The bell on the door of Joe's doughnut shop chimed as the door opened. Behind the counter Doughnut Joe, the thirty-something shop owner with a gut that showed the irresistible beauty of his food, poked his head out. The lunch rush wasn't meant to be for another half hour. He'd hoped to get a bit more preparation done before people came in. Upon seeing Twilight and Spike, he calmed down.
"Hey guys," he said with a wave. "Regular table for two?"
"Uhhh...not exactly," Twilight murmured, as the rest of the girls swarmed through the door, the bell almost ringing it off the door. Joe's eyes went wide with surprise.
"I'll...get another table."
"What are we going to order?" Spike asked, breaking Twilight's awkward silence.
"Oh...right," Twilight said, quickly hiding her face behind the menu as it turned red. "I'll just get a jelly doughnut."
"I'll have two of those," Applejack said.
"Three!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"It ain't a competition, sugarcube." Rainbow Dash got a strange look of confusion on her face, like someone had told her people didn't command the weather.
"I'll just have a cinnamon ring, without the spices," Fluttershy murmured.
"That's just a ring of dough," Joe said.
"Yes. Low fat if possible." Joe looked skeptical for a second, but Fluttershy gave him a heart melting smile which dispelled all his thoughts.
"Excuse me, kind sir," Rarity piped in, "but is there a salad or collection of carrot sticks served here at all?" Joe stared at her for a second, then burst into fits of laughter.
"Lady, this here's the leading doughnut shop in all of Equestria. We serve the largest variety and best quality doughnuts around. We don't serve salad."
"Are you sure you can't make an exception," she said, fluttering her eyelashes and smiling widely.
"Well lady I would, but I don't know how to make a salad." Rarity visibly deflated down to the table.
"I'll have a dough ring then." Sweetie Belle, sitting next to her, was bouncing around ready to order. "So will she."
"Aww." Twilight looked over at Pinkie Pie, who was being uncharacteristically quiet. The pink haired girl was looking down at her hands, twiddling her thumbs, her stance only broken by an occasional, longing look over to one of the display cases of sweet baked goods or glance into the menu with a sigh. Twilight opened her mouth, closed it as she thought again. This strange, hyperactive girl was a living conversation trap. But blatant curiosity proved the better of her. Plus Pinkie looked a bit glum, which in itself was making Twilight feel guilty for not asking.
"What are you ordering Pinkie?" she asked. Pinkie Pie looked up, almost shocked that she was being addressed.
"Oh, I'm not usually allowed to order my own food," Pinkie said. There was an instant silence, as the entire table stared in disbelief at Pinkie Pie.
"Don't be silly," Twilight said with a smile, although at the back of her mind warning bells were beginning to ring. "It's my treat, you can order whatever you want." Pinkie Pie's eye's started growing wider, almost to a disturbing level.
"Anything?" she asked carefully.
"Yup, anything you want." With ridiculous speed, Pinkie Pie snatched the menu from the nearest person, Fluttershy.
"Then I'll have two jellies, a box of cinnamons, a double glazed with sprinkles, no make that a triple glazed, wait, wait, a quadruple glazed...what's the maximum glazing you do?" The last section was addressed at Joe who, like everyone else, was yet to regain his usual composure.
"Ummm, I'm not sure. I have a menu of specials if you want to look at that too." Twilight shot him a very dangerous glare, overshadowed by Pinkie leap across the table to reach the promised treats quicker. The Transcendent sighed to herself, and hoped her royal allowance, and loyalty discount, would cover all of this.
Once the orders were finally completed, Pinkie Pie almost hitting the roof in anticipation, conversation became more normal. Everyone began discussing themselves, a task that would take more than a single lunch. Pinkie Pie was an assistant baker, and her ban from ordering her own food was due to a few incidents of her blowing her rent and savings on exotic foods. Rarity expressed complete disbelief and envy at how she could maintain any sort of figure, to which Pinkie simply replied that she exercised a lot. Rarity was a fashion designer, which instantly attracted Fluttershy's attention and Rainbow Dash's derision. The two Sky's both worked in the weather industry, although Rainbow Dash seemed much more enthusiastic about it than her friend. Applejack worked on a family farm with Applebloom and a few other relatives, but avoided any further questions about it quickly and a little too aggressively. Applebloom, Sweetie and Scootaloo quickly grew bored of this, and began conversing among themselves under the table. Eventually, as everyone's orders were beginning to emerge, the conversation shifted over to more current events.
"So where are you all staying?" Spike asked everyone.
