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// Chapter 4: Funerals and an Empty Office 
// Story: Her Little Sunshine 
// by Teal 
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It was a rainy day. The pegasi were scheduled to bring rain to the city and she knew better than to interfere with their weather work. It was unintentional, but Celestia thought it was appropriate for such a sorrowful day. 

Looking down at the casket, Celestia frowned at the heartbreaking sight. Silver Wing refused to let go and there was nothing she could do to get the filly off of it. Standing just behind her and levitating an umbrella to cover the two of them, the white alicorn found herself silent and still. It was one of the rare occasions where she didn’t know what to do.

The Princess’ gaze was fixated on the young filly, Celestia couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion overcome her the moment her eyes drifted towards the closed casket. She had tried to stay strong whenever Silver Wing was near her, she tried her best to push back her emotions and conceal the hurt in her. However, she couldn’t hold it back any longer. It was just too much now and she knew that she had to let it out.

With the pegasus filly’s back turned towards her, the Solar Princess decided to allow herself a brief moment of grieving. As tears began to drip from her eyes, she threw away any thought of anypony else seeing her in such a state. Not that there were many to see her cry. The only other ponies there were the funeral staff and the  members of the Guard, with the latter being too busy looking in different directions to ensure that no pony made another assasination attempt against her. 

The Royal Guard had urged her not to go, but she wouldn’t have it. They were afraid that those who wanted her dead would be ready to pounce on her the moment she left the protection of the castle, but she knew that she couldn’t live in the castle forever and continuously be surrounded in fear. She had to leave its walls eventually and she wanted to do it to honor somepony dear to her heart. The alicorn also wanted Sunflower to know that there was somepony else aside from Silver Wing who would miss her terribly.

Sunflower didn’t have any living relatives anymore. This saddened the alicorn, and it brought an extra sting as she realized that it also meant that Silver Wing had no family left. Looking back at the young filly, Celestia allowed more tears to drip down from her eyes. 

The filly felt that she was alone and she couldn’t blame her for thinking like that. She understood the feeling and had undergone it herself many centuries ago. With the loss of Sunflower, she had lost the last remaining family member she had. Everything right now must be terrifying for her, while the future seemed so unsure.

However, Celestia wanted to help her, to provide her an opportunity to be happy again. Looking back, she remembered the gleeful smile of that young pegasus that often played around her office. She wanted that to return, she wanted to see Silver Wing smile again. After all that happened, she knew that it would be a long time before the filly would feel happy again, But Celestia was willing to wait and work hard to make it happen. She had made a pledge to take care of the young pegasus and she knew that meant making her happy again.

The Solar Princess didn’t want to seem like she was trying to replace her mother, but she didn’t want the filly to feel alone. Silver Wing needed a mother and although the alicorn knew she could never replace Sunflower, she also knew that she would be able to provide the care and comfort she needed.

Wiping away the last drops of her tears with a hoof, Celestia stared at Silver Wing and felt so sorry for her. At that moment, all she wanted to do was hug the filly and tell her everything will be okay. But she held back, remembering all recent attempts had been met with furious shoves. She wasn’t ready for her yet, but she was willing to wait.

Sighing, the alicorn shook her head and stood there. She wished Blueblood could have joined them so that he could have comforted the young filly, but his parents simply didn’t want him to go out in such dreadful weather. Her young nephew had become a good friend for the lost filly, and she was glad that she somehow found comfort in him. However, despite the pleas from the young colt to be there for his friend, his parent’s final words were still against it. At least she could take comfort knowing that the unicorn colt would be ready to greet Silver Wing the moment they got back to the castle.

She didn’t know how long they stood there, but eventually it was time to go. The rain was worsening and she knew that the umbrella they had was no longer protecting the filly from being soaked. Celestia simply couldn’t let the pegasus get sick from exposure to such elements, especially during this time when she was already feeling weak in the soul. The last thing she wanted was for her to feel weak physically too.

With great hesitation, Celestia eventually moved towards Silver Wing and placed a gentle hoof on the pegasus’ back. To her surprise, the young filly didn’t react violently to this. Instead, she simply turned her head to reveal bloodshot eyes. Trying her best not to burst into tears again, she kept up a straight face and spoke in a calm voice.

“It’s time to go, Silver.”

The filly didn’t immediately respond. Instead, she glanced towards the casket before turning towards Celestia again.

“I miss her already…” She eventually said.

“I know, I miss her too.” Celestia responded, still trying to keep her composure.

Then, to her surprise, Silver Wing suddenly jumped from her place and rushed towards Celestia. In one quick movement, the young pegasus suddenly moved beside her and hugged her hoof, as she planted her face against the alicorn’s chest. The Princess could then feel the filly cry out again and she couldn’t help but wrap a comforting hoof around her.

She did not know what to say to make her feel better. She didn’t think there was anything she could say to make the pegasus feel better during that moment. So she just kept the protective grasp of her hoof around the filly, as the alicorn felt tears roll down her cheeks again.

The two remained in that position as the Sunflower’s casket was slowly lowered down.







Celestia sat in her office for the first time in weeks. It felt so strange to be in there after all that happened. The room was quiet, so different from the usual buzz that she usually encountered every day. 

Looking to her side, she imagined Sunflower standing there with her checklist, reminding her of all the papers she needed to sign and all the meetings she needed to attend. She always was good at always keeping her up to date with everything and the alicorn was just beginning to realize how difficult life was without her.

