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// The First Picnic 
// Story: Chaos and Order 
// by Damien Helvian 
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It was a warm night, comforting to the mind and soul, as well as the body. A night that would be the first of many quite the same. I had agreed to meet the princess in the Canterlot gardens, and as the sun set, I carefully made my way there.

Not as easy as it sounds of course. Dodging the guard-ponies, and their ever-watchful eyes. So perceptive they are, but who's to notice a simple little firefly looking for a place to rest? And what better place for such a lovely little insect, than the gardens.

Having made my entry into the beautiful landscape behind Canterlot castle, I took to my natural form, and waited. It didn't take long before her adorable little visage made itself known to my gaze. The little filly princess trotting down the wayward path from the castle, not a care in the world.

As far as I could tell, she was a professional at sneaking out. It seemed like she did this every night. I gave a bow, and she did the same in return, "A fair greetings, milady, how are you on this fine evening?"

She smiled so brightly at me, happy that I came to see her, "I am doing well, good sir. And I trust you are the same?" She had a genuine care for me, I could hear it in her voice.

I gave a nod, and chuckled, "Yes, I am, milady. Better now, actually, that you are here to keep me company. There aren't many who would be so willing to talk to a beast like me."

"We shan't have any more of that, you here? You are a wonderful creature, sir Discord. Just like sir Starswirl told me...no need to berate yourself for being what you are." Her tone was firm, she spoke well beyond her young years, it was simply amazing.

"I apologize for my negativity, princess, it simply comes from a lifetime of running." In an attempt to lighten the mood, I conjured up a white water lily, holding it out to her, "For you, a beautiful white flower, unknown to these parts."

She smiled again, using her magic, powerful for one her age, and setting it in her mane. With that, she turned towards the Canterlot Maze, a masterpiece, recently crafted by the finest topiary artists in all the land, "Come, I know a spot where we'll be safe alone."

She led me off into the bowels of the maze, and even though it hadn't been around for long, she knew it like the back of her hoof. The twists and turns, so wild even I had trouble keeping track. But, in moments, we were at its center. An open space, with naught but a single, young tree for one to lay against should they need to rest.

"You show your brilliance, young princess, how clever you must be to have so easily learned the paths of the maze." I gave her a gentle smile, "It is clear why Starswirl loves to be your teacher."

Celestia giggled, making her way to settle underneath the tree, younger than even she, "Oh, come now, I'm not that smart. It took me an entire day to figure it all out. You should've seen how many times I got lost, it was ridiculous."

"it's a good thing I wasn't there, I would've just made every path a dead end, just to mess with you." A soft chuckle escaped my lips, "Of course, I would've eventually let you through, don't need a princess losing her mind, do we, milady?"

"What's wrong with that? Starswirl says that ones mind is sometimes best lost, because searching for it gives us much more to learn..."More wise words, she learned well, "And another thing, you can stop calling me 'milady'...from now on I want you to use my name, Celestia."

"Yes, mi-...Celestia. So, now that we're here, what do you think about a picnic?" I waved my hands, causing confetti to spray everywhere, "A picnic of the ages, to celebrate a new friendship!~"

Another giggle, so innocent and pure. How I wish that the future never came to be, "That sounds perfect, but, we don't have anything to eat, or drink?"

"You forget, my little pony, I have magic." With a snap of the claws, a small arrangement appeared in a flash of light. A simple blanket for us to rest on, a tea set crafted from pearls, and a humble basket full of goodies, "Ta-da~"

Celestia clapped her hooves together in amusement, "Amazing, simply amazing. And this tea set, it's so beautiful, where did you get it?" She rubbed the teapot with a hoof, feeling the smooth beauty of it.

"I crafted it myself, out of a pearl as big as your eyes." The joke elicited a small bout of laughter, "And when we're done here tonight, you can have it, a gift for a new friend."

She let out a silent gasp, "R-really? Oh thank you Dizzy, It's a wonderful present. I think it's time to try it out. My favorite is white tea, no cream or sugar, think you can do that?"

