Cherchez la pony
Twilight slowed, turning around, she took a few hesitant steps back toward Luna’s door, before stopping again and striding away, only to turn around once more, biting her lip. She vacillated a few more times, torn between the desire to go to Luna’s side and try to help her with whatever it was that was bothering her, and the knowledge that it was likely her fault that Luna was upset. While she wanted to go and comfort her, perhaps the best answer was to leave Luna alone so she didn’t antagonize her feelings any further. Finally, she came to a decision and sighed in resignation. With drooping ears and a bowed head, she began to plod away from Luna’s door in dejected earnestness.
Without knowing why it was exactly that Luna was depressed, Twilight couldn’t offer her a solution to her problems. She’d only be able to give her emotional support, and honestly, Princess Celestia was much better at moral support than Twilight could ever hope to be. It made the most sense to let the princess take care of her sister, but that didn’t mean that the whole situation didn’t make Twilight feel as if she’d swallowed a frog.
Her mind fruitlessly raced down various paths, alternating between concern for Luna and berating herself for unknowingly screwing everything up. She needed time to sit down and think, to figure out what it was she’d done wrong, and how to fix it, somewhere she could be alone, someplace quiet. Thankfully, Twilight was passing through a window lined hallway when she came to her realization, and in the distance she spied the Royal Library, just the place to sit down and have a brainstorming session. Perking up, Twilight tolted down the hall and through the castle, towards the familiar embrace of the library.
There weren’t any guards posted at the door this time, and though night had fallen, the central desk was ponied by two mare librarians. The elder of the two, a steel maned mare who watched Twilight’s approach through a severe pair of pince-nez glasses, measuredly asked, “May I help you?”
Smiling, Twilight walked close enough to rest her front hooves on the desk and replied, “Hello, I’d like to reserve one of the study rooms, the rüt-bier room, if it’s available.”
The other mare flicked her eyes over Twilight appraisingly before turning and flipping through a sheaf of papers attached to a clipboard. Finding the sheet she was after, she ran her hoof down it before stopping and glancing back toward Twilight. “Yes, it’s free right now. How long would you like to keep it for?”
Twilight tapped her hooves on the desk contemplatively. “Well, it’s still early, so there’s plenty of time before I have to be in bed to get some rest for tomorrow, so how about, five hours?”
The librarian nodded and retrieved a quill. “All right. And you name, miss?”
“Sparkle, Twilight Sparkle.”
Putting quill to paper, the other mare vocalized around the writing implement, “Spa-ck-el.” With an audible dot and cross, she finished writing and spitting out the quill, rummaged around under the desk. Soon she retrieved a large, ornate, bronze key that she held out to Twilight. “Here you are. I assume you know how to get to the rüt-bier room.”
“Yes, thank you,” Twilight said as she plucked the key out of the mare’s hoof with her magic and set off on her trek through the library.
The royal library was one of the older buildings in Canterlot, and it had been remodeled, expanded, and added on to a number of times over the centuries, leading to it becoming an almost labyrinthine hodge podge of rooms in various architectural styles. Most had tall ceilings, some with vaulted arches, others with impressive free standing domes, still others with long wooden domed vaults. Newer sections had low ceilings with a more intimate atmosphere, or were modernistic and minimalist with smooth walls and straight edges replacing the hoof carved moldings and friezes of bygone eras. Tucked away amongst the shelves were various smaller rooms used for a myriad of purposes, nominally for studying.
In the depths of the natural history section of the library, Twilight entered a small alcove and inserted the bronze key into a keyhole expertly hidden amidst the elaborate wooden paneling characteristic of the neo-baroque revival school. She opened the door and stepped into the room beyond.
Softly glowing magical lamps illuminated themselves as she entered the room, revealing a rectangular chamber, almost ovoid due to its heavily rounded corners. Neither too large or too small, it was perfectly proportioned for a little pony. Its latticed wooden ceiling was low compared to the rest of the library, but comfortably so. Seamless wooden ribs arched up along the walls and across the ceiling, providing convenient mounts for the many lamps spread throughout the room. The walls between these ribs were filled with heavy oaken bookshelves that held a few books and scrolls, but where mostly used as storage space for loose leaves of paper, spare quills, inkwells, and all manner of other tools that would be useful to aspiring scholars.
All the shelves, as well as the rest of the woodwork in the room was covered in ornately carved leaves and flowers connected by curling vines. A long, low table occupied the middle of the room, surrounded by several chairs and thick cushions. The table’s surface appeared to have been made of a single cross section from a colossal tree and it bore the scars and stains, intentional and otherwise, of studious ponies from centuries past. No windows broke the warm, wooden walls, and there were no time pieces amongst the shelves, so it was easy to lose track of time. Before she’d moved to Ponyville, Twilight had always imagined that this room was what it would feel like to live inside of a tree.
Pausing for just a moment, letting a nostalgic sense of homecoming wash over her, Twilight closed the door behind her and crossed the room to retrieve a quill, an inkwell, and one of the larger sheets of paper. A problem this big would require an equally large brainstorming session. Wetting the nib of the quill with her tongue, Twilight began to pace her usual circuit while thinking out loud.
“Okay, Sparkle, let’s figure this out. You started the day strong. Shopping? Fun. Candy store? Sweet. Conversation? Engaging, I hope.” As she spoke and paced through her thoughts, Twilight began to draw an outline of her day with Luna, leaving plenty of space for the crabbed notes experience told her she’d be going back to add.
