//------------------------------// // Small Problems // Story: Under Her Wings // by Karrakaz //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle was annoyed in a grumpy, sleepy sort of way. After the ordeals of the previous day, she had gratefully embraced sleep when it arrived. As is often the case when mixing impressionable youth with an excitement-filled day, however, her sleep had been light and fitful, and she awoke at the crack of dawn. She grumbled under her breath, having been woken from her sleep by what her dreaming mind had interpreted as an earthquake. Half asleep, she wondered if she could convince her mother to let her sleep in. Her bed was much too comfortable to vacate; she had a wonderfully soft pillow and her blanket felt softer than it had ever been! Satisfied that there weren’t any alarms going off (either the magical or the motherly kind), she let out a content sigh and nuzzled into her pillow, tugging on the soft, warm blanket before attempting to recapture what was left of her dreams. The dreams remained absent, sending their little brothers, thoughts and memories, to bother Twilight instead. Like a slow motion movie, the past day came back to her frame by frame. Waking up, hiding from the pretty mare, the food fight, the lesson... She squeed quietly at the warm feeling that accompanied the thought. The lesson had been wonderful, at least until she’d collapsed. With another sigh, she nuzzled into her pillow and tried to forget what a colossal failure the day had been. Until she hit a wet patch on her pillow. In an instant, Twilight was very much awake, and scared. Keeping her eyes closed tightly, she felt around with her hind legs and, to her relief, found nothing but warm, dry bedding. She had never drooled in her sleep as far as she could remember, and wetting the bed was something she desperately wanted to avoid. Last month was an accident, she told herself. It won’t happen again. Sufficiently assured that it wasn’t her own doing, she cautiously opened her eyes. Even in the dim light of the moon, she could make out the contours of her teacher, and the sight that greeted her made her stifle a giggle. Princess Celestia, regal and powerful ruler of Equestria, was slumped over the bed, drooling on Twilight’s pillow while her left cheek was busily trying to fuse with the Daring Do book she was sleeping on. Her crown was missing, and the soft blanket Twilight had been using turned out to be one of her wings. On an impulse, Twilight reached out and stroked the soft downy plumage, giggling when an errant feather tickled her hoof. “Princess?” Celestia groaned and limply swatted at the voice that was disrupting her blissful dreams. Twilight wouldn’t let up, however; it was time for the sun to rise, and she couldn’t do it by herself... yet. “Princess, you need to wake up! Otherwise the morning is going to be late!” When her mentor didn’t budge the second time, Twilight huffed and wiggled underneath one of Celestia’s forelegs before lifting it with Ursaean effort, which put her face to sleeping face with the alicorn. Using one of her hooves, Twilight lifted Celestia’s left eyelid, scowling when it drifted closed while she tried to open the right one. “Princess!” The only response she got was a sleepy, incomprehensible mumble from Celestia, after which her mentor’s horn lit up and she was blinded. In one bright flash the entire world was bathed in light as the sun skipped morning and jumped straight to noon. Its caretaker, on the other hoof, only mumbled some more before nuzzling into the sheets and drawing her forelegs towards her chest, trapping Twilight against her cheek like a teddy bear and dumping the book she had been using as makeshift pillow to the floor. Twilight was worried. Just a little. Not only had she inadvertently jump-started the day by prodding her mentor as she had, but she had also gotten caught in an uncomfortable embrace by that same pony. If that had been all, she probably wouldn’t have minded. Celestia’s mane and tail constantly radiated a soothing aura of warmth while her coat was softer than any blankets Twilight had ever felt, and would have lulled her back to sleep if it weren’t for one minor problem. She had to pee. Before, she had been relieved that she wouldn’t have to explain wetting the bed to anypony, especially not Celestia. If the princess didn’t let go soon, however... “No!” Twilight shook her head. That was not going to happen. She squirmed and twisted in Celestia’s embrace, eventually going so far as to try to lift the princess with her magic. To her surprise, she succeeded, although she immediately wished she hadn’t. Whether it was because she was still technically recovering, or because the sleeping princess had overruled her decision, she didn’t know; what she did know was that she had somehow managed to levitate the princess onto the bed fully. It meant that she was more tightly trapped than before, now that Celestia had two forelegs with which to snuggle her. Two minutes later, she was still struggling, although Celestia’s squeezing made it impossible to keep going without taking a break every now and then to catch her breath. She felt filled to bursting and her magic had vanished to... somewhere. She was given hope in the form of Aegis who came speeding through the door and skidded to a halt inches from the bed. “Mister?” she called out, making his ears swivel in her direction. “I’m stuck, can you help me get out?” Aegis looked over the sleeping form of his sovereign ruler, blushed, and pointedly looked away; and his lack of response only exacerbated Twilight’s dread and feelings of being trapped. “Please?” she begged, translating the pout on her face into a vocal one. “Sorry, Twilight,” the guard replied, looking extremely uneasy. “It’s better not to wake up the princess when she’s sleeping this deeply. You’ll just have to wait until she wakes up. It’s not so bad there, right?” “But I have to go!” “Go?” It was clear that Aegis didn’t understand what she meant, or perhaps he merely didn’t want to. After a few seconds of awkward silence, however, his eyes widened and he ran around to the side of the bed, checking the cupboards for who knew what before rushing off in the same direction he’d come from. Seeing that her would be rescuer was of about as much use as he was going to be, Twilight decided that it was time for desperate measures. She had to be free of her imprisonment one way or another, and there was only one option she hadn’t tried yet; mostly because she didn’t trust herself to do it right. Closing her eyes tightly, Twilight tried to recall what she had seen Celestia do in the classroom. She didn’t know if there were any intricate patterns she was supposed to follow like when she tried to create an illusion of a cube, nor did she know if there was a power requirement. Both of those things had to have played a part in the spell Celestia was using at some point, but all Twilight had seen was a brief flash