Turning her attention away from the side, she tried to push her thoughts away from Sunflower and instead focus on the work before her. Despite recent events, affairs within the Kingdom still continued and that meant that she still had a lot of work to do as the nation’s sole monarch. Gazing at the folders and papers on her desk, she used her magic to pick one up before doing her best to go through its contents. But it was hard to concentrate, her mind and heart just didn’t seem to allow it.

Eventually, she found her eyes drifting away from the paper and looking around the room. How she missed the small notes Sunflower attached to each document, summarizing for her the essence of each file. Frowning, she found it hard not to think of Sunflower.

Letting her eyes drift, they soon fell upon the chair in front of her table. Reserved for guests who visit her, it was also the same chair Sunflower would sit in to chat with her during slow days. Smiling at the memory, the alicorn remembers the laughs and heartfelt stories they shared.

Sunflower was more than just a secretary to her, she was a friend too. Now Celestia missed her friend dearly. She wished that she could spend one more day with her, one more conversation. Frowning, she remembered Silver Wing and wished that the filly could spend one more day with her mother.

Soon, the thought of the young pegasus became stuck in her mind, as she began to recount how she had been during these past weeks. Silver Wing had been doing better, but it was clear she had not fully recovered yet. Her gleeful smile had not returned yet, but she had been starting to form something that was close to it.

Sighing, Celestia wished that she could do more to help, but such things take time. Silver Wing needed to heal from the wounds, just as Celestia needed to do the same. The only thing they can do now is be there for each other.

The young filly had been adapting to life in the castle as best she could, but it was clear that she still didn’t feel at home yet. Despite having her own room, despite being able to freely go around the castle, and despite being treated by the staff the same way they treat the Celestia herself, she could see that the pegasus filly did not consider the place as home yet. Instead, she felt like she was an esteemed guest. The alicorn knew that she had to change that. 

Thinking this through, Celestia considered making some minor adjustments to make the place feel more like home. The room that she had given for Silver Wing had remained the same since she first stayed there and the alicorn thought that some redesigning could be done to make it feel more comfortable for the filly. Making a mental note, she planned to ask the filly what she would like in order for her to have a bedroom so that she could stop feeling like a guest in her new home.

Letting her mind wander, she began thinking of other things to help the filly. Thoughts of adding a playroom and maybe even a playground in the garden area. She knew that Silver Wing and Blueblood often liked hanging out in the garden and it seemed like their favorite place so far.

Getting up from her seat, Celestia moved towards a nearby window that presented her a great view of the Royal Garden. From there, she could see Silver Wing and Blueblood sitting by a patch of grass and quietly conversing with one another. Staring at them, she wondered what the two were talking about. Seeing her nephew point at the many statues at the garden, she assumed that he was probably giving her an impromptu history lesson. 

Thinking of her nephew, she couldn’t help but be proud of Blueblood for being patient with her. Although Silver Wing was not the ideal playmate due to her gloomy mood, the young colt still stuck by her and was rarely seen not by her side. Those two had really become good friends and she could feel that the pegasus filly found comfort when with him.

Giving a small smile, she felt happy to know that Silver Wing was not alone. Both she and Blueblood were there for her and no matter what they would do everything to make her happy again.

Letting her mind linger at this, she smiled a bit more knowing that the pegasus was also starting to become closer to her too. Ever since the funeral, the gray filly had begun to become a bit more comfortable with her. Although still hesitant at times, she at least no longer rejected her or spat out in anger whenever the alicorn tried to comfort her. 

Maybe it was because she finally accepted that she wasn’t trying to replace her mother and just wanted to make her feel better or maybe it was because she just felt so lonely that she was willing to accept any comfort she could get? Celestia hoped it was the former, because she wanted the filly to understand that although no one can replace Sunflower, it didn’t mean she would be deprived of love and care a young pony deserves and needs.

Shaking herself away from her thoughts, Celestia started to trot away from the window and move back towards her desk. Glancing at the paperwork she had, she couldn’t help but sigh. However, her eyes soon drifted towards another document on her desk, one which she thought was more important than all the other documents combined.

Picking it up with her magic, she lifted it and brought it closer towards her. Staring at it, she couldn’t help but feel mixed feelings about it. She felt both excited and worried about the document, as she was unsure how Silver Wing would react to it.

“...legally adopted by Princess Celestia…” The alicorn mumbled to herself.

This was an important milestone, yet she was afraid of how Silver Wing would take it. Although she had gotten close to the alicorn, Celestia didn’t think their relationship was close or strong enough for the filly to accept the alicorn as her adopted manner.

For a brief moment, the Princess started to regret her decision, thinking that she may have acted too quickly. Silver Wing was still adjusting and she needed time before something like this should occur. But in the end, she knew that it had to be done now. They couldn’t delay something so important, the pegasus needed a guardian to protect her.

Sighing, Celestia sat back on her seat and gazed up at the ceiling. She was nervous. She didn’t know when to tell the filly or how to tell it to her. She was afraid that this news might break the relationship that had been building so far.

Sitting in silence, she couldn’t help but worry about all the worst possible scenarios. The images that her mind made scared her, as the thought of an angry Silver Wing getting the wrong message from intentions was the last thing she wanted.

However, she also thought of that one scenario where the young filly accepted the news. The thought of the pegasus smiling and feeling hope again warmed the alicorn’s heart.

In the end, she knew that she would have to tell her, but she decided to do so in a time where the filly was feeling safe and comfortable. With that in mind, she began planning something special for her, something where both alicorn and pegasus filly could bond over.