“Things were going so well. At least until they weren’t. Obviously our communication breakdown didn’t happen until we were having tea. Luna didn’t seem upset over the chess game … think, Sparkle, think!”
Many ponies had marveled at Twilight’s superior intellect, and occasionally she’d joined them, but more often then not, especially at times like this, Twilight realized that she really wasn’t all that smart. In her opinion, she simply had a greater than average memory, and she was now trying to wring it as much as possible to recall as many details about her day with Luna as she could.
There had been several highs and lows in their conversations with Luna, remembering some of the more embarrassing moments raised an echo of a blush on Twilight’s cheeks, but they’d been able to recover from all their missteps, until the final topic of conversation, the discussion about the future. While Twilight had been reminiscing, she’d been fleshing out her timeline with ever more detailed notes. Near the end, in bold strokes, she wrote down FUTURE, and with greater than normal pressure, circled it. Luna’s mood had turned sour after their discussion about the future, but what exactly had caused her to feel so down?
Twilight began drawing lines radiating out from the circled future. The first she labeled “plans?”, another she marked “disappointed in lack of definitive goals?” After some consideration, she added another line, “eventual death of friend?”, and then with a shrug, she added another line “heat death of the universe?” after all, during a brainstorming session, it was important to get as many ideas on paper as possible. To that end, after a cursory glance around, insuring that she was alone, in much smaller hoofwriting, Twilight added another, almost microscopic line, “marriage/foals?”
That was the first option that Twilight crossed out with a nervous laugh. The unpredictability of the future was enormous, but there was no way Luna could be worrying over that, right? Returning to the land of possibility, she recalled the conversation she and Luna had engaged in, first discussing Twilight’s plans for the future, or lack thereof, and then the hypothetical of Twilight living for as long as Luna and Princess Celestia. Somewhere in there, she’d upset Luna.
The easier of the issues to address was the theoretical about Twilight living for as long as either of the royal sisters. It was obvious that particular sentiment had arisen due to the fact that Luna was worrying about Twilight’s mortality. Such a concern was perfectly understandable since Twilight was the first friend Luna had made in a thousand years. The solution was equally as simple, Luna just needed to deepen her relationship with her other friends so she wasn’t quite as dependent upon Twilight, a thought which gave Twilight an inexplicable feeling of unease. Twilight tried to brush it aside and concentrate on Luna, and her need to develop the ability to make new friends without Twilight’s help. Another bitter thought.
Twilight sketched out two new sub-branches stemming even further off her branching ideas, “deepen other friendships, but not too much,” and “make new friends before I die.” Nodding to herself in satisfaction at a job well done, Twilight turned her attention to a thornier problem, her lack of plans for the future.
It was perhaps an odd oversight for a pony as meticulous as her, but the truth of the matter was that she’d already met the goals she’d set for herself when she was a young filly. She’d just been too busy, too focused with living her day to day life to set new ones for herself. As she’d told Luna, once she became Princess Celestia’s student, she’d left the goal making to the princess and focused her energy on excelling at whatever task the princess set for her. After she’d been sent to Ponyville, first she’d had the goal of making the Summer Sun Celebration a success, and then exploring the magic of friendship. Since they were both tasks given to her by Princess Celestia, either explicitly or implicitly, Twilight had never left the mindset she’d developed during her days at school.
But Luna was right. Twilight was no longer a school filly. She was still young, but she was an adult now, and responsible for her own destiny. It was high time she sat down and thought about what it was she wanted from life, other than Princess Celestia’s pride and Luna’s affection. When she took a look back on her life, what mark did she want to leave on Equestria?
Of course, the majority of an adult pony’s waking hours were spent at work, so obviously any future plans would need to factor in a job of some kind. It seemed like most ponies agreed that an enjoyable career was key to overall well being, while other, perhaps more cynical ponies, would say that it was all right to have a job you didn’t enjoy, so long as it was secure.
Looking to her friends for inspiration, Applejack had been fortunate. While there might have been a time she questioned her calling, she’d been born a farmer’s daughter, and enjoyed working on the her family’s farm. Fluttershy on the other hoof, had turned her back on traditionally pegasus occupations, and while she obviously enjoyed her career, it wasn’t the most lucrative. Rainbow Dash saw her job as a means to an end, as something necessary to do while aiming for her dream. Pinkie Pie used her position at Sugarcube Corner as a way to share her true passion, celebrating and spreading joy. Rarity of course, was in the midst of realizing her dream of fashion designing and becoming famous for her art.
Unlike Rarity or Rainbow Dash, Twilight didn’t really have a dream to follow, and unlike Pinkie or Fluttershy, she didn’t feel like she had a higher calling that could help guide her. Her parents had fairly pedestrian jobs, nothing like a legacy similar to Applejack’s to hand down to her. Sure she’d always enjoyed reading and learning new things, but those could be applied to a broad range of careers. Being a librarian was nice due to all the books that were available to her, but there were also less enjoyable aspects of the job, like everything else other than reading. Especially having to hound ponies when collecting overdue fees. She supposed that every occupation was similar in that way, a mix of pleasant and unpleasant tasks. So, without a clear goal to serve as a guide, what career should she plan for?
