Sunlight landed upon Mael’s eyelids making them flutter open. A sense of grogginess overcame him as he let out a yawn. He tried to rub his eyes but it felt odd, it was unlike all the other times he had done it, but he didn’t know what was different. Slowly he gained awareness of his surroundings. He was in someone’s bedroom with very little memory on how he got there. One minute he was crying, the next he awoken in this bed.
He had a small headache and he felt a little light headed, but that was because he was crying his eyes out the previous night. Getting out of the bed, Mael tried to stand on his legs only to fall down on all fours making a clop when he landed on the ground. His body was no longer his own, but an amalgamation between the goddess race and whatever these creatures were that inhabited this new world.
“Brother,” Mael said as he began to cry before he shook the tears from his eyes, “I will be strong.”
The door behind him creaked open, making him jump slightly as he turned around. “Good to see that you’re already awake Mael.” Celestia said as she walked into the room to see Mael in a small state of shock, “I apologize if I startled you, I only came to ask if you would like to join me for breakfast.”
A small rumbling sound came over from Mael, his face became a light shade of red. Celestia only gave him a reassuring smile, as to not embarrass him.
“That sounds nice.” Mael said as he tried to take a step forward only to fumble to the ground.
Celestia trotted over to Mael with an expression of concern on her face. “Are you okay, Mael?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” Mael said as he tried to lift himself off the floor and back onto his feet hooves. This time walking much more successfully than the previous attempt, even though it wasn’t ‘elegant’.
“Are you sure you’re not hurt?” Celestia's gaze was still heavily concerned.
“I think so,” Mael said as he continued to walk, slowly becoming a more fluent motion.
“If you say so,” Celestia said as she put on a different expression to mask her worry. As they went to the dining hall Celestia had kept glancing at Mael to make sure he felt alright. For a colt about the age of four, he seemed healthy on a physical level, but there was something off about him, even if she disregarded his extra set of wings.
He stayed close beside Celestia, as to not stray away. Whenever a guard would take a look at him, their cold expression made the small colt shiver in fear making him draw nearer to Celestia as if he was seeking some kind of shelter from the cold gaze of the guards. As two ponies arrived at the dining hall, there was a large wooden table sat there with a pair of chairs pulled up. Wood was polished and had a very refined look.
The sweet scent of pancakes wafted through the air, Mael had his rose turned up trying to smell the divine aroma, on the table there sat two sets of freshly made pancakes. “Pancakes,” Mael said as he swallowed to keep himself from drooling over the smell. Celestia let out a small giggle seeing how innocent the small colt was.
Taking seats at the table, Mael sat across from Celestia with a large amount of pancakes in front of him. Not caring that the proper utensils were given, he began eating the pancakes with a surprising ferocity, only to stop moments later as he seemed to have something on his mind.
“Brother,” Mael whispered barely audible to Celestia
“Is something wrong with the pancakes Mael?” Celestia asked, “if somethings wrong I can have them change it.”
“No they're really good, it’s just,” Mael said with some sadness in his voice, “It exactly the way big brother used to make them,”
“I see,” Celestia said, matching his tone, Celestia knew her next question had a possibility that it would bring Mael to tears, but it was a risk worth taking. “Would you like to talk about him?”
Instantly she noticed a change in his eyes, they almost seemed to sparkle. “You don’t know about Ludociel?” This was the first time Celestia had heard him call his brother by his name.
“I’m afraid not,” Celestia said, as she had an internal sigh of relief, “Care to tell me?”
“He’s super cool,” Mael said with an overjoyed expression, “Everyone in the goddess race adores him. He leads a large group called ‘Stigma,’ he said it was kinda like a friendship group about protecting others from demons. Every day he goes to battle leading Stigma into battle against the demons to protect others who can’t yet protect themselves.”
“A general perhaps?” Celestia asked, tentatively listening to the small foal who was completely fanboying over his elder brother.
“No something far better,” Mael said, as he began stuffing his face with pancakes again “He’s an archangel.”
“An archangel?” Celestia asked, “Do tell more.”
“He was hand picked by the Supreme Deity, to be one of her best soldiers. He’s also saved my life from the demons.” Mael said as his expression changed to somber one, “But he is rarely home, so we rarely talk with each other. But,” Mael chirped up, “when he was home, he’d always be happy to see me, always hugging me with open arms. He’s also a really good cook, He’s always so nice to me. I want to be just like him when I grow up.”
“Sounds like he was a great older brother.” Celestia said, wishing she could be better for her own sister. “Even while leading others, he will still protect his own brother no matter the cost, no wonder he is so respected.”
The two individuals continued to eat their breakfast, with Mael not caring that he was making a mess with his quick eating. Celestia smiled and listened as Mael talked about his brother. As he finished his pancakes, Celestia had realized how much of a mess the small colt had made. The sticky syrup from the pancakes was in his fur with bits of fruit, which topped the pancakes, had somehow gotten into his mane. Celestia let out a small sigh as shook her head with a smile, it’s been so long since she had seen a small filly or colt just act normal around her that she’d forgotten how innocent they were.
