Concerts and Races
Five of Luna's six guests were at the breakfast table this morning, Rarity asking to be allowed to sleep in after her all nighter, along with the two alicorn princesses. Luna told everypony present about her date with Fleur, and mentioned her concerns. When she finished, Twilight asked, “So, are you going to have a second date with her?”
“Yes. Next week.”
Celestia then said, “I'm a bit surprised that ponies are surprised that we eat so much, after all the times I've been caught eating large cakes.”
“Indeed, though it seems ponies do not realize how much magic it takes to raise the sun and the moon,” Luna said.
“So that's how you keep your figures?” Applejack asked.
“Yes. And it's why the castle has always had a 'Celestia is always the first to get a slice of cake' policy,” Celestia said, before cutting off a large portion of her omelet.
“I always wondered about that,” Twilight said. Celestia just offered a knowing smile in return.
A few seconds later, three letters manifested themselves in front of the sun princess, and she looked at the addressees. She passed one to Twilight, another to Pinkie, and the third to Applejack.
After reading hers over, a very excited Pinkie said, “Oh my goodness, Vinyl's coming by later today! And she's bringing Octavia!”
“For a visit?” Rainbow asked.
“No, she has a few gigs in town, and Octy's playing at the Canterlot Concert Hall most of next week, but they want us to meet them at the station around noon.”
“We can do that, right guys?” Twilight asked.
She got affirmative answers from around the table, save Celestia, who would be busy; Luna, who would be sleeping; and Applejack who seemed distracted. Luna noticed the farmer's distant stare and asked, “Is something wrong, Applejack?”
“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about Granny Smith.”
“Is there something wrong with her?”
“Well, she got real sick yesterday, and apparently hasn't gotten out of bed yet today, even though she's always been an early riser. I might need to go back to Ponyville if she gets any worse,” Applejack said.
“I understand, your family comes first. Just tell, 'Tia or I if you have to leave for home.”
“I'll do that, thanks.”
They spent the next few moments eating in silence, before a guard arrived, saying, “There is a yellow pegasus stallion at the gates, who say's he's here to talk to Fluttershy. Should I let him in?”
Before Celestia could speak, Fluttershy asked, “Does he have a red mane?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know this pony?” Celestia asked.
“Yes. If it's who I think it is, he's my brother,” Fluttershy said.
After taking some extra time to finish her meal, Fluttershy went to the throne room, where her brother was waiting. Looking at him for the first time in a year and a half, she was surprised how little he had changed.. He had a large wiry body, as if you took Big Mac and replaced his bulk with all lean muscles, his red mane and tail were cut short, his blue eyes looked as innocent as Fluttershy's, and his cutie mark was a checkered flag. In essence, if you transformed Fluttershy into a male Le Pones racer, she would look just like him.
When he saw her, he rushed over and gave her a big, tight bear hug, which, despite his wiry frame, seemed to be far too tight for Fluttershy's lungs, at least judging by the fact that her face was turning blue. He said, “Oh, it's so good to see you again, Flutters! I missed ya so much, sis!”
Celestia walked in shortly thereafter, and said, “I think Fluttershy would like to have some air, she's turning a bit blue.”
When the stallion saw Celestia, he hastily released his sister and went into a submissive bow. The alicorn, however was more focused on Fluttershy, who was now taking in deep breaths, yet, other than that, seemed fine. She then said, “As long as you don't accidentally suffocate anypony, there is no need for formalities.”
He responded by scrambling to his hooves, but didn't say anything. One look at his face explained why: he was extremely nervous, probably about being in the presence of royalty. Fluttershy, who of course knew Celestia, had no such issues, saying, “Princess Celestia, this is my brother, Thunderfly.”
Celestia was a bit bemused by the choice of name, but didn't comment on it, instead saying, “It's nice to meet you, Thunderfly.”
“Y-you too, your highness.”
The others, save Luna (who needed a bathroom trip), came out into the throne room to meet Fluttershy's brother. He saw them come, and seemed to relax a bit, probably because of the presence of his old friend Rainbow Dash, who he took in a big, suffocating bear hug before she could say anything.
Rainbow, however was just strong enough to push herself away from him enough to say “Can't... breathe.”
