Celestia strode confidently into her sister’s room, the heavy doors closing behind her, and subsequently proceeded to trip in the total darkness of the room. Wings shooting out, she just managed to catch herself before she actually hit the floor. Lighting up her horn to see what she had tripped on, the solar princess blinked in surprise. Staring up at her with a smile forever frozen on its face was Mr. Nibbs. The large plush bunny she had given her sister upon her return surprisingly still looked as new as the day she bought it, save for one slightly mangled ear.
Rolling her eyes at her sister’s penchant for leaving her things lying around, Celestia stepped over the rabbit and, with the faint glow of her horn, carefully made her way around three discarded pillows, a stack of books, and an ancient looking abacus. Coming up to the side of the bed, she studied the large lump for a moment before carefully lifting the side of the blanket at its base, revealing a tangled mess of blue and purple.
A soft smile rose unbidden to her lips as she ran her eyes lovingly along the two ponies most dear to her heart. Her little sister, who usually shied away from intimacy from anyone except Celestia herself, was curled quite contently around her student. Though not significantly larger than the purple pony herself, the blue alicorn used her limbs to the best of her ability, encircling her bedmate with both hooves and wings. In fact, the only part of her student she could currently see besides a portion of her head was a hind hoof, and even that had her sister’s ethereal tail wrapped snuggly around it. Twilight, for her part, seemed perfectly content to be cuddled so thoroughly, a small smile adorning her muzzle in her sleep.
Hesitant to disturb the adorable picture the snuggling ponies made, Celestia nevertheless raised a hoof with the intent of nudging her student awake, her own desire to spend breakfast with the younger alicorn winning out. A slight gleam out of the corner of her eye, however, briefly made her pause. The base of one of her lavender alicorn’s ears was slick, the wetness reflecting the glow of her horn. A white eyebrow slowly rose.
All thoughts of not disturbing her slumbering sister flew out of her mind as her horn shone bright for a moment, her magic engulfing the heavy curtains of one window and throwing them open. Blinking a few times to get used to the new level of brightness in the room as the rising sun merrily lit up the large space, her other brow joined its counterpart.
Scrunching her eyes up as a beam of sunlight hit her eyes, Luna whined in discontent, her ears flattening against her head. Twitching her ethereal mane, one starry tendril shifted to lie across her eyes, blocking the light once more. Settling down with a sleepy grumble, she lay still once more, unconsciously sucking lightly on the tip of one purple ear.
Poor Mr.Nibbs’ currently mangled state was considerably less surprising than it was a moment ago.
Not sure exactly how she felt at the sight before her, Celestia finally settled for snorting lightly in amused exasperation. Following through on her earlier actions, she gently nudged a purple shoulder. Not satisfied with the light grumble she received in response to her attempts, Celestia nudged her more firmly. When that also failed, she began speaking with each subsequent nudge. “Twilight… Wake up, Twilight…”
“Mnnnoo…” Twilight moaned sleepily, slightly slurring her words. “Turn off the sun…” Trailing off into unintelligible murmurs, the littlest alicorn snuggled more firmly into her bedmate, hiding her face in the soft fur.
Pursing her lips in thought, an unrepentant grin slowly formed on her white face. Leaning in closer, she spoke directly into her student’s ear. “Why Twilight, I was expecting this report hours ago. You are, dare I say it, tardy.”
Like a switch was flicked on, Twilight awoke in a panicked frenzy. “I-I-I, I’m so sorry, Princess. I don’t know what come over me.” Attempting to sit up, she only managed to jerk slightly to the side before insistent blue limbs yanked her back.
“Twilight.”
“I-no, a verbal apology isn’t enough; I’ll write you an essay on the merits of being on time as well as a formal apology and-”
“Twilight.”
“I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to. I don’t know how I-I-I, please-don’t-send-me-back-a-grade!”
“Twilight,” Celestia smiled, inordinately amused. “I’m not going to send you back a grade; I can’t send you back a grade. And you’re not late; breakfast has yet to start.”
“You’re going to send me back more than one grade!” Twilight whimpered in horror, eyes wide. “Bu-but I didn’t mean to-wait a minute.” A slight frown slid across her face as the rest of her mentor’s words finally pierced the panicky haze surrounding her mind. “What does breakfast have to do with anything?”
“Breakfast is where we’re going,” Celestia replied. “And since it won’t start without us, neither of us will be late.”
“I… but what about the report?” Twilight asked, confusion beginning to snuff out her earlier panic.
“What report?” Celestia asked, innocently cocking her head slightly to the side in feigned incomprehension.
