Once the adults were done with their meeting, they split apart to get ready for dinner. Aunt Twilight and Spike went off on their lonesome, while Aunt Cadance and Uncle Shining Armor went off towards the kitchen. This left Aunt Celestia, Mom and me as the last group heading off to the guest bedroom section of the castle. I couldn’t help but stick close to Mom, feeling a bit safer so close to her rather than a normal distance like I was used to.
“So, Ma, how did the talk go?” I looked up at the Lunar Diarch, trying to ignore the fact I was so small compared to her. And even smaller next to Celestia.
It was hard to fully tell what her reaction was but even I could see Mom wince a bit in response to my question. “It went alright, dear. We can talk about it later, I want you to get cleaned up first.”
I blinked and looked down at my hooves in confusion. “Cleaned up? Ah ain’t tha’ dirty.”
Celestia let out a small chuckle and ruffled my mane with one of her hooves. “From where we stand you are covered in dirt and dust from the mine. I am sure a bath will fix you right up before we eat dinner.”
I scrunched up my muzzle a bit but sighed. “Ok, Ah’ll take a bath.”
“Good.” Celestia smiled down at me, making me feel a bit better. “Before we split ways, Storm, I was wondering about the origin of your wonderful accent. You did not have it before, after all.”
My muzzle achieved full scrunch as I looked up at my Aunt, my eyes hard. “Ah’ve always had this accent. Ah dunno why Ah didn’t have it when Ah was Flurry Heart but...”
“Did you have it back when...” Mom began before hesitating when I turned my glare to her. “...when you were a human?”
[They know your secret!]
I slowly let out my breath through my nose before nodding. “Yea. Got it from mah...from mah Father.” I felt myself bite my lip, my tiny fangs digging in a bit but thankfully not drawing blood.
Mom pulled me in close with one wing for a hug, her warm embrace making me slowly relax. I sniffled a bit at the bubbling memories but squeezed them back down to deal with later. I opened my eyes, not even realizing I had shut them in distress.
“A-Ah am fine, sorry.” I wheezed out, forcing myself to step out of Mom’s warm embrace.
Thankfully Mom nodded, giving a gentle smile to me before turning her attention to her sister. “‘Tia, I think questions like that can wait for a better time, no?”
I could swear I saw a slight frown crease Aunt Celestia’s face but she nodded. “You’re right Lulu. I’ll see you at dinner then.” She gave me a smile in goodbye before heading off to her own bedroom.
“So, uh, where is mah room?” I looked back up at Mom, a grin slowly growing on my face.
Mom gave me a gentle smile before leading me to another one of the rooms, opening the door with a casual flick of her horn. Inside was a simple guest room, or at least a simple one in terms of a royal guest room. The bed in one corner was a four poster bed with silken sheets, while the dresser and vanity seemed to be made of hand hoofmade wood.
I couldn’t resist letting out a small whistle in awe. “Wow, this is a nice room!”
“You should see the room I have planned for you back in Canterlot.” Mom let out a small giggle before nudging me towards a side door with one wing. “But first things first: it’s bathtime!”
I couldn’t help but flinch a bit, my instincts compelling me to push back. My ears flicked back a bit and I sighed, looking to the side as I did so. “Do Ah hav’ to Ma?”
“Yes you do!” Mom opened the side door with a flick of her horn, revealing a fancy looking bathroom. Or at least fancy to me, considering I was used to a more rural environment. “While the opportunity for a first impression is unfortuntely gone, this dinner will be a more...formal introduction to your Aunt and Uncle.”
I frowned a bit and moved to escape, a wave of rebelliousness washing over me. I turned to the door and was forced to watch it slam shut, the knob locking with a flash of Mom’s magic. I awkwardly turned back around to the tubm, which was large enough (or me being small enough) that it was hard to look over it. Mom reached over and turned a knob, letting a stream of hot water into the porcelain container. I awkwardly shifted from hoof to hoof, not having to strip due to my bow and hoodie disappearing during my ‘transformation’ for some reason.