and Celestia looking like she had turned into sunlight itself before disappearing altogether. Inevitably, that picture of Celestia vanishing was what Twilight focused on. Sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth while she pictured herself disappearing and reappearing several feet to the side of the bed. Her landing would have preferably been on the ground, but at this point, and with this full a bladder, there was only one location that concerned her. The first thing Twilight felt upon casting her spell was a sensation of falling, thankfully cushioned by something that, while solid, was soft enough to dampen the force of the impact. The second thing were a thousand tiny stinging sensations all over, which she deftly ignored in favour of the one pressing concern that was about to make a mess of things. Luckily, the infirmary had its own bathroom and relief wasn’t far off. When Twilight returned to the infirmary with a bladder that was no longer threatening to rebel against her, she found the place an altogether more crowded one than she had left. Several dozen ponies had formed a semicircle around a very tired looking Celestia who was still missing her regalia. All of them were talking through one another, pushing each other and shouting while Celestia looked about ready to give up and go back to sleep, ponies or no. “Everypony, please, calm down,” she said, holding up a hoof and motioning for silence. “I understand your concern, but I assure you, nothing is wrong with either myself or the sun. There was a slight mishap, that is all.” A stallion Twilight had never seen before stepped forward with an air of superiority. His presence made Celestia straighten up, just a little. “A slight mishap would be burning your morning toast, or spilling a glass of milk. I rather think that having the sun rocket into the sky is more than that!” “Tell me something, Blustering Wind,” Celestia began anew. “Are you upset with my performance? Or rather about my dissatisfaction with yours? In the three thousand years of history since I assumed this position, I’ve had as many mishaps as I have hooves. Can you say the same?” The remark earned her a few chuckles from the crowd, and an embarrassed look from the ex-council member. Celestia continued without so much as batting an eyelid. “I think that, sometimes a mistake isn’t merely allowable, it is impossible to avoid. Hardly worth the fuss you are trying to cause... unless you truly want me to stop raising the sun?” The stallion shook his head and stepped forward defiantly. “And what if I did want you to give up control over the sun? What then?” “You would be more than welcome to try caring for it yourself, although I would be remiss if I didn’t warn you.” Celestia stifled a yawn behind her hoof. “The spell used by the unicorns of old was so terribly taxing that even the most accomplished groups only carried the burden for about a year. Back then it was considered a great honor and privilege to be chosen as a Sun Bearer. Few, however, were of the same mind after having carried the burden for six months, and even fewer continued to serve in the capacity after their term ended.” Blustering Wind smiled with the same sense of smugness that had surrounded him the whole time. “And if I were to do just that? Somehow I cannot imagine you leaving your sun in my, admittedly, capable hooves.” Celestia looked over the crowd meaningfully. “I would praise you for your dedication. Just know that the unicorns that continued carrying the burden after their due diligence was done died well before their time.” She seemed to perk up, giving an almost giddy flap with her wings before folding them back at her side and continuing with a happy lilt in her voice. “Still, if you can find a group of unicorns willing to be Sun Bearers once more, I would happily teach you the spells and entrust you with the sun.” She sighed theatrically and added: “I am long overdue for a vacation.” Many ponies in the crowd outright laughed, though Blustering Wind wasn’t one of them. Twilight herself couldn’t help but giggle when the stallion paled to such a degree that he could actually have been mistaken for her mentor. “In all seriousness, I am sorry for worrying you, my little ponies. I promise I will do my best to ensure that something like this does not happen again. Now, if you’ll excuse me—” she yawned once more “—I could really use a cup of coffee. For today, simply enjoy an extra long afternoon. Everything should be back to normal by sunset.” Blustering looked ready to protest again, but Aegis and Rook had taken their ruler’s hint and gently ushered him and the rest of the crowd out of the room. Finally, the room once again felt like an infirmary, silent and peaceful, save for the confused songs of passing birds. Twilight cantered up to Celestia with a small, hopeful smile. “Good morning, Princess.” Celestia looked at her briefly and smiled before turning back to the doors through which the crowd was still leaving. Within seconds, however, she was looking at Twilight again, though her smile had been replaced by a look of utter confusion. “Twilight... What in the sun’s name happened to you?” Tilting her head, Twilight pondered the most important part of that question. “The sun has a name?” Though she was genuinely curious, the main goal of her question was, for once, not information. Rather, she had hoped that Celestia would stop looking at her like she had suddenly sprouted an extra horn, or even smile, stars permitting. Instead, all she got was an unamused look before being lifted up by Celestia’s magic and simply floating there, a few feet in front of her mentor who had clearly decided that something had to be done but hadn’t deigned to tell Twilight where that something would be. After a little squirming, Twilight was finally turned around in Celestia’s magic and could look her mentor in the eyes. They were beautiful eyes, light magenta in color and deep as the sky was big; or that was how her mom had described eyes at one point. Twilight was much more interested in the fact that there were bags underneath Celestia’s eyes, and they were more than a little bloodshot. In fact, they looked a lot like her own when she stayed up to read. Maybe she couldn’t sleep? “Princess, why ar—” Celestia cut her off. “What happened to you, Twilight?” “Me?” Twilight looked herself over, or at least tried to. Moving while held in somepony’s magic was a lot harder than she’d always thought. “I don’t... know?” The answer to her own ponderings remained elusive, at least until they reached the end of yet another hallway and Celestia stepped through the big double doors rather than make yet another turn through the castle’s winding hallways like she had done the last seven times. For Twilight, the room they stepped into was yet another reason to stare wide-eyed at her surroundings. It was big. Not quite as big as the Grand Dining Hall, granted, but it was still plenty big enough to contain the