//------------------------------// // The Parents and the Princess // Story: Luna's Daughter // by KayeStar //------------------------------// Ivory and Melodía waited at Ponyville Train Station, talking between themselves on a bench. Several weeks passed, yet it still felt like yesterday that Selene had come into their home and left. The other foals in the foster home she'd gotten to know had missed her too. Another foal who came into the home was given the room Selene slept in. They briefly laughed over the idea of Selene's reaction to a new pony sleeping in "her" room. It was pure luck Selene had a room to herself. They allowed their home to be filled until there were two ponies to a bedroom. After that, they would close off receiving more fosters until the foals they had were adopted out. It was never something they liked to do, but it was necessary. An overfilled home brought more problems than needed. They paused their conversation when they noticed a purple alicorn come onto the train platform. She walked right over to them, and they stood and bowed to her out of respect, making the alicorn blush. After so many years, she still wasn't quite used to that. "Melodía? Ivory?" They nodded. "Good morning, Princess Twilight," Melodía said. "Good morning to you. Did you buy train tickets?" "No, we didn't yet," Ivory replied. "We were waiting for you." "Good, because Princess Luna wanted me to give you these." Twilight pulled two tickets from her saddlebag and passed them to the ponies. Before either could protest, Twilight spoke again. "Think nothing of it. I can't believe I've been in Ponyville all this time and never met the two of you. If you ever need anything for your foster home, don't be shy in sending me a letter, okay?" "We're still very grateful to you and the others! You've been more generous than we could imagine!" Melodía exclaimed. The arrival of the train interrupted their conversation. All three ponies boarded, and found a three-pony seat for themselves. The ride to Canterlot felt fast and slow at the same time. Melodía and Ivory couldn't help thinking about all the events that transpired. To them, what they did was just, well, what they did. It was undoubtedly hard, and heartbreaking, but somepony had to do it. Never did they picture they'd one day have the respect of Equestria's monarchs. Twilight was also eager to finally meet Selene face-to-face. She'd been mentally sulking since she missed the dinner party due to getting the flu. She couldn't resist bringing along a small gift, and after Luna mentioned Selene had a craft table in her room, Twilight settled on a paint set. She only hoped Luna wouldn't kill her for it, a thought that made her snicker. Sooner than they realized, they arrived at Canterlot Station and stepped off the train. "I hate to ask, but would you know a short way to the castle, Princess Twilight?" Melodía asked. "The last time we came with Selene, it was a rather long walk." "I do!" Twilight answered. "Stand still." In a flash, Twilight teleported all three of them from the train platform to the stairs of the palace. "Uh, okay. That works!" Ivory laughed, a bit surprised. "Celestia taught me that one," Twilight explained. At that moment, a very familiar cheerful voice called out. "Melodía! Ivory! You're here!" The group looked up the stairs to see Selene rushing down the stairs with Luna walking behind. Selene leaped right into her former foster parents' hooves, and they hugged her tight. "I missed you! I missed you!" "We missed you too, Selene," Ivory told the filly. Twilight was eager to introduce herself, but she didn't want to interrupt their moment, so she stayed quiet until Selene noticed her. "Melodía, Ivory, who's that?" Selene asked, snuggled into their embrace and now shy at the sight of the unfamiliar purple pony. "Selene, this is Princess Twilight," Melodía replied. "Princess Twilight?!" Twilight smiled. "Yes! I'm Princess Twilight, the princess of friendship. I live in Ponyville." "In the big castle!" Selene remembered. "I've seen it! I never went there, but I've seen it!" "So, what do you have planned for today, little one?" Twilight asked teasingly. "Umm, uhh..." Selene looked up at Luna. "What are we doing, Luna?" "We're having a picnic in the gardens," Luna replied. "Just the four of us. Come along, everypony." Luna led the others behind the castle, where the gardens were, to the spot she'd set up their picnic. The blanket was large enough for all five of them to sit on, and one of the trees shaded them from the sun. Three baskets of food and a few toys were placed around the edges of the blanket. To no one's surprise, Selene made a beeline for it, quickly followed by the adult mares. Grabbing a stuffed