//------------------------------// // 138. Baggage by Misago // Story: The Sun and the Stars: A Twilestia Prompt Collab // by Fuzzyfurvert //------------------------------// by Misago *** It had been cute at first. A bit worriying, but cute. Now Celestia felt her eternal patience begin to slip as she stepped out of her room and came face to face with a whole squad of guards, flanked by their sergeant on one side and Twilight Sparkle on the other. "Good morning, dearest", Twilight greeted her merrily, cantering up to the bigger alicorn to receive a nuzzle and a good-morning-kiss. "Good morning to you too, Twilight", Celestia replied. She would enjoy the normality as long as she could. Immediately, Twilight's expression grew serious as she stepped back. "I am here to escort you to the breakfast table. Sergeant Caernarvon-" she gestured to the heavily armored unicorn mare at the other side of the formation who immediately saluted, " has stationed additional forces on the way to the great hall. The patrols around the palace have been doubled..." With a sigh, Celestia tuned out the rambling of her wife. It had all started so perfectly a few months ago. A bit of morning sickness had driven Twilight to stay by her side nearly the entire day, which, in retrospect, had changed very little. One visit to the medical wing to confirm what they had already known: A healthy alicorn foal was growing in Celestia, the result of a happy and very satisfying wedding night. But as time went on and Celestia's usual grace and elegance suffered from her clearly visible foal bump, Twilight had started to treat her as if she was made of glass. It all came to a head when, one evening Celestia's magic had wavered. Celestia's argument that a fluctuation of zero point zero one percent was quite usual in times of emotional stress had not managed to get past Twilight's worry. She had gotten into her head that Celestia was totally defenseless, and from then one, she took every step to ensure the "safety" of her lover and unborn foal. Admittedly, Celestia was at fault as well. She could have easily demonstrated her still vast magic strength to assuage Twilight's fears, but at the time, the overprotectiveness had been rather flattering. With another sigh, she focussed on her lover's voice again, just in time to catch the tail-end of Twilight's latest expedition into the land of excessive caution. "...and we have screened every guard, servant and visitor for traces of changeling magic twice a day", the young alicorn finished, now with a satisfied smile. Then her horn lit up, and Celestia felt the familiar shiver of Twilight's magic washing over her, weaving a layer around her entire body. "Reinforcement spell is complete. Now, we can go for breakfast." Celestia rolled her eyes as the guards formed a protective circle around her. With all this inconvenience, she took a small bit of satisfaction from the fact that her entourage (except Twilight, oddly enough) had some issues matching her slow pace brought about her current encumbrance, even with Twilight's spell relieving her from some of the burden. It soon became obvious that Twilight's definition of "additional guards" apparently translated to "guards on both sides of the corridor every twenty paces. As the procession slowly made the way to the great hall, Celestia almost felt intimated by the normally stonefaced-when-on-duty mares and stallions watching about, checking everywhere for potential dangers. When they finally reached the large double doors leading to the great hall, Twilight made her way to the head of the procession and raised her hoof. "Sergeant", she began, "take point and secure the great hall. Establish a defensive perimeter around the breakfast table and send somepony to guard the kitchen. As soon as we are done, make preparations for our trip to the library. Oh," she added as an afterthought, "Don't break down the door this time. No need for excessive measures to be taken." The guard mare ducked her head, then saluted and made for the door, two of the other guards carefully following behind her. As soon as they reached the door, however, it was opened from inside by a dark, intimidating figure stepping through it. "Sister! This has gone too far!" The Royal Canterlot Voice identified the newcomer without a doubt. "I have ignored this nonsense for too long now! You are more than capable..." She trailed off when she realized what she was doing. Celestia stepped forward as lightly as her additional weight allowed, ignoring the guards still stunned from her sister's display of vocal volume. Twilight followed right at her side, until Celestia turned to her. "Twilight, please go and, ah, secure the room for me, won't you? Luna can protect me for the moment, and the guards seem to be... incapacitated." "Celestia, are you sure..." the purple alicorn began, hesitation clear in her voice. "Don't worry, I'll be along soon." With another look back, and a hushed greeting, Twilight slipped past Luna into the great hall. Luna followed her with her head. "Twilight Sparkle is a force to be reckoned with while worried", she stated after returning her attention to Celestia. "I know, Luna. Though I hope we did not interrupt your breakfast." Luna looked past her, at the entire hallway lined with guards. "No, you did not interrupt anything. Tell me, why won't the soldiers protest this excessive deployment?" Celestia sighed once again. She trotted closer until she was right next to Luna. "I suppose they are just doing their duty to protect royality." She turned her head and smiled at the guards. Some still looked a bit dazed. "More importantly", she added, lowering her voice to a whisper", they are quite fond of Twilight, so they are going along with it. And the more experienced ones probably treat it like an unscheduled field exercise, since they are the ones who have actually heard some of my war stories." Luna chuckled along with her. "I suppose it is not a bad thing, being loved like that", Luna mused with another look over her shoulder. From the great hall, the shouts of kitchen personnel protesting the anti-changeling spell could be heard. Celestia smiled fondly. "No, it is truly not." Breakfast itself was rather calm. The soldiers left them enough private space, Celestia had managed to calm the kitchen staff, and Luna showed great interest in the reinforcement spell Twilight had developed. ("It is strong enough to absorb the impact force of the entire north wing of the castle falling from the top of Canterlot Mountain!") In the end, Celestia knew that it was too good to be true. "Really? Do we face threats from falling architecture in this day and age?", asked by her sister, seemed innocent enough. "It is a possibility. Plus, with all the dragons, griffons and changelings around, it is better to keep our daughter- your niece- safe!" The accentuation should have raised a warning bell in Celestia's mind. "Truly? I had not considered that." Luna looked around thoughtfully, then signaled a nearby servant. "Call the commandant of the Night Guard." Celestia groaned. Two months remaining.