Chapter 4 – That’s It, I’m Done
The party in town continued going strong for a few more hours before it eventually started to wind down. Ponies and even a few zebras, griffons, and smaller dragons that had shown up, finally started to head home. It was about 7pm and the shift change for the princesses would be happening before long. Twilight Sparkle and her friends were helping to clean up after the party. Eventually Applejack asked, “Where’s Rainbow at? I haven’t seen her around here for a few hours at least.”
Twilight paused what she was doing and began scanning the skies but failed to find any trace of their rainbow maned friend. “I’m not sure. Pinkie!” Twilight called out, “Have you seen Rainbow Dash around lately?”
The party pony just bounced over with a grin and stated, “Last time I seen her, she was going to see Princess Luna for some reason or another.”
Confused by that, Twilight made her way over to Celestia, who was still standing around speaking with some guests. “Princess, have you seen Rainbow Dash around anywhere?” Twilight asked after she approached Celestia.
“I don’t believe I have recently, no. Do you need help finding her?” Celestia answered.
“Oh, no need to do that Princess. I was just asking.” Twilight said, then pondered as to why Dash would need to visit Princess Luna.
“Alright Twilight. Just ask me if you need any help locating her.” Celestia said with a smile, before turning back to the ponies she was talking with.
Gathering up Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, they went to the castle to find Dash. The guards were starting to get back into their positions but were still very unorganized and many of them were simply trying to stay awake after drinking too much at the party. The trio made their way toward Princess Luna’s room to ask her about Rainbow Dash’s location. Not realizing that the princess was still asleep, Twilight just barged in to ask.
The sound of the door being opened followed by Twilight Sparkle talking, startled her and caused her to roll out of bed and onto the floor. After a moment of untangling herself from the blankets she poked her head out and glared at who interrupted her sleep this time. Relaxing a bit at the concerned expression on Twilight’s face, she said, “Twilight Sparkle. Why have you woken me up? Is there an emergency?”
Twilight shuffled in place awkwardly before replying, “Sorry for waking you Princess, but Pinkie Pie said that you might know where Rainbow Dash is.”
Luna’s eyes widened a bit and she looked at an area behind Twilight. Pinkie Pie was standing there with a mischievous grin on her face and mouthed ‘don’t do it again’. Luna suppressed an involuntary shudder before turning her attention back to Twilight.
“I do. She showed up here a while ago quite intoxicated and began trying to do aerial maneuvers in my room before crashing into a dresser and passing out. I brought her to the guest room down the hall to sleep it off.” Luna said.
Fluttershy, who had been quiet and standing back in the hall, spoke up, “I think I can hear her snoring coming from down this way.” She said before slowly making her way to the guest room door.
Twilight gave her thanks and turned to walk toward the guest room. Luna managed to crawl back into bed before glancing toward her door again. Pinkie was standing there with a serious look on her face then did the ‘I’m watching you’ expression before going back to all smiles and bouncing away down the hall. Luna just shook her head and used her magic to close the door again so she could get some more sleep.
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A short time later, Luna’s alarm went off to signal that it was her time to watch the night. Groaning, she slowly forced herself out of bed and into her bathroom to straighten out her mane and tail. Finishing her evening preparations she put on her crown, shoes, and regalia before making her way down to breakfast/dinner.
She got through the meal fairly quickly with only some slight conversation between herself and Celestia about the day. The sisters then said their goodnights before Celestia made her way to her room and Luna went out to patrol the night. Thankfully Celestia had taken control of all matters of the court, so Luna was free to enjoy her nights rather than stay cooped up in the throne room. Still quite tired, Luna made her way outside to start her patrols.
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The patrols were very uneventful with only a curious manticore that had to be ordered back into the forest. She had several close calls while on patrol with nearly colliding into building when she ended up sleep flying. Thankfully she didn’t have any crashes when she did pass out mid-flight. Eventually, it was time for the sun to rise and thankfully time for her to get some much needed sleep.
Lowering her moon on her way back to the castle, she stopped in the dining hall to get some dinner before heading off to bed. Celestia was already up and waiting for her by the time she arrived. Making her way to the table, she sat down near Celestia and asked the cooks for something simple. Before turning to greet Celestia.
