An Unexpected Reunion
At the halls of the Grand Foyer of the castle, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Chancellor Cinch read over the budget plans on the table with Magistrate Creme Dream enjoying a cup of tea while Majesty observed. Cinch looked rather puzzled as she looked at a corner of the paper.
“I don’t see the point of cutting back on the education budget,” Chancellor Cinch said.
“Well,” Magistrate Creme Dream said after she placed her cup of tea on a nearby table. “You’ve heard about the number of younglings being pulled from school thanks to the recent fear of Changelings and Windigo’s Guild Cultists. There’s a lack of trust in the air these days.”
“Still doesn’t make any sense,” Chancellor Cinch said. “After all, I’ve dealt with those sadistic brutes, especially the leader of the guild Coldnelius Snap.”
“I’m going to have to agree on that,” Princess Celestia said. “After all, there are colts and fillies across Equestria that deserve to learn more about the history of Equestria and the lessons of friendship.”
“There is one place for colts and fillies to go to,” Creme Dream said after taking a sip of tea. “Daisy Joy Tech. A boarding school that will shape the future of Equestrian minds.”
“I don’t know,” Princess Luna said. “I’ve heard some bad things about Daisy Joy Tech.”
“So have I,” Princess Celestia replied after taking a sip of tea. “I would never let my daughters into that organization. Especially Wanda.”
“I beg to differ,” Magistrate Creme Dream said as she placed her tea cup on the plate. “I think the man’s cub would benefit more from attending this school, rather than being enclosed in your School for Gifted Unicorns. Case in point: There’s a wider variety of students that are of other types like Earth Ponies and Pegasi. Plus, she will get the proper education that the School for Gifted Unicorns lacks in.”
“Not to object to that,” Chancellor Cinch said. “But I’ve heard stories of how students are mistreated, ostracized, or even humiliated. I would never let the Man’s Cub even step foot in that dreadful place. Besides, having her attend a school outside of Canterlot is out of the question.”
Magistrate Creme Dream just laughed before she said “Oh nonsense. Ponies, along with the Man’s Cub of a princess, need to learn how to stand up for themselves, how to fight back when they’re kicked to the ground. Kinda like the phrase that goes ‘Pull yourself up by the bootstraps.’ Does have a nice ring to it.”
“It’s still not right,” Princess Celestia said. “Wanda attending that school? And I agree with the Chancellor. Even if she greenlit Wanda attending schools outside of Canterlot, I would never let her step foot into that school.”
Magistrate Creme Dream just smiled for a bit before she said “My dearest Princess. You will realize that it may not be yours, or the Chancellor’s decision. Equestria has entered a new dark age thanks to the attack on your castle by the Changelings and the Cultists. You have to learn to let go, and let her truly be the citizen of Equestria that she was meant to be.”
Majesty gave a wink to Princess Celestia, disturbing her a bit.
“Okay,” Celestia said in an awkward tone. “That will give me nightmares for weeks.”
But as Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Chancellor Cinch were debating with Magistrate Creme Dream, Wanda and Sunset were relaxing on top of their bed, staring at the ceiling. Abigail and Spike sat right next to the two sisters, staring out at the window.
“I’m bored,” Wanda said.
“You’re telling me,” Sunset Shimmer replied.
“I wonder how long mommy and Miss Cinch will be with that scary Creme Dream?” Wanda asked.
“Beats me,” Sunset said. “I don’t know what they’re proposing for the budget, be it for the courts or the schools.”
“The only thing I want to do is to fly out once more and to play with my friends,” Wanda said as she sat up on the bed.
“Right now,” Sunset said as she rolled onto her belly. “We promised our mother that we would be here by dinner. We have tomorrow to play with Twilight and the others. Besides, I think we can hold out until then.”
But as soon as Sunset Shimmer stopped speaking, her tummy growled. Wanda, Abigail and Spike stared at Sunset Shimmer as the unicorn blushed embarrassingly.
“Hungry?” Abigail asked.
“Oops,” Sunset said. “Guess all that play this afternoon definitely worked up an appetite.”
“Maybe we could sneak into the kitchen and get some fresh fruit as an appetizer,” Wanda said.
“That does sound good,” Sunset said. “But what if they’re used for tonight’s main course?”
“Ooooh, good point,” Wanda said. “Well, guess I’m gonna starve until then.”
Abigail turned her head at her human friend, who drifted back towards the ceiling. But as soon as Abigail began to sit up, her tummy began to growl.
“Hungry,” Abigail said.
“I know, Abby,” Wanda said. “We’ll get some grub as soon as that scary Creme Dream is gone.”
But inside Sunset’s closet, Cozy Glow peeked out from behind, looking at Wanda, Sunset, Abigail and Spike. Her mind was filled with dread as she began to chatter.
