Celestia looked out to the morning sky as her eyes scanned the horizon. Small tendrils of grey smoke drifted up towards from the horizon, the remnants of the blaze that had started last night. Her guards had tried to reign it in, but water and magic could only do so much against drought and dry timber. She raised a hoof to her eye, rubbing at it as she forced down a yawn. The door behind her creaked as it opened, and she turned to see Kibitz standing there, his graying mustache a mess that was currently getting a comb through it. “Do you have my morning coffee?”
The stallion shook his head, keeping the door open with his flank. “My apologies princess, but I couldn’t find Soyset anywhere. However, you’ve waited long enough to wake up and they need you.”
Celestia glanced back down towards the city and the silence. Even all the way up here, she should have been able to hear the sounds of shops opening, and prices being argued. They were sounds that comforted her as she rose the sun normally. Today though, the town was silent, in respect to the tragedy everyone had witnessed. Celestia stepped away from the window, making sure her mane kept her face hidden from her advisor. “How much of the town met with the blaze, and how was it started?”
Kibitz sighed as he followed the princess down the stairs that led away from her bedroom. “Everything we know is only speculation of course so far. Some ponies are being hysterical and saying half, while pegasi are saying… a quarter.” He waited for a few moments as Celestia stopped, before prodding her along. This was not all of the news he had, and they had a busy day ahead of themselves.
“Even worse is where it struck. Since it seemed to start almost directly in-between the seedier parts of town, and the merchant district, we lost a good few of our banks, two schools, a few high class-“
“How many homes?” Celestia was almost glaring at him, annoyed by trivial things like banks and such even being a thought at the moment.
Kibitz let a tear fall, before knowing that any real mourning would cause them to get even more off schedule then they already were. He glanced at the door that led out of the castle, but decided it was best she knew now. “Early estimates are almost a hundred, as it did start right in the residential areas. I… I’m sorry, my princess.”
She looked down, her body shaking at the information, but she didn’t know where to place it. Didn’t know what to blame for this pain. “And speculation on the how?”
Kibitz swallowed hard, and prayed for the poor souls he was about to condemn. “Like everything else it’s…” he glanced out the window and decided against the use of hazy for the terminology, “uncertain. The best lead is a small group of visiting entertainers who used lots of fire in their performances. They were, unfortunately, nowhere to be found once the fire broke out, and their show for today seems to have been cancelled.”
Celestia took in a deep breath, her rage almost boiling over in her tired state. They would pay for destroying so much of her home, and for hurting so many of her little ponies… but now was not the time. She let out a long breath, and nodded, opening the doors to a small crowd that had been waiting there. They needed her, and she could wait to find the charlatans until after they could smile again.
She stepped out, and nodded to the assembled mass, who shook in the early, fall air. Some were crying still, while others were covered in ash. The worst for her were the ones who simply stared, waiting for answers as they always did. Answers Celestia rarely had. Celestia cleared her throat, and spread her wings. “For all who are here, I want you to know that all is fine. While what happened was a tragedy, the fire has been handled, and we will come back. This was merely a slight tarnishing, and soon Canterlot will return to being the polished gem it always is.”
A collective sigh escaped the mob, reassured by the princess’ confidence. Kibitz nudged Celestia in the side, before whispering, “If you want to make it down there in a timely fashion, I suggest flying. Unless you want fifty questions before your coffee.”
Celestia forced herself not to react, simply continuing to smile as if all was alright. “Please tell me you have someone working on that? I could really use it today.”
He nodded as the first ponies began to climb the steps. “I made sure to get someone started on that before I came to you. They’ll meet you down there, but you should go now.”
She nodded, bending her knees, before a strong downbeat brought her to the skies. One of the pegasi began flying towards her, but stopped once he noticed where she was heading, deciding instead to stay far from the smoldering buildings.
From high above, she could see why Kibitz believed the Pegasi. She herself would guess about thirty percent of the town had burned from the flames. If not when measured by feet and miles, then most certainly when measured by homes, including the apartment building she glided down from, the frame being all that was left of it. She was barely keeping her tears back as she landed, ash immediately staining her white coat.
Few ponies were there, not that she could blame them. The smell of burnt wood, plastic, fur… and more, clung to the air like a heavy blanket. Celestia had seen battlefields like these before, but still had a hard time keeping the bile in her down. This was her home, not a battlefield. Glancing at one of the guards who was sorting through the wreckage though, she couldn’t quite tell the difference.
Rattle.
Celestia glanced over at the sound, her ears coming up as she tried to figure out where it came from. A piece of slate fell to the sidewalk, and Celestia saw as discarded timber rumbled. She slowly made her way over, her magic pulling away pieces of the destroyed home from the pile, her heart swelling as she got ready to greet whatever family had made it. The first body she say was a red mare, with a yellow and white mane. She would have been beautiful, if not for the blood and burns that covered her body. Celestia absentmindedly moved the next large piece of drywall as a tear fell down her face. She put a hoof to the side of the mare’s face, barely touching it as her chest felt like it was collapsing, just as it and possibly done so for her maid, Soyset.
