//------------------------------// // 5 - Sweet Cheeks // Story: Takes The Cake // by sunnypack //------------------------------// Chapter 5: Sweet Cheeks To begin the day with a crisis and to end it with a startling revelation was something Twilight thought she would be accustomed to. In her life she had seen prophesies, old and new enemies, lost empires, new species, and a healthy assortment of thrilling adventures, one after the other. She thought she could get used to it, but the Universe seemed intent on defying her modest expectations. “Princess?” Luna looked up from the assortment of scrolls and parchment that piled in around the alicorn like a mountain range. Twilight gingerly made her way through the maze of textual bureaucracy, threading this way and that to get to the co-ruler of Equestria. “Hmm?” Luna levitated a parchment to eye-height, her pupils flicking left and right as she skimmed the contents intently. “Princess, has there been word?” Luna picked up a quill and signed the document with a flourish, then gently set aside the parchment. She glanced at the pile of scrolls and sighed despondently. Twilight knew the pile well, there was one of almost identical size in her own room. She registered the bags under the Lunar Princess’ eyes. She looked exhausted. Twilight felt a wry smile touch her lips. She was one to talk, she must look the same. “No…” Luna began, getting to her hooves. She winced. Twilight heard several cracks and creaks and she wondered how long Luna had been reclining on the floor like that. It could have been hours. Luna gave a delicate yawn and shook herself. “No,” she repeated more firmly, her eyes more alert. “There hath been little of note from our investigations into her whereabouts. ’Tis a pity, mine sister would have cleared all this paperwork by noon.” When Twilight didn’t say anything, Luna’s smile wilted. “Perhaps a measure of levity was misplaced.” Twilight blinked. Oh. “Sorry,” Twilight replied. “I’m just so tired and worried that I just didn’t register the uhm… jest.” Luna flashed a brief smile, but sifted through the documents once more. “Nevertheless, thou hast thy duties and I hast mine own.” She glared at a nervous stallion that had just entered. With shaking legs, he dumped the contents in a new stack at the edge of a growing behemoth of paper and parchment. He glanced back quickly, then turned tail abruptly, fleeing to the door, all the while fully aware of Luna’s burning gaze upon him. Twilight thought that if Luna concentrated any harder, she might accidentally cast a spell and set the poor stallion on fire. She decided to intervene before that could happen. “Princess, if the workload is too much, maybe you can shift some to me,” Twilight offered. Luna hesitated, then shook her head. “Never mind,” she growled. “This is a task I wilt face alone.” She groaned as the door opened again and yet another load of papers were dumped into the pile. “I have a new-found appreciation of my sister’s patience now.” She lifted another piece of parchment and scanned the contents. “Worry not for me, dear Twilight, I will manage.” Luna growled at the next messenger as he fled the room. Shaking her head with a chuckle, Twilight left the room confident they could manage for a while. True, it was only the fifth day, there was no need to panic. The sun hadn’t risen since the first say, but they had taken care of it without too much difficulty. Still, there was something troubling her. A sensation that persisted though she thought it would be okay… with every step Twilight took, the matter weighed down more heavily on her shoulders, and she grew less confident that Celestia would even return. It was absurd she knew, it was just a feeling. But it wouldn’t go away. ———— Stepping forward, Celestia hastily dismissed herself from the crowd, gently prying open the normally open gates of Canterlot Castle. Though she had expected the crowd to follow, they all stood back, watching her as she unfastened the locks on the gate and stepped onto Royal grounds. Canterlot Castle was open to the public, so it was already unusual that the gates were closed. The hinges squealed and protested when she pried the barred gating open, though Celestia was sure they were regularly oiled. Curious more than ever, Celestia crossed the threshold, looking back to see the crowd gathered apprehensively at the edges of the grounds. She beckoned with a hoof, but they went so far as to shake their heads and gestured for her to continue. Were they expecting something from her? Inside, the garden looked well-maintained and the fountain set to the right of the path bubbled and babbled happily at her as she passed it by. The normally ever-present Royal Guards were nowhere to be found. In lieu of them was the drawbridge instead, but it was raised, barring entry. Mixed thoughts swirled in her mind. Why was this so different? Where was she? Why did that mare tell her it had been a year? Why did they appear uneasy around Canterlot Castle? Surely there was an explanation? Celestia reluctantly clamped down on a vicious maelstrom of thoughts that threatened to overwhelm her. She focused on putting one hoof in front of the other. Walk forwards, she thought to herself. With your head held high, your posture rigid and regal. She lowered the drawbridge herself, though she wryly reflected that she hadn’t done so for as long as she could remember. Like the gates, the drawbridge groaned and shrieked. Celestia thought the gate shouldn’t protest so much, but she had never heard from it before, so she forgave the ancient structure this time. “I’ll get to the bottom of this,” she murmured to herself, crossing the bridge and watching the steady stream of water flow through the moat. A tiny flash from the water caught her eye and she paused, looking down into the makeshift moat of Canterlot Castle. Small fishes swam against the current, pecking at the gravel and pebbles on the moat’s bed. Celestia tore her gaze away. Immediately, she was faced with another issue. Her eyebrows drawing together as she examined the portcullis. For the very first time since she had seen the construction of the castle, the metallic gating was now down. Grim brass and steel was tarnished with age, but nevertheless held strong against the weather and time… and a tentative knock with her fore hoof. Celestia regarded the portcullis with confusion crossed with consternation. Things around her weren’t adding up. Was she in a different