Much to Celestia’s surprise and consternation, Twilight was already skipping ahead and asking questions again by the time they made it back to the castle. It was like she hadn’t fully registered—or perhaps simply didn’t care about—almost having died. Another example of youthful resilience that Celestia had trouble comprehending; though part of that was probably because she herself was having trouble staying upright. The brute force magical surge that she had used to break Twilight's everything-proof shield had taken its toll on both her body and magic, to the point where merely staying conscious took a concentrated effort of will.
As such, she had decided that eating in the Grand Dining Hall probably wasn't the best of ideas. Many ponies were already concerned by the filly-assassin, and adding her passing out in the middle of dinner would only add fuel to that fire—to say nothing of what might happen if they found out that Twilight had been the cause of it. She groaned softly, the thought reminding her of the fact that she’d had a stallion imprisoned over it. He would have to be dealt with at some point, but injuries and the healing thereof always made her hungry, and right now she was ravenous.
"Aegis?" she asked, putting extra effort into making sure her voice sounded steady and strong. "Could you please ask Mead to send the food up to my chambers?"
Despite her best effort, there was a certain hesitance in Aegis’ motions, looking up at her for a split second before asking, "Is there anything in particular I should ask him for, Princess?"
Celestia tried to come up with the name of a dish she enjoyed, but her mind stubbornly refused to cooperate, telling her that she should be finding the nearest bed to pass out on instead. "Tell him to make something extra special for Twilight," she said finally. "And I would like a double portion of the usual."
Aegis saluted. "Right away, Princess."
She would've liked to ask Rook to go with his partner, but while his expression was as emotionless as ever, he exuded an indomitable aura that made it clear he would likely refuse any such request. Even without any of the physical indicators, she was certain that Rook was upset; though whether or not that was with her for doing something so reckless, or with himself for not having prevented it, she didn't know. She did know that she owed both him and Aegis an apology at some point.
"Princess? What are those?"
Celestia looked from Rook to Twilight, and then to the stained glass windows the filly was pointing at. They had taken a detour into a side passage of the castle that saw little traffic, and had she remembered that it was home to that particular trio of windows, she would likely have taken another route. It wasn’t an experience she remembered fondly. The first window depicted a stylized dragon in deep blue, in the air over a village on fire. The second painted a picture of herself with spread wings and glowing horn in the foreground while the dragon was all teeth and fire in the background. Lastly, the slain dragon, with a white and gold pony standing on top of it; physically dwarfed by the monstrosity, but victorious.
"It's a story, Twilight," she said tiredly. Having to cope with the images, emotions and thoughts the windows evoked made her all the more weary.
"Is it the story about the time that dragon almost bit off one of your wings?" Twilight asked excitedly, looking between Celestia and the windows every alternate second.
"Yes, Twilight," was all Celestia could think to say, and after the filly opened her mouth to ask the inevitable, she added: "I'll tell you about it later. Right now I think we could both use a good meal."
“But I want to hear it now,” Twilight said, a soft undertone of a whine creeping into her voice.
Celestia sighed and shook her head. “We’ve just had quite an experience ourselves. Stories can wait until later, right now we both need to make sure that we’re alright. Story time can wait. Come along now.”
Twilight pouted and looked back at the windows, but eventually acquiesced. “Yes, Princess.”
The meal arrived at her chambers shortly after they did. An elaborate spread of dishes on a cart that didn’t merely contain two helpings of ‘the usual,’ but looked to be enough for an entire feast. Mead had overdone it once again.
Twilight dove in to her meal with gusto, devouring the entire tower of fruit in seconds, and following it up with two separate dishes of vegetables, to the point where Celestia wondered where the filly put all of it. That wasn't to say that she herself ate at a sedate pace. Not only had Mead outdone himself once again, but she had several plates worth of energy to recover after the incident in the gardens; another reason she had chosen to eat in the privacy of her own chambers. It wouldn't do to have ponies see her scarf down food like a starving pony.
From the awe in Twilight's eyes when she looked up from her own meal, even that was an impressive sight.
Neither of them said anything for minutes after the meal had ended, both enjoying a companionable silence while digesting their food, or at least; Celestia was enjoying it. Before the filly could shatter the serene silence that permeated the room, however, the door opened and the opportunity was stolen from her.
"Princess?" Quarter Time stuck her head into the room with an apologetic smile. "I have a very important letter here. May I come in?"
"Of course, QT," Celestia replied, remembering the young mare's nickname.
"Cutie?" A glance over to Twilight showed her confused expression while she inspected the mare stepping into the room. The filly quickly vacated her seat and circled the young mare like a shark, or perhaps a budding photographer before humming softly. "She doesn't look that cute," she said decidedly. "My foalsitter rated higher on the 'cute' scale by a measure of at least two points." She paused for a moment before tapping her her chin with a hoof. "Although... maybe that was just because my brother liked her..."
Celestia smiled encouragingly at the olive green mare who looked part baffled, part uncertain of herself. "It was an initialism, Twilight."
"An inti—?" Twilight mouthed the world several times, looking more frustrated with each failed attempt.
"An initialism. It means shortening something to make it easier to say," Celestia elaborated. "Her name is Quarter Time, and thus the initialism becomes Q followed by a T." She turned to the mare herself. "You can put the letter on my desk, QT. I'll look it over when I get a chance."
Quarter Time shuffled on the spot, while Twilight began mumbling to herself. "Actually, Princess," she said, looking at the filly next to her. "The letter is for Twilight."
"Initialism!" Twilight shouted suddenly, looking very pleased with herself. It was short-lived, swiftly replaced by confusion when Quarter Time practically stuck the letter in her face. "For me?" Quarter Time nodded and smiled, taking a step back and massaging her right ear with a hoof after the filly had accepted the letter.
After that, the room went quiet once more, save for the sounds of paper being shredded. Celestia's focus wavered. The confines of her room melted away, replaced by a wide open meadow. A single tree sheltered her in its shadow, while her sun lit up the greens of the grass and the colors of flowers alike. There were no ponies or problems requiring her attention, no restrictions or social pressures to watch out for... It was peaceful... familiar...
Celestia closed her eyes and listened to the song of a pair of birds who were loudly proclaiming their courtship to the world with an unburdened smile. What a beautiful day. She surveyed her surroundings for a time, delighting in the completely relaxed atmosphere that surrounded her. After she had seen all there was to see from her prone position, she got up and wandered around, eager for more.
