Sugarcube Corner was bustling today. It was Applebloom’s birthday and Pip had been invited to join in the festivities.
Pip hadn’t been in Ponyvile for more than two weeks, and he had already been invited to one of his classmate’s birthday parties, if only he could talk to them… Pipsqueak didn’t know why but he had the hardest time making new friends.
Feeling a bit out of place, Pip grabbed one of Pinkie’s cupcakes and took a bite, it was like his mouth turned into a miniature party, little explosions of flavor, rich chocolate that surprised him followed by a cool creamy vanilla, which was then followed up by a somehow tart but very pleasant blueberry flavor. Pip was in heaven
Curious, Pinkie pie went over to the table where a single young pinto was sitting, although blissful, very much alone. She then introduced herself to Pip and inquired if he liked her new recipe or not. The answer was obvious, and Pinkie introduced him to as many of her friends as she could, making Pip feel uncomfortable but happy nonetheless.
The party was soon over and Pip started heading home. “Come back anytime Pip, I could use some help with some more new recipes when you don’t have anything to do.” yelled Pinkie.
Pip smiled and bellowed as loud as he could back to her “Anytime!” that was the day Pip met his first friend in Ponyvile, over sweets and parties.
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The Contests were going well; soon the dessert competition would be at hoof. The Princess and the pauper so to speak, were off to try the desserts before the competition; there were a myriad of things to try from supremely crafted pies and cakes, to velvety smooth ice-cream.
“What should we go try now Princess?” the young Pinto asked to his partner for the evening.
“Good question, there are so many choices, ooh! What is that over there?” Motioning to the Stall which was headed from a pony from Saddle Arabia.
There was a polite pony who motioned to his desserts, eager for anyone to taste them, especially one of the judge’s younger sister, and a Princess to boot. What he had didn’t look like anything special; they appeared to be dough balls, simple doughnut hole’s.
Pip and the Princess both picked up one at the same time and took a bite. It wasn’t as overwhelming as any of the cake’s dishes, but it was amazing, the dough ball had been glazed in a rich syrup, and when they bit into it they found the surprise of a fruit inside them, a rich tart flavor, complementing the glaze. With just a hint of bitterness that made the sweet even more enjoyable, at least to Princess Luna.
Pip didn’t appreciate it that much however, the fruit in the middle wasn’t his favorite flavor in the world, he didn't like anything even remotely bitter. The pair thanked the vendor and soon went on their way. Princess Luna simply adored the treat, politely asking for more, the vendor happily gave her a bag of about nine or ten.
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The unlikely pair went off, they tried the most exquisite ice-cream, it seemingly changed flavors in your mouth over and over, a Pie filled with chocolate covered cherries, and countless other dishes.
The two were getting full and decided to take a rest in the park near the festivities but away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd. Inching closer and closer to sunset the sky was a brilliant red, the clouds were long and thin, and looked as if they were pointing to the sunset, it was a beautiful sight. While Pip admired the view of the sunset and the glouriousness of nature around him amid the busy city, Princess Luna slowly faded from consciousness.
“Princess?” the young foal nudged the Princess of the night, not getting a response… “Princess? Please… wake up…PRINCESS!!!” Pip broke down into tears, not knowing what to do.
“Think Pipsqueak… THINK!” he stopped crying as hard, but tears were still rolling down his cheeks. He was confused and worried, the Princess wasn’t moving no matter what he did… and then it came to him. “Princess Celestia!”
He knew that Princess Celestia would know what to do! He tried to pick up Luna but to no avail. Yes she was slender, but she was still almost twice as tall as a normal pony, and she was much too heavy for Pip to carry on his back to Princess Celestia. Pipsqueak frantically looked around, looking for anything, or anypony that he knew he could count on to help.
There was a royal guard over by the stand where a very snooty looking griffon was selling something he called sherbet, Pip called it frozen orange juice. “Mr. GUARD! Mr. GUARD!” Pip called out. It took a few seconds for the guard to hear the foal who’ voice was stifled by his own crying over the sound of the event.