“Get yourself together, Cozy,” Cozy Glow whispered to herself. “As long as they don’t come to this closet, or I don’t make any sudden movements, they will depart and I can sneak out.”
Cozy Glow continued to take a peek at the sisters and the companions outside of the safety of the closet. But her eyes caught Spike the Dragon, who sat and yawned.
“Doesn’t that dragon belong to Twilight Sparkle?” Cozy said, still continuing to be silent. “What’s he doing here?”
But as Cozy pondered to herself, Spike opened his mouth and belched a long stream of fire, startling Wanda, Sunset and Abigail. The flames traveled close to the closet, surprising the curly-maned filly.
“YIKES!” Cozy Glow yelled.
Cozy Glow fell on her rear from the danger of the dragon fire. She hit a shelf full of books, causing her to scream as the books all collapsed on her.
Outside, the sound of Cozy’s screaming and the books falling had caught the attention of Wanda, Sunset, Abigail and Spike.
“What was that?” Wanda said.
“Let’s go check it out,” Sunset replied.
But downstairs in the Foyer, the sound of Spike’s belch, Cozy Glow’s scream, and books falling was enough to catch the attention of Magistrate Creme Dream, Majesty, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Chancellor Cinch.
“That’s strange,” Creme Dream said with curiosity. “For a moment, I heard the scream of my youngest daughter, Cozy Glow, right in the bedroom of your daughters.”
Celestia and Luna began to blush as the older alicorn sister said “That’s nothing to be concerned about.”
“Nothing to be concerned about, eh?” Creme Dream said. “Perhaps I should check it out to see if your daughters are home and okay.”
Magistrate Creme Dream got out of her seat and walked towards the staircase with Majesty right behind her. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were sweating nervously, with Cinch turning her gaze at the two alicorn princesses.
“What’s this all about?” Cinch said in a cold tone.
Princess Luna reached down and whispered into Cinch’s ear, causing the Chancellor’s face to pop out.
“Are you kidding me?” Cinch said in a stern, yet quiet, tone.
“I’m not kidding,” Princess Luna said.
“We better follow her upstairs,” Princess Celestia said. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Luna nodded as she, Princess Celestia, and Chancellor Cinch followed Magistrate Creme Dream and Majesty.
Back in Wanda and Sunset’s room, the two sisters with Spike and Abigail slowly approached the closet door, moving cautiously out of fear.
“What do you suppose that is?” Wanda asked.
“A mouse of some sort?” Sunset replied.
“I don’t think mice can grow that big,” Wanda replied.
“Maybe a changeling that wants to eat us,” Sunset said as fear began to course through her veins.
Abigail shook nervously as she hid behind Wanda’s leg.
“Changeling,” Abigail said. “Scary.”
“Not all changelings are scary, Abby,” Wanda said as she rubbed Abigail on the head. “But there are still those who would serve that mean Queen Chrysalis.”
“Hey girls, what happened?” Wanda, Sunset, Abigail and Spike turned their heads to see Princess Cadance walk on in. While her mane was a bit frazzled, her face was wide awake.
“There’s something in my closet that caught our attention, big sis,” Sunset said.
Princess Cadance walked up to the closet and said “Well, let’s see what we’ve got. And if it’s a changeling or a monster, I’ve got your backs.”
Princess Cadance opened the closet door with her magic. Wanda and Sunset looked inside to see a pile of books right at the base of the closet.
“And I just got this cleaned up, yesterday,” Sunset pouted.
“Wait,” Wanda said, pointing at a curly, pale light grayish arctic blue and light arctic bluish gray tail. “Look at that. Do you know who that belongs to?”
“That’s Cozy Glow’s tail,” Sunset Shimmer said. “You don’t suppose.”
“Only one way to find out,” Princess Cadance said.
Princess Cadance ignited her horn as she lifted the books up, revealing Cozy Glow. The little filly was covering her head as if she were shielding herself from the books.
“Cozy Glow?” Wanda said. “What are you doing here? I thought you were at Daisy Joy Tech looking after Golden Lace.”
Cozy Glow opened her eyes and turned her face towards Wanda, Sunset, Cadence, Spike and Abigail. She grabbed one of the books that Princess Cadance was levitating and covered her face with it.
“Don’t look,” Cozy Glow said. “I wasn’t supposed to see you until later tonight.”
“See us?” Sunset Shimmer said. “What do you mean by that?”
Cozy Glow moved the book away from her face before she said “It’s because Princess Luna brought me here and Princess Celestia wanted it to be a surprise for you.”
“Surprise?” Spike said, confused.
