• Published 25th Dec 2011
  • 10,573 Views, 425 Comments

Stuck In The Middle With You - Vargras



Luna opens a summer camp, but the campers who sign up certainly aren't who she expects.

  • ...
15
 425
 10,573

Starting Small

"Luna, I thought of something the other night before I fell asleep. Care to hear it?"

The Princess of the Night sighed and took another bite out of her donut. It was morning in Equestria, and though this was essentially bed-time for Luna, she had stayed up so she could have breakfast with her sister. It was hard to believe that it had already been two years since her return, yet the calendar in her room clearly said 'June' on it. The young Princess lifted up her glass of orange juice with her magic and took a quick drink before setting it back down upon the table. "Go ahead and tell me, 'Tia."

"Well, I know how eager you are to improve your reputation, and based on what Twilight Sparkle has told me, you enjoyed your time mingling with the citizens of Ponyville." Celestia took a bite out of her own donut, washing it down with some coffee before continuing. "So I figured that perhaps my little sister should do something that combines both of those!"

"And that would be... what, 'Tia?" Luna shoved the rest of the donut in her mouth and slowly chewed it while she listened to the rest of her sister's announcement.

Celestia giggled and grinned. "It's simple. You open a summer camp!"

Luna's eyes shot open and she nearly choked on her donut before quickly spewing the rest of it out onto her plate. "A summer camp?! Celestia, I... but... please tell me you're joking."

"I'm not. Given your situation, little sister, it'd be perfect. You open a summer camp, socialize with some of the citizens of Equestria, and your reputation gets a nice little boost in the process."

"Look... 'Tia." Luna sighed and rubbed her forehead with one of her hooves. "I appreciate you trying to help, and I know you mean well by it. But... a summer camp? I don't even know what a pony does at a summer camp, let alone how to run one. It'd be a complete disaster."

The elder sister took a quick drink from her mug, which was amusingly enough emblazoned with '#1 Co-Princess', and shook her head. "You need to stop being such a pessimist, Luna. Sometimes you just have to take chances, get messy, and make mistakes. That's how you learn. Besides, it's not like the press could try and write it off as being some 'devious plot by the Equestrian Royalty to spirit away your foals! More news at eleven'!"

"...you've been practicing that, haven't you?"

"Maybe. What I'm saying, little sister, is this - I know you're hesitant to do anything that's outside of your comfort zone, but it couldn't hurt to try. Just think about it! If you do a good enough job running the camp, then all the little foals will go home and tell their parents about how wonderful Princess Luna was, and then those parents will tell their friends, and so on. It'd be a fantastic way to improve your reputation."

The younger sister sighed and took another drink of orange juice. "Yeah, I guess. Just... I dunno, 'Tia. This could just as easily hurt my reputation instead. If I screw it up, then all those little foals might instead tell their parents about how I can't do anything right, and then it's just a matter of time until the press is talking about how I'm not fit to help run the kingdom. And then what?"

"Luna, I'm not saying you have to do this. It's just a suggestion, nothing more. I'm simply trying to help you." Celestia stood up and made her way over to her sibling, leaning down to give her a quick nuzzle. "I've got to interview some applicants for the castle staff, so I need to get going. Just go to bed and sleep on it, alright?"

"I will." She stood up and returned the nuzzle, turning towards her sister one last time before leaving for her quarters. "Let me know how the interviews go. Good morning, 'Tia."

"Good morning, Luna." Celestia smiled and watched her sister depart, and the white alicorn soon made her way towards the throne. When Luna had first started using 'Good morning' as her own form of 'Good night', it had initially thrown both Celestia and the entirety of the castle staff for a loop. It did make sense, however - as everypony was waking up, Luna was going to sleep. The elder sister had soon adapted to it, and the staff caught on not long afterwards. It was an unorthodox way to greet and bid each other farewell, but it was theirs. That's what counted. As Celestia took her seat upon the throne, the list of applicants was brought to her, and the parchment was long enough to cascade down the steps to the throne itself. "...guardsman, just how many applicants are on the list?"

The stallion who had brought her the list snapped her a salute and quickly replied. "Four-hundred and sixty-eight, your Majesty. We uh... we actually counted."

