I promised, Tia! (Colgate Arc)
...Ponyville. Let's see...From Pinkie's instructions after I bribed her with a few dozen cakes...Take a left, go down the street...Pass the golden statue of Rainbow Dash which I have absolutely no memory of it ever being there...Ah! This must be where they're living in.
Celestia was currently in a changed form, which was a much smaller pegasus, and gone was her rainbow mane (having used normal shampoo for once instead of the poison joke shampoo that usually made her hair turn into a rainbow colour), leaving her behind with a pink mane. Her horn was carefully hidden away with magic, and it would take a pony like Twilight Sparkle to figure out it was Celestia, and even then, only if they scanned her with magic. Her disguise hadn't failed yet, and for that, she was glad, as she didn't want anypony knowing that royalty was within the vicinity. I might change back into my true form later, once this is all done, though; I like the royal treatment at bakeries, especially Sugarcube Corner.
Before she decided on entering the home where Colgate and Lyra supposedly lived in, she took a moment to look over the choice of housing they chose to reside in. It's...Interesting taste in terms of house design, I have to say, though that pink flamingo is giving me the creeps. Oh well, you're not here to rate their home design, so let's see if they're inside! Raising her hoof, Celestia knocked on the door a few times. On the fifth knock, the door opened, and her hoof almost hit a blue mare in the face, who was looking at her with confusion, but her greeting was warm, if slightly wary.
"Hi! My name's Colgate, what can I do for you?"
The pony in front of Celestia confirmed all of her suspicions, and she smiled widely, happy that her search was at an end. ...Oh, Faust, it really is her, and if Lyra is who I think it is... Celestia motioned Colgate to come closer; the two ponies closed the small gap between them, and only then did Celestia murmur one word, in a very low tone of voice. "Minuette."
Immediately, Colgate gasped softly, and then whispered at Celestia. "Come inside, living room, sit down, questions, now."
Taking the offer, Celestia walked inside of the home, just before the door was shut and locked. Playing along with Colgate, Celestia walked on over to the living room, where she sat down on a rather comfortable sofa. There was the smell of fish stew and baked potatoes in the air, and it danced around Celestia's nose, causing her to give a deep sigh of appreciation for good cooking.
Colgate didn't seem to notice the smell, as she sat down across from Celestia, and offered her a slight smile, which was returned. "I...I have to say, Celestia...I wasn't expecting you to...Find me and Lyra so quickly."
A voice, not Celestia's, rang out from the kitchen. "Waaaaaait wait wait wait, Celestia's here?"
The mentioned alicorn (now pegasus but really isn't) turned around to see Lyra emerge from the kitchen (with a 'kiss the cook' apron on), looking at the pegasus with a raised eyebrow. With a grin, Celestia winked at her. "Heartstrings."
The mint-green unicorn recoiled as if she was struck, and then grinned at Celestia widely. "Tia! Oh, it's been so long, and unfortunately, it'll be a little bit longer! Sorry, but I don't want lunch to burn!" Just like that, Lyra was back in the kitchen, monitoring the cooking. With a chuckle, Colgate relaxed slightly, and winked at Celestia.
"Just like Heartstrings to do something like that. You know, I was wondering when you would show up for us; I nearly lost hope when the Elements of Harmony were found before you found us!"
Deep inside, Celestia knew that while Colgate's words were meant to be light and playful teasing, she couldn't help but feel bad for abandoning them. "I-I'm sorry, Colgate, I-"
"Shh." Colgate walked over to sit down next to Celestia, and gently nuzzled her in an attempt to comfort her. "Call me Minuette. It's who I am, and what I am. We don't blame you for not trying to find us, as we've seen just how rocky your rule could be when Luna was...Missing. You didn't have time for us, and while it hurts, we know that it was in the best interests of Equestria."
Nodding slowly at Minuette, Celestia remembered just how difficult things were back then. "Yes...It was a very hard time for me. Minuette, I know I should feel bad for asking this, especially since Blueblood more or less explained something that I know that only you could have done, but, you have been protecting Twilight Sparkle and her friends with Heartstings' help, right?"
"Of course, and with the help of some others, as well! I suppose the way Blueblood described the incident had you curious enough to seek us out, but yes, we have been protecting your student and her friends from threats; at least, whenever we can. It's our duty, after all."
"That's all I can ever ask from you." Celestia paused, then gently nuzzled Minuette back, causing the unicorn to blush wildly. "Thank you for guarding them when I myself cannot. Consider your debt paid, and, if you wish, I can release the burden I have placed on you."
Minuette shook her head, which surprised Celestia. "No, Tia; I do not wish for that to happen! In fact, I want to extend my contract with you, and so does Heartstrings!"
Immediately, Heartstrings' voice came from the kitchen, confirming Minuette's words. "That's right, Tia, I also want my contract to exte- OW THAT'S HOT."
Celestia and Minuette winced as they heard glass shatter. "Are you alright, Heartstrings?" Minuette called out, worried about her, "I can come over and help you with whatever you're doing wrong."
"I'm fine! I'm also not doing anything wrong!"
As Celestia put aside Heartstings' trouble in the kitchen beside her, she focused her attention on Minuette's words. Almost every pony I know of that has been put under this contract has eagerly relinquished their duties to the Elements of Harmony, so why are these two the exception? I had a few other guardians in mind, as well... "I...Well, this is new. Why do you not want your duties to be over? I can't imagine it being easy."
"That's the thing. We know it isn't easy." Both Minuette and Celestia looked up to see Heartstrings (minus one apron), and she walked over to the two, sitting down on the other side of Celestia. "Food's done, and it's totally not burnt. Nope. Anyway, we know that we don't have the easiest lifestyle around, but we also know it's not easy for you, Celestia, to have to pick new ponies and teach them how to defend the Elements of Harmony with the tools they have without drawing attention to themselves, though Minuette failed there."
"Hey!" Minuette complained, pouting at Heartstrings. "You try when your talent is turning back the clock, but not ponies minds!"
"You're not subtle, like me," Heartstrings said with a grin, "Celestia must have forgotten something when she made you the pony of time."
Celestia frowned slightly, remembering that she indeed forgot to be very specific when assigning Minuette her powers. "Erm...Yeah...Regardless, your only defense is the fact that it will take time for me to train guards?"
Minuette interrupted her. "No, Celestia, it's not just that; it's the fact that we actually do genuinely enjoy our job, and because of the fact that there are too many of us as it is right now. The more ponies that you assign to the Elements of Harmony, the more chances of failure you get from each pony not doing their job correctly."
"You've mentioned 'others' before; are they other ponies under the same contract as you and Heartstrings?"
Minuette paused, then nodded slowly. "That is correct. They are the ones who are helping us."
Heartstrings spoke up, with a worried look on her face. "Tia, they are still loyal to you, they simply aren't as...'Active' as we are, as they need to keep up appearances with what they have chosen as their occupation. I hope you understand."
...I see. Before asking her next question, Celestia took a moment to admire Minuette and Heartstrings; they were still loyal to her, even though they could have misused their powers and create a harder time for her, but instead, they merely kept to themselves, waiting, all this time, for her. "There...Is something I want to ask you and Lyra about. What happened, a thousand years ago?"
Minuette hesitated in giving an answer, looking over at Heartstings, who nodded once. The nod was all Minuette needed to continue. "I made a promise, Tia! I made a promise, and I've kept it ever since, with Lyra helping me. I'm now ready to fulfill that promise, if you'll listen."
"Of course."