Princess Cadance let out a sigh before she said “I think mother and Aunt Luna have a lot to explain about this.”
“But why would they want to hide Cozy Glow from us?” Wanda asked.
But before anyone could answer, Majordomo Kibitz walked in through the doorway and tapped Princess Cadance on the shoulder. His eyes quickly caught Cozy Glow, who sat there inside the closet.
“Kibitz,” Princess Cadance said as she turned towards the Majordomo. “What’s going on?”
“Seems you’ve discovered Cozy Glow unintentionally,” Kibitz said, turning his eyes back to Cadance. “But I’ve got some terrible news. Magistrate Creme Dream is coming upstairs, and it appears she’s coming to this very room.”
Wanda, Sunset, Cadence, Cozy Glow, Spike and Abigail’s faces dropped down in utter fear as they stood there.
“What are we gonna do?” Wanda said.
“Yeah,” Cozy Glow said. “I don’t want to look into the eyes of my own mother again.”
Princess Cadance pondered for a bit before she said “Wait. I’ve got an idea.”
Down the hallway, Magistrate Creme Dream and Majesty walked towards Wanda and Sunset’s room. Right behind them were a very nervous Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Chancellor Cinch, following the Magistrate and her daughter from behind.
“You really have no reason to look into my daughters’ room,” Princess Celestia said in a scared tone. “After all, I did not recall them coming home this early.”
“But I heard their voice,” Magistrate Creme Dream said with her smile untarnished. “You should lie to others, Princess Celestia.”
Chancellor Cinch walked up to Princess Celestia and whispered in her ear “I’m afraid what she said is true. Your two youngest princesses were afraid of Creme Dream. So I had them and Princess Cadance fly up to their rooms so they wouldn’t be noticed.”
Celestia glared at Cinch and said “You should have told me this.”
“I would have,” Cinch said. “But one, you were in the middle of budget negotiations and two, I wanted to at least give them some peace of mind.”
Princess Luna rolled her eyes back and said “This complicates things.”
Immediately, Majordomo Kibitz stepped outside of Wanda and Sunset’s room, stood in front of Magistrate Creme Dream, and bowed to her.
“Magistrate Creme Dream.” Kibitz said. “I take it you heard something in the room of the little princesses.”
“I sure did,” Creme Dream said.
“Nothing to be alarmed of, Lady Dream,” Kibitz said in a reassuring tone. “Princess Sunset Shimmer’s attempt at cleaning out her bookshelf ended horribly. Princess Wanda Young has already volunteered to help Princess Sunset out.”
“A very convincing story,” Creme Dream said with a smirk on her face. “Two daughters of Princess Celestia having to rearrange Sunset’s books. Except there is one small problem.”
“And what would that be?” Kibitz said as he began to sweat at the forehead.
“When I overheard the crash, I overheard was sounded like my daughter, Cozy Glow,” Creme Dream said.
“So if we were you,” Majesty said. “We would move out of the way so we can see if she’s in here.”
Kibitz let out a sigh and said “Okay. But I doubt you’ll find her in there.”
As Majesty and Creme Dream walked past Kibitz, the older alicorn said to him “The last thing we need is a lie from your mouth, Majordomo. I’ve already had to scold Princess Celestia for her lie.”
As Majesty walked on by, Kibitz pulled out a handkerchief and proceeded to wipe the sweat from his brow with it. Cinch, Celestia and Luna walked up to the Majordomo, looking inside the room with Celestia turning back to Kibitz.
“You did all that you could,” Celestia said. “You have no regrets.”
“I fear that I have put the three princesses in peril,” Kibitz said.
“All we can do now,” Cinch said. “Is wait.”
“Wanda, Sunset, Cadance,” Princess Luna said. “Good luck.”
Inside the room, Wanda, Sunset, Abigail, Spike and Cadance all stared at Magistrate Creme Dream and Majesty, with Wanda holding her back against Sunset’s closet door.
“Well,” Creme Dream said in a pleasant voice. “The princesses, all in the same room. And I overheard that you had a problem with books falling down.”
“Yeah,” Sunset Shimmer said. “I made the mistake of pulling too many books and they nearly fell down on me.”
“So little sis Wanda has agreed to pitch in for her,” Princess Cadance said.
“Helping out a sibling when things don’t go their way,” Creme Dream said. “Fascinating. But that isn’t the reason why I am up here.”
“It isn’t?” Sunset said, causing Abigail and Spike to shiver.
“No it isn’t,” Creme Dream said. “I overheard what sounded like my daughter Cozy Glow up in your room.”
“Cozy Glow?” Sunset said. “I don’t recall anyone being up here.”
Majesty walked up to Sunset and said “We didn’t just hear her. We could smell her in this room.”
