Her Little Sunshine

The sound of giggling echoed within the room, as a small grey filly swatted her small hooves at the mystical flowing mane in front of her. Tiny wings fluttering in joy and eyes wide with excitement, the filly continued her pattern of play, as she ran each hoof on the smooth silky mane that reminded her of a rainbow.

However, staring at the filly with a disapproving look on her light blue eyes, her mother, a pale yellow unicorn with a striped dark and light orange mane, looked on and watched, as she did not like what she saw. Frowning at the seemingly distracting actions her daughter was doing and not wanting to be a further bother, she called out to the young filly and reprimanded her in a gentle voice.

“Silver Wing…“ She said, staring at the pegasus in hopes of getting her attention. “...I think we’ve bothered the Princess enough already, so please stop playing with her mane and get down from there.”

Immediately, a hint of regret hit the filly, as she turned a sad face towards her mother, before looking at the Princess with an apologetic look. “Sorry…”

“Oh, it’s no bother at all, little one.” Princess Celestia said, addressing the deflated pegasus. Then, turning her attention towards her secretary, she gave a warm smile towards the mare and said: “Hearing the sounds of giggling is quite relaxing and it actually aids in calming my mind from the headaches I get from reading these reports. If anything, your little filly is helping rather than bothering, Sunflower.”

“Still though…” Sunflower said, beckoning her daughter to come to her. “…she’s making your mane all messy. And we can’t have you’re mane looking tangled at the ceremony later. What would the media think? It would be a disaster!”

“You make it sound as if the faith of Equestria is decided on whether or not I attend the ceremony with a messy mane. In fact, I might just not fix my mane, just to see what happens.” The immediate shocked reaction from the mare brought a chuckle from Celestia, who shook her head in amusement as she looked at her secretary’s worried look.

Having her fun, Celestia used her magic to untangle her messy hair, making sure that it was prim and proper as usual. Satisfied that it was fixed, she gave Sunflower a smile to reassure her that there was nothing to worry about.

“See? All fixed. Honestly, Sunflower, I think you sometimes forget that I can fix such small problems with my magic.”

Giving a sheepish smile, Sunflower quickly apologized before giving a sigh.

“I’m sorry Princess, it’s just that…” She said. “…things have been a lot stressful lately. With work pilling up and my personal problems intervening, it’s been quite hard to keep my head straight.”

“And that’s why I offered you a month off.” Celestia reminded. “You shouldn’t be working under such stressful conditions. You’ve been through a lot lately, and with a little filly to raise on your own, it’s a tough job, even for a tough mare like you.”

“I know, Princess, I know…” Sunflower said, gently stroking her daughter’s mane, as the filly stood beside her. “…but the entire system would fall apart without me looking after it. As much as I need a break, I know that my job is more important. No rest for the weary, as they say.”

“How about little Silver Wing over there?” Celestia inquired. “Don’t you think you two should be spending time together, instead of having her watch you work all day?”

“But we are spending time together.” Sunflower said in defense, as she pulled her little filly into a hug. “See?”

“Sunflower, the office is no place for a mother to bond with her daughter. A filly of her age should be at home, spending time with her mother. Although I enjoy having her here, I can clearly see that she gets bored fast. Who can blame her, the only entertaining thing here is my mane.”

Frowning, Sunflower looked at Celestia and nodded. She knew that the Princess was right and it hurt admitting it. Although she didn’t remember much of her fillyhood, she could recall fragmented moments of her very young self, spending time with her mother and playing all day, living the life of a careless and carefree five year old.

She had wished that she could give her daughter the same life, the same happy life, but she knew that she couldn’t. With nopony else to support them, she knew that she had to work hard to keep them stable. And with Silver nearing the age in where she’ll start going to school, working hard would have to be the norm if she wanted the best for her little filly.