“Yes?” the guard walked over to the small pony, expecting it to be a prank until he saw that the foal was crying beside Princess Luna. “I will go get Celestia, stay here in case she awakes.” And he was off.
Pip had no idea how the guard knew what happened, but he was glad nonetheless, and so he waited by the Princess’ side, worried and protective of his newest friend, refusing to let the smallest caterpillar even get within a yard of the sleeping damsel…
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It wasn’t long before Princess Celestia swooped down from the darkening sky. Pip was standing guard, trying to act as tough and imposing as he could, which amounted to little more than a kitten arching its back.
“Oh my, I thought this would happen, could someone bring the carriage over?” Princess Celestia motioned for the guard to carry out her newest order, and sighed lovingly at her sister.
“What happened? Is she going to be alright?” Pip asked, scared out of his wits over Luna’s state.
“Don’t you worry little one, she just fell asleep, albeit deeply, she will be fine when she wakes up, either in the morning or afternoon.” Replied the Princess.
“What happened?” asked Pip, clearly confused.
“Being awake through the whole day, after working as hard as she did last night with the stars, she must have been using her magic to keep herself from showing any signs of being tired… but magic can only go so far, especially when she had used so much of it last night. She simply succumbed to sleep is all, and she is an incredibly heavy sleeper.”
Realization crept over Pip “This… this was all my fault… it is my fault she didn’t sleep today… it is my fault she had to use what little energy she had left to use magic to fool me into thinking she was alright. I forced her to come…"
And once again the pony fell into tears, this time not for worry over his companion, but in penance for what he has done to her.
Princess Celestia used her magic to gently lift Princess Luna into the carriage just as it arrived and then draped her wing over the foals back, trying to comfort him. “Don’t cry, I know how stubborn my sister is, if she hadn’t truly wanted to come, she would have just locked the door and slept as she has done with me many a-time. Besides, I was watching off and on, and I hadn’t seen my sister smile like she did in your company in over a thousand years.”
“Really?” a small smile appeared on the foals face but quickly faded. “I still am responsible, princess, how do I… how can I make up for this? My parents always taught me that if I do something bad to somepony I have to make it right.”
“If you really want to try to make it right, then stay be her side while she sleeps, watch over her, she stayed awake for your sake, so I believe it is only fitting you do the same for her.” Celestia knew that her sister didn’t need guarding, but the determination in the young foals face told her that anything less than what she just said would have not been enough to satisfy him.
“Yes Ma’am!” Came the reply from the young colt, seeming a little older than what he truly was, with his half correct salute failing and hitting himself in the head. He hopped in the side of the carriage and sat beside Princess Luna, sitting as politely as he could.
“I will be back at the castle once the prizes are given out, take good care of my sister, alright?” smiled Princess Celestia as she walked off and the carriage started moving.
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It didn’t take long for the carriage to make it back to the castle; two guards carried the princess to her room while Pip followed close behind, jumping left and right, searching for any kinds of trouble. Of course there wasn’t any, but Pip wasn’t taking any chances.
After they made it to The Princess’ room the guards gently laid her atop her bed and left, Pip grabbed a chair and sat beside the princess’… well, after checking the entirety of the room over thrice for some kind of malicious traps.
If the princess woke up right after Pip sat down, she would have been slightly disturbed, for the phrase ‘watch over Princess Luna’ came literally to the young colt. After two hours of waiting, the princess showed no sign of waking, this made the young colt a little worried.
Soon, Celestia stepped into Luna’s room. Pip didn’t look away from his charge, his mind transfixed, and Celestia upon seeing this, couldn’t help but giggle. “When I said watch over her, I didn’t mean it quite this literally.”
Celestia nudged pip with her nose. “Everything alright in here?” smiled the princess of the sun.
“Yes Ma’am” replied pip, not moving his gaze, but clearly starting to feel tired.
