The following morning saw the delivery of a special free edition of the Manehatten Times to my front door. Titled: ‘Don’t Be a Spoiler’, it offered advice when it came to dealing with the new princess and advised readers not to give her everything she wanted. The second page held a guest article by somepony named Iron Will titled, ‘No Means No: Standing Up for Yourself’.
Both Vinyl and I were curious about what was happening back at the palace, so once we’d both had breakfast we set off.
A few street cleaning carts were making their way up and down Canterlot’s streets, gathering up confetti from yesterday’s coronation. Other ponies were pulling banners down, and Canterlot was quickly returning to normality.
In the palace courtyard, the statue of Dinky was being loaded onto a heavy cart for removal. It’d probably end up somewhere near Discord in the gardens. We followed the main hallways of the palace, leading to the throne room. The doors opened as we approached and a grey coated pegasus left the throne room with Princess Dinky on her back. Dinky was waving back at her ‘aunty’ standing on the other side of the door.
Once Dinky had gone, Princess Celestia looked toward us. “Ms Scratch, Ms Melody, please come in.”
“So,” Vinyl ventured. “You’re okay now, right?”
“Indeed,” the princess said as she led up toward one of the side doors of the throne room. “Once I ‘snapped out of it’, I returned to normal with little adversity.”
“That’s good to hear,” I said. “What about Dinky, isn’t she still dangerous?”
Celestia nodded. “She is young and still has much to learn until she’ll be able to control herself. So until she does, I’m sending her back to Ponyville with some forewarning. My own student will see to her magical education and I’m confident her mother will have no trouble finding a flight instructor for her.” Celestia smiled. “When she’s ready, I’ll have a role for her. Perhaps as a diplomat, I’m rather curious to see how the griffons would react to her asking them to be nice to each other for a change.”
The princess opened a side door into an antechamber. It was an enclosed room, the door thick and the windows double glazed. This was the sort of secret back room that important deals were done in and secrets exchanged. When the doors shut, the sounds of the palace and birdsong outside dwindled to silence. The room was sound proof, and the windows likely enchanted for privacy too.
Luna sat in a dark coloured recliner probably tailored to her. The table in front of her held a coffee cup and a tea set. She held up a hoof. “Octavia, and Vinyl too, ‘tis good to see the both of you. Come sit.”
I followed Celestia and took the guest sofa across from where Celestia sat on her own recliner beside Luna’s. Vinyl hesitated. “Sorry, Princess Luna,” Vinyl said with a bob of her head. “But I’m not sure if we’ve met…”
Luna smiled from where she lay. “We haven’t, but we have heard of you. No pony who enjoys the night so much should escape our notice.”
“Luna,” Celestia said quietly, “You’re slipping.”
Luna glowered at her sister. “One does not break lifetimes of habit quickly, Celestia.” A smile crept back onto her face. “Admit though, that you do enjoy hearing us speak thusly.”
“We do,” Celestia smiled at Luna before turning her attention to Vinyl. “Vinyl, please sit. You don’t need to be formal with us here.” Celestia nodded toward the other side of my seat.
“Vinyl,” I said. “You’re being more formal than I am. Ponies would be shocked.” Pushed into action, Vinyl jumped over the arm of the seat and lounged across her side of the sofa. I was forced to move over so Vinyl had room to rest her head against the back of the seat, rather than my arm.
Vinyl took a biscuit from the plate by the teapot, bit a chunk out of it and said, “What up?”
I elbowed her in the side. “Now you’re just overcompensating,” I said under my breath.
Celestia and Luna laughed lightly. For a moment I was struck when I saw that Celestia was sitting formally and that Luna was somewhat less so as she drank from her coffee cup. It was a bit of a parallel.
Celestia was the first to speak. “We’d like to take this chance to personally thank the pair of you for what you did yesterday. You both went above and beyond the demands expected of you, doing us and Equestria a great service.”
“So,” Luna said sat herself up. “Custom dictates we reward you with something fitting: land, titles, boons...”
“As a starting point,” Celestia mused. “Octavia, perhaps your quartet would like to be selected to perform at the Gala?”
I sat up a little straighter. “Thank you, Princess but—”
“Sister,” Luna interrupted. “Tis hardly a boon at all, you said yourself that they’d already earned it. Better they receive titles and land. I recall that the scenery in the northeast is quite stunning.”
Celestia frowned. “Luna, I’m afraid all of that land has long since been bought or parcelled out.”
I tried to speak, “While that would be—”
“Position then,” Luna said, “Something chiefly ceremonial like a Timekeeper, or indeed, a Mistress of Ceremonies.”
“An MCship?!” Vinyl rolled forward and put her hooves on the table. “I’ll take it!”
Celestia looked toward me. “What sort of reward do you think is appropriate, Octavia?”
I thought for a moment. “I wouldn’t want to think I’d gotten a position I didn’t deserve, the Gala performance should go to the most talented.”
Celestia nodded slowly toward me. “Well said, my little pony.” I suddenly got the feeling I’d just passed a test. “Indeed, you had earned it, Luna was correct in saying it isn’t much of a reward to give you something you already earned.”
“I think that would be enough,” I said. “More would probably seem too much.”
“I did discuss something with Luna last night.” Celestia turned around and lit her horn, bringing up a document folder from behind her seat and placed it on the table. “You have proven yourself capable and trustworthy, so perhaps this may be in your interests. I need somepony to act as an ambassador for Equestria on a trip. Not too stressful, indeed the sparse itinerary and culture appreciation portions almost make it a holiday.”
I blinked a couple of times, and my jaw loosened. I was being offered an all expense paid trip. “That sounds wonderful.”
Luna grinned at me. “We thought so too.”
“Tavi,” Vinyl leant back and whispered in my ear, “Totally jealous.”
“Of course Vinyl can go too,” Luna added casually.
“Buck yeah!” Vinyl yelled out, and I elbowed her again to silence further crowing.
“Princesses, we’d love to accept,” I said formally. “Where would we be going to?”
Princess Luna leaned forward and brought her hooves together. “Under the Sparkling Sea. To where you’ll meet the mermares and seaponies.”
“No!” Vinyl and I cried together.