“Listen, Sunflower-“ Celestia’s voiced cut through Sunflower’s thought, making her look up and meet the Princess’s gaze. “-you’ve done enough lately and no matter what you say, I think that I can handle things on my own for at least a couple of month. So as a friend, I tell you to please accept my offer that you should have break. I’ll give you a month long paid vacation, so that you can distress and spend more time with your daughter. Both of you need it. So please, please, accept my offer.”

“I don’t know, Princess…” Sunflower said, her voice trailing.

Frowning, Celestia gave her secretary a cold stare and said:

“It’s either that or you’re fired.” Celestia said in a somewhat firm tone. Although she didn’t really mean what she said, she was very much serious on wanting Sunflower to accept the offer. And knowing her secretary over the years, having worked with her for years, she knew that such a threat would encourage her in making the choice she wanted.

Immediately, Sunflower’s ears perked up as she heard what was said, as her eyes went wide in panic. Although she knew that the Princess might not be serious on what she said, at least she hoped, she can also tell that she was already testing the Princesses’ patience.

“You know what…” Sunflower began. “…I think a vacation sounds nice. Yeah, very nice. Don’t you think, Silver?” She asked, looking towards her filly who gave her a beaming smile and an enthusiastic nod of the head.

“I knew you’ll see things my way.” Celestia said, giving her a mischievous smile. “Now, you’ll start your vacation tomorrow… So I better not see you tomorrow, here at the office and stressing yourself off, understood?”

“Yes, Princess, understood. No stress, just relaxation.” Sunflower said firmly.

“Good.” Celestia said with a victorious smile. “Now, when do we leave for this afternoon’s ceremony?”

Hearing this seemed to have brought a new wave of stress to Sunflower, as she immediately gave a panicked look towards the nearby clock.

“Great Faust, we’re supposed to leave in five minutes! Princess, we should be by your chariot this very moment!” Turning towards a nearby table to pick up a pile of notes, she immediately rushed towards the door to open it for Celestia. “We got to move quick you’re highness or else we’ll be late.”

“And what of your daughter?” Celestia asked, as she stood up from behind her desk. “Are we bringing her too?”

“Um, well, I was hoping that you’d allow her to stay in your office while we attend the ceremony.” Sunflower said. “I know you said that it’s no place for a young filly, but it’s certainly better than over there at the ceremony. We’ll only be gone for a while and I’m sure she’ll behave and won’t damage anything. Isn’t that right, sweetie.”

“Mhmm.” Silver Wing said, giving a heavy nod as she looked up towards her mother.

“Well, alright.” Celestia said, joining Sunflower by the door. “She is a behaved filly, so I guess we can leave her here for a while. And if she ever needs anything, I’ll be sure to tell the castle staff to serve her and treat her as if she were Royalty herself.”

“Thank you, Princess. You are too, gracious.” Sunflower said, smiling as Celestia went pass her.

Turning her head towards her daughter, she waved a hoof goodbye as she gave the filly a small smile. “Now you be a good little filly while mommy is gone. I’ll be back soon, it won’t be long.”

“Well, you look lovely today, Miss Sunflower.” Golden Shield said, as she glanced towards the stressed-out mare.

Having given the Princess a salute as she entered the main hall, Captain Golden Shield of the Royal Guard now trotted beside the Princess’s personal secretary, as they escorted the Royal Alicorn towards her waiting chariot at the castle’s main gate.

White furred, blue manned, tall, and well built, Golden Shield looked no different from any other Guard in Royal service. What sets him apart however was his intrusive and teasing personality, which many in the Royal staff, Sunflower including, sometimes found annoying.

“Not now, Golden Shield, I am not in the mood for this. Go bother somepony else.” Sunflower said, in an irritated voice, as her eyes stayed on the clipboard she was levitating in front of her.

“Aw, why so sour?” He asked, although having known her as long as Celestia did, he knew that being stressed was just part of her personality. “Afraid that we might get behind schedule? Because I can assure you, my pegasus drivers can pull those chariots so fast that Princess Celestia would be at the event in the blink of the eye.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that your transport team is well trained-“ Sunflower began. “-but being behind schedule isn’t what’s worrying me right now.”

