Celestia XVII

by brokenimage321

Memory: The Day I Wondered

I jerked my head up, gasping and spluttering, spraying pink frosting everywhere. I reached up and scraped great blobs of cake out of my eyes, then opened them. The ponies seated across the table from me sat frozen in a tableau of shock and horror: Shiny had gone even more pale, Aunt Velvet was about to cry, Twi stared back, eyes wide, and Uncle Night Light was snarling.

I looked down at what was left of my cake. Three seconds ago, it had said “Happy Birthday Cece,” with fifteen still-smoking candles in it. Now, it was a big, sloppy mess, with a crater the approximate size and shape of my face right in the center.

As I stared down at it, I growled. I turned to my left, where Blueblood stood, two feet away, staring back at me with the shittiest of shit-eating grins.

I snarled, then started whaling on him with my hooves.

“Blueblood, you—you—you jerk! I’m gonna—”

Blueblood laughed and batted my hooves away.

“Oh, come on,” he said, still fending me off. “It’s not like this isn’t your third birthday cake this week, or anything…”

I growled again, and my horn started to glow—

“Cece, Blue—that’s enough.”

We both froze, then turned to look.Uncle Nightie stood at the head of the table.

“Blueblood,” he said tersely, “Kitchen.”

Blueblood groaned, but stomped off around the table.

“It was just a joke,” he muttered, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

As he walked into the kitchen, Uncle Nightie turned to me.

“Cece,” he said, “go wash up.”

I rose, then walked around the table and towards the hall.

“I-if you need a shower,” Aunt Velvet said weakly, “you know where the towels are…”

I nodded, then walked to the bathroom. I flicked the on light and closed the door, then looked in the mirror and stared. I was a mess—pink frosting all over my face and horn, some in my mane, even. I hesitated, then prodded at my muzzle. It was still tender from where Blueblood had slammed it into the table, but nothing was hurt too bad.

I sighed, then turned on the faucet. I lit up my horn and started scraping off as much frosting as I could manage with my magic.

Blue was right, sorta—this had been my third birthday cake. That didn’t make it any better, though—this was the family cake, the one I always looked forward to the most. I mean, the Palace always held a party for me, but it was a stiff, formal affair, where I was just supposed to sit still and look pretty for the politicians who competed over who could give me the most sincere birthday wishes. And then there was my friend party, with everyone from school, but most years, it just turned into another chance for everyone to show off.

But the family party—that was the big one. Blueblood and I celebrated most holidays with Twilight’s family—after all, they were basically the only family we had anymore. And it was the one party I could count on there being people who cared about me—really cared about me—and I about them.

And—as corny as it sounded, I really was looking forward to that darn cake. Palace food was nice—like, five-star nice—but I paid for it to be nice. There was about as much love in their cakes as in Quilinese takeout. But, though Aunt Velvet wasn’t much of a baker—she tried, for sure, but if it didn’t come out of a box, even Shiny wouldn’t touch it—I always looked forward to her desserts. Oh, sure it might not have been the prettiest, or the tastiest, but she cared. She couldn’t bake to save her life, but she baked for us. And that’s what mattered.

I slopped another clump of frosting into the sink, then looked in the mirror. I’d gotten most of the big chunks of frosting out, but there was still a lot stuck to my coat and mane. I sighed, then grabbed a washcloth from under the sink, ran it under the tap, and started scrubbing.

A few moments later, someone tapped at the bathroom door.

“Come in,” I said.

The doorknob turned, and slowly, the door eased open. Auntie Velvet poked her head inside, her eyes wide and quavering.

“How’s it coming, Cece?” she asked.

I held up the washcloth, already streaked with pink frosting.

“...oh,” she said. She looked down at the floor, then back up. “Do you… need any help?”

I shook my head.

“...alright,” she said. She stood there for a second longer, then began to pull her head back through the opening.

I turned back to the mirror—and, as I did, I caught her eye in the reflection. She quickly looked away, but her gaze sent a chill down my spine.

Auntie was heartbroken. She’d worked so hard on that cake—tried to make it perfect, because she knew how much it mattered to me. And she was proud of it, too—probably one of the better cakes she’d made all on her own, truth be told. And Blueblood—the colt she’d raised as one of her own—had used her gift as a weapon to try and hurt me. Me, not just his one and only sister, but also his Princess. And on my birthday, no less—the one day of the year that she had expected he’d leave his attitude at the door.

My gut twisted. I had to say something.

“Auntie,” I said without thinking.

She hesitated, then pushed the door open a little wider.

“Listen, Auntie,” I said, “don’t worry about it. I probably don’t need any more sugar in my diet, y’know?”

She hesitated, confused. I smiled, then put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Blue’s right about one thing,” I said. “I have been eating a lot of junk food lately. I would have loved to try your cake—heck, I know you worked hard enough on it—but I still know you took the time out to make it yourself. And that’s almost as good, in my book.” I grinned. “Plus, I can still fit in all my dresses.”

Auntie flashed a watery smile. I was getting somewhere.

“Tell you what,” I said. “I know how much Shiny and Uncle Nightie were looking forward to it. Would it help if I brought cake over?”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, no, Cece,” she said, “it’s your birthday, you don’t have to do that—”

I shook my head. “I don’t. But I’m paying all those caterers enough as it is,” I said. “Might as well get some use out of ‘em.” I smiled a little wider. “So: would it be alright with you if I had them make a cake, just for us? Triple-layered, with chocolate mousse filling? If you haven’t had that stuff, it’s to die for.” I winked. “And you don’t even have to sing again, if you don’t want to.”