Honestly the options available to her were overwhelming. Modern Equestrian society was complex and encompassed all sorts of interdependent professions. In order to choose the optimal job for her, she’d need to create as comprehensive a list of possibilities as she could, from which she’d pare it down to a half dozen or so to focus on. She could then create life plans around them, come up with presentations displaying the pros and cons of each, as well as potential timelines for each possible future, and present them to Luna. That was sure to lift her spirits.
Twilight pulled out several sheets of paper and headed each with a possible future she could envision herself pursuing. The first option was the most obvious. She could continue living her comfortable, mostly peaceful life in Ponyville. While being a librarian might not be the most glamorous of jobs, it was one of the occupations which had an unusually high rate of job satisfaction. Plus it allowed for a near limitless amount of reading on Twilight’s part. Especially since she wasn’t all that often bothered by the less than well read citizens of Ponyville. Additionally, her first friends all lived in Ponyville, and it was nice being able to go out and easily meet them whenever the urge struck her. Ponyville also wasn’t all that far away from Canterlot, in the grand scheme of things. A visit to her family or to visit the princesses could be accomplished in a day trip.
It wouldn’t be a bad future by any means, making a modest living doing something she mostly enjoyed, surrounded by the ponies she cared deeply about. Twilight could easily see herself, old and wrinkly, with gray streaks in her hair, sipping from a well worn tea cup while sitting in her usual seat while intently reading a new book. But where in that future was there room for Luna?
Even if she remained a librarian, there were other, more prestigious libraries in Equestria that she could easily obtain a position at. Heck, she could probably even become a librarian at the Royal Library if she really wanted to. After a few decades and a couple of other ponies retiring, she could even become head librarian. Since the library was always open, she could schedule her shifts so that they matched Luna’s and they could spend more time together. Of course she wouldn’t be quite as conveniently close to her other friends, but she was confident that she’d be able to juggle her relationships and commitments, somehow.
She jotted down several notes, both for and against the possibility of her continuing to be a librarian in Ponyville, Canterlot, or even further afield in Manehatten at the National Library of Pony Congress, which held a copy of every book ever published, and whose archive was accessible by invitation only. But really, if she was going to move so far from Ponyville, then she didn’t need to remain a librarian. If she returned to living on Canterlot, she could easily return to academia and become a researcher.
That had been her nebulous goal before the whole trip to Ponyville, Nightmare Moon, and the Elements of Harmony thing that had kind of changed the course of her life. Several of Equestria’s most prominent universities were located in Canterlot, and Twilight was confident, based upon her previous coursework, that she could easily find a position at any of them. It wasn’t too difficult to picture herself, mane tied into a bun, standing in a laboratory wearing a white multi-pocketed jacket and protective glasses, surrounded by a myriad of vials, beakers, and rune inscribing equipment as she peeled back the mysteries of the fundamentals of magic.
Of course she’d probably have to teach a class or two, but while Twilight didn’t mind educating others, and enjoyed teaching so long as her students were receptive to learning, she knew her best work would be while she was locked away in her lab. The pay probably wouldn’t be all that much more than a librarian, but there was the possibility her research could pave the way for further advancements and leave a legacy as great as Star Swill the Bearded. However, her schedule probably wouldn’t be as convenient, which would make keeping up with Luna and the others that much harder.
It still was another viable option, so Twilight jotted it down as a possibility. Another potential career, though one that wouldn’t be quite as easy to enter as the other two, was one proposed by Twilight’s old anthroponyolgy professor. Archaeology ticked several of Twilight’s boxes. Not the type Rainbow Dash gushed over in the Daring Do series, but actual archaeology. The kind that required months, if not years, of poring through historical records in order to narrow down the candidates for a potential dig site. Traveling to remote destinations to survey the site, gridding it, then spending untold hours in each square, meticulously scraping away the sands of time, often finding nothing, but occasionally coming across fragments of pottery or scraps of preserved cloth. From those clues, building an image of how ponies and other creatures from the distant past lived. After which, came the cataloging and writing up of the finds, a peer reviewed entry in a scientific journal, and eventual references to your work by future historians.
It too joined the quickly growing pile of papers scattered across the table, each describing potential future career paths. As usual, by turning her mind to a specific task, as she pondered on one possibility, ten more leapt to Twilight’s mind. Soon it felt as if there were countless windows spread before her, each offering a glimpse of what might be. Some clearer than others. The idea of her becoming a candy store owner, operating a store similar to the one she’d visited with Luna earlier, was probably not going to happen. Though it was a nice thought to be able to supply Luna and Princess Celestia with an unending river of chocolate, Twilight just didn’t see that as a long term career. But it could be, so she dutifully jotted it down and added it to the pile of options.
She sighed a bit at just how few pages she’d filled out compared to the innumerable number of careers out there. How would she ever be able to narrow them down to the single optimum answer? Undoubtedly if Luna were there, she’d tell Twilight something along the lines of there being no truly correct choice, but rather the best option being the one she ultimately lived. And if Princess Celestia were there, she’d likely be just as helpful and tell her that the journey to find the answer would be part of the answer itself. While she loved both the princesses, sometimes their sage-like platitudes failed to fill Twilight’s more analytical needs. That said, Twilight wasn’t quite at the point of being overwhelmed by the multitude of possibilities before her, yet. That was for future Twilight.