The body moved out of reach for a moment, the creature beneath it finally having little enough obstructing it from getting out. Poking her head out, was a five year old filly. Her coat was a dull yellow, matched by short tendrils of yellow and red that sprouted like wildfire from her head. She was gasping as she met the clean air, before coughing up black ash. She was on her side, curled up in the fetal position as she looked up. looked up. Her eyes widened at the site of the princess, and in her scramble to follow her mother’s lessons and bow to the princess, she fell flat on her face.
Celestia was stunned. She could only watch as the filly managed to get back to her hooves and perform a bow, before moving back to her mother. The monarchs heart was almost ripped out of her chest as the foal put her hooves on her mother. “Mom, you need to get up. It isn’t good to not bow before the princess. Mom, please, I don’t want you to get a timeout.”
Celestia stepped back, her tired mind wanting to reject this. Deny that any of this was unfolding before her. She wasn’t seeing what a stupid accident had wrought. She could not drown out the foal’s voice though, and the filly’s change from wanting her mother to bow, to simply begging her to wake up was the last straw. She couldn’t ignore this. Not when she was so small, and in such pain. It wouldn’t be right in any circumstance, and Soyset had been too loyal for too long for Celestia to not do right by her daughter.
A gasp came from behind her, and she barely glanced at Kibitz as he came up beside her, her focus on the sobbing filly having kept her from noticing his approach. No words were traded as he took in the situation, and Kibitz swallowed hard as Celestia finally turned away. “I will make sure she gets into a good orphanage, prince-“
“You will do no such thing. She already has a home, or at least will in two weeks’ time.”
Kibitz raised an eyebrow as he came closer. “I’m not quite sure I understand, princess. She needs to find a family, and while I’ll admit that the foster home system isn’t the best, it’s the only one we have.”
Celestia stopped, before sighing, having chosen an alley to do this in. She didn’t want others to know her decision here. It would bring more unnecessary troubles for her, and, more importantly, the young filly. “Soyset had served me loyally for twenty years, ever since she herself was barely able to be considered a mare. She was one of my closest friends and confidants, and thought the world of me. She almost didn’t have me preside over her wedding because she thought she wasn’t worthy.”
Kibitz slammed a hoof into the ground, stopping her from going further. It would simply be a waste of time. “If you are certain, then will let the guards take her, clean her up, and bring her to your chambers by tonight. However, I beg of you to reconsider as you are already so busy, and do not have time for a foal. I will not let you shirk your royal duties just because of one, small, unicorn.”
Celestia nodded for a moment. Kibitz was of course right, now matter how much it hurt. How was she supposed to raise a filly when she barely had time for herself? The image of the little one trying to kneel before her came to mind, and she knew her want could not be a reality. “No… No, they will not bring her to my chambers, because she mustn't know. I would only confuse and hurt her more by trying to replace her mother now, and I simply do not have the time to take care of a pony who calls me mother. It would hurt too much to leave them alone as I would need to. I will not leave her to the foster care system though.”
Kibitz was quiet, before putting one hoof onto Celestia’s side, making sure the princess knew he was there, even if it meant seeing tears he never was supposed to. “What do you propose we do then?”
“I… I do not know.”
He nodded, making a list of new things he would have to do. He was already to be busy for the next few weeks, so why not add one more grand plan? “Then it is a good thing you have me princess.” He waited for her to turn, their heads almost level from her bent neck. “Your royal student privilege has been dormant for quite a while, but the room for said student is still warm, and well maintained. If you attended the test, while this is merely speculation, and I would never condone any sort of favoritism, you could make sure the scores were a bit more… favorable. I even suggest you wait two weeks, so as to make the chance to become your student be seen as you trying to help one of the survivors seek a future. But as I said, it’s all speculation, and any of the ponies who applied obviously would have an equal chance at being the best.”
Celestia smiled as a tear still came down her face, before wrapping a hoof, and her wings, around her advisor. “You are far too wise to be forced to handle a mess of a mare as myself. Thank you for putting up with it anyways.”
Kibitz smiled as they parted, a frantic mare running up behind him. “You know I would have it no other way.”
The mare’s hooves screeched along the stone alleyway as she stopped beside Kibitz, holding in her magic a mug that steam rose out of. “Your… coffee… princess.”
Celestia stared at the mare for a few moments, her chest seizing up and threatening to force her tears back. She blinked three times, and then looked to the sky. “Is there milk in it?”
The mare paled and crossed her forehooves. “N-no. My apologies, princess.” She jumped a bit as the cup was taken from her and lifted to Celestia’s muzzle.
She took a sip of the black liquid, the hair on her back rising from the awful, bitter taste. Coming away though, she let one more tear fall into the cup as she forced a smile to her lips. “It’s perfect.”
Sunset Shimmer sits on a rug within the Royal Canterlot Library. This is where she spends most of her days now, reading books and comics to sharpen her mind. Of course, she is so young that, currently, Harry Trotter was as high as she could go with reading, though the dictionary in front of her should fix that soon. Well, as long as the small filly didn't throw it out due to boredom first.
