"Thank you Princess Celestia for giving us a tour of the castle for us," Tempest bowed with gratitude, "We were surprised to get your letter from Twilight, telling us you were willing to give us a tour of Canterlot Castle."
"I'm more than happy to help out. My sister has talked a lot on your show, some things about me that are less than favourable," Celestia huffed at her younger sister's antics on their show, "However, I wanted my own part to play with on this talk show that I've heard about. So why not let them have a full tour of the castle, I thought to myself. It's a good way to free myself from the business of being a princess."
"And what does your royal duties involve?" Trixie asked, tilting her head in question.
"I think Starlight can answer that," Celestia smiled to Starlight, "She was the one that switched me and Luna's cutie marks after all." That caused the group the turn around and look at Starlight in shock. Starlight could only give her nervous laughs as she usually does when she finds herself in those situations.
"You switched their cutie marks! The actual princesses' cutie marks!" Sunset cried out in shock. Here we go again...
"Now you sound just like Twilight when she found out," Starlight moaned and gave a hard facehoof, "I used my gut!"
"It may have been extreme, but at least it worked in the end," Celestia chuckled, "Anyway, let's start with the tour, shall we?"
The others nodded in agreement and excitement.
"Let's start with the library and Starswirl the Bearded Wing. This is where you can find all the extensive books on knowledge, history and magic." She opened the grand front doors and the group gazed in all at the library archives.
"How many books are in there? Twilight would have a heyday in here," Sunset gazed.
"Believe me, when Twilight was my personal protege, she even refused to leave the library, going as far as building a fortress out of books, if memory serves me correct," Celestia told them Twilight's filly antics, causing the group to snicker. She then turned and mentally added the numbers in her head, "The last time we ran a full register, there are around three million books on magic, history and general knowledge."
"Wow. What about the Starswirl Wing?" Tempest turned to the opposite wall where various scrolls were kept under lock.
"Around two million scrolls on magic and incantations," Celestia smiled, "There was this one time Twilight was in there with in black and a frazzled mane. I thought it was a new manestyle that she wanted to try out."
They quickly moved on down the corridors, Celestia pointing out every significant piece of painting, sculpture work and artefact, some just there for decoration, but others with more sentimental value to the Royal Sisters.
"Now we arrive at the Royal Kitchens, probably one of the busiest parts of the castle. They provide food for both us and staff members around the clock. Speaking of which, there is our head chef." A pony with chef clothes walked up and bowed before her.
"Good day, your Royal Highness," He greeted courteously, "And I see you have brought guests along with you?"
"Yes, Heated Stove, I have," Celestia smiled warmly. The chef smiled, nodded his head in greeting and then turned to Celestia.
"Well that's wonderful to hear. Now tell me, would you like your usual black forest gateau for dessert as usual?"
There was silence as those words left Heated's mouth. Celestia felt her eye twitch at that. The others tried to hold their mouths from laughing. That was until the sound of laughter can be heard from the floor above.
"Is that...?" Sunset asked as she looked up.
"It appears my beloved sister has heard of my...tastes," Celestia sighed, glancing up.
"As well as the whole of Equestria," Starlight muttered.
"Indeed..." Celestia trailed off.
"We better move on then," Tempest suggested, which they agreed. Celestia turned to whisper something to Heated's ears, which he lit up and nodded quietly before getting back to work.
"We are now approaching the gardens. I like taking strolls along the paths when my work isn't too strenuous," Celestia smiled, "There is even a private lake where me and Luna would just sit and watch the world go by."
"You seem to have a lot going on," Tempest mused.
"Just because I'm a princess doesn't mean I can't enjoy the more simple things as well." Celestia lightly countered, "When creatures think of royalty, they think of grandeur and opulence, but the reality is that it's far more harder than it all seems."
They reached the end of the garden that brought them back round to the castle.
"And with that, we conclude our tour," Tempest concluded, "Thank you, Celestia, for showing us around."
"It was a pleasure," Celestia smiled, "As I said, it was nice to get away from the duties that royalty comes with."
"We will back again soon for more talks!" Sunset finished off.