//------------------------------// // The B-Day // Story: Secrets and Surprises // by Midday Shine //------------------------------// The alarm clock went off exactly at 6 a.m. Luna turned it off in one practiced move, yawned, sat up and rubbed her eyes, fighting to stay awake. Usually, she woke up over an hour later, but this time, she had an important mission – to prepare a breakfast to bed for her sister who had her birthday today… and who would help a lot by not waking up at her usual time. Luna didn’t cherish the memory of her last attempt to prepare a surprise in a rush. It must have been a miracle she hadn’t burned the house back then. The decision was made. The “Birthday Breakfast” mission had to start with an operation under the working title “Be Quick To Deactivate Celestia’s Cursed Alarm Clock Before The Whole Painstakingly Planned Surprise Goes Up In Smoke”. Resisting the urge to fall back onto the pillow and doze off for the next hour (or better yet, several hours), Luna threw back the covers without further hesitation, got up and walked over to the door. She winced when it creaked upon opening. Sure, it wasn’t a loud sound, but in the morning, Celestia was a rather light sleeper; sometimes even a murmur could wake her, which would be extremely undesirable today. After about a minute of complete silence, Luna sighed in relief. Apparently, she was in luck. Watching her every step to make no unnecessary noise, she sneaked into her older sister’s bedroom. Celestia was still asleep, lying on her back. Her one hand was tangled in her long, multi-colored hair, randomly scattered all over the pillow; the other, hanging from the side of the bed, touched the floor. Nothing new, then. Maybe it was a good thing she’d never gotten married. What guy would withstand a wife sprawling all over the bed in her sleep? The alarm clock was on the bedside table, next to the lamp. The digits on the display spread a dim, greenish glow. The alarm was surely set at half past six, as usual during the school year. Without thinking long, Luna carefully lifted the device, took out one of its batteries, rendering it useless, and silently put it back on the previous place. Then, she froze, because Celestia rolled over to her side, muttering something incomprehensible. She didn’t wake up, though. After a while, Luna slowly let out the breath she hadn’t realized holding, carefully tucked her sister in and gently put a strand of her hair behind her ear, just as she liked it. Celestia purred with satisfaction (oddly enough, she sounded a bit like a cat) and buried her nose in the pillow. Luna smiled, tiptoed out of the room, closed the door softly and went to the kitchen, all the while trying not to make noise. Good. Now she just had to prepare all the necessary ingredients, roll up her sleeves (metaphorically, as they actually didn’t even reach her elbows), and get to work. “Eggs, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes…” she muttered under her breath, looking over the products she’d put on the countertop, “…bread, butter… good, seems nothing is missing.” About half an hour later, she looked at her work proudly. It came out perfect. The scrambled eggs with bacon and mushrooms hadn’t burned; the neatly chopped tomatoes adorned the plates’ edges; the cookies, bought in secret the day before, didn’t crumble (nor had they been eaten too early, though the temptation had been great); and even tea had steeped for long enough. Satisfied, Luna lifted the tray with the breakfast for two and, humming to herself, went to her sister’s room. On the threshold, her cheerful mood disappeared. The door was closed. Obviously. It was her own work, as she hadn’t wanted the noises or smells to wake Celestia before time. “Me and my brilliant ideas…” she muttered, annoyed, trying to push the handle with her elbow without dropping the tray’s contents to the floor. “Luna…?” she heard a sleepy voice from the other side. “What are you doing out there…?” Luna sighed. So much for the surprise… but at least there would be no mess she’d have trouble explaining. “Just open the door, okay?” Moments later, she was facing her sister, who went wide-eyed upon noticing the breakfast tray. “What have you come up with this time?” “I meant to bring you breakfast to bed, but I totally forgot I closed the door so you wouldn’t wake up too early… and the whole thing kind of fell flat.” Luna smiled, somewhat embarrassed. “But since I’m already here, why don’t we sit down and eat?” “That sounds great.” Celestia smiled, closed her eyes and gently sniffed the air. “And it smells even better. Wait, I’ll help you…” Luna, however, didn’t let her take the tray away. “Another time. It is your birthday, after all.” * During the first half of the day, everyone at school – from Celestia herself to the rest of the faculty, the student body, and the supporting staff – behaved as usual. The best students were still the best, the troublemakers (unfortunately) still caused trouble, and Pinkie Pie, chattering restlessly, was pretty much everywhere… only between classes, fortunately. Frankly, Luna was now outright admiring the girl’s family for bravely enduring her hyperactivity. She herself had been returning home terribly tired during the week she’d spent teamed up with this extremely talkative volcano of energy. Now, however, after the lunch break, the situation was about to change. The time to go ahead with the plan that she’d been developing in secret for several days, has finally come. She just had to get to her sister… who’d just emerged from around the corner, her eyes fixed on a book. No wonder Twilight Sparkle admired her from the very beginning. Each one was as much of a bookworm as the other. Celestia walked slowly, seeming too absorbed with her book to notice anything, but Luna still retreated to her office as quickly as she could. After waiting some time for her oblivious sister to pass her, she re-emerged into the corridor, smirking. Celestia now had her back to her, which meant that before she realized what was going on, it would be all over. Perfect. Feeling her heart beat faster due to adrenaline, and a delightful thrill run down her back, Luna began sneaking towards her like a cat, taking a long piece of cloth out of her pants’ pocket. She was about to leap when, without turning around, her sister asked: “Could you tell me what in the world you’re doing… Lulu?” Luna blinked in confusion. “How’d you know it was me?” Celestia looked at her with a mischievous smirk, closing