Current Twilight just needed to come up with as many ideas as possible. Only after she’d exhausted her imagination, would she go back and sort through her ideas, eliminating the weakest and further refining the strongest. And so, she continued to work, generating potential futures one after another, racing out into the library from time to time to perform some quick research on the particulars of a field, only to be struck with inspiration for another career that then spawned further ideas. Eventually, sometime before she’d exhausted her imagination, she exhausted her body.
She wasn’t quite sure when she’d fallen asleep due to the lack of clocks or windows, whose absence was to not disturb researchers with inconsequential details such as the time of day, but Twilight found herself blearily blinking awake. Her eyes burned from the lack of sleep, and as she lifted her head off the soft pleather covered book she was using as a pillow, she found that her drool had glued a piece of paper to the side of her face. She unsuccessfully tried to brush it off her a few times with her hoof, before remembering that she had control over reality warping magical powers and telekinetically pulled the paper off. It was too water damaged to be legible, so she crumpled it up and looked for the waste paper basket when she noticed the probable causes for her awakening. Luna and Princess Celestia were standing less then a length away, each holding up several of the papers Twilight had been working on, perusing them with obvious enjoyment.
Princess Celesita was wearing an amused grin, as well as the heart shaped rose tinted glasses Luna had picked out for her. Luna meanwhile looked much as she normally did, albeit perhaps a bit more cheerful than usual, and had a hint of softness that was new.
Twilight’s movement caught Princess Celestia’s attention and she turned toward her with a bright smile. “Good morning, Twilight. Sorry for waking you up so early after you’ve obviously been up all night working on …” She paused and studied the multitude of papers she was holding up before quizzically asking, “Actually, what exactly is it that you’re working on?”
Twilight blew a few strands of her disheveled mane out of her face before replying, “Ah, good morning, Princess Celestia, Luna. I was, uh, I mean, they’re ideas I was brainstorming for possible future career options.”
“Ah, that would explain the drawing of you wearing a bicorn hat and cutlass on the page marked privateering,” Luna remarked.
Somehow Twilight was able to bang both her rear knees on the table and almost trip over her own hooves at the same time while almost crashing into Luna as she leapt out of her seat. Catching sight of the paper in question, as well as several of its neighbors, she found that somewhere in her sleep deprived state, she’d begun to doodle her fantasies of what she’d look like working at each of the jobs.
Twilight could feel the bottom drop out of her stomach, and her mind reached a hyper-focused state. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to come to a logical conclusion and then develop a detailed plan with goals, milestones, and a path toward attainment, then create a clear a concise presentation to deliver to the ponies whose opinions she deeply depended on. To have Luna and Princess Celestia see the preliminary output of her unrefined, childish thought process, left her feeling … vulnerable. What if they started looking down on her for having such juvenile thoughts and understanding of the world?
“Future careers,” Princess Celestia murmured as she flipped through several more papers. “I didn’t realize that you were so enthusiastic about looking for something new to do, Twilight.”
“I’m not,” Twilight said. “Or, I mean, I wasn’t.” She glanced toward Luna out of the corner of her eye. “I mean, I should have been, but I wasn’t until Luna and I had a conversation about it last night and I realized that I’ve been focusing on the slices of life that we live each day instead of an overarching goal I should have been working toward. After all, some some fields of work require years of study and experience. If I want to enter them, I need to begin right away. It’s not like I can study for ten or twenty minutes and suddenly become and expert in a field I’ve never explored before.”
With a bittersweet smile, Princess Celestia laid down the documents she was holding and came around the table to softly nuzzle Twilight. Soon Twilight could feel the princess’ warm, familiar magic running through her hair, neatening it. “Oh Twilight, you shouldn’t look at the world that way. Yes, if you had some dream that you wanted to pursue, then by all means you should wholeheartedly chase after it. But don’t throw away the current you for some future version that you think may somehow be better. It’s wonderful to have goals, but you should be sure that the goals you have are worth having, not something that you chose simply because it had the fewest disadvantages.”
“That’s right, Twilight,” added Luna as she also stepped closer. “I ...” she bit her lip and looked at the floor. “I never intended you to take my words this way. You don’t need to plot out your entire life right this instant. Truthfully, last night I was selfishly pushing my own ideas and ideals upon you and was disappointed, not by you, but by my own delusions. I’m sorry if I caused you to worry, Twilight, in any way. And, while I can appreciate the amount of effort you’ve spent on … this, perhaps it would be better if instead of locking yourself away and thinking so deeply on the future in solitude, you should consult with us and your other friends and not only plan for tomorrow, but experience today as well.”
Princess Celestia let out a snort of laughter, and under Twilight and Luna’s curious gaze, she said, “It’s a lot easier to give advice than to take it, isn’t it, Luna?” It took Luna a confused moment to realize that perhaps she wasn’t the best pony to lecture anypony else on locking themselves away to laboriously fixate on a problem. Seeing her sister blush in realization, the amused Princess Celestia said, “Perhaps we’ve all been cooped up, alone with our thoughts too long. Let’s go clear our heads outside. A picnic brunch sounds lovely, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know,” Twilight demurred as she tried to tuck some of her mane behind her ear, only for it to immediately spring back to where it had been. Twilight’s brain still wasn’t fully up to speed yet, but she knew she wasn’t the most attractive pony first thing in the morning, and her cheek still felt cool and damp from the puddle of drool she’d been resting in. As much as she was relieved and happy to see both Princess Celestia and Luna in such a good mood, standing next to two of the most beautiful mares in all Equestria was a bit daunting in her current state. “I should probably go and get cleaned up before going out,” she glanced around the room, “But I should probably clear this mess up first.”