Sadly, no grand vistas awaited her on the far side of the tree. All she saw was just more wide open field as far as the eyes could see; at least, until something crashed into her, after which all she saw was sky.
“‘Tia!” a young voice whined at her, while a small form crawled over her exposed stomach. “Thou promised we would play!”
She lifted her head. The voice sounded familiar and impossible at the same time. Any and all confusion she had felt about her attacker up until that point turned into astonishment, which, in turn, was swept away in a wave of euphoria. “Luna!” she screamed, sweeping her sister up in a hug that left the small, dark blue alicorn struggling in her grip.
She couldn’t hold on to her sister for long with the way Luna struggled. After putting her down, Celestia found that she couldn’t even get a clear picture of her sister after all those years, tears of joy blurring her vision to the point where she could only make out a dark blob against a background of green and blue.
“What is the matter, ‘Tia? Dost thou not want to play with us anymore?” Luna’s voice went from whiny to concerned and all Celestia could think of was that she didn’t want her reunion with her sister marred by such things. She dried her tears with one of her forelegs and chuckled, stifling a sob she felt coming on.
“Of course I do, Lulu,” she replied, heart overflowing. “What would you like to do?”
Luna looked at her as though she’d grown a second head. “Night-time, Day-time, of course! Dost thou forget?”
Celestia remembered. It was a game foals often played, though their versions were a far cry from the game Luna and Celestia had played together; such things tended to happen when both ponies playing it each controlled a heavenly body. She smiled and nodded. “Alright then, shall I go first?”
Luna pouted. “No! We wanted to be first!”
The face Luna made caused Celestia to smile and giggle all over again. “Alright, Luna. Go ahead,” she said, turning her gaze skyward to see what kind of tricks Luna would make her moon perform this time. Out of the two of them, Luna had always been the more playful one, and it showed in their games, which sometimes seemed like they would never end; or perhaps she just wished they wouldn't.
The moon rose in the sky, eclipsing the sun and veiling the grasslands in darkness. Celestia watched it trace a few lazy circles in the sky, a far cry from the tricks she knew her sister could conjure up. A brief glance towards her sister showed her to be frowning thoughtfully, and Celestia returned her attention to the sky with a smile. She called on her own magic and impishly gave the moon a nudge, sending it spiraling out of control.
“‘Tia!” Luna shouted, bracing her small form in a way that only hindered her spellcasting to try and keep the moon from falling out of the sky. It slowed, halted, and with great effort from Luna, went back to its dance in the sky, quickly joined by Celestia’s sun. “T’was our turn,” Luna whined, to which Celestia could only respond with a giggle.
“Perhaps you should’ve come up with an idea beforehoof,” she teased, turning her sun from brilliant yellow into a soft purple, giving her sister’s moon a more eerie shine.
“I did! I was just trying to make it better!” Coinciding with her sentence, Luna’s charge exploded into dust, which wove itself into clouds of shimmering stars that danced with the sun in a loose formation. It was a sight to behold, and that was exactly what Celestia did.
She forgot her own part in the little game they were playing and simply looked at the unfolding rhythm that Luna commanded her little pieces of light to follow. Luna, however, didn’t stop. With a soft tinkling laugh, she reformed parts of her moon to create reflective miniatures of ponies, which then joined in the dance around the sun. Celestia fumbled a little when she tried to follow her sister’s example with her sun. Superheated plasma was a little more volatile and more difficult to control than reflective rocks. Eventually she settled for breaking it into half a dozen pieces, each a different color, around which Luna’s moon-ponies played.
Their playtime in such a manner never lasted very long. Fun though it was, it taxed both of them, and especially Luna usually didn’t last for more than half an hour. They took their time in restoring their charges to their usual state, though Luna left her moon hanging right next to the sun. She waited for Celestia to take a seat at the edge of the pool before crawling in between her sister’s forelegs and nuzzling into her coat where she could reach it. “‘Tia?”
“Yes, Lu?”
“Thank you.”
Celestia smiled and gave her sister a hug softer than the first. “Any time, Lu.” She looked up at her sun with a sigh, absently stroking the coat on Luna’s back with a hoof. “I’ve missed this.”
“We have, too.” They sat there for a long time, delighting in each other’s company, occasionally swapping a tidbit of conversation or a laugh. It wasn't nearly long enough before Luna escaped from Celestia’s loose embrace, and looked up at her sister with a frown, however. “We have to go.”
Celestia grabbed a hold of her sister with a panicked expression, holding her close. “Can’t you stay? Just a little while longer?”
The alicorn filly shook her head sadly and extricated herself from Celestia’s grasp once more. “Thou art aware that we cannot.”
Celestia nodded sadly, tears of a very different nature blurring her vision while she placed a hoof on Luna’s withers. “I know,” she said, reaching forward and placing a kiss on her sister’s forehead. “I love you, Luna, always.”
Luna smiled a weak smile and nodded. She faded into the surroundings slowly, becoming see-through and beginning to disappear from her hooves on upwards before long. “We love thee too, sister," what was left of Luna replied, her voice soft as a whisper on the wind. "Fare thee well.”
After Luna had disappeared, Celestia sank to the ground and wept.
Celestia awoke with tears streaming down her cheeks, her subconscious sorrow spilling over into the real world. But despite her tears, she felt a little better; no longer on the verge of collapse at least. Opening her eyes showed her three different doctors standing over her, and a pair of stoic guards that had trouble hiding their frustration—likely with themselves. With a groan, Celestia raised her head, making her consciousness known.
"Princess! Thank goodness!" the head physician exclaimed, immediately sticking a wooden stick down her throat without even the courtesy of asking her to say 'ah'. "We were starting to worry!"
"Ghow logg was I out?" Celestia asked him.
"Two hours, give or take." The physician nodded to himself and placed a cold stethoscope against her chest. "Your student seemed to think it was all her fault somehow, and I am inclined to agree with her."
"Hmmm... I think I overexerted myself before dinner," Celestia replied, gingerly stretching her legs and wings in turn, testing their strength. "Nothing to worry about, doctor."
The doctor gave her a stern look. "I must disagree. All of your magical leylines are frayed, and we've even found a hairline fracture in your horn," he said, making gestures to the relevant spots as he talked. "I don't know what happened exactly, but as your physician, I must insist that you take it easy for the next couple of days, perhaps even take a day off."
