Velvet Quill & Sunny Skies

by Sledge115

IV ~ The Princess

IV
The Princess

The house is the size of the world. Or rather it is the world. And the Sun, and Moon.

– From The Great Hall of Asterion

* * * * *

All things considered, Velvet thought, being a houseplant felt nicer than she’d have imagined.

There was a sentence one didn’t hear every day, not even in Equestria. Only blissful silence had reigned and the feeling of a cool breeze ’round her leaves. Or perhaps was all in her mind comforting her now, some time after the fact, when it had been so sudden mere hours ago. Not that she had much to work with as a houseplant, thinking-wise.

Who knew hatching a dragon egg could be so… chaotic? And it had only been Twilight’s entrance exam to Celestia’s School!

But all was brushed aside in the euphoria that followed, once the dust settled and the first words that she heard were of Princess Celestia offering her daughter a place by her side, as her own personal student.

Now Velvet sat there with a calming brew before her, alone in the school cafeteria, waiting for the hours to go by for Twilight’s first day. The cafeteria was old, she could tell, just like the school with its cavernous ceiling dwarfing her figure. Though she could just hear the faint, ambient sounds of the school, from idle chatter between faculty members and the laughter of children, there remained that odd feeling of loneliness that had trailed her since Night Light, little Twilight Sparkle and she had set out from their home. Perhaps she ought to have come with Night Light on the tour, but the halls of the school were all too familiar to her already.

“Is this seat taken?” spoke a gentle voice, interrupting her thoughts.

“Go ahead, I’m still–” Velvet replied. Her voice was cut-off, though, when she looked up and met the warm gaze of Princess Celestia.

Celestia, Princess of All Equestria, was speaking to her. She remained quiet, numbly, her mouth hanging open, even as the Princess inclined her head, still wearing that tranquil smile of hers. Her great wings were held against her body, her alabaster coat shone in the light of her Sun that streamed into the cafeteria, and her ethereal mane of blue, green and pink continued to flow in the absence of wind.

“Much appreciated,” said the Princess, seating herself with elegance, surprisingly nimble for a mare as tall and grand as she. “I trust you’re doing well, Miss Velvet?”

“Y-yeah, I am,” Velvet said, clearing her throat. “Pardon me, Your Highness, um– all of this is very new to me. Very different from my son’s first day at school.”

Suddenly she felt awfully self-conscious She hadn’t even brought her dress or bowtie today.

Yet if the Princess took issue, none of that showed. She let out a melodious, charming laugh. “Oh, trust me, I believe you,” she said, sighing. “Three years since I’ve had a personal student and my, I haven’t seen any little filly as… driven as Twilight is.”

“Really?”

“Really,” said the Princess, shrugging. “She can tell you all about it yourself, but let me tell you, it’s not every day you have anyone so proudly, confidently tell you you’ve got a detail wrong in your own history book.”

Velvet felt her cheeks pale. “O-oh, uh…”

“It’s no issue,” the Princess said again. “Quite enthusiastic, and she was correct. I really do need to proofread better these days– Orion’s horn, not his belt.”

Velvet shot her a sympathetic glance. “When she gets going, she gets going,” she stated plainly. “It’s only her first day, at that.”

“The first of many to come, I do believe,” said the Princess. “You’ve got a marvellous daughter. I look forward to seeing her grow.”

“She won’t disappoint, Highness,” Velvet said, nodding. “She looked so happy when we showed her she’d been accepted.”

“Oh, do tell,” replied the Princess, resting her chin on her hooves.

“Well, ever since she’d seen her first Summer Sun Celebration,” Velvet began, “Twilight’s always looked forward to attending. So, my husband and I, we figured it’d be a nice surprise one weekend, after she’d spent so long studying.”

“Studying?”

“Mhm. She’d studied long, long before she even knew we applied her there,” said Velvet. “Oh, you should have seen her then. She was just jumping and skipping and cheering all over the place. It was like…”

Her voice trailed off. Her heart skipped a beat. How stupid of her to realise it now, to only think of it now so clearly. How happy Twilight had been when she’d been accepted, when she arrived at the School for Gifted Unicorns, when the Princess of the Sun extended the offer to be her personal student…

“Miss Velvet?”

“It was like she was finally happy,” Velvet said quietly. “Like… like she was so happy to be away.”

“Maybe we could–”

“It’s– well–” Velvet continued, feeling her eyes well-up with tears. “It feels like I’m slipping away, that it’s all gone too soon. Like I’ve done so much with her and yet it’s just–you’re you. You’re Celestia, the Princess that- that everyone looks up to. And I… I’m just so worried, too, that she’ll be so wrapped up in everything, that she’ll forget to have friends and–”

She wiped away at her muzzle.

“I’m sorry,” said Velvet, sniffling. “I probably shouldn’t– goodness gracious, we haven’t done the whole… parent-teacher meeting bit.”

“Actually, we just did.”

“What?”

“Oh, I didn’t want you to spend any longer than you should have,” said the Princess. “Hoovesbury Publishing, wasn’t it? Quite the busy days there, I imagine.”

“True, but–” Velvet said hurriedly. “I–I must have made a fool out of myself. I should–”

“Nonsense,” said the Princess. “What I see is a loving, responsible mother who cares a great deal for her daughter. That alone is enough, Miss Velvet. Twilight will have her own adventures and trials to face, but she’ll come to you when she needs you.”

“I hope so,” Velvet admitted. “It’s just– I don’t know, it’s all going so fast that I just…”

She felt a large, warm wing wrap over her.

“... You wish they’d slow down a little?” said the Princess.

Velvet blinked away tears, looking up towards the Princess. She looked so gentle, and kind.

“Y-yes,” Velvet said. “How–”

“Someone once told me that,” the Princess continued, solemnly. “You are her mother. You wouldn’t have missed anything for your daughter, not even the world. And she knows this. Don’t forget that.”

Perhaps her eyes had tricked her, Velvet thought, her mind and thoughts a fuzzy, emotional mess right then. For it couldn’t have been true, couldn’t have been possible. Yet as she looked at Princess Celestia’s comforting gaze, she saw the bright, cheery author who’d walked into her office so many years ago.

The bell rang. The clock had struck twelve.

“I– we should go,” said Velvet. “I need to pick her up, Your Highness. And… and thank you.”

“Like I’ve said,” the Princess said, inclining her head. “It’s no trouble. I suspect we have much to talk about soon. And don’t worry, Twilight will be amongst her peers.” She offered a warm smile. “She’ll be among friends, I’m sure.”

The Princess rose from her seat, motioning at Velvet with her magnificent wing.

“Come along,” she said. “Twilight awaits.”

Velvet didn’t move, at first. She kept thinking of it, when their eyes had met. That perhaps the Princess of All Equestria had come to her so many years ago, a hopeful author whose writings spoke of sunny days and calming nights of faraway lands, her deepest, truest self shown to her with each stroke of her quill and brush, all the books she’d loved to write and paint.

But who was she to pull the curtain away, when Sunny Skies had trusted her, when she’d so diligently, so joyfully kept her mask up for so very long…

Velvet looked at the Princess, smiling slightly.

“It’s nothing, Your Highness,” she said. “Lead the way.”

Comments

[Sir Mediocre]

All things considered, Velvet thought, being a houseplant felt nicer than she’d have imagined.

Oh, no, not again.