//------------------------------// // 68 Blessing of God // Story: Continuity Disrupted // by Doug Graves //------------------------------// August 17th, 1000 Domina Solaria - Early that morning, inside Canterlot Castle - Princess Celestia tries to take another sip from her extra large Buckstar coffee, grimacing at the few drops that remain. She looks back over the mounds of paperwork that her position seems to spontaneously generate, a measured sigh at how much still remains, then up to the grand balcony and the setting moon. Even with Princess Luna returning and able to take over at least some responsibilities, Celestia still finds herself forced to pull all nighters in order to keep on top of everything going on in Equestria. But, she learned long ago how much harder it is to catch up, and how much easier it is to keep abreast of every development. Although, that isn’t the only reason she hesitates to sleep while the Princess of the Night is actively scanning the dreams of all. But, it isn’t like she hasn’t been pulling double duty for a thousand years or anything. You’d think she’d be more used to it by now. But, unlike the exponential growth she has cultivated with her magic, there do seem to be hard limits on her concentration and endurance. A pity, but so are many of life’s little mysteries. Raven Inkwell bangs open the door to Princess Celestia’s office, dragging in yet another stack of reports from all over Equestria. The white unicorn stifles a yawn as she flicks back her brown mane hastily done up in a bun, her hoof nearly smacking into her thick glasses. “Srry,” she slurs, taking the empty coffee cup, a steaming replacement taking its place. Princess Celestia grins, popping the top off and greedily drinking half of the heavily caffeinated beverage. She raises an eye at Raven, her assistant standing a little closer than usual. “Long night?” she asks, her keen eye noting the creased lines, the way her mane sticks out of its bun, the tired look in the unicorn’s brown eyes that occasionally flicker green if she watches too closely. “The Night Court was particularly dry,” Raven responds, no longer hiding her yawn. “Though Moonbutt seemed oddly distracted.” She shakes her head as Princess Celestia raises an eyebrow, the first of the new reports already levitating up to the alicorn. “Sorry, she didn’t disclose anything. You’ll have to ask her yourself.” Princess Celestia merely nods, quickly scanning through the next several pages documenting the latest guard recruits and their training status. “You need anything else?” “Mm,” Princess Celestia says, taking another long sip from the coffee. “I do not believe so. Good morning, Raven.” “Yeah, sure,” comes the flippant response, the unicorn shaking her head. “What makes this one so special?” “Call it a hunch,” Princess Celestia smirks as Raven exits through the doors she came in through. The white alicorn stands, serenely making her way to the grand double doors leading to the balcony. A hoof comes up, meeting the polished metal plate engraved with a setting sun. The other door holds a setting crescent moon, but it has been centuries since she has brought herself to press a hoof against it. Celestia strides into the crisp night air, inhaling deeply as her gaze wanders to the dark storm above Ponyville. Lightning no longer flashes from one thunderhead to another, and the clouds themselves seem to be dissipating quite rapidly. Perhaps the pegasi might finish by the time her Sister arrives, certainly by the time the Sun is to be raised. The high vantage point allows her sight to all of western Equestria, though it is a simple trick to peer through the Canterhorn should she wish to view the eastern seaboard. The flashing lights of the trains traveling across the inky blackness, many of the inbound red-eyes close to arriving in Canterlot, or if they had departed from the capital hours ago, about to reach their destinations. To the north, the snow capped mountains reflecting the light of the moon. And to the south, the empty Badlands and the lands that lay beyond. The faint pop of slightly displaced air breaks her from her rumination. Celestia nods in greeting without looking over, the faint clop of heavy hooves against marble slowly getting closer. “Something on your mind?” Celestia smiles; it could have been either of them asking that question, but this morning it seems her sister has beaten her to the buck. “The same pressures as always, I suppose. The fruits of our vigilance.” She can feel the eyebrow of her sister raise, continuing, “But I must confess; I am curious. What is on your mind?” “Raven told you.” The statement from Luna comes out perhaps harsher than her sister meant, though given the late night she can forgive her for it. She would not have appreciated the thought of somepony unfamiliar reading her too deeply, either. Celestia merely nods in response. She watches as the last of the clouds are cleared from Ponyville, now looking as if nothing had happened during the night. Luna snorts, staying silent for a moment longer before she says, “Thine student, Magic, hath made a fascinating revelation.” She clears her throat, “Perhaps more than one. In regards to Friendship, and the Elements.” “Truly?” Celestia says, though she does not doubt her sister. “Perhaps…” Celestia’s horn briefly lights, a brown, twine bound book with a few loose pages haphazardly sticking out appearing by her side. Lowering the moon and raising the sun seems an afterthought as she traces a hoof over the stars and swirl on the cover. She thinks through the spells contained within, especially the last… The heavy sigh next to her finally gets Celestia to regard her Sister directly, noting the shake of Luna’s head. “While Magic may have learned some of Friendship, there is still much more. She is not ready, not for that.” “I fear you are correct,” Celestia states, her own sigh carefully sequestered away. Her own eyes close, but not because of the light from the rising sun peaking above the Canterhorn. “And I fear more my pressuring her before she is ready.” Celestia turns to Luna, the book sliding a few inches forward. “Thou