The Life and Lies of Princess Celestia Chapter 5
The next morning, Julianne awoke early. She climbed out of bed, wrapped herself in her favorite robe, and opened the door to leave her room. When she did so, the familiar creaking of the rickety wooden door sounded and she almost swore when she heard it. Regardless, she managed to get the door open without waking any of the foals in the building and she stepped out into the hallway. She walked down the hall and gently pushed open the door to Celestia and Luna's room. When she peeked her head in, she discovered that Celestia was gone. This didn't alarm her, however, as she now knew that Celestia was fond of getting up early in the morning and watching the sun rise. She looked out of their window and saw that the sun was in fact beginning to rise. She slowly backed out of the room and closed the door. Then, she turned and walked down the hall and made her way down the stairs. She walked past the front door and glanced out of the window, hoping to find Celestia sitting on the porch. Luckily, Celestia was sitting where she always was.
Julianne opened the door and stepped onto the porch. Celestia didn't turn to see who it was, nor did she make any movements whatsoever. The only part of her body that moved was her shoulders; which rose and fell in accordance to her breathing. Julianne walked over to Celestia and sat beside her on the steps. She turned her head and looked at Celestia, her eyes soft and regretful. She still felt terrible for having putting Celestia through that experience yesterday. She opened her mouth to say something to Celestia, but Celestia silenced her by placing her right hoof on Julianne's left hoof.
"It's okay, Miss Julie." Celestia said without looking at her.
"Are you alright, Celestia?" Julianne asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied. She was still staring at where the sun usually rose in the morning. Julianne wanted to say something more, but she didn't know what to say.
"Hey, Miss Juile," Celestia said after a short while.
"Yes, Celestia?"
"Where do you think the sun goes when it sets?" She asked. Celestia still didn't turn to look at Julianne.
"I don't know, Celestia." Julianne replied. Celestia smiled.
"I think the sun goes to bed every night. Then, when the sun goes to bed, the moon looks over everypony in the world. That way, there's always someone watching you, to make sure nothing bad happens." She said. Julianne looked at her with astonishment. Celestia's innocence was truly something to be admired. Julianne cleared her throat.
"Celestia, I'm sorry about yesterday," She apologized.
"Miss Julie, I already said it's okay. Actually, I should say thank you." Celestia replied.
"Er, thank you? What for?" Julianne asked; terribly confused.
"If you didn't take Luna and I to see our parents yesterday, I wouldn't know where my parents went. I just thought they couldn't take care of me and Luna, so they gave us to somepony who could. But now, I know what happened. But, I still have a question," Celestia said.
"And what's that?"
"Where did mommy and daddy go? Did they meet The Light?" Celestia asked.
"The Light? What do you mean?" Julianne asked in confusion.
"You know, The Light. When mommy and daddy died, there was a warm Light that came. Did The Light take them?" Celestia replied. Celestia was now looking at Julianne, whom was growing more and more confused by the second. Julianne, of course, didn't show this on her face. After a few moments, she smiled and placed a hoof on the little filly's head.
"I think so. Don't worry, I'm sure your parents are watching you right now." She said with a smile.
"Maybe Daddy's the sun and Mommy's the moon," Celestia said without warning. Julianne's smile faded and she stared at Celestia with astonished eyes. Celestia was looking back at the sun, this time with a big smile on her face. Without warning, Julianne pulled Celestia into a big hug and burst into tears.
"Oh Celestia, that's a wonderful thing to think about! I'm sure you're absolutely right!" She cried. Celestia was quite taken aback by this sudden burst of emotion from Julianne.
"Are you okay, Miss Julie?" She asked in worry. Julianne held Celestia at arms length and smiled.
"Yes, I'm just fine," She replied. She used her left arm to wipe the tears from her eyes and continued to smile at Celestia.
"Maybe we should go inside," Celestia offered. Julianne nodded and they both stood. Julianne led the way and opened the door for Celestia. Celestia walked inside and Julianne followed, closing the door behind them.
Later on in the day, when the foals were in school, Julianne was bustling about the house, trying to clean for when the foals would return. She held a feather-duster in her right wing, a wet rag in her teeth, and a broom in her left wing. To clean the high-up places, shelves, cabinets, etcetera, she used her wings to fly a short distance into the air; replacing the rag in her mouth with the feather-duster. She then wiped down the tables, counters, sinks, and everything else she could with the wet rag. She carried around a bucket of warm-soapy water with her as she did this, repeatedly dipping the rag into the bucket as she went. She would have to wipe off her tongue on her feathers every so often, having accidentally gotten a taste of the rag that she held between her teeth. She sighed.
This would've been so much easier if I had been born a unicorn. She thought disdainfully as she wiped off her tongue for the nth time; she had done this so many times she hardly kept track anymore.
