A Gentle Voice Calls Him Father

The bachelorette/surprise party that Twilight threw for me last night was exactly what I needed. I'm sure if I'd done what I planned, talking with just Twilight in my room for a while, before going to bed, I might have laid awake and worried about the little details of today. This way, I had a lot of fun, didn't stay out too late, and was still very tired by the time I got home. I fell right asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

This morning, I was rather glad Aunt Celestia had graciously offered me a room in the castle a few nights before the wedding. From the moment I got up, I was getting ready for the ceremony, and the whole night. I bathed, took a rather long time, enjoying every moment and taking care of every little detail. By the time I step out of the bath, and start to dry myself off, I hear a knock at the door, and assume it's Rarity, who had offered to do my make up for me today. I open the door, very surprised to see my little brother standing just outside the doorway.

“Blueblood!” I exclaimed. “Come on in, little bro.” He comes in, frowning at the little bit of a mess I left my towels in, but smiles when he turns to see me.

“I just wanted to come see you,” he says, informality breaking through his normally very formal tone of voice. Realizing his slip, he quickly corrects himself, speaking in a proper manner again. “I never congratulated you, sister.”

I'm just overcome with joy, seeing my little brother again. He's been off in Manehattan on some business for Aunt Celestia, and even when he has been home, I was busy with paper work and meetings for the house Shining Armor and I found to live together. And then there was the business of me being kidnapped. I'm so happy to see him again. When I was trapped down in the gem mines, I was so scared I'd never see Shining Armor again, I'd never see Blueblood, or Aunt Celestia, ever again. I pulled Blueblood into a tight hug.

“Hey, you're getting my coat wet!” He protested, though he didn't move away.

“I love you too, Blue,” I tell him, hugging him tighter. Finally, I let go, and a silence falls between us. He wipes at the spot on his fur that I got wet, as though that would dry it faster. My mind can't help but wander to the last time we were a true family. I can barely even remember, I was so small.

“Well, I suppose I said all I came to say,” Blueblood announces. “I must be off. Goodbye, sister.”

“Bye, Blue,” I tell him as he's heading out the door. I turn, and toss the extra towels into the laundry basket, and try to finish drying my hair. Moments after Blueblood closed the door, I hear another knock.

“Come in,” I call. The door opens and I turn to see a frowning Rarity.

“What's wrong?” I ask her with a concerned look. “Did you run into my brother?”

“Quite literally,” she replies curtly. “And he had the nerve to call me a brute.”

“Oh, Rarity, just ignore him. He's probably upset that he let his neat freak ways get in the way of really getting to know a special pony like you.”

“I don't know how your parents raised him-” Rarity started. Anger wells up inside me. I strongly dislike anyone talking badly about my family.

“They didn't,” I snap, not sure where that came from. The white unicorn looked at me, shocked. “I'm sorry,” I say, in a softer, quieter voice. “I shouldn't have snapped. My parents, well, they're a sore subject for me.”

“Oh, dear, I am so sorry, Princess,” Rarity says, truly looking it. The anger has seeped away quickly, leaving only shame in it's place. “It wasn't my place to say something like that, and I do apologize.”

“He's never even really known our parents,” I continue, unsure why I feel the need. Still, I can't stop the words from coming out of my mouth. “He's only known Aunt Celestia, and the nurses and nannies who have taken care of him since he was born.”

I paused while I watched Rarity organized her supplies. I'd never told anyone about my parents. Shining Armor never asks, he doesn't know it's an issue for me. By the time I started foal sitting for Twilight, and met Shining Armor, I was already under Aunt Celestia's care. As Rarity starts working, I continue my story.

“Even I barely remember my parents. I was five when Blueblood was born, and,” I pause, but can't help myself from telling the story, “my mom died,” I finish quietly. Rarity paused with the eyeliner, but only to give me a small sympathetic look.

“I never learned why my father left. I only know that one day he brought the two of us to Aunt Celestia's palace and left us here. Ever since, Celestia's been as good as a mother to me and Blueblood, but being the crown princess of Equestria, she wasn't always there for Blueblood and I. It wasn't much of an issue for myself, since I was already started in a magic school. I was too busy having adventures with my friends to care much about what was happening here at the castle, but Blueblood was here everyday, with a horrid nanny.”

I pause as Rarity patted a light powder along my chin, I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue, but when she's done patting on the powder, it just comes out.

“She was hyper critical of how he was presented, which is probably why he's turned out such a neat freak,” I tell her. “I found out years later that she used to, well, she'd hit him for every time he did something wrong.”

Rarity's mouth fell open, and she near dropped the container with the light pink powder. I took it out of her hand and placed it on the table, just in case.

“I'm sorry,” I said. “I shouldn't have bothered you with it.”

“No, no,” Rarity quickly recovers. “I'm glad you opened up to me, Princess.”

“Just Cadence, please,” I remind her.

“Well now I feel just awful for how I treated him at the Gala. I had no idea. I should apologize the next time I see him,” Rarity tells me.

“You can't tell him that I told you,” I say, my eyes going wide. “It's supposed to be a family secret.”

“Don't worry, Prin- Cadence,” Rarity clearly wasn't comfortable with such familiarity with me, but I ignored it. “I won't breathe a word to anyone.”

For a little while longer, Rarity finishes her work. I stay quiet. My internal dialogue is caught up in thoughts of Blue, my baby brother.

“Well I'm all done. I'm going to be helping the other girls with their hair and make up soon,” Rarity tells me. “We'll be back later to get you into your wedding gown.”

“Why don't you guys just come here?” I ask. “You all are my bridesmaids after all. It would be fun.”

Rarity smiles.

“I'll bring it up to the other girls, and I'll try to get them in here by eleven so we have just enough time to do everything,” Rarity says, “Although, oh dear, I'll have to get our dresses from the tower, and make sure they're here by noon at the latest.”

“That's no problem,” I tell her, giggling a little at how frantic she's getting. “I'll just ask a few of the ponies who volunteered to help today to bring them down.”

“Just make sure they're very careful with them. Those dresses represent weeks of work,” Rarity says before saying goodbyes, and heading out to find her friends.

I ring for the pony in charge of organizing the volunteers, and ask her about the dresses, and to remind the ponies to be very careful with the dresses. When the very kind pony assures me the dresses will be on time and safe, she excuses herself, and leaves. I sit on my bed and sigh. Today is going to be a very long day. A very happy day, but a long day, indeed.