Those That Watch Over You
It was just another day for the all-powerful alicorn; nothing special or out of the ordinary. She arose from her bed, the moon still covering the land in its soft gentle glow, the mare in the moon gazing down upon the inhabitants of Equestria. First, she checked her face in a magically conjured mirror, making sure that her eyes her clear and bright and the fur around her face unmarked by tears. She had dreamt of her lost sister: of a time when their family was whole and unbroken, when she and Luna had just been fillies and her parents had been there to guide them through any and all troubles and squabbles. Now, she was the only one left.
Celestia shook her head, trying to rid those depressing thoughts from her mind. It would not do for her subjects to think she had been weeping in the watches of the night; she could just imagine all the wild and fanciful stories the press would publish. Brushing away any ruffled fur and casting a spell to refresh her complexion from any worry and exhaustion, Celestia sipped at some light coffee to help break the morning fog that clouded her head.
The alicorn then combed her mane thoroughly, making sure to remove all the tangles that had accrued during her hours of rest: having a magically flowing mane at all times had its drawbacks after all. She donned her shoes and necklace, carefully placing the crown upon her head, making sure all the articles were buffed and shined. Finally the alicorn stepped back, observing her appearance in the mirror one last time, making sure everything was in its proper place. As always, it was all perfect. Thus Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and guardian of the Sun and Moon, was ready to begin the day that lay before her.
She initiated the dawn, allowing the soft, gentle glow of the morning light to stream over the land she was charged to protect, the Sun awakening her subjects to their daily tasks. This particular morning she partook of a light breakfast consisting of a simple hay and oats medley in the company of several visiting dignitaries, none of whom were exceptionally conversational despite her best attempts at breaking the frigid ice that seemed to hang over the room.
One rather silent meal later, Celestia began her first session of court audiences. There was the typical intrigue, disagreements, panic and overall curious characters; in other words, it was incredibly boring. It was the exact same morning she faced every single day, filled with high class ponies that thought way too much of themselves and made far more of every little tiny hiccup than any pony should ever have a right to. Outwardly, Celestia smiled with all the radiance and grace in the world, appearing to listen with the utmost sympathy and attention; inwardly she was bashing her head against the citadel wall. Hard.
Yet another high-pitched pony began wailing about this and that. Celestia imagined taking a vacation on the Sun.
<)(>
Celestia loved her subjects. She really did. She wanted each and every one of them to be as happy as possible, and desired that they would all live in harmony, never enduring the heartbreak she had when her sister… Celestia immediately halted that train of thought; having a breakdown in the castle corridors would simply not do. Besides, it was time to visit the school and see how the young unicorns were coming along in their magical and educational studies.
Down the halls she walked, the calming clip-clop of her shrouded hooves echoing off the grand halls. Here and there she saw older students galloping about from one lab to the next, while the younger ones traveled together towards their next classes. It always brought a smile to her face, seeing the next generation growing into fine young ponies, but today that smile just wasn’t heartfelt. Sure, a grin was present on her face, but it just didn’t feel genuine. Everywhere she looked she was reminded not only of her sister, but of her mother as well. Her mother had always talked about starting up a school where those talented in magic could push their limits and learn how to use their abilities to the fullest capacity. She would go on and on about how important it was that young ponies test themselves in order to build character and moral fiber, but she had sadly not lived to see the day when the interest in such an establishment finally grew to the point where the founding of such a school was feasible.
Mind elsewhere, Princess Celestia’s wandering hooves eventually brought her crashing muzzle to flank with a unicorn that was practicing a repair spell on one of the grand hanging chandeliers. With a startled screech, the poor unicorn’s spell went haywire, causing the entire chandelier to shatter into thousands of pieces with a large bang, scattering the fragments all over the atrium and frightening many of the nearby young ponies into their own misfires. By the time the ordeal was over, nearly 14 spells had gone awry, leaving the whole northern portion of the school in various states of disarray, ranging from smoking holes to covered in blue and purple paint to swarmed by angry frogs.
<)(>
After nearly an entire afternoon spent mending the damage dealt by the fiasco, Princess Celestia decided to tarry just a moment to bid goodbye to the smaller fillies finishing classes for the day. Amongst the sea of ponies, her eyes instinctively fell on her personal protégé, Twilight Sparkle, as the young pony galloped to her mother and pulled something out of her saddlebag.
“Look mom! I made this for you in our creativity block: Happy Mother’s Day!” Twilight practically radiated with pride and happiness. Her mother’s eyes misted slightly as she hugged her daughter tightly.
“Thank you sweetie. It’s beautiful; I love it, and I love you.”
“Love you too mom.”
Celestia had to quickly leave to compose herself. She had finally figured out why her thoughts were turned towards her sister and mother to the point of distraction. It was Mother’s Day, and she and Luna had always made a huge fuss about taking care of their mom and making her feel especially loved on this day. Breakfast in bed, flowers, candy, hooficures, scented baths, lots of hugs: the works. True, it hadn’t always turned out perfect, but it had always been a very special day for the three of them.