Her smile brightened a little more. “That might be… nice,” she said.

“Great,” I said. “I’ll get ‘em started on it first thing tomorrow morning, and hopefully, it’ll be ready by tomorrow night. Unless that’s too soon?”

She shook her head. “Should be okay right after dinner,” she said.

“Great,” I said again. “I’ll be by for dinner again tomorrow.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What about Blueblood?”

“He’s a big colt,” I said. “He can fend for himself.”

She snorted, then hesitated. I looked at her questioningly, but, before I could speak, she took a step forward, took me in an awkward hug, and kissed me on the forehead.

“Oh, you silly goose,” she said fondly, tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. She squeezed me a little tighter. “Thank you.”

I grinned, reached up my free arm, and squeezed her around the shoulders. She laughed a little, then took a step back.

“I’ll… let you wash up,” she said, a little self-consciously.

“It’s fine, Auntie, really,” I said.

She smiled, gave me a little nod, then slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her. I grinned, then turned back to the mirror.

* * *

“And… I think this is the last one, Cece.”

I took the thin, flat package from Uncle Nightie. Looked like a box of chocolates, from the shape, but it was really heavy.

The five of us were all sitting on the couches in the living room. After I returned from the bathroom, Auntie had handed me the traditional plastic birthday crown, which I wore with pride; everyone else was wearing cardboard party hats for the occasion.

(I snuck a glance at Shiny, wearing a navy-colored hat with aqua stars. It matched his mane well—really well.)

(...Is it weird to admit that you think that your almost-brother could be pretty cute, sometimes?)

A clatter came from the kitchen, and I looked up. From where I was sitting, I could see Blueblood standing at the sink where he’d been exiled, his back to me, already elbow-deep in dishes. I snorted. Served him right.

I looked down. On the floor in front of me, in a pile of wrapping paper, were my gifts: a big book of Power Ponies from Shiny, a biography of Joust Hoofstrong from Twi, a bird toy for Philomena from Uncle, and a stuffed animal—a frog I’d already dubbed “Froggy”—from Auntie. And then this one…

I ripped the paper off it, then stared. Slowly, I held it up: it was a wooden case, made of deep, rich walnut, with a brass latch and hinges. On the lid, in plain, gold letters, it read “REVEILLE & SONS TRUMPET CLEANING KIT.”

“No way,” I breathed.

I fumbled with the latch and reverently lifted the lid. Inside, on dark red velvet, lay a small army of cleaning tools—brushes of all shapes and sizes, a half-dozen cleaning cloths, and three glass bottles—glass—of metal polish, valve oil, and slide grease. It even smelled expensive.

“Lemme see,” Twi said, craning her neck.

I slammed the case shut and pushed it aside. I grabbed at the wrapping paper, looking for the card. I found a square of wrapping paper, folded over, taped to the front. I flipped it open, and stared.

“Who’s it from, Cece?” asked Auntie.

Slowly, I raised my eyes. In the kitchen, Blueblood still stood with his back to me, elbow deep in the dishes.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. I had no idea what to say—nor whether I could even believe what was happening.

Comments

[Cloud Dreamer]

Daaawwww Blueblood does care....in his own way.

[The Great Derpsby]

“It was just a joke,” he muttered, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

No, Blue, this is a joke:
"How many big brother princes does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
I don't know, but I know one who manages to screw up things."

[Level Dasher]

Another chapter that kind of has me torn about a character. Blueblood was such an @$$hole, but at the same time he got Cece such a nice gift... but does that make him think he had the right to do something so mean? Because it doesn't. Argh, I'm kind of lost here...

---

Just a few:

...even Shiny wouldn’t touch it—I...

Nothing wrong here, but I'm guessing this was supposed to be italicized?

...don’t need to any more sugar...

I think that 'to' is a leftover. Or you're missing 'get.'

“Might as well as get some...

Another leftover?

Onto the next chapter!

[brokenimage321]

8689897
If it helps: the next chapter should clear things up.

EDIT: actually--we're coming up on the end. Hopefully, you won't be conflicted for too much longer--I tried to tie off the loose threads pretty tight.

[Ice Star]

Now that's a peculiar ending!

[Comickook]

Hello there. Great job, again, on the "flashback" chapter. I absolutely loved that birthday scene; ESPECIALLY the hidden depths Blueblood showed at the end (while it might have not been enough to make up for that "joke" at the beginning of the chapter, it DOES show that, in his own way, he DOES care about his little sister. Anyway, splendid work on the exchanges and characterizations and now I'm off to the next chapter.

[Mitch H]

Huh. I had a fairly... fraught relationship with my only sibling, too. And weirdly enough, was second chair trumpet in band. But I didn't really love the instrument like Cece does; to be honest, I think the girl who inherited my battered trumpet when I quit band was more enthusiastic, and probably was a better player... somehow I still ended up with the damn thing after she was done. (And ended up married to her skeevy band director, but that's another, creepier story.)

In the end, that battered, dented trumpet got given to a coworker's son, for a third bite at the apple. Hopefully someone's making good music with it now, assuming it's still in shape for playing.

[PresentPerfect]

Okay, Blueblood was the last character I expected to see nuance from here. XD

[ponygrad]

Not weird. ♪ Since you're not related it'll be ok♪

[Zuabug]

T__T Okay, but like. Maybe there is a heart in there somewhere. I'm guessing she's not the only one that suffered T__T

[Sylica telca]

I want to strangle the bastard for ruining a beautiful cake!!