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// I don't think this was part of your plan, Tia! 
// Story: Little loony Luna and crazy caffeinated Celestia's life in Canterlot 
// by Vidhwansak 
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I don't think this was part of your plan, Tia!




Chrysalis was in the process of feeding Quackum some bread. While it was rather random that one of Luna's ducks had decided to take a special interest in her, there wasn't much she could do now; the duck practically made her head her home. It wasn't all bad, though; at least she couldn't complain about needing a hat now, since Quackum's feathers were very good at keeping heat in. Luna didn't mind one of her ducks going rogue, either, so that was good.

"Here you go, Quackum! Some nice, warm bread from the kitchens!" She scattered some fresh bread around, and watched as Quackum waddled around, gobbling up the bread. "That's a good duck." Quackum quacked in agreement, and Chrysalis wondered if ducks had more intelligence than they showed. 

It was then that there was a knocking at her door, followed by one of her changelings calling out. "Princess Chrysalis, you have a message from Princess Celestia! She wants to you to join her in the private dining room for a little snack, two hours from now! She...Uh, specifically said to bring Quackum along! Will you attend?"

Huh. Snack time with Celestia, with Quackum? Perfect timing for me, I haven't eaten anything in awhile. "Sure! Give my regards to Celestia, and tell her I shall join her two hours from now!" As the message was being sent, she turned around to pat Quackum on the head gently. "Looks like we'll be getting more food in two hours! Does that sound good, Quackum?"

Quackum quacked, and Chrysalis took that as a 'yes'.





Two hours later, Chrysalis (with Quackum upon her head) arrived in the dining room, only to enter with a rather ridiculous scene in front of them. Philomena had Celestia's crown clutched in her talons, and she was flying around the table, playing keep-away with an exasperated looking Celestia. 

"Philomena, please, give me my crown back before Chrysalis and Quackum show up!" Celestia launched herself at Philomena, in a desperate attempt to grab the crown.

It was then that Philomena threw the crown at Chrysalis, just before she was tackled to the ground by Celestia. Sensing immediate danger to her life, Quackum quacked loudly as she flew off of Chrysalis' head, and just in time, as the crown neatly landed on Chrysalis' head, which, given the circumstances, Chrysalis found to be unbelieveable. Silence reigned throughout the area as Celestia realized that she and Philomena were not alone, and Chrysalis didn't want to say anything that would make the situation any more awkward than it already was. 

Fortunately, they were both saved from waiting for the other to talk first by Philomena and Quackum, the latter of whom quacked loudly to get their attention. Both princesses looked over at their respective birds to see them playing a game of charades, and then what they assumed to be laughter. Smiling at both the sight and the fact that the awkward situation was defused, she walked on over to Celestia, and removed the crown from her head. "This thing is heavy, Tia...How can you wear it?" 

Celestia took the crown from Chrysalis, and set it snugly on her head. "I don't really think about it, Chrysalis, and I've been wearing it for so long that the weight doesn't really bother me. Now, then, I called you down here because I want snack-time with a friend, but also to have our little pets mingle with each other. Luna should also be down here, though she may be a bit late." She offered Chrysalis some cheese and crackers, which Chrysalis took gleefully, having not eaten much today.

"Yes, cheese and crackers! So this get-together was also to have our pets introduced to each other?" I never thought of Quackum as a pet; more like a hat that quacks, really.

Celestia nodded, watching as the two began circling each other. Probably a part of their game. "Indeed, I figured it would be nice to have the two of them get to know each other, and it seems like it's going we-"

Quackum suddenly launched herself at Philomena, quacking what both alicorns later thought of as a warcry, while Philomena quickly backed up from the rampaging duck, and flew around, trying to avoid the duck while finding a vulnerable spot to attack. Both Celestia and Chrysalis exchanged a quick glance at each other before grabbing their respective pets up, and gently scolding them.

"Philomena! I expected you to be polite when introduced to another bird!"

"Quackum, you shouldn't fight other birds, especially ones that could make a roast duck out of you!"

Their words fell on deaf ears, as Philomena suddenly and willingly became too hot for Celestia to handle (which was quite hot), and launched herself at Quackum again. At the same time, Quackum bit on Chrysalis' hoof, causing her to drop her duck in pain, and Quackum began quacking defiantly at Philomena. As both alicorns nursed their injuries, they soon realized that things were quickly getting out of hoof.

"I don't think this was part of your plan, Tia!"

"Nevermind that, Chrys, we need some help!"

"Agreed, Lulu will know what to do!"

It was then that Luna entered the dining room, and she took everything she saw as yet another prank ready to be played upon her. She quickly backed out of the room while yelling at the top of her lungs. "OH NO, I AM CERTAINLY NOT FALLING FOR THIS!"

Celestia groaned as Philomena set fire to the table, forcing Quackum off of it with singed feathers, and tried to reason with her sister. "Lulu, wait, this isn't a prank!"

Snorting, Luna still kept her distance away from the dining room, which was beginning to fill up with smoke that was drifting off into the hallway. "Likely story, Tia! Why is the dining room trashed and the birds fighting?! This is nothing more than elaborate prank upon me!" 

Chrysalis was hit by a wave of coughing due to the smoke from the table, and she wheezed before waving her hooves at Luna. "No it's not, Philomena and Quackum are just getting out of hoof, and are going to burn the castle down if we don't do something!"

Luna narrowed her eyes at her sister, then looked over at Chrysalis, who was now trying to calm the birds down. "There is no prank set for me?"

Nodding, Celestia offered her a slight smile. "None, Lulu!" 

Although still wary of her sister and Chrysalis' intentions, there was no doubting that the dining room needed to be saved. I need a vacation from all this madness. Luna cleared her throat, and levitated over her cellphone, dialing the emergency code for rescue ponies, nine-one-one. "Alright. Okay, now, let's stop those birds from destroying the private dining room, starting with the fire!"