“Oh, sorry,” he said, releasing Rainbow and letting her fall to her hooves. Luna appeared at this point, unseen by all but Fluttershy, who didn't respond to her presence, focusing more on her bruised ribs.
Luna elected to observe, as Rainbow recovered enough to ask, “Have you made it to Le Pones yet?”
“Yeah. I got my invite a few days ago, and that baby dragon at the Ponyville library, Spike said you guys were here at the castle, so here I am.”
Luna asked, “Le Pones?”
“An endurance race in Prance where they go for 24 hours,” Rainbow said, as Thunder clammed up at the sight of Luna.
“One pony racing for 24 hours? How would they do that?”
Thunder was too scared of Luna to speak, so his sister spoke for him. “They actually do a relay, switching every three or four hours, between three ponies.”
“Oh. That would make more sense.”
“So who are your teammates, Thunder?” Rainbow asked
He didn't say anything.
“Well?”
Still, Thunder said nothing.
“Is something wrong, 'Fly?” Rainbow asked.
“...Princess Luna scares me,” Thunderfly eventually said, earning a frustrated sigh from the mare in question.
“I thought that my subjects were no longer afraid of me,” Luna said, “It is unfortunate to see that I was wrong.”
Fluttershy then said, “Luna's not that scary, Thunder. She's actually really nice.”
He looked at Luna, who seemed to regard him with curiosity, and said, “If you say so,” obviously not reassured.
Luna, meanwhile chose to stay silent and not risk letting her frustration show more than it had. She noted the family resemblance, both in appearance and mannerisms. At the same time, though, the huge differences between the two siblings amazed her. This, combined with what Fluttershy had told her about being the unfavorite the year before, left her unsure of what to make of Thunderfly (She also wondered why anypony would give their foals such similar names).
After some thought, however, she said she was going to take a bath. Actually, she was just going to hang around just out of sight, listening to the ponies conversing.
After Luna left, Fluttershy asked, “Are you planning to stay in town a while?”
“Uh, sure. I've never been to Canterlot before, and it would be nice to see the sights, if I could find somewhere to stay for a few days.”
“I think I could have Luna pay for a hotel room for you,” Fluttershy said, “She does owe me a few favors.”
“W-wait. One of the rulers of Equestria owes you some favors?”
“It's a long story,” Celestia butted in, “but I'm sure Luna would be happy to to cover room and board for a few days for you. Right Lulu?”
Luna then walked out of her hiding spot in the hallway and asked, “How did you know I was there?”
“You're quite predictable, Lulu. Now, about that room and board?”
“Oh, yes. I will acquire a room at the Doubleleaf Royal for you this afternoon. Just inform me when you leave so I can stop payment.”
“Okay.”
“And please try to calm down. I am not some terror who likes to eat ponies, and, in fact, I consider your sister a very good friend of mine,” Luna said.
This last part caught the poor stallion completely off guard. He looked back and forth between the dark princess and his sister, utterly bewildered, before stammering out, “R-really?”
Rainbow spoke up before Fluttershy could, saying, “Yep! We actually just came down for a visit a few days ago, since things have quieted down so much recently.”
Luna, realizing what Rainbow was up, to didn't call her out on her bald-faced lie, instead saying, “Indeed, I enjoy seeing them when things are quiet in the kingdom.”
“Wow,” Thunder said, starting to calm a bit, but still obviously nervous.
Twilight whispered to Fluttershy, “Is he always like this?”
“Yes. He's almost as shy as me,” Fluttershy responded.
“Well that explains a lot.”
Soon, the nervous stallion excused himself to go see the sights, but stopped when Rainbow said she was going to practice above Canterlot and kissed Fluttershy (Luna had left to do only she knew what). He said, “Wait, you two are together? Why didn't you tell me?”
“We didn't have your address?” Fluttershy suggested.
“Oh.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Well, I'm happy for you and all, but I would like to know what's going on with my sister, and apparently potential sister in law. You did hear the announcement, yesterday, I assume,” Thunderfly said.
“We were told about it right before the announcement, actually,” Twilight said.
“Yeah, but we're not planning on getting married anytime soon. Maybe a couple years from now, but not in the immediate future,” Fluttershy said.
“Oh. By the way, how long have you two been together?” Thunder asked.
