A slightly late entry, by Knight of Cerebus
“The Cutie Mark Crusaders?”
“In Manehattan with Babs.”
“Cerberus?”
“Safely locked in Tartarus.”
“Dragons?”
“None here but me!” Spike answered proudly. Twilight deflated slightly, almost as if she was unhappy to be of stress for once.
“...Huh. There really isn’t any kind of big national crisis, princessly duty or potential friendship problem this week. I...can’t say I saw that coming.”
“You don’t have a plan for a day like today?”
“Normally I’d ask one of my friends if they’re free, but it looks like they’re all tied up.”
Spike looked unconvinced. “Twilight, you have plans for the invasion of the magical mutant candyfloss monsters. How can you not have a day off planned out?”
Twilight blinked. “I guess I just never considered a day where I didn’t have any work to get done. I mean, most days I’d just study for lessons from Prince--” Twilight trailed off. “I could do the thing today.”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “The thing?”
“Yes, Spike,” Twilight nodded. “The thing.”
“The thing?”
“The thing.”
Spike sighed a mighty sigh. “The thing being?”
“Plan C?”
Spike did a double take. “Didn’t you say you were never ever gonna do that, that it would be ‘the greatest affront to your budding relationship and the respect you had show each other thus far you could imagine’, that you gave up on that plan and that you’d...sooner...run out of...checklists. Huh. I guess it does make sense, then. Err, sorta.” The little drake levelled a sceptical eye at Twilight. “But are you sure she’ll go for it?”
“I...no, you’re right. I shouldn’t let spur-of-the-moment thinking dictate what Tia and I do with our off time. Maybe I’ll just do some reshelving, maybe some cleanin--”
“Great talking with you, Twi!” Spike began to push Twi’s posterior towards the door. “Go get her, uh, tiger! Rawr!” Twilight was too busy reacting to Spike’s change of heart to notice herself being thrown out of her own library until it was too late. The door slammed upon her rump, sending her stumbling out into Ponyville’s uncharacteristically quiet streets.
“Well...I guess I better get going, then?” Twilight looked back at her library, uncertainty writ large across her face. “Maybe I should--ooohhh, he deserves a day off anyway!” Twilight threw up her wings, allowing herself to be swept up by how unusually against formula her day had been thus far.
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Princess Luna followed the trail of rose petals with a raised eyebrow, her mind already whirring at what their purpose might have been. Her heart went out to what was no doubt an inexperiened member of the waiting staff spilling a perfectly good tray meant for some dignitary or royal or other. She vowed she would track them down, following the petals to one of Celestia’s guest bedrooms. To her surprise, the “do not disturb” sign had been applied to the front of the door, and the aroma of oils and coat gels wafted towards her nostrils from between the cracks in the door. Luna imagined some sort of disastrous collision with the vanity was to blame, only hoping the waiter was not too traumatized.
The poor pony must be nearing her wit’s end, to lock herself away like this, Luna mused. She tried her luck on the door, but found it to be locked. While a display of magic would no doubt allow her to open the door, she did not wish to intimidate the poor creature trapped within. Instead, she deftly dissolved into a soothing blue mist, hoping to fix the problem from within her immaterial form and then return to her duties unnoticed. She slid beneath the door, body forming into a column of her indigo smoke once it had reached the other side. She looked into the room, peering into the room with practiced calm. Two sets of widened eyes looked back at her from the bed, which was coated with more of the roses and surrounded by a sea of candles set upon golden trays. In front of her, looking like a duo of deer cornered with a train in the midst of crossing the railroad tracks, were the eldest and youngest alicorns of her age. Her friend removed her front hooves from her sister’s buttocks as if they had abruptly caught fire. There was a sound of an oily behind bouncing that rung through the silent room.
“Luna!” Twilight grinned an altogether too large grin. “How, erm, good of you to stop by. We, uh--”
“We weren’t expecting you.” Celestia said, having returned at last from the nirvana of bliss that Twilight’s massage had sent her to.
“Nor I you.” Luna replied, her expression screaming to them that a part of her was dying with every second the moment extended.
“Well, uh, as it turns out, I do have a contingency plan for this.” Twilight chimed in. “I could always just wipe our minds of this moment.”
Luna took in a deep breath, silently steeling herself against the moment. “Nay, Twilight. We were caught unaware, but we shall not break your moment for you.” Luna dissolved into a heap of smoke, and the room went silent.
“That’s what I get for not preparing for this.” Twilight blushed, shame overtaking her hard-won confidence.
“I could stand to have more day you didn’t prepare for.” Celestia smiled, easing back into the anticipation of ecstasy. “Now come on. I believe you were in the midst of showing me how wonderful it can be to be caught unprepared.”