> Beneath the Golden Sun
>  by SuperPinkBrony12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Princess and The Filly
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day had been saved, Queen Chrysalis had been defeated and left to lick her wounds. And Princess Celestia (with the help of Spike) had defended Canterlot from an army of massive cockatrices.

To celebrate the victories, the two parties had thrown a celebration around a campfire. They'd spent hours telling stories of their heroic adventures, swapping jokes, and just generally having a good time.

All good things must come to an end eventually though. One by one everypony went to sleep, preparing to head home to Ponyville the next day (or in Princess Celestia's case to simply resume her royal duties as always).

However, as the sun princess was preparing to call it a night, she happened to notice that one pony was still stirring. Said pony being none other than Scootaloo, one third of the trio that called themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Drawing on her experiences from looking after Twilight as a filly, Celestia quietly scooted over to the little pegasus and sat down beside her. "Scootaloo," She softly called in a warm and maternal tone of voice. "What are you doing up at this time of evening? You should be asleep."

"I know, but I can't sleep. Too excited from everything that happened today, you know." Scootaloo replied as her tiny wings buzzed ever so slightly.

Celestia didn't buy Scootaloo's response for a second. She had a way of knowing when others weren't being fully truthful with her. And a situation like this reminded her of the time she had taken her sister's reassurances at face value, the end result being Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon and subsequent banishment. She still maintained that warm and maternal tone of voice though as she lightly scolded. "Scootaloo, you know you don't have to lie to me. I can tell that something is troubling you."

"Well, yeah. I mean, I'm still a little bit shaken up by the fact that Queen Chrysalis ponynapped my friends and I," Scootaloo responded as her facade seemed to crack ever so slightly. "But we all knew Twilight and our big sisters and all their friends were gonna show up and kick Chrysalis' sorry flanks! You should've seen it! Twilight was so awesome! I'd never seen anypony do the things she did!"

Celestia smiled. "That's my student for you. She has often exceeded even my highest of expectations and done things I myself would never have thought possible."

Then Scootaloo added. "But she's nowhere near as awesome as Rainbow Dash! She's just like Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's big sisters, only ten times as cool. She's super fast, super strong, and never afraid of anything."

"But she isn't your big sister, or is she?" Celestia pondered. "I've seen you two together occasionally, usually whenever the both of you are with your friends."

At that, the pegasus filly let out a sigh. "Well, no, she's not actually my big sister," Her mood changed from somber to eager as she added. "But she will be, someday! I just need to find the right time to get alone with her and make her see how awesome I am! 'Cause once she does, I know she's totally gonna take me under her wing and teach me everything she knows! And when I grow up, I'm gonna be just like her."

The sun princesses gave off a light but well meaning giggle. It was natural for children to have someone to whom they looked up to after all, and she could well remember how much Twilight still idolized her to this day. "May I ask why you're so eager to have Rainbow Dash as your big sister?" She inquired of the filly. "Don't you already have an older sibling?"

But Scootaloo shook her head. "No, I have no siblings at all. I'm an only child."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that. That means you get all the attention." Celestia smiled warmly.

Scootaloo just hung her head. "Except my parents aren't around very often. Over the past couple of years they've been away all the time due to work, and I'll be lucky if I see them for months at a time. They leave me in the care of my aunts: Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty. Aunt Holiday is my dad's older sister and an earth pony, Auntie Lofty is a pegasus."

"Oh." Was all the princess bothered to say. She decided it best not to say anything further.

"They mean well, and it's great that they like to know what goes on in my life, but Auntie Lofty especially can get kind of nosy," Scootaloo admitted with a sigh. "I've never told anypony else because I'm so embarrassed, but I think Sweetie Belle kind of knows. We've been friends ever since preschool."

"Why are you so embarrassed to have loving aunts? Family is family, no matter who it might be. And anypony should be grateful to have a loving family and a roof over their heads." Celestia spoke up.

"It's not that I'm ungrateful, it's just... different," Scootaloo sighed again. "Different from everypony else. And when I'm already one of the only blank flanks in my class, and my wings don't seem to work as well as they should, it really doesn't make me feel awesome, or cool, or anything like that."

The sun princess only shook her head. "It's what makes you unique, Scootaloo, for better or for worse. And your friends have their own unique family situations. Haven't you ever noticed that Sweetie Belle's parents aren't around often, or that Apple Bloom's parents died when she was little? I'm sure they wouldn't think any less of you for being raised by your aunts, and the same would hold true for Rainbow Dash."

"Yeah?" The pegasus filly nervously answered. "Because, there are some other things I don't think are very awesome. I still sometimes sleep with a night light on, and I have a hoof-stitched plush figure of Rainbow Dash that Auntie Lofty made for me on my birthday last year. I've never told anypony these secrets before."

"And you don't have to tell them if you don't want to. Everypony has their secrets, and it's up to them to decide when to tell if ever," Celestia lightly replied. "But you should never take for granted what you have. Because when you least expect it, all of that can be taken away from you."

At that Scootaloo adopted a rather puzzled look on her face. "What do you mean, Princess Celestia? You had a family once, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," Celestia confirmed as her mood became sorrowful. "Yet Luna and I can only barely remember who they were or what they looked like. Even when we were fillies, our parents more often entrusted us to the care of various teachers. One of them was Starswirl the Bearded, the greatest wizard who had ever lived. But even he left us one day, and it was quite sudden too. He just disappeared without a trace. The last thing he'd told us was that he was going on a trip with some ponies he'd met recently, and he'd be back soon."

"Wow!" Scootaloo commented in amazement. "I never would've guessed you knew Starswirl the Bearded. I mean, I only found out about him through Twilight, but I always assumed he practiced alone."

"He did for the most part, but he did have a couple of students now and then," Celestia responded as she adopted a somber and serious tone. "The point I'm trying to make though, Scootaloo, is that you can never take for granted those who love you. Don't ever be afraid to let them know how much they mean to you. Because if you don't, there may come a tomorrow when you're without them and you'll wish more than anything that you had told them you loved them one last time. And to show love is not to show weakness. Showing love to others is what makes you strong. After all, that's what my parents always believed. In fact, my dad was often fond of saying 'Excelsior', which means ever upward."





For a couple more minutes the two went on talking about various subjects related to friends and family. All the while, Scootaloo found herself starting to be lulled into a state of drowsiness.

Celestia noticed this too, for the sun princess gradually scooted over to the filly and draped a wing over her. "Getting tired, my little pony?" She questioned in a tone that sounded not unlike a mother asking her child.

Scootaloo yawned. "Maybe I am... just a little."

The sun princess smiled. "Well, would you like me to tell you a story to help you fall asleep?"

Scootaloo then rose her head. "Can I tell a story?"

Celestia was surprised that Scootaloo wanted to tell a story. "Well, it wouldn’t hurt."

"Remember SpongeBob?" Scootaloo asked.

"Twilight’s student from another universe?" Celestia asked, chuckling. "How could I forget?"

"Well, SpongeBob told me about the time he and his friends got challenged to go up on land, and almost got eaten by seagulls before his squirrel friend saved them?" Scootaloo asked. "I remember it started with them looking up at the clouds…"

Scootaloo began enthusiastically telling the story as Celestia listened to Scootaloo’s excitement, but it wasn't long before the filly found herself unable to keep her eyes open. Soon she had shut them and was fast asleep. As such, she didn't notice when Princess Celestia gently use her magic to lift her on her back. Scootaloo began to nuzzle into the Sun Princess’ neck.