Celestia sighed and brought a hoof to her temple, gently rubbing it before turning to the guardsman once more. If this was going to take a while, there was likely going to be one more thing she would need to get through it.

"Bring me another cup of coffee, please."

-----

The next night, Luna certainly kept herself busy during her share of the royal duties, surrounding herself with various books and guides about camps of all kinds. There was one book in particular she had been hesitant to use, but nonetheless found herself returning to it time and time again - Camping 101: All you ever wanted know about camping but were afraid to ask. It was written by the same author who had made Slumber 101, a book Twilight Sparkle had personally advised her to never use, due to 'prior experiences'. Regardless of how mediocre the writing was, Camping 101 had still proven to be fairly useful, and Luna further augmented this knowledge by asking her very own guards. The Princess set down the book and turned to look at the closest guard. "Guardsman, I have a question for you."

The stallion turned in place and saluted her. "Ask away, Luna."

"Ah, good. You remembered." She smiled, pleased that he had actually remembered to forgo the title. "Anyways, I wish to know more about camps. What do you do at a summer camp or something of the sort?"

"Oh! Well, uh... when I was younger, I used to be in the Colt Scouts. 'course, our camps were a bit more 'practical' than most other camps you'll find."

The Princess raised an eyebrow at him. "Practical? Like what?"

"Just survival skills and the like. Making campfires or shelter, preparing food, that sort of thing."

"I see." She frowned and lowered her head, tapping a hoof to her chin as she thought. "That doesn't sound very... fun. No offense or anything, guardsman."

"None taken, your Majesty." The stallion chuckled and turned back around, resuming his duties and leaving Luna to think of some better alternatives. The Princess requested a parchment and quill, and after it was given to her, she began to compile a list of activities she thought other ponies might consider to be fun. It took her much of the night, but before she was due to lower the moon, Luna had finally finished her list. Pleased with herself, she showed it to the other guards, asking for their opinions. Most of them curiously eyed the list, and one of them eventually spoke up.

"Um... Luna?"

"Yes, guardsman? Do you have a question about the list?" She blinked at him, and he nervously glanced about before replying.

"You... you only put four things on the list."

"But that's impossible! I filled the entire parchment!" She pulled it backwards and began to look over the list, unsure of what could have possibly gone wrong. She had spent the entire night on this list, and she knew she had filled it. Luna frantically scanned the document, and she let out a groan as she realized her mistake. "Oh you have got to be kidding me..."

The Princess of the Night had indeed filled the parchment completely, but she had listed the same four things over and over again without even realizing it.

Astronomy
Drawing
Painting
Reading

With a huff, she threw the parchment to the ground and stared out one of the windows present within the throne room. These weren't things other ponies did for fun - these were things she did for fun. Worst of all, she truly didn't even know what ponies normally did during their free time. The only other ponies she had any true experience with were the ones within Canterlot and Ponyville. Canterlot didn't really count, as almost all of them were snobs and spent their free time at art galleries or galas. Ponyville would have been a better example, but Luna had only been there once, and on a holiday no less. She sighed and slowly stood up from the throne, making her way down the stairs so she could begin the spell to lower the moon. At the very least, she would see her sister in just a few minutes. "Celestia will know. With all the time she's spent around the citizens of Equestria, she simply has to know what they do for fun!"

Upon reaching the bottom of the steps, Luna gently rubbed her face with her hooves. "I hope she does, anyways..."

Lowering the moon was suddenly the least of her worries.

-----

"You don't know?! How can you not know?"

Luna was absolutely flabbergasted. Her sister had spent hundreds of years among the citizens of Equestria, yet upon being asked what they did for fun, she had simply shrugged. Fuming, the young Princess took her seat at the table once more and took a bite out of a donut, staring at Celestia as the elder sister took a sip of coffee from her mug.