“If it’s a matter of tidying your research up, that’s no trouble at all,” Princess Celestia said as she began to gather the many books and papers scattered around the room. Luna joined her, sorting the papers into stacks of like sizes.
“And you don’t need to freshen up at all, Twilight,” Luna said, regarding her with a smile. “You look beautiful just as you are. Though, I suppose you could do with just a bit of neatening.
Twilight felt tendrils of Luna’s magic comb through her hair while a slightly damp but warm hoofkerchief wrapped in Princess Celestia’s magic appeared and gently scrubbed her face. By the time she opened her eyes after its gentle massage, the entire room was as clean as when Twilight had arrived, save for the many impressive stacks of paper covering the table.
“There. Now you’re more than presentable, Twilight,” Luna said with a smile and a nod of satisfaction.
Princess Celestia whisked the handkerchief away with a flash of her magic before agreeing, “Indeed, and as for your … research, we can have it sent to your room if you’d like. Though, I honestly don’t think that you should be worrying yourself over this as much as you seem to be.”
“No, you’re probably right,” Twilight said with a sigh. “I kind of ended up getting fixated on something and led myself down a rabbit hole, again. It’s just like my theory on the universal geometry of the perfect croquet game all over again.”
“But that’s not to say that all your effort was in vain,” Luna said reassuringly as she placed a gentle hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.
“Oh no, not at all,” Princess Celestia said as she walked over to place her own hoof on Twilight’s other shoulder. “Even if you might have gone just a bit overboard, you did your best, as you always do, and anytime that you pour that much of your heart into improving yourself, you can’t help but become a better pony for it. While you may not have settled on an answer as to what you will be in the future, you’ve begun to think about it, and what sort of legacy you want to create, concerns that most ponies don’t consider until quite a bit later in their life.”
Twilight sighed slightly, in resignation, as she leaned her head and rested it against Luna’s hoof. “Thank you both. Honestly, I probably went too far, but like you said, at least thinking about my future is something worth doing more of. Even though it wasn’t what was bothering you, Luna, and I won’t put as much time and effort into it as I was last night, it’s still something that I’ll be considering from now on. But, we can probably go ahead and get rid of everything I wrote down here. Some of them turned out well, but most of them are ideas I came up with after way too much caffeine and too little sleep. Really, I’d like to burn them all just to make sure that nopopny else will ever see them, but unfortunately the library’s anti-flame barrier is a pain to deal with, so I guess throwing them away will have to do.”
“It is a shame though,” Princess Celestia said as she slid her hoof away from Twilight and walked back toward the table. “I’ve missed your doodles, Twilight. This one of you in a rocketship is particularly charming. Would it be all right if I had it framed, so I could keep it in my office?”
With a loud crinkle, Twilight’s purple aura snapped out and crushed the papers for her idea of becoming an astronaut into a tiny, tiny ball. “So...” She said with feigned nonchalance, “You guys said something about brunch?”
Princess Celestia gazed down at the balled up piece of paper with a small frown of disappointment while Luna stepped away from Twilight to exuberantly exclaim, “Yes, brunch! A new meal for a world too busy to eat breakfast, but too hungry to persevere until lunch. A perfect opportunity to spend time with friends and loved ones, and it comes with a slice of cantaloupe at the end. Shall we be on our way?” She urged the other two.
Princess Celestia gathered herself and smiled pleasantly once again. “Yes, of course. Let’s go. I’ll have one of the cleaning staff come and take care of the rest here,” she said as a slight breeze wafted across the table, causing some of the papers to fall out of sight, accompanied by a slight flash of light. Though that might have been a figment of Twilight’s frazzled imagination.
It didn’t matter though as Princess Celestia quickly closed the distance between them and practically forced Twilight from the room, with the excited Princess Luna flanking Twilight’s other side. They quickly left the library on the way to one of the many green spaces tucked away in the nooks and crannies of the castle. A few servants approached, but with a few quiet commands from Princess Celestia, they disappeared just as quickly. Luna meanwhile seemed a wholly different pony from last night, almost ready to begin skipping at a moment’s notice as they left the castle behind and walked out onto a sun-drenched lawn of closely cropped grass interrupted by a single oak tree at the center of a gentle hill. Two cream colored ponies were hastily unfurling a large green and white checkered cloth, smoothing out its wrinkles and creases, while a third precisely placed two wicker baskets near one of the cloth’s edges. They all bowed toward Twilight and the two princesses before making a quick exit in the direction of the palace.
Both the wicker baskets were wrapped in cloth around their tops, one in pale blue, the other in warm yellow. Between them was a small platter with a matching tea set with a yellow base, covered in vibrant blue cornflowers. Without preamble, Luna settled next to the yellow picnic basket, and Princess Celestia knelt down and rested next to the blue, leaving Twilight to settle in the space left adjacent to both of them. As Luna lifted the lid of her basket and peered inside, she said, “Twilight, if it’s not an imposition, would you mind pouring the tea while we prepare the rest?”
“Not at all,” Twilight replied, happy to help.
