//------------------------------// // A Pleasant Surprise // Story: Something New // by SergeantSoup //------------------------------// Something New Chapter 4 ^v^v^v^v^v^ Celestia led the way, enveloping the door in a sky blue glow to push it open quietly. What have we tonight? I do hope there’re some doughnuts. The princess reveled in this thought, and was growing impatient. And so, they, who hoped for treats, made a beeline for the royal bakery. “What kind of muffins do they have there?” interrogated Ditzy, “I hope there’s chocolate chip!” “I’m not actually sure what flavours there are,” responded the princess, “I’ve never really had a craving for them.” As they arrived at the bakery, the smell of flour and sweets filled their noses. The regal bandit welcomed savoury scents as she walked over to the place she was so familiar. Much to her dismay, there was no lack of selection, and therefore made the decision all that more difficult. “Ditzy, you go on and look for your muffins.” The words practically oozed off Celestia’s tongue, as she struggled to remain civil, “I-I’ll join you again in some time.” =+=+=+=+=+= “Not muffins, not muffins, still not muffins…” mumbled the distraught pegasus. Then she saw them. Those dreadful things that he loved so. English. Muffins. she thought with distaste. Fighting back painful memories, she continued her search for the confections she so desired. “These are bagels, those are cupcakes, but none of them are…” she paused, startled by the sight she now beheld. “It’s like a mountain…” She nearly fainted of oxygen starvation, for the mounds of pastries that filled platters lining the kitchen counters consumed her thoughts. Remembering to breathe, she pounced on the opportunity to try any flavour she could find that might satisfy her taste buds. (o)o(o)o(o) The shadow lingered a bit, slithering through the crack between the door and the threshold to the kitchen, after the duo that had just entered the kitchen at an unruly time of night. “One should not pry in another’s business, but this, one certainly cannot resist.” The darkness currently cast inside the mostly unoccupied kitchen provided easy, silent travel for the dark form. She came upon her sister who seemed intent on destroying the pastries. “Up for a midnight snack, Tia?” Celestia broke her royal form as her wings spread and she jumped higher than Pinkie Pie on a normal day. Regaining her posture, she retorted, “Luna! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be doing, I don’t know, night things?” “Oh, dearest sister, I am, as you put it, ‘doing night things,’” replied the facetious princess of the night with a grin, “I was idling nearby and I witnessed you and your secret lover sneak off to the cupboards.” “Ditzy isn’t my lover!” replied the elder, nearly choking on a jelly-filled, chocolate glazed doughnut. “She’s a friend of the Doctor’s, and for whatever reason, he’s decided to drop her in the castle. I’m merely tending to a guest.” “So that is the reason I heard the TARDIS coming and going so quickly,” the younger said almost to herself, “However, I was not so inclined to investigate, as it would have shortened my rest.” By now, Luna had already regained her normal form, and was currently sitting on her haunches trying to reason out where she had heard the name Ditzy before. Is she the grey mare that was with the Doctor when I was transformed back from Nightmare Moon? “Sister, pray tell, where has this Ditzy gone, if she accompanied you into the kitchen?” she asked innocently as she slowly faded back into the shadows. “She went to look for the muffins,” answered Celestia, “I suppose she found them, as she has yet to return.” After a moment, the solar princess’ eyes went wide as she realised her sister had gone, “Wait, where are you going? What are you going to do?” “I just want to talk to her, Tia,” chuckled the shade-form as she moved towards her next objective. =+=+=+=+=+= Ditzy practically swam in the baked goods she recently acquired. She tried one of everything, chocolate, chocolate with nuts, chocolate with chocolate chips, berries, chocolate with berries, the list grew with each region of the sea she breached. Ditzy realised she was moving in circles when she came across her own path of delicious destruction. When she happened upon an unfamiliar pile, she was unsure what to think, as she was still ravenous with muffin fever. Without thinking, she popped one in her mouth to test its flavour. “Ugh!” spat the mare in disgust, “English muffins! So stale and dry and not muffin-y!” She scraped her tongue