Mother Celestia

by jl7895

Chapter 33: Crystal

I loved looking at this picture. It’s a picture of me and my entire family at my kids’ first birthday. There was, of course, my beautiful wife, Octavia, and our two children, Ebony Shield and Mystery Melody. Next to Octavia is our best friends, Vinyl Scratch and Spitfire. Next to me is my brother, Nightingale, and the ponies I consider siblings, Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor. Giving my kids a big hug is the mare I grew up with, Cadence. Behind us is Octavia’s parents, Soprano Sympathy and Harmonic Strings, and my mom, Princess Celestia. I thought about how amazing it was that I have a family, seeing as how I didn’t even have a mom over twenty years ago.

“Are you still looking at that picture?” Blueblood asked.

We were on a train to the Crystal Empire, a kingdom that recently reappeared after 1,000 years. It returned with King Sombra, an evil dictator who turned the residents into slaves. Cadence, Shining, Twilight, and her friends were able to banish Sombra and bring happiness to the empire. Cadence and Shining were named leaders and had to move there. It was sad to see both of them go, but it’s something they had to do.

“Why do you even care about that picture?” the blue baboon said. “It has to be a year old.”

“A bit over a year old,” I said.

“Let him enjoy it,” Nightingale said from the seat across us. “What are you even doing here anyway?”

“It’s called the Crystal Empire. And you don’t expect Equestria’s most beautiful gem not to grace its citizens with his presence? What about you? I’d imagine a heartless demon like you want with such a magnificent place.”

“Both of you, calm down,” I said. “Cadence asked both of us to come here as soon as we can. We won’t be staying long, so you can enjoy your vacation without us.”

“I hope so,” Blueblood said. He put on a sleep mask and earplugs, and immediately fell asleep. One of the good things about Blueblood is that he falls asleep easily and not many things can wake him up.

“Why do you think Cadence wants us to come to the Crystal Empire?” Nightingale asked.

“Maybe she just wants to show us around. From what I heard from Twilight said, the place is absolutely stunning.”

“If she was just going to give us a tour, then why did she ask us to come immediately?”

“There’s a chance that she wanted us to have the day off. We’ve been working really hard lately and we really could use a break.”

“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful or inconsiderate, but she really could have chosen a better time to have us come to visit. It’s the first time my new recruits stay up for twenty-four hours.”

I smiled as I thought about the guards going through that kind of treatment. Nightingale noticed that some of his guards were sleeping on the job. Of course, being a former of the Children of the Night, Nightingale was learned how to function on four hours of sleep. To help his guards, he stated to put them through the same exercises the he went through. They weren’t as severe as he went thought, but they were still pretty rough. Part of his training was staying awake for twenty-four hours on five randomly chosen days.

It always interested me to watch the transformation of the Lunar Guard trainees. The first time, almost every guard looks like they’re going pass out. A good majority of them couldn’t even make it home and found an empty room to sleep in. By the third time, most of them were able to at least make it home. By the fifth time, every guard that stayed was able to play a hoofball game right after the twenty-four hours.

“Cadence knows we probably can’t stay long. We’ll be back in Canterlot before sunset.”

“I guess,” Nightingale said crossing his arms. “So, how’s the wife and kids?”

“They’re good. Mystery is already showing an interest in music and Ebony won’t stop talking about the time you spend with him. What about you? Are you still seeing Rarity?”

“No, we broke up. The long distance thing wasn’t working out and we wanted different things. I am, however, seeing a new mare. Her name is Star and she’s a model.”

“You’re the guys Star has been talking about?”

“How do you know Star?”

“We’ve been friends since High School. How did you guys meet?”

“She came to the last Grand Galloping Gala. We started talking and really hit it off. It’s only been a few months, but I think she’s the one.”

“You might want to be a little careful with her. There’s a stallion that cheated on her right before their wedding. She might have some commitment issues.”

“She told me. We’re not going to take things too fast and I’m willing to wait before we do anything.”

“Well I hope that you two make it.”

We talked a bit longer about what we thought was going to happen to us in the coming years. Nightingale said he hoped to marry Star, even if he has to wait a few years. He said he wanted to kids and somepony that loves him. He just wanted some happiness with a family and a secure job.

