the comics away, and sat. After another moment, she reached over and started to rub my back--my lower back, far away from my wings.

After a long moment, she sighed.

“Cece,” she said, “I think I know at least a little of what you’re going through. And, for what it’s worth, I want to say that I’m sorry you have to go through this.”

I said nothing.

“Everyone has to, sometime,” she said. “But the first time is always the hardest.”

More silence.

She chuckled to herself a little, then put her hoof back in her lap.

“I know you probably don’t want to talk about this now,” she said, “but… well, it’s part of life, too. I’ve been talking to the Palace Counsel, and they’ve been reviewing your mother’s will. It’s…” she took a deep breath, then let it out. “Well, she always had a head for these sorts of things. And she always was thorough, despite whatever faults she might have had.” She went quiet for another moment. “She arranged for pretty much everything,” she continued. “All her personal funds have been placed in a trust, which will provide for you and Blueblood until at least age 25. And she’s already worked out all the paperwork: no one’s going to try to challenge your claim to the Peytral.” She chuckled again. “You might not care about that now, but trust me--not having some distant cousin show up twenty years from now, claiming that it should have been hers all along, well…”

She qent quiet again.

“There’s… one other thing,” she said. “She gave instructions for all sorts of ponies: you have people assigned to take care of your finances, your education, practically everything. And I—” she swallowed. “She asked me to be your legal guardian.”

She paused. I think she was waiting to see how I would react. I didn’t wanna.

“That means,” she continued, “that she wants me to be responsible for you. Sign your field trip forms, making sure everyone is doing their jobs, all that. For you and Blueblood. But, uh…” she chuckled a little. “I think I’ve gotten to know you pretty well these past few years. And I don’t think you’d want someone holding your hoof all the time, right? You want to be your own pony--and you never were good with rules. So, I’ll make you a deal: I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do--as long as you don’t make me. Deal?”

I could hear the grin in her voice, but still, I did not move.

She sat in the silence for a while, then sighed. She reached out and put her hoof on my shoulder.

“But, uh… there’s more to guardianship than that. You might not feel like it, but you’re still a young filly--but not for much longer. There’s going to be a lot of changes for you soon, and not all of them political. And I expect you still have a lot of mourning to do.”

I didn’t move.

“So,” she said, “I want you to do something for me. Anytime you need something--anything at all--if you need some help, or advice, or a shoulder to cry on, anything--I want you to come to me, alright?” She patted my shoulder a little. “I don’t know if you want a mom right now--but, if and when you do, I’ll be that mom for you. Or--if not a mom, at least an aunt. Okay?”

I glanced over at her.

“And there’s the other half of that,” she continued. “I expect that you’re not going to feel good for a while. Maybe not ever--or, not the same way, at least. But for the next little bit, I want you and Blue to come stay with us, alright? For as long as you need to, at least.”

I looked up into her face. And I saw her smiling back at me, her eyes already glistening with tears.

“If you want me to leave you alone later, that’s fine,” she said. “But no one should be alone after they’ve had to say goodbye.”

At that, I whimpered a little, deep in the back of my throat. I pushed myself up, just a few inches, then turned and crawled into her lap. She put her arms around me and pulled me close, and I started bawling--weeping like a baby foal, wordless, ugly weeping, in the arms of a mare I could almost pretend was my mother.

Comments

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

It's never a good time when you lose a relative or family member....

[badninja]

Yea this moment got what would have been a great call back near the end of he story. On a side note even though I understand why you are using the term arms in this story I keep thinking they are anthro for some reason.

[Comickook]

Sorry I took a while to get back to the reviews. My computer connection is being stubborn.

Anyway, once again, you did a great job on this truly emotional flashback chapter. The exchanges and characterizations are well done and I particularly liked Velvet's observations AND how well Celly's mom had her affairs in order.

At any rate, on to the next chapter.

[PresentPerfect]

Killing me D:

[Zuabug]

Oh, that threw me back. Not until that one line... “But no one should be alone after they’ve had to say goodbye.” God I miss my grandma... I don't want to be crying like this at work, damnit... *Rubs eyes.*