“You're a mess dear child.” Celestia whispered to herself as she kept a humored smile on her face, “It seems you are finished with breakfast, are you not?”
“Uh-huh” Mael said with a nod of his head, “I’m done.”
Celestia stood up from her spot at the table, “Then I ask you to come with me.”
“Where are we going?” Mael asked as he followed close behind.
“We can’t have you walking across the castle completely filthy like that,” Celestia said, as she led them to their destination, “So let's get you cleaned up, little Mael”
“Okay.” Mael chirped
Mael was led to the royal washroom by Celestia to be cleaned up, to be fairly honest, he had no Idea to clean himself with hooves. With his hands replaced by hooves, he couldn’t pick up any sort of brush or towel, much less a bar of soap. Several of the guards cast glances at , making him want to draw closer to Celestia, but he wanted to be strong and stand his own against the cold gazes of the guards.
The washroom was a large open area with shower heads on the walls. The tile floor was a bit slick with water puddles on it, off to the side of the room was a bathtub. It was larger than most, at first glance, you may have mistaken it for a small pool. Celestia illuminated her horn and water began filling the bathtub.
“Woah!” Mael's eyes widened in amazement as he looked over the edge of the tub, “How did you do that?”
“I have several years of practice in magic,” Celestia said, “Now let’s get you cleaned up.”
Mael struggled to climb over the side of the tub, his short limbs only able to let him look over the bathtub. Effortlessly, Celestia had stepped into the bathtub and lied down in the water and began soaking herself in it. She looked at the young boy who was still struggling to get over the edge.
“Would you like some help?” Celestia asked as she looked down towards Mael.
“Yes please,” Mael said
Once again, Celestia illuminated her horn as Mael was encased in a yellow aura and placed into the tub. For most ponies, the water wouldn’t be that deep, but Mael was still very young, so the water was up to his wings only leaving most of his neck and head exposed. The small colt began prancing around splashing water wherever he went.
“Now then, let’s clean you up.” Celestia said as she tried her best to get the little foal still.
A cleaning brush was in Celestia’s magical grasp. The soft bristles brushed against Mael, cleaning the small bits of fruit and pancake out of his mane. Meanwhile a cloth was levitated up to his cheek to clean the pancake syrup off of him. His face scrunched up slightly as he was unused to the feeling.
When the final bit of visible mess was cleaned up off of him, Celestia had gotten several bottles of soap and shampoo. She had put a reasonable amount of soap on the brush and began to scrub him clean. Mael fidgeted as he found a more comfortable position to sit in. Celestia continued to brush him clean, once she had finished she let Mael continue to swim/gallop around in the wash tub before they got out of the tub.
Being wary of Mael’s wings, Celestia brought a towel to help him dry off. The towel rubbed the top of Mael’s silver mane as he tried to keep his head still to make it easier for Celestia. Mael let out a small yawn as he tried to keep his eyes open, only for them to flutter shut every few seconds.
“You're getting tired aren’t you little one.” Celestia said in a caring tone
“Yeah,” Mael said as his head started to bob, he was on the verge of falling asleep
Celestia levitated the small pony onto her back, who snuggled up within himself. When Celestia looked at him, his wings looked as if someone had put a pristine white blanket over him. Walking to her chambers, Celestia made sure to not wake the sleeping foal on her back. The guards gave a few odd glances but it vanished as quickly as it arrived.
Illuminating her horn one final time, Celestia moved Mael off her back and into her bed. Shifting her magical grasp off of the small boy, she made sure that she was tucked in nicely, as to make him as comfortable as possible. She smiled as she watched him slowly fall asleep, he was still young and Mael's last few days were full, it only made sense for him to get some rest.
“Good night, Mael.” Celestia said
“Good night, momma” Mael said
Celestia was at first taken back a bit by what Mael had said, she always wanted a child but because of her longevity, she knew that would be possible in case her child wouldn’t have been born an alicorn. But this was different, this wasn’t any pony wanting to fill that void within Celestia’s heart, but rather a young child that was seeking shelter in the image of a motherly figure. She lowered her head and kissed Mael on the forehead, Mael went to sleep wearing a smile.
Celestia left the room with a struggling internal monologue. What Mael had still said had left her in a small state of shock and wonder. It would make sense that the boy would be seeking shelter in a motherly image, his only family was his older brother who she knew was oftentimes in the midst of war. She was torn between on what she should do, only one other time had she ever felt so torn over a decision that had to be made.
‘Adopt him, he shall be Equestria’s first prince of the sun.’
‘But what about his brother, what if he came back for him. From the sounds of it they loved each other greatly.’
‘He left him in the gardens, he couldn’t have loved him that much if he had abandoned him, and besides, you know he needs you as much as you need him.’
‘As much as I’d like to deny that for my own image, your right, he is a child looking for a mother, and ever since my sister left there has been a void in my heart. But then there are my ponies I have to watch over, I don’t want them dropping off foals at my doorstep asking them to be adopted by me.’
‘I know that some of the nobles are dumb and are nitwits, but I seriously doubt that any pony outside of the group of nobles, there should be any pony stupid enough to do that. And besides..’
‘Fine, I’ll do it.’