“The… I… I don’t know.” Twilight stated slowly as she gazed up at her, a bewildered expression on her face. “I was sure that… never mind. Must have been a dream…”
“That must be it.” Celestia agreed lightly before leaning down and giving the adorable pony a soft kiss. Pulling back reluctantly after a few sweet moments, she murmured, “Good morning, my dearest Twilight.”
“Good morning, Tia.” Twilight mumbled back with a suitably dazed smile, only for a sheepish one to take its place as her stomach rumbled despondently. “So… You mentioned something about breakfast…?”
Laughing lightly, Celestia teased, “Why yes; just as soon as you extricate yourself we shall proceed to the dining room.”
“Extricate my…” Confusion laced her voice. Trying to move, she froze, her current position finally registering. Flushing a brilliant red, she began stammering. “I-It’s not what it looks l-like!”
“Oh?” Celestia slowly arched a brow at the statement. “So you aren’t currently cuddling with my sister in her bed?”
“No!” Struggling, Twilight tried to free herself only to be squished tighter to a blue chest. “Or, well, yes, I suppose I am, but-”
“Twilight, It’s fine,” Celestia soothed finally after a few minutes, amused at Twilight’s attempted justifications. “I’m not angry.”
“It is?” Twilight asked, taken aback. “You’re not?”
“No I’m not. How could I be?” The white alicorn gazed down at the purple and blue duo fondly. “I of all ponies am very happy that Luna feels comfortable enough to be that close to you in such a vulnerable state as sleep. When she first returned she would spend days alone in her room, exiting only in my company and even then she stuck closely to my side. This is a sight that warms my heart.”
“O-oh...” Twilight blinked. “I... Okay, then.” She tried to move out of the embrace again, this time less frantically, to no avail. “A little help please?”
Despite her earlier words, Celestia couldn’t help but flash back to the image of her student’s ear in her little sister’s mouth. Conveniently forgetting that Twilight could simply teleport, she instead gave her a different set of instructions on how to get Luna to release her hold. Doing as she was told, Twilight allowed a small amount of magic to tingle up her horn before lightly poking the blue alicorn in the collar. As the purple pony flew past her and onto the floor with a startled yelp, Celestia met her sister’s blearily disgruntled frown and outstretched hoof with a too-bright smile.
“Good morning, little sister,” Celestia greeted cheerfully in a loud voice, grin widening impossibly as her sister’s frown deepened with a displeased grumble.
“Sister.” Luna groaned in annoyance, her voice thick with sleep. Moving her mane, she used it to shade her eyes from the bright light once more. Groggily eyeing the too-cheerful mare, she unconsciously rubbed her neck, ridding herself of the phantom tickles.
“It is a beautiful morning, is it not?” Humming loudly, Celestia used her magic to throw the rest of the curtains open, brightening the room considerably and causing her sister to hide under her blanket in defense. Weaving a small spell, she covertly glued the curtains to the walls on either side of the windows. “Would you like to join us for breakfast?”
“Go away,” Luna moaned miserably, her voice emerging slightly muffled from beneath the blanket. “’Tis too early. Be gone.”
“Is that a no, then?” Celestia asked innocently, eyes flashing mischievously, her wide smile showcasing just a hint of satisfaction.
“Be gone,” Luna whined louder, curling even tighter under the blankets, her hidden ears plastered to her head in an attempt to block out the other alicorn’s loud voice. “And take thine insidious ball of brightness with you.”
“I’ll see you for lunch then,” Celestia chirped before draping a wing across Twilight’s back and leading the bemused pony out of the room, the sounds of Luna struggling futilely with the curtains cutting off abruptly as the door shut behind them.
Stopping suddenly, Twilight rubbed her ear with frown. “Celestia?”
“Hmm?” The white mare hummed quizzically.
Lowering her hoof, she looked at the slight moisture that had rubbed off onto it. Looking up into her mentor’s questioning eyes, she asked, “Why is my ear all wet?” Celestia’s wing reflexively pressed her more firmly into her side, the action at odds with the serene smile gracing her face. Making a noncommittal sound in her throat, the larger pony nudged her confused companion forward.
Why indeed.
-0-0-
Celestia raised her teacup to her muzzle, inhaling the mouthwatering citrusy scent with delight. Grinning, she looked over at her student and indicated the large bowl on the table in front of them. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of ordering for us.” Humming, she picked up her fork and munched happily on a piece of melon.
“I-no, that’s fine.” Twilight answered distractedly as she looked around the table, confused. “Do you see another fork anywhere?”