A week prior, 'taking it easy' would have been unthinkable. There was too much depending on her, too much that would falter without her direct intervention. The country itself would have fallen apart if she had 'taken it easy' at any point; not that it was much more secure now, but between Twilight, Sunny's appointment, and her recent exhaustion, she found herself considering it.
It's not as though I would be completely out of reach if ponies really do need me...
"Now, I know that my advice will go ignored, but as a medical professional, I am obligated to tell you about the risks that may—"
"I understand, doctor," Celestia interrupted the stallion. "I will try to take it easy for a few days, though I can't promise I'll actually be able to take a day off." The trio of medical specialists looked at her as though she had grown a second head, but she ignored their confounded stares in favor of looking for her student. She found Twilight far side of the room, being consoled by Quarter Time. "Is there anything else?"
“I... well...” The doctor looked to his colleagues and finally shrugged helplessly. He evidently wasn't used to her heeding his advice. “No, Your Majesty.”
Celestia smiled at him, and got up. “Good.” She left the medical staff behind and made her way over to Aegis and Rook, both whom straightened as she got closer. “At ease.” Only after they relaxed somewhat did she continue. “I imagine one of you brought in the doctors?"
Aegis nodded. "First thing when you collapsed, Princess."
"Thank you for your quick thinking. I do apologise for letting it happen.”
“Part of the job, Princess," Aegis replied. Rook remained silent.
She favored them both with an approving nod. “As you’ve probably heard, it seems like I am going to need to take it easy for a time. Could the two of you make sure nopony bothers me, unless it’s very important?”
Both guards saluted. “Of course, Your Highness."
“Very good,” she said. “Now, I’m going to lay down.” She turned to the medical staff. “Gentleponies, thank you for your concern. I intend to follow your orders as best as I can, but please, return to the infirmary. I’m sure there are plenty of ponies who need your expertise.”
The doctors exchanged glances. “Of course, Your Highness. We’ll let you rest,” the head physician said, motioning for the others to follow.
After the room had been cleared of all the medical ponies, Aegis and Rook followed them out, getting ready to ply their own expertise just outside the door
“Oh, and Rook?” Celestia said, calling them to a halt just before the door closed.
“Yes, Your Highness?”
Celestia turned to him. “I don’t care what she wants, or how important she thinks she is. I don’t want to see Blueblood in my chambers. Understood?”
That finally got Rook to respond. “Yes, Your Highness!” He replied with a grim smile. "I'll make sure she doesn't get in."
Only after the doors had been shut behind the guards did Celestia walk over to Quarter Time and Twilight, the former of which was trying to console the latter.
“Everything’s going to be okay, see? The Princess is already awake again,” the young mare said, pointing at Celestia.
Twilight launched herself at Celestia almost as soon as she had been pointed out to her. When they collided, however, all Celestia could think about was the fact that Twilight lacked the same strength that allowed Luna to force her to the ground so effectively. She brought up a hoof to support the filly lest she fall, and looked down at a pair of tear-filled eyes. It seemed as though Twilight wasn’t done crying just yet.
“S-sorry!” the filly blubbered, clinging to Celestia’s coat as though physical contact would make everything alright. “I made a mistake—and you had to— and then you fell over—and they didn’t want me to—Sohohorryyyy!”
Though it perhaps wasn’t the time for such feelings, Twilight’s anguish warmed Celestia’s heart. She wasn’t used to such a reaction from ponies, though that was likely as much a result from not having been in a vulnerable position for a long time as anything else. She couldn’t help but laugh softly. “Twilight,” she said with a smile in her voice, magically prying the filly from her chest and holding her at arm’s length. “It’s okay. I’m okay, you’ve done nothing—”
“That’s not true!” Twilight yelled in between her sobbing, which was slowly starting to subside. “That pony in the court already said I was dangerous! I made a mistake during the lesson, and then you fell over, and then the doctors came, and they knew that I was, and I wasn’t allowed to stay near you and—”
“Twilight, stop!” The force of Celestia’s exclamation, paired with the sudden absence of a smile actually made the filly quiet down. “Do you remember what I told you about the sun, and how it too could be considered dangerous?”
Twilight nodded mutely.
“Good.” Celestia nodded in turn, and let a hint of a smile return. “Yes, you made a mistake, and yes, I did get hurt. These things happen sometimes, but that doesn’t mean that you’re allowed to stop making mistakes, or claim responsibility for every little thing that happens because of it. Understood?”
Twilight nodded again, though her tears were still flowing, and it was a much more unsure nod than the first one had been.
Pleased that her words seemed to have hit their mark, Celestia then plucked Twilight out of the air and held her in an embrace that finally calmed her down. “You’re my student, and if I have to get hurt to teach you some things, then I’ll do so gladly.” When she did not receive a reply, she loosened her embrace and looked down at the filly. Twilight had fallen asleep in her forelegs, the fear, crying, and exhaustion having taken their toll.
With a tender smile, Celestia placed Twilight on her back and set out to put her to bed, only remembering that there was another pony in the room when she heard the unsure shuffling of hooves. Although adding her presence during so intimate a moment to the long list of things she hadn’t intended to happen, the fact that the young mare had hung around did give her the opportunity to ask a question that sprung to the forefront of her mind. “Quarter Time, would you walk with me?”
The young mare nodded eagerly, and followed her out the doors. “Is there anything you need from me, Your Majesty?”
“I merely have some questions,” Celestia replied before rooting her guards to the floor with her magic. “I’ll be just down the hall, there really is no need for either of you to come with me for this.”
Aegis saluted. Rook was too busy trying to pick himself up from the floor to do likewise.
“So... uhm...” Quarter Time asked when they stepped into Twilight’s bedroom, hemming and hawing while Celestia put Twilight to bed; it was much easier when the filly was asleep. “What did you want to know, Your Majesty?”
Celestia shushed her and quietly made her way out, closing the door before she spoke again. Waking up Twilight now was not something she was particularly enthused about. “Is something amiss with Seabreeze? Has she fallen ill?”
“...Not that I know of, Your Majesty.”
“Then why were you the one bringing in the mail?
“I... just... uhm...” The mare looked at the floor. “I just wanted to do something—anything—other than cleaning up all day. So when the letter came in I just sort of... volunteered to deliver it,” she said lamely.
