Celestia finished signing the last of the papers on her desk and handed them to the unicorn standing across from her.
“Thank you Kibitz, what’s next?” she asked, he sorted through the papers checking to make sure everything was in order before replying.
“Oh that’s all for today Princess, I assure you I can handle the rest just fine on my own.” Celestia looked at puzzled,
“Are you sure? I thought I was needed as a judge for gardening contest this afternoon?” Kibitz tucked away the papers in an envelope and turned to look at Celestia,
“That won’t be necessary your highness, I’ve seen to it that another pony would be there to fill in for you.” Kibitz began to walk towards the door, Celestia wondered why he seemed so eager to finish her work and stood up.
“Kibitz? Is something the matter? You’ve never taken so much work for yourself like this before.” she asked. Kibitz reached the door and turned to face the princess,
“No Ma’am, I have not.” he replied. Celestia was only more confused by his response and asked why.
“Your highness, I have served you faithfully these last ten years. But within that time never have I seen you in the position you are currently in during said years.” he said. Celestia wondered what he meant,
“You are more than just a princess, now you are also a Mother. And like any good parent, the children under your care need you. So with all do respect Princess, allow me to finish these errands while you go do what you must. Be the mother they need.” Kibitz took a polite bow and left shortly after, Celestia smiled as the door shut behind him. She tried to make time for Twilight and the others, but her duties often got the better of her. But now she would do exactly as she was told and spend time with her new family.
Celestia made her way to the gardens, it was crisp autumn day, clear skies, and the leaves had begun to fall from all the trees. She walked through the gardens before she overheard Cadence and Shining talking, following their voices she found them beneath the trees on the far side of gardens. They sat next to each other, Cadence leaning up against Shining, Spike sat in a pile of gold and brown leaves that was waist high on him playfully throwing them into the air. Cadence occasionally picking a small pile up and dropping them onto his head. Shining took notice of Celestia approaching and greeted her with a smile,
“Oh hi Princess. Is something the matter? I thought you were working.” Celestia smiled,
“Oh no everything’s fine, I managed to get done work early today and thought I’d spend the rest of the day with all of you is all.” she said. Cadence smiled and sat upright looking at Shining then back to her Aunt. Celestia paused and looked around the area.
“I don’t see Twilight...is she with her friends today?” she asked, Shining and Cadence smiled looking at each other,
“Oh no...she’s...around.” he replied. Celestia could tell the two of them were up to something, she slowly walked up to them and asked.
“So where is she then?” Celestia got within a few feet of Cadence and Shining when suddenly a pile of leaves beside Celestia burst into the air, Twilight springing out from beneath them with a playful growl. Celestia stumbled back almost tripping over her own hooves before getting her balance back, Twilight had surprised her good. The three laughed at Celestia for getting scared, Celestia gave a mischievous smile and replied,
“So that’s how it is?” Her horn glow with a gold color and she picked Twilight up holding her in place in front of her.
“No mercy then, Ms. Sparkle!” she added before she spread her wings and began to tickle Twilight relentlessly with her feathers. Twilight laughed and squirmed trying to escape,
“Help, Shiny! Help!” she called out between laughs,
“Sorry Twily...this was your idea. Now you’ve got to deal with the consequences.” he said. Celestia tickled Twilight for another few minutes before finally setting her down.
“So what we should we do today?” Celestia asked,
“Oh, umm...actually Shining and I had plans. If that’s ok?” Cadence asked. Celestia smiled, she knew what the two of them were planning or at the very least a good idea.
“That’s fine, I’ll just spend time with Spike and Twilight then.” she replied, Cadence smiled in excitement and gave Shining a quick nudge before the two walked off.
Celestia walked through the castle halls Spike on her back and Twilight walking alongside her,
“Well then, since its just the three of us. What should we do Twilight?” Celestia asked. Twilight thought for a moment and asked,
“Can we get ice cream?”
