A Pony's Guidebook to Becoming a Grand Duchess

by RuanQingSi

Possibly Mother

"Oh my little Celly! You're fine! You've finally woken up! You don't know how worried your mother was!" A mare with a pastel pink mane-hair tied up in a bun ran crying to Celestia as fast as any fifty year-old mare-woman could. The woman had a delicate nose, the lower part of her face adorned with peachy lips, and she wore rimless glasses over a pair of gentle amber eyes. These features probably acted as testament to the beauty the woman had in her youth.

The dress she wears looks similar to that of a stereotyped teacher, one with a white button-up blouse and a black skirt which stretches from her waist to the very bottom of her feet. One stylish addition to the ensemble would be the grey shawl wrapped around the woman's back and arms.

"M-mother?" Celestia asked. Though it would seem the women misunderstood Celestia's question for some sort of recognition, as she dawdled on with her talk.

"I'm so sorry Celly! I'm such a bad mother! I didn't know the Second Prince would do such a thing...if only I did, perhaps I could've stopped everything from going too far...and...you wouldn't have to suffer," the woman confided, crying on Celestia's shoulder, "But don't you worry, now that you've woken up, everything's going to be better. I promise." Breaking out of the hug she forced on an unsuspecting Celestia, the woman placed her hoov-hands on Celestia's shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

It was a strange moment for Celestia. She had always been the elder one, the mother figure for others, the one who sets the example, the one ponies expects to be benevolent, kind, and caring in times of their strife. The last time somepony-someone wrapped her in their hoov-arms and whispered words of maternal reassurance was when she was...but a filly, only seven years of age....

It took a while for Celestia to snap out of her trance, and when she did, she looked at the woman doubtfully. "You're...my mother?" No, to be exact, the mother of this body. The time Celestia used to realize that she had possessed a noble human from another dimension wasn't substantial. When the former sun princess had finally calmed down, she could easily pinpoint the truth based on the maid's reaction and words.

After Celestia uttered her question, the woman look shocked. Her eyes widened and her lips trembled. "Celly, are you alright? Don't you recognize...me?" Celestia glanced at the watery reflection in the woman's eyes and hesitated, but ultimately shook her head. She was not the woman's daughter, so she could not claim herself to be. She had lied many times in her long life, but she was not willing to lie to save a stranger's feelings.

The woman was shaking, restraining her dam of tears from spilling, and her entourage of maids and attendants in the room was silent. After recovering from the shock, the woman scanned Celestia with expectant eyes, desperate to find some sort of clue that could indicate what condition had occurred to her daughter that the doctor had not informed her. Celestia turned her head sideways. She was afraid that if she even took a glimpse of those amber eyes, she would be overtaken by the woman's emotions.

Celestia honestly didn't know if the woman had lost her daughter. Celestia had possessed her, so it was likely the woman wouldn't see her child again. She wasn't sure. Though, there was a chance she was related to owner of the body's dissappearance. The possibility brought a tinge of guilt to her heart. Then there was empathy. She was compassionate towards the woman who lost her daughter, yes, but would feeling bad for someone help?

In the chamber, there was only silence. The woman who called herself the body's mother was busy struggling to stabilize her mind, and so too did the maids and butlers. As for Celestia, she was not willing to be the one to break the impasse. How could the one who has possibly caused this woman the loss of her child, be the one to comfort her? Furthermore, it was not as if she could spill the truth of the matter. Even she, who comes from a magical world full of mysterious wonders and has lived for more than a millennia finds her current circumstance unbelievable, not to mention the audience of maids and butlers before her.

It was not until a while after that the woman's grasp over Celestia's arms finally loosened as she turned around slowly. She then quiveringly gave instructions to who Celestia infers is the head maid based on her attire. "Summon the doctor." Celestia peered at the woman, surprised. In the end, the woman concluded that she was...ill? Then again, body swap was not a usual deduction for one to end up with. Thinking along the standard lines, illness is a reasonable presumption.

"Right away, Old Madam!" Responded the head maid as she dashed toward the door serving as the exit out of the chamber. The woman titled Old Madam reverted her eyes back to Celestia, her hands engulfing the former sun princess's hands entirely, their warmth unexpectedly touching the bottom of Celestia's heart. Celestia, resigning to her fate, subsequently and tentatively allowed herself eye contact with the woman before her.

"Celly," the woman croaked as tears stained the corner of her eyes, her hands rubbing hers affectionately, "Don't worry, no matter what happens, you'll always be my daughter." Celestia's eyes widened. These words were beyond Celestia's realm of expectation. Suddenly another voice echoed in Celestia's mind. The voice was distant and soft, its volume too low to fully comprehend, as if the one muttering was on their dying breath.

"Don't worry, you will always be my daughter."

Unbeknownst to Celestia herself, droplets of liquid began pouring from her eyes, their speed like a waterfall's. Although she didn't bawl, it was still childish, crying when she was supposed to be over a thousand years old. However, she wasn't the only one surprised by these tears, as the deed sent the pink haired woman spiraling in panic as she hurriedly tried to console the crying Celestia.

"Ah-d-don't cry Celly! It's mother's fault! It's mother who is wrong for making you upset! You can do whatever you want, even marrying the Second Prince! Mother will seek an audience with His Majesty for the marriage of you and His Highness! How's that?" Hearing the woman's clumsy words of comfort, warmth filled Celestia's heart. Perhaps deep in her heart, she still desired the sentiment a mother can gift her child. Though, what was the purpose of agonizing over a matter permanently lost in the past? Such acts would only spark pain.

Thinking to this, Celestia was awakened from her silly emotional outburst and began scolding herself. What retired ruler would cry like this? It was puerile! To prevent herself and the woman from further humiliation, Celestia quickly expressed that her emotional condition was well. "I'm fine. There's no need to go so far."

What Celestia meant as 'going so far' was the woman's recommendation of marriage. When Celestia was young, she did somewhat yearn for a partner to spend her life with, but when she ascended to the position of Princess, she later dropped the idea. Even till this day, Celestia had never experienced marriage, and she did not have any plans to regain that youthful dream.

Although the woman seemed a bit unconvinced with her confirmation, she reluctantly dropped the matter and sat down on a white cushioned chair crested with a golden phoenix on its top together with Celestia all the while tightly holding her hand. Celestia knew what they and the other maids and butlers in this room were doing; they were waiting for the arrival of the doctor.

Celestia too was curious on what the doctor of this world would diagnose her with; or, would they would be confused by her circumstance? She didn't know what to do in this unfamiliar world, in this strange situation, so she could only do what ponies call "go with the flow", and wait.

Author's Note:

I'm SO SO SO sorry for taking so long to upload ONE chapter! Due to studying, and taking exams, and a recent trip to Southeastern Asia, I was rendered practically unable to write or post until lately. It took quite a while for me to finally get into the spirit fit for writing again after a moderately long pause. I was seriously wondering if I was experiencing writer's block . Anyways, my serious apologies to anyone who wanted me to keep up and I ended up failing your expectations...