Celestia tried to wrestle her quickly devolving emotions under control, but efforts to do so only met with failure as tears threatened to wash down her face. Unwilling to appear in such an uncomposed manner in front of the fillies, Celestia used a quiet teleportation spell to travel from the school to her own personal chambers. The alicorn quickly called for her personal assistant and had her cancel any future events for the evening, claiming she wasn’t feeling well. Inkwell had tried to insist on staying and taking care of her princess, but Celestia had shooed the worried unicorn away, insisting she just needed some bed rest and she would feel right as rain.
The great ruler had just flopped down on the pillows by the hearth for a good cry when a scroll materialized over her head in a burst of magical fire. The alicorn was so surprised that the scroll hit her on the head then bounced to the floor, coming to rest by her hooves. For a short while, the princess continued to stare at the offending article, not quite comprehending what had happened. Finally regaining her senses, Celestia lit her horn and unrolled the message.
“Dear Princess Celestia,
I saw you today at school; you were saying goodbye to all of my class as we went home for the day. You looked sad. I tried to talk to you, but you left before I could get close enough to catch your attention. My mom asked me why I looked so worried, and I told her you didn’t seem happy like you normally do; you usually have such a beautiful smile every time I see you. My mom was silent for a while, then she suggested I write a letter to you when we got home, as that would cheer you up for sure. I’ve never galloped home so fast ever!
Today is Mother’s Day, but you probably knew that, of course you knew that, and I know that you aren’t my mom, but you’ve always been there for me when I needed you, and you’re always so encouraging and nice. You’re like a second mom for me! It might be a little improper of me to send a princess this, but I’ve made up my mind that it’s worth going to the dungeon. I hope you like it. Happy Mother’s Day Princess Celestia.
Love,
Your Faithful Student
Twilight Sparkle”
Celestia, tears beginning to well up in her eyes again, unrolled the attachment on the scroll. On it was a drawing made with colored sea sand magically adhered to the medium. It depicted a regal white alicorn, the sun shining behind her, her mane flowing in the soft colors of the rainbow, a beautiful smile gracing her lips. Beside the alicorn stood a small young purple unicorn, a happy grin on her face and a sparkle in her eye as she cast a spell that lit the sky up with a firework medley that read, “Happy Mother’s Day.”
It was almost more than Celestia could bear. As a filly, she and Luna had made a craft almost identical to this one for their mom on this day, many years ago. The resemblance brought another wave of grief, but another look at Twilight’s drawing banished those feelings from her heart, replacing them with the warmth of love. Celestia was reminded why she did what she did; why she spent day after day performing an endless stream of thankless tasks. All it took was one little filly to remind her that she was a mother to all of Equestria, and that she loved her subjects deeply, and that many of them loved her back just as much.
And for the first time that day, Celestia truly smiled.
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed this short dedication to Mothers everywhere. Please feel free to critique, as it helps improve the quality of the writing that you guys get to chew up later! ;)
Those That Watch Over You
“What are we doing tonight daddy? Huh huh huh? What are we doing tonight?” The little filly pranced around happily, leaping and galloping about like… well, like an excited little filly. Her father chuckled as he tried to avoid stepping on his enthused little girl as she raced about. Catching the excited purple pony in his magic, he pulled her close and booped her nose, then gave her a kiss as she giggled and set her down.
“You’re going to learn all about the night sky my little pony.” The filly immediately crossed her hooves and frowned. Beneath his stern exterior, her father had a miniature heart attack. ‘How does she make pouting look so cute? How does my wife even stand that face?’ The little pony huffed.
“We’ve been doing lessons like this every night. Can’t we do something different for once?” Her father let loose one of his signature deep, resonating chuckles and gently pushed his daughter towards the balcony where they always took their lessons.
“I thought you liked learning about the night? Your sister told me that you said it was your ‘favoritist thing ever’.” The filly still didn’t look too enthused.
“Well, yeah it is, but I’m tired of just learning all the time.” Her father smiled knowingly. He had gone through the same exact phase when he was young, and knew that his daughter needed an exciting push to rekindle her interest in the subject of the heavenly bodies of the night. It was for this precise reason that he had planned a little something special for tonight’s lesson.
Continuing to direct his reluctant girl towards the balcony, the stallion smiled knowingly then casually said, “Good thing we’re doing something different tonight then huh?” Faster than lightning Luna was on the balcony, positively bursting with renewed enthusiasm, a torrent of unintelligible questions and exclamations pouring forth from her mouth like a broken facet. With an amused smirk, her father gently closed his daughter’s mouth with his magic and shook his head slowly, indicating she needed to listen. The little filly nodded in understanding, now only her tail and ears twitching in excitement, her eyes reflecting the setting sun.
“That’s better. Now, tonight you’re going to get to raise the moon.” The stallion held up a hoof, halting the incoming stream of. “To do this, you need to remain calm so you can focus. Luna, are you listening to me?” The little filly, distracted by a passing butterfly, snapped her head back to full attention on her father.
“Yes daddy; sorry.”
