//------------------------------//
// A Day in the Castle 
// Story: Her Eyes Reflect The Stars 
// by Lynwood 
//------------------------------//

Princess Twilight Sparkle looked down at the folder on her desk.

Well, not the folder, a folder. Just like always, a not-technically-countless number of scrolls, papers, forms, bills, and, of course, manila folders battled for space and attention atop her personal writing desk, all marked for her attention and nearly all marked 'urgent.' Lunchtime was approaching and she hadn't conquered half of today's quarry of bureaucracy. So much for the itinerary. She'd have to work well into the night today.

There were a lot of unpleasant facets about running an entire nation, but paperwork days were near the top of that particular list. The princess let out a sigh, realized her eyes had unfocused, and looked down at the folder on her desk.

Again.

It appeared it was from a department she vaguely recognized, or more accurately, a division of that department located in Dodge City. Some part of the intelligence ministry. Those two facts alone told her that this probably was some facet of the recent and utterly maddening dispute with the buffalo over southern lands. Either that, or there was a dragon problem. Both options sounded absolutely terrible to the exhausted princess.

Twilight looked a little closer. It was a report of some kind. A threat assessment― no, an unknown threat assessment. Some investigator... scratch that, the name was scrawled right below the dry-looking title, one Investigator Close Look had apparently found something that spooked him and had decided that it was a threat that needed a princess' attention.

Princess Twilight loved her little ponies, but sometimes, they could be quite a hassle. Well, I had better take a quick look, she thought, just in case.

Her salvation came in the form of three sharp knocks on her door. Her ears perked up and a little life blew into her ever-flowing mane. "Yes? What is it?"

The door to her study cracked open and an attendant poked his head in. "Your Majesty, Fluttershy has arrived for lunch."

The princess glanced down at the plain-looking manilla folder. "Case 125: LLM" could certainly wait a little while, couldn't it? After all, a princess had the right to take a break after working so hard all morning.

"Send her in, please." The attendant nodded, and a moment later, one of her best friends in the world trotted through the door.

Of course, in typical Fluttershy fashion, her head lowered the moment she spotted the princess' desk. "Oh! I'm sorry, Twilight, I didn't know you were busy. We can do lunch another time." 

"No!" Twilight burst out. Her friend shrank back a little, her eyes wide, and the princess felt a heat rise to her face. "Erm, I mean, I've planned out my whole day, including getting lunch with you. It's no problem at all, Fluttershy."

"Oh, good," Fluttershy said with a smile, pushing an errant lock of mane behind her ear. A little spark of pain jumped through Twilight's heart when she saw its streak of gray.

That was when the doors burst open and a royal guard tumbled through. His helmet fell to the floor with a clang as he clambered to his hooves, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Your Majesty," the guard said as he struggled to catch his breath, "we just received a letter from the Baltimare Division. They sent a direct courier. You'd better take a look at this right away."