Golden rays of light blazed through the crystalline windows of the princess’s bedroom, painting the plush, white carpet a pale yet fiery orange. Celestia’s young, fuchsia eyes blinked open, pupils contracting as they took in the glimmering sunshine of a beautiful morning. A grin began to spread across her face, gazing up into the violet canopy of her bed, supported by the ornate wooden beams at each corner.
She threw her covers off, abandoning the comfort of a peaceful rest and leaping out of bed. Scattered strands of her bright pink mane danced over her face for a moment, before she shook her head violently, at risk of slobbering all over her still-waking face. Her smile reached from ear to ear as she brushed her fluffy hair out of the way of her face, her horn igniting as a brush upon the dresser was shrouded in her starry aura.
She trotted over to the mirror as she began to smooth out her wavy mane, taming the bedhead that her pillow had dared to induce upon the princess of the sun.
And princess of the sun she was, as she quickly recognized by the angle of the sunlight decorating the floor what time it was. Her smile immediately vanished and she gasped before flinging her brush onto the dresser and instead seized her crown from her bedside table. She swung the door open so hard it slammed into the wall before she took off through its towering frame, not even bothering to close it behind her.
Her tiny hooves clattered against the tile, the stale air of the castle rushing past her as she grimaced, her breathing already picking up as she blinked the sleep from her otherwise excited eyes.
The scent of morning cooking filled her nostrils, wafting up as she ran across a loft looking down into the main lobby of the castle, the smoky scent of… was that bread? It smelt more like a campfire, but it brought the little princess joy all the same as she skidded at the top of a flight of stairs and began clip-clopping her way down.
She nearly collided with a guard, who let out a most undignified yelp as the filly roared past him, the poor stallion nearly dropping his spear while Celestia kept right on dashing through the halls of Canterlot.
To the left, to the right, to the left, to the right, until at last she screeched to a halt in front of yet another gigantic wooden door.
Now the scents of breakfast were stronger than ever, and her mouth already watered at the thought of digging into the fresh pastries and fruits prepared in the dining hall just beyond. The little one took a hoof and felt up her mane to ensure it was presentable enough before she took a deep breath and stood tall, practically puffing out her chest. She knocked on the door three times, still breathing heavily from her sprint as she tried to relax her otherwise wild expression.
There was a click, and the door slowly began to open, revealing a parchment-coloured mare with a pale blue mane. A tall white hat sat upon her brow and she adjusted it as she looked down at the filly before her, a warm smile spreading across her face as she kept the door just open enough to fit her body through. “Y-your majesty! I was beginning to think you wouldn’t be coming!”
“I’m sorry, Cream Puff, I accidentally slept in,” Celestia said as calmly as she could, keeping her head high as she tried to mask the glow in her eyes. “Why didn’t anypony wake me?”
Cream Puff cleared her throat. “I’m afraid I couldn’t tell you, your majesty, I have been in the kitchen all morning.” She paused for a moment, looking behind her anxiously before carefully opening the door much wider. “W-well! You still beat your sister here, at least. Come, let’s get you fed.”
Celestia smiled and trotted past the mare, her nose immediately assaulted by the divine scents of apple turnovers and scrambled eggs. The seats around the table were largely occupied by other nobles, but a number of chairs appeared to be lopsided and shifted back, while others were tucked in neatly, their backrests pressed up against the tabletop.
The princess scanned the dining hall for a moment, before finally spotting the pony she was looking for.
She picked up the pace and hopped up into an empty seat beside a faded, almost-white platinum alicorn, her puffy, curled mane a mixture of deep-blues, pale-oranges and shining golds. The mare looked down at the princess and let out a soft breath as she shared an affectionate smile with her.
Celestia beamed. “Good morning, mother!”
“Good morning, little sunshine. Judging by your lateness, I am guessing you were up late reading again,” her mother said with a lowered voice, her smile turning into a smirk as she leaned in.
Celestia chuckled nervously, shrinking a little. “Heh, yes… I just couldn’t stop!” she admitted shyly.