house she had grown up in several times over. Although, rather than being filled with tables like the former, this room was filled with more steam than any sauna. The entire room had been made in an off-white stone that reflected the soft glow of the lanterns hanging from poles distributed throughout. The first thing that Twilight noticed was that they formed a colorful chain back to the door, a more sombre beige color of lantern at the back going all the way to a joyful green at the front; and surrounding those lanterns she could see baths. Not like the one she'd bathed in at home, but big baths in which even the princess could comfortably lay down, or maybe even more than just one princess. With the half-formed thought in mind, she looked to see who was in the bath, half expecting this to be the place all alicorns resided when they weren’t busy ruling the country or teaching her how to use her magic, but found to her disappointment that the ponies in the baths were just more of the castle’s inhabitants. Canterlot Castle Communal Baths A plaque on the wall told her in no uncertain terms that it was, indeed, a bathroom. It was a big one, but it was a bathroom nonetheless. Celestia didn’t wait in the doorway long, closing the door behind her when she stepped inside and moving off to an elevated area to the right of the door. It wasn’t much higher than the rest, only a few inches or so, but it was filled with many tiny baths; at least compared to the one in the rest of the room. There was no doubt that Princess Celestia could still comfortably bathe in any one of them. All of her wonderment and interest was pushed to the back of her mind when Celestia held her in front of a mirror, however. She looked like a monster. Not a ‘with five thousand tentacles that lives under your bed and will eat you if you go to sleep’ monster like her brother had scared her with in the past, but a monster in the form of a pony; A pony monster with a blackened horn, who’d had a pony with a blender for a cutiemark style their mane and more singe marks all over her coat from where she had apparently been set on fire. At first, Twilight didn’t want to believe that the pony in the mirror was her, but seeing the princess standing behind her forced her to conclude that it had to be. “Is that… me?” she asked when Celestia finally set her down. Celestia stepped forwards until they were standing side by side, which only made Twilight more aware of just how dirty she looked when compared to Celestia’s pristine white coat. That, in turn, made her realise that Celestia hadn’t bothered to put on her regalia, which made it clear that her regal aura had nothing to do with what she was wearing. “What happened, Twilight?” “Well...” Twilight sat down on her rump. “When I woke up you were sleeping on the bed... I like your wings, they’re very soft and comfy.” She got an indulgent smile from Celestia though it came paired with a motion to continue her tale. “Then I realised I had to pee but you grabbed me and I was stuck.” The mirror made it easy to study Celestia’s expression which had turned from a smile into a grimace followed by a sentence Twilight didn’t quite hear because of her own story “—And then, I tried to use my magic but it only lifted you on the bed. Then Mister Aegis came to the infirmary, but he said he couldn’t help me.” “Do you have any idea why?” Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know. He just said he couldn’t.” Once again Celestia motioned for her to go on. “And then?” “And then I teleported!” Twilight finished her story with the biggest smile she could find. Teleportation, she had been told repeatedly, was a very difficult spell, and having pulled it off made her very proud of herself. At least, until she saw Celestia’s expression. For the first time—no, second. For the second time since she had come to the castle, Celestia looked angry. There was no flaming mane or tail this time, but even without them the drawing together of the eyebrows, the thin line her lips made and the slightest gnashing of teeth made it clear how the princess was feeling. “Twilight,” she said a length. “You are not to teleport again. Is that clear?” “Why?” was all Twilight could think to ask. Even without the physical changes, the princess’ anger was still intimidating, and yet despite that, she couldn’t help but wonder what could have upset Celestia so. “Because I am telling you not to!” Twilight scrambled backwards until her rump touched the mirror, curling in on herself and nodding rapidly, afraid of what the normally composed princess might do. What Celestia did do was draw back almost as soon as she had lashed out, sighing and putting a hoof to her face. “I’m sorry, Twilight. But this is very important.” She pointed at the mirror. “Do you see that?” Timidly, Twilight looked over her shoulder, coming face to face with monster-Twilight once more. “Y-yes?” she said, hoping it was the right response. Celestia sat down and beckoned her over, something Twilight only did after a minute of struggling with her own perceptions of the princess. “That—” Celestia said, pointing at the mirror again when Twilight sat down next to her “—is but one of the things that can happen if you don’t use a teleportation spell correctly. And this is just your mane and coat. Making mistakes with a powerful spell like that can be dangerous. Do you understand?” “I think so...” Twilight looked up at Celestia “So if I made a different mistake my tail could have turned into a cauliflower?” Silence reigned in the baths, and from the corner of her eyes, Twilight saw that everypony in their direct vicinity was looking at them. Before she could bring it up with the princess, however, Celestia answered. “Much worse than that, Twilight. You could have been t—” She shook her head softly. “It is unimportant what else could have happened, just know that it is too dangerous to cast such spells so without proper training, understood?” “Okay,” Twilight said with a nod and a small smile, glad that the princess she was familiar with had returned. “Princess?” “Yes, Twilight?” “Can I go take a bath now?” Finally, Celestia smiled as well. “I don’t know... these are awfully big baths. Are you sure you’ll be okay by yourself?” Twilight puffed out her cheeks, looking up at the princess with a huff. “I’m a big pony, you know? I bathed alone since I was seven years old!” “Ah...” Celestia hummed thoughtfully for a moment before asking, “and how old are you now?” “Eight years and nine months!” All the tension drained from the room when Celestia laughed, and to Twilight’s surprise, she wasn’t the only one. Several of the ponies that had surrounded them laughed as well, which only made her feel more self-conscious. “I’m almost nine!” The laughing didn’t last long and Celestia looked a little relaxed for the first time since she had woken up. “Yes you are, Twilight.” She brought a hoof to her chin and surveyed the baths surrounding them before saying, “Well, why don’t