"We're camping," Applejack said matter of factly.
"Us too," Rainbow Dash said with a grin, Fluttershy nodding meekly beside her.
"Really?" Applebloom queried. "Where's your tent then? And your sleeping bags?" Rainbow Dash began to answer, then stopped to think.
"Uhh, I think Gilda may have had all of it," Fluttershy murmured.
"Oh...well horseapples!" As Rainbow began holding back curses, Pinkie Pie began giggling uncontrollably into her soda. Spike turned his attention quickly upon the pink clown.
"What about you Pinkie? Where are you staying?" Pinkie Pie merely shrugged and went back to eating cake.
"You are all so uncouth," Rarity said with an upturned nose. "Well unlike you all, I will be staying in one of Canterlot's five star establishments." She paused for the ooohs and aaahs she was certain would come. All she got was a slightly surprised look from Twilight.
"Really? Wow, you must have book that months ago!"
"Booked? Oh no no no dear, I was just going to walk in and ask." Twilight look of surprise went to one of disbelief.
"That's impossible. All the hotels have been booked out for ages. There's no way you'll get a room." At first, Rarity simply smiled at Twilight, but as it began to sink in that Twilight wasn't joking the smile began slipping down until her jaw began to drop.
"Bu...but if I can't get in, then where will I stay?"
"Oh oh oh, I know, I know," Sweetie Belle said, almost jumping out of her seat. "We can go camping with the others."
"YAY!" Scootaloo and Applebloom said in unison.
"NOOOO!" Rainbow Dash glanced out the window, wincing as she saw some clouds rolling off the horizon at high speed.
"Looks like a storm's coming in," she muttered darkly. "It isn't going to be nice trying to find shelter in this."
"I'm sure we'll be fine," Fluttershy said comfortingly, although her trembling hand betrayed her lack of faith in her words. Twilight looked between all of them, all but Pinkie beginning to look glum. She felt there was something she could do about this. But what?
"The answer's quite simple, my dear," a voice said from the door. All eyes turned as Princess Celestia entered, the bell chiming in a far more regal tone than before. There was an instant scramble by all of the girls to look presentable, only resulting in each causing a larger mess than before.
"Princess," Twilight said with a squeak. "Wh...what are you doing here?"
"Well, my student, since you and your new friends left before the announcement of the finalists, I felt it was probably necessary to go looking to make sure you were all all right. Although from the state of those gang members, you seem to be able to handle yourself quite well." Doughnut Joe poked his head out from the back room.
"Princess," he said in dangerously casual tone. "The usual?"
"Thank you Joe," she replied with a smile. Rarity inhaled hard enough she began spluttering.
"I...I'm eating i a restaurant where Princess Celestia, THE Princess Celestia, has a usual?!" Rarity began swaying dangerously, while Sweetie Belle tried to predict where she'd fall. She did, but unfortunately Rarity proved a bit too big for her to handle, and the two ended up in an awestruck heap.
"Twilight, could I have a word with you?" Celestia asked. Behind her, everyone else rushed over to Rarity to make sure she was alright.
"Umm...sure," Twilight said, already beginning to sweat slightly. The moment they were over the other side of the shop, she began apologizing in earnest. "I'm sorry I left the grounds early and stuffed up the ceremony, but I really need to get back to my library to find out what the disaster is and..."
"Twilight, it's quite alright. That's not what I wanted to talk about."
"It's not?"
"No. I overheard everyone's problems with finding someplace to sleep. Now do you think you have a solution to that?"
"Umm..." Twilight began thinking. Was this a test? Surely this was a test? "I could...give them some blankets, or maybe try to pull some strings at the local hotel or..."
"What about your house?"
"My house?! Nonono, my house is full of books, and Spike, and me and..."
"Twilight," Celestia said sternly, "people around you are in need. Isn't that what you're trying to prevent with your studies?" Twilight opened her mouth, but wasn't able to come up with a reply, so she just sighed instead.
"You and Spike planned all of this, didn't you," she accused, to which Celestia merely laughed.
"Twilight, you give me far too much credit."
"Or still not enough," Twilight murmured. Her teacher was a constant source of wisdom, inspiration and awe, but also mystery. One of the major ones coming out in her custom order as the two moved back to the table.
"Are those caffeine sprinkles?" Pinkie asked, staring at the doughnut accompanying a pot of tea.
"They certainly are," Celesta said, smiling. "They're also caffeine filled."
"That. Is. AWESOME!" she squealed.
"Isn't that poisonous?" Fluttershy asked.