“About a year?”
“And do mom and dad know?”
“Yes,” Fluttershy lied, not wanting to explain how much she hated them.
“Oh, and Thunder, if you want to stick around a while, my birthday's next week,” Rainbow said.
“Sure, I can hang around until then. Princess Luna's paying for my hotel, after all.”
Shortly afterwards, Thunderfly left for good and the five ponies present decided to pursue other activities for the time being (and Rarity woke up and began to pursue her own projects). A few hours after all this, Fluttershy got a letter. From Fleur de Lis.
Opening it revealed two things. The first was four tickets for the VIP box at the Wonderbolts derby that afternoon, and the second was a letter from Fleur talking about how the date went and how unbelievable it was that she got asked to a second date with the night princess. It also mentioned that she got those four tickets as a gift, but, since the Wonderbolts derby didn't interest her, she decided to pass them along as a thank you gift for arranging the wonderful night she had.
When she read the letter, she immediately realized Rainbow would be pleased. Of course that just left the question of who to give the other two tickets to. She took to the air, tickets in hoof, and started looking for her marefriend, who she was sure was taking a nap on some nearby cloud. This was a bit problematic since it was a cloudy day in Canterlot, but once she got high enough she was able to spot the blue mare without much trouble.
She alighted on Rainbow's cloud and said, “Wake up, sleepyhead. I have something for you.”
Rainbow grumbled something that sounded like “Can it wait?”
“Only if four VIP tickets to the Wonderbolts derby can wait.”
This woke Rainbow right up. “Wh-how...How did you get VIP tickets to the derby?”
“Fleur sent them to me as thanks for setting her up with Luna. Also, she's apparently not that interested in the Wonderbolts.”
“Wow. I have to thank her next time I see her. So who are you giving the extra tickets to?”
“I dunno yet, but didn't Rarity say something about going to the derby with Fancypants? Maybe she would want to go again,” Fluttershy suggested.
“Oh, yeah. She did, didn't she? But, even if she wants to, that still leaves one more ticket. So when is the derby?”
“Today at three.”
“And what time is it now?” Rainbow asked.
“Ten fifteen. We have a few hours, if you want to finish your nap.”
“Sounds good. You gonna go talk to Rarity?”
“Yeah,” Fluttershy said.
“Well, I'll see you later then. Love you.”
“Love you too, Dashie.”
Rarity being predictable made Fluttershy's life easy, since she just had to fly to the fashion district and look around for a few minutes. She spotted her friend browsing a selection of fabrics. She walked over to the unicorn, who saw her and said, “Oh, hi Fluttershy, what are you up to?”
“Oh, I thought I'd show you what Fleur just sent me,” the pegasus said, producing her tickets.
“Wait, she sent you tickets for the VIP box at the Wonderbolts derby?”
“Yes, for this afternoon. Rainbow and I are definitely going, but I was wondering if you wanted to come along, since I have two extra tickets.”
“Of course. I could never pass up an opportunity like that. Is Fleur going?” Rarity asked.
“No, she said the derby doesn't interest her, which is why she sent the tickets to me.”
“I see, so who else is going with us?”
“Well, Rainbow, as I said, but I still have one ticket left then,” Fluttershy said.
Rarity thought for a moment, then said, “What about Twilight?”
“Do you think she'd want to go?”
“Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask,” Rarity said.
“Should we ask Applejack and Pinkie as well?”
“Maybe Applejack, but I'm sure you know how much chaos reigns every time Pinkie mixes with the Canterlot nobility. Remember the gala? Or the garden party?”
“Yes, that's true. I wouldn't want us to cause a scene,” Fluttershy admitted.
“So let's just leave Pinkie out of this, shall we?”
“Okay.”
“Are you going to ask Twilight now?” Rarity asked.
“I guess. I don't have anywhere else to be.”
“Oh good. When you do, tell her that this would be a good place to start the thing.”
“The thing?” Fluttershy asked, obviously confused.
“She told me not to tell anypony what it was. She'll know what it means, though.”
“Okay, I'll tell her.”