you pick a bath then?” And that’s exactly what Twilight did. She let her eyes rove over the unoccupied baths and picked one of the slightly larger ones. “That one!” she said, before sprinting towards it and hurling herself into the water. By the time she surfaced, Celestia had walked toward the bath as well and sat down at the water’s edge, much to Twilight’s disappointment. “Aren’t you going to take a bath?” she asked. “I thought you were a big pony that could bathe by herself?” Celestia asked, her smile returning. Twilight merely pouted, which had the desired effect as Celestia let out a soft chuckle before shaking her head and stepping into the bath. “Alright then, let’s get you cleaned up.” Half an hour later, Twilight was drifting around the tub, trying to find the ceiling of the room with little success. If there was one thing she’d learned, it was that magically being scrubbed clean was every bit as unpleasant as the non-magical kind. She felt raw and sore everywhere and was convinced that Celestia had been using it as a punishment for her recklessness. She bumped into something soft with her horn and splashed about in an attempt to right herself, coming face to belly with Celestia when she finally succeeded. During the scrubbing session, and the moments leading up to it, the princess had been wearing a playful smile, one that now shone due to it absence. Instead she looked thoughtful, her eyes closed, her lips pressed together in a distinctively neutral line, and her mane obscuring it all while it independently struggled to escape its watery captor. “Princess? What are you doing?” Twilight asked, wondering if the princess had fallen asleep. The alicorn had certainly looked tired enough. “Waiting for you to ask me for your next lesson, Twilight,” Celestia replied softly, keeping still besides the almost imperceptible expanding of her chest that came with every breath. Twilight immediately scrambled for the edge of the bath, climbing out and getting rid of the water that clung to her coat off with a vigorous shaking session. “I’m ready, Princess! Can we start right now?” Calmly, Celestia opened her eyes and looked at Twilight. “Good, get back into the bath and we’ll begin.” She moved ever so slightly before settling down and becoming like a statue again, leaving Twilight confused and uncertain. “Right here?” Twilight asked, looking at her surroundings and all the ponies in it, many of whom weren’t the same ponies that were present when they had walked in. Everypony was going about their own business though each spent a minute or two staring at the princess when they first entered through the doors. There wasn’t a cacophony of sound in the room, but neither was it anywhere near as quiet as the observatory had been. “Right here,” came Celestia’s affirmation, though the princess still didn’t move an inch. But this environment isn’t conducive to learning! one part of Twilight’s mind screamed, although it was countered by the much more sensible part. Perhaps there is a reason Princess Celestia wants to have the lesson be in a place like this; and it’s not like we’d ever get a chance like this in any ordinary school. Slowly, Twilight stepped back into the bath, trying to find one of the submerged platforms next to the princess, which allowed younger ponies like herself to sit down like the adult ponies without fear of drowning. She decided to emulate her mentor, sneaking quick glances through half-closed eyes while trying to imitate Celestia’s posture and calm. Unfortunately, Twilight was young, and anything but. After several minutes of trying—and failing—to be as still as her mentor, she finally made her frustration known. “Princess?” “Yes, Twilight?” “What are you going to teach me? I mean... what is the lesson about?” Celestia sighed before finally opening her eyes and smiling down at Twilight. “Today I thought a lesson in focus might be in order. Though you might be a little young for such a lesson...” “I can do it!” “Very well then...” Celestia resumed her statue imitation, with the exception of her lips which were still guiding Twilight through... whatever she was doing. “Focus on the water. Try to remain still. The water will follow your lead.” “Um... but what does that have to do with magic?” Twilight asked, trying once more to mimic what she’d seen. Even though she couldn’t see the princess without moving, she could most definitely hear the smirk in Celestia’s voice. “Magic requires a clear head. One can make any number of mistakes if their mind isn’t focused on the task at hoof. Do you understand?” “Yeah... I think so.” It seemed simple enough. All she had to do was remain quiet and sit still, didn’t she? Even that, however, turned out to be harder than expected. Sitting still with her eyes closed made her that much more aware of what was going on around her; Ponies that were talking to one another, foals laughing and splashing each other with bathwater, and even a stallion whom had apparently taken to singing while he showered. Worse than that, sitting still in a bathtub with her eyes closed gave her nothing to focus on, meaning all the small little itches and annoyances were given free reign to tug at her mind. More than once, she had to break her stillness in order to get rid of a particularly persistent itch behind her ears, and that was without even mentioning the dull ache she felt after having the water splash against her sides for several minutes. Only when she reached up to scratch an itch for the seventeenth time did Celestia speak again. “Is there a problem, Twilight?” “Everything’s itchy and ponies keep distracting me,” Twilight admitted, scratching herself behind an ear again before looking up at the princess. “Am I doing something wrong?” “Yes.” It was a bitter pill to swallow for Twilight. She had been doing her utmost and apparently it was nowhere near good enough. “What am I doing wrong? Why didn’t you tell me?” She pouted at the statue-that-was-a-princess. The silence lasted just long enough to make Twilight think that the princess had gone back to her meditation before she spoke. “Because some things, like meditation, are different for everypony. If I tried to force you to do things a certain way you might end up with something that didn’t suit you, or even work at all.” Celestia sighed and opened one eye to look at Twilight sideways. “Some magic is like that. What works for you might not work for another pony. Although I can directly teach you a lot of basic spells like levitation, illusions and even a few up to the level of teleportation, we will have to figure out some things together.” Twilight was convinced Celestia had read her mind when the princess shook her head, preempting the question that had been leapfrogging to the back of her throat before dying a silent death. “No, it isn’t as hard as it looks, and even though they seem simpler, the normal spells will still take years. Don’t worry yourself with them yet. For now, try counting your