"To most people, yes," Celestia said. Just behind her, Spike caught wind of the conversation, and knew the response. Popping up over the Princess' shoulder, he began imitating her next sentence. "That's why Joe is forbidden from serving this particular treat to anyone besides myself." Just before she finished, a phantom chair from another table swept under Spike, ending his miming. Pinkie Pie, who had been floating off her seat towards the baked treat, felt gravity come into effect.
"But...But why?!?!" she moaned.
"Because it's dangerous. We wouldn't want any of you six getting sick before your big events, now would we."
"Us five you mean," Rainbow Dash said glumly. "Me and Applejack fought, so one of us has to lose, remember?" Applejack nodded beside her, also downcast. The Princess looked from one to the other, taking in their sombre expressions, before breaking into another fit of laughter. Everyone around her stared, slightly awkwardly, at her, not sure if they should interrupt or join in or just stay silent. After a few seconds, the princess quietened down and adressed the two of them.
"One of you achieved what was thought to be impossible with the sonic rainboom, and the other survived the impossible. I don't think there is any doubt in anyone's mind that you both moved on to the second round, with flying colours no less."
"Flying colours you say?" Applejack said, with a sneer.
"Is that so?" Rainbow Dash added. Both looked over at Rarity, sipping deeply on her recently poured tea and trying her best to look inconspicuous. She doubted she'd be getting out of this very easily. But before either of her passive adversaries, Celestia made a very distinct koff and nudged Twilight.
"So it has been brought to my attention that everyone has problems with accommodation tonight, and that the most efficient solution to this is to have you all stay...at my house...if you want..." Twilight's voice slowly trailed off, which only succeeded in drawing everyone in closer. Twilight cringed as she waited for the response.
"That sounds cool," Rainbow Dash said with a wide grin.
"Yeah, thanks sugarcube," Applejack added, "that'll be a massive help." Beside her, Rarity almost fainted from relief, while the three younger girls got crazy smiles on their faces and disappeared under the table again to continue discussions in hushed whispers. Pinkie Pie jumped up and squeezed Twilight's by the neck, almost chocking her.
"Yay, slumber party! Oh oh, I know! We can play party games, and tell ghost stories, and have pillow fights and and..." A stunned expression, almost unmoving for a few seconds, remained on Twilight's face till she looked over at her mentor. Celestia gave her a knowing wink, and finally Twilight smiled.
"Hey Applebloom, what's the time?" Applejack asked. The table conversation had lulled down quite a bit, and many other people were beginning to enter the shop. Although the immediate guests were growing more accustomed to sitting next to the seemingly normal ruler of the land, and were actually beginning to make conversation with this goddess, other customers were not nearly aw well adjusted. Applejack had been zoned out of the conversation for quite a while, staring out of the window to study the sun intently.
"Ah quarter to one," the smaller apple said confidently.
"Really," Applejack muttered, pondering to herself. Applebloom sat grinning stupidly at her sister for a few more seconds before Applejack realized the connection, and gave her a withering glare. "That competition must have taken at least a few hours, yet the sun still says it's midday..." Next to Twilight, Princess Celestia inhaled some of her tea, spluttering in an undignified manner.
"Princess!" Twilight squeaked in panic. Similar reactions of surprise and concern came from around the table, drawing all eyes to Celestia.
"I'm fine, dear. Really," Celestia insisted, but still all attention remained on her. In fact, so intent was the attention upon her that no one noticed the sun suddenly shift across the sky till it sat barely over the horizon. "Oh would you look at that. It's getting late. You should all be going to get some rest. Big competition coming up, for all of you."
"But..."
"No buts this time. Off. Now!" Celestia hurried them all out of the shop, sending them down the road towards Twilight's house. The group walked off, giggling and talking naturally. Even Twilight was beginning to seem almost normal among them, the smile from before never leaving her lips except when Pinkie started playing some racket on nearby trash cans. From across the streets, Shining Armor walked across from inconspicuous guard position to the princess' side.
"Why didn't you join us?" Celestia asked. The captain of the guards shrugged.
"Better guard position from out here. Easier to watch the exits. Plus, I doubt my sister would appreciate me checking up on her and her friends."
"I suppose." Celestia looked after them one last time, laughing together. "Friendship..."
"You know they're all going to die..." Discord drawled inside her head. "The future is easily predictable you know. On the path you've set them, their deaths will be particularly painful and pointless."
"That's a matter of opinion. Celestia thought back. And even if it does, at least she will have seen something truly beautiful before the end.