the book. “I’m your big sister. I know everything.” “I don’t think so.” Luna copied her face, not even being ashamed. “If you knew everything, you wouldn’t have to ask what I was doing.” “Picking on every word is my job…” “See what a great teacher you are?” Celestia chuckled, shook her head, and gave a soft sigh. “And yet, you usually pretend to be so harsh and stern… Now tell me why you were hunting me.” “Let’s say,” Luna grinned, “that I have a surprise for you.” “Oh? What is it?” “You do know that if I tell you, it won’t be a surprise anymore, right? Don’t worry, you’ll understand soon enough. But first, hand over this harlequin or whatever it is.” “Why?” She didn’t deny… so it is a harlequin. “You won’t need it. It can wait for you in my office. Come on, hand it over.” Once the book was on her desk, behind the locked door, Luna turned back to Celestia, who looked at her blankly. “Good!” she exclaimed, grinning. “Now that this is taken care of, just trust me and stand still so I can blindfold you.” “I trust you, but… aren’t you overdoing it?” “No.” Luna shook her head, making sure the blindfold’s knot was firm in place. “I’m not going to risk you seeing something that could put you on the right track too early.” Her sister sighed again. “Just warn me before I walk into a door this time.” She held out her right hand. Luna grabbed it, allowing herself an eye roll at the same time, and began leading the way. “I was only five back then. Will you remind me of it for the rest of my life?” “Of course.” Celestia grinned. “That’s what siblings are for.” “Ah, so I can remind you of the time you sneaked Mom’s lipstick, blush and mascara, and practiced on me?” “I seem to recall you were absolutely delighted with it.” “You have a comeback for everything, don’t you?” Luna shook her head slightly. Spotting Sweetie Belle at the end of the corridor, she gave her thumbs up, just as they had agreed. The girl answered in kind and disappeared around the corner. “Years of practice,” said Celestia perkily, unaware of what had just happened. *** Sweetie Belle ran the school corridors, barely making some turns, and finally reached the gym. “They’re coming!” She leaned against the door, huffing and puffing after the crazy sprint through about half a school. “Thanks a lot.” Sunset handed her a bottle of water, then headed towards the middle of the room, shouting, “Places, everyone! This is not a drill!” After that, there was some commotion, but after a while, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom emerged from the crowd, approached their friend and stood with her on watch, leaning against the door. “Doesn’t it seem strange to you?” Scootaloo said suddenly. “Mmm?” Sweetie mumbled, mouth full of water. “The whole party, I mean. Usually, Vice Principal Luna is all against such huge, spontaneous events during the classes…” “Land sakes, yer right!” Apple Bloom’s eyes widened. “Ya think someone coulda brainwashed her?” “Or maybe she’s under a spell? What do you think it would be this time? Sirens again? An amulet from this Equestria land? Aliens?” “Or maybe the real Vice Principal Luna got kidnapped, imprisoned and replaced by a double or some kinda robot? All so they could take over the world!” “Or two!” Scootaloo was getting more and more agitated. “You think that old Crystal Prep meanie would be able to do that?” What were they talking about? Sweetie Belle, until then just listening to their conversation, pulled the bottle away from her lips. “Or maybe the VP just loves her sister and can be very nice if she wants to?” she suggested. Her friends were silent for a moment, looking at her in worry. “You hit your head or what?” Scootaloo asked eventually. “With a ton o’ apples?” Apple Bloom chirped in. “What?” Sweetie was stunned. “What are you…?” “Or maybe t’was that apple pie?” Apple Bloom tilted her head. “Ah told ya them apples were suspicious.” “No, really, what do you mean?” Sweetie blinked in confusion. “You, talking like crazy?” Scootaloo shrugged. “Do you even know what you’re saying? Miss Detention? Nice? Polite, maybe, but probably only out of fear that Principal Celestia will yell at her otherwise…” The three of them winced and shuddered. “Never again…” Apple Bloom muttered. “You said it.” Sweetie nodded. “But you see? If she didn’t show up and calm her down, the principal probably would’ve expelled us. Are you saying that wasn’t nice of her?” “Huh. Come to think of it… ah guess y’might be onto somethin’.” Pondering on that, Apple Bloom tapped her cheek with a finger. “That was just one case,” Scootaloo insisted. “But usually, she’s awfully stiff and strict. Do you think ‘Miss Detention’ came out of nowhere?” “Doesn’t mean she’s a heartless monster, though.” Sweetie shrugged. “Well, duh!” Pinkie said, appearing next to the trio as suddenly as if she’d materialized out of thin air. “Otherwise, she wouldn’t have thrown a surprise party for Celestia.” “But t’was you, Applejack and the girls that prepared everything,” Apple Bloom remarked with an admirable calm. “Well, yes, but the idea was Luna’s, so she’s actually the one throwing the party, which means she loves her sister very much,” Pinkie rambled in one breath, “so she just can’t be as scary as she seems or Celestia would’ve long since fired her, if not of her own will, then forced by the school board, though I don’t know if you can actually fire somebody just for looking scary, but it doesn’t matter, ‘cause Celestia didn’t do it and surely won’t, so… mmmm-hmmm-mmhmm-mmmm!” She pulled a light blue hand away from her lips and turned around. “Oh, hi, Dashie!” she chirped happily. “What’s up? I was just telling the girls…” “Yes, I heard.” Rainbow clogged her mouth again. “Weren’t you supposed to see if the cake arrived intact, by any chance?” Pinkie’s eyes widened and again, she pulled her friend’s hand away from her lips. “Gotta go!” she said, quickly disappearing in the crowd. “I’m not getting roped into babysitting her ever again,” Rainbow murmured, crossing her arms and slowly following her friend. Sweetie Belle exchanged glances with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. All three were stifling a laugh. Life with Pinkie Pie and the rest of her gang just couldn’t be boring. “And there you have it, Scoot,” Sweetie said after a while, once she managed to get a hold of herself. “Principal Celestia would be the last person to trust someone bad to the bone, so turns out Luna can’t be evil.” Just as Scootaloo was about to say something, the three