animal, she squeezed herself between her former caregivers while the two princesses sat opposite to them so everyone could speak to each other with ease. "So, Selene," Twilight began, "I heard you all had a family dinner some time ago. How was it?" "It was fun!" Selene answered with glee. "I met Princess Cay... umm, Cay..." "Cadance," Luna said for her. "Princess Cadance! And Shiiiii... Shining Armor. Isn't that your big brother? And I met Flurry Heart. Uh, she's kind of nice." Twilight chuckled. "She's a talker, isn't she?" "Yeah. Too much. She's too hyper," Selene agreed, to the inconspicuous smirks of the other ponies who weren't lost on the irony. "I like Shiny best! He taught me jokes! Like this. Knock knock!" Despite their silence, the internal groans could've been heard on the other side of the castle. Twilight only gave a sigh and smile. If a degree existed for bad jokes, her brother would have it. Still, she couldn't help humoring the little filly. "Who's there?" Twilight asked. "Canoe!" "Canoe who?" Selene stifled a giggle. "Canoe not rock the boat?" "Booooooo!" Ivory playfully exclaimed, turning Selene's giggles into a blatant fit of laughter. "Oh, Selene. I hear you have a craft table," Twilight said. "Do you use it?" "Oh, yeah! Luna lets me have lots of paper and glitter and stuff!" Selene replied gleefully. "I get messy and it gets on my hooves and in my hair and I look silly!" "Do you?" Twilight's sly smirk tipped Luna off, and Twilight had to stifle a laugh. "Well, I have something I'm sure will be a great addition to your arts and crafts. Can you guess?" Behind her back, Twilight slowly began to pull the paint set from her bag. "Crayons? More paper? Lots of glitter glue?" "Nope! It's a..." She swirled the paints in the air and around Selene, making a big show of the gift until finally letting it land in the filly's lap. "Paint set!" Selene cried. "I wanted paints! Thank you, Princess Twilight! Luna, it's a paint set! We can paint together!" "Oh, did I mention they're hoofpaints?" Twilight teased, struggling not to burst into laughter over the daggers Luna was shooting her. Selene's eyes lit up. "Hoofpaints are the best! I'm going to make lots of hoofpaint art! Luna, can we play with them later? Pretty please?" A mischievous smile then grew across Luna's face. "I'm afraid I have some business to attend to with Celestia. But I'm sure, absolutely positive, Twilight would be more than happy to stay late to help you with some hoofpaint artwork. Isn't that right, Twilight?" Selene's hopeful gaze was too much for the princess of friendship to resist. With an unwilling smile, she agreed, to cheers from the excitable filly and a small, smug laugh from the princess of the night. Well, Twilight couldn't deny she deserved that one. "You can do it! Keep trying, Selene." Selene flapped her wings as hard as she could, but she couldn't get more than a half inch off the ground. Tired and frustrated, she finally let herself plop on the ground. "I can't do it, Princess Twilight!" Twilight lowered her head to Selene's eye level. "Sure, you can. Keep trying. It took me a while to learn to fly too. Don't give up." Selene only pouted in response. "Are you sure you don't want to try again? How about one more time?" Twilight kindly urged her. "No! I want to do something else!" Realizing Selene was on the verge of a temper tantrum, the other three adults interjected. "Twilight, I do agree. We should stop for now," Luna said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Why don't we eat?" Ivory suggested. "Nopony has touched the food." "Yummy! Are there sticky buns?" Selene asked, her frustration immediately forgotten for the moment. Luna magically lifted a few buns and a plate from one of the baskets and served them to Selene. She hastily started one bun's journey down her esophagus while the others fixed plates for themselves. The three baskets contained enough food for all of them, but at the rate Selene was going, it wouldn't last long. Luna gave Selene some napkins to wipe the stickiness from her hooves. The food wasn't meant to be eaten all at once, but before anypony knew it, the baskets were empty, and a certain filly was complaining of a bellyache. Ivory suggested a nap, but to nopony's surprise, Selene objected. However, she agreed to Ivory's suggestion of "walking it off", so the two of them began circling the garden, leaving Twilight, Luna, and Melodía to chat among one another. "I assume she keeps you on your toes," Melodía chuckled as they watched Selene and Ivory walk around. "Myself, Celestia, Sombra," Luna agreed. "We all have to watch out for her. But we love having her here." "Ivory and I knew you would," Melodía said with a smile. "Celestia told