“I do not blame you, it is a wonderful story. How far did you get?”
Celestia’s horn lit up again as she retrieved one of the apple turnovers from a basket and took a tentative bite, confirming it cooled enough to eat. “I got to the part where Silver Tongue found the Quill of Tales and sent her friends away with it while she faced the inkblight,” she replied as she stuffed her face with a much more generous bite of the pastry. “Now… mmf, everyone elsh has to figure out how to find the Book of Light and the Starfield Ink without her!”
“Finishing chewing your food, dear…” her mother muttered as her fiery aura enveloped an apple. “So you are about halfway through, now?”
“Mhmm!” Celestia gulped loudly, leaning her head back before taking a breath. “I hope Silver Tongue is gonna be okay stuck holding back the blight like that!”
“Well, my little pony, you'll just have to keep reading and-”
“Lady Stella,” a voice suddenly interrupted their conversation, and the two royals simultaneously turned their heads to find a guard standing at the door. His eyes fell upon Celestia, and he hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Uh… the captain… would like to speak with you, your majesty.”
Celestia’s mother frowned, swallowing a bite from her apple. “I am assuming it is urgent?” Celestia looked up at her mother, her smile vanishing as she tilted her head.
“Yes, my lady…”
Stella sighed as she placed her apple down on the plate and got off her seat, while Celestia put down her turn over. “C-can I come with you?” Celestia asked.
“Ah-... no, my dear… I am afraid not,” Stella replied, smiling painfully at the filly. “You need to eat your breakfast. You are going to need all that energy. I’m sure your sister has all sorts of nonsense she intends to drag you into once she gets up, after all…” she continued, nuzzling into Celestia.
The princess couldn’t help but return a slight smirk, nuzzling her mother right back before Stella began to walk towards the door. “Y-you’re probably right, heh… I’ll make sure she stays out of trouble!” Celestia called after her.
The door closed softly with a click, leaving Celestia alone on her side of the table as she stared down at her half-eaten apple turnover, a bitter smile on her face. “Like I always do…”
A little glimmer of magic formed on the pastry, nudging it about for a moment as Celestia let out a sigh, resting her head upon her hoof. She could almost hear her mother saying don’t play with your food, sweetheart. Indeed, she yearned to hear even those words, but instead she was met with silence. She reluctantly raised the treat and took another bite. It did not taste nearly so good this time.
The idle chatter of the other ponies gathered around the table slowly faded away, one by one the nobles taking their leave to get up to whatever various grown-up responsibilities they had, not even uttering a word to the lonely princess as they awkwardly shuffled past her.
She let out a huff as she looked to her mother’s plate, narrowing her eyes as her golden magic enveloped the apple. She hovered it in front of her, only a single bite missing from it as her anger began to bubble up. She stared long and hard, genuinely contemplating hurling the fruit across the room, or slamming it into the floor in frustration, but she didn’t have the heart to do it, only slouching back into her chair as she placed the apple on the plate once more.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and Celestia let out a squeak as she nearly jumped out of her skin.
A dark-blue alicorn filly stood in the doorway, one hoof extended to the side as the door swung weakly against the wall, the newcomer’s head lowered and her unkempt azure mane hovering over her eyes. Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Luna?”
“Where is my crown, Tia…” Luna’s voice came out a raspy whisper.
Celestia gulped nervously. “Y-you had it when you went to bed last night…” she responded quietly.
Luna slowly walked over before finally lifting her head, those sleepy, yet piercing eyes staring up at the elder princess with a fierce glare. Celestia leaned back, glancing around anxiously as her sister seemed to size her up. “I had a dream…” Luna began. “You were there… you took my crown… and now it is gone.”
Celestia frowned. “I didn’t take your crown, Luna… it was just a dream.”
Luna hopped up onto the seat beside Celestia, scanning the table before her sea-blue magic violently grabbed a piece of cinnamon toast and placed it on her plate. “It is never just a dream…”
Celestia smiled awkwardly, just grateful for the grouchy princess’s presence at this point, her appetite quickly returning as she resumed her breakfast. “What else happened in the dream?”