with her hooves in a feeble attempt at removing the offensive taste. ’They taste marvelous with butter,’ spoke a familiar voice in her head. She distinctly remembered having an argument with a certain somepony about the delectability of stale discs of bread known as English muffins. Ditzy sighed in reminiscence of the Doctor and his bad taste in comfort foods. “Butter, huh?” pondered the pegasus. Ditzy walked around the area, looking for a refrigerator that would most likely contain the yellow substance that the brown time-pony enjoyed so much. Unable to find one nearby, as she did not wish to venture so far into the seemingly endless room of sterile metal and marble, Ditzy returned to the sea of muffins and to the island of English ones. She picked one up on a hoof, turning it over and examining it, seeing if the distasteful thing looked anymore appealing than it hadn’t before. Alas, she didn’t see what the Doctor did in them. The Doctor… The thought was like a whisper of wind, coming and going, but staying imprinted on the feelings. She wouldn’t break down, no, the time for that had passed. Instead, Ditzy sat, she sat and stared forward, looking at nothing in particular. It was one of the few times her eyes were able to catch up to each other, the other times being when she was scared or worried. She had long since dropped the bakery treat, as she no longer had the energy to do anything but sit and stare, it seemed. It was because of this lack of energy that she failed to hear the hoofsteps approaching from behind. (o)o(o)o(o) Why do we have such a big kitchen? Luna thought to herself, There are not many opportunities that present themselves in which we must present large amounts of food. Gliding through the shadows she now resembled, she attempted to locate the mare that accompanied Celestia to this region of the castle. “Where do the chefs keep the muffins, anyhow?” the shade mumbled to herself. Spotting a form around a corner, Luna moved in to investigate. She saw a dark silhouette of what appeared to be a seated equine against a background of what appeared to be baked goods. Assuming that this was the mare she searched for, the alicorn returned to her solid form. She approached the form quietly as she could, not wanting to disturb the staring contest she may have had with the wall she was staring intensely at. When Luna reached the mare, she stood for a minute or two, waiting to see if the pegasus would break her gaze. This contest of self-control is quite an admirable one… Realising that this stare would not end soon, the alicorn placed a hoof on the grey mare’s shoulder. Where has she gone? Luna thought, confused, and wondered if was only an illusion. Then she heard the sound of wing beats, following the sound, she looked upwards and found the grey mare hovering with wide eyes. This pegasus seems to move quite quickly… “I DIDN’T STEAL ANYTHING!” proclaimed Ditzy Doo, while sticking her hooves up in the air and failing to turn around. “I know you did not steal anything,” Luna laughed light-heartedly, “I saw you enter with Celestia, and I was curious as to what activities you may have been involved in.” The grey mare lowered herself to the ground and folded her wings, trying to hide her blush from the princess of the night. “Raise your head, friend of my sister. Pray tell, what are you called?” “Ditzy Doo, Princess Luna,” she spoke. Luna nodded at her gained knowledge. “It seems my title precedes me,” she replied, barely able to suppress her giggles at her own pun. Ditzy tilted her head in confusion. “Not all are so eager to share my love for the art of manipulating words, it seems.” Luna sighed and walked over to the demolished mound of muffins, smiling at how masticated the pile seemed. “Sorry about all the muffins,” Ditzy apologised, “I got a little bit out of control…” “It is, of course, perfectly alright.” Luna turned back from the muffins and made her way back to Ditzy. One must wonder if she has a type of hidden storage space for such events. “Ditzy Doo, before we continue any further in our conversation, I wish to know why your eyes are filled with such sadness.” “What do you mean?” questioned the grey mare, “I’m perfectly happy!” “Then why do you cry?” When Ditzy brought her hoof to her face, Luna did not need to see it to know that it returned to the grey mare’s gaze damp. In order to keep it around the same word count, and because of personal events, I have decided that this would be a good place to leave you. Also, I must thank my newest pre-reader, kaig3n, for his help in creating this chapter.