breath for as long as you can while focusing on something that interests you. If you get distracted, just go back to what interests you and start over.” Though she didn’t know how much good it would do, at the very least, Twilight was happy for the explanation. She nodded at the princess and closed her eyes again, trying to follow her mentor’s instructions. Thinking about something interesting... That’s easy, books. Or maybe Daring Do? Teleportation? Nah, books. She took a deep breath and held it, silently counting in her head while at the same time picturing the castle library she really wanted to get back in to. To her surprise, it worked; somewhat anyway. She got as far as thirty before she exhaled and panted for a minute, before trying again. The noise of the ponies around her was drowned out by the sounds of the sea in her ears, and the excitement of thinking about all the books she would be able to read helped counter the water’s insistent poking. Not that she didn’t still get distracted every now and again, but it was a big step up from her earlier attempts; and more importantly, for the first time since she had arrived at the castle, she felt like she was doing something right. The only problem she kept running into was the fact that she could only ever hold her breath for so long. Trying to lengthen that time made her body forcibly expel the air she so carefully held in after which it took her another minute before she caught her breath and could try again. Princess Celestia made it look so easy. Twilight watched her mentor every time she had to stop for a breath, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't find the secret. Celestia was like the guards that were posted all over the castle, only they didn't have their eyes closed; and if it hadn't been for the flowing hair, she would have been convinced that the princess could turn into a statue. It did, however, give her ample opportunity to study, and after more than a dozen minutes of long observations, she began to notice subtle movements. Once in a blue moon, the princess’ ears would flick, or one of her wings would twitch, indicating that even she wasn’t immune to distractions. It made Twilight feel better about her own progress, though she felt like she could learn more. It was during one of those extended study breaks that Celestia moved. A sly smile had slowly spread across her face, but by the time Twilight noticed it was already too late. In one fell swoop Celestia brought one of her wing up from beneath the water's surface, showering the filly with water and instantly soaking her to the bone. Twilight's shock lasted for as long as it took for her mentor to giggle while her brain processed what had just happened. She puffed up her cheeks and pouted at her mentor while pushing her mane out of her face, which lead to another giggle from Celestia. Before the princess had a chance to recover from her mirth, however, Twilight launched her own watery attack and the fight was on. Forgotten was the supposed lesson while they did watery battle, splashing water at one another and giggling uncontrollably. Celestia had size on her side, and a pair of wings which she successfully used as both weapons and shields against Twilight's onslaught. What she hadn't counted on was that the lesson had left Twilight with a lot of excess energy, every single bit of which was now being turned against her as Twilight began to get more creative with her attacks. She had realised that simply splashing the princess with her hooves wasn't going to get her anywhere, as Celestia could deflect and send more water at her with one beat of her majestic wings than several of her hoof attacks. Instead she focused on her magic. Water was too malleable for her to successfully pick with levitation so she simply pushed against it, creating higher and higher waves which she tried to direct towards her adversary; and it would have worked too, if she hadn't forgotten to take into account that her indented target was a fair bit taller than she was. Throughout the fight, Celestia had been all but motionless; using only her wings to participate. Now, the princess got up and watched the waves roll harmlessly against her legs before sticking out her tongue at Twilight and lighting up her horn. Twilight's resistance came to a halt when she saw a perfect sphere of water float up towards Celestia, awed by the magical control the princess must have had to accomplish such a feat. Her astonishment persisted while the sphere floated from the princess to herself, and only ended when Celestia cut her magic and dumped the entire thing onto Twilight's head. “Excuse me, Your Highness?” Twilight pushed her soaking mane out of her face again and watched a mare approach Celestia with no small amount of reverence. The mare leaned forwards and whispered something into Celestia’s ear which made the princess’ smile fade. In an instant, the fun-loving princess Twilight had been doing battle with vanished, replaced by a... well... by a princess. Her smile was still friendly, and possibly more comforting than it had been before, but it no longer felt... real. Princess Celestia nodded and said, “I will be right there. Just make sure he doesn’t do anything foolish.” She stepped out of the bath, lighting up her horn and creating a soft golden shimmer that moved from her ears down to her fetlocks. Where it passed it removed any trace of moisture from her coat until, by the end, Twilight wouldn't have been able to tell that she had taken a bath at all. Turning to Twilight, Celestia smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, Twilight, but I am going to have to cut our lesson short." "Did something bad happen?" Twilight asked while she too got out of the bath. Her own method for drying herself off involved a lot more shaking and towels, but before she had the chance, the shimmer started on her fetlocks as well. It was a strange tingly feeling that ran across her entire coat and made her giggle softly. When the spell finished, she smiled at her mentor. Celestia didn't smile back. Twilight could have sworn that the princess looked tired, but after she blinked the exhaustion had vanished, leaving just the princess she knew behind. Celestia waved one of her guards forward with a wing and said, “Nothing you need to worry about, Twilight. Rook will show you to the dining hall so you can eat, and after that, I would like you to try working on your focus for a little longer.” Part of Twilight wanted to lay claim to the princess’ time. I’m her student; shouldn’t I be more important? At the same time, however, she understood that it would always be like that. Ruling a kingdom was a hard enough job without her complicating things, though she couldn’t help but pout. “But we just started the lesson!” Celestia arched an eyebrow. “Did we?” She indicated the room behind Twilight with her chin, making the filly look over her shoulder. The baths were almost completely empty. Everypony