Today is the day I go back to the castle and see little Celestia and Luna, and I have a gift for them. The Tumble Orb is really odd, mainly because the advertising actually wasn’t lying. I thought it’d be like everything else I had to carry: heavier than it looks, probably by twenty pounds. As soon as I picked it up, I felt like I was back in military school in the weight room. By pure force habit, I wished it wasn’t so heavy, when *bampf* it was so light I had to check the box to make sure it was still there, and it was! I think the girls will have fun with this, they’ve always been pretty creative.
I walk up to the castle and open the door, and call out for the princesses.
“Hey! Celestia! L- *OOF*”
As soon as I set hoof in the door and make myself known, I am immediately assaulted by a pair of filly-shaped missiles. I am on my back with both of the girls laying on top of me and giggling like crazies. It’s odd, they always seem to miss me when I’m gone for the week, maybe it’s because they’re just excitable.
Celestia and Luna jump off of my barrel, and let me get up. They are still laughing and rolling on the floor, then Celestia notices I have something, a little blue and pink box. She stares at the box, trying to guess what could be inside, studying it with a hard look.
Luna noticed her sister had stopped laughing and was wondering what she was so focused on, when she saw the box too instantly becoming incredibly curious as well. However, unlike her sister, Luna was a bit more rambunctious and less patient. She started jumping up and down around me, a huge smile on her face.
“Whatsinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?
What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?
What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?
What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?
What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?
What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?Whatsinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?
What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?
What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?
What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?What’sinthebox!?”
As cute as the bouncing filly was, she was starting to get a little bit annoying, so I held up the box and opened it, pulling out the Tumble Orb. I set it on the ground and smile.
“Girls, I figured I’d get you something so I bought this for you two to play with, do you know what it is?”
Celestia walked up to it first.
“It’s a... ball?”
“In a way, yes, but in other ways it’s not. Do you know what it’s called?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t. How about you Luna?”
“Nope, I dunno.”
I then tell the curious little fillies about what the Tumble Orb can do and how it works. Needless to say, they are enthralled. Celestia pokes it with her hoof slowly and the Orb hardly moves, disappointing her.
“It won’t work, are you sure it’s not just a ball?”
Before I can reply, Luna jumps towards the Orb excitedly.
“Let me try. Whoah!”
As soon as Luna landed on the Orb, it flew back quickly, hit a tree and headed back at high speed. It was headed right for Celestia, if it hit her at that speed it would... uh oh. I’m already heading into the castle to get the first-aid kit, but something was wrong. It was too quiet, what about the impact? I look back, and I see a shocked Luna, her eyes as big as dinner plates. Following her gaze, I see Celestia curled up, eyes shut tight and hooves covering her head. The Tumble Orb is just barely an inch away from her, frozen in midair. She slowly uncovers herself and opens her eyes, sighing loudly in relief. She sits back, her entire body shivering. I pick her up and take her inside, Luna following behind me, still visibly rattled.
“C-C-Cloudy?”
“What is it, Celestia?”
“Th-That was scary.”
“I know, I was scared too.” I hold her closer.
“I don’t want to play with that thing anymore.”
“I understand, I should have made sure we could use it safely first, it’s all my fault.”
Luna speaks up “It’s kinda my fault too, but at least you were able to stop the Orb, I know I couldn’t...”
“Luna is right, we should be glad that you are unhurt, this could have been much worse, you are okay, right Celestia?”
“Y- Yeah, and I don’t blame anypony, none of you meant to, but I still don’t like that Orb.”
“Yeah, until then though, practicing with it slowly would be a smart move, that way nopony will get hurt for real.”
I really think that could have gone better. No, I KNOW it could have gone better. I’m so stupid, why did I think that they could use the Tumble Orb safely without any actual experience? Learning from our mistakes is important, but I never want to risk hurting either of the girls, or even scaring them like that again.
So I put the Orb in a safe place, and decided that maybe we should just relax, which both of the sisters agreed to without any hesitation, we spent the rest of the day just playing board games and relaxing. I’ve learned my lesson and I vow to be more careful with the girls from now on, and now that I’ve made sure to be aware of possible accidents, our worst experiences are behind us.
But if that’s true, why do I have the feeling things are going to get so much worse? Oh well, that’s why I’m a guard, if anything happens, I’ll be prepared for it. ...Right?