"Dizzy? A nickname for me? Oh how wonderful! I've never had a nickname before...but I feel I should return the favor. What do you think of, Tia? Not quite as silly as Dizzy, but fitting." I gave a soft chuckle, waving a fuzzy paw over the teapot, "Of course, I can make anything you like."

She smiled at the name I gave her, nodding, "I like it, Tia it is. And don't tell anypony, you're the only one allowed to call me that, ok?" I agreed, not like anypony would listen. After a moment the young princess attempted to use her magic to lift the teapot, but it fizzled out, giving her a twinge of pain.

"Are you ok, Tia?" She nodded, rubbing her head. Another attempt, another failure. After that, I went ahead and used my dextrous tail to lift the pot and pour tea out for her, nice and hot.

Worried about breaking the cup, she picked it up carefully in her hooves and took a sip, letting out a gentle hum of bliss, "This is the best tea I've ever had."

A blush alighted my face, and I waved a hand dismissively at her compliment, "It's just tea, nothing special. Now, if you want a proper treat, how about some food? I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I packed a bit of everything."

And boy, did I mean everything. I took to the basket like a hungered fiend, tossing out plates, landing lightly on the blanket behind. Next came food, all sorts of food. From Fritters to pies, salads to soups. Anything you could think of, was there, "You really did mean everything did you?"

"Everything but the kitchen sink...Oh, wait-." Reaching in one last time, I pulled out a sink, and tossed off to the side of the blanket, "I forgot, I actually did pack the kitchen sink."

She burst out laughing, "W-why did you pack, a k-kltchen sink?"She thought it was but a joke, but I really did mean it when I said everything.

"I always pack a spare, you know, just in case. You never know when you might want to wash your hooves, or brush your teeth. Where would you be in such a situation without a sink? And one from the kitchen is  best, because you can also do the dishes in it." I tried to put on a serious facade, but she saw right through it and continued laughing.

"You're so silly Dizzy, I'm glad you're my new friend." After she had finished laughing, even wiping a tear of joy from her eye, she went straight for the muffins, "I love muffins, they're my favorite." With the first bite she let out a deep groan, "Blueberry, I can't believe they're blueberry. These, are amazing!" 

"Well, the truth is, most of my sweets are very special, they attune themselves to the favorite flavors of whomever eats them. That is part of the magic that is chaos, ever changing, like the wind." I smiled, "Oh, and another thing, you might enjoy, you'll never gain any weight, no matter how much of it you'll eat~"

She looked at me in disbelief for a moment, before cheering silently and continuing through the muffins. She was quick, but clean at the same time, well-versed in the ways of eating like a princess. I soon joined her, sadly I could not say the same about myself. Devouring the sweets like a hound, I got crumbs everywhere, especially in Celestia's mane.

This elicited a shriek from her, "Dizzy! Stop that, you're getting crumbs all over me!" She shook frantically, trying to get it all out of her mane, "Help me get it out, or I will...I don't know what I'll do, but I'll do it!"

I found myself rushing to aide her, even though there likely wasn't much she could actually do to me. Picking out bits and pieces with my talons was quite easy, and soon enough she was clean as a whistle, but still enraged.

Celestia huffed and puffed, a pout on her face. There was only one thing to do! With a flash of light, i transformed myself into a fluffy little puppy and slurped her face, "I'm sowwy Tia, I pwomise I won't do it again."

She tried to hold it in, but, I got through and she smiled again, petting my head, "Fine, but you better mean it. I'm a princess, I don't need to get messy."

Transforming myself back, I nodded, "Don't worry, I do mean it. Now, there's a lot of food, and little time to eat it all. Let us hurry and eat as much as we can."

With a giggle, the filly went back to eating. Moments later, I joined in, and before long, almost all of it was gone. Of course, the majority was my doing. We were so distracted by the picnic, that we didn't notice the time.

"Oh no, I have to go, it's almost morning. I'm sorry Dizzy, I'd help you clean up, but really have to get back!" Before I could say a word, she was off. All I wanted to tell her, was not to forget the tea set. It was a gift, and she deserved it.

With a snap of my claws, I teleported it into her room, hoping it'd make her happy to see it. I couldn't wait to see her again, so after cleaning up, I turned into a blue bird and flew off to wait until the next picnic. There would be many to come, after all.