“That’s enough, Majesty,” Creme Dream said. “Perhaps the other princess is more convincing.”
Sunset and Cadance’s face turned to sheer horror as Magistrate Creme Dream walked up to Wanda. The Man’s Cub just looked up at the Magistrate and just stood there in total fear.
“Now tell me,” Creme Dream said in a sweet tone to Wanda. “What’s behind the closet?”
“Books that fell down by accident,” Wanda said in a nervous tone. “I was going to help pick them up.”
Creme Dream let out a subtle chuckle before picking Wanda up with her magic. The man’s cub looked like she was on the verge of tears as she stared at Creme Dreams’ face.
“You’re lying to me,” Creme Dream said, never letting her smile disappear. “And we mustn't tell lies.”
Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Majordomo Kibitz and Chancellor Cinch stood outside the room, helpless, as Magistrate Creme Dream placed Wanda down next to the closet door. Sunset, Cadance, Abigail and Spike stood next to the bed, cowering at what Creme Dream would do next.
“Now,” Creme Dream said. “You will do me a favor and open that closet door. After all, you don’t want to be called a liar by your peers. Do you?”
Wanda nodded all while she shook in fear. She slowly reached her hand towards the door knob and gripped it tightly.
Inside the closet, Cozy Glow peeked her eyes out from underneath the pile of books. She noticed the closet door was starting to open up and her eyes popped out.
“Oh no,” Cozy whispered. “Mother found out about me.”
Immediately, Cozy Glow ducked down under the books and began to cover her head.
“Please just go away, please just go away, please just go away,” Cozy Glow cried in silence.
A slight amount of light entered the closet door as Cozy Glow hid under the pile of books. The light grew as the door creaked slowly opened up.
“Lace,” Cozy Glow cried. “I wish I never had to leave you.”
But suddenly, Cozy’s ears began to perk up as the sound of the creek stopped. She looked out from the safety of the books and noticed the light stopped growing.
“Oh dear,” a voice said from behind the door. “I just remembered. The budget isn’t due till next week at least. And I have another appointment about a juvenile delinquent from Cape Coltnaveral.”
Outside of the closet room, Magistrate Creme Dream dusted herself off and walked outside of Wanda and Sunset’s room, with Wanda standing there, completely confused. Celestia, Luna, Kibitz and Cinch stepped aside as Creme Dream began to walk down the halls, only for Majesty to follow in pursuit.
“Mother,” Majesty said with a frown. “But what about the noise in their room?”
“Oh that’s not much to worry about,” Creme Dream said as she turned her head towards Majesty. “After all, it’s all in good hooves.”
Creme Dream gave a wink to her daughter Majesty, who’s frown turned into a smile.
“Ohhhh,” Majesty said. “That’s what you meant.”
Creme Dream walked up to Princess Celestia and said “Forgive me for having to depart so soon. But time is of the urgency.”
“Err, forgiven,” Celestia said in an awkward tone.
And with that, Creme Dream and Majesty walked down the hallway and away from the four adults in the room. Kibitz took out his handkerchief and wiped his brow once more.
“I’ll see to it that she exits the castle safely,” Kibitz said.
“Excellent idea,” Luna said.
As Majordomo Kibitz walked down the hall, Chancellor Cinch tapped on Princess Celestia’s shoulder, catching the attention of a slightly nervous alicorn princess.
“I believe you have an explanation to give to the princesses,” Chancellor Cinch said.
Inside the bedroom, Wanda opened the closet door, where Cozy Glow hid underneath the pile of books. The little filly jumped out from the book pile and grabbed right onto Wanda’s torso, giving her a big hug.
“Thank you,” Cozy Glow cried as she snuggled Wanda. “I don’t know what would have happened if my mom found out I was here.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” Wanda said as she held Cozy Glow tight. “Besides, I don’t think I could have handled your mother.”
Sunset Shimmer walked right behind Wanda and tapped her younger sister on the shoulder, getting Wanda and Cozy Glow’s attention.
“Sister,” Sunset said. “I think our mother has a lot of explaining to do.”
Wanda held Cozy Glow close to her as she nodded towards Sunset Shimmer. The Man’s Cub walked with Cozy Glow out of the closet, smiling at Princess Cadance, Abigail and Spike. But when she turned to face Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, her smile turned into a frown. Celestia looked at her daughter and gulped in fear.
“Mommy,” Wanda said in a cold tone. “Could you explain why Cozy Glow was in my sister’s closet?”
As Celestia looked at Wanda with a feeling of dread, Cinch nudged at the older princess.
“I’m not going to bail you out of this mess,” Cinch said. “You’re on your own.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Celestia said.
To Be Continued in….
A New Sister for the Family