Chapter Two: Celestia
Crimson only stared at the mare baffled by what she had just said. He had heard about those that pose as the long-lost princesses. He just didn’t think he’d ever meet anypony like that.
What?
“What do you mean by “Princess”? He asked, his eyes wide and his mouth struggling to keep closed.
The mare who claimed to be Celestia started again with her sloppy wet ears folded back.
“I-I mean…nothing. Never mind. You said you have a medkit?” She asked with a small smile, raindrops still beating down on her.
I don’t-what?
“Wait, backup, you’re not one of those posers, are you?” Crimson asked as he brought a hoof up to wipe the soaking wet mane out of his eyes.
“Can we go inside, please?” she asked quickly, her front hoof raised slightly.
She’s shaking…
“Right, sorry.”
With all the haste of somepony fleeing the scene of a crime, they scrambled back into the garage. Crimson tapped his hoof against a small button on his way in, causing the door to rumble slightly before slowly closing behind them.
Now that the sound of the rain had been reduced to a meer pitter-pat on the roof, it was much easier to hear.
Namely, the mare’s incessant shivering.
Uh-oh.
“Wait, don’t-” he called out, but it was too late.
The white mare claiming to be Celestia started to shake her whole body, turning the garage into a pseudo-storm front for a moment. Luckily, Crimson had lit his horn and brought up a small shield in front of him to shield himself. When he let his magic go, the accumulated water on the shield hit the concrete ground with a resounding SPLAT!
“-shake yourself off yet,” he said, deadpanning.
The mare smiled sheepishly and folded her ears back again.
“Right, sorry, it’s just…”
“It’s cold out, there,” Crimson finished for her, “I get it. Don’t worry about it. Just stay here while I get the medkit and a towel. For now, you can sit inside the break room we have.”
“Thank you, Mr. Vision, I really appreciate your hospitality,” she replied, bowing her head down, much to the discomfort of the stallion.
“Just call me Crimson,” he said, giving her a gentle smile before entering the breakroom, giving him a moment to collect his thoughts as he started looking for the medkit.
Okay, Crimson, don't freak out, you are only helping a crazed pony claiming to be the long lost Princess Celestia! he thought to himself as he looked under the kitchen sink only to find nothing but cleaning supplies and paper towels, he turned his attention to the kitchen cabinets and began checking the left side.
“Where is that damn medkit!?” he mumbled to himself, as he searched every part of the kitchen since that's where they usually kept it. However, seeing as he had spent more than five minutes searching for the damn thing, he opted to give her a towel from the upstairs bathroom.
Not wanting to leave the stranger alone a minute longer, he made his way back out to the garage to find that she was sitting quietly, shivering before she directed her gaze over to him. He knew this was a bad idea, but he decided to do what others wouldn't do and he hoped that he wouldn't regret it later.
Fuck, what am I getting myself into?
“Hey, sorry it's taking so long, I think my dad misplaced the medkit, but if you'd like, you could use our shower we have upstairs, just until I find the medkit of course?” Crimson offered, surprising the stranger as her magenta eyes widened.
“A-are you sure?”
“Yeah, I mean it's not an issue at all, and you look like you could use one. Unless smelling like garbage is the new trend now~?” Crimson teased, the stranger's cheeks turning a bright crimson red as she began to snarl in annoyance.
“I-I don't find that to be funny, Mr. Vision!”
“Hahahahahaha! Come on, no need to yell, Celestia, I’m only teasing you,” he replied, motioning his hoof for her to follow him.
“Seriously though, your gonna need to clean up while I look for the medkit,”
“Thank you,”
“No problem,”
Once Celestia had entered the shower, Crimson was finally able to find the first aid kit and after waiting patiently for her to finish.
“Maybe I’ll make the two of us some hot chocolate and cookies to pass the time,” he said to himself.
Once she finishes taking her shower, I’ll try to put her at ease and find out what’s going on. She obviously doesn’t trust me, but hopefully, she’ll at least answer my questions.
With a flicker of his horn, Crimson pulled out a gallon of milk and some cold disk bars of chocolate from the fridge with his magic while he set up a pot on the stove. With a satisfied huff, he began to turn the knobs of the kitchen stove and began to pour milk into the pot. After that, all he had to do was wait for his unexpected visitor to arrive.
If there’s one thing that can cheer anypony up, it’s my mother’s recipe for her famous hot chocolate. I just have to wait for the milk to heat up for a good five minutes and it’ll be good for me to put the bars in.
Ten minutes had passed since Crimson had started making the hot chocolate, and as he began to pour himself a mug, he heard the sound of hoof steps coming down the stairs.