“I take it that nopony else is aware of your volunteering?” Even before Quarter Time shook her head, Celestia could already tell that that wasn’t the case. “Care to tell me why?”
From the look on Quarter Time’s face, she really rather wouldn’t have explained herself. But when Celestia raised an eyebrow, she nevertheless began talking. “I hate being a maid,” she began, looking around worriedly as though her colleagues would fault her for such an opinion. “It’s not that it’s terrible cleaning the castle, or that I’d rather be lazy than tired. I mean... I want to work, I’m even sort of good at cleaning, but...”
“But you would rather do something more... important?” Celestia finished the sentence for her.
Another nod followed by a sigh. “It just feels like my sister’s out saving the world— not literally, of course, but she’s helping Your Majesty manage it... and I’m just...” Quarter Time grunted in frustration. “cleaning up after ponies...”
Celestia hummed thoughtfully. "Your sister told me that you had ambitions to be a guard?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Quarter Time flattened her ears and looked around again. "But it seems the castle needs maids more than guards."
Celestia lowered her head to be able to look the young mare in the eyes, and smiled encouragingly. "I'm sure there's something we can do about that. Come with me."
Twilight woke up the following morning with an uneasy feeling in her chest that simply wouldn't go away, and thinking back to how the Princess had collapsed because of her only made it worse. She looked around her room for something to help put it out of her mind, but was only reminded of how different things were in the castle. Aside from the books she had brought with her, her entire room still looked like— felt like she was just visiting; devoid of the items that made her old room familiar and safe.
From the bookcase, to the end table next to the bed, to even the carpet and the mirror that hung on the wall; they were items that were there for her to use, yet didn't feel like they belonged to her. For just a moment, Twilight wished she could go back home. While fear over the fate of the Princess had eclipsed most everything of the previous day, she did recall the letter her parents had sent. In it, they apologized for not having had the time to come visit, and promising that they soon would, though there hadn't been a specific date.
Twilight set her jaw. She was a big pony, and she would be fine without her parents... even though she would have really liked a hug, and maybe a few encouraging words. Most everything she had experienced since coming to the castle had been scary in its own way and— she shook herself out of her stupor and changed tactics. She needed something tangible to keep herself distracted. Her eyes invariably drifted over the end-table sized book, and she smiled a little. The More Than Complete Mareiam-Webstar's Dictionary would do nicely. Before she even got as far as opening the book, however, her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t been paying it and its needs nearly enough attention over the last few days.
She was half tempted to ignore it. Between the large meal from the night before, and the fact that she hadn’t even gotten a tenth of the reading quota that she had set for herself done; taking care of herself just felt bothersome. On the other hoof, she had promised Mead she would eat more regularly, and she didn’t want to disappoint the stallion if she could help it.
I could even bring a book or two with me!
Twilight clopped her hooves together happily, briefly wondering why she hadn’t come up with that particular idea herself, only to realise that she had. Daring Do was an obvious first choice, although she ran into a problem when she looked for something educational to pair it with. The dictionary was much too large for her to move, much less read in a place as crowded as the Grand Dining Hall was, and now that she thought of it, Celestia really hadn’t given her any reading material or homework in the way that a school teacher might have. Picking up the Daring Do book with her magic while making her way to the door, she resolved to ask the Princess for more things to read when she got the chance.
She heard the muttering of Aegis before she had even good and well opened the door: "grmbl, he knows I like pancakes, he could've—” The stallion visibly stiffened when he saw Twilight, treating her to an awkward smile when she cocked her head in confusion. "Hello, Twilight."
"H-hello,” she replied, somewhat taken aback by having a guard in front of her room. It felt like he should have been with the Princess, and the fact that he wasn’t worried her.
"The Princess is in the Grand Dining Hall,” he said, as though reading her thoughts. “I'm supposed to take you to her, to make sure you don't get lost again."
"Oh.” Twilight smiled happily. The Princess was okay, and she wouldn’t even have to search the castle for her this time. “Okay!” she said, skipping ahead and waiting for Aegis only when she reached the first intersection.
They spent most of their trip towards the unofficial center of the castle in silence, the exception being when Twilight recalled something from her morning in the infirmary. “Mister Aegis?” she asked, stopping on the spot and looking up at the stallion whom halted next to her.
“Uh... yes, Twilight?”
“Why didn’t you want to help me when I was stuck in the infirmary?”
Aegis turned red in the face, but didn’t say anything for the longest time. Just when Twilight began wondering if she should repeat her question he stammered; “I... uhh... I think... uhm... the Princess will explain it to you when you’re older.” He set himself in motion again, leaving Twilight to follow, confused, and a little annoyed.
Why does it always have to be when I’m older?
She voiced the question aloud, making Aegis come to a halt yet again, and noted the sweat that beaded down his face while he considered his response, which took almost as long as the first time. “It’s because... Uhm...” A light seemed to go up in his brain, and it brought a knowing smile with it. “It’s because you haven’t yet advanced far enough in your studies to understand the how or the why of my decision.”
While Twilight had an inkling that she knew more about magic than he did, that wasn't true for everything. What he said was plausible enough, and she was surprised by how much she didn’t know every time she opened a book. “Oh,” she said, “Okay.” She filed the thought away under ‘ask The Princess about it’ and focused on the here and now. If The Princess wasn’t too busy, she would very likely want to give Twilight another lesson, and this time, she wanted to be prepared— a proposition made difficult by the fact that she had no idea what The Princess would want to teach her next, though it wasn’t something that she deemed insurmountable; she would simply have to be prepared for anything...
...which I can’t do without a trip to the library, and at least half a dozen books on varying subjects. she thought with a frown, which became yet another entry for the 'ask The Princess' archive.
The Dining Hall was more crowded than ever, and yet at the same time oddly stilted in the ongoing festivities. It was obviously due to a whole host of snobby-looking ponies, every single one of which seemed to have their eyes on Twilight the moment she stepped through the doors. As far as she could see, ponies would stare at her, or cast a glance in her direction before starting to whisper to one another.
It felt awful.
She made her way over to the Princess’ table as quickly as she could, only to find that the Princess, too, was surrounded by nobles, none of whom seemed happy to see her. Fortunately, the Princess was.
“Please excuse me,” she told the small group of noble ponies that had been talking at her. She abandoned her seat at the head of the table and made her way over to Twilight. “Did you sleep well?”