Giving her a stern look, Golden Shield let out a low chuckle, disbelieving what he heard. “You, not worrying about the schedule? Let’s be honest, there wasn’t a time where you never worried about the Princess’s schedule.”

Shaking her head and feeling a bit embarrassed by his remark, Sunflower had to resist the urge of giving him a tender slap.

“Fine.” She finally admitted. “The schedule is bothering me a bit, since we’re cutting it a bit close, but that is not what’s bothering me the most.”

Turning her head away from him, she gazed at her surroundings and allowed her eyes to look around, as her mind busied itself with something else. Noticing this and realizing that she seemed more worried than she usually was, she gave him a concerned look and was about to ask her what really was bothering her, when she suddenly turned her head back to him and spoke before he could.

“How’s security?” Sunflower asked, in her usual stressed tone. “I assume you have the place covered with your Guards?”

“Yes.” Golden Shield said with a nod. “Two of my best companies are assigned for this ceremony. One is at the place right now, while the other is waiting to escort the Princess to her destination.”

“Good. Any sign of suspicious activity?” She inquired.

“None.” He told her. “At least none so far.” Then, before she could ask another question, she beat her by asking a question of his own. “Is this about the Lunar League? Are you worried about that?”

Staring at him before sighing, she nodded her head sadly in confirmation.

“I’m more than just worried…” She said, in a low tone so that the Princess wouldn’t here. “…I’m terrified. Ever since I read that report about the League planning an assassination on the Princess, combined with the one about them enchanting weapons so that it could kill alicorns, I’ve been worrying nonstop for her safety. Of course, I tried to convince her to cancel all public events she is supposed to attend until the members of the league have been arrested, but you no her, she said no. I don’t like this at all, Golden Shield. I fear that something bad might happen during one of these public events.”

“Oh, so you think me and my Guards can’t handle the League if they ever show up?” Golden Shield told her.

Giving him a frown, she shook her head in frustration. “This is no time for jokes. This is a serious issue, and every time the Princess leaves the castle, I fear for her. The League may be quite o far, but I think they’re just waiting for the right moment to strike…and that moment can be now or the next event, we can never truly no, and because of that I can never stop worrying.”

“Listen, Sunflower, I know it’s your job to worry about the Princess, but I can assure you that it’s my job too.” Golden Shield told her. “And because of that, I personally made sure that security for her is the best. So try and put your worries aside, nothing bad is going to happen. And if there will be, which I’m not saying there will, but if there will be, then the Guard is there to handle things.”

Still a bit apprehensive and worried, Sunflower nonetheless gave a small nod.

“Alright, I guess you’re right…”

Two hours later, as the ceremony was about to close, Sunflower felt that Golden Shield was indeed truly right. Watching in the sidelines as Princess Celestia finished her speech, which Sunflower herself helped write, she gave out a big smile of satisfaction as ponies cheered and applauded, obviously enjoying the words stated to them by their Princess, as she formally opened the new park, which had been funded by Celestia herself.

Turning to her clipboard as the last formalities were done in order to end the ceremony, Sunflower smiled in satisfaction, seeing that everything in her checklist was done perfectly and accomplished without any major mishap. Although arriving a bit late to the ceremony because of the swarming crowds that had to be shuffled out of their path, everything else went perfectly.

“And all we have to do now is get back to the castle.” Sunflower said to herself, letting out a gentle sigh as she released all the earlier stress.

Letting her mind wander, she began thinking on what Silver Wing was doing, left alone in the Princess’s office. Hopefully, she didn’t cause any trouble or damaged any of the Princess’s possessions, but knowing her daughter, she would have done nothing of sorts when left alone.

