//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: A Sister’s Helping Hoof // by RoyalPonySisters //------------------------------// Luna was lucky that the last items on the list were also some of the easiest, since her heart was no longer in it. She had a meeting scheduled with some officials from Fillydelphia, where they mainly prattled on about nothing over tea and crumpets. All she had to do was nod and pretend to listen. Then she had to sign some decrees that had already been finalized for weeks. Finally, there was dinner and lowering the sun. Luna suspected that Celestia would still like to lower the sun herself, so she went over to the dining area to eat. She hoped to finish the meal quickly, so she could report to Celestia post-haste and then try to catch a quick nap before her night shift began. Otherwise, she’d be working for 36 hours straight! In the meantime, her sister slumbered on, as she had done for most of the day. Her sleep was interrupted, however, by the sounds of soft hoofsteps entering her room. Celestia, a notoriously light sleeper, sat up beleagueredly and blinked. Standing in front of her were not one but two ponies- she recognized her trusted head maid, Spotless, a pink Earth pony with a cutie mark of a plain white square, but there was also a yellow pony so young she did not yet have a cutie mark. Both shared the same coral manes and purple eyes, so she guessed that they were related in some way. It took a few seconds for Spotless to look up from her dusting and notice her Princess staring at her, but when she did her eyes widened in shock, “Ohmygoodness Princess I had no idea you were still in here- you were so quiet- I just wanted to clean up for the day... Princess Celestia, I am so, so, so sorry- I would never have come in if I knew you were in here- a thousand apologies-“ Celestia cut her off, raising a hoof firmly, “It’s alright, Spotless. I know you’d never enter my room without my permission knowingly.” “Oh, thank you so much, Princess!” Spotless exclaimed. She frowned, “Did you sleep the whole day?” Celestia nodded. “Most of it.” “Oh, you poor thing! I heard you were feeling a bit under the weather but I assumed it was regular princess stuff- I know it’s a lot of work- and I thought to myself, Spotless, it’s a good thing Celestia is taking a little break from running Equestria, because that filly works too much. And everypony has to know their limits, even Princess Celestia. I never realized you were actually sick!” Celestia giggled when Spotless referred to her as a filly- she was more than a millennium older than her for harmony’s sake- but she did not attempt to correct the maid. Aside from Luna of course, and to a lesser extent Twilight Sparkle, the ponies closest to her were her personnel. They worked with her intimately, and for so many years, that the barriers of the “Princess” title simply had to come down, to be replaced with something more casual, and in her opinion, far better. In Spotless’s case, she often thought of herself as a mother figure to the Princess, and liked to dote on her, as she was doing now. In response to the maid’s concerns, Celestia simply shrugged, “Well, Spotless, it happens to the best of us.” “Oh, I suppose,” Spotless said, rushing over to Celestia’s bedside. She placed her hoof on the Princess’s forehead and clicked her tongue in disapproval, “Yes, you definitely have a fever. Well, at least you had the sense to stay in bed. I wouldn’t put it past you to try to power through it all- I know how obsessed you get over your royal duties- I guess somepony else is taking over?” Turning her face away to hide her embarrassed smile (Spotless knew her too well sometimes), Celestia simply answered, “Luna.” “Oh, she’s such a dear,” Spotless gushed. “She works too hard, just like you, but she’s such a dear. I imagine she must very exhausted- she’s already worked the whole night- but anything for her big sister, of course!” She gestured to the yellow foal next to her, “My youngest, Fluffy Quilt, is exactly the same way- always wants to help out the older ponies, she begged me to take her here today just to help clean your room, of all things,” she leaned in to Celestia at this, whispering, “the truth is she doesn’t really know what she’s doing, and I often have to redo everything she’s ‘cleaned’ but it just makes her so happy to help out, and who can say no to that? I mean, what is family for?” “Of course,” said Celestia slowly, deep in thought. “Fluffy Quilt sounds like a wonderful little pony.” “Yes, I am lucky to have her,” Spotless grinned. “And you’re lucky to have Luna. You tell her thank you from me, okay? And I’m going to come early tomorrow; if you’re feeling better I can catch up on cleaning and if not I’ll at least make sure you stay in bed. And if you’re still sick, I’m going to make sure the doctor has a look at you, you understand?” she said sternly. “Yes, Spotless,” Celestia said. “Well alright then, feel better, Princess,” Spotless said, and then left with Fluffy. Celestia stood up from her bed and walked over to the large window overlooking Canterlot to lower the sun, thinking about Spotless’s words. “You’re lucky to have Luna.” She was, wasn’t she? She began to feel a little guilty. Luna had been trying her best to help out, and she had been nothing but critical. She hadn’t even considered how difficult working a double shift would have been to her sister. The only things she had thought about were how Luna’s minor mistakes would affect her own workload. I’m sorry, Sister, she though silently, finishing the sunset and trotting back to bed. A few minutes later Celestia heard a knock on the door. “Who is it?” she asked, although she was pretty sure she already knew. “Princess Luna,” her sister responded. “May I enter? I have brought you dinner.” “Please come in, Sister,” Celestia responded. Luna came in and levitated down a silver tray with a bowl of soup onto the bed. “Oh, mushroom barley soup, my favorite!” Celestia said happily. “I know,” Luna said. “That is why I requested the chefs prepare it this afternoon.” “Oh, Luna,” Celestia said, “Thank you! That was so thoughtful of you.” Luna dismissed her thanks, “It was not any trouble to make a request when I was already in the kitchens. Anyhow, were you performing your duties as per the usual, you could have made the request yourself. So me doing so is only fulfilling my obligations.” Celestia could sense an undercurrent of hurt in Luna’s statement. “Luna...” she began, “I want to thank you for how hard you’ve worked doing my duties today. I know I haven’t seemed very appreciative, and I want to apologize for that. You’ve done a great job, going above and beyond anything reasonably expected of you.” Luna looked at her skeptically, “That is nice of you to say so, ‘Tia, but I know the truth.” She hung her head. “What of Paper Cut and the tax meeting, or the enchanted diamond ruling?” Celestia smiled at her earnestly, “So you weren’t perfect? Neither am I, and I’ve been doing this for centuries. But Luna, you know what matters to me more than property taxes or diamonds? Having a sister who cares about me, and insists on taking care of me, even when,” her voice shrank a little, “I don’t treat her very nicely or appreciate her help the way I should.” Luna looked up and gazed at her sister uncertainly, “Truly?” “Truly,” Celestia said. Her horn glowed and she levitated her sister over to her. She held Luna closely, nuzzling her head over her, and wrapped her large wing around her tightly, “I love you, little sister.” Luna flew out of Celestia’s hooves as fast as her wings could carry her. “Celestia! Are you trying to get me sick, too? You are contagious!” She stared at her sister sternly, but then smiled, “Sister, I love you, too.”