“Vision? I hope I’m not intruding,” she asked, entering the room with a towel wrapped around her mane and waist. The stallion couldn’t help but feel his cheeks heat up at the sight of her. It was strange having a mare he had only just met in his family’s workshop in a bath towel. He was actually wondering if he had a thing for tall mares with wet manes.
“O-Oh! Not at all! I was just about to call you actually, I made us some hot chocolate,” he said, scratching the back of his head as he began to pour her a mug. “And you can just call me Crimson. By the way, I managed to find that medkit, it was under the bed upstairs. My dad tends to misplace it from time to time.”
Crimson was expecting to hear some kind of thanks or refusal, but instead saw the mare before him look down in shame. Her ears were folded back as she just stared at the warm mug in front of her.
“Why are you being so nice to me? I mean, I'm just a stranger you had only met. Everypony else either ignored me, screamed, or chased me away. So why help me?”
“Well, if I'm being perfectly honest, I couldn't ignore you because you looked like you needed help. My mom taught me to always be kind to others, and I guess I always did it because that's what a hero would do. If that makes sense?”
“A hero?”
“O-oh, right… um, well that doesn't really matter at the moment.” He explained, his expression saddening as his ears folded back. “Let’s focus on you for right now okay?”
The mare nodded as Crimson let out an exasperated sigh, before taking a sip from his mug. “So, care to explain why you were lying in the garbage?”
“I-I ran into some trouble with the local auth-”
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
“OPEN UP IN THE NAME OF THE ORDER!”
“W-What the?!” Crimson uttered, only to see his guest immediately duck under the table, spilling her mug of hot chocolate as he looked under the table confused.
“Please! D-Don’t turn me in!” she begged, shaking in place as tears filled her eyes. Crimson looked at her and instead of turning her in like others had or looking at her with fear and disgust, he gave a reassuring smile to her.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
“OPEN UP!”
“Hey, you don’t have to worry, okay? I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he assured, before standing up straight and making his way to the main entrance and eyeing the two uniformed officers at the door. Not wanting to keep them waiting any longer, his horn glowed and unlocked the door. He greeted the two Order members with a small smile.
“Hello. Sorry about the wait, I just finished up in the garage. Can I help you, officers?”
“Can the small-talk, citizen,” said one of the Order Officers, a pegasus mare with a gray coat, black mane, and green eyes. She wore a white uniform with gold buttons and a white beret hat. Her cutie mark was a magnifying glass with a white notepad beside it. Standing next to her was a white unicorn stallion with a dark blue mane and tail. He was wearing the same uniform as the mare with a pair of sunglasses on.
“We’re looking for an offender we believe is in this neighborhood somewhere, so we’re canvassing every residence until we find whatever rathole she squirmed into.”
“Well, no one is in here but me,” Crimson responded in a level tone, “and do you have any proof she’s even in my family’s shop? Otherwise, I wonder if you even have the authority to just barge in here and search my private residence.”
“As a matter of fact,” the mare sneered while speaking to Crimson as though he were an ignorant schmuck, “we do. This offender is another of those charlatans that dare to impersonate the ancient alicorns, and such a crime merits these… measures. It’s for your own protection, after all. So why don’t you just sit back and let us do our job. I promise we’ll be… respectful of your property.”
Crimson narrowed his eyes, but even he knew not to push his luck. He had to handle this with the utmost care. After all, he did say he would keep Celestia safe.
"Well, I don't have anything to hide, and you two don’t have a warrant to search my dad's shop. So I'd appreciate it if you all left peacefully, "
"Actually we can, as we have approval forums from the High Council to search the property if false idols, criminals, and heretics have been sighted. It's nothing personal, just following orders," the mare said, shoving past Crimson with her partner following right behind her, scowling at him.
"You can't just do this!" Crimson shouted, about to run towards the mare, but he was suddenly enshrouded with the white unicorn’s mana before he was telekinetically slammed against the wall, dazing him.
“I strongly advise that you comply. After all, you wouldn’t want to be charged with obstruction, now, would you?” she mocked before speaking to her colleague, “Search the whole place!”
“Hm!” The unicorn grunted and then used his magic to throw open every door and cupboard and shelf there in the room, causing a few things cluttered inside of those compartments to spill out.
Crimson winced at the mess these jerks were making, but he knew if he argued he would only make things worse. Still, he had to think fast. If they went upstairs to the spare room where Celestia (Or whoever she is) was, it would all be over.