Fluttershy, now having had flown the equivalent length of Canterlot, which was more flying exercise than the quiet mare usually got, resolved to walk the rest of the day. She walked into the Canterlot library where her quietness was quite normal, and searched for her purple friend. She found her in a back corner over a thick text that the pegasus was sure she wouldn't understand. As she sat down she said, “Twilight.”
“Wha? Huh? Oh, hi Fluttershy. You looking for books on animals?”
“No. Fleur sent me tickets to the Wonderbolts derby, and I still have one left. I was wondering if you wanted to come.”
“Uh, did you already ask Rainbow?” Twilight asked.
“Yes. She and Rarity are coming to, but, as I said, I have one ticket left. Rarity also told me to tell you that this would be a good opportunity to start 'the thing'.”
“'The thing'? What's that?”
“She didn't tell me. She said that you didn't want anypony to hear what it was,” Fluttershy said.
Twilight racked her brain for a second before remembering, “Oh, that. Yeah, I can see why she thought that.”
“So, what's the thing?”
“Um, don't tell anypony but Rarity wants to help me find a date.”
“A date?” Fluttershy asked, surprised.
“Yeah, a date. I don't see why. I'm happy just having my friends and my books, but she insisted.”
“Well, it could be fun.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Twilight said.
“So do you want to come?”
“When is it at?”
“Three o'clock today. It's eleven, now,” Fluttershy said.
“Sure. I'll be there. It sounds like a good opportunity to find a possible date for Luna, and a fun time overall, if nothing else.”
“Oh, good.”
A growl from Twilight's stomach prevented any further conversation. “Eh heh heh, maybe we should get some lunch?”
The duo, now with Applejack and Rarity in tow, were sitting at an outdoor cafe with soups and sandwiches before them, talking about this and that. Twilight made an offhand mention of the tickets to the derby, and Applejack, who hadn't been told previously, asked, “Wait, you have tickets to the Wonderbolts derby?”
“Yes. Fleur sent them to me, but I only got four.”
“So, who ya taking?”
“Uh, Rainbow definitely wanted to go when I told her, and Rarity also said she wanted to come. Twilight accepted when I offered to let her come. If you want to go, I could just give you my ticket,” Fluttershy offered.
“Nah, that's alright. She sent them to you, after all, and Rainbow would want you to go with either way. I'm just a bit disappointed you didn't ask me if I wanted to come.”
“Sorry about that, but I didn't know where you would be, and I knew Twilight would be at the library, so I asked her first,” Fluttershy said, being very careful not to reveal certain details that Twi would object to having mentioned.
“Uh, yeah, I can see that. Just keep me in mind next time, sugarcube,” Applejack said.
“I will.”
“Speaking of. Rarity, do you think Fancypants will be at the derby?” Twilight asked the other unicorn.
“Maybe. He did invite me to the derby wen we first met, and while Fleur was hanging off him. Why do you ask?”
“I was wondering maybe we could recruit his help in finding another date for Luna. He probably knows a lot of high class ponies who would fit her criteria, after all.”
“I agree, he probably would, but I'm not sure he'll be too thrilled with the idea of helping the pony who is dating one of his models find another date. Before Luna went on that date with Fleur, I would have been sure he would help, but now...”Rarity said.
“Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask, would it?”
“No, I guess not. Just make sure we're clear on what we're doing and looking for, Twilight.”
“I will,” Twilight said.
Of course, they still had a few hours before the derby was to begin, and another important matter to take care of in the meantime. About a half hour later, all six of them were sitting at the train station waiting for Octavia and Vinyl's train to arrive. While everypony else chatted idly amongst themselves, Pinkie, who couldn't wait to see Vinyl, stared out at the direction the train would arrive from.
After ten minutes of waiting, Pinkie started bouncing and excitedly saying, “Oh, here they come! Here they come!” causing the others to turn and look. Sure enough the familiar shape of the Friendship Express was coming their way. Seeing it made Twilight briefly ponder why the front window was made to look like a giant heart, before she decided that some things were better left unasked.
When the train came to a stop in front of them, Pinkie immediately started looking for the blue-maned unicorn she loved, quickly spotting her exiting from near the back of the train. She then rushed over and embraced her lover as if they hadn't seen each other in ages, despite that it had only been a few days. Vinyl, who was familiar with this behavior by now, having dealt with it during week-long gigs out of town, took it all in stride, even if she did find it a bit creepy.