When she had finished wiping everything down, sweeping, and dusting, she returned the cleaning supplies to their respective cupboards, dumped out the bucket into the sink, and wrung out the rag. She gently tossed the rag into the dirty towel hamper that sat tucked into the corner directly next to the stairs. She then climbed the stairs and went into each room, starting with her own, and proceeded to make each of the beds. She had developed a system to make doing this as easy as possible for her, even despite being a pegasus.
She took one corner of the sheet in her teeth and pulled it into a specific position on the corner of the bed. She repeated this with all four corners until they were in the perfect position. Then, she went to the foot of the bed and grabbed the middle of the bottom of the sheet in her teeth. She lifted the sheet as high as she could into the air and guided it back down onto the bed. If done correctly, the sheet would fall into place around the matress. She then tucked each of the corners underneath the matress to hold it in place. Then, she placed the pillows at the top of the bed, propped up ever so slightly, and followed it up by placing the blanket over-top of them. When all was said and done, the bed looked neat and tidy, the way she liked it. She had little time to admire her work, however, as she had to finish making the rest of the beds and she had less than an hour before the foals were expected to arrive back home. She hurried as fast as she could and quickly made the rest of the beds. She flew down the stairs, literally, and threw herself onto the softest chair she could find. The chairs, she noticed, became much more comfortable when she had finished her cleaning.
She didn't have long to relax, however, as just ten minutes after she sat down the door opened and the foals came rushing in. The first to lead the pack was none other than Cyrus, who was always the first one in. He was a was a young colt who was faster than most of his peers. He was a pegasus and his wings were already fairly developed, even at the age of six. His skin was a bright-red color and his mane was a darker-red color, and he had orange-yellow eyes. The next of the group was Crystal. She was a young unicorn, age five, and she had a bright-pink skin and a white-and-pink-mix mane. The mix came in wonderful stripes that ran along the length of her mane. Her eyes were a bright-purple.
The next one in was Lance. He had bright-orange skin and a short, scraggly mane that shone golden in the sunlight. He had magenta eyes and seemed to be a good friend of Celestia's. Following him was Mira. She was an intriquing filly who could always be found standing close to Luna. She had skin as black as coal and twinkling white eyes. Her mane was a mixture of silver and white. After her there was Volar. Volar could often be found in the center of the room, though he hated the attention that came with it. He often explained to Julianne that he only felt a strong desire to stand or sit in the center of the room. Any other place felt unnatural to him. His skin was a vivacious green, his mane a colorful mix of blue and yellow. His eyes were the color of the mid-day sky.
Following him were none other than Celestia and Luna, who liked to stay in the back. They were talking to each other and they both seemed to be very happy; vibrant smiles playing across their faces. It brought a smile to Julianne's face to see them so happy. The foals all went up the stairs to deposit their school supplies, and after that, an afternoon of playing in the backyard would ensue. Julianne continued to sit in her chair until the foals had each dashed out of the back door, save for one filly whom looked particularly in need of a companion.
"Is everything alright, Luna?" Julianne asked. Luna was standing in the middle of the doorway that led from the living room to the kitchen, staring out at the yard. She didn't react to Julianne's call to her, so Julianne began to get worried. She hopped out of her chair and walked over to the filly's side, wrapping one wing around her.
"Luna?" She tried again. This time, Luna looked up at Julianne with tear-filled eyes.
"Miss Julie, Celestia said Mommy and Daddy met The Light..." Luna said to her. Her voice was shaky and Julianne could tell she was on the verge of tears.
"Listen, Luna, your mommy and daddy didn't want to leave you, okay? They loved you very much, and they were very kind ponies. Unfortunately, The Light had other plans for you and your sister." Julianne said in an attempt to comfort the crying filly.
"So... they did meet The Light?" Luna asked her. Julianne nodded very slowly. Luna didn't say anything but looked at the ground. Her tears dripped down her cheeks and fell onto the floor, leaving distinct circular marks in the wood.
"Luna, everything that's happened is for the best, okay? Your mommy and daddy are still very proud of you, and they're watching you, even now. They love you, and they always will." Julianne said.
"Miss Julie," Luna said.
"Yes?"
"When I'm on the roof, at night, and I'm looking at the moon, I feel like I'm with mommy." She said. Julianne's eyes widened.
"Did Celestia tell you her thoughts of the sun and moon?" She asked. Luna shook her head.
Incredible. Julianne thought.
"Listen, Luna, everything's going to be fine, okay? Your mommy and daddy are looking out for you. They're not gone. I'm certain you'll see them again one day." Julianne said. Luna sniffled and looked up at her.
"R-really?" She asked. Julianne nodded. Luna managed to pull out a weak smile.
"Thank you Miss Julie," She said giving Julianne a hug.
"You're very welcome," Julianne said hugging her back. Luna released Julianne and immediately ran outside, joining Mira under the shade of a large tree. Julianne couldn't help but smile.
"They're going to amount to great things," She said to herself. Then, she went to work in preparing dinner.