that had been there when they entered was gone and though there were one or two ponies left (both of them staring at the princess like they had just seen the moon melt) Twilight couldn’t remember seeing them before. “Where did everypony go?” she asked turning back to her mentor. “We have been at it for several hours already, Twilight. It’s nearly time for lunch.” The messenger cleared her throat and for a moment Twilight thought she saw a flash of annoyance pass across Celestia’s face before the princess smiled and turned around. “Now, I really have to get going. Go with Rook and we’ll see about another lesson in the evening.” Even though the princess wouldn’t be able to see it, Twilight nodded happily. “Okay, Princess.” She studied the two guards next to the door for a moment, wondering which one she was supposed to follow; all guards looked alike to her. Maybe they’re all from one big family? hmmm... no... If they were all from the same family, Shining Armor wouldn’t have been allowed to join, would he? Or was he training to be something other than a guard? Her train of thought led to a scary idea, which made her have her own little panic attack. If he does become a guard, would that mean that he won’t be my brother anymore? Twilight quietly fretted for a moment before shaking her head and resolutely deciding that she wasn’t going to let that happen. The question which had spawned the treacherous thoughts was answered when the guard on the left turned and followed the princess out the door, which meant that the right one had to be Rook! She bounded up to the guard and looked up at him with the biggest, most soulful expression she had in her arsenal. Though she didn’t manage to get an obvious response from the normally stonefaced stallion, the slight upturn in the corners of his mouth before he turned around and stepped out of the room wasn’t lost on her. She deliberated for a moment, putting one of her hooves to her chin and wondering why none of the guards ever smiled. Maybe they have really scary smiles? A brief reference to the hint of a smile she had just seen quickly dispelled that notion. Rook wouldn’t look so unapproachable and uninterested all the time if he just smiled a little more; she was sure of it. So maybe the princess didn’t like it when they smiled? That didn’t sound likely either, but she resolved to ask her mentor when she got the chance. First, however, she needed some food. Low grumblings in her stomach reminded her that Rook was there for a reason, and it wasn’t until she looked around the room that Twilight realised he was no longer in the room. She scrambled to catch up to him, coming close to losing her balance on three separate occasions while making for the door. “Mister Rook?!” Half running, half stumbling through the doors she found him standing near the window, his eyes on her before she had good and well come to a standstill. He didn’t do much more than arch an eyebrow, which made Twilight feel even more self-conscious. She couldn’t even tell if he was annoyed, or happy, or just didn’t care; in that respect he reminded her a lot of the princess, although she had at least seen the princess laugh. The comparison between Rook and a wall or perhaps a living statue seemed almost too easy, and yet she was sure that she hadn’t imagined the ghost of a smile she’d seen before. Rook, however, had apparently intuited her silence to mean that she had no further questions and set off through the halls, leaving Twilight to scramble after him again. Their walk towards the dining hall was mostly spent in silence. Although Twilight had tried to make conversation, or rather, ask her usual barrage of questions, her guide didn’t seem interested in answering them like Celestia did. Her tried and true “How old are you?” question had been grunted at, and asking why guards never smiled had been ignored entirely. Eventually, she had given up and merely observed her surroundings until they reached their destination. The Dining Hall was as busy as ever. Perhaps even more so. A small wooden stage had been built at the center of the room and was currently being used by an amateur band. Twilight didn’t think she had ever heard the kind of music they were playing, but the only somewhat disharmonious tones added to the friendly atmosphere, and she felt a lot more at ease now that she wasn’t the center of attention. Twilight hesitated when Rook resolutely walked back to the table reserved for the princess. Without Celestia there, using the table reserved for her felt... wrong. Not only that, but being the only one at the table would most certainly put her back into the spotlight. Before she could give voice to her insecurities, however, Rook had already pulled back a chair for her. Swallowing the nervous lump in her throat, Twilight took a seat, glancing every which way while hoping that ponies wouldn’t notice her. Some ponies obviously did, and she wasn’t sure what to make of the way they were looking at her. They looked like rich ponies, like the mare Celestia had gotten angry with the previous day, but Twilight didn’t understand why they would be upset with her for it. I didn’t do anything wrong, did I? She didn’t know if she wanted the answer to that question, but even if she had it, she wouldn’t have been able to deliberate on it. Her attention was forcefully drawn from the small group of glaring ponies by a deep voice that was nevertheless quickly starting to become familiar to her. “Good afternoon, Little Miss!” Twilight turned around to see Mead making his way towards her, carrying a plate filled with watercress sandwiches. At first Twilight thought the sandwiches were meant for her, but the stallion passed her table and put the plate down on the table of the glaring ponies, diverting their attention from Twilight temporarily. It could well have been coincidence if he hadn’t then walked over to her and winked. “How’re you today, Little Miss?” Twilight’s stomach answered in her stead, grumbling softly in tune with the onset of hunger, making her blush and smile apologetically. “I’m sorry, Mister. I didn’t get a chance to eat in the morning like I promised I would.” Her apology was waved away, though Mead did give her a stern look. “First of all, missy, I ain’t a ‘Mister’ so you can just call me Honey Mead.” He briefly looked around the room as if surveying his domain before returning his gaze to her. “As for your promise, I’ll consider it held if you eat an extra helping of lunch. Deal?” The smile he paired his final sentence with infected Twilight with one as well. She nodded vigorously and said, “Okay, Honey.” Honey Mead blinked, blinked again, and then threw his head back and laughed, drawing the attention of everyone in the room to himself for a brief moment. “Little Miss, you can call me ‘Mead’ or ‘Mister Head Chef’ or even just ‘Chef’ if you want, but don’t call me ‘Honey’. I get enough of that back home.” Any confusion Twilight felt didn’t hold out long against