Many would think discomfort was a foreign concept to royalty. 'The Regal Sisters ruled all of Equestria, and as such, they would never know want or need'. Typically, many ponies would be correct. Aside from the few, though increasingly frequent, instances where some madpony decided to show their ugly mug, neither Luna or I have ever been with much discomfort. But at the moment, my mind still drunk with the fuzziness of residual sleep, I knew I wanted at least one thing.
“Helping Hoof! Blanket! Pronto!”
I wait for a few minutes, or maybe seconds. It's rather difficult to distinguish the two when you're fifteen hundred years old. Either way, Helping Hoof always responds right away, and she never disappoints. But she didn't respond right away. How disappointing.
“Second Choice! Blanket! Now!” I shout. In all my years, I've never figured out why everypony's name matches their future career. I should really invest some time looking into that. Or ask Twilight to do it. She does love not being disappointing. I raised her to be my 'prized eternal servant' after all. Or Princess of Harmony and Friendship. Same thing really.
I wait a little while longer, knowing Second Choice isn't usually as prepared as Helping. And he's three times her age. Which confuses me even more about why he's my second choice. He's been here longer, and therefore has more experience. I hope Twilight figures out the name thing quickly, it's starting to bother me. And it's only-
I try to force an eye open, my eyelid straining against the 'sleepies' that have formed against the creases of my eye. Even if I was cold, I must have slept very well for this gunk to form.
At last, my eyelids tear the crusty seal apart, and I look around for my little alarm crystal. The odd, little, crystalline like cube had been a gift from Lulu back when we were young. It was a few years prior to the Sombra incident, and we were in The Crystal Empire on vacation. While we were there, Lulu thought it'd be funny to buy me an alarm clock as a gag gift, stating that if I were ever sick, or just too tired, I could hit the 'snooze' button and get up after dawn. Well, she couldn't find a clock. But she did find a merchant who specialized in making novelties from crystals found within the kingdom. And so, the first, and only, alarm crystal was made. I find it rather humorous, nopony realizes that I currently raise the sun two hours later than I used to.
As my eye adjusts to the light in the room I search everything within my line of vision. No crystal. I don't typically shift in my sleep, so my alarm crystal is almost always the first thing within my vision. However, I only see a pale pink wall at the end of the room. And floor. Marble. No bed.
“Helping Hoof! Second Choice! Last Resort! Anypony!” I scream.
I'm truly terrified. I've fought some of the most troublesome beings in existence, and never have I been so scared. I've been captured a few times, but I'm always aware of the situation. Nightmare Moon? Placed in a pocket dimension. I knew exactly what was happening. Queen Chrysalis? Being placed in a cocoon always has a certain feel about it. Plunder Plants? Those did have me startled for a moment, but those vines quickly proved themselves...
Entertaining. There is a reason why they're called 'Plunder Plants' after all.
However, this is a different situation. Not only do I have absolutely no idea as to what's going on, but everything around me seems completely normal. I don't sense any particular evil. And the faded pink wall really doesn't scream 'diabolical'.
I force my second eye open with much less resistance. Or maybe I'm just not as focused on that particular action as I was a moment ago. Looking around, quite frantically I might add, I quickly realize I'm in the observatory. Luna's observatory. Not two paces to my left is the fancy telescope I had commissioned nearly a century ago. I had it made as a 'welcome home' gift for Lulu once she returned from the moon.
Before I could question my predicament, a loud slamming noise came from the door, though it would appear that door was locked and somepony had slammed into it . “Princess! We heard screaming! Open the door! Please!” Shouted the raspy voice of a stallion. I could recognize it as one of the Night Guard, Midnight Shield I believe.
“I- it's quite a- alright!” I stammer. The words feel strange on my tongue, though I can't place my hoof on it. I struggle to my hooves, many of my muscles uncooperative in my efforts to stand. Taking another glance around the room, making myself certain that I'm in Luna's observatory, I have this strange sense that everything is just a head taller than it used to be.
I use my magic to unlock the door, which is quickly pushed open by Midnight and two other Night Guards. Even they are just slightly taller than they used to be. After checking the room for any threats, they turn to me. "Princess Luna, are you okay? We were up the hall when we heard screaming coming from this room. Shouldn't you be finishing up court about now?"
What?
“What?” I repeat aloud.
“Well, uh, I w- was simply a- asking, your highness, if you should, um, uh be finishing up your court. W- we all know how Princess Celestia reacts when she discovers you skipping court.”
What?
As I enter my room, I see myself lying in my bed. “Wake up!”I shout, happy I enchanted my bedroom centuries ago, effectively making it sound proof. Shouting isn't new, nor is screaming, moaning, gasping, whimpering, or even crying. But this is the first time any of those have been in rage!
The me in the bed proceeded to wake up, jump, and fall out of bed all at the same time. “Ow.” She blinked. “Uh, May we ask thou why thee is within our body?” She got to her hooves “Or as our friend Pinkie Pie would say why tis your peanut butter within our chocolate?”
I cock my head to the side, confused. “H- how did you figure it out so fast?” I question. I doubt Lulu would do something as bizarre as this, and waking up only now, I would assumed it would've taken a little longer for her to figure things out.
She sighed and lifted a hoof to touch the sky. “The only way we would be able to see ourselves if not in another’s form would be if this twas a dream.” She lowered her hoof “And, seeing as the sky has not rippled, we know that this is not a dream. We also conclude that thee must be Tia.”
I lift my my- her hoof into the air, and, less then graciously, wave it about in the hopes of spotting the aforementioned ripples of the Dreamscape. Finding none, I turn my head to look at myself. “Well, although I wish I could, I can't really tell you why. In fact, I was hoping you'd have a little more insight into this situation.”
The white pony cocked her head for a moment. “We do not Sister, however tis quite chaotic. Might thee have a calendar within your bedchamber?”
I point to the alarm crystal on my nightstand. Not only was it a clock, but each face of the cube monitored a different number or reading. On the face closest to me was the date. I look at Luna. “You do know that nopony says 'bedchamber' anymore, correct?” I question.
Luna grinned “We still do, therefore somepony does, Tia. Now, tis the date?”
I facehoof. “Always the lazy pony, aren't we Lulu? The date is the first of Neighpril.” I look at my sister as she grins. “What?”
“Neighpril first? Tia, hast thou forgotten holidays so quickly? Is thou meaning to tell us there tis no longer Neighpril Fools Day?”
I facehoof. Again. I already feel a welt on my forehead. Neighpril Fools Day. And there is only one with the power or gall to prank my me and my sister in such a way. I look at Lulu who is giving me a knowing smile.
"Tis not as bad of a prank as it would have been were he still evil let us summon him laugh and he will change us back we are certain!”
I can already feel the migraine coming on. “Yeah, sure. Let's get it over with.”
Luna lifted an eyebrow “Tia thou is the only pony who knows how to summon him.”
I sigh. I focus all my attention onto the only source of chaos magic I could find within fifty miles. After his reformation, Discord was given his own 'court' in the underbelly of the castle. It was primarily to humor him, but it also keeps him from unleashing all of his chaos into the rest of Equestria. We just have to make sure he doesn't conjure up anything too destructive. It tends to keep everypony in the castle on edge of their seat.
As I use my magic, honing in on the mismatched abomination of chaos, I suddenly have loud mariachi music playing inside my head. The more I focus, the louder the music gets. Just as my head starts to throb with each shake from the maracas, I manage to get a hold on the immature demigod. I pull with every ounce of magic I can, and I can tell that he's fighting back. I'm just starting to crack under the pressure when I feel him give.
At the very least, this will be... interesting.