me about her getting hyper at the playground," Twilight laughed. "I would've loved to see that!" "Oh?" Melodía asked. Luna described the incident of Celestia taking Selene to her School for Gifted Unicorns, and how Selene became over-excited at the playground. She also mentioned it wasn't so funny at the time, as Luna had to discipline her for her trouble. "Yes, it's hard when you have to be firm with the children," Melodía agreed. "But necessary." "My niece has told me it's of greater importance for ones like Selene," Luna said. Melodía nodded. "Most of the foster foals we receive had very little structure before coming to us. Selene is really easy in comparison to some other foals we've had. She's hardly different than most foals her age. But Ivory and I have had some foals who were destructive, wild, and sometimes a danger to other foals in our home. For them, we need professional assistance. Selene doesn't need that, but as I'm sure you've figured out, she worries a lot about losing those she loves." "Indeed, she does," Luna thought as she remembered Selene fearing she'd punish her by refusing to allow Melodía and Ivory to visit. Then, Selene asked Celestia if she still loves her. Not to mention the first time they had an outing together, Selene's immediate worry was Luna stopped loving her over something as petty as a book. "She needs to know she's safe," Melodía continued. "Physically and emotionally. You could say she's learning to trust again." Ivory walked back over to the group with a sleeping Selene on her back and carefully set her onto the picnic blanket. "Awww," Twilight uttered. "What a cherub!" Since Selene had taken to a nap, Luna and Twilight brought her inside while Melodía and Ivory were treated to a tour of the castle by Celestia and Sombra. Luna discussed her plans for Selene's education with Twilight, who thought it was a good idea. Were she not busy running her school, she would've asked to be one of Selene's tutors. Luna assured her if she ever found the time, an offer would be on the table. After all, she'd known Twilight for years now and Twilight had become an amazing teacher over the years. Celestia had praised her many times about that, and Luna was always in agreement. Her School of Friendship was proof. "Bet she feels like a princess in this bedroom," Twilight joked as she studied every inch of Selene's bedroom. "Quite the contrary," Luna laughed. "Seems she doesn't want much to do with being a princess. She has never asked about becoming one." "I never thought about becoming a princess either until I did," Twilight remembered. "I thought I'd spend my life as a librarian." "Celestia and I weren't born into royalty. We were elected, but we've been rulers for so long, we struggle to remember what our lives were prior." "I thought you were born as alicorns long before Equestria existed," Twilight said. "We were, but alicorn is not synonymous with being a prince or princess. Rather, it isn't supposed to be, but it seems the rules changed at some point in our lifetime." "So, if I never became an alicorn, I wouldn't have become a princess?" Twilight asked. Luna gave the question some thought before she answered, but she had to admit she was unsure of the truth to that question. "I think you may have to take that up with my sister. She is the one who granted your ascension. To my knowledge, she also granted Cadance her ascension to that of alicorn and princess. She should have the answer." Twilight decided she'd talk to Celestia about it another time. Today wasn't a good day for that type of discussion. Selene began to wake from her nap, so they decided to find the others to let Selene have more time with her former caregivers before they had to leave. Luna carried Selene on her back, but once she was fully awake, she darted off to find Ivory and Melodía herself. Luna and Twilight hurried behind her, not wanting her to get lost in the castle. The group found the others near the infirmary. Nopony had gotten hurt. They were just walking by when Selene happened upon them. "Hi, everypony!" "Hello, Selene," Melodía greeted her. "Did you enjoy your nap?" "Come on! I want to play with you more before you leave!" Celestia chuckled. "Go ahead," she told them. "She doesn't get to see you every day." Selene took Melodía and Ivory back to her bedroom while Luna and Twilight stayed with Celestia and Sombra. They waited until the little filly and her former caregivers were out of sight before they spoke. "I think I'll leave when Ivory and Melodía do," Twilight said. "I should see them back to Ponyville, after all." "I am happy you were able to come, Twilight," Luna told Twilight. "You did have a hoof in saving her. I feel she should know you." Twilight