“Nothing in here,” the unicorn stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Take the basement then, I’ll search upstairs,” the mare ordered before throwing a piercing glare at Crimson, “and you will stay here if you know what’s good for you…”
Crimson gulped nervously as he watched them go, the unicorn towards the basement door and the mare already beginning to ascend the staircase. He had only minutes to think of something before it was too late. As he tried desperately to come up with a quick save, he felt his heart jump into his throat when he saw the mare was already up the stairs and going straight for the spare bedroom door.
It’s now or never…! Crimson thought before he was suddenly struck with an idea.
“Wait! Now that you mention it…” Crimson spoke up in a tone as though recalling something, “I did hear some noises outside the shop earlier.”
The mare’s hoof had been but inches from the door handle when she halted and looked down the staircase at Crimson with a raised brow, “Did you now…?”
“Yeah, I went to my window, and although it wasn’t totally clear,” Crimson explained, “I saw somepony outside. It looked like they bumped into my trash cans before getting up and then hurrying off down the street. They seemed like they were running scared or something. I opened my door to yell at them for spilling my trash, but they were long gone.”
“Well then why didn’t you just say so instead of wasting our time?!” the officer snapped rudely, rushing down the stairs before gesturing to her partner who waited patiently by the basement door that it was time for them to go. Once they made their way to the exit, she peered back at Crimson and said, “The Order thanks you for your cooperation and bids you a good night.”
"Wait! What about the damages to my dad's shop!?" Crimson shouted.
"We'll be sure to send somepony over to pay for the damages tomorrow morning, "
“Greaaaat…Hope you catch that faker,” Crimson offered a strained smile and waved farewell to them. He waited a moment to check out the window after the mare closed the door. He peeked ever so carefully and was glad to see them leaving in a hurry.
Phew’ing in relief, Crimson looked back and called out, “The coast is clear. They’re gone!”
He heard the door open and tentative hoofsteps approach and descend the staircase as the hesitant mare looked upon Crimson with a mixture of emotions. In her face, he saw incredulous gratitude and weary relief.
“Thank you, Crimson... I’ve had a run-in with those two before. It hasn’t been easy since waking up and being treated like I don’t belong anywhere,” she explained, looking down at the floor as tears flowed out. He noticed that her whole body was trembling.
Over an hour ago, he was crying in the garage about how he couldn't do anything and not feeling like he belonged anywhere. But now here was this unicorn before him, crying about how she wasn't welcomed anywhere, it was something he could relate to. Not in the same way, as it was obvious she'd had it worse than him, but he couldn't just let her feel like this.
“I-I know how you feel, believe me. I've felt like that for the past eleven years, but no matter what, you just have to keep pushing with all your might.” he encouraged, walking up to the mare and patting her on the back. “It also helps to have someone give you that push, you know?”
Wiping away her tears, she looked up at him and gave the stallion a small smile… when a light grumble interrupted the moment, and she blushed a bit.
“Heh, if you like I can whip us up a little snack or something,” Crimson offered with an understanding smile. “A little food in your belly will make you feel a lot better.”
“I would… appreciate that,” she replied before hesitantly asking, “have you… any cakes or the like?”
Dear goddess, how much can one mare eat?! Crimson had kindly obliged the request for cake from the mare, who he was still doubting to be Princess Celestia, and he could only look on, feeling a strange mixture of being weirded out and impressed at the same time, as she practically inhaled every cake he’d baked for her, and still showed no sign of being full after her fourth entire cake.
She gorged on every succulent baked good with exquisite enjoyment, only pausing every now and then to take a breather or wash it down with the lemonade he’d had in the refrigerator.
Thankfully, after the fifth or sixth cake, she slowed down and sat back in her chair, rubbing her tummy as she sighed in relief, softly saying, “Thank you… oh, I can’t even remember when last I had some sweet succulent cake…!”
She then let out a cute little ‘urp’ and blushed a bit as she covered her mouth and titered, “Excuse me.”
The sight of it snapped Crimson out of his stupor… and he couldn’t help but let out a burst of laughter, perplexing the mare for a moment as she waited for him to stop, and he finally took a breath and said, “Haha, well… I’m glad to see my mom’s lessons in the kitchen paid off! As… impressive as your appetite is, I can’t help but feel honored by your complimenting my baking.”
“Oh, you would have done well in my kitchens back when I…” she paused and her uplifted demeanor immediately seemed to deflate as she remembered her present situation. Her eyes lowered sadly before she stood up, and cleared her throat, “I… I am deeply grateful for your help, Crimson. I don’t know what would have happened to me had you not protected me from those ponies, but I can’t ask any more of you, especially after you gave me something to eat.