Once the water reached about a foot and a half high Mom motioned for me to jump in. I frowned and turned my head, stubbornness washing over me. A faint tingling spread over my body before I felt myself lifted into the air by Mom’s magic. Immediately I flailed my limbs at the sudden levitation but couldn’t escape her magical grip. My soapy fate was truly sealed as Mom dropped me into the tub, causing me to land with a splash onto my chest. I glared up a bit as Mom hid her mouth behind a hoof, trying to hide a giggle.
With a grumble I sat down in the water, letting the hot water soak into my coat and loosen the dirt caked into it from walking around in a mineshaft. Taking the opportunity, Mom grabbed some shampoo and began working it into my mane with her hooves. A wave of comfort and pleasure raced through me at the contact, making me smile before I frowned again as a thought popped into my head.
“Uh, Ma?” I started, hesitating to finish my thought.
“Yes, my little raincloud?” Mom smiled down at me, continuing to work the shampoo into my prismatic mane.
I took a deep breath and looked up at her, as confident a look on my face as I could muster. “Ah’m sorry for acting like a scared foal earlier. Ah just woke up an’ was confused and disorientaed an’ Ah dunno. Ah dunno wha came over me.”
“Oh, sweetie...” Mom shook her head slowly, her tender smile growing a bit. “There is no shame in needing help or being scared. It’s part of growing up. I am just happy you went to me for help instead of hiding it.”
I grumbled in response, my cheeks burning with a blush in response to my embarrassment. I was forced to close my eyes as Mom poured water over me to wash out the shampoo from my mane. I raised a hoof and awkwardly brushed a bit of my mane out of my eyes before I tried to open them.
“Ya know, Ah think Ah need a haircut.” I grumbled, flicking my long mane back once the last of the shampoo was washed out.
Mom gave me a gentle smile as she got a washcloth ready with soap. “Not a fan of the long mane? I think it makes you look cute.”
I blushed a bit again but rolled my eyes. “It’ll only get in the way when Ah fly. Ah guess Ah could braid it instead but Ah dunno...”
Mom let out a faint chuckle as she soaped me down, cleaning all the dirt out of my surprisingly fluffy coat. “I would say speak to Rarity or the Royal Hairdresser, I’m sure they can help you with that.” She paused and pursed her lips before her tone dropped into a far more serious one. “Storm, you know I am being serious about coming to us if you have any problems.”
My head shot up, and I could swear I could hear almost a dozen separate voices yell from God knows where. “What do ya mean, Ma?”
Mom sighed and closed her eyes, opening them with a sadness only born of experience. “Rainbow Dash told you about how her and her friends vanquished Nightmare Moon, correct?”
“Er, yeah.” I nodded, my eyebrow raised in confusion at where this was going.
“Nightmare Moon was an evil born of my refusal to speak to my sister about the problems brewing in my heart.” Mom’s ears flicked back, but she maintained eye contact regardless. “I suspect is the same for your Aunt Cadence’s own corruption only a day prior. While you are no longer an alicorn, that doesn’t mean that you should let your problems fester in your heart.
“I am here to help you, as hard as that may be to believe. Celestia, Cadence, Shining Armor, even Twilight want to help you be the best version of you. Do not let the darkness stick in your heart when you do not need it to, it will only lead to pain further down the road.” Mom offered me a pained smile. “Speaking of darkness, try to not make deals with shadowy figures without me being there. Trust me.”
“Okay, Ma.” I felt my own ears flick back for a moment. “Ah thought it was part of mah imagination, not a real thing.”
“Would you be willing to elaborate?” Mom asked, soaping behind my ears.
“Well, the past few days Ah’ve been hearing voices Ah thought were ya or Twilight or someone else. But either they weren’t around or they didn’t say anything.” I looked back up at my Mom. “Am Ah going crazy, Ma?”