Walking out behind her at a more casual pace, and with a giant instrument case on her back, was a grey earth pony mare with a pink bowtie. The first thing she said, in a cool voice, “Hello, Pinkie.”
“Oh, hi Octy. Vinyl said you were coming for a show?”
At this point the other five ponies waiting with Pinkie reached them. Octavia barely registered this, when she said, “Yes. I'm playing backup for some rock band. Apparently they want my skills as a cello player to add the right atmosphere to some of their songs. It's not normally my thing but they're paying thirty bits a night, and, with who I live with, I'm not going to say no to that.”
“So who are you playing with?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Pony Floyd, in some over-elaborate stage production, premiering tomorrow night. And no, I can't tell you anything about the stage show. Not if I want to get paid, anyway,” Octavia explained.
“Is Vinyl going to be on stage with you?” Twilight asked.
“No, she's playing a couple of local clubs while we're here. Speaking of, what are you guys doing here?”
“Finding dates for Princess Luna, if you can believe it.”
“So you're the ones who set her up with that pink maned unicorn?” Octavia asked.
“Fleur de Lis? Yeah. She's still seeing other ponies at the moment, though.”
“Well, if I wasn't part of the show, I might consider actually taking her up on her offer, but...”
“I understand. Have fun at your concert,” Twilight said, turning to leave.
“I'll try.”
They left Pinkie and Vinyl, who were too busy talking about this and that to notice the disappearance of their friends, to their own devices, and leaving four ponies wondering how Twilight managed to befriend the stubbornly stoic and rather private classical musician. To their frustration, however, she wasn't telling.
Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Twilight were all at the Canterlot Stadium for the derby. The track itself was situated just over the edge of the cliff Canterlot was situated on, allowing a grand view of the horizon and the countryside below. No one was paying attention to this, of course, since all eyes were on the wonderbolts, who would be doing six races for the spectators' entertainment and betting pools. The ponies present were Spitfire, Soarin', Fleetfoot, Rapidfire, Misty Fly, and Lightning Streak. Fleetfoot and Rapidfire were the all-around favorites, though Lightning Streak was seen as a darkhorse who some thought could take a few races from under their noses.
They climbed up to the VIP box and presented the security guard with their tickets. Inside the VIP box, they found Fancypants with several other nobles, and he was surprised to see the four of them. He said, “Rarity, it's so good to see you, though I must admit that I wasn't expecting you to be at the derby today.”
“Well, we weren't expecting to come until Fleur sent Fluttershy tickets as thanks for getting her a date with Princess Luna.”
“Fleur sent you her tickets?”
“Yes,” Fluttershy said.
“And did she say if she would be here today?”
“She said she wasn't coming. Something about having other plans for the day,” Fluttershy lied.
“Yes, I can imagine. She told me that the princess asked on a second date. She also told me that Luna would see other ponies, though,” Fancypants said.
“Yes, That's part of why we're here. To see if we can find another date for her,” Twilight said, “If you know anypony, anyway.”
“A mare for her to date?”
“Or a stallion, Somepony who's nice and somewhere around Fleur's age.”
“Hmm...there's a pony here I'm thinking of. He's here right now actually,” Fancy said.
“Really? Who?”
Fancy gestured to an orange pegasus stallion, with a black mane and wearing a partial suit. His cutie mark was a green arrow pointing upwards, and his face was a very calm one. Fancy said, “Mile, could you come here a moment?”
The pony in question walked over and said, “Yes, Fancy?”
“These nice ponies are looking for a date for the princess. I was wondering if you would like to go ot with her.”
“Is this the same princess who went out with Fleur de Lis?”
“Yes. She said she wanted to see other ponies, though,” Fluttershy said.
“If you say so. I admit I could never pass up an opportunity to date a princess.”
“So, what's your name, sir?” Twilight asked.
“Mile High.”
“And your address?”
“Why?” Mile High asked.
“So Princess Luna can send over the details.”
“Oh,” Mile High said, before giving the details, then saying, “I won't be available tomorrow night, but the night after, I will be free.”
“Okay, we'll tell her.”
They spent the next hour watching the races, with Rainbow's knowledge of the Wonderbolts allowing the four to make a pretty bit before they left for the castle again.