“I don’t see why not, do you have any place you want to go?” Celestia replied. Twilight shook her head excitedly,
“Can I get my bag first? I wanna bring a something to read.” Twilight asked. Celestia agreed and the two walked to towards the bedrooms, Spike happily bouncing on Celestia’s back all the way. As they climbed the stairs Cadence passed them saying hi to Twilight and Celestia as she did. Her hair was braided up and she wore a simple dress as she excitedly walked down the stairs. Twilight walked into her room, Celestia paused as she noticed Shining’s door was open. She peeked inside to see him standing in front of his dresser looking into his mirror, he wore a plain collared shirt, his mane brushed back, and was struggling to put on a tie.
“Do you want some help?” Celestia asked, Shining looked up and over at her as she stood in the doorway.
“Yeah...Dad showed me how to do this once, but I can’t remember.” he said. Celestia giggled and walked up to Shining, she set Spike down on his bed and began to fix his tie for him.
“So? Big night planned?” She asked,
“No, just dinner and then the theater...maybe a walk in the park after, you know… star gazing.” he replied.
“I see, I’ll be sure to lower sun on time then just for you two.” Celestia teased. A few seconds passed and she finally fixed Shining’s tie,
“You don’t have to be so nervous.” Celestia said, he looked up at her puzzled.
“It’s just Cadence, she’s liked you since the day you first met. Just remember to be a gentlecolt, and don’t treat her like a Princess, treat her like Cadence.” Celestia reached up and rubbed her hoof on Shining’s mane fixing it to it’s norm.
“And most importantly, just have fun tonight.” Celestia added. Shining stood giving a quiet smile for a moment before he looked up at Celestia,
“I probably haven’t said this enough Princess…but, thank you.” he said, Celestia smiled back, and Shining added.
“I don’t just mean for this just now, I mean...for everything. Taking in me and Twily, for being there for us, I mean it. Really, Thank you.” Shining took a step forward and hugged Celestia with both hooves, she leaned towards him and hugged him back with one leg. The two stood there for a moment before they felt an additional weight on their legs, they both looked down to see Twilight hugging them both. Shining chuckled and took a step back,
“Well, I gotta get going. Cadence is waiting for me downstairs!” he said before rushing out the door. Celestia picked up Spike and put him on her back again.
“Aww...I wish we could go with them.” Twilight groaned, Celestia leaned down to Twilight and said,
“Don’t worry about those two, the three of us are going to have so much more fun tonight!”
Twilight and Celestia sat at the ice cream parlor, Twilight ate her ice cream while Celestia fed Spike.
“We should go for ice cream every day!” Twilight shouted, Celestia giggled at her words.
“You eat ice cream everyday and you’ll get sick Twilight. Its better to enjoy it now and then instead.” she replied. Twilight paused to think for a moment,
“Hmm...I guess that makes sense.” she replied, she went back to her ice cream almost immediately. Eventually they finished their desserts and Twilight looked at Celestia and asked,
“Princess? Can I ask you a question?” Celestia nodded and answered,
“You most certainly may Twilight.” Twilight sat quiet for a moment before asking.
“What was your Mommy and Daddy like?” Celestia paused for a moment then smiled,
“Why do you want to know?” Twilight looked a little embarrassed for asking,
“Well...you know about my Mom and Dad...but its not fair I don’t about yours...” Celestia smiled and picked up Spike rocking him in her hooves,
“Well...my father was a member of the Earth pony militia, but he retired after he met my mother. I remember he spent his retirement as a blacksmith. He would make me help him in the forge as a punishment, stars, it was sooo hot. My mother was a simple farmer, I always thought she was the best at what she did. The day she became village chief of my hometown was such an exciting thing I used to think. I remember how great it was when we’d all get together on clear nights and watch the stars come out one by one.” Twilight listened with an eager smile,
“Did you have any brothers?” she asked, Celestia shook her head.
“What about a sister?” she asked next. Celestia paused, a sad look on her face.