“Good morning sister.” Luna said with a smile, still fighting to remain awake.
“Good morning Luna. I trust everything went well during the night?” Celestia asked.
“Everything remained peaceful throughout the night. There were no problems to report.” Luna answered.
Luna’s meal was finally brought out along with Celestia’s and the sisters sat in silence to eat. The meal was simple as she requested and was quite filling. During the meal, Celestia got a letter delivered to her and started reading it. After getting her empty plate taken away, Luna was getting ready to go to her room and get to bed when Celestia halted her.
“Luna. It seems that I am going to need your help with a few tasks today.” Celestia said, “It seems that the donkeys have heard about our recent trading agreements with the dragons and zebras and they want a part of the trade as well. Their ruler has requested that both Equestrian rulers attend a meeting they are having today to start discussion on opening trade between our countries.”
Luna just groaned before asking, “Do I really have to go? I am very tired sister and would really like to get some sleep.”
Celestia sighed and said, “Yes Luna, you have to go. It is part of their request for the agreement. I am also having Twilight accompany us to lend her knowledge to the proceedings as well. She has the know how to help us come to an agreement but can’t interact directly due to her status as not being a ruler of Equestria, despite her recent princess coronation.”
Laying her head on the table, Luna asked, “How long will this take? I suppose I can force myself to stay awake for another hour or two if I must.”
Celestia just chuckled awkwardly before responding, “It will take about 3 hours for the dealings, roughly 2 for the trip there, and another 4 to finalize the paperwork after coming to an agreement.”
Luna shot up out of her chair and began to make an argument before a thought crossed her mind. “Do you still have that old rulebook on our rights and privileges as princesses?” she asked with a smirk.
Celestia just blinked at the random question but responded, “Yes. I do still have it and the updated one from a few centuries ago. Why?”
Luna smiled, “Can you let me look at it for a moment?”
Celestia just shrugged and didn’t see any harm in it, so replied, “I suppose so.”
A small flash of light later and the book appeared floating near Celestia. Luna took it into her own magic and scanned through the contents before stopping on a specific page. Luna’s smile broke out into a full blow grin by the time she was done reading. She closed the book and passed it back to Celestia.
“Is Twilight currently in the castle?” Luna asked.
“She should be. Did you wish to speak with her about something?” Celestia said after a bit of though.
“Yes please. This is something of a pressing matter for me.” Luna said, still grinning.
Celestia was confused by Luna’s behavior but complied. She sent a small note off to Twilight asking her to come to the dining hall. A short time later, Twilight came stumbling in and gave a quick bow. She looked over to see Luna standing there with a massive grin on her face. Turning to Celestia she silently gave a look that asked ‘what’s up with her?’
Celestia shrugged and turned to Luna, “So. What did you need to see Twilight for?”
Still smiling, Luna walked over to stand next to Twilight before responding, “Do you remember chapter 347 of the Princess Rulebook?”
Celestia tilted her head to the side and pondered on it for a while. 347…. 347…. That was the one that dealt with taking a vacation and appointing somepony to stand in as princess. Celestia’s eyes widened when she realized what Luna was about to do. Before she could protest Luna was already turning to Twilight to speak.
“Twilight. By my power as the Lunar Princess of Equestria, I hereby grant you the position of Temporary Lunar Princess. I have decided to take a vacation and you are the perfect pony to be my substitute. Do you accept the position?” Luna asked.
Twilight was just standing there wide eyed and Celestia was still at the table with her face in her hoof. “I-I suppose I could accept if it is not for too long.” Twilight responded uncertainly.
“Glorious!” Luna exclaimed. “You shall begin immediately. I shouldn’t be gone for more than a few months. Thank you for accepting this Twilight!” Luna reached down and gave Twilight a hug.
Twilight was just stunned speechless. Celestia was lightly slamming her head into the table. And Luna was practically bouncing with joy. Eventually Luna rushed off to her room to pack a few things before rushing back to the dining hall.
Luna came back in with a suitcase levitating beside her and said, “Thank you again Twilight! And don’t worry… Celestia will help you with the moon if you don’t manage to get it at first. Well! I’m off!” Before anypony could protest, she teleported out of the room to a secluded cabin on the northern side of Equestria.
After a long silence, Twilight asked, “What just happened?”