blushed a bit, politely brushing off the praise. It was a princess's duty to protect her subjects, after all. Plus, it'd been a good excuse to see Celestia and Luna again. It always seemed like forever since her last visit to their castle. Meanwhile, in Selene's room, Selene decided to try flying one more time. She wanted to do it this one time just for Melodía and Ivory to see. At least, she wanted to do more than hover for two seconds. But it seemed like all she was good at was tiring herself out from flapping her wings. Finally, she fell onto the floor, obviously dissatisfied and fed up. "I hate my wings!" Selene shouted. "They don't work! I'll never fly!" "Don't say that," Ivory tried to assure her. "You're just not ready yet. You'll fly when you fly." Selene stood up and flapped her wings again. Just one more try. This had to be the one. She flapped them as hard as she could and lifted herself off the floor. She struggled as much as she could to pull herself higher or move forward, but it didn't take her long to realize her struggling was in vain. Finally out of energy again, her belly landed on the hard floor. Before she could have a fit, Ivory swooped her up, and she and Melodía comforted her. "You can't force yourself to fly before you're ready," Melodía said gently. "You'll fly someday. It's just not today." "But I wanted you to see me fly," Selene moaned, teary-eyed. "We'll see you fly someday and we'll cheer for you," Melodía promised as Ivory wiped Selene's tears away. "How about instead of stressing yourself out, we read for a while? Luna said you've been great with that." Selene smiled. "Yeah. She lets me read the bedtime stories. But I like her to do it." Melodía pulled a book from Selene's bookcase, and the three of them sat together. "The Unicorn and the Dragon. How about this one?" "Oh, this one is funny!" Selene exclaimed. "The unicorn meets a little dragon and they fall into a hole and everything is weird." "Let's read it!" Ivory encouraged her. Selene gleefully opened the first page and began reading aloud as the older ponies listened. Her reading did sound better, being more fluid and with less stuttering over words than the last time they heard her read. The day had been fun, but to Selene's dismay, it couldn't last forever. Sooner than she liked, it came time for Melodía and Ivory to head home. Tearful goodbyes and hugs were exchanged, but not without promises to see each other again and talk over the phone. To Twilight's surprise, she also got a hug from Selene, in exchange for a promise to let Selene visit her castle next time, which she happily agreed to. Luna reminded them not to be shy about asking for any help they needed for their home, and they thank the princesses for giving them the privilege to begin with. After all the thank yous, goodbyes, and hugs that were could be exchanged had been, Twilight led Melodía and Ivory away from the castle to head back to the train station. Everypony watched, especially Selene intently, until they were no longer visible. From atop her back, Luna heard Selene make a small whine. "There now. They're only a phone call away." Selene smiled for a moment before everypony returned indoors. Selene climbed down from Luna's back to walk off on her own, but the others followed. Selene returned to her bedroom and went right over to her craft table. She pulled out a piece of construction paper from a stack she had and, to everypony's relief, carefully pulled open the paint set Twilight gifted her. They watched for a while as she painted, genuinely trying not to make a mess, and eventually decided to leave her in peace and let her have some time to herself. Luna snuck an extra glance before quietly closing the bedroom door. "Awww, she loves them so much," Sombra whispered. "I thought she'd feel better about being away from them as time passed," Luna admitted. "Am I being impatient?" "No," Celestia replied. "I think you're worried. She's been here for several weeks now and she's settled herself in, but she still worries about losing them. Keep letting her have contact with them and visit when possible. She'll come around to realize she doesn't have to worry about it anymore." "Her parents are who-knows-where, right?" Sombra asked. "Can't blame her for having separation anxiety with them." "She took well to Twilight, and she clearly likes all of us. She steals Sombra's robe at least once a week," Celestia laughed, getting an eye roll and a smirk from her husband. "It's a good sign she's outgoing like that. She's doing fine for a little pony who's been through what she has." Luna breathed a sigh of relief. "You're right. I must remember she is a bit troubled. Let's leave her be to make her gift for them."