Celestia shivered, taking a brief moment to send more magic to her horn to increase the power of her warming spell. Her recent diplomatic mission to the Griffin Kingdom had gone well, well worth standing the cold. Of course, Celestia wouldn't have had to stand the cold if she had sent a diplomat to deal with the Griffin King, but he was slow to trust and refused to speak with any pony other than Celestia herself.
Currently, Celestia was on board a carriage drawn by several burly Earth pony guards. The cold climate of the Griffin Kingdom made flight extremely uncomfortable for Pegasi, limiting the effectiveness of a flying chariot. Rather than subject her Pegasi guards to that, Celestia had opted for ground travel.
When the carriage came to a sudden, grinding halt, Celestia almost shot out of her seat. There were scant few reasons that the carriage would be forced to stop, and she feared the worst.
Calling out to one of the guards, she asked, "What happened? Why are we stopped?"
The guard snorted in disgust.
"There appears to be a human blocking the road, Princess. Nothing to worry about. We'll get her out of the way soon."
One of her brows arched in curiosity, Celestia pondered on why a human would be in the Griffin Kingdom. The climate made life terrible for anything not used to extreme cold, to which humans obviously weren't. Adding insult to injury, the Griffins have, historically, been very antagonistic towards humans. Their society considered slaves as the very bottom rung of society, and as the whole human race had been enslaved...
Thinking about the word "enslaved" made Celestia feel ashamed. For the past four hundred years, the only emotion she could feel when looking at a human was shame. As hard as she had tried to convince the scared pony population and aristocracy that nothing deserves the fate of slavery, she had ultimately failed. While it was an act of self-defense, it was a misguided act of self-defense.
Deciding that she should check on the human, Celestia stepped out of the carriage. The guard whom Celestia had previously spoken with urged her to go back inside, but she paid him no heed.
She gazed out in front of the carriage, spotting the human laying in the snow around fifty meters in front of her. Oddly enough, he was dressed in minimal clothing, a bundle of clothes pressed to his chest. Obviously, something was amiss.
Celestia quickly made her way over to the side of the human, asking him what they were doing out in the cold.
The human lifted his head, revealing that he was actually a she. She was trembling, her lips blue and skin pale. The cold was taking its toll on the woman, and if she didn't get help fast, she would die.
Her eyes stared into Celestia's, quivering slightly as they started to water.
"Please..."
Only able to choke out one word, she slowly sat up and presented the bundle of clothing to Celestia.
Shaking her head, Celestia tried to help the human onto her knees.
"That can wait. We have to get you help."
Almost succeeding to stand up, the woman weakly smiled at Celestia before collapsing back down.
"No... Too late... for me. Please..."
The words visually paining her, she once again presented the bundle of clothing to Celestia. Celestia knew that it was futile to try and help her now, but she still wanted to carry out her last request.
Right before Celestia took the bundle from her hands, some of the clothes parted and she saw what was inside: a baby. It appeared to be asleep, and after a quick check, warm as well.
Casting a sad gaze downward, Celestia watched life finally slip away from the mysterious woman as she collapsed down for the last time.
Ordering her guards to leave the carriage and bury the human, Celestia went back inside and sat down on her large, plush seat. The baby woke up, looking up at Celestia as if expecting something. Now that they were open, Celestia got a look at the baby's eyes. They were stone grey with small streaks of blue, contrasting with the sparse black hair that covered its head.
Realizing that she didn't even know the baby's gender, she quickly checked inside the bundle. One blush later, she realized the baby had a bundle of its own. A boy, it seems.
"Now what should I do with you...?"
The baby seemed to frown, as if he didn't understand the question. A horrible thought crossed Celestia's mind as she stared into the baby's green eyes.
If she gave the baby away to an official, they'd most likely sell it into the slave market. The slavers would train him from his childhood, completely ruining any chances the little one had of being a kid. He'd be sold off as soon as possible, working at a mine or farm for the rest of his life.
Brows furrowed with determination, she was set on not letting that happen. If she couldn't save the whole race, at least she could save this one. It wouldn't atone for her failure, but it'd be a start. There would be many risks, but it didn't matter to her. The dying woman didn't just give Celestia a baby; she gave Celestia a chance.
Smiling at the baby, Celestia lightly rocked it back and forth.
"I don't even know if you have a name. Would you mind if I named you?"
She took the baby's smile as an affirmation, and began thinking of possible names. Human names tend to not have much meaning behind them, instead, humans are named after historical/famous figures or family members. Sadly, Celestia knew very little of either when it came to the grey-eyed infant she was holding. There was only one human she knew by name: Leonidas, the leader of the first generation of humans.
"I think I'll call you... Leo. Is that okay?"
A brief moment later, baby Leo's giggling spread through the carriage, warming Celestia's heart. For the first time in hundreds of years, Celestia felt tears streak down her face, dripping onto the ground. When she had been forced to banish Luna, she'd cried for many days. However, one cannot seem vulnerable for so long. Eventually, Celestia had been forced to steel her heart, casting away the loneliness and grief that came with banishing one's own sister - and very possibly, only friend as well. The baby had lowered her defenses, cracked the floodgate which held her emotions at bay. Several tears later, they all came pouring forth as the floodgate collapsed.
Finally, after so much time alone, she had something of a family again. Although Luna could never be replaced, Leo could certainly help fill the gap in her heart.
Her tears and sniffles ending, Celestia began to hum a light melody to the child. Her tune combined with the light rocking motion soon put the young child to sleep, lightly yawning before curling up in the clothing.