"Spike? Spi-ike! Spike, I'm leaving!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" The little dragon hurried down the stairs. "Can't you bring me too?"
"Oh, Spike, you can go on vacation whenever you want! You're an assistant!"
"Cool! I'll go now!"
"But when I'm gone, you have to stay and take care of the library and Owliscious. And Peewee. What if somepony wants to sign out a book and there's nopony here?"
"Nopony ever signs out books! The only pony we've ever seen reading books was Rainbow Dash, and she was in the hospital!"
"What about newspapers?"
Spike glared at her. "We don't have newspapers in the library."
"Oh, look at my wrist, I have to go!"
"What? You don't have a watch!"
"Bye!" SLAM!
"But... the internet's down..." Spike whispered.
-----
"Is everypony here?"
"Yes, darling, you're the last one. Well, Pinkie went to go get a cupcake from the bakery, but she left her saddlebags."
"Why can I smell something burning?" Rainbow asked, sniffing the air. "And why is Pinkie's bag... smoking?!"
"It's gonna blow!" Applejack shouted, grabbing Rarity and Twilight and shoving them behind Celestia's statue. Rainbow followed, pushing Fluttershy ahead.
There was a muffled boom as dirt, small rocks and shreds of pink fabric came flying past. There were a couple of shocked screams, but nopony seemed to be hurt.
"Oh, did the cake candles hit the party cannon?" Pinkie asked. "I knew I packed something wrong."
"Pinkie! Somepony could have gotten hurt!" Twilight cantered out from around the statue, glaring at the pink pony across the blackened crater.
"Oh, of course not. Oh, here comes the confetti now!" A small curtain of sparkles started drifting from the sky, blanketing the ground around them. "Wow, twenty seconds of air time. That's a new record!"
"Pinkie!"
"What? I think that's pretty impressive!"
"Is Twilight Sparkle in the area?"
Twilight looked up. A trio of chariots circled overhead, six pegasus guards hitched onto the front and one dropping towards the ground. "Uh, yeah! I'm right here!"
Ponies started to stare as the flying pegasus came to a halt and saluted the unicorn. "Miss Twilight Sparkle, is there a safer place to land?"
"Uh..." She looked down at the charred dirt. "You could land here. I think the explosions are done."
"Yep!" Pinkie agreed. "The rest of the confetti is stored away from the candles!"
"You heard her, come on!" The pegasus drifted down, the drivers following cautiously behind. "Miss Twilight and company, we have arrived to take you to Canterlot."
"We can tell." Rainbow snapped from the back. "I thought the Princesses didn't want to attract attention."
The captain glared at her before pointing a hoof towards the chariots. "If each of you could take a partner over to a chariot, we can be off."
"Come on, Fluttershy!" Pinkie yelled. "We have to find the lucky one!"
"The... lucky one?"
"Of course! The one that won't crash!"
"What?!" The other chorused.
"Whoopsie." Pinkie giggled. "That's a secret. Onward, my yellow friend!" She yelled, bouncing away.
"Um... okay." Fluttershy whispered, following.
"Hey, our voices sound the same! How cool is that?!"
"Uh, I guess I'll go with Rarity-" Twilight started.
"No way, Twi!" Applejack butted in. "Rainbow and me are gonna race!"
"I would prefer being with Twilight, darliiIIIIINGS!" Rarity's voice rose to a screech as Rainbow lifted her by the belly and darted over to a chariot.
"Please don't tip it over." Twilight muttered to herself as Applejack started pushing her as well.
-----
"SLOW DOWN!" Rarity screamed.
"No, no! Keep going!"
"Ma'ams, I don't think this is a good idea!" One of the guards shouted. "We're going in way too fast!"
Rainbow Dash laughed. "Better tell some ponies to clear the way!"
"Twilight! Make her stop!"
"I can't, Rarity! Applejack won't slow down either!"
Pinkie Pie leaned over the edge of her chariot. "I told you!"
CRUNCH
The guards slowly stepped up from the combined remnants of a small tree and a couple of carriages. Applejack and Rainbow popped up from the wreckage, followed by the two rather petrified unicorns.
"Am I dead, darling?"
"Nope." Twilight repsonded. "Sadly."
"See?" Pinkie hopped down as her chariot came to a graceful, gentle halt. "I told you we got the lucky one!"
"Yay...?" Fluttershy whispered, thanking the draftponies on her way over. "Are you girls alright?"