“Oh!” Celestia exclaimed, feigning surprise at the shortage of utensils. “Here, allow me.” Spearing a large juicy strawberry from the bowl with her own fork, she floated the cream topped fruit in front of the younger alicorn’s lips enticingly.
Blushing slightly, Twilight attempted to grab the fork for herself only for her magic to slide right off. Celestia hid a smile behind her teacup as she watched her flustered companion, holding the fork unwaveringly in her golden grip. After a few more tries, her cheeks progressively getting darker, Twilight finally gave up and began stammering, “Y-you don’t have to…”
“Believe me,” Celestia purred, nudging the purple lips until they opened slightly, taking a small bite out of the proffered fruit. “It’s my pleasure.”
Trying one last time to grab the fork, Twilight sighed in resignation, shyly allowing herself to be fed. There wasn’t much talk around the table, both of them deigning to eat in companionable silence instead. The fourth time a piece of fruit missed her lips and smeared whipped cream at the corner of mouth caused Twilight to glance up questioningly. Freezing with her pink tongue extended as she caught her mentor’s heated gaze, Twilight slowly continued to lick the mess off of her lips with a deep flush settling permanently on her face.
They had barely made a dent in the bowl when the doors to the private dining room opened. Celestia sipped her tea calmly, a tranquil smile on her face as Twilight perked up her ears in excitement and jumped to her hooves. Tackling the figure in a warm hug before she even made it fully into the room, Twilight exclaimed, “Cadence!”
Laughing, Cadence embraced the smaller alicorn warmly before stepping back. Grinning at each other, they launched into their song with a shared giggle. “Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake!”
“And where’s my hug?” A voice spoke from behind the pink princess.
“Shiny!” Pulling away from her old foalsitter, Twilight yelled as she tackled her brother in a hug as well. “I thought you guys had already left for the Crystal Empire!”
“Heya Twily,” Shining Armor grinned as they separated, ruffling his little sister’s fringe playfully.
“Good morning Auntie,” Cadence sang as she walked up to the larger alicorn and gave her a short nuzzle. “Mind if we join you?”
“Good morning, Cadence,” Celestia returned the warm nuzzle before nodding to the two extra pillows. “Not at all, have a seat. There’s more than enough fruit here for all of us.”
“I thought you guys had an appointment in the Crystal Empire tonight?” Twilight questioned again, not noticing as Celestia placed a pair of forks in front of the newcomers.
“It was canceled,” Shining Armor finally explained as he poured first Cadence, and then himself, a cup of tea. “The noble in question came down with the flu and asked to reschedule.”
“Yes, so we decided to spend a few more days here in Canterlot,” Cadence added with a smile as they began eating.
“That’s great!” Twilight exclaimed happily, absently opening her mouth and allowing the fork to deposit a piece of watermelon onto her tongue before continuing. “We’ll have to get together and do something before you leave.”
Nodding, Cadence smiled happily back. “Of course! We’ll make a day of it.”
Shining Armor made a sound of agreement before something caused him to furrow his brows in puzzlement. Looking over at his sister, he noticed that though a forkful of pineapple was hovering in front of her, her horn was oddly devoid of magical light. Studiously staring at the fork in question, he was just able to discern a familiar golden shimmer around it. “Uh, Twily?”
“Hmm?” Twilight blinked at him in question.
“Is your magic okay?” He asked concerned.
“Yeah,” Twilight drew the word out in confusion, slowly chewing her mouthful of fruit and licking the cream off of her lips. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Oh, uh,” Shining Armor shifted awkwardly, quickly glancing at the floating fork, then Celestia’s serene smile, then Twilight’s confused face in quick succession before looking away. Clearing his throat, he busied himself by taking a drink of tea. “No reason.”
Following her brother’s gaze, a feeling she was steadily becoming quite familiar with slowly crept up her neck and blossomed on her cheeks. Reflexively trying to grab the fork once more, she whimpered inaudibly as Celestia held fast to the utensil. More cream was smeared across her lips in retaliation until she gave up the struggle. Shooting her marefriend a look, she was rewarded with a beautifully innocent smile.
“I think it’s sweet,” Cadence chimed in teasingly as she caught the playful struggle. Fluttering her eyelids at her husband, she giggled as he blushed slightly and fumbled with his fork, hastily bringing it to her lips. The sight of both siblings sporting blushes and looking anywhere but each other made her grin and coo at the adorable duo. “So Twilight, did you have fun with Auntie Luna yesterday?”
Twilight tilted her head as her muzzle scrunched up in confusion. “How did you know I spent the day with Luna?”
“We went looking for you yesterday to tell you we’d be sticking around for a while longer,” Shining cut in, finally making eye contact with his sister once more. “Princess Celestia informed us you were off playing with Princess Luna.”