Sunlight filtered through the tree’s leaves, dappling Twilight and the princesses, causing the tea to shimmer and sparkle as it flowed from the teapot into the delicate cups. The familiar smell of freshly steeped tea filled the air as Twilight dropped a single sugar cube into Princess Celestia’s cup, two in her own, and three into Luna’s. She was a bit startled when another two cubes floated past her nose to land in Luna’s cup, until she looked up at Princess Celestia, who gave her a knowing wink.
Unaware of the interaction between Twilight and Princess Celestia, Luna murmured absently, “Let us see … It seems they’ve packed watercress sandwiches, Celestia.”
“My favorite,” Princess Celestia said, pleased. “The kitchen staff have perfected them. They serve them with cucumber and a thin layer of zesty yogurt based sauce, yet somehow manage to keep the bread soft but not soggy.” She was perusing the basket next to her and commented, “Oh, it looks like they packed the plates over here, along with some sort of strudel.” She levitated three plates out of the basket, each unique, but matching the motif of the teacups, and placed one in front of each of them.
Luna meanwhile placed a sandwich on each plate as she said, “It’s most likely cherry, we’re near the end of the season apparently. Every time I ask for a dessert lately, it’s been cherry flavoured, which isn’t all that bad, it’s quickly becoming a favourite of mine, second only to chocolate.” She gave Twilight a conspiratorial smile.
“Speaking of which,” Princess Celestia said as she continued to rummage in the basket, “It looks like they included brownies as well.”
“Those will contrast nicely with the alfalfa and clover spinach rolls they also have provided,” Luna mused as she pulled a plate full of greenery from the basket.
Twilight couldn’t hold back a bright burst of laughter, which called the curious attention of both princesses. “It sounds like the ponies in the kitchen have both of your tastes pegged,” she explained with a smile.
“Well, all of the ponies who serve up are quite attentive,” Princess Celestia said as she pulled a multitude of desserts out of the basket next to her. “Although, I suppose I do order some of the same foods quite often. It’s hard not to become a creature of habit when the dishes the royal cooks prepare are all so delectable.” She and Luna began serving the many plates of food that the staff had managed to pack into the deceptively small baskets, and soon all three of their plates were quite full of an eclectic mixture of healthy and sweet foods.
A soft breeze swept through the garden, causing the branches above them to sway and for the dappled sun and shadow coming through its leaves to dance over the assembled company.
“I’m glad to see that you’re feeling better, Luna,” Twilight said, her lack of an appetite only allowing her to peck at her food.
Luna looked up in surprise, her cheeks bulging, a few chocolate crumbs falling from the corner of her mouth. Hastily she audibly swallowed. “Thank you, I’m glad to be feeling better. She dabbed at her lips with one of the finely embroidered napkins that had been tucked away in the baskets to try and regain some of her regal bearing.
Seeing that Luna wasn’t as upset as she’d thought she’d be by Twilight broaching the topic of the previous night, Twilight felt emboldened. “If you don’t mind me asking, what was it that I did, or said last night that made you so … upset?”
“Oh no, it wasn’t something you did,” Luna said, waving her hooves and shaking her head in firm denial. “You aren’t to blame at all, Twilight. Rather, my foul mood was of my own making. I built a fantasy of certain … great expectations, and they were so appealing that I was blinded to the reality before me. But, last night, Celestia was able to help me see them for what they truly were, mere presumptions and wishful thinking on my part, which if I would like them to come to fruition, will require me to be patient and proactive.”
“I see,” Twilight said levelly. Luna’s explanation, while genuine sounding, didn’t quite fit in with how Twilight remembered things. She lifted her teacup for a sip of tea before asking, “If you don’t mind my asking, what expectations did you have that caused you quite so much pain?”
Luna cocked her head and chewed on her lip, her eyes downcast in thought for a moment. “I suppose you could say that I envisioned a certain future, and was disappointed after I learned that you didn’t share quite the same vision I did.”
“So it was my fault,” Twilight said, her ears and head drooping along with her mood.
“Oh no, not at all,” Luna was quick to reassure her. “You haven’t done, or said anything wrong, Twilight. If it’s anypony’s fault, it’s my own. I’ve never taken the time to speak with you about the future, our future, in depth. It’s only natural that we currently have different ideas of how things should go. Thanks to Celestia’s guidance, I realized that it would be foalish to dwell on how things currently are. Rather, I, we, should be more constructive and spend some time enjoying each other’s company and simply converse about our hopes, our dreams for the future.”
“I think that sounds like a splendid idea,” Princess Celestia chimed in, wiping the remnants of her sandwich from her lips. “Though I hope you don’t mind if I’m a part of the conversation as well? I’d hate to be left out when two of my favorite ponies are making grand, life altering plans.”
Luna gave her a large, loving smile. “Of course you’re most welcome to join us, dear sister.” She turned her eyes toward Twilight. “Don’t you agree, Twilight?”
Caught a bit flat-hooved by Princess Celestia’s sudden interest, and unsure of the strange signals Luna was sending out, Twilight could only offer them a small, somewhat strained smile. “That’d be great. We’d definitely love to have your input, Princess Celestia. I mean, who better to make plans about the future with than two ponies who’ve pretty much seen all of history?”
Princess Celestia’s smile widened. “I’m delighted to hear that. I was a bit worried that you’d feel I was being an old fuddy duddy, or something of a third wheel.”
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Luna said indignantly.