Mom gave a small chuckle and shook her head once. “I think we are all a little crazy. But no, I do not think you are going crazy, dear. Just that you need a touch of help.” She let out a small breath. “Would you be okay if I spoke to Celestia about this? I am sure she would be better than me at helping you.”
I nodded quietly as we finished my bath, the warm water quickly turning brown with dirt. I hopped out of the tub, my leathery wings spreading as I did so splashing water all over the mat. I looked up at Mom with wide eyes to ask for a towel but was cut off as two of them descended on me, each held in her magical grip. Within a minute my coat and mane were almost completely dry, although the former was now poofy from the static cling. My wings required a bit more of a delicate drying to not irritate them, they didn’t have feathers to lose but still.
Mom nudged me back towards the bedroom itself with a gentle hoof, letting out a small giggle as I staggered a bit on my hooves. Admittedly the sudden drying made me a bit disorientated, so I swayed on my hooves for a few steps. As I refocused I noticed Mom looking through various makeup pallets and such with a frown on her face.
“What’s wrong Ma?” I tilted my head, staring up at her with my wide filly eyes.
“Well, you don’t have a nice outfit to wear to dinner, so I’m trying to think on how to make you even cuter for tonight.” Mom responded, looking between the three pallets and me.
I scrunched my muzzle a bit in annoyance. “Ah think Ah’m cute enough without makeup.” I blushed a bit in embarrassment. “At least, Ah don’t think Ah need it right naw. Can’t ya just braid mah mane o’ somethin’ instead?”
Mom thought for a moment before shrugging. “Sure, a simple look is also nice.”
I stood still while she used her magic to brush out my mane and tail, cooing at the surprising amount of pleasure the rhythmic brushing gave me. Once they were brushed out a different brush was used on my coat, making it extra fluffy and glossy. My mane was put into a simple braid that hung over my right side, bound by a simple black tie.
Mom smiled warmly down at me, giggling a little. “Aren’t you an adorable little mare?” she nuzzled my cheek with her own, prompting an instinctive giggle from me. “Now c’mon, I don’t know about you but I am starving for a nice Crystal Pony dinner.”
I nodded, my cheeks blushing a little at being called adorable. “Lead the way, Ma. Don’t exactly know which way is which here mahself.”
Mom smiled down at me before opening the bedroom doro with her magic, leading me into the hall. While we were gone it seemd like the staff once agained took their assigned patrols and other duties, with maids and guards going about their patrols. Many offered bows or respectful nods to Mom as we passed, but a fair few simply raised an eyebrow at me. It didn’t bother me at all, after all I was still a new presence but was still something I noted.
A few minutes of walking later we reached a gold and crystal set of doors, guarded by two Crystal Pony guards. They bowed to Mom and opened the doors, revealing the diners inside. Around a priceless oak table sat Aunts Celestia and Cadance, along with Uncle Shining. I noticed that Aunt Twilight and Spike were missing, probably eating elsewhere to make a less awkward dinner.
As soon as Aunt Cadance noticed me she let out a small squee and trotted over to the two of us. She lowered her head to eye-height with me, her muzzle splitting into a grin I could recognize a mile away. “Aww, you’re so adorable and fuzzy, Storm!”
Shining chuckled from where he sat, waving a hoof at Cadance. “Let her sit down, you can fuss over her later dear.”
“B-but look at her adorable little fangs and fluffy ears Shiny!” Cadence wrapped me in a wing hug and gave wide eyes to Shining. “You can’t tell me she isn’t adorable! Right Storm?”
“Y-yea!” I echoed, sounding as confident as I could. I wasn’t used to being complimented like that, but I will admit it did feel nice.
Unfortuntately the moment was broken by my stomach roaring its complaints at being so close to food and yet so far. I blushed in embrassment while Cadance and Shining chuckled at the sight. Celestia rolled her eyes and smiled down at the two of us.
“Perhaps Shining is right, besides it wouldn’t do for your food to get cold.” Celestia gave a warm smile down at me before looking at the four other ponies in the room. “It has also been a long time since we’ve had a family dinner. Perhaps we should do this more often.”