The whole of Canterlot seemed to shake with the ferocity of the roar that erupted from that room. So terrifying that it would have caused to the biggest and baddest dragon to cuddle up beside his mother in fear. Discipline be hung, the guards outside the room dropped their spears and covered their ears, as did everyone else.
Everyone else, that is, save for two ponies willing to risk everything.
Cloudy Quarts and Igneous Rock rammed the door head on, ignoring the splitting headaches as they burst through to the other side. By that time the roaring had subsided to heavy sobs. Still, the room was rather chaotic, as their daughter's roaring had dislodged just about every piece of paper from the walls. It was like walking through a flock of flapping birds.
Reaching the bedside, the two worried parents observed as their daughter shook and quivered in grief, hooves wrapped about the limp form of an aged mare.
"I haven't seen her like this since that storm when she was baring walking," Igneous whispered to his wife, who nodded in agreement.
"Papa?" both parents snapped back to their daughter to see she was looking at them, her face wet with tears and great confusion in her eyes. "M-mama? Why am I-I crying? I didn't e-e-even know h-her. Not really. But... she's dead and I can't help but... feel h-horrible. Help me."
The two earth ponies wasted no time in getting on the bed to comfort their distraught daughter. Cloudy stroked her mane and cooed softly, and Igneous held her tightly like he had when she was naught but a tiny foal.
"There-there, Maud," Cloudy sniffed. "It's going to be okay. Let it all out. We're here for you, baby."
Igneous remained silent. Knowing his wife would do a better job at helping their daughter through these emotions. After all, he was more the defender and designated teddy bear of the family, rather than the nurturer. Which was rather dangerous, considering all his daughters were lethally strong, Maud twenty times as much. But, he bore the great pain of her crushing embrace like a real hero. He could breath later.
"Why did you never tell me I was adopted," Maud asked, doing her best not to break her father's spine.
"Because she politely asked us not to," Cloudy replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Let me tell you. We were both against it, but she was just so insistent. Besides, what would matter? Are you asking us if we love you less just because I didn't have the pleasure of squeezing you out from between my thighs? That's cold, Maud. Very Cold."
Maud shook her head. "I'm not stupid, mama. I know you and papa love me. It's just... it's just too sudden. Today I learned I was adopted, and that my biological mother wanted to see me, and after spending a little more than an hour with her, she's dead. I'm just so confused right now. See? I can't even shut up right now, I'm so overwhelmed."
"Then don't stop talking, Maud," Cloudy instructed her gently. "Lay your burdens on us. We'll help you carry them, like a family should."
Some time later, when Maud had sufficiently calmed down, the rest of the family came in to provide their support, soon followed my their friends and the princesses. As well as the nurse, who needed to inspect the body.
"What was her name?" Maud asked Princesses Celestia, indicating the dead mare.
"Asal Rik'esh," was her gentle reply. "Odd name, I know. Then she told me it meant Morning Without Breath. I promptly took to calling her Joy, as it seemed more appropriate. She liked it. I am deeply sorry for your loss, Maud. Equestria has lost yet another of its finest."
"I still don't understand why I'm so upset," Maud sniffed as she watched the nurse carefully and respectfully tend to the body. "I just met her today."
Celestia smiled and wrapped a wing around her side, pulling her in close. "Oh, my dear Maud. She may not have been there for you physically, but, I assure you, she was always there for you."
Maud blinked.
The white alicorn chuckled. "When you were born, not even two months after she... landed dramatically... she refused to be separated from you for weeks. Even going so far as to bite several of the nurses and doctors that just wanted to check on you. She nursed you, cleaned you, and bed down with you. You were both inseparable. It was quite a surprise when she approached me out of the blue and requested me to find a suitable family to take you in."
Maud looked to her parents, who smiled at her.
"Captain Quartz and Lieutenant Igneous of my royal guard were obvious choices," Celestia continued. "Already in trouble for fraternization during active service, I offered them the alternative of taking care of you, and receiving full honors for duty served, as opposed to the several demerits they had deserved for there extracurricular activities."
Both rock farmers blushed profusely and looked away in embarrassment.
"Since they were already in the process of discussing children," Celestia continued, though with a vague hint that "discussing" was downplaying the scenario quite a bit, "they eagerly took the opportunity to give you the loving family you deserved. I trust they haven't disappointed?"
Maud shook her head. "No. I have the best parents in the universe."
"Ah, you're not so bad yourself," Igneous chuckled happily.
"But, before she gave you away, your mother gave you a special parting gift. I assume you still have it... right? Oh? You don't know what I'm talking about?" Celestia's smile deepened and held out a hoof. "The pebble in your pocket, Maud. Let me see it."
Maud's eyes widened as she complied. "She gave me a rock?"
"Not just any rock. A piece of her homeworld."
"But it's just a piece of granite."
"A piece of granite from her world." Celestia chuckled. "What? Did you think Equestria's the only world that has granite?"
The Vulcan mare twisted her mouth and shook her head. "So, she gave me a rock. What's that prove?"
The alicorn smiled fondly. "This rock held her presence, Maud. Your kind is a very special one. She imbued this rock with herself so that you would always feel her close by. Unfortunately, as she explained it. It could only last as long as she was alive. That is why you were so sad Maud. You may never have known her before today, but you had felt her presence ever since you've been alive. When that vanished, it wounded you."
"Not fatally, I hope," Cloudy piped up.
"Anyway. You may have it back Maud. You should keep it with you. She would have liked that." The Vulcan accepted the stone pack and put it in her pocket. "Thanks to your mother, our civilization has advanced beyond anything we could have possibly imagined. She may never have asked for anything more than for us to keep you safe, but we owe her a debt that we are more than willing to extend to you, Maud. Is there anything you'd like?"
Maud thought a moment. "Actually. There is one thing."