"A night owl i see?" Medianoche said, smiling at the filly who was reading some books in the library. She should be asleep, yet, she wasn't. Medianoche had used a spell that changed his species a little. Now, they were able to experience the twenty four hours these fillies did, but they still aged very slowly. At least this way he could care for the girls better. Do you know what it's like to take in a child, and then you blink and two years have passed? It was, abnormal and strange, alien even. At least they were making it up to them. Luna loved Armadura, but Celestia was still reluctant to pretty much everything "Come young one, you must sleep, it is not healthy."

"You said you're going to help me be a princess, but you haven't helped me at all!" she shouted, snorted at him in annoyance. This stallion was an insult to her. Her daddy... He, was missing like mommy was, and he was trying to replace them "Stop trying to get close to me, i'm only here because you kidnapped me!"

"I am sorry Celestia," Medianoche sighed, losing his smile "I wish that Cosmo never died, but, i cannot change the past. We can only live today and look towards a brighter future my dear... The past is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift. It is why it is called the present." a smile came back to his muzzle as he spoke those words. It had been a very long time since he'd said those words. His grandfather said that to him when he was little, and Medianoche would never forget it.

"It's a lousy present. My mommy is missing, daddy is... He's, he's missing as well!" this denial was extremely powerful. At this rate he'd have to take her to Cadaver in order to prove that Cosmo Skies was dead. Best not. It might work for an Umbrum but this was a filly of the pony kind "I want to go home! I demand you return me home. You said you'd treat me as a princess, so you should do as such!" oh dear, what have you done to your daughter you despicable mare? A foal shouldn't be like this, they should frolic and be happy. He sat down, his horn glowing as he brought forth many books, flipping through them.

"If you want respect Celestia, you must earn it. I am sorry that your mother has left you, and i'm sorry that your father has passed away, but you must not hold onto this grief." he looked at her angry face, seeing the unforgiving rage. So much anger, it was unhealthy, and she deserved better than him. Medianoche wasn't good with foals like his big brother and little sister... At least he was better than the eldest of the four "Grief is like a river. It starts somewhere, and it runs its own path in its own time as no two rivers are exactly alike. You cannot force it to stop, nor can you force its pacing." the filly looked confused, but he was not done "You are struggling in this river, it is drowning you and pulling you to the bottom like a rock to gravity. You must let it take you down its path."

"You're saying that i'm in grief?" she spat while Medianoche didn't even flinch. He nodded to her, which made her upset. These heavy feelings deep inside of her was supposedly grief? She hated it! "What would you know about it anyways?" he sighed, looking her right in her eyes.

"I am grieving over the loss of Cosmo Skies. He meant a lot to me dear Celestia, it is a heavy burden in your chest. You sometimes wake up and expect him to just pop out somewhere, but he never does," he said sadly, a tear falling down a cheek "Drapan has made an entire holiday to commemorate his memory, along with Eagleand and many other lands. Your father was very much beloved, and we all feel his loss. I and you slightly more than others im afraid..." he let the waters flow, it was unwise for you to hold them back. He'd learnt that the hard way. He draped a wing over her, Celestia not wanting to allow him to, but he was affecting her. Mommy said she had daddy's heart, but when she said it she said it in a bad way.

Her heart was racing, and she could feel her cheeks start to become wet. Celestia did her power not to cry, but her body wasn't doing what she wanted it to do. She could feel her eyes blur with salty bitter water than kept splattering on the floor, a very small puddle beginning to form as her body was suddenly wracked with a hundred emotions she couldn't name. The wing around her kept her from shaking into the ground. It wasn't what would've happened, but she felt it might. She looked into Medianoche's eyes, seeing both the red and blue. They seemed kind, and they were blurred with water as well.

"It hurts..." her chest hurt the most, as if there was something stabbing her, like the time she got a splinter once. Medianoche pulled his wing in, having her against his side for warmth. It was late, and after this little emotional togetherness was over, she would likely be too tired to stay awake. He felt the same to be honest "Why does it hurt so much? When i broke my leg once it hurt, but not like this! I know it'd end soon if my leg was broken, but i don't know if this'll go away!"

"That is the curse of grief my dear. we never know when it'll be gone, it may never go completely, but you must not let it rule you. yes, it is a terrible thing to feel, but it is good that you feel it. it means you really loved that person, or pony," he sighed, his horn glowing white as he brought forth a book from one of the top shelves "I am sorry that Cosmo is gone, and that your mother has left you, but i want to try. not to replace them, but to raise you into the mare they both knew you to be. i can see it Celestia, that you will someday be one of the greatest queens in the History of Equus." Cosmo would be proud of his girls, that he knew for certain. their mother? he doubted she even made a face when they were born. despite that, it was best try and bond with the filly. Armadura was doing well with Luna after all "Before we go to bed, how about a story?" he would take baby steps to make her that queen he knew her to be. and Celestia was now a very little more willing to listen to the stallion. he wasn't her daddy, but he was going to make her that queen daddy wanted her to be, and that was good enough for now.

Author's Note

I've never written a character going through grief before, it's a little exciting to be trying out something new.