“Good. Now, I want you to try to raise the moon. Light your horn and reach out to it. Let the moon guide you; it knows what to do. You just need to take its hand and help it to rise.”
Luna nodded, determination filling her eyes. She got to her hooves and faced the now empty horizon. Setting her stance, the little filly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then another. Her horn began to glow, the magical aura growing to several fields as she tried to pull the moon into view. For about five seconds everything was going well, but then Luna felt a strange tug. She grimaced as the weight of the moon pulled on her magic, threatening to throw her off balance and disrupt her spell. Luna tried to fight it, but the moon was just too heavy and began to slip out of her grasp. The purple filly began pouring all her young alicorn strength into holding onto the heavenly body, but nothing seemed to help; if anything it made it even worse. Panic rose in her chest, costing her further ground as everything began to grow dark and muted. The filly tried yanking away from the pull of the moon to stop the frightening tug; instead it only served to tire her magical reserves even farther. Nearing exhaustion, Luna was about to give up in fear and frustration when a strong voice cut clear through the murkiness.
“I’m here my little pony; you’re going to be just fine. Don’t fight it, Luna. You’ve only to guide the moon; let your magic gently push it along its proper path. Don’t be frightened, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Her father’s voice alone filled the filly with strength. She could see him, always quiet and calm, his small smile making her feel safe and secure from all evil in the world. Taking a deep breath, Luna stopped trying to pull the moon. She switched tactics, giving it nudges to get it moving. She didn’t try to force it to go any certain way; she just helped get the giant body moving. To her amazement, Luna could feel the moon began to slide easily across the heavens. Her magic just about gone, Luna dug deep for the last push she needed to get the moon up and shining. Her monumental task complete, the filly finally opened her eyes, and realized tears were streaming down her cheeks.
The filly turned to her father, who wore that same smile that always made her feel warm and safe. With a sob, she flung herself into her dad’s arms, seeking comfort from the experience she had just endured. He hugged her tightly, calmingly stroking her mane.
“Shh. Shh. It’s okay Luna: it’s all over. I’m here. I’m still here. Nothing is going to hurt you.” The filly just wiggled farther into the embrace.
“I was so scared, it felt like the moon would pull me away, and I didn’t want to go!”
“I know, but look.” Easing his daughter around, he gently directed her gaze to the night sky. There, floating just above the distant mountains was a beautiful full moon, its soft pale light glowing brightly across the landscape. Luna stopped sobbing, her breath hitching in her chest at the beauty of the sight. Her father leaned down, whispering in her ear, “You did this Luna. You did this. I’m so proud of you, and always will be.” He gave her a kiss then set her down, the little filly still staring profoundly at the moon she had raised. After a moment she began to function again, and began noticing that not everything was right in the world after all.
“Hey dad, where’s the stars? What happened?” Her father chuckled.
“Those need to be raised as well, Luna.” The filly’s jaw dropped all the way to the ground, her eyes growing as wide as dinner plates.
“They all need to be raised!?”
“They do, though they’re not as hard as the moon.” The stallion trotted to the lounging pillows and took a seat, gesturing for his daughter to join him. As she nestled in beside him, he began explaining. As he talked, the stallion began bringing out the stars, slowly drawing them into place one by one.
“When you create the night, you must create all of its aspects; you must be able to envision all the stars exactly as they should be. That’s why you’ve been learning so much about all the heavenly bodies: so that you can put them in their proper place and create a truly stunning night sky. You see Luna; the stars are set on a path, just like we are. They are locked in their orbit, their destinies already determined. However, they need a little encouragement to get there. That’s where you come in. You’re going to help guide them each and every night to get where they need to be. You’ll learn how to be gentle when you have to be, and how to be firm when the need arises. Through this, you’ll also learn how to be a wise and kind princess: how to govern your subjects with the correct strength so that they too may realize their destiny and join their proper place in the beautiful mural of life.”
The filly took her eyes off the night sky to look at her father. “So I’m going to get to be just like you?” The comment took the stallion by surprise, his heart bursting with affection for his little girl. Fighting to keep the tears from his eyes, he wrapped his daughter in his hooves and gave her a kiss.
“No, you’re going to be even better. You’ll be a fantastic ruler one day Luna.”
“There’s no way I’ll be as good as you daddy.” The stallion smiled as he set his daughter back down, the two admiring the night sky: his sparkling gems and her beautiful moon, the two melding into one stunning image.
“We’ll see.”
Silence reigned for a while, then Luna stood on her tippy-hooves and whispered in her father’s ear:
“I love you daddy.”
“I love you too Luna.”
…
…
…
“Alright, time for your studies.”
“AWWWWWW!!!!”
Author's Note
So after writing my tribute story for Mother's Day, my muse kept banging me over the head with the idea for this small one-shot, so I gave in and wrote a Father's Day equivalent to "Just Another Day?" Yeah, I know its nowhere close to the actual day; blame my muse. Anyways, as always please please please leave some critique or comments so I can improve my skills for you, the reader. Ciao.