the infectious happiness that surrounded Mead and she resolved to ask the princess about Meads’ cryptic reply later. “Okay, Mister Mead. Could I have another one of those Bamboo Honey Fruit Towers?” “Oi...” Mead sighed and shook his head, but his persistent smile let Twilight know that she didn’t do anything seriously wrong. “Liked that, did you? Well, how about this; I’ll make you one of those and a little extra if you promise to eat it all. Sound fair?” Twilight wasn’t sure she could eat as much as Mead was suggesting she did, but she was hungry, and his offer sounded too good to refuse. “Uh-huh,” she told him with a small nod and a bright smile. “Great! Wait right here,” Mead said, after which he disappeared back into the kitchens. With food on the way, Twilight turned her attention to the room. The glare group had finished their appetizers and were directing their nasty looks in her direction once more. She swiftly decided to focus on something or somepony else that didn’t hate her for an unspecified reason. Her guide and chaperone was the first thing that came to mind, only... she didn’t see him anywhere. She eventually found him near the entrance with a few of the other guards on duty, differentiated only by the fact that his armor had an imprint of the princess’ cutie mark emblazoned on his chest. He looked... like he always did, though Twilight couldn’t help but wonder if he and the other guards weren’t hungry. “Here you go, Little Miss. One Bamboo Honey Fruit Tower. The best I’ve made yet!” Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at the stallion. “The princess was right; you do say that every time.” “And what did I tell her?” “That it’s always true!” Twilight replied with a giggle. “Mead?” she asked the stallion after she had run out of giggles. “What did you change?” “A little extra honey, just for you,” he said with a wink. “Make sure you eat all of it, alright? I’ll be back soon.” “Okay!” Twilight eagerly started on her food while the cook retreated to the kitchen to, she assumed, make more food for more ponies. The meal in front of her quickly demanded most of her attention when she tasted one of the pieces of kiwi that had fallen off, however. It was yummy. Not that she would have been able to tell the difference between this one and the one she’d had in the infirmary, but it was good enough to keep her mind and taste buds occupied until Mead returned from the kitchens, carrying a boatload of different kinds of dishes. He somehow managed to keep the pile of food balanced on his back, which was mighty impressive on its own, doubly so because he didn’t possess any magic which could have helped him keep it steady. Twilight’s eyes became big as the plates the food was being served on when she saw him, a half-chewed piece of strawberry grasping at its last chance at freedom before being consumed and let itself fall out of her open mouth before rolling under the table, never to be seen again. Mead worked swiftly and steadily, placing the various meals on the table with a precision that belied years of experience. Over seventeen different dishes of various size and mouthwatering aromas made their way onto the table, and by the time he was done, it looked more like a royal banquet than a simple lunchtime meal. The sheer amount of food on the table was a little intimidating, and Twilight couldn’t help but be amazed. Lucky for her, the strawberry had already gone, otherwise she might have choked on it. “W-who... who is all that for, Miste—Mead?” she asked timidly, eyeing the food with trepidation. She was all but certain her stomach would explode before she even ate a fraction of the delicacies he had put on the table, which made her promise seem like a much more terrible idea. Looking the table over, Mead nodded to himself before turning to Twilight and laughing uproariously when he noticed her expression. “Don’t you worry, Little Miss. This here’s just for variety; if you wanna have a taste, you can, but I don’t expect you to eat all of it.” As the anxiety passed, Twilight’s look of trepidation was replaced by one of disbelief. “All of this is for me?” she asked, looking from stuffed potatoes to freshly cut onion rings floating in creme brulé and back again. “Of course not, ya silly filly. It’s for me ’swell, and anypony that wants to try something. You don’t get a great figure like mine without eating yer veggies,” Mead said, contently slapping his belly with a hoof before digging in and leaving Twilight with more questions than answers. She tried to leave them for what they were and enjoy her meal. Not a difficult task by any means, if it hadn’t been for her mind, which combined several of her recent observations to conduct a question she couldn’t have ignored if she wanted to. “M-Mead?” she asked after emptying her mouth of another batch of diced pineapple pieces. “When do the guards eat?” The response was half a shrug and a sentence that was a little mangled by the food currently occupying the questionee’s mouth. “Woulndt kwnow.” Mead swallowed and continued: “They occasionally eat here after their shift ends, and I assume they have their own kitchens in the barracks. Never seen em eat on the job though...” He wiped his mouth with a napkin before defeating the purpose by stuffing his face with more food. “But it’s lunch time now, so why aren’t they eating as well?” Twilight asked, gesturing towards Rook and the other statue-wannabes with a hoof. Mead’s feast slowly ground to a halt and he looked over the collection of guards with a quirked eyebrow. “Y’know,” he said after swallowing his latest bite, “I’ve never really thought about it.” “So maybe some of the guards don’t eat lunch at all? Isn't that bad for them?” Though collapsing from malnutrition perhaps hadn’t had the intended effect on Twilight, it had made her keenly aware of how much—or little—other ponies were eating. At that moment in time, there wasn’t a pony alive who could have understood her line of thinking any better than Honey Mead. Unlike Twilight, who was merely starting on deliberations, he jumped ahead and went for action. “’Scuse me, Little Miss,” he said, “but do you think you could help me out?” Twilight looked from the guards to her table companion and nodded. “Uh-huh.” “Try’n get those guards to come over to this table while I recruit some help, would you?” “O-okay.” Twilight wasn’t sure if she could get the guards to follow her anywhere, but she was willing to try. And it’s not like they’d run away if I tried... right? Mead disappeared back into the kitchens and Twilight slipped from her chair, taking a few steps in the direction of the guards before having an idea and taking her own half-finished meal with her in her magic. A small part of her mind was jumping for joy that she didn’t cause another disaster, but the rest focused on the task at hoof. She walked up to the guards, briefly wondering if she’d even get a response. They were better at Celestia’s focusing lessons than she