“Oh. Well, yes. I guess I did have fun.” Twilight scratched the back of her neck as she realized her words were true, despite the state her body had been in by the end of the night. “We played some aerial tag, which turned into hide and seek when she found me in the bath.”
“Oh?” Cadence inclined forward, ears perking up in interest. “She found you in the bath?”
“Mhmm,” Twilight nodded. “I was really wet, but Luna wanted to keep playing; luckily she helped me out with that before we continued. I was kind of relieved she allowed me that little reprieve; it would have been hours before I would have been back to normal otherwise.”
Celestia coughed to smother the bark of laughter that attempted to work its way out of her throat at her student’s words, an image of her sister vigorously rubbing the disgruntled lavender pony with a fluffy towel coming unbidden to her mind. Hiding her grin by taking a slow sip of her tea, she watched as Shining Armor started choking on his own cup of tea. Cadence, on the other hand, absently patted him on the back as she leaned even more towards Twilight, a captive audience if she had ever seen one.
“Go on,” Cadence hurriedly encouraged her when Twilight paused, glancing concernedly at her brother. “He’ll be fine.” She waved away the concern with poorly veiled impatience.
Shining gasped, finally clearing his airways. Tuning reluctantly back into the conversation, he ended up in another startled coughing fit as his wife squealed next to him. “So did you two sleep together?”
“Oh yes,” Celestia interjected mischievously. “When I went to collect Twilight for breakfast this morning they made quite the adorable sight; all snuggled up together underneath the blankets.”
Shining Armor tried to discreetly lower his ears; he did not want to hear this conversation, especially because he would never be able to un-hear it. Turning slightly, he leaned closer to his wife and whispered under his breath. “Am I the only pony who finds it even slightly odd that both of your aunts are enamored with your sister-in-law?”
“Yes.” Cadence shushed her husband distractedly as she focused her attention on Twilight. Little hearts practically shone in her eyes as a large grin giddily split her face; she was just barely keeping in a squeal of joy as the small purple pony timidly described her unexpectedly romantic sounding night with the lunar princess.
As Cadence began reassuring Twilight that everything would work out fine after the purple mare had mentioned how she was kicked out of bed this morning, Celestia pulled a rope next to the door to signal the kitchens. Moments later, the door opened silently, admitting two unicorns. One of them picked up the empty fruit bowl while the other deposited their desert in the center of the table. With a slight bow, both ponies retreated.
Clearing her throat, Celestia caught everypony’s attention, smiling in amusement as her companions stared at the large cake in surprise. The three tier cake was slathered in pink icing with different colored rosebuds adorning each tier. What one couldn’t see, however, was the cinnamon waffles baked inside the large desert, and its decadently syrupy center. Glancing at Twilight, she let a satisfied expression slide onto her face as the waffle-cake’s new look did its job; her student didn’t suspect a thing.
“Dig in,” Celestia nodded towards the cake. Shifting into a more comfortable position, she poured herself some more tea. Gazing at her oblivious purple alicorn with a devilish look in her eyes, she smiled impishly as she carefully cut off a piece.
“Oh wow,” Cadence’s eyes widened in surprise as she took a bite. “That is good.”
“Twily, you have got to try this!” Shining Armor mumbled around a mouthful of cake, ignoring the look his wife shot him.
Nodding with a smile, Twilight opened her mouth only to freeze as the scent of the approaching piece of cake hit her. Eyes widening in dawning horror, she attempted to snap her mouth shut but it was too late; Celestia had moved faster. Eyes snapping shut as the flavor burst on her tongue, Twilight couldn’t contain a loud blissful moan. Chewing slowly, she let out a series of sounds normally reserved for the bedroom. Humming in delight as she finally swallowed, she froze once again as she simultaneously realized what she just did and how utterly silent the room was.
Whimpering slightly in embarrassment as she began blushing furiously, she slowly opened her eyes and glanced at her companions to take in their reactions before quickly averting her gaze. Celestia was looking at her with a smoldering look, her extremely self-satisfied smile poorly concealed behind her drooping teacup. Cadence was almost as bad, sporting a wicked grin. Her brother, on the other hoof, was almost as red as she was as he also pointedly avoided her gaze.
The awkward silence continued for a few long beats before Shining Armor finally couldn’t take it anymore. “So, uh, who would have thought,” he blurted out. “My little sister, the mare magnet.” It was only after he finished speaking and heard a strangled whimper from his sister that he realized what he had said. With a look of abject horror on his face, Shining Armor began revisiting his thoughts on the merits of a widespread memory wipe.