heard the vice principal’s voice: “Wait just a little longer, we’re almost there!” Upon hearing the code phrase, the lookout trio exchanged glances, nodded, and mingled into the crowd, half-whispering the news. Soon, everybody in the gym fell silent in anticipation. “Why are you yelling?” Celestia’s voice, sounding much louder than usual due to everybody else’s silence, was tinged with slight annoyance. “Do you want me to go deaf?” Both principals eventually stopped in the wide open door. “Sorry, I might have overdone it.” Luna let go of her sister’s hand. “The good news is that we’re here.” “Great!” Celestia pulled the blindfold off her eyes with one firm motion. “Now tell me what was all… that… a…bout…” she almost whispered the last syllable, looking around wide-eyed. It was a sight to behold. The gym, decorated with balloons and artificial flower garlands (more practical than the real ones), held the entire school community, including Granny Smith and the cleaning staff. Everybody, without exception, had party accessories – funny, pointy hats, party blowers, ratchets, exaggeratedly large, colored glasses… or just school headbands with quasi-horse ears and waist wraps with quasi-tails. Above their heads, there was a hand-made banner hanging from the ceiling and saying ‘Happy Birthday!’. The dumbfounded principal kept opening and closing her mouth for a while. That didn’t surprise Sweetie at all. She wouldn’t know what to say, either, if she suddenly found herself at such a big party thrown in her honor… “Surprise!” Twilight burst at last. Immediately after that, there were cheers, the sounds of blowers and ratchets… and the bang of four party cannons Pinkie had placed in the room’s corners. *** In truth, Luna was actually glad Twilight Sparkle had yelled when she had, because the original version of the plan in which Celestia was to speak first, probably wouldn’t have happened for a long time… if at all. After a while, she looked away from the noisy, slightly rippling crowd of not only students – and looked at her sister, whose purple eyes seemed glazed… “Are you crying?” “Is… is this all really for me?” Celestia’s voice was slightly trembling. Luna was tempted to remind her all of her own teachings about answering a question with a question, but stopped herself. “Sure. It is your birthday after all, genius.” At the last word, she nonetheless allowed herself a little snark. “Ooooh… thank you!” Her sister, looking deeply moved, embraced her tightly. Glancing around quickly, Luna saw the students nearest to them stare with their mouths open. Thus, she gave up trying to free herself – she wasn’t too successful anyway – and lightly patted Celestia’s back. “I swear, the older you are, the sappier you get,” she said, amused. “But I’d be grateful,” she added more quietly, “if you calmed down before I get all emotional, too. I don’t want to ruin my image of the tough one, especially not in front of the whole school.” Her sister giggled. “Softening up a little bit has never hurt anyone.” “But it would hurt the school. Let me go now or you won’t get the cake.” “Denying the birthday girl her own cake… that’s a first,” Celestia remarked cheerfully, pulling away nonetheless. “Okay… you got me this time.” Luna smiled. “Jokes aside now, though.” She cast a quick glance around the room. Meeting Applejack and Rarity’s eyes, she nodded. “Girls, do come over here, please.” The other students parted, creating a corridor wide enough for Rarity, walking first, to easily guide her friend, who pushed a trolley with a multi-level, multi-colored cake, which largely limited her view. Deep down, Luna had to admit that Sunset Shimmer’s management skills were quite impressive. “Well, happy birthday t’ya,” Applejack said, placing the cake right in front of Celestia. “Just don’t forget to think of a wish!” Pinkie Pie cut in, appearing from… who knows where, actually. It was probably better not to think about it. “Oh, and I hope you don’t mind there’s only one candle. I know there should be more, because you’ve turned one year a long time ago, but Luna…” “Vice Principal Luna,” Rarity reprimanded her. “That’s what I said.” The pink-haired chatterbox tilted her head slightly. “Vice Principal Luna…” She giggled. “Actually, that sounds funny, ‘cause normally you should use the last name in this situation, not the first… I mean, I know it’s been this way for a loooong time, ‘cause it would be a huuuge mess if we couldn’t know which sister we were talking about, but you’ve gotta admit it still came out pretty funny…” Luna slightly cleared her throat and shot her a meaningful glance. “Well, anyway,” said Pinkie, getting the hint, “she didn’t want to tell me how old you actually are, so it has to stay the way it is.” Her sister’s grateful gaze reassured Luna she’d made the right decision. She didn’t fully understand why Celestia was so sensitive about her age – surely it couldn’t be only about her biological clock ticking louder and louder… right? – but she wasn’t going to ruin her special day. On the other hand, however, going easy on her in everything seemed like an overkill. “Can you handle this candle or should I help you?” she asked mockingly, nudging her sister’s arm. Celestia just smiled, then stood on tiptoe (the cake was quite tall, all things considered) and blew out the flame in one, almost careless, breath. “All right, everyone,” she spoke loudly, so she’d be heard well, “it’s time to split the cake… and no pushing!” All of a sudden, the gym was filled with a cheerful roar of hundreds of students – and, who knows, maybe several adults, too. Also, it quickly became clear Celestia had gotten her hopes up ridiculously high… once again. Obviously, there were arguments about the place in line, stepping on feet or (allegedly accidental) poking with elbows; in case of two junior boys, the pushes literally came to shoves. Without even asking who’d started it and why, Luna grabbed them by the collars and walked them to the end of the queue. “Detention till the end of the week,” she hissed angrily. “You’ll only get away today, because I’ve already got other plans, but starting tomorrow, no mercy. Is that clear?” They both nodded sadly, so she left them under Cranky’s watchful eye and began patrolling the rest of the gym in case there was a commotion again. However, it seemed that her little intervention had scared the other students quite effectively, because they now stood one behind another in an orderly manner, like soldiers during a drill. Satisfied with herself, she returned to her sister who, helped by the still chattering Pinkie Pie, the clearly elated Twilight Sparkle, the slightly stressed Fluttershy and the completely calm Rarity, was giving away the cake, cut into neat slices. It must have been done by the latter; after all, these magical crystal shields (or whatever they were) probably had edges sharp as knives… Or maybe Twilight’s more versatile magic was behind it…? Well, actually, there was also the possibility the cake had simply been cut with a knife. If so, Celestia probably had done it herself; given her occasional overprotectiveness, it wouldn’t be strange for her not to let any of the students even touch the knife. On the other hand, even she had her limits; the problem was that they weren’t always easily predictable… No, stop. Celestia could have her eccentricities, but she actually was a wonderful woman, ready to defend her students. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have risked her health or perhaps life by standing in Camp Everfree’s mess hall’s doorway like a human shield, even though she was powerless against magic. I should’ve stood by her side, Luna thought. Cursed fear… She looked at the students swarming over Celestia and her assistants. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer did what they could to keep the crowd at a reasonable distance, but even the superhuman strength of the first one, the unbelievable speed of the second, and the well-developed leadership skills of the third were of little help. Thus, she stood next to Sunset and glared at the students pushing one another. She didn’t even have to say anything; almost immediately, they went back a few steps and stood in two rows. “You’re not going to change, are you?” Her older sister shook her head and handed her a paper plate with a piece of cake. “Being firm is the key. You should give it a try one day.” Luna shrugged, automatically passing on the cake. The student she gave it to gaped at her jaw-dropped for a few seconds. Poked several times by someone behind him, he blinked and hurried away, accidentally knocking a few people off. A girl lost her balance and bumped into another, who bumped into yet another, who in turn nearly knocked off Luna herself. “I-I’m s… sorry,” she stammered, clearly frightened. Luna, who wasn’t even remotely mad at her, opened her mouth, but before she could speak, her older sister stepped into action. “It’s all right, that was just an accident,” she said soothingly, helping the student regain her balance. “But as you all can see now,” Luna said at once, “impatience doesn’t end well.” “Actually, that wasn’t a matter of impatience…” Celestia muttered. “Oh, for all the stars’ sake, not now… Everybody, two steps back, NOW! And come over here ONE BY ONE!” Nobody dared protest, so the rest of the cake was given away without major hiccups. Of course, the most impatient students wolfed down their servings long before the queue came to an end, but that couldn’t be helped. Then, Celestia asked for a microphone, said a few words of thanks – and everyone started eating. Only then did Luna realize that in all this commotion, she’d missed the opportunity to get a slice for herself, and could just watch the others now. She knew she could only blame herself, but still was jealous of the students around her, some of whom somehow managed to get the icing on their faces. However, there was no point in just standing around idly. Walking aside, she sat on the bleachers’ lowest step, rested her elbows on her knees, and her chin on her hands – and closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to look at the treats she’d missed. “May I join you?” asked a voice she recognized as her sister’s. Thus, she didn’t even bother to open her eyes. “Sure. Unless you have cake. If you do, go away before I get mad.” “Why? Aren’t you even going to try it?” Cracking one eye open, Luna noticed Celestia give her a paper plate with quite a big piece of cake. “Now, don’t be ridiculous. You don’t have to give me your own slice. I’m not a child to throw a tantrum over such a small thing.” “It’s your slice, silly. Did you think I could leave you out?” “True, it would be unlike you.” Luna smiled, then used a plastic fork that came with the plate to cut off a bite of the cake and put it in her mouth. “But be honest: if nothing was left, would you have tried to give me your piece or not?” “No, I wouldn’t. I would’ve just told you it was yours, and I’d already eaten mine.” The younger sister stopped the fork with another morsel halfway to her mouth and looked at the elder wide-eyed. “Please tell me you haven’t just done this very thing.” “And if I have, then what? It’s my cake and I decide how to split it.” Celestia shrugged, a look of indifference on her face. However, one detail was off… “All right, quit this charade.” Luna rolled her eyes. “You’ve never been a good actress.” “What gave me away?” “The corners of your mouth, twitching as if you were about to start laughing.” “I don’t think I’ll ever control it.” The older sister shook her head, reached for the plate that had been lying on the bench next to her, and put a forkful of cake in her mouth. “If it cheers you up, you did much better than as a kid. If I didn’t know you my whole life, maybe I’d have fallen for it.” They fell silent for a moment. “Did it take you long to prepare everything?” Celestia spoke finally. Luna gave a little shrug. “Pinkie Pie and her friends put up the decorations in an hour, Granny Smith took care of small snacks, and her grandson brought the cake from a nearby patisserie. I guess we can say it went pretty well.” “You know that’s not what I meant. How long were you scheming behind my back?” If it weren’t for her sister’s playful tone, Luna would probably be sweating in anxiety by now. “No more than a week,” she answered casually. “And no, I didn’t break the promise,” she added quickly as Celestia opened her mouth to say something. “I wasn’t bound by it ever since I told you I was going to my room that day. Pinkie Pie was absolutely sure of it.” * The party ended the very second the day’s last class would have ended. As soon as the bell rang, the vast majority of the students rushed out of the gym, making lots of noise and not even looking at cups, plates, forks and crumbs lying around among confetti and streamers. “Wonderful.” Celestia winced a little. “It seems we’ll have to put more emphasis on teaching our students the co-responsibility for the state of the