“No matter what I say, you’re going to stand guard while she sleeps aren’t you? You really don’t have to.”
“Yes I do Princess, it is my duty.” Replied the hell-bent colt.
“Fine, then drink this.” replied Celestia, clearly exacerbated. She hands a small vial of purple liquid to Pipsqueak which he takes his eyes off of Luna to examine.
“What is it?”
“It is a potion that has pretty much the same effect as the spell that my dear sister used to keep herself awake, but instead of magic it requires willpower. Drink it, and you should be able to stay awake until she awakens.”
Pips eyes lit up, eyeing the bottle and immediately downing it. “Thank you princess, I will repay you if I get the chance.”
“Think nothing of it Pipsqueak, now I shall go keep the moon on its rightful track until Luna awakens.”
Celestia left the room, leaving Pip to his sworn duty. To pass the time Pip thinks about Luna’s sheer beauty, and the praise he expects to receive when she learns about how he valiantly protected her while she slept.
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-Half an hour earlier at the festival-
Princess Celestia approaches the closing stand of a pony selling drinks. “Sir, might I have a bottle of your finest grape juice?”
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The sun rose, and still Princess Luna slumbered, a low gurgling noise came from the bedchamber.
A guard walks in the room, Pip shift his gaze over to see what the guard is carrying, breakfast pastries and a bowl of warm, cinnamon smelling oatmeal. “By order of Princess Celestia I am not allowed to leave this room until you have eaten.” The guard placed what appeared looked to be a feast to the famished colt on the nightstand before standing guard.
Pip sighed and began to eat, he had been ignoring his stomachs complaints up until now, and he was truly famished. The oatmeal was warm and helped invigorate him after a long sleepless night, the orange juice was cool and refreshing, and the breakfast pastry’s just tasted magnificent when Pip had the genius idea to dunk them in the oatmeal.
Once Pip was done the guard picked up the empty plate and left the room, mumbling to himself, “oh the joys of youth.”
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It was almost 3 O’clock in the afternoon when Princess Luna finally awoke. Pip still by her side, he leaned in close when he saw the princess begin to stir.
He leaned in even closer when she turned around, almost falling out of his chair. And then Luna opened her eyes, There was a large brown and white monster in front of her face and she jumped backwards! Startling Pipsqueak who literally was on the edge of his seat, he fell off and hit his head on the chair as he hit the ground between the bed and his seat.
“Ouch!” was all he managed, as he dizzily recovered on the floor.
“Oh my Pip, you startled me!” said a very shocked Luna before noticing that her little monster of the morning was lying on the ground rubbing his head, “are you okay, you aren’t hurt are you?”
Luna rushed to Pip, picking him up and laying him on her own bed, “Oh my, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“I’m fine Princess, just bumped my head,” Replied Pip. Then looking over to the princess he noticed something off, the Princess was crying…
“I am so glad!” came Luna, pulling him close and cradling him in a hug, pressing him against her warm bosom. Luna couldn’t stop the tears, “I was afraid I hurt you.”
“I’m fine, now why are you huggin’ me to death?” asked Pip who was now experiencing what Fluttershy must have felt like when he saw her being hugged by Luna.
“I don’t want to hurt anypony… I did such horrible things as Nightmare Moon… and I had such a wonderful dream about you….” Luna trailed off, clearly without thinking she had let slip what she should have kept a secret from her new friend.
“Don’t worry, I’m a tough one,” smiled Pip pushing his chest out trying to act manly.
“I’m glad, now I guess I better be off to see my sister, I’m sure she has been worried sick, do you wish to come along?”
“Nah, I’m beat.” And with that, Pip finally succumbs to sleep on Luna’s plush bedspread.
Princess Luna made sure that Pipsqueak was asleep and laid her favorite blanket over his back, softly sighing and mumbling to herself, "I wonder what this feeling is... is it the true feeling of friendship that my sister has been bothering me so much to learn... its so odd, my chest feels so warm…”