Twilight nodded. “Yes, Pri—”
“Princess!” One of the nobles the Princess had been talking to stepped forward, looking down his nose at Twilight for barely a moment before focusing on the Alicorn. “I hadn’t yet had the chance to express my grievances about the dissolution of the council. My brother has been a staunch supporter of your rule all his life, and doing away with him like he is some—”
“I am sorry, Mayor Winds, truly I am,” Celestia interrupted him. “However, as you have no doubt heard by now, I have been ordered to take it easy by my physician.” She casually indicated another group of nobles with a wing. “My being at this little soireé was entirely unplanned and as such I’m afraid you will have to take your grievances to the new regent.”
The stallion’s cheeks puffed up, and Twilight had to stifle a giggle. He looked ridiculous, but laughing would only turn more ponies against her.
The Princess smiled politely but said nothing until the stallion let out a breath and bowed lightly. "I understand. Thank you for your time, Princess."
After he was gone, the Princess motioned for Twilight to follow along and set a course for the kitchens. They were stopped—and talked at—by a few other ponies, but the Princess politely told them to buzz off.
The din of the Dining Hall faded to mere background noise when they stepped into the kitchens, and Twilight's nose was immediately assaulted by a smell that was as potent as it was pungent. "Bleh," she said, sticking out her tongue. Unfortunately, opening her mouth only made the smell worse and she had to gag a few times before she was able to swallow down the bile that rose in her throat. "Did somepony burn something in here?" she asked the Princess, who seemed like she was used to the smell—or perhaps simply immune to it.
The cooks, many of which were hard at work trying to keep the snobby ponies up the stairs sated, did not deign to respond to her question. However, in the back, a wild tuft of mane appeared behind an intricate series of glass tubes. The tuft was swiftly followed by the curious face of Mead, who smiled when he saw the pair of ponies that had just stepped into his domain. "Ah! Princess, little Twilight! Welcome, welcome!" His retreat behind the contraption went paired with a cacophony of noise which only made Twilight more curious. "Take a seat. Be right with you."
The Princess regarded the tuft of mane with a look. "Isn't it a little early in the day to be brewing, Mead?"
"Nonsense! Good drinks, like good food, aren't ruled by the clock, Princess," came the reply, after which Mead stepped out from behind his foul-smelling contraption. "Make sure you don't singe those dandelion crackers, Doughy." While a little more disheveled than usual, the stallion nevertheless had a wide smile on his face when he approached them. He made his way over to the table, carefully balancing two mugs on his back, one of which he put in front of the Princess. The other he put in front of himself, leaving Twilight with a sense of disappointment. Before she could give voice to it, however, he pulled a third mug from out of nowhere, and set it down in front of her with a wink and put a hoof to his lips while nodding to the Princess.
Twilight understood. This would be their little secret. She put her book down on the table and waited until the Princess dealt with her own mug, before leaning forward to take a quick sip.
Despite the smell that was apparently part of its creation process, the drink had just the right mixture of sweetness and bitterness. The only thing Twilight didn’t like was the burning feeling the mixture left when she swallowed it. Upon seeing Mead’s half-curious half-anticipatory expression, she effected a smile and nodded. It wasn’t a bad drink at all, and she didn’t want to give Mead a reason to be disappointed with her.
Keeping the secret from the Princess proved to be easier than expected, as the alicorn thoughtfully smacked her lips after each sip she took. Twilight quickly emptied her own mug, and hid it away beneath the table, trying to gauge if the Princess had noticed while a mellow and somewhat pleasant warmth spread throughout her body.
She sat in silence for a while after that, waiting for the Princess to finish her drink while curiously looking around the kitchens. The kitchen where her father cooked the meals for the family had been familiar to her, but she had never before seen one that could accommodate almost twenty ponies working side by side.
The glass contraption from behind which Mead had appeared was tucked away in the back of the room near a wooden door that presumably led deeper into the castle. The rest of the room was occupied by stoves, counters, and home to more cooking utensils than Twilight had ever seen. Various strange implements lined the walls, and their use became clear only when one or the other was snatched away from its resting place and used by one of the many cooks that busied themselves around the kitchen interior.
"This is very good, Mead." The Princess said, snapping Twilight out of her observational reverie when she finally put her own mug back on the table. "It´s not quite as strong as vodka, but it has a lot more character. I especially like the aftertaste. What is it?"
"It's mead!” the stallion declared proudly. “It’s a mix of fermented honey, water, and a few extra touches to mellow the taste out a little. Made it myself!"
Twilight giggled softly. Her head felt fuzzy, and Mead naming a drink after himself tickled her funny bone. "Mead's Mead!" She exclaimed with a goofy grin.
Mead laughed. "Yes indeed, little miss. Mead's Mead! I'll have the entire castle cursing the lack of supply before the week is out."
The Princess shook her head with a sigh. "Before you take over my castle with alcohol, could you see about getting Twilight something to eat?"
"Of course! Cookie, make the little miss here a few sandwiches, would ya?"
One of the younger cooks nodded, and presented Twilight with a plate full of delectable looking daffodil sandwiches in short order. They were just as soft and spongy as when her mother made them, and if she was honest, even a little tastier. Twilight ate slowly, her eyes glued to the mesmerising sway of the Princess' mane while she chewed. She was only halfway through her second sandwich when a high-pitched voice made her clamp her ears to her skull.
"Princess? Princess?! We would like a word about the treatment of the nobility by your highness in recent days."
Across the table, the Princess stiffened, her eyes darting to the stairs, then the door in the back, and finally to Twilight. “I think we’ll have to take those with us, Twilight,” she said in a smooth, even tone. Any confusion Twilight might have had was swiftly crushed beneath the Princess’ hooves as she got up and magicked Twilight onto her back, plate of sandwiches and all. “Mead, could you keep them busy for a while?” she asked while already making her way towards the door in the back. “I’d rather not—”
“Just go, Princess, they won’t get by me.”
“Rook, Aegis. Follow me.”
Twilight watched the two guards—whom she hadn’t even noticed enter the kitchen— drop their statue imitations and sprint towards her while Mead took up a position near the stairs. The heavy-set earth pony squared his shoulders and set his jaw, managing to present a scarier visage than Twilight had thought possible. He looked as if he was facing down a horde of manticores, rather than a couple of posh nobles. Not that those weren’t scary in their own way, but still...