time, or a different place? For a moment, she was tempted to turn tail and head back to the Bakery, but she held firm. There was more to investigate here, and she would find out just what she had gotten herself into. The gate opened slowly, the creaks and groans of the structure seemingly too loud to Celestia’s increasingly jittery nerves. She glanced skywards and registered that the sun was moving on its own. It was disturbing, the sight of the sun moving on its own after raising and lowering it for so long felt disjointed, like she was seeing her hoof move on its own. She shivered at the implications. Was there something terribly wrong with Equestria? She shook her head doggedly. No, perhaps it was one of the other Princesses? A tendril of magic spread forth to touch the blazing star. With a surprised yelp, she stumbled back. There was no connection! It was like falling flat on her face, after expecting there to be solid ground. She tried again, teeth gritted. Again, she couldn’t feel anything from the star. It sat there, inert against her will. Celestia almost made the mistake of glaring into the sun. Though perhaps warranted in the situation, the folly of doing such a thing would earn her nothing but the painful recourse of one of the few things that could match her power. So Celestia avoided looking at the sun, and decided that, if need be, she would pry some answers out of the castle itself. The castle within did not look overtly changed. Dust had gathered, but there was little amiss that Celestia could see. Perhaps the most glaring feature was the lack of ponies inhabiting the structure. The castle was a massive affair, requiring a mass of ponies equal to its size to run and maintain. Yet… the outside had appeared normal, better than ever, it seemed. In contrast, the inside smacked of disuse, though a small effort had gone into cleaning on occasion, so Celestia wouldn’t go so far as to call it neglect. So many ideas flittered around, but Celestia couldn’t fathom an answer to increasingly peculiar set of circumstances. Celestia listened to the echo of her hooves striking the cold stone floors. For a long time, she hadn’t considered the castle as so chill and uninviting. There was always the flow of ponies, the slight chatter of their conversations through the halls and the breath of life circulating through the ancient body of the castle as they went through the day to day running of the behemoth. It was a startling disconnection to the familiarity and that, more than anything set her teeth on edge. Using the faint glow of her horn to light the way, she came upon the adjunct to the throne room, the doors slightly ajar, in contrast to the closed and locked doors of the other sections of the castle. Celestia pushed forward, her pace quickened by the hope that there was something that could tell her exactly what happened here. She opened the door and stepped through. Small sculptures lined the receiving room. Where the guards usually stood, were delicate crystal figures held in various poses. The light filtered in through the stain glass windows, casting the figures in rainbow-hued colours. The dappled figures seemed to shine with an inner light. There were many figures. Unicorns with hooves in a ready stance, horn lifted gracefully high. Earth ponies standing proud hooves held out as if to strike. Pegasi with wings unfurled and a proud, determined glint in their eyes. Despite herself, Celestia paused. She felt as if she had stepped into a museum, or perhaps an ancient burial site. Who would make all this? Why was it in her castle? What. Had. Happened? Gingerly, Celestia made her way around the figures, heading towards the familiar double doors leading to the throne room. With a muted glow around her horn, she pushed open the doors… Only to find the doors stuck. A dull thud reverberated around the small chamber. Celestia frowned but decided the opening was wide enough to just let her through. Carefully aligning herself in the gap, she squeezed herself through. Wincing slightly as her limbs contorted to force herself through the gap. Finally, with a soft grunt, Celestia was through and again she did a double take. Again, were the crystal sculptures, though this time they were not in random poses as were the figures in the outside reception. The models were arranged in a formal court gathering, with the guards lined up along the carpet. Celestia spotted the various castle staff, all scattered around the chamber, as if the moment had been captured and replicated in crystal. Glancing back, she realised that there were guards too, and the door had been blocked by the regular soldiers appointed to opening and closing the throne doors. The scheduler, the announcer, the recorder, the archivist, and even a messenger were all arranged around the throne, as if partway in action. The detail and the scale of complexity of the artwork confounded her. Somepony had gone to a great effort to replicate the throne in crystal artwork. Yet, all that were missing was the centrepiece. The one pony that sat on the throne and directed the actions of her court. The pony that was responsible for the governing, the welfare, the health, the happiness, the lives of their subjects. The throne was missing its ruler. Hesitantly, Celestia made her way forward, stepping close to the throne. Her hoof reached out to touch it… “I’m telling you, they’re overreacting!” “Nonsense, a whole crowd swearing by it? What would be their reason for lying?” “There’s a sizeable reward for information as to her whereabouts, do you not think that would be enough to motivate a lie?” “Well you might have a point, but…” “Twilight, don’t you think that your hopes might be misplaced? I don’t want to see you crushed again when you find out this is not the case.” “Don’t you care? This is your sister!” There was a pause. “I-I’m sorry, Luna, that just slipped out. I d-didn’t mean to…” A sigh filtered through the doorway. “I’m not giving up on my sister, Twilight, I’m simply asking you to be realistic. Don’t get your hopes up.” “You’re right. Of course you’re right. I just think… Hold on, was the door to the throne room always open?” “No… You don’t think they’ve—“ A flash lit up the room. Celestia shied away, turning around from the sudden glare. “THIEF! THIEF! GET THY FILTHY HOOVES OFF—“ “GET OUT OF HERE, YOU—“ Luna and Twilight stopped mid-way through their demands. Celestia turned around slowly, eyeing each of them cautiously. “H-Hello?”