He then asked me about our parents. He wanted to know what really happened to them and where we came from. Why would somepony just leave their kids in the Everfree Forest and never try and find them? He wasn’t angry with them in any way, but he wanted to know why. I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about it myself, but I didn’t care as much as he did. I don’t know why, but I just didn’t care about our real parents.

I watched as the setting changed outside the train. It was almost eerie to watch as the lush plants slowly started to retreat as the snow of the Frozen North started to take over. Within minutes of entering the north, it became impossible to see a few yards in front of yourself. I realized why Cadence told us to bring warm clothes. I smiled a bit when I realized Blueblood didn’t bring a carry-on bag and probably had nothing warm to wear.

The train pulled into the makeshift station. Nightingale and I had the seemingly impossible task of waking up the “most beautiful gem in Equestria”. Lucky for us, Nightingale was willing to use one of his feathers to brush under his nose. It worked like a charm. We stepped off the train to meet Shining at the station. Nightingale and I hugged our “brother” while Blueblood just rolled his eyes.

“It’s good to see you guys,” Shining said as he let go.

“You too,” I said.

“Yes, yes, y-you’re all good friends.” Blueblood said while shivering. “W-where is the C-Crystal Spa?”

“The empire is about a quarter mile away,” Shining said pointing us in the right direction.

“A quarter mile?” Blueblood shouted.

“It’s not that far,” Nightingale said. “Just think warm thoughts and you’ll be fine.”

“Porter,” the pain said, “get my bags and carry to the empire.” He apparently didn’t know that his bags were teleported to his room in the Crystal Empire a few hours ago. My horn lit up and I acted as if I teleported his bags to his room. In reality, it was literally a spell that did nothing.

The walk itself wasn’t bad. It gave me and Shining time to catch up. By the sound of things, Shining has been just as busy and Nightingale or I have. Sombra was almost all-powerful, so he disbanded the Crystal Guard when he took over. According to Shining, Sombra still feared an uprising, so he made the former Crystal Guards forget their training. Shining basically had to train them from the ground up.

We reached the empire pretty quickly. I imagine it was easier for me, Shining, and Nightingale as we were trained to do things like walk a quarter mile in the snow. Blueblood, however, was shivering and out of breath after walking through the snow. Lucky for him, the crystal ponies didn’t know any better, so they helped him to his feet and I assume to the spa.

The Crystal Empire was beautiful. Every building was made out of crystal and was built to catch the sun in just the right light. Everypony looked happy and greeted everypony with a smile, and I really can’t imagine a reason why I wouldn’t smile. In the center of the city was the castle. It was a tall, beautiful structure. The entire beauty of the city was wrapped up in this one building.

As we entered the castle, I took a moment to truly appreciate it. It was almost as if they built the castle around a massive crystal. Everything, even to the smallest detail, brought out the true beauty of the castle. Unfortunately, Shining hurried us to the throne room to meet with Cadence.

“They’re here,” Shining said as we walked into the throne room. Almost immediately, Cadence jumped from her throne and ran over to me to give me a hug.

“Miss you all so much,” Cadence said as she let go of me and hugged Nightingale. “We have so much catching up to do. How’s Canterlot?”

“It’s missing its favorite princess and best guard. What about you? How’s life in the Crystal Empire.”

“It’s not as homely as Canterlot, but Shining and I are about to make a change that should help.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I’m pregnant!” Cadence said with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. “And of course, we want you to be the godfather, Golden.”

“Of course I will,” I said giving her hug.

“Not that I don’t want to catch up with you guys,” Nightingale said, “but why did you ask us to come in such a hurry?”

“Can you please bring her in,” Shining said to a guard. Within a minute, the guards brought in an older mare.

“Are these the boys?” the mare asked.

“Yes they are,” Cadence responded.

“Look how much you two have grown,” she said approaching us. “I remember when you were just little boys.”

“I’m sorry, do we know you?” Nightingale asked.

“Not if the spell worked. Let me introduce myself, my name is Timeline, and I am the historian for the Crystal Empire. I’ve been instructed to give these to you when I see you.” Timeline pulled out two identical envelopes and gave one to me and one to Nightingale. “These are from your parents.”