environment.” “And pay the cleaning staff for the overtime work, somehow,” Luna put in, nodding towards three women who’d already gotten brooms out of the closet and started cleaning up. “Do we even have any money left after this year’s renovations?” “We would’ve found a way.” The older sister grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the closet, then handed her a broom, grabbing a mop and a bucket for herself. “Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be fair to leave them alone with all this.” “That’ll take us all night,” Luna whined. She couldn’t tell Celestia what surprise she’d planned for her for the evening, but that didn’t lessen her disappointment. “Don’cha worry,” Applejack said, smacking her shoulder so hard that the woman winced. “Oops… sorry, sometimes ah ferget how much strength ah really have.” “Eeyup,” her brother confirmed, carrying several empty beverage crates, then walked out the door. “Anyway,” said Sunset Shimmer, apparently wanting to change the subject quickly, “you don’t have to worry about it.” “That’s right,” Twilight Sparkle agreed and grinned like Pinkie Pie. “We’ve got this.” “That’s nice of you, girls,” Celestia said, “but I wouldn’t want it to affect your plans for the afternoon…” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Are you kidding? We’ll do it in ten seconds flat.” “I believe that might be an exaggeration, darling.” Rarity rolled her eyes. “But I do agree that it wouldn’t do for the birthday person to have to clean up after her own surprise party.” “Enough chit-chat!” Pinkie Pie lifted a finger in a theatrical gesture. “Let’s get this party started!” Luna facepalmed. “Uh, Pinkie… the party’s just ended,” Rainbow said. “The birthday party sure did, but…” “Girls, not now,” Sunset said firmly. “We’ve got work to do. Fluttershy, ask some birds to get the streamers down from the ceiling in exchange for the crumbs. Rainbow, bring us two big trash bags. Twilight, you collect the bigger garbage with your magic, and don’t forget the separation. Rarity, your shields will make perfect dustpans. Pinkie, Applejack and I will do the sweeping. Any questions or comments?” “My creations are not some common shields, Sunset, darling.” Rarity turned her nose up a little. “They’re diamond shields.” “To-may-to, to-mah-to,” Applejack muttered. Sunset Shimmer sighed. “Okay, diamond shields and diamond dustpans. Now let’s get to work.” With that, she took the broom out of Luna’s hands. “If I may, Vice Principal.” Luna opened her mouth out of habit, but realized she didn’t quite know what to say. In theory, she should tell the girls to go home (she had a nagging feeling Celestia would do it any second), but on the other hand… this could be her only chance of not getting roped into the long, arduous cleanup, which, in truth, she didn’t really want or had time to do. The conclusion was obvious. “But of course. Do your thing, girls. And let me know when you’re done.” With that, she turned around and was going to leave – but someone grabbed her shoulder. “You’re not going to let the children do all the work, are you?” Her sister’s voice and eyes were full of outrage. “One: they aren’t children, but teenagers who volunteered on their own. Two: you were talking about co-responsibility yourself. Three… don’t you have any papers to organize?” *** “Are we there yet?” Usually, Celestia wouldn’t ask questions of this kind – she’d heard too many of them in her life not to know how annoying they were – but this time, she felt justified. It wasn’t every day that she happened to be driven towards the unknown… well, actually, it was the first such case in her life, at least the adult part of it. Also, her sister had insisted on blindfolding her again. Yes, she had every right to ask even the most annoying questions. “Closer than five seconds ago.” Judging by her tone, Luna had a hard time to keep her exasperation in check. “I swear, if you ask one more time, you’ll be going back home on foot.” “Blindfolded?” “You know you can just take it off then.” “Why not now?” “I’ve already told you. I’m trying to surprise you. Stop pestering me before I cause an accident because of you.” Celestia shuddered slightly. She liked bantering with her sister, but if she were to be responsible for her harm… “That’s the last thing I’d ever want,” she replied. “I’m sorry.” “Me too.” Luna stopped the car. “The last part was supposed to be a joke, but apparently it fell flat. The good news is that we’re here. Come on,” she added, opening the door and grasping her older sister’s hand. “Can you take this blindfold off my eyes now?” “In a moment. First, we have to walk a little bit.” “Do we have to do it at a snail’s pace?” “Unless you want to stumble over some root or a hole, we do.” “Where have you taken me…?” Celestia slightly shook her head. “See for yourself.” Her younger sister finally stopped and uncovered her eyes. Celestia needed a few moments to get used to light again, but eventually, she saw a large group of people gathered around a small pile of wood inside a circle of stones. She blinked one last time and recognized their faces. Granny Smith had her grandson, Big Macintosh, with her. Her younger granddaughter, Apple Bloom, was with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, as usual. Applejack sat with Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, with whom she was friends at least from the freshman year, and with Sunset Shimmer, who’d started the year as the five girls’ enemy and had recently grown into an informal leader. Twilight Sparkle, who’d joined them only a few weeks ago, after the Friendship Games, chose a seat at the edge of the group, next to a young man with fair skin and blue, half-long, somewhat disheveled hair, looking like her brother; Cadance, the de facto new principal of the Crystal Prep Academy, sat on his other side. Judging by their furtive glances, those two apparently were into each other. “Wait… where are we and what’s going on here?” Celestia turned toward her sister, hoping for an explanation. “Welcome to your birthday campfire party on Granny Smith’s farm.” Luna beamed. “I’ve been driving you all around the city, so you wouldn’t realize and to let the others get here before us.” “And it looks like you did it perfectly… but you didn’t really have to.” “Of course she had to. You didn’t mean to celebrate without us, did you?” Cadance came over and gave Celestia a strong hug. “Happy birthday, Auntie.” “AUNTIE?!” All eyes turned to Twilight, who sprung up from her place and stopped short, mumbling something unintelligible and pinching her hand every now and then. “Uh, Twi?