For some reason, the thought of nobles as manticores made her giggle again, and she briefly wondered what it would be like to stay behind and watch the standoff. She also had an unexplained craving for popcorn.
Their trip through the castle towards the courtyard passed without a word from anypony. Celestia was pleased, and even a little giddy for ditching her responsibilities and dumping more work into Sunny's lap. She felt naughty, and liberated, and even though the start of her day hadn't been the most grand—being woken up to attend the gathering of boorish nobles that caring for Twilight had saved her from—after the successful escape, she was certain nothing could go wrong.
She and fate still did not see eye to eye on such matters.
Just when it seemed like they would reach the courtyard un-assaulted, Twilight screamed; "My book!" and crawled across Celestia's back, putting her small hooves on the back of Celestia's neck to gain a vantage point. "Princess, I forgot my book!"
Eyebrow twitches were hard to suppress, and even Celestia had not had enough experience with them to fully repress that part of her body's subconscious responses. Lucky, Twilight couldn't see her face. Just a minor hiccup, she told herself. "I’ll get you another book, Twilight," she told the filly on her back. "I’ll get you a hundred other books, we’re not going back there anytime soon.”
“Does that mean that we’re going to a library?” The eagerness in Twilight’s voice was palpable, and that was enough to make Celestia smile.
“Yes, Twilight, I wanted to get a few books for you to read which could help with your studies,” she replied, mentally adding: and none of those stuck up ponies would set a hoof in a library if they couldn’t use it for leverage later.
Just because most of the nobles would never be caught dead in one of them, did not mean that the libraries were always empty, however. From students of her School for Gifted Unicorns, to teachers, scientists, and even residents of the castle all made use of them at one time or another; and today was no different.
The library Celestia had chosen to visit, whether by chance or not, was the same one that she had shown Twilight after her entrance exam. While certainly not the biggest in the castle, the Astronomer’s Library was almost certainly the most well-stocked. That most of the books had something to do with the study of the heavens was fairly self-evident, but, like all of the libraries in the castle, also carried some basic literature and educational books thanks to a token effort at decentralization Celestia had instituted a few hundred years prior.
The already silent room became moreso when Celestia stepped over the threshold. The few ponies that weren’t engrossed in their books or preoccupied in some other way all dipped their heads towards her in respect. Unlike the Dining Hall, her presence here wasn’t much of a surprise.
“There’s nothing I need in particular, thank you,” she said, waving away the attendant that hurried towards them before striding off towards the section that held the educational books not focused on the night skies.
The small alcove the books were stored in wasn’t dusty, or badly maintained. If anything she would have to commend the custodian for keeping everything looking tidy, yet there were clear signs that implied the place saw little use: Uncracked book spines, leftover bookmarks in some of the volumes... it did Celestia good to know that that would soon change. If nothing else, Twilight was an avid reader and would make short work of the available literature.
She selected a trio of books dealing with basic spellcasting. Runology was a basic part of casting any spell more advanced than levitation, yet she hadn’t seen Twilight use any of that. Either the filly had missed that particular class, or, more likely, was using the ones she had learned in school and overloaded them to the point of disaster. In essence, she was years ahead in terms of what she could manage magically, and she had no tools to work with. “Here, Twilight,” she said, levitating the books up to her back where the filly could most certainly grab hold of them. “I think we should start with the...” It was only then that she found out that her student had vacated her back at some point.
It was no reason to panic, yet Celestia couldn’t help a surge of concern, especially given what happened when she had last left Twilight by herself. She stepped out of the alcove and looked around, finding nothing that indicated where Twilight might have gone. Her ears, however, perked up and swiveled around when she heard a muted scream, followed by giggling coming from somewhere deeper into the library.
At least she seems to be enjoying herself, Celestia thought, smiling wryly while she picked up the books she had left in the alcove in her hurry. She floated them along while she leisurely made her way towards the biggest disruption of the peace the library had seen in quite a while, idly musing on what amused Twilight so very much.
Her answer came in the form of a pile of books underneath two slanted bookcases that were leaning against one another. A strange sight in an otherwise well-maintained library, but she might have passed it without another thought, were it not for the tiny purple horn sticking out of the pile. She stepped closer, channeling magic through her horn for some extra light.
“Twilight?”
The pile exploded, sending books flying in every direction when Twilight burst out of it. “Boo!” she yelled, giggling when Celestia inadvertently reared up, skittishly taking a few steps back. “I got you!” The filly said, continuing to giggle with a rosy blush on her cheeks.
Celestia had to deal with her fight or flight instincts before she could assess the threat. After she had calmed down and gotten control of her limbs back, she fixed her student with a stern look; or she would have had Twilight’s giggling not disappeared inside of the book pile along with the rest of her. Now that the shock had worn off, Celestia found herself giggling as well. She levitated the entire pile of reading material and sorted through it until she found a goofy smile that had a filly attached to it, booping her on the nose and saying: "Gotcha." Which only made Twilight laugh harder.
The filly treated the magic field Celestia had cast over the books like a swimming pool and tried her darndest to swim away from her. She laughed like any filly being chased on the school grounds, and seemed unconcerned with the fact that she wasn't actually getting anywhere.
Celestia shook her head with a smile and lowered the entire thing back to the ground. Twilight looked between her and the pile like she wanted to dive back in immediately, but Celestia had a different idea. “Twilight?” She stopped the filly with a hoof. “Why don’t you see how many books you can lift?”
“Hokay,” Twilight said with a hiccup before she lit up her horn, sticking out her tongue while a dozen and one books acquired a soft, shaky purple glow and rose up into the air. A remarkable improvement as far as Celestia was concerned, although a glance at Twilight’s face showed the filly still grinning stupidly, which made her realise something she should’ve seen long ago: Twilight was drunk. Or at the very least seriously inebriated.
Mead... She had half a mind to march right back to the kitchens and make it clear to the cook just what she thought of him serving alcohol to minors, not to mention the fact that he had done so to her student, which he knew she had taken as her student because of the filly’s extraordinary magical power.
In front of her, Twilight hiccuped again and dropped the books with a dull thud. Although she hadn’t moved any of them beyond picking them up off the ground, Celestia was still glad that she had asked. Maybe seeing what Twilight was capable of while unburdened by her usual diffidence was a good thing. “Your turn!” the filly said, turning around and putting her tiny forelegs against Celestia’s own. “Can you lift them all?”