trusts us to discern whence Magic is ready?” Luna stares at the book, her cobalt aura replacing Celestia’s gold. “And to serve as a check on my own ambition for her,” Celestia responds. “Very well.” The book fades in a flash of cobalt magic, Luna nodding to her Sister as her horn winks out. “It is late, and we must take our leave. Good day, Tia.” “Good night, Lune.” Celestia watches forlornly as Luna takes off from the balcony, flying to her own tower. How much she wishes she could merely relax, to reminisce with her Sister on trivial matters. Alas, the price of playing with so many pieces. A hoof comes up, pushing against the rising sun and swinging the door to her office open. The remaining quarter cup of coffee disappears as Celestia returns to the reports, wishing Luna had gone into more detail about what sort of epiphany Twilight had. Though, knowing her student, she would be sure to provide her with a detailed report. And there must have been something important happening that kept her from delivering it last night. “Oh!” Celestia remarks aloud to herself, shaking her head. Spike had come here last night, and left on one of the outbound red eye trains in order to arrive at Ponyville in the morning. In which case… As if on cue, a thick stack of letters appear in front of Celestia, a green wisp of flame accompanying the gray smoke. Celestia puts aside the rest of the reports in order to give Twilight’s letter the full attention it deserves. It starts off with the intricate details of the magical experimentation she had performed with Applejack and Rarity, and how it had nearly backfired. Celestia smiles to herself, recalling how she and Luna had experimented with channeling the magic of the other’s Elements, until that fateful night... The door to her office opens, Raven Inkwell pushing breakfast and the day’s itinerary towards her. The white unicorn, her mane drawn up in a tight, flawless bun, frowns a little at the coffee container already on Celestia’s desk, remarking, “Doubling up already?” as she drops off the proposed laws, Day Court materials, and action reports from the borders. “A rare indulgence I fear is getting more frequent,” Celestia says, gladly taking the coffee Raven is offering. “You seem well. How are things?” Raven smiles, “Early pick me up, a tryst in one of the supply closets.” Raven pauses, “Do you still use that word?’ Celestia sighs at the indiscretion of her guards. Perhaps she should have Captain Armor perform another ‘surprise’ inspection. Though the tedium of ‘guarding’ herself would get to her, too. “If you must. It wasn’t you, I assume.” “Of course not. But you might not want to take your chariot anywhere for the next hour or so.” Raven smirks, looking at the desk still filled with papers. “Ooh, a letter? I thought you mostly got those at night.” “Filled with magical theory, I assure you,” Celestia says with a smirk. She returns to reading the letter as Raven’s green aura places the plates of pancakes, fruitcake, and heavy poundcake on her desk. “Yeah, I’ll leave that to Evening. Anything else?” “No, th-” Celestia abruptly stops talking as she gets halfway through the letter. Married? “Sunb- Celest?” Celestia clears her throat, “No, thank you, I do not need anything else.” Raven slowly nods, her body raising up to better glance at the open letter. Celestia sighs; while regarding the letters to and from Twilight as ‘personal correspondence’ allows her to skirt many of the disclosure rules with the nobles, there are those outside of Equestria who argue that any piece of information that crosses her desk is subject to their oversight, at least without a clear and present danger overriding. Even when they themselves qualify as the danger those letters might concern. And it isn’t even her potential enemies that regard these letters as such, but her purported allies! Hence why many of her more sensitive documents never cross her desk. But her most faithful student often had difficulty grasping what qualifies as ‘sensitive’ and what, while potentially scandalous, could safely be written down. Alas, the drawback of sparing Twilight the intricacies of court politics, and all the limitations placed on her. And may she never need to learn. Celestia’s fond smile grows as she finishes the letter, Raven peeking past her glasses to read from behind her shoulder. Well, around her shoulder. Reading through the activities in which Twilight wishes to experiment with Doug; perhaps Celestia must confess that she is looking forward to those letters when they come. She glances to Raven, noting the euphoric grin. “I never knew you to be so fascinated with blossoming love; I always took you for partaking in the mature variations.” Raven chuckles, now more charged than when she had entered the room. “Heh, got it in one. Well, if you don’t need any more help, I’ll be on my way.” “Good morning, Raven.” Celestia happily reads through the letter again, joyously thinking to herself. She should get Twilight something to commemorate such a momentous occasion. But what would she get her? Celestia smirks; books? She lives in a library, and already has access to every level of the Royal Archives. A modest increase in her stipend is far too impersonal, even if it would help out tremendously with the Apple’s situation. Perhaps she will anyway. Celestia glances around her office; it is extraordinarily convenient having four personal assistants, able to help out at all hours of the day and night. And able to stand in for the others should one need to recharge, or be recalled for some reason or another. Perhaps Twilight could use something similar? Especially if her new status as a member of Herd Apple pulls her away from her studies. And, knowing Doug and the rest of the herd, it certainly will. Hmm, a second assistant? Celestia snickers to herself; possibly a third assistant, depending on how much Meringue continues to help out around the library. Like teacher like student, she supposes. Perhaps, should Spike continue in his morning routine and Meringue after school, then somepony, or somecreature, to help in the evening and night during her late study sessions.