Party Plans
Celestia was walking down the corridor, muttering to herself. “…and then we must order the cake, and have it iced CORRECTLY this time (she still had no idea how the last one had wound up saying ‘Lily’ instead of ‘Luna’), then we must-“
The sound of smooth jazz winding faintly through the corridor stopped her. She could discern a few instruments being played: there was the saxophone, with its slow, melodious sound, the occasional piano, and a few other instruments she could not identify.
Celestia lost herself in the music for a moment. The last few days had been hectic, and it had become easy enough for her mind to wander. The music took her back to the days when she had stayed in New Foaleans for Marde Gras. There had been a smooth jazz club there, and she had spent hours there, drinking, wandering, and having a good time. Of course, all good things have to end. By the end of the month, there had been a scandal: Someone had seen her walking out of the club with one of the musicians. Of course, this may have been nothing, had she not been ‘…so intoxicated that she could barely walk, and had to lean on the stallion’s shoulder just to be able to stand.’
Celestia cut off the memory before it could go any further. The pony in question had ended up being exiled by Princess Luna, and the scandal had been the talk of the kingdom for MONTHS. Finally, something new had happened (Celestia couldn’t remember what), and the whole incident had been forgotten.
Celestia rushed down the corridor, eager to find the source of the music. She followed the fading notes, finally finding her way to a small black door in the Lunar wing of the castle. She raised her hoof to knock, then shook her head.
Instead, she quietly opened the door, slipping inside without a sound. The room was rather large, leading Celestia to believe this ‘guest’ was one of the more favored of her sister’s. The only light came from a single candle on a writing desk on the far side of the room. A large double bed was pressed against the wall, the curtains drawn. A large carpet, red and black (Celestia struggled to remember what those colors stood for. She would have to research it later) sat in front of a large fireplace, two chairs pulled in front of it. Several instruments littered the floor, and a large black piano sat against the far wall. A double set of doors led out onto a balcony, where a telescope had been erected, though it looked unused. A few books had been placed in a small cubby on top of the desk, and one sat open on the left hoof side. In the middle of this organized chaos, sitting at the piano bench and staring off into space, sat a unicorn with a red mane and deep, chocolate brown eyes. A black cloak covered the rest of his body, the strings on the front drawn so tight that the hood was almost flattened against the unicorn's neck.
She crept up behind the unicorn, who seemed to be talking to himself. “…Princess Luna has done me a great honor to allow me to stay here and play for her birthday-“at this, Celestia frowned. Her sister had not mentioned anything about finding a musician to play for the party-“I really must make her a gift to show her my thanks…”
At this, the unicorn stood and walked over to the desk, Celestia following him, careful not to step on the hem of the cloak. The unicorn was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice the large alicorn behind him, humming a tune absently as he thought.
"Now, let me see… Should I get her flowers? No, no, no, flowers scream romance, don’t they?” The unicorn muttered under his breath, levitating a quill, ink bottle, and paper to sit before him. As he talked, the quill wrote on the paper
Bouquet of flowers- too romantic?
At this, Celestia spoke up,” I believe flowers might be a nice touch, though, to whatever gift you give her.”
The unicorn slowly began nodding as he thought this over. “Yes, yes…. That’s perfect!” he smiled, as though congratulating himself on thinking of it, still apparently unaware that someone was standing behind him. Then he frowned. “But what gift shall they accompany?” Then he grinned. “Aha! A crystal!...But wait, the Princess probably already has many of those…Aha!” He furiously began drawing on the paper. “A crystal statue! Of the moon itself! Of course, that may take some time…And a LOT of magic…”
Celestia shook her head. “Of course, the moon might remind her of her imprisonment of a thousand years…”
The unicorn stopped and stared directly ahead for a moment. “…Of course…There IS that…” Then inspiration seemed to strike once more. “But a statue of her old castle in the Everfree Forest would surely bring back happy memories!”
“Except that was where she first became, and last was, Nightmare Moon…” Celestia said, facehoofing. The unicorn’s face fell once more.
But, as all good ideas, this one wasn't giving up without a fight. The unicorn’s eyes lit up, and he began furiously scribbling on the paper, hunched over to where Princess Celestia could no longer see it.
“Aha! I’ve got it!” The stallion turned around, paper in hoof, only to find Celestia staring at him in amusement. He immediately let out a loud, shrill scream that echoed throughout the castle and shattered a few nearby windows before finally fainting, the paper falling from his hands to land at the princess’s hooves.
Celestia began laughing, and did not stop until the guards arrived to find out what had happened. When the princess explained the situation to them, even the normally stone-faced guards were unable to keep a grin from escaping onto their faces.
As the guards picked up the stallion’s body and carted him off to the infirmary, his cloak somehow managing to cling to him despite all their efforts, Princess Celestia looked to the paper at her feet. Using her magic to lift it, she glanced over it once before nodding in approval. She followed behind the guards, leaving the drawing on the desk with a note apologizing for her unannounced arrival and the resulting panic attack.
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“Twilight, darling, you simply must calm down!” Rarity said to her friend as they walked to Rarity’s favorite relaxation spot: the spa.
“But Rarity, what if I get so drunk that I can’t walk straight?! What if I make a fool of myself in front of the princess?! What if…” The list went on and on.
Rarity could only roll her eyes and laugh. “Twilight, dear, don’t worry! I’ll be there with you the entire time! With me watching out for you, you have nothing to fear!"
`
“But Rarity, what if you get distracted? Maybe I shouldn’t go. I’ll just pretend to be sick and stay in bed all night…Yeah, yeah, that’s what I’ll do!” Twilight grinned, her hair starting to become disheveled.
A look of worry crossed Rarity’s face. “Twilight, darling, you simply must calm down! Besides, do you really believe it is wise to lie to the princesses? Celestia may be kind and forgiving, but Luna…”
Rarity still held a profound dislike of the Lunar Princess, for some reason. Twilight and the rest of the Elements of Harmony had long wondered about this, and had openly asked Rarity on several occasions, only for her to wave off the question and move on to a different topic, or leave altogether. They had long since stopped asking her, as Rarity had threatened to move to Canterlot and stop being a part of the group.
They arrived at the spa, Twilight still worrying and babbling to Rarity, and Rarity still trying to calm her fears. Finally, as they settled into the message tables, Rarity suggested, “Why not try asking Applejack about how to control yourself in these situations? She’s had more experience than I have, and I’m sure she’d be more than willing to help.”
As she thought this over, Twilight decided it was the best course of action, and allowed herself to sink into the bliss of Aloe’s hooves as they traveled across her back.