"Calm down, Luna. I'm saying I don't know what they do for fun because I truly don't know. I was almost always wrapped up in politics, and even if I wasn't, simply visiting or being among my little ponies turned into an event. You should consider yourself lucky that you managed to get the citizens of Ponyville to be as informal as they were." At the mention of that, the elder sibling let out a sigh of disappointment. "I'll admit, little sister, I'm somewhat envious of you because of that. There have been so many times where I've simply wanted to be 'Celestia' rather than 'Princess Celestia'. Even my own student still uses my title."

Luna's expression softened somewhat, and she swallowed the rest of her donut before speaking. "Have you tried just... asking them to be more informal around you?"

"I've tried, believe me. But no matter how much I try to be more easy-going around them, they're stuck in the habit of treating me like royalty. I'm well aware that I am indeed royalty, but I simply want them to loosen up a bit around me. I don't want to be pampered or told how wonderful I am - I just want to relax and have a bit of fun with them. That's a discussion for another time, however. I was going to help you get this camp up and running, and I shall." The white alicorn briefly closed her eyes, and upon opening them, she was already back to her cheery self. "Now then, little sister, what do you have so far?"

"Oh, it's... nothing major. I tried to make a list last night, but I only put down things I liked. I doubt it'd be much fun for other ponies." Luna passed the list over to her sister and nervously stuffed another donut in her mouth, chewing while Celestia looked it over.

The elder sibling looked over it with a scrutinizing eye, but soon passed it back with a smile. "It looks perfect, Luna! When are you going to start?"

"...Perfect?" She blinked at her sister, unsure if she had even heard it right. "How is it perfect? It's only things I like!"

"Exactly. If it's something you like, then you're going to be more passionate about it and you'll want it to be as good as possible. Try to cater to the interests of others, and you'll lose that same passion in the process. Besides, I'd say we have enough camps that involve canoeing and campfire songs, don't you?" Celestia grinned and took a long sip from her mug, leaving her sister to stare at her in astonishment.

Luna knew her sister had her moments of brilliance, and this had been one such moment. She hadn't even noticed that bits of donut had fallen out of her gaping mouth, and it wasn't until Celestia pointed while stifling a giggle that she cleaned up after herself. The Princess of the Night took her list back and finished off the rest of her orange juice before walking over to Celestia's side and giving her a nuzzle. "I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes, 'Tia. I'll go work on some flyers before I go to sleep. Good morning, and... thanks."

"Any time, little sister. Sleep well." Celestia smiled as her younger sibling trotted off, setting down her mug as she finished the rest of her coffee. The white alicorn glanced around the dining room for a moment, and when nopony was watching, she swiped another donut and shoved it into her mouth. Sure, she was due on the throne in a few minutes, but...

...one more wouldn't hurt.

-----

Her drawing and painting had always come so naturally, and yet she was seriously struggling with how to design a simple flyer. Minute after minute, Luna stared at the blank parchment, unsure of where she should even start - or how, for that matter. Irritated, the young Princess wandered about her room, playing with Selene and Philomena or observing her own drawings. She was looking for something, anything that could serve as inspiration. With a sigh, she hopped onto her stool and forced herself to draw. If the inspiration wouldn't come naturally, maybe she could coax it out by working.

It started simple enough - Luna's own cutie mark, at the top and center of the flyer. Below that was the name of her future camp, Luna's Camp for the Arts and Sciences. It wasn't anything overly fancy, but it still got the point across. It would suffice. Continuing onwards, she proceeded to list the activities she had planned. She only had four at the moment, but nothing said she couldn't add more to it at a later date. The contact info was already taken care of, and rather than writing directly to her, those interested would instead send a letter to Luna's contact within the Equestrian Postal Service. The young Princess carefully wrote this at the bottom, and finished it off by covering the rest of the parchment with flowing lines and geometric patterns. Satisfied, she set down her pencil and held the flyer aloft, observing it.

Luna's Camp for the Arts and Sciences
-Astronomy!
-Drawing and Painting!
-Reading!

If interested, send a letter of enquiry to Ditzy Doo at the Equestrian Postal Service.

She smiled and carefully set the flyer down upon her desk, hopping off her stool and making her way over to her bed. Luna crawled under the covers and pulled Selene and Philomena towards herself, snuggling up against them as she slowly fell asleep.

The flyer could wait til nightfall.