When they got back, Celestia said she had a small job she wanted Twilight to attend to before she did anything else. She whispered it into Twilight's ear then said, “Be quick about it. This doesn't have a big window.”
“I don't get it, but okay,” Twilight said, before teleporting out of the room.
Celestia then turned to the other ponies present and asked, “So, how was your day? Learn anything interesting?”
“Well, we learned that Fancypants can be very helpful. He found Luna another date,” Rainbow said.
“Already? How did you manage this?”
Rainbow described what happened at the derby, and Celestia nodded, before asking, “did you get a chance to talk to this Mile High?”
“A little bit, but he doesn't seem to be the talkative sort, so we just have to hope the date goes well. He seemed nice enough, though,” Rarity said.
At this point, they heard a pair of hoofsteps coming down the hallway to the throne room. They turned to see Twilight and Luna entering with something being held in Luna's magic. Once they got close enough, it was readily apparent that that something was a plushie that looked just like Fluttershy.
Luna said, “May I ask why you had Twilight Sparkle try to take this from my bedchambers, 'Tia?”
“Did you really think I wouldn't get my revenge for your revealing my love of My Little Human, Lulu?”
“I had actually intended to apologize when I could get all six of my guests around us, but then you sought to embarrass me with my Fluttershy plushie.”
“Your what now?” Rainbow asked, incredulous at the thought of Luna having a plushie of her marefriend.
“It is not like that, Rainbow Dash, though I do understand your concern. I simply use it as a sleep aid, because it was Fluttershy who saved my life in the wilds. I did not want any of you to find out about it, because it is embarrassing, and it would give you the wrong idea, which I assuming is why 'Tia wanted tTwilight Sparkle to steal it from mee.”
“Maybe,” Celestia said, teasingly.
Luna sighed and said, “Just remember, 'Tia, your millennium of life that I missed has given you more embarrassing baggage than I could hope to collect during my three years back.”
“I'll be ready for whatever you throw at me.”
“I am certain,” Luna said before disappearing into thin air. She returned a few seconds later, sans plushie, and Twilight took the opportunity to ask, “How didn't we see it the day we arrived?”
“My shock from being rudely awakened by 'Tia caused me to knock it off the bed and out of sight. And, if you do not mind, I would prefer we stop speaking of it,” Luna said, with a tone of finality.
“Fine,” Rainbow said, despite not being very involved in the conversation, probably because she wanted to get more info out of Luna about the plushie.
Luna then said, “So, Rarity, I assume you heard about my date already?”
“Oh, yes. They told me everything you told them, and Fluttershy showed me the letter Fleur sent her, thanking her for setting you two up,” the fashionista said.
“Speaking of, we managed to find you another date for the day after tomorrow. A pegasus noble named Mile High. We didn't get a chance to talk with him too much, but he seemed nice enough.
“I see. So how did you meet him?”
They again described their time at the derby, and Luna listened with interest. When they finished, she then said, “I hope Fancypants' judgement in this matter is reliable.”
“I hope so too,” Twilight said.
“So, how long is it until dinner?”
Celestia said, “Uh, ten minutes?”
“Good, I am hungry. Also, before I forget, we can discuss your reward for helping me on this endeavor over dinner if you wish.”
She received affirmative answers to this query, and smiled for the first time since waking up to find somepony trying to take her plushie. She was glad Twilight had left unspoken the fact that she had thrown her against the wall when she surprised her.
Ten minutes later, they were sitting at the now familiar royal dining table, filling their plates with various foodstuffs and making small talk, before Luna spoke up and silenced the whole table. “As I said earlier, we will now discuss the reward you are to receive for helping me in this endeavor. You may request anything, large or small, and if neither I nor 'Tia have reason to veto your request, it will be granted when I find the pony I wish to date exclusively. Do not be shy with your requests as you are doing me a great favor and I have, in my power, a great ability to reward you with that which you desire. Twilight Sparkle, we shall begin with you.”
“Umm...Hmm. Do you think you could deliver to the library any book I ask for as long as I keep running it?”
“Assuming the text in question exists, and, in the cases of rarer books, can be transcribed, I certainly can arrange for that.”
“Thank you Princess.”