The books would need to put back in their proper places eventually, and if Celestia didn’t put them back, the librarians would have to. What’s the harm? She grabbed hold of all of the books with her magic— three hundred and sixty-two to be exact — and began floating them over to the bookcases, which she also set aright.
“Awhh.”
One look at Twilight showed Celestia a disappointed filly who was watching all of her toys being taken away before she was done playing with them. Celestia went back on her original idea. Ever since her ‘fever dream’ she had been feeling more playful. It was tempered by the knowledge that her sister would never again be able to, but that again was pushed to the back of her mind by the simple fact that Twilight very much could. And she wants to.
First order of business—or play, rather— was to get Twilight to start smiling again, and Celestia knew of no better way than the phrase she had heard many a filly, and even some colts tell their parents during the Summer Sun Celebration: “I want to be a Princess when I grow up.” She pulled the books back from the shelves, and began arranging them in a geometrical pattern that roughly matched the outline of the castle, albeit at a much smaller scale. Just three hundred something books would never be enough, so she glanced out into the walkway, and, upon finding nopony in the direct vicinity, pulled books from other shelves as well.
Twilight watched the procession of books that floated down the hallway in single file in awe. The books stacked themselves on top of one another until the space that had been occupied by her book pile was instead home to a miniature book castle; though given that it wasn’t as big as the real deal, perhaps calling it a book fort would be a more apt description.
After the last few books had settled to recreate the tallest spire of the castle, Celestia stepped out of her gilded horseshoes, and took off her crown, respectively placing them in front of, and on top of, Twilight. “There,” she said, smiling down at the filly. “Now you can be the Princess of Books... or knowledge, I suppose.”
The crown was much too large for Twilight’s head and only barely held on, anchored by her horn before it could slip off entirely. The horseshoes were similarly too big, and the most Twilight could do after stepping into them was step out again, or glue them to her hooves with magic as indeed she did. Her eyes nevertheless sparkled with joy and excitement and she smiled widely. “As the Princess of Books, I hereby declare that court is in session!” she said loudly, giggling at the end of her sentence.
It was nothing like how Celestia treated her own court, or at least hadn't for as long as she could remember. A good thing, too, because it sounded so preposterous that it made her laugh out loud. With another subtle application of magic, she made a book walk over from the aisle next to them. "Your first supplicant has arrived, Milady," she proclaimed, bowing low to welcome her new literary overlord.
At first, the book said nothing, prompting Princess Twilight to look down at it and ask; "What brings you here, my faithful servant?"
"Oh, Princess," the book began in a shrill imitation of Celestia's voice. "It’s awful! The inkwell has run dry and now my brothers and sisters have nary enough ink to tend to their letter fields! The number-stock is dwindling and we can barely sustain ourselves, will you please help us?"
Rather than answer her paper subject, Twilight looked up at Celestia with badly-concealed confusion. "Princess?" she whispered as though she didn't want her book-subject to overhear, "What does 'nary' mean?" The fact that Celestia had simply spoken in a high-pitched voice to give the book expression, rather than use elaborate vocalization magic either hadn’t registered with the filly, or she simply didn’t care.
Ah, Twilight. Not Luna. It was a punch to the gut. Had she forgotten that it was not her sister she was playing with so easily? No, you've simply never played with anypony else. she drove the thoughts, and the dour feelings off with the mental equivalent of a pitchfork and played the part of an advisor for her student. "Nary, Milady, means ‘barely’ in old Equestrian."
Twilight nodded her thanks and turned back to the book in front of her, pushing her crown straight with a hoof. "Don't worry my faithful subject, I will send my servants to find a new inkwell! Your worries will soon be—"
"What in Celestia's name is going on over here?" A gruff voice interrupted her proclamation. An aging stallion in long, flowing, librarian robes rounded the corner, fixing Twilight with a stern look the moment he did. "What's this? Books aren't toys, young lady." He sized up the castle and snorted. "And they are certainly not to be used as building materials." He walked up to the book fortress, levitating books from the top of it as he went. Until he saw Celestia. “Princess!” The book he held in his magic fell to the floor and he bowed hastily. “I thought you’d already left.”
Celestia treated him to a kind smile. “That was the plan, yes, but I fear we got a little side-tracked.” She got up and stretched her legs before she began disassembling the fort, much to Twilight’s displeasure.
“But, Princess, I didn’t even get the chance to hold my first ball yet!”
Celestia shook her head softly. “Another time, Twilight,” she said, letting all the books she returned to their bookcases pass her so she could retrieve the books they had come to the library for from among them. To the librarian she said, “Sorry for the disturbance, and the mess. I’m afraid I don’t know the exact order in which these books go on the shelves...”
The librarian’s gruff demeanour had vanished upon seeing the Princess and he shook his head. “No problem, Princess. It’s what they pay me for.”
Celestia inclined her head in thanks. “Thank you. We’ll be going now. Come along, Twilight.”
After they had left the library—during which Twilight had stumbled and fallen on more than one occasion due to the golden accessories she was still wearing—Celestia had simply picked her up and carried her. Which seemed to suit the filly just fine. She rode on Celestia’s back with a wide smile, looking like she was the happiest pony in Equestria. The slightly crooked angle at which Celestia’s crown sat on her head only reinforced the image, although it earned them a lot of strange looks while they made their way through the castle halls.
“Mush!” Twilight said, giggling.
Celestia needed no encouragement to keep moving towards the destination she had in mind, and yet... She decided to go from a slow trot to a canter anyway, for no other reason than to make the filly on her back laugh. It had been forever since she had really done anything for herself, and even today, she wouldn’t have known where to begin if she had been left to her own devices. Twilight was the answer to that particular dilemma. She felt happiness bubble in her chest whenever she managed to make the filly laugh, and that was more than enough.
“Twilight?” she asked in between breaths. The laughter she was striving for was all the response she got. “Hang on.” And with that she went for broke, dashing through the castle at a speed unreachable for most ponies. She couldn’t reach her top speed within the confines of the castle, having to dodge and weave around the other inhabitants. They nevertheless reached the small unassuming door that served as a side entrance into the courtyard in a mere minute, Celestia almost having her rump touch the ground as she tried not to crash into said door.