“Well, sometimes I just want to be sure I’m not butting in somewhere unwanted. Now then,” Princess Celestia said while replacing her plate of crumbs with a smaller one topped by a large, fudgy brownie, which she then proceeded to slice into with one of the tinniest forks Twilight had ever seen, “As I recall, Twilight, your current plan is to become an astronaut, correct?”
At first Twilight was confused, but then a fierce blush bloomed on her cheeks as she remembered the many possible career paths she’d plotted out. “N-no?” She sputtered out. “That was just – I mean, it was one of the many, many, many possibilities that anypony could have as a career. It’s not like I actually want to be an astronaut, or anything else just yet. I was just thinking through all my options before narrowing them down.”
Princess Celestia chased her tiny bite of chocolate with a sip of tea before demurely replying, “I see. So, since you’re exploring all these potential opportunities, I take it that you don’t enjoy being a librarian all that much. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to find you a more suitable position while you lived in Ponyville.”
“What?” Exclaimed Twilight as she set down her teacup with a concerning clatter. “No, no! I love my job. Well, I mean, sure, some parts of it aren’t all that great. Like the fact that there’s only about a dozen ponies in Ponyville that seem to actually read anymore, and one of them can’t seem to ever return his books on time, even when I sternly, but politely remind him every, single, time …” Twilight caught herself about to go off on an unrelated tangent when she needed to be focusing on clearing up Princess Celestia’s misunderstanding. “What I mean is, I really enjoy being a librarian, especially because I’m the librarian of Ponyville. I get so much time to read, and the opportunity to meet with all sorts of ponies. But, after spending time with my friends in Ponyville, and with Luna, and now you, I’ve found that there are some things you can read about in books, but can’t really understand until you’ve experienced them first-hoof. So I was thinking, maybe it was about time that I spent less time reading about life, and more time … er, not, reading about life?” Despite her failure at sticking the landing of her speech, Twilight felt that she’d been able to get her point across to the two princesses who were paying her rapt attention.
Princess Celestia blinked owlishly a few times before settling back into her familiar, warm smile. “Relax, Twilight. I was just teasing you. I know from your glowing reports that you’ve enjoyed your time in Ponyville, including your job. And I also know that a pony such as yourself doesn’t need to limit herself to the first career they find themselves in. I’m sure that whatever you do in the future, whatever you become, whether you remain a librarian or not, you’ll devote yourself to it, and you’ll become the very best at whatever it is. Because that is what Twilight Sparkle does, and no matter what, you’ll always be Twilight Sparkle.” Under the princess’ warm gaze, Twilight found herself blushing and bowing her head slightly to study the hairline crack in her teacup, as if it were the most important thing in Equestria.
“I wholeheartedly agree,” Luna said. “Modern Equestria is awash with all manner of occupations and specializations undreamt of in the past, all interwoven and dependent upon one another. I’m sure that I’ll never even know a tenth of what it is that ponies do all day, but as Celestia said, no matter what occupation you may pursue, you won’t be able to help but to do it well, Twilight. Likely better than anypony else ever has.”
Twilight had enjoyed a life of successive successes, which, even in her opinion, had left her ego a bit inflated. But, under the brunt of such honest praise from two such powerful and successful ponies, the very founders of Equestria as she knew it, Twilight found herself feeling as shy and tongue tied as Fluttershy at her worst.
Perhaps noticing her discomfort, Princess Celestia tried to lighten the mood again. With a laughing lilt in her voice she said, “That said, if the astronaut option is definitely off the table, you could always come back to Canterlot and become my assistant. With your attention to detail, I’m sure you’d fit in with the rest of the staff in no time at all, and nopony can diagram quite the way you can, Twilight.”
“Neigh, dear sister. While we just told her she could do anything that she desired, I’m sure Twilight wouldn’t want to spend day in and day out arranging your schedule of supplicants and sycophants. Besides which, if she were to take such a position, it would be better if it were with me. You already have an established staff and set of procedures, while I’m still learning my way, and in much greater need of such a knowledgeable assistant.”
Princess Celestia raised a haughty eyebrow. “Oh, I see how it is. You’re trying to steal Twilight away from me, even after saying that I could have a place in her future.”
Luna’s face fell, and with pained eyes she searched Princess Celestia’s face for a moment before recognizing the fact that she was simply playing with her. Her mouth quirking into an unsure smile, she said, “You seem to misunderstand, sister. We said that you could share in our discussion, not necessarily in our future together.”
Princess Celestia raised a hoof to her barrel and closed her eyes as she dramatically lamented, “Oh you wound me, Luna. But you can’t gain anything without first giving something in return. So, in exchange for Twilight, I’ll take what you value most.” So saying, she picked up the platter of uneaten sweets and caused it to disappear in a flash of brilliant light.
“No! Not the chocolate!” Luna cried desperately with an out flung hoof toward where the confections had disappeared. Deflating, with a defeated moan, she seemed to resign herself. “Truly the hard times are upon us. Come, Twilight, let us find what solace we may in each other’s company in this cruel, chocolateless future.”
Unimpressed, Twilight blew her bangs out of her face. “Well, it’s good to know that I’m worth as much as a plate of brownies. Really puts things in perspective.”
“It was a very good brownie,” Princess Celestia confided to her.
“Was it?” Luna asked longingly.
Searching the blanket, Twilight said, “Well, if it’s any consolation, we still have the cantaloupe.”