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You okay?” “She’ll get over it.” Twilight’s brother assured her. “It’s her usual reaction to very unusual events. Best to just act as if nothing happened.” Shaking off (quite literally) the shock from this sudden and unexpected outburst, Celestia turned to the involuntary culprit of the whole thing. “Thank you very much, Cadance… but I believe we’ve long since agreed you can call me by name. I’m not that much older, after all.” “I know, I know… Auntie,” the other woman laughed. A moment later, however, her smile disappeared, because a small purple hand gripped her shoulder and forced her to turn around. “Let’s get one thing straight.” Twilight’s voice was full of outrage. “You’ve got such a wonderful aunt and you haven’t told me for all those years?!” Leaning slightly out and seeing Cadance open her mouth only to close it as if she didn’t really know what to say, Celestia decided to step in. “That might be because we’re not actually related,” she explained calmly. “Then why…” “Force of habit, I’d assume,” Luna cut in, a hint of amusement in her voice. “But how?” “I’ll explain later,” Cadance promised, regaining her ability to speak. “Can we sit down for now?” While Big Macintosh and his sisters were starting the fire, Celestia took the place she was shown, in between Granny Smith and Luna, who as a result was right next to Cadance, in a spot perfect for discreet chatting, which in all likelihood she’d planned a long time ago. And yet, the first thing she did after sitting down wasn’t to start a conversation. After some rummaging in her purse, she pulled out a small, cream-colored envelope. “You’ve had a party with a cake, you will have an outdoor dinner, so it’s time for a gift,” she said, not even trying to hide how proud of herself she was. “Here.” Not understanding any of this, Celestia raised an eyebrow, but accepted the envelope. “What is it?” she asked, turning it in her hands. “A herd of moles. They’ll plow your garden in no time.” Her sister’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Just open it and see for yourself.” Shrugging, Celestia did as she was told, and took out a small, fancy piece of paper folded in half. Glancing inward, she looked at Luna in disbelief. “A cruise? But… you didn’t have to…” “Of course I had to. You deserve some slack.” The younger sister slightly nudged the elder’s ribs with an elbow. “We’re leaving right after the end of the year.” “We? What about the garden?” Celestia asked, suddenly concerned. “Don’t worry,” said Twilight, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ll take care of it.” “That’s nice of you, but…” “No ‘buts’,” Luna said firmly. “Everything has been arranged already. Stop trying to pick holes in it, and just be glad you don’t have to put an ad in a newspaper.” Celestia smiled and hugged her. “What would I have done without you?” “I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have even considered not spending your vacation in the garden.” * Before it got dark, all the sausages, skewers and marshmallows had been roasted and eaten, and Twilight had finally managed to press Cadance for the details of her connection to the Canterlot High School’s principals… and as a result had begun looking at Luna with something resembling worship, which seemed to amuse her friends, especially Sunset Shimmer. Celestia didn’t understand it, but decided against overthinking it – in case it had something to do with magic; so far, she hadn’t had many pleasant experiences with it (to put it mildly) and it also eluded her understanding. She just preferred to pretend she hadn’t noticed anything. She couldn’t, however, ignore the sudden pressure on her left shoulder; her younger sister, who’d been struggling for some time to keep her eyes open, now rested on her with all her weight. Hoping to reduce her discomfort, if only a little, Celestia embraced her shoulders. “So? Are we going home?” she asked softly. The only answer she received was a short snore. Of course. Luna wasn’t a morning person, so waking up very early today couldn’t leave her unaffected. At the thought of having to get her to the car, and then into the house, Celestia winced slightly. She had a feeling her spine wouldn’t take it too well; after all, she wasn’t twenty anymore, and Lulu… that is: Luna wasn’t a child. There was no point in delaying this. Celestia took a deep breath, threw her sister’s arm around her neck, and stood up gingerly. “Good night, everybody,” she said softly, embracing Luna’s waist so she wouldn’t fall. “Thank you very much for everything, but it’s time for us to go.” “Yeah… us too, I guess.” Rainbow Dash glanced at the three youngest girls sleeping on top of one another. “Hey, Rare, you’re gonna drive us back home, right?” “I did promise you that, Rainbow, darling, didn’t I? Who do you think I am, honestly…” While Rarity, Rainbow and Applejack were separating the young trio, their friends started helping Big Macintosh to clean up. Celestia watched them with a small smile for a moment, wondering if she should ask Granny Smith for an overnight stay. Luna had already fallen asleep deep enough to become completely inert. One false move would be enough for both of them to fall to the ground and get bruises, at the very least. Before she could make a decision, the weight resting on her left shoulder was considerably diminished, and a male voice asked softly: “Should I help you?” Turning her head, she saw Twilight’s older brother, Shining Armor, holding Luna up on the other side. “Oh, yes, pretty please,” she replied gratefully. “I’m afraid I might have somewhat overestimated my strength.” She took a few careful steps forward, with her unexpected assistant doing the same – and together, they pulled Luna over. They didn’t fall down, so the woman nodded with satisfaction. This had a good chance to prove successful, even though at this rate, it would take an hour, if not more. “You’re always taking too much on yourself, Auntie.” Cadance put a hand on her right shoulder. “Luna’s right. A vacation will do you good. Now give me the keys, I’ll open the car for you. Unless you prefer me to help Shiny… I mean, Shining Armor?” Celestia smiled wider than most likely was appropriate for a mature woman, holding the post of school principal. “Shiny”? Yes… those two definitely were into each other. She would have to discreetly