This is a thing · 12:40am Feb 18th, 2015

Celestia hummed as she did paperwork, cheerfully cutting a swathe through Parliament's red tape. She couldn't quite recall the tune, but she didn't know the words at all, so she continued to hum.
Not much could sour her mood. She was expecting an old friend to drop by, and her timetable was empty enough for a chat over tea. Then, she imagined, she'd finally drag him out to see the Wonderbolts.
There was a muffled thump at her door, followed by a strangled shout of alarm. Celestia took the Earl Grey off the fire, setting it down with her finest teacups. She heard a clang as metal hit marble, wondering if, in fact, her friend liked Earl Grey.
Her door flew open, revealing a masked bipedal figure in a brown cloth. Three guards lay unconscious behind them. Celestia poured two cups of tea. "Do you like Earl Grey, Lawrence? I can never remember."
"Spot on, Celestia," the figure, now revealed to be Lawrence, replied.
"Close the door before the doors wake up. I'd rather not have a repeat of last time."
"...he goes on and on about how strong he is, for like, an hour," Lawrence said animatedly, "So I just walk up and sock 'em in the nose. Idiot."
Celestia refilled his teacup. "I see."
Lawrence sat across from her, sipping tea through his mask. His silvery mask rested on the bridge of his narrow nose, covering all but his mouth. "Good tea. Every time Henry asks where I get the stuff, I have him laughing for the next week and a half."
"To be fair, getting your tea from 'a land of talking horses' is a little outrageous to most," pointed out Celestia.
"Eh. Anyways, what're you up to these days?"
Celestia painted him a story of several villains, ranging from Nightmare Moon to Tirek. "...a rather tiring few years, all in all."
"How's Sparkles handling it? By worshiping your hooves, I'd imagine..." Lawrence snorted, quickly devolving into coughs. "Damn. Tea in the nose."
"Quite well. She's brilliant, you know," Celestia said proudly. Twilight had the most magical potential of any pony in centuries.
He scratched his chin. "I do know. Rather well, in fact- you've crooned about her for at least a decade. Just adopt the bugger and be done with it."
"She has parents, you know!" Celestia retorted mockingly, falling into the old pattern. They always had this conversation.
"Well, she is already your neice, as you pointed out earlier, so why bother..."
"Wow, time flies! My target should be popping in any time now. Gotta run, Celestia!" Lawrence set down his tea and leapt out the window. A heartbeat later, Lawrence started cursing.
"Mind the rosebushes!" Celestia called out, smiling.