Celestia woke up for the second time in that morning and somehow felt both slightly energetic and emotionally spent. The soft snoring from the foal next to her warded off the ringing that often hounded her ears.
As she meditated in relative silence, she recognized that the reason for her prior outburst was obvious. The last fourteen hours had been an emotional roller coaster that came to a head when she woke up in a confused haze. At that time, the finality of her actions dawned on her when she saw the filly next to her and remembered the five stone orbs.
I'll never be able to wield them myself again.
She'd held onto the hope of using the Elements of Harmony to rescue her sister from her imprisonment, but a part of her always knew she couldn't wield them to that end. Now that the option was taken from her, Celestia felt like she'd lost Luna all over again. Moreover, the safety of Equestria was now uncertain. She would need to figure out a way to go forward without the Elements.
No small amount of her earlier distress came from the infant herself. She hadn't expected the filly to somehow leave the incubator and make her way to the bed. In addition, seeing the filly... drink straight from the tap, as it were, was genuinely shocking to her. Celestia couldn't fault the newborn for acting on instinct. Still, she felt like her own body betrayed her by deciding to grant the foal's request.
She didn't even know such a thing could happen!
She kept recalling the events of the previous night as she studied the baby unicorn sleeping by her side. The umbilical stump on the filly's navel rose and fell in a steady rhythm while the infant occasionally kicked a rear hoof.
This filly caught her attention in a way she couldn't fully understand. Her eyes had held a fire behind them that her then-fading body couldn't suppress. Like how the last rays of daylight attest to the fact that the sun never stops shining—even when it sits fully below the horizon.
Sunset Shimmer.
Celestia felt that the name the hospital administrator was going to assign the filly was inadequate for her. So much so that she suggested that name on the spot. She was glad she did.
Looking closer at the baby filly, she now seemed a bit on the larger size for a newborn. She looked to be about as big as a month-old foal. Her mane and tail were no longer a single shade of red, but now had an equal amount of gold strands as a testament to the life force freely-given to her by the phoenix. Celestia thought that Sunset's new mane color suited her very well.
Soon enough, the welfare of the foal would be another mare's problem. Perhaps she would find a way to keep tabs on her as she grew up. Right now, she had matters to attend to.
Getting up out of bed slowly, so as not to rouse the sleeping newborn, Celestia walked over to her writing desk. Celestia looked over the topmost documents as she sat down. A calculating look with slightly pinched eyebrows gave way to a dumbfounded expression. A headache started to make its way to the region below her horn while she pored over the rest of the papers in front of her.
Of the lengthy list of mistakes she'd made in her long life this most recent one had to take the cake. Even Luna, for all her faults, knew better than to sign paperwork en masse.
In her haste to bring baby Sunset to the palace, she claimed permanent—not temporary—guardianship over the foal. As if that wasn't enough, the signing spell saw fit to place her royal signature on every field that was meant to be signed by a government official. For all intents and purposes, she was staring at royal edicts.
A bit of trepidation came over Celestia as she contemplated the ramifications of the magically binding documents. She could not annul these without bringing undue attention to the situation and could set in motion a series of legal and political battles she had no appetite to fight. More importantly, the infant would need to be cared after by somepony.
Celestia froze in fear for the first time in a long while as understanding dawned on her.
She was now responsible for the life of a foal.
In truth, she was familiar with making decisions that affected the lives of many, but this felt different. Perhaps trading the safety and security given by the Elements of Harmony placed a greater weight in her mind for the life of the unicorn filly. Or maybe the personal nature of the matter was what made it feel more important.
Regardless of the cause, Celestia couldn't help but worry for the baby. She'd never been a mother and didn't know anything about foal care. The little knowledge she had came from the post-discharge instructions provided by the hospital.
What if, in her ignorance, she hurt the little filly? She knew that a foal should never be shaken and vaguely remembered that they shouldn't be handled with telekinesis at all unless it was absolutely necessary, but that was the extent of her knowledge.
Adding to that, Celestia would not be able to watch over the filly all the time. She couldn't double down on her hooves-off approach to ruling the kingdom to get more time to herself. While this worked for her before, there was a limit to the amount of work she could defer before she caused real harm to Equestria. She'd been skirting that limit as of late. She would have to hire professional help.
I'll need to start hiring hoofmaids again. Celestia thought as a shudder made its way from her spine to the tips of her wings.