A slight creak gets Sunset to glance over at the door, and she levitates the book upright, before dashing behind its open pages. She knows she shouldn't fear the larger mare, but with all she had been told by her late mother, and the fact that she had only recently become Celestia’s student, the princess both inspired, and terrified her. She crouched lower when she heard the melodic voice of Celestia’s pierce the silence.
"Now, where could my student have gone? I was told she was in here like normal, but all I see is books." Celestia spotted the slight flick of a yellow and red tail, and smiled. "Well, while I'm here, I suppose I should read up on the newest slang the colts are using nowadays."
Sunset heard the words, and first wondered what slang was. Before she could check in the dictionary that was her minimal fortress, a golden aura surrounded her protective walls. She panicked, and wrapped her hooves around it, closing it, but also failing to keep it on the ground.
Celestia bit back pain that rose in her chest. While she was happy to know that Sunset had the latent ability to be her student, seeing her daughter still cower from her, even after these past few weeks of lessons hurt. She came dangerously close to cutting her cheek open as she reminded herself to think of Sunset as her student, not her daughter. Otherwise, she may slip up.
"Well, there's my student. How are you?"
Sunset shook a bit more, before unsteadily attempting to stand on the book. She wobbled a bit, but Celestia made sure she stayed upright. "Careful little one. You don't want to hurt yourself, do you?"
Sunset shook her head and crossed her front hooves, before undoing that action to stop herself from plummeting the three feet to the floor. "N-no Princess Celestia. I...I'm sorry I didn't hear you. I was busy reading."
Celestia held back another sigh, before nodding and putting the filly and her book down. "Can you guess why I'm here?" She waited to get a small shake from Sunset, before she levitated a box in. "Today is our one month anniversary of being student and teacher. I thought it might be nice to get you something besides these books to play with." She reached into the box and pulled out a single, blue, train. "His name is Thomas. He believes that if you say or think you can do it, then you can! I thought it fit your fiery determination."
She stayed quiet as Celestia laid out more trains for her, staring at the blue engine specifically. Her eyes were wide as she tried to comprehend what was happening. Celestia, her teacher, the one who already had given her more knowledge about magic than any filly her age, and a home, was now giving her toys. And what did she want? For her to play? Sunset blinked for a moment, trying not to cry as the smell of ash filled her nose. "Th-thank you."
Celestia smiled down upon Sunset, gently stroking the filly's mane. "Don't think anything of it. Simply enjoy."
The small filly looked back upon the little blue engine. It was her first toy in a long time, and if the princess wanted her to just enjoy it, that is what she planned to do. So, for the first minute of her time with the train, she simply sat there, staring at it, and trying to enjoy it like some mysterious work of art. During this time, Sunset discovered two chips in the paint, that the wheels could turn, and that this was exceedingly boring.
She scrunched her muzzle, trying to think of something to do with it, before she batted at it with a hoof in annoyance. A small squeak came from the toy's poorly made wheels, and it moved forward. Sunset looked back at it before plodding along behind it, beginning to nudge it along with her nose. As the thing moved more and more, a smile broke out over her face.
The small horn on her head fizzled for a moment, before the golden aura stood fast. She lifted Thomas into the air and said a light, "Choo choo," as she started having it go around her head. If memory served her right though, there had been more. One by one, her army of trains came around her, whizzing about to and fro as she gave commands, naming real and imaginary cities for them to go to.
All of this not only made Celestia, who watched from a crack in the door, giggle, but also took an increasingly high amount of focus for the small filly. While she was trying to regain positioning of her fifth squadron for their attack on the Spinickers, she felt one come out of her grip. She swiftly turned around, hoping to catch where it was going. What she saw instead was a gray, smiling face, and blue body, coming straight for her.
Celestia slammed through the door as Sunset crashed against the ground. The princess held out one wing to protect her student from the trains that were coming down, and her knees buckled as she came close. Sunset whimpered on the ground, but to Celestia's relief, had only suffered a black eye from what she could see. "Are you okay little one?"
Sunset looked up, and her fear was gone, only wanting to be held. Held in a way she had once thought was lost to her. The small filly squirmed closer to Celestia, and began to cry as a wing fully enveloped her in the other pony's gentle warmth. She opened her bad eye for a moment, looking up to Celestia's soft, warm face, and started crying harder. "There there Sunset, it'll be okay, I promise."
The two sat there for almost ten minutes with the small body shaking on the floor, eyes shut as she dealt with the overwhelming pain she felt, and Celestia said sweet nothings in her ear. When Sunset finally opened her eyes, she looked to Thomas, expecting an apology, needing one from him.
All she got was the same, stupid grin.
Fwoosh!
Celestia's eyes widened at the train's sudden immolation, but soon lost interest as she had a daughter to take care of, and her crying had just restarted in earnest.
Author's Note
This chapter was actually written first, and was to be a normal chapter of Twaith so as to explain a question that never seemed to come up, why does Sunset hate Thomas the Tank Engine? How it went though got me to thinking what else I wanted to do with it, and thus this whole thing was born!