Luna then turned to Rarity and asked, “What would you like as your reward, Rarity?”
“I would like to be a princess!” Rarity declared without hesitation.
“Unfortunately, there are only two ways to become a princess. The first is to become an alicorn, which we will not do with anypony outside of extraordinary circumstances,” Luna said, being careful to avoid mentioning Twilight's own pending alicornization.
“And the second?”
Luna said, “Marry into the royal family, and seeing as I have no interest in dating you, the only royal bachelor available to you is-”
“Let me guess. Prince Blueblood.”
“Yes.”
“Okay then. When I do get married to a non-royal, may I have a royal wedding?” Rarity asked.
This time it was Celestia who responded. “All of you earned the right to a royal wedding when you saved Equestria for the second time.”
Now Rarity was frustrated. One of the rewards she had asked for wasn't happening, and the other she already had, so she didn't know what to pick. After a second of thought, however, she decided to ask, “Would it be possible for me to be the seamstress at all royal weddings that happen from now until the day I die?”
“Certainly, though I'm sure some of the local dressmakers might be annoyed by this request.”
“Well, I can see that, but that is what I want,” Rarity said.
“Then it will be granted. Now, Applejack, what would you like for your reward?”
“Really, all I could ask for is money for the farm or a contract to sell you apples at slightly above market rate.”
“How many apples does your farm produce yearly?”
“About 2000 bushels a year,” Applejack said.
“Hmm. How does a private contract to buy 250 bushels of apples from your farm a year at 10% above market rate sound?”
“That sounds like it would make the farm a lot of bits. I could easily agree to that.”
“Then it shall be done. I will send the paperwork to the farm when the time comes.”
“Thanks, Princess.”
“Moving on. Rainbow Dash, I already know what you are going to say, and I will state that I already have done as much as I can to make you a wonderbolt.”
“I know. You put in the good word for me like you said you would. I was actually going to ask for a royal wedding, since I couldn't think of anything else, but apparently we're getting that already, so I'm going to have to pass for the moment,” Rainbow said.
“I understand. Just let me know when you do think of something. I am willing to wait as long as you need me to.”
“Thanks, Princess.”
“You are welcome. Now, Fluttershy, is there anything you desire?”
“Well, since you gave Twilight free copies of books for life, I was wondering if you could give me all the things I need to take care of my animals for the rest of my life?”
“I can arrange for that,” Luna said.
Celestia then said, “Just remember, Lulu, the financial costs of these rewards will be borne solely by you.”
“I know, 'Tia, but I have collected interest on my bits for the past thousand years, so I have no concern about money. Also, Fluttershy, my offer for a second reward during our time in the wilds still stands, if there is anything else you want.”
“Wait, what was the first reward, and how did she get a second?” Twilight asked
“Fluttershy's first reward was legalizing same-sex marriage, as I may have stated when I made my announcement. I felt that an act of altruism, such as taking that as her reward deserved its own reward, though she declined to take an additional reward at the time. If she wants to take it now, then I will still grant it.”
“I can't think of anything else right now,” Fluttershy admitted.
“That is fine. If you do think of something, please do not hesitate to let me know.”
“Okay, I will.”
“And now, I would ask what you would like, Pinkie Pie,” Luna said.
“Um...could you take us off the list of guests banned from the Grand Galloping Gala? I've always wanted to go back, but we're not allowed anymore.”
“I could see to that, but first, I must ask why you in particular were banned? I know Fluttershy's ban came about because she caused a stampede in the ballroom, something I am certain she will never do again, and Rarity because Prince Blueblood would not stop raising a stink about how she ruined the Gala until the organizers caved to his demands, but I do not know the reasons behind yours.”
“Some of the ponies at the Gala said I broke all etiquette and Octavia may have been unhappy about me knocking her over,” Pinkie said
“I see. Just know that if I do this, you are to be on your best behavior at any future galas you attend. If you are banned again, I will not unban you. Do you understand?”
“Oh, yes. Absolutely. I'll be much better behaved next time.”
“Okay, I will make the arrangements once you have finished the job I have set out for you,” Luna said.
“Thanks!” The six said in unison.
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There are a couple of grammar errors, but nothing major. I'm looking forward to where this is going next. Do you have a proofreader?