get details out of Cadance as soon as possible. The current problem came first, however. “Luna was the last to have the keys. You’ll have to search her pockets.” “That’ll be rather hard in the dark,” Shining Armor noted, then called over his shoulder, “Twily, you’ve got any flashlight over there?” “I don’t think so.” Twilight left the cleaning group and came up to her brother. “Why? What’s going on?” “In a nutshell: we need Auntie Celestia’s car keys, but they’re in one of Luna’s pockets,” Cadance explained. “You should’ve just said so!” Twilight grinned and touched the pendant she wore around her neck. A deep pink glow enveloped both her free hand and Luna’s pockets; a moment later, everything that had been in there flew out smoothly. The cellphone, a few small coins, a lipstick, a pen, two candy wraps (so she’d found them again), house keys… every single object hovered quietly in the air, bathed in the pink glow. In spite of herself, Celestia felt a chill run down her back, for it crossed her mind that if this girl weren’t too honest for it, she would have made a perfect pickpocket. “These are the right ones, yes?” The woman, suddenly brought back to reality, blinked. The latest of her students was magically handing her two small keys with a worn, round key chain. The magic light shone on its thoroughly cleaned metal surface, bringing out a heart with the decorative letters engraved inside, forming the word “always”. In spite of herself, she smiled affectionately. This little ordinary object was related to so many beautiful memories… You’re fantasizing again, Celestia, a little voice in her mind chided. Thus, she blinked again and looked at her student. “Yes, they are.” She clenched her hand around the memento of the days gone by, and the magical glow disappeared. “Please put the other things where they…” The objects, surrounded by the pink glow, found their way back into the pockets of their owner. “Done!” Twilight smiled broadly. “Thanks, Twily.” Her older brother ruffled her bangs a little. “Go make sure we haven’t forgotten anything, and ask your friends if we should give them a lift, okay? We’ll be going home as soon as I help…” Before he could finish, the magical glow appeared again, this time surrounding Luna and lifting her like a feather. The other three adults’ eyes turned to Twilight, who made a surprised face. “What? I managed to move a boulder bigger than a car, so why wouldn’t I be able to lift one person?” “That makes sense,” Cadance admitted, “and it also gave me an idea…” * About half an hour later, Celestia gently stopped the car near an actually rather small house she shared with her sister. One glance in the rearview mirror assured her that Luna, half-lying on the backseat, was still asleep. “We’re here, Twilight,” she said softly, getting out as quietly as she could. “Could you…?” The girl nodded and magically lifted Luna into the air once again. “I’ve always thought school principals lived in big mansions,” she said, following Celestia to the porch. “The ugly truth is that teachers don’t earn so much. Also, neither of us would like the perspective of regularly cleaning a lot of rooms we wouldn’t even use.” The woman opened the door and let her into the hall. “By the way, thank you very much for your help again. I certainly wouldn’t have moved my sister with equal ease.” “Oh, it’s nothing…” Twilight sounded slightly embarrassed. “Sunset said that every unicorn in her world can do it…” “Maybe, but it’s a much rarer skill over here.” “If you say so… So where should I put Miss Luna?” Grasping her student’s shoulders, Celestia gently turned her left, toward the living room. “The couch will be just fine.” With that, she went to a dresser standing by a wall of the room, and opened the top drawer to take out one of her sister’s favorite blankets – dark blue, with tiny, pale yellow stars, made of a nice, thick fabric. Turning around, she noticed that Twilight was magically adjusting the pillow under Luna’s head. Smiling indulgently, she touched the girl’s shoulder. “It’s perfect, child,” she whispered. The only answer she received were the proudly bared two rows of even white teeth. With a little nod to let the girl know she’d noticed, she moved closer to the sofa and carefully covered her sister with the blanket – then, surrendering to a whim rather than reason, she leaned over, brushed away a strand of her hair and kissed her temple. Afterwards, she smiled a little wider. Whenever this happened, Luna would say, as if in annoyance, that she was no longer a child; nevertheless, she allowed her sister to mother her as long as she could be sure none of the students would know about it… Celestia froze upon suddenly remembering Twilight’s presence. Turning towards her, she met the surprised stare of two wide, dark purple eyes. For a time, both the principal and the student looked at each other without a word. Finally, Twilight opened her mouth as if to ask a question, but she was stopped by a huge yawn she didn’t manage to hide. Deep down relieved that she could avoid the awkward subject, the woman put her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Why, it seems someone’s about to fall asleep standing up,” she said perkily. “Come, child, I’ll take you home.” “But…” “Come on. I’m not sure if we’d be able to wake up my sister with talking, but I prefer not to check it. Besides, you wouldn’t want your parents and brother to worry over you being late, would you?” Without further objections, Twilight followed her back to the car and sat down in the passenger front seat once more. “Does this happen a lot?” she asked as Celestia turned the keys in the ignition, starting the engine. “I mean…” “Do I often forget my sister is no longer a young child?” the woman guessed. “Only sometimes. But I’d be grateful if you didn’t tell anyone that you saw it. Luna wouldn’t forgive me if it spread.” “Why? Doesn’t she want students to like her?” “Let’s say she’s more concerned about maintaining the image of a person who ought to be respected.” “I don’t understand…” Twilight sounded confused. “One doesn’t exclude the other. And Miss Luna isn’t as evil and scary as I’ve been told when I transferred to Canterlot.” “True, she’s not evil.” Celestia stopped the car at a red light. “She actually has a heart of gold, but believes that the school will plunge into chaos if no one balances out my, and I quote: ‘absurdly exuberant optimism, bordering on stupidity in its purest form’.” She took one hand off the wheel to make air quotes with her fingers. “Uhh…” she heard in response. Turning her head for a moment, she met the stupefied gaze of her student. “Don’t worry, it’s just harmless family banter,” she explained, as she started driving again, because the light had just turned green. “She actually has a better opinion about me.” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s right… she loves you. I noticed it when we helped her plan and prepare all these surprises for you. But…” there was a note of hesitation in her voice, “… is she all right? Usually, adults fall asleep a bit later…” Celestia suppressed the urge to burst out laughing. After all, she couldn’t allow herself to lose control of the wheel even for a split second. Plus, if she hadn’t known Luna all her life, she’d probably be concerned, too. “You don’t need to worry. My sister isn’t sick, if that’s what you mean,” she said reassuringly. “Getting up early, especially when followed by a busy day, tends to have this effect on her.” She stopped the car before the next intersection. “Which way now?” “Left, then right… Can I ask you another question?” “Well, this isn’t a usual time to learn, but ask away.” Twilight took a deep breath, then blurted out: “Did Vice Principal Luna always pretend to be so harsh and stern?” Celestia gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. “No, not always,” she whispered. “Her first pupils adored her.” “Then… what happened?” “Something very, very painful. I’m afraid, however, that I’m not the right person to talk about it, and my sister doesn’t like remembering it.” For a while, they both were silent. “That’s the one,” Twilight spoke finally, pointing to an elegant, tall house with a tower, just a few feet away. “Then let’s go.” Celestia stopped the car in front of the entrance and got off with her student. “Um… you don’t have to walk me to the door…” “Maybe, but I’ll be calmer if you let me do it.” To be honest, the woman expected another refusal. However, to her momentary surprise, the teenager hopped over the gray, stone steps leading to the porch in two leaps, and turned, grinning from ear to ear. “Twilight, what are you doing?” The girl’s smile disappeared, and her eyes widened as if in sudden fright. “I… I…” she stuttered. “I am very disappointed with your behavior.” Celestia crossed the distance between them in a few long strides and looked at her with all the seriousness she could afford. “I thought you were well behaved. Where are the magic words?” “Um… goodbye?” “That’s one word; and not what I meant. You should’ve said…” the woman gently tapped her student’s shoulder “…you’re it,” she finished in a half-whisper, smiling as widely as Twilight had before, then rang the doorbell. “Er… heheh…” The girl looked embarrassed. “That was pretty foolish of me, wasn’t it? I mean, that’s how a small child might behave…” You should’ve seen Luna at a funfair, Celestia thought. Upon recalling the last time she’d gone to an amusement park with her sister, she shook her head slightly. Several years had passed since then, but she had a feeling that for the rest of her life, she’d remember the shrieks of pure joy that had escaped Luna’s throat during all ten roller-coaster rides… at least until she’d finally felt sick from all those sweets she’d devoured in between. As a result, she couldn’t even look at cotton candy for quite some time. Celestia blinked. It really wasn’t the right time for reminiscing. “…and I really don’t know what came over me,” Twilight babbled nervously, “because of course, I’m not usually like that, and… oh, hi, Mo-o-mma…” she yawned as the door opened. Her mother, a woman with a grayish skin and purple hair with gray stripes, kissed her cheek. “Okay, Twily, do say goodnight and go to sleep.” The girl nodded and, most probably not giving it a second thought, hugged the principal. “G’night,” she muttered. Exchanging a quick look with her student’s mother, Celestia tentatively stroked her hair. “Good night, Twilight.” Both women stood silent for a while, until the teenager disappeared in the house. “Sorry about that,” Twilight’s mother said finally. “When sleepy, she becomes quite… emotional, and she adores you even without it. I just hope she didn’t cause you too much trouble.” “On the contrary. She helped me a lot. Her abilities are amazing.” “School-wise or magic-wise?” “Both.” Celestia gave a small smile. “Good night.” * Less than fifteen minutes later, Celestia carefully closed the door behind her and quietly hung her jacket and purse on the first free peg. Slipping off her shoes, she placed them neatly against a wall and rubbed her right eye. It took her a moment to realize she’d probably smeared her mascara and eyeliner – but she didn’t care. After all, she was in her own house, and about to remove her whole make-up anyway. But first, she had to deal with a more urgent matter. Moving as quietly as she could, she crept into the bathroom, took the make-up remover and cotton pads off the shelf by the sink, and finally headed to the living room to stand by the couch. Luna slept like a log, lying on her stomach and snoring softly. Also, she’d already kicked off the blanket. Of course. Shaking her head slightly, the older sister put aside the things she’d brought from the bathroom, carefully turned the younger one onto her back (the only reaction was a rather displeased murmur) and began wiping her makeup off with a soaked cotton pad. Luna hadn’t yet been allergic to any beauty product, but who knows how her skin would react if the foundation, the powder and all the rest were left until the morning? Better safe than sorry. When she finished, Celestia covered her sister with the blanket once more and leaned over her ear. “You gave me a really great day,” she whispered. “Thanks for everything, Lulu. I love you.” After placing a light, quick kiss on Luna’s forehead and tucking her in one last time, Celestia removed her sister’s shoes, then put them next to her own – and went back to the bathroom, this time to prepare for sleep. However, she didn’t pay much attention to what she was doing. Her thoughts revolved around the short, yet so meaningful word engraved on an over twenty-year-old key ring; maybe because tonight she’d quite literally seen it in a new light. Despite herself, she remembered the man who’d given it to her one day. She wondered what he was doing these days… and whether he had a family… and… The last thing she’d thought about before falling asleep were two gentle, green eyes she hadn’t seen for years.