“Our parents!” we said in unison.

“Does that mean we’re crystal ponies?” Nightingale asked.

“No, your family was here on vacation. King Sombra took over a few days before you were to leave. We tried to evacuate ponies, but Sombra’s magic was too powerful, but he didn’t know there were non-crystal ponies in the empire. The spell he used still had some effect, but you could leave the empire unharmed. Your parents didn’t know exactly what would happen, so out of fear, they wrote you these letters, in case something were to happen.”

“I studied the spell he used,” Cadence said. “The spell would ‘remove’ anypony who didn’t match the chosen race by sending them randomly forward in time and send them to a random location. Sombra didn’t notice because the tome where he learned the spell only said the pony would not be a problem.”

“So we know why Night and I turned up in the Everfree Forest,” I said.

“But where are our parents? Why weren’t they in Everfree Forest with us?”

“The spell sends the pony to a different time and place relative to when they walked through the spell. I’m guessing you two went through it at the same time, but your parents left at a different time to not draw any attention.”

“Wait,” Nightingale said, “why don’t either of us remember any of this. Even if we’re young, I’m sure we would remember something that big.”

“I can’t be completely sure,” Timeline said, “but I would guess they erased your memory of all of this. It is extremely traumatizing for a child to go through.”

“Then why can’t we remember them,” I asked.

“Memory spells are hard to master. It’s close to impossible to pin point exact memories and erase them. For most ponies, the only thing they can remember is their skills. I need to get back to work. You two enjoy your letters and I wish you the best of luck trying to find your parents.” Timeline left the room leaving us in science.

“Go ahead,” Cadence said. “Open the letters.”

“Do you want to?” Nightingale asked me.

“I don’t know,” I responded looking over the envelope.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Shining asked. “These are your parents. You’ve been looking for them since the princesses found you.”

“I haven’t,” Nightingale said. “The Children of the Night couldn’t really leave our hideout, so I couldn’t search for them.”

“And Celestia used every resource available to find them and nothing came up. I lost faith in finding them when we graduated from high school.”

“I think we need some time,” Nightingale said. “I think we should get going. Thank you for this.”

“Thanks for having us,” I said giving both Cadence and Shining a hug. “Keep me updated on how you’re doing and I’ll tell you how this turns out.”

The trip back to Canterlot was silent. I can’t speak for Nightingale, but I was lost in my thoughts. I held the only trace of my real parents, but part of me didn’t want to open it. Part of me didn’t care about my birth parents. They didn’t make me into the stallion I am today. There weren’t there when I had nightmares or when I was going through my first break up. They weren’t there for my graduation, wedding, or the birth of their grandchildren. As far as I’m concerned, they were just two ponies that gave me life. But that’s what made this so hard. It’s not like they purposefully leave me in the Everfree Forest. They didn’t try and avoid me or any of my major life events. I’m sure if they could, they would have been right there if they could.

“What are you thinking?” Nightingale asked me as we came close to Canterlot.

“I’m wondering if they even cared about us. If they left the empire like we did, then why didn’t they try and find us? It’s not like I stayed out of the news or anything. What about you?”

“The same, well that and my mom. I mean Luna, not this mare. She wasn’t as hands on as Celestia was, seeing as how she was on the moon, but I could feel her love. When I was young, some ponies were told by Luna to tuck me in when I went to sleep. I could hear her encourage me when I was going through training and I was ecstatic when she returned, Luna more so than Nightmare Moon. I don’t know anymore. Maybe we would be better off not reading these. On the hand, these are our parents. They took they probably loved and cared for us.”

“I think I know why this is so hard for us. Yes, these are the ponies that gave us life. Yes, these are the ponies that loved us enough to make us forget an awful memory. But, they didn’t raise us. They weren’t there for our highs our lows. I know it wasn’t their fault, but they weren’t there for us. Luna and Celestia were. I don’t know about you, but I really couldn’t imagine any pony else raising me. The only question is what to do with these?”

