Being a princess was hard and tedious, most any girl of royalty could tell you that. Being a princess in a vegetarian equine society where the economy still focused on the barter system in many places was even harder. If Pony 1 tried to skip out of town before paying Pony 2 the bits she owed, well that was a fairly open and shut case, and would be quickly resolved. But if Pony 1 traded a couch for a pineapple and decided she didn't like the look of the pineapple afterwards, that was where the headaches often began.
But even casting all of that aside, Celestia could not remember anything more elaborately difficult then being a big sister. Her younger sibling Luna had come into the world only a few weeks beforehand, and everyone at the castle, and in fact everyone in nearby Equestria, was fawning over the newest addition to the royal family. Celestia smiled and looked cheerful when she was supposed to be, but inside her stomach was churning. She was only a young thing herself, and as such had developed the tantrums that young thing are known for.
Seating herself at the breakfast table on this particular morning, chosen not for any significant reason other than she had finally had enough of everyone going on about Luna, Luna, Luna!, she sat in her high chair so that she could be clearly visible to her parents and the few servants that were milling about, and crossed her forelegs as she had seen her mother do when her father came home obnoxiously late from the chariot racing. It was the one 'I won't put up with this' look.
"I want pancakes!" Tia announced.
No reply. Barely anything more than a glance in her direction.
"I WANT pancakes!" Tia said again, louder this time.
"Shhh!" Her mother quickly came over, reaching out a hoof to rub her firstborns mane. "You're going to wake Luna. You can't be yelling for things, Tia."
Tia felt her eye twitch. It was not that she was ungrateful, unloving, or anything like that. She was barely out of foalhood herself, and at that age where all girls want to be princesses and could amuse herself for hours with a bowl of soap and a bubble wand. And in this instance she'd gotten it into her mind that she deserved more attention than Luna since she'd been around first, or at the very least deserved more attention than she was currently getting.
"Pancakes!" Tia said again.
Now pancakes were a special affair, which required going out and getting all the ingredients. Her mother, who for simplicity purposes we shall call Aurora, sighed with defeat. "Alright, Celestia," she said. "You can have pancakes. Let me gather some things first, just sit still, and do try to keep it down?"
Celestia beamed with triumph. Aurora meanwhile went down into the kitchens, and around the back of the castle to where they kept the animals. Normally a servant would do this, but it would be a good change of pace for her to do something practical. Several eggs were collected from the chickens, who clucked at her reproachfully as their prizes were levitated into a basket. The cows were at least a bit more accommodating, and merely lowed at the mare while they were being milked.
These ingredients were stashed in the kitchen while Aurora slipped into her hooded cloak and went to the market. Her security team would have a fit if they knew she was doing this, but she didn't much care. Some of them very badly needed to remove the sticks from their flanks, and she liked going out now and again. The miller was none the wiser to her royal identity, and handed over a bag of flour without incident. She thanked him, and returned to the castle.
Actually making the pancakes was no big deal or even heavily involved, it was only a matter of mixing everything together and pouring the mix on the stone slab over the fire. The pancakes were cooked thoroughly, and eventually brought out to where Celestia had been sitting.
Had.
A new challenge presented itself, as Celestia was no longer there. A child as busy as her was unlikely to remain in one place for very long, but as her mother, Aurora knew most of the young filly's haunts. Tia was quickly found in the kitchen after only a few minutes, annoying the working bakers there in the hopes of getting something tasty out of it.
"What's that?" She asked, pointing.
"That's a bread rack," the kitchen servant said.
"And that?"
"That's a spoon," the servant said, trying not to sound as annoyed as he felt.
"And that?"
"That's the bread rack again!"
"Tia, honey," her mother said, scooping the child up. "Let's let the nice stallion do his work, I made your pancakes, they're in the-"
"Pancakes!" Tia exclaimed, darting beneath her mother and bolting upstairs like lightning. Aurora would never understand how that child could move so fast, but sighed and followed her at a much slower pace. Celestia was already standing by the table when she arrived, looking at the pancakes as if there was a bottle of poison next to them.
"Tia?" Aurora asked. "Are you alright?"
Tia looked up reproachfully. "No blueberries," she complained.
"Well I'm sorry, sweetheart," Aurora said. "We don't have any. Maybe next time we can-"
The young filly exhibited one of her attention seeking tantrums, sweeping the plate off the table onto the floor with a swipe of her hoof. "No deal," she said. "I want waffles now. Get to it!"
Aurora gasped with shock and dismay, her horn flaring at once. A sharp pinch of magic took hold of Celestia's tail, and dragged the filly down the hall by her flank, with Celestia wailing her disapproval.
Down the hall, the newborn foal Luna woke up from all the noise, and began to wail herself.
Aurora sighed.