Hoofmaids were invaluable allies to Celestia, but they were a double-edged sword. While the ladies-in-waiting catered to her every whim and were a boon in her court, they had a penchant for causing drama in all parts of the palace. Their mere presence would cause the palace's gossip mill to go into overdrive.
Worst of all, they could be quite overeager when tending to their mistress. They would brush her mane and tail like excited schoolfillies with a prized toy. No part of her body was safe from them, be it hooves, horn, wings, or coat.
Celestia couldn't help but remember the voices that haunted her darkest memories.
"Oh your hair looks beautiful."
"Spectacular!"
"Your wings are sooo pretty!"
"Let's fly to the c—"
Celestia was brought back to the present when she heard unfamiliar noises behind her. Startled, she quickly turned back to look at the baby lying on her bed and melted in relief at the sight.
Sunset was awake and giggling as Philomena used her primary feathers to tickle her, cooing at the newborn. The bird hopped to and fro, getting within reach of the filly for only the briefest of moments between skirmishes. Celestia watched enthralled as the tips of red feathers stroked the amber belly until—
"Hic... hic... burp... bleeeaaaauurghhh."
Philomena gave Celestia a sheepish look before shamefully flying out of the bedchamber. The alicorn, for her part, was too flabbergasted to notice her old friend's escape.
She couldn't help but wonder how such a small thing could expel so much... yoghurt.
The princess absolutely did not entertain the stray thought that most of the aforementioned dairy product somehow originated from her regal body. She definitely wasn't feeling a hint of disappointment at having her hard work spilt so suddenly. She most certainly didn't give in to the urge to paint her rug to match her bedsheets either.
Nope.
Strangest of all, the amber filly seemed unfazed from losing her breakfast. She cocked her head at the window that the phoenix used to exit the room before meeting her caretaker's gaze. Sunset's teal eyes made Celestia's heart skip a beat; images of a young Luna leapt to the front of her mind.
The tenuous peace that permeated the bedchamber was shattered by crying from the infant.
Sigh. "Wonderful." Celestia said to herself.
Celestia walked into her bathroom cradling a wiped-down, refed, and slightly placated Sunset. One look at the unkempt alicorn in the mirror made her realize that they both desperately needed a bath. It was surprising how exhausting taking care of a little pony could be.
For once, Celestia was glad to have an inordinately large selection of bath products. She had no trouble finding a shampoo suitable for a foal. Next, she filled up her large tub with warm water. Realizing her mistake, she drained it down to fetlock level before stepping inside.
Celestia could feel the foal in her forehoof getting antsy. She remembered how much Luna hated baths when they were foals and sent a silent prayer to Harmony for Sunset not to be the same.
Frankly, she had no energy left from trying to get Sunset to drink the baby formula earlier. She somehow knew the foal would only deign to drink the genuine product. In the end, Celestia relented and nursed the foal again.
Celestia still wondered how her body could do that, having never been pregnant.
Pushing the disgusting thoughts aside, she sat down on the tub, locked eyes with the fussy newborn, and gave her a reassuring smile.
"It's okay. Trying out new things can be a scary thing, but bathing is quite fun. Here."
Celestia scooped up a bit of water with her magic and let it drop down her own mane, careful not to startle the timid foal. This seemed to have the intended effect on Sunset.
Oh thank Harmony. She thought as she breathed a sigh of relief. Satisfied, she sat the unicorn down gently in front of her.
Celestia could swear she saw the foal's pupils dilate and shimmer with delight the moment she made contact with the water.
She had no words to describe the magic taking place in front of her. Here, in this bathtub, no worries for the future proded her mind. The ringing that tormented her ears seemed to be a distant memory of a previous life. The weariness in her bones melted at the sight of those teal eyes.
In an instant, Celestia was taken over by instinct and lowered the rest of her body to be at eye level with Sunset.
"I'm glad you like it, my little sunbeam." She said as she nuzzled the infant.
Celestia would never forget the sight in front of her as long as she lived.
She spent the next few minutes lathering up and rinsing Sunset and herself. The foal seemed to take joy in every aspect of the activity. In turn, Celestia took delight in watching the filly flap her hooves about the water.
Eventually bath time came to an end. Celestia didn't want to stop, but yielded when she saw the infant give a wide yawn that exposed her itty-bitty tongue. By the time Celestia dried both of them and walked off the bathroom, the foal was fast asleep in her forehoof.
Elated and satisfied with her work, Celestia laid Sunset down on the newly-cleaned bed. She walked over to the incubator and opened the cabinet attached to it. As she went through its contents, she realized she was out of diapers.
Oh no.