"Which one of us touched down first?" Applejack demanded. "I know it was us!"
"No way, we definitely won!"
"You know, keep fighting like that and ponies will start to think you're married." Both ponies suddenly shut up and turned to face Twilight, slowly stepping away from each other.
"Twilight Sparkle! We have been waiting ages to see you again!"
The unicorn tipped forwards as a much heavier pony suddenly hugged her from behind. "Lunapleasegeddoff."
"Oh! We are sorry, we did not see you had a rough landing." The navy alicorn stepped back, grinning. "Who won?"
"Definitely me!" Rainbow shouted, cantering over. "I landed ten seconds before Applejack!"
"No way, partner! You weren't pulling that there chariot, so we landed at the same time!"
"Tying means defeat!"
"It does not!"
"Does too!"
"Does not!"
Luna turned towards Twilight, looking slightly concerned. "Are they normally like this?"
"Yes." Twilight moaned.
"Almost always." Rarity added.
"Hm." Luna hummed, trotting backwards to look past the bickering ponies and chariot rubble. "Pinkie Pie? Fluttershy?"
"Oh... um, hello... Princess Luna." Fluttershy stammered, fluttering over Applejack and Rainbow Dash and landing in a bow.
"Hiya Loony!" Pinkie shouted, jumping up from behind Twilight. The unicorn screamed and jumped forward, crashing into Luna's side. The Lunar Princess opened her wings in shock, nearly taking out Rarity from behind.
"Oh, Luna, I'm so sorry!" Twilight hurried, scrambling onto her hooves.
"N-no problem, Twilight Sparkle. You simply startled us, is all." She folded her wings again, ruffling the feathers into place. "We are sorry for nearly hitting you as well, Rarity."
"Aha... no problem, Princess Luna."
"Does not!"
"Girls!" Twilight yelled abruptly, turning around to face them. "Be quiet!"
The Earth Pony and Pegasus sat down immediately, facing Twilight with the biggest set of puppy eyes Twilight had ever seen. Fluttershy let out a small aww.
"I mean it, you two. Now come on, get over here." The unicorn turned back to Luna. "I assume Celestia is waiting for us at the castle?"
"You would be assuming correctly under normal circumstances, but sadly, our sister does not get out much, and wanted to make this a showy presentation."
"Showy?" Twilight choked.
Luna nodded. "She has managed to aquire an old Cloudsdale weather blimp. She'll be on her way any second now."
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMM
"Oh." Luna muttered, tapping an ear with her hoof. "Here she comes now."
A massive shadow cast over the area, the instant darkness sending citizens into hiding. A strong gale followed quickly behind the shadow, two powerful drafts that instantly grounded the hovering Dash.
"OhmygoodnessOHMYGOODNESS!" Fluttershy squealed.
It had to be at least three miles long, and one thick. It was oblong, with two wings on either side shaped in the image of Celestia's own. A massive propeller sat in the middle of the front two, while the smaller two seemed to be moving individual feathers.
Twilight's jaw dropped as she saw her mentor, a tiny white speck in the front window, waving down with a massive grin on her face.
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMM
The propellers slowed as the massive aircraft dropped lower, back wings skimming the rooftops as they fanned out. A stray weathervane crashed to the ground as a small door on the side of the blimp. A ramp began to spiral down from the doorway, connecting to the ground in seconds and anchoring the blimp. Twilight gaped at the impossible structure as her friends began to trot past her, Luna shepherding them towards the ramp.
"Come on Twilight!" Rainbow called back, hovering above the platform. "You're gonna get left behind!"
"B-b-b-but..." The unicorn started forwards, but didn't take her eyes from the spiralled structure. "But... that shouldn't wooooork!"
"Get on the plane, darling, you can fret later!" Rarity called, already a few rings up. There was a small flash as Twilight teleported up to her friends.
"How fast are we going?" Twilight wondered aloud as she trotted up the ramp.
"You know our sister best, Twilight Sparkle." Luna sighed. "Would you not put it past her to enchant something to mess with a pony's head?"
Twilight looked at the Princess before sighing. "How many times has she done this?"
Luna pursed her lips in thought. "She turned the Royal Banquet Hall into a Hall of Mirrors once. Terrified the Sprite representative there at the time. Sprites are terrified of reflections, you know. Afraid that eye contact with your mirror could steal your soul and take your place. We're not supposed to talk down about other species, but... oh, never mind. Anyway, our sister has caused more chaos than Discord could have wished for."