Thinking of the vacation the Princess has kindly given her, she began planning all the things she could do in order to spend more time with her daughter. Allowing her gaze to move towards the large new park that the Princess had just formally opened, she couldn’t help but beam in a smile, knowing that this would be the perfectly place to spend time with her. Silver Wing always loved playing in open places, and this new park would do just the trick.

Silver Wing was always an energetic filly, always flying around and trying to attract other pony’s attention. In a way, Sunflower felt that was because of the lack of attention was giving her daughter, and all the flying and poking around was just her way of wanting to be noticed. With her being busy almost all of the time, she could never really place her full attention on the young filly, and any notice she gave her was usually only for a few moments.

Because of that, she felt bad that she never had time to spend with her daughter in the past. But at least now she can change that. Thanks to the vacation, she was able to reassure herself that any lost time can now be repaid.

Hearing hooves trotting up the stage, Sunflower allowed her mind to move away from her thoughts, as she turned her head to see Golden Armor heading up towards her.

“Ah, Golden Shield, here to escort us back to the chariots?” Sunflower said as he approached. “Well, I think you’ll have to wait a bit, the Princess is just finishing up some formalities, but don’t worry, she’ll be ready in a couple of minutes alri-“

Sunflower stopped what she was saying when she noticed Golden Shield passed by her, without a word or even a turn of the head. Instead of greeting her or breaking into the usual casual conversations he did, he just went by her as if they didn’t know each other, as he continued moving forward.

Seeing this and finding it odd, she hurriedly moved in front of him and placed a firm hoof on his chest in order to stop him.

“What are you doing?” She said. “You’re not supposed to get on the stage. Listen, if you’ve got something important to tell the Princess, then I think you can just tell it to me right now and I’ll be sure to inform her about it later.”

Gazing at him and waiting for a response, Sunflower noticed something off about Golden Shield. Glancing towards his eyes and studying it quickly, she noticed an odd green like aura shining on it, replacing the usual cool blue hue that was usually there. Looking at him with a baffled expression, she was about to ask him if he was alright when a stinging pain erupted on her chest, making her shriek in horrible agony.

Unable to comprehend the pain, as well as unable to bear it, Sunflower was unable to stop herself from collapsing on the stage, as her sense flooded her with pain and confusion. Laying there on the ground, everything around her seemed to move in a blur, as the pain she felt made in impossible the understand anything.

Trying to turn her head and look around, she tried to see what was going on, but all she saw were moving colorful blurs and bright flashes of light. Time for her seemed to pass faster than it should have, because the next thing she knew was that Princess Celestia was looking down at her with a concerned look on her face, as a pony she didn’t recognized fumbled above her, applying some pressure on her wound, making her shriek out in pain.

Tearing up and unable to fight back the stringing sensation, she felt everything around her fade, only to return back to clarity whenever she felt the pain of her wound. But each time the world around her faded, everything became blurrier and blurrier, till it was starting to become harder to see the clear world before her.

Was this her time? Was she going to die?

The mere thought made her tear up more, as she let out another cry, this time from emotion rather than pain. She wasn’t ready to go, she didn’t want to go. But what can she do? She could already feel it, she knew it was going to happen. She was helpless to stop it and knowing that made her feel even more devastated.

Silver Wing…

What will happen to her daughter now?

She will be left motherless, with nopony to take care of her. The thought of living her daughter an orphan broke her heart, as she let out another long cry, the cry of a devastate mother.

She never did get to spend more time with her and she never will now. At that point, she only hoped that Silver Wing would understand and forgive her. But she worried that she never might. For she herself could not forgive herself for such a thing.

She should have spent more time with her…

Crying and regretting the lack of time she spent with her daughter, she began mumbling her little fillies name, hoping that she would be able to hear her cries.

“Silver Wing…”

Her voice began to fade, as she started speaking in a voice that lowered into a murmur.

“Silver Wing…”

It was now becoming difficult to breath for her, as she felt she was choking. Crying out her last breath, she managed to say one more word before everything around her faded away.

“Silver…”