“Once the rain lets up, I will leave and trouble you no more.”
“Actually, it’s okay for you to stay the night in the spare room upstairs, though I do want to know who you really are. Why were you running away?” he asked, rubbing the back of his head.
The mare’s gaze remained downwards, and Crimson felt his heart twinge a bit when he saw her cheeks trail with more tears as she despondently responded, “Why bother…? You won’t believe me. Nopony believes me…”
“Maybe you’ll be surprised? Look, I know what it’s like to not have anypony believe in you, to feel like you are alone, but whether you believe me or not, I think there was a reason we met the way we did tonight,” Crimson stated, speaking frankly but kindly.
“I can’t explain it, but we met under the weirdest circumstances on probably the worst day of our lives, so, believe me when I say that I trust you.”
The mare’s gaze hesitantly peered up to look at Crimson, but he saw there was yet doubt in her soft magenta-purple eyes. So he continued.
“I promise you that I’ll listen to you and keep an open mind.”
The mare’s doubt began to waver as she looked into Crimson’s eyes and saw the encouragement in them, along with his smile. For a moment, she was reminded of someone she once knew. She wiped her tears, took a deep breath, and stood up straight before she looked Crimson in the eye and began.
“I am Celestia. Princess of Equestria, Bringer of the Day, Keeper of the Sun, and once upon a time I ruled Equestria from Canterlot Castle alongside my sister, Princess Luna,” she declared, speaking truly and with a tone of gentle yet impressive authority, “Later on, I mentored and promoted two of my students to the title and responsibility of Princess. My adoptive niece, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadance as she preferred… and my faithful student, Princess Twilight Sparkle.
“Together, we brought about an age of harmony, glorious, prosperous, and fair to all. Until, out of nowhere, it all ended…”
She’s either delusional or a scary-good actress, but I promised, Crimson thought to himself before asking, “What happened?”
“...Grogar happened,” answered ‘Celestia’ with a look of bitterness but also fear and regret. “He appeared from the sky like a fallen star and he brought death and destruction with him. Because of him, all of the friendships that were built, the families we had made, and the peace we’d established, it was all taken in the war. And now, I’m… I’m alone here.”
“I… I didn’t know… I’m sorry you had to go through that,”
“I-It’s fine, I just needed to let it all out, I’ll be fine,” she said, wiping away her tears.
I want to help her, but I don’t even know if what she’s saying is true. For all I know she could be lying to me, but whenever I look into her eyes, I see the same desperation for someone to believe in them like me. I just can't abandon her, it would go against everything I've strived to be.
Crimson sighed, getting up from his seat across from her and sitting beside her. "I can't say I fully believe you yet. I mean it sounds straight out of a fantasy book, but I will say that I want to help you."
Sniffling, the mare turned towards him and gave a deadpan stare. "I… suppose it would be hard to believe."
"However, I am willing to try, and I never said I didn't fully believe you," he said, smiling.
"You, believe me?"
"You have the same look in your eyes that I have. Wanting someone to believe you, I know that look all too well. So, I'll help you," Crimson said, extending his hoof out to her.
"I can't offer you a place to stay for a very long time, but you can stay the night in the extra room we have here in the shop. At least until I explain everything to my parents. Until then, I think we should head to bed, I'll take the couch."
Celestia sat there in complete disbelief for a moment before following the stallion upstairs to the room. It had been a long time since she met somepony kind enough to lend a helping hoof. Even if he didn’t fully believe her, he was still willing to help her out.
"Anyways, how long have you been… alone? You don't have to answer if you don't want to," He asked, rubbing the back of his head, which was something she noticed he did often around her.
"Six months…"
"Damn!" He blurted out, his eyes widening before he realized what he had said. "Oh, sorry! Sorry! I just wasn't expecting that."
"No, no, it's okay,"
"You mean to tell me that this whole time, you were out there on your own for six months with no food, water, or a place to stay?!?" He asked, receiving a nod in response. "You are one tough girl."
"H-Huh?!" Celestia blurted out, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to say that out loud!"
"N-No, it's fine, I'm flattered, let's get to sleep," she said, climbing into the bed as she tried to calm the rising heat in her cheeks. "T-Thank you, Crimson, I can’t express my gratitude enough for this kindness."
"It’s not an issue, I actually like to help others. Feels like my calling, you know?" He replied, his horn surrounded by a red hue as he switched off the light and made his way over to the couch.
"Have a good night Celestia."
"Goodnight, Crimson."