The sudden stop would have thrown Twilight off of her back had she not held her student in place with her magic. It didn't stop the filly from jumping off when the magic faded and smiling up at Celestia with an excited blush covering the entirety of face. "Can we do that again?" She asked breathlessly, eyes sparkling with joy.
Celestia took a deep breath, noting again how out of shape she was compared to only a few hundred years past, before chuckling. "Perhaps," she said, pairing her words with a wink.
"Yes! Yesyesyesyesyesyes!" Twilight sang, dancing around Celestia in a way that would have seen her smack into the wall on her own, had Celestia's magic not stopped her a second time. Though it didn’t stop the filly from falling down on her rump anyway.
"Easy now, Twilight," Celestia said with a smile. She peeled the two books from the wall. In all of the excitement, they had been less fortunate than Twilight, and would likely need some care to keep them in prime condition. For now, however, she tucked them under one of her wings and opened the door.
“Where are we going, Princess?” Twilight asked sometime later while they walked through the courtyard.
For the longest time, the courtyard had simply been a paved square that served as both the place where the guard practiced their drills, as well as grounds for fairs and celebrations. It had been a fundamental part of the castle until just a little under thirty years ago. After a mistake by the Weather Pegasi, and the cracks in the paved stones from the resulting deluge, the entire area had been stripped and redesigned as a garden. Unlike the gardens surrounding the castles, where hedges formed a majority of the greenery, Celestia had insisted that the courtyard contain nothing more than flowers and the occasional tree.
It was still a little too early in spring for all the flowers to be in bloom, but the bluebells were already doing extremely well. With the rains from the previous day, she suspected that it wouldn’t be long before the court yard turned into a sea of color, and wondered if Twilight would like it. Luna would have...
“Princess!”
Celestia blinked. The mental image of Luna frolicking in the meadows ages before the castle had been been built faded, and she found herself staring at a patch of bluebells; and an annoyed purple filly. “I’m sorry, Twilight,” she said belatedly, “What did you say?”
“I asked where we are— were going, but you just stopped and stared at the flowers,” Twilight replied, sticking out her tongue to snatch a blue petal stuck to her cheek. “They aren’t even tasty.”
“Not all flowers are meant to be eaten, Twilight.” Celestia sighed and looked over the flowers, one of which was now missing. “We’re going to check up on a friend of mine.”
“Oh. Okay.” Twilight’s expression cleared up and she turned clockwise, looking at each of the entrances to the courtyard in turn. “Where are they?”
Celestia gave Twilight a nudge with her wing and set off towards the exit closest to the mountainside. “She, is this way.” After the redesign of the courtyard, the training grounds for the guards had been moved towards the mountain, and their barracks had followed some years later. Although not readily apparent from the outside, the castle didn’t end where the mountain began; the barracks and several storage areas had been hewn into the mountain itself, and there was talk of doing even more should the castle need to be expanded again.
They heard the guards long before they saw them. By the sounds of it, the drill sergeant was loudly unhappy with the performance of his recruits. But then... when were drill sergeants ever openly happy with ponies’ performance?
The dais overseeing the training grounds had been built because it was tradition, moreso than because there had been any reason to have it there. Even had she the inclination after everything ponies required of her throughout the day, the last time Celestia had concerned herself with the training of the troops had been when the manticores had all fled to Everfree. Right now, however, she was glad for it and took a seat on the cushioned throne that had been erected despite her objections that it was entirely unnecessary.
There were only about a dozen training guards, which made picking out Quarter Time easy. While the armor the guards generally wore were enchanted to turn their coats white and their hair blue as part of the uniform, they were considered too heavy for the new recruits to train in. Quarter Time, with her olive green coat, light blue mane, and timepiece on her flank, was near the front of the group, and looked to be the most lively of them all.
They were doing push-ups and basic Close Quarters Combat. Which should be right up her alley, Celestia thought with a smile. She let the synchronous shouts and motions lull her into a state of relaxation, letting her wings splay down to the floor, and watching the rest through half-lidded eyes.
She wasn’t quite asleep, however, and at least made an effort to keep her head upright, lest the guards think that their performances were so routine that they bored the Princess. Silly how much value they place on my every move...
Her relaxation didn’t last. Somepony stepped on one of her splayed-out wings, and the pain jolted her back to full alertness in an instant. She withdrew her wing and massaged it with a hoof while looking at the offending party with a barely concealed frown. She had been enjoying the rest.
The offending party, that being Twilight, had no inkling of the Princess’ frown, busy as she was imitating the guards in their various combat stances. Lacking a partner to spar with, the filly was striking air, but she was doing so with enthusiasm and a surprising amount of skill. It quickly became clear that she had seen at least some of the punches and kicks before, and Celestia wondered where she might have had occasion to learn such things.
“Twilight?”
“Yes, Princess?” The filly never took her eyes off of the guards, and her imitations faltered only slightly now that her focus was divided.
“Have you seen something like this before?”
“Uh huh.” Twilight overbalanced with a simple punch and almost smacked into the pavement. She took a moment to recover, and smiled at Celestia in the interim. “My BBBFF had to learn those attacks for his entrance exam,” she said before beginning anew. “He said that you’re supposed to practice against somepony, otherwise you’ll make mistakes when it counts, so he wanted me to be his sparring buddy.”
Celestia said nothing, merely watching her student try to perform the same moves the guards were with a bemused smile.
“But when mom found out, she said that we should stop because it could be dangerous, and Dad always agrees with mom, so BBBFF had to find somepony else to spar with.”
Celestia looked from her student, to the guards and back again. She had no idea what ‘BBBFF’ meant, but given that Twilight had talked about her parents in the same breath, she assumed it had something to do with Twilight’s brother or sister. “I see.” If their parents were against the practice, then she had few qualms about making Twilight stop, if only to prevent the filly from stepping on her wings again. “Why don’t you come sit down and tell me more about this ‘BBBFF’ of yours?”
The motions that Twilight had been performing slowed and she tilted her head, as if considering the proposal, though she was quick to make up her mind. “Okay,” she said, prancing over to Celestia and sitting down next to her, although she kept a respectful distance, that Celestia felt as a pain in her chest. She liked it better when Twilight sat right next to her.
“BBBFF means Big Brother Best Friend Forever, and he really is! He helped me with my magic and always makes time for me when I want to play, and...”
Celestia smiled, closed her eyes, and simply listened to the filly talk about her brother. She could do with a little bit more rest on her day off.