Luna blinked a few times as she continued to populate her platter with pastries. “You hid my crown in the library, at the top of one of the shelves where my magic couldn’t reach.”
Celestia shook her head. “Luna, you know I wouldn’t do that to you.”
Luna paused for a moment, her expression softening a bit as she held up her toast. “Yeah… I know…” she took a bite, before turning to look Celestia in the eye. “You’d put it just within my reach instead.”
Celestia giggled a bit. “Mhmm!”
Luna finally cracked the faintest smile as she began to devour her toast. “Mmff… will you help me find my crown?”
Celestia nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! You can’t be a princess without your crown!”
Luna narrowed her eyes. “Yes you can…”
“Well… yes, but you don’t look the part without it!” Celestia chimed.
Luna’s eyes looked up at the ceiling. “I guess…”
There was a pause as Luna ate her breakfast, Celestia watching her a little more intently than she intended as the anti-social princess focused on her meal. Eventually, Celestia cleared her throat. “So… where should we look first?”
“The library,” Luna said firmly.
Celestia tilted her head. “Why the library?”
“'Cuz that’s where it was in my dream,” Luna replied.
Celestia let out a sigh. “Dreams aren’t real, you know. Why would your crown be in the library, anyway?”
Luna only shrugged and swallowed. “I don’t know. I just wanna check.”
Celestia rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine. I don’t have anything else to do this morning…”
Luna looked much more awake now after getting some food in her belly, her head turning to meet Celestia’s gaze. “I thought you were going to learn some magic with mother?”
“Don’t remind me…” Celestia mumbled. “I was… but some guard called her away for something ‘urgent’...”
Luna rolled her eyes. “It’s always urgent.”
“Right??” Celestia suddenly exclaimed, sitting up tall again and nearly slamming her hooves on the table. “Ugh, for the last few weeks she's just been non-stop! She didn't even stay for all of breakfast this morning!”
“Well…” Luna looked to the ground. “Ever since mother got so busy and halted our schooling, we’ve been able to play more, right?”
Celestia relaxed again, pushing her plate forward as she hopped off her chair. “I suppose… sorry, I don’t mean to be such a downer. I just… I wish she would pay more attention to us!”
Luna nodded, her gaze blank. “Yeah, me too...”
Celestia knew that look on her sister’s face; a look of deep thought and focus. “Luna, what are you thinking?”
Luna hesitated, her mouth opening before closing again as she pouted, the little princess facing her sister. “What if we gave her something to pay attention to?”
Celestia didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean…?”
“I mean… if she isn’t paying attention to us, maybe we can do something that makes her want to pay attention to us!” Luna suggested.
Celestia still didn’t like the sound of that. “Like what?”
Luna stood up on her chair raising her head high. “Like… learning a cool new spell all on our own!” she declared.
“I don’t know…” Celestia replied nervously. “Without a teacher? What if we mess it up?”
“Aww c’mon, Tia!” Luna said as she jumped down. “It’ll be fun! We’ll learn something simple, okay? Something we can teach ourselves!”
Celestia pondered this for a moment, practically skimming her mental catalogue of spells and tricks she wanted to learn from her mother today. “Hmm… well, okay. But no fire spells this time!”
Luna nodded vigorously, a light practically shining in her eyes now as she whirled around, her tail whipping by as she began trotting towards the door. “If you say so! But first, let’s find my crown!”
Celestia grunted and quickly ran after her, now beside her sister as they walked back out into the hallways. “Fine. After we find your crown…” she said. A warmth began to spread through Celestia’s little heart, her morning quickly recovering from the otherwise dismal start. “Oh, and uh, Luna…?”
Luna didn’t even look at her, only muttering a quiet “Mhmm?”
Celestia smiled softly. “Thank you…”
Luna mirrored the gentle smile, raising her head a bit. “You’re welcome, sister,” Luna replied contentedly as they walked past a window letting the smokey morning light stream through, the gentle hum of magic surrounding the castle...