was, that was for sure. “Mister Rook?” she asked, levitating the plate to her side and watching him closely for any reaction. If anything, Rook appeared confused. His eyes flicked over the pile of assorted fruits before darting down to meet Twilight’s own. “Yes?” Twilight cheered silently at having gotten a response this easily, but tried to keep it from showing on her face. Mead had given her a job and she was going to do it right. “Mister Mead told me I should share so... uhm... would you like some fruit?” She paired her question with the most potent set of puppy dog eyes she had available, hoping to get the stoic stallion to capitulate And capitulate Rook did, or so it seemed. His features softened into an expression that was almost kind, and this time, Twilight was certain she saw what passed for a smile on his face. His answer wasn’t the one she’d been hoping for, however. “I’m sorry, Twilight. It is against regulations. We guards have to be ready at a moment’s notice and need to be able to oversee everything.” “Then...” Twilight looked back to the table, wondering if the princess would mind; she certainly hoped Celestia wouldn’t. “Then why not eat at the princess’ table?” When she saw his expression, she hastily continued, “The princess said that you had to help me, right?” “The princess ordered me to escort you to the dining hall and watch over you while you ate,” he said, straightening his posture and looking straight ahead at nothing. Twilight frowned; even her most powerful weapon against adults was proving to be worthless against Rook and she didn’t know what else to do. Dejected, she walked back to the table trying to figure out how to tell Mead that she’d failed, something she got decidedly less time for than she would have liked. It had only been a few minutes at best, yet Mead already marched out of the kitchens followed by half a dozen cooks. The cooks busied themselves with putting more empty tables together while Mead beckoned for Twilight to come with him, which she hesitantly did after seeing his stern expression. “I’m sorry, Mister Mead. They wouldn’t listen to me,” she said, clamping her ears to her skull and looking at the ground. Mead chuckled and nudged her hard enough to send her stumbling to the side. “Don’t worry about it, Little Miss, we’ll work it out.” He marched right up to the collection of guards and cleared his throat to get their attention. “’Scuse me boys, but this little filly here tells me she politely requested you all eat something. That true?” As the highest ranking guard of the bunch, Rook took the role of spokesman and nodded while he took a step forward. “Yes, she did. But you know as well as I do that we can’t leave our posts, no matter how nicely somepony asks.” “Well,” Mead replied slowly, “I’m not about to ask.” Twilight felt confused as she watched Rook nod. How was that going to help get the guards to the tables? Mead seemed nonplussed, continuing with his sentence before the other stallion had even finished nodding. “I’m ordering you to sit at that there table, and eat your fill before I make you.” Rook’s expression hardened and he drew himself up to his full height, easily a head bigger than the more compact earth pony cook. “You don’t have the authority to order us around.” A faint smile played around Mead’s lips. “Boy, in this room, I have the authority to do anything. The princess herself will leave if I ask her to.” Knowing Celestia better than most, Rook looked uncomfortable, likely because he knew that Mead was probably right. The other guards had no such problems, however, and some of them laughed at how ridiculous it all sounded. “Yeah, right,” one of them called out. “Do you really expect us to believe that?” Their laughter got another voice when Mead began to laugh right along with them. “You lads wanna go find out? I’m sure the princess will make time.” Any response the guards could have come up with to counter that audacious statement was preempted by Rook holding up a hoof. “That won’t be necessary, Mead, but can I ask why this is so important all of a sudden?” Mead indicated Twilight with his head. “This bright young filly here was wonderin’ why none of you tough guys were eating anything during lunch, and she brought it to my attention.” He tapped himself on the chest and pointed at the tables that were being put together. “Now, I’m responsible for feeding ponies around here, so all of you can do your job from over there while enjoying a proper meal, or I’m banning the lot of you from this place.” “Well, if you put it that way...” Rook didn’t look happy about it, but he nodded towards his fellow guards and together they made their way over to the tables where the cooks has just started laying out more food. Twilight and Mead watched the procession of guards take their seats at the tables, and couldn’t help but laugh when they saw the wonderment on the faces of the guards as they tried the various meals. Eventually, once all the guards had taken their seat, they returned to their own places, and enjoyed their meal with knowledge of having done something right. “Mead?” Twilight asked after finally finishing her fruity construction. “Would the princess really listen to you if you told her to leave?” “Maybe, maybe not,” Mead replied in between bites of a truly humongous potato. “Things’re more interesting with her around, wouldn’t you say?” “Hmm hmmm,” Twilight affirmed as she scanned the table. The amount of food was still nowhere close to being finished, and she carefully pulled another plate filled with miniature tomatoes towards herself, finding that just a few pieces of fruit weren’t enough to slake her appetite. “Do you think I’m interesting?” Having just finished his plate, Mead piled it onto the porcelain mountain he was building next to his chair, but rather than pull another one towards himself he turned his entire bulk towards Twilight instead. “What makes you ask that?” Twilight frowned while she chewed on a tomato. “I’m supposed to be the princess’ student, but it feels like she’s always busy.” “Well, she is the princess and if running a kitchen is anything to go by, she’ll be plenty busy,” Mead responded, looking a little troubled himself. “But maybe you should talk to her about it. I wasn’t kidding when I told those boys that we could go see the princess; she’ll make time if it’s important.” Twilight nodded slowly, trying her best to smile even though Meads answer only made her feel worse. She knew he was trying to be comforting, but it only made her feel the princess’ absence more keenly. Maybe I’m just not important enough? The thought frightened her. She needed the princess to teach her... everything, but the princess... Celestia didn’t need her. She let out a sigh and went back to her tomatoes, comforting herself with Celestia’s promise of a lesson later in the day. Maybe she was just making mountains out of molehills again, but she didn’t dare ask Mead if that was the case, for fear of being right.