//------------------------------// // Prompt #266: Princess On Delivery // Story: Ponywatching // by ThunderTempest //------------------------------// "Why me?" said Ditzy Doo, as she stood in Ponyville's Royal Mail office. "To be honest, Ditzy, because you are the only one available," said her boss, Timely Arrival, "All our fast delivery experts are out on deliveries already, and the rest of the staff is getting prepped for Hearthswarming. We're all pulling double shifts already, Ditzy, and Mayor Mare needs these budget reports up to the Royal Canterlot Treasury as soon as possible." "But I'm-" began Ditzy "I know you've had some difficulties with long distance before," said Timely, putting a wing on Ditzy's back, "But you do have good endurance, and Canterlot isn't that far away. You can literally see it from here." Timely gestured out of the window in her office, and indeed, Ditzy could make out the city clinging to the side of the mountain. "Look, if it makes it better, you will be getting double time and a half for this, Ditzy. And you can take the overnight train back, on the company expense account." "Give me ten minutes to have something to eat," sighed Ditzy, "And make sure everything's secure for me, will you? I don't want anything falling out while I'm flying. I'm not exactly stable sometimes." "Ditzy, you are a lifesaver," said Timely, "I'll go and check everything now, you go eat." ********** Several hours later, Ditzy Doo was winging in towards Canterlot as the sun was hanging low in the sky, the reports strapped into the very securely fastened bags at her sides. She'd had time to eat a muffin and down some orange juice before she left Ponyville, but she could hear her stomach growling out for more food. "Not much further," Ditzy muttered as the streets of Canterlot came into view in one eye, while her other stared off at the sky, "Timely said it was the big grey building next to the castle..." Ditzy angled her nose towards the castle for a little while, at least until she got close enough to make out the building in question. Naturally, that was when a sudden gust of wind threw her violently off balance. "Ooohshiiii..!" ******** Inside Canterlot Castle, an important event was going on. It was time for the official Changing of The Throne. It was largely a theatrical thing, a ceremony to celebrate the changing of day to night and back again, thought up by somepony with a little too much time on their hooves, to symbolize the fact that Equestria was now a proper diarchy and the different princesses had precedence at different times of the day. Celestia and Luna didn't mind it so much, but they had requested that it be kept to one day per week. Celestia lowered the sun below the horizon, and the Captain of her Solar Guard removed her crown. "You are relieved of your duties, Princess," said the guard. Nearby, Luna waited, also crownless. "I am relieved, Captain," said Celestia, not noting the rapidly growing shadow on one of the few non-stained glass windows as she stepped down from the throne. Behind her, attendants removed the red velvet cushion and replaced it with a navy blue one. ****Time**** Luna stepped up as the last of the few trappings on the throne were replaced with ones that had the moon as a focus. Her own captain of the Lunar Guard waited nearby with her crown on a cushion. There was a crash. "Ow ow ow danger danger pegasus out of control ow duck duck duck ow why do I have no spatial awareness THIS IS THE THRONE ROOM OH FAU-" Ditzy Doo crashed into Princess Luna just as she was about to sit down on the throne, knocking the Lunar Princess off the raised dais, and falling straight onto the throne herself. "The powers of the Night are now yours, Princess," said the captain of the Lunar Guard, lowering the crown onto Ditzy's head, having started his rehearsed statement before Ditzy's crash. Ditzy Doo sat on the throne for a moment, and then her eyes glowed a brilliant white, and she exploded into a burst of bubbles. Celestia stifled a giggle. It wasn't common knowledge, but the Royal Regalia was designed to be something of a focus for the Princess's magic, to help them control their vast power. Over the years that she was imprisoned on the moon, Luna's must have built up a bit of a store of power-an unfortunate side effect of the original version of the regalia. Celestia's had been refined since, removing the accidental storage part of the design. A minute later, the bubbles that had been scattered around the throne room began to converge, and reformed into Ditzy Doo. A Ditzy Doo who was slightly taller than before, and now in possession of a horn. "Behold," said Princess Celestia, desperately trying not to laugh, "A new Princess has been born!" "Um, hi," said Ditzy, "I have the budget documents from Ponyville, Princess Celestia. And then, can somepony get me something to eat? I don't want to go back to Ponyville on an empty stomach."