“How about you take your letter and do what you want with it and I’ll do the same with mine. We don’t have to show them to each other, so in case the one we have sucks, we can imagine that the other one is better.”

“Sounds like a deal,” I said as the train pulled into the station.

“Why don’t you take the rest of the day off and spend it with your family. I can handle things at the castle.”

“Thanks Night.”

We got off the train and went our separate ways. Of course I wanted to see Octavia and the kids, but I couldn’t get my mind off of the letter. I wasn’t sure if I still wanted to open it. I’m comfortable with my life, and this piece of information could change all of that.

“Daddy!” My kids said as I opened the door. They didn’t know many words, but I was happy they at least knew “daddy” and “mommy”.

“How are my two little ponies?” I asked picking them up. They tried talking at the same, but it ended up coming out as gibberish.

“What are you doing home so early?” Octavia asked me with a smile. “Not that I’m happy to see you.”

“Night said he’ll cover the rest of my shift.”

“Well, how was the Crystal Empire? Is it as beautiful as Twilight said it is?”

“It’s stunning and we’re going there for our next anniversary, but I need to tell you something important.”

“Is everything alright?” she asked as her smile dropped.

“Everything’s fine, but it’s serious. Can we talk in private?”

“Vinyl,” Octavia yelled, “can you watch the kids for a little while?”

“Alright kids, here comes Auntie Vinyl!” I put the kids down as Vinyl rushed into the room.

Octavia and I walked into the study and I could just feel how concerned she was. We sat across from each other and I told her everything I learned today. I told her about where I really came from and showed her the envelope. I told her the deal I made with Nightingale and explained why I haven’t opened the letter yet. When I finished talking, Octavia stood up, grabbed me by the shirt, and pulled me into a kiss.

“What was that for?” I asked when we parted.

“You came forward a thousand years and ended up with me. Golden, we were destined to be together.”

“I don’t want to take away from the sentiment, and it is super romantic, but I really need some help. What should I do?”

“It’s a hard decision to make. If you really want my opinion, I say you put the letter in that desk and never look at it again. You have a family with a wife that loves you, friends that want to be around you, a brother that would do anything for you, and a mother that cares for you. You have a life that most stallions would kill for. If you open that envelope, than your mind will be stuck on the life that could have been. You will drive yourself crazy just even thinking about what the life you missed. The ponies in your life are all because of the pony you became.”

“And I have Celestia to thank for that…” I said.

“Golden,” Vinyl said poking her head into the room, “your mom is here.”

We walked back into the living room to find my mom sitting on the couch wearing her favorite dress.

“Mom, what are you doing here?” I asked.

“Nightingale said you wanted to talk to me about something.”

“Don’t you have to attend the dinner at the castle?”

“I always have time for you.” She said with a warm smile. “So, what did you want to tell me?”

“I wanted to thank you,” I said as I took a seat next to her.

“Golden, you’ve said thank you to me hundreds of times.”

“I really mean it though. I wouldn’t be the pony I am today if it wasn’t for you. At worst, I would be as arrogant and selfish as Blueblood, but you made sure I didn’t turn out that way. You taught me responsibility and selflessness. You cared for me when you didn’t have to. You could have left me at an orphanage, but you adopted me and became my mom. Because of you, I have a perfect role model.”

“Golden,” she said as tears started to form, “where is this coming from?”

“I found out where I came from today. Night and I are were born a thousand years ago. We were vacationing with our parents when Sombra attacked and we were sent forward in time when we tried to leave. Our parents wiped out memories before we left, so neither night nor I have any idea what they look like. They left us letters, but I haven’t opened mine. I don’t plan on opening my anytime soon because those ponies that wrote the letter didn’t raise me. I know they loved me enough to make sure I had a life, but the fact is they weren’t there for me. You were.”

“Thank you,” she said as she hugged me.

“There’s one thing that I still wonder about,” I said as we let go. “Why did you pick the name ‘Golden Shield’?”

“When we arrived at Canterlot I asked the ponies if anypony knew you. One pony asked what your name was. I looked into your eyes and I just knew that was your name.”

“I love you, mom,” I said with a wide smile.

“I love you too.”

Comments

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

Poor Rarity can't get a break.