With a deep sigh, Luna said, “It is a small consolation indeed, but I will take what solace I can from it. Come, let us divide it and feast on the bittersweetness that is life.” Levitating the cantaloupe in the air, Luna’s navy blue magic twisted into several sharp planes and the perfectly cubed melon fell into three equal piles.
As they began to eat their dessert, Twilight asked Luna, “So, are you looking forward to tonight’s party?”
Caught in mid-bite, Luna finished chewing before replying, “To be honest, I’m a bit nervous actually. It’s been quite some time since I last held a celebration, and I’d be hard pressed to say that it was a rousing success.” She nodded musingly. “Although, this time we do have a Pinkie Pie, so if nothing else, we could always unleash her on the unsuspecting party goers to liven things up, or to cover our escape.”
“Yeeeeaaaahh,” Twilight drawled, “we should probably keep that as a backup plan. Maybe a backup to the backup plan. I’m sure Pinkie’s going to be on her best behaviour, but it’s going to be hard enough to contain her … pinkiness, without encouraging her.” Flashbacks to the Grand Galloping Gala caused her to recall her, and Princess Celestia’s role in that particular party. “By the way, when you say that you’re hosting the party, it doesn’t’ mean that you’ll just be standing around greeting everypony, does it?”
Luna arched a regal eyebrow. “No. Unless I’m mistaken, that’s what we have ushers for.”
“Besides which,” Princess Celestia chimed in pleasantly, “Luna’s unfortunately not the best with names or faces. Just last week, she couldn’t tell Gold Star or Rose Wreath apart.”
“Perhaps if they played the pipe half as well as they tried to play me, then I would have paid more attention to which was which,” Luna said dismissively as she finished sampling the cantaloupe. “I’ve at least remembered the important ponies who will be attending. That said, I plan on giving a welcome speech, thanking everypony for coming, and then I’ll ‘mingle,’ and ask if everypony is having a good time. At the same time, I’ll do my utmost to avoid anything that sounds like a serious conversation.”
Princess Celestia sighed. “You know, you’re not going to make very many friends that way, Luna.”
Luna cocked her head to the side and gave Twilight a suave smile. “I think I already have all the friends I need, thank you.” Feeling as if she were being devoured by Luna’s stare, Twilight blushed and ducked her head as she thought to herself that helping Luna make new friends might be a bit of an uphill battle. Giving Twilight a final appreciative glance, Luna stood up. “Speaking of tonight’s celebration, according to Rarity, it will take quite some time to prepare myself. Before that, there is a host of last minute details that I must attend to, apparently.” She nodded to Twilight and Princess Celestia. “Thank you both for such a lovely morning, and if you’ll excuse me, I’ll see you later this evening.”
She stacked her used dishes in the basket they’d come from, and graciously accepted Twilight’s and Princess Celestia’s well wishes as she walked away. As she dwindled in the distance, on her way back to the palace, from seemingly nowhere, a herd of ponies appeared and descended upon her, quickly whisking her off to the depths of the bureaucracy. Twilight’s eyes followed her until she’d disappeared completely.
“I believe I’ve had my fill as well,” Princess Celestia said as she climbed to her hooves. “How about you, Twilight, are you finished?”
Though she’d only more or less picked at her meal, Twilight was quite full. “Oh. Yes, I am, Princess Celestia.”
“Excellent,” Princess Celestia said as she enveloped the cups, plates, and various other picnic accouterments with her magic, neatly storing them in the nearby baskets. “Then I was wondering if you’d be so kind as to spend some time with an old pony such as myself. I’ve decided to take the day off, and it’s been so long since I’ve had some free time on my hooves, that I’ve forgotten how one should spend it. I was hoping that you’d accompany me, at least for a little while, and perhaps we could spend it together.”
“Of course, Princess Celestia, I’d love to spend some time with you,” Twilight said pleasantly, although a few seconds later she realized that her warm feeling of contentment paled in comparison with the burst of exuberance she’d have felt only a few months before. She frowned and worried her bottom lip as she felt a vague sense of unease and guilt at her disloyalty toward Princess Celestia. Was this maturity, or was there still a rift between her and the princess?
By the time Princess Celestia had turned her attention back to Twilight after packing up the picnic, Twilight had adapted her normal practice of ignoring her feelings, especially the disquieting ones, and was pretending that there was nothing out of the ordinary. With feigned excitement, Twilight asked, “So, what did you have in mind for us today?”
Princess Celestia did a double take when she saw Twilight’s expression. The princess’ smile fell into a questioning frown as she closely examined Twilight’s face. “Is everything all right, Twilight?”
Twilight let out a nervous chuckle. “Of-of course, whey wouldn’t it be?”
“It’s just that you looks a little, distressed.” She walked closer and lowered her head to better see Twilight’s body. “Does your stomach hurt? Do you need to go to the restroom before we go anywhere?”
Realizing that her consternation had been mistaken for constipation, Twilight could feel her entire face heat up and she quickly and earnestly declared, “Nope! No, I’m fine. I’m feeling great, actually! So, where are we going?”
Princess Celestia straightened up and with an uncertain tone said, “Well, if you’re sure …. I heard that the Canterlot Art Museum is hosting an exhibit on Proto-Pre-Raphaeliton artists, and I thought that sounded like something you’d be interested in.”
Honestly, that wasn’t one of the schools of art that Twilight had a huge appreciation for, but that didn’t stop her from saying with genuine enthusiasm, “That sounds great, let’s go!”