"More than Discord?" Twilight muttered.
"Hey, Princess, didn't Discord say something about missing Celestia before? When he was dancing on Twilight's head?" Pinkie bounced ahead, trotting backwards.
Luna blushed. "We find it a good time to remind you that we were not present during that time."
"Where were you?" Rainbow asked.
"Ahaha... our sister thought it in our best interests if we had no interactions with such a dangerous being."
Pinkie stared at Luna, her serious look somehow intensified by her backwards bounce. "You're avoiding the question about Celly and Dissy."
Luna blushed deeper, the dark red spreading to her ears. "Ohlookthere'sthedoor."
The young Princess galloped past Pinkie - almost throwing her over the edge, if not for Twilight's magic - and vanished inside, yelling a quick 'hello' up to her sister before running into a nearby room and slamming the door. The small group watched the moon-shaped nametag bounce off the wood a few times before trotting towards the front of the cabin.
A scruffy-looking Unicorn was leaning back on a ratty couch, a candy cane sticking out of his mouth. Twilight was the first to speak up.
"Um, sir? Excuse me. Who are you?"
"I'm the pilot." He snickered at their stunned expressions. "What, did you really think that the Princess could fly a ship? At least, fly one over a country?"
"Well, kinda..."
He grunted, sucking the rest of the candy into his mouth and swallowing it whole. "Anyway, this has been my ship for twenty years. Wouldn't have taken her out of storage if it weren't for Celestia herself at my door. So, you each get a room to yourself, with in-cabin bathrooms, shower included. I've rigged up a couple of transmitters, so we can get radio. Meals are at seven, noon and six tomorrow, and we'll be landing after dinner. Lights out at ten. May as well find your rooms." Without letting anypony else speak, he swung up onto his feet and jogged away.
The ponies exchanged glances as he vanished through a doorway. "Celestia! Get outta the cabin!"
"I'm having fun!" A higher voice replied. "You're such a spoilsport." The regal figure came trotting in, ducking her head to keep her horn from hitting the frame. "Where's my sister?"
"Oh, hiya Celly! Loony is hiding in her room because she was uncomfortable with my inquiries!" Pinkie gave the tall Alicorn a leg-hug.
"Twilight, what is she talking about?" Celestia asked, gently pushing the clingy pony away.
"Umm... well..." Twilight closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure.
Pinkie sighed, stepping back from the Princess and wrapping a hoof over Twilight's shoulder. "We want to know about Discord."
"Oh, is that all? Well, he ruled Equestria before my sister and I, and had made the enemy of the pony races, which is what truly brought them together during the true founding of Equestria, when-"
Celestia stared at the hoof placed gently over her mouth. Never in her eons of life had anyone ever quieted her. She gulped.
"No, Celly." Pinkie sighed. "We want to know about Discord."
"What do you mean? There's nothing else to know! He was the avatar of danger and chaos! What else could you possibly think?"
Pinkie stayed put in front of the Princess, unaware to her friends backing up. Nopony had ever done such a thing to either Princess.
"Celly..." Pinkie suddenly seemed scarier than Celestia could ever hope to be. The air felt thick with tension betweent he two ponies. "Celly, Celly, Celly..."
"Pinkie Pie... w-what do you mean?"
"I mean-"
WHUMPH
"We shall protect thee, sister!" Celestia shivered, looking down at her sister. The rest of the Elements had their jaws gaping. Luna winced, her horn shimmering brighter as she kept Pinkie pinned to the ground with her front hooves. "Sister, is thee alright?"
"I'm fine, Luna." Celestia whispered. "Luna... what did she mean... about Discord?"
"Is that what this is about?" Luna muttered back, before turning her attention to the other ponies. "Fine! We will tell you... we will tell you everything. Just... just not now."
Pinkie scrambled to her hooves, and without another word, turned and walked down the hallway, vanishing into a room.
Twilight watched her go. "Princess, I'm so sorry about Pinkie."
"There's no need to apologize. But you should go talk to her. It does not bade well on Discord's prison when Elements fight."
"Uh... okay. I'll get right on that."
Twilight trotted over to the couch and sat down, watching her friends vanish into their rooms. Soon enough, she was completely alone.
"What on earth could the Princess be hiding?"