“I had a sister...a long time ago.” she said, Twilight still eager to listen to Celestia asked.
“Is she still around? Can I meet her one day?” Celestia looked at Twilight, bad memories slowly began to surface in her mind. She reached up and wiped her eyes,
“I’m sorry Twilight, I don’t think that’s possible….she...she and I haven’t spoken in a long time...” Twilight could tell she’d upset Celestia and sat back down in her chair, the nearby clock tower began to ring alerting Celestia. She turned to look at the time,
“Oh, that time already?” she said, she stood up from her chair and put Spike on her back,
“Let’s go back to the castle Twilight.” Twilight nodded and hopped down from her chair grabbing her bag as she did, Celestia walked over and picked Twilight up and put her onto her back alongside Spike.
“Now hold on to Spike for me Twilight, I’ve got one last surprise for you tonight.” Celestia said, Twilight smiled excited and did as she was told. Celestia spread her wings and with a single beat leapt into the air and flew into the sky. Twilight cheered with excitement as they flew to the castle, Celestia came to a hover over the city and faced towards the evening sun.
“Now pay attention Twilight, this is where it gets exciting.” she said, Celestia turned towards the sun and closed her eyes her magic glowing from her horn. Twilight and Spike stared in awe as they could see all of Canterlot as the sun slowly set giving way to the night sky.
Celestia gently set Spike in his crib, tucking him into his blankets as he slept peacefully. She walked out to the balcony of her room to find Twilight lying on a pillow a blanket covering her up, Celestia laid down next to her.
“I had a lot of fun today, can we do this again?” she asked. Celestia nodded and replied,
“I certainly hope so, though what do you say we get Shining and Cadence to join in next time?” Twilight smiled and shook her head yes in excitement. Celestia looked up towards the night sky, she and Twilight sat quietly looking at the stars. A shooting star quickly streaked across the sky lighting up the night for a moment,
“Lucky Star!” Twilight called out. Celestia smiled and said
“It is, did you make a wish?” A second passed,
“Uh huh...Did you make a wish Tia?”, Celestia gasped she knew that voice and it wasn’t Twilight. She looked down to see a small blue pony lying beside her smiling back,
“What did you wish for?” she asked. A chill went down Celestia’s spine, her breathing becoming heavier when a more sinister voice whispered to her.
“Well?...What did you wish for Celestia?”
Celestia’s heart froze she sprang to her hooves and looked toward the moon, slowly the moon became emblazoned with a black aura and the night sky slowly turned to a sinister red. The image of the alicorn on the moon slowly became distorted and began to fade.
“No...No, no, no...this is too soon!” Celestia thought,
“The solstice is still years away, I’m not ready for this...” the fear gripped Celestia, she didn’t know what to do, she couldn’t think. She looked to the edge of the balcony and there...she saw a shadowy figure of an Alicorn, her emerald eyes staring back at her. Celestia's breathing was getting heavier, she had to get Twilight, Spike, Shining, and Cadence she thought. She had to run, she couldn’t do this, not now. The figure slowly began to march towards, Celestia couldn’t move the fear had gotten to her. Then she felt a hoof on her side, she snapped out of her panic and looked down to see Twilight lying beside her.
“Are you ok Princess?” Twilight asked, Celestia looked to the edge of the balcony to see no pony was there, she looked to the moon and sky to see everything was normal again. She let out a deep sigh of relief, she turned towards Twilight and said,
“Yes, I’m ok now Twilight...just, bad memories is all...” Twilight stood up and asked,
“Do you want a hug? Cadence says hugs make every pony feel better.” Celestia smiled and leaned down to hug Twilight,
“And she is right, a hug will make any pony feel better.” Twilight hugged Celestia tight as she wrapped her leg around her to hug her. But Celestia knew what she saw, the binding was getting weaker, she couldn’t stop her return now. It was finally time for her to make precautions, she needed to be ready, she needed to protect her family.