//------------------------------// // 3. Show Time // Story: Knight and Day // by Anzel //------------------------------// Sunny Day and I were walking the rooms set aside for the third time. On each pass we checked the doors leaving the area to make certain they were locked. I wasn’t positive that locks would really do much good given who our guests were so I’d also gone the extra step to bar them on the opposite sides where possible. Things were looking right. I looked over at Sunny and said, “Alright, we’ve got the arrival room with the mirror in it. From there the reception and lounge area. Then there is the meeting room itself and the offices for private conferences. We’re all set.” “I don’t think so,” Sunny replied cheerfully. My jaw set and I went over the arrangements again in my head. “Yes, we’re set.” “Nope!” Sunny chimed. “I really don’t want to guess. Help me out a little here?” Sunny Day laughed quietly and replied, “Well… I need to use the fillies room. Do you expect me to just squat in a corner here? It is certainly going to ruin the majesty of this summit.” Softly I rubbed my temples. “How could I have missed that?” “We missed that. I didn’t think about it until I had to go. Also, I really do have to go, so while you revise, I’m going. Back shortly!” “Right. I’ll figure something out here.” So much for containment… in every sense of the word. The nearest restroom wasn’t near at all. Star Swirl had kept the plumbing a decent distance from the library. That was logical but now I’d have to set up a long, blind hallway. It couldn’t be helped though. I went to the large meeting table and started redrawing my floorplan. Sunny returned after a while and asked, “Figured it out?” “Actually it isn’t so bad. If we close off the offices we were going to use and clean out these rooms on the other side here, there is a door from this one to the hall the restroom sits off of. Far less to keep an eye on,” I explained. “Great work! Only those rooms weren’t cleaned out by the ponies before…” she trailed and looked at me. I did my best to smile reassuringly. “Sometimes I hate my job. I just want you to know that,” she groaned. “Every day in armor is a good day. Come on, we’ve got to get all the stuff out of there.” “Yeah, yeah. If we’re lucky I might make it home by dinner time,” Sunny replied as we headed off. ☾ ☼ Princesses Celestia and Luna wandered around the summit area that we’d so painstakingly set up. They were quiet and curious as Sunny Day and I stood waiting. After a time they returned to the meeting room and settled into a pair of chairs. “The two of you did all of this on your own?” Princess Celestia asked, even though she had to have known the answer already. Maybe she was just making sure. We did accomplish a lot. “Yes, ma’am!” Sunny Day replied. “Just my horn and Silent Knight’s back.” Princess Luna nodded. “The work is excellent. Our guests will be most pleased, I think.” We all fell silent after that and then I cleared my throat. “Princesses… suppose somepony comes with ill intent. There really is only one way out of this area now for our guests. What do we do?” Princess Celestia shook her head. “I have great faith that everypony is indeed here to solve a problem. We must simply trust that our counterparts are as committed to harmony as we are. Though, should something go wrong, I expect you and Sunny Day to evacuate. You’ll forgive me for saying so but you’d be far outmatched. A show of foolish bravado would make little difference.” Sunny and I exchanged glances. Running away wasn’t exactly our nature. The silence lingered again and Princess Luna said, “You will retreat. That is an order. Do you understand?” “Yes, Princess,” we replied in unison. “Good. Besides, nothing will go wrong. I’m excited about this meeting! To think I’m going to meet other versions of myself. How amazing!” Princess Luna smiled. Princess Celestia held up a hoof. “Now, we have to be careful. We don’t want to make the same mistake I did. The summit is about avoiding that in the future.” She then turned her head, something catching her eye. Golden magic surrounded a crumpled up banner and lifted it from the trash bag that Sunny and I had planned to carry out. “What is this?” she asked. Sunny Day started giggling. I just frowned while she explained, “Silent Knight thought it might be nice to have big banners in the arrival room. He was working on yours and ran out of space.” “Welcome Princess Celest?” Princess Luna read before laughing. “I was tired,” I said flatly. “And it was a bad idea anyway. They aren’t all Celestias and Lunas. We’ll get rid of that.” Princess Celestia was laughing softly and the banner still floated in her golden magic. “Oh I don’t know… perhaps I’ll hang this in the throne room. It has a certain charm to it.” “I don’t think so.” I went over and reached for the banner. The magic drifted it higher. “Princess…” “Yes, Silent Knight? You don’t want your work of art hung in the throne room?” Standing on my hind legs I reached for the banner again. It lifted once more and it took all of my training not to glare. “No, Princess. I think some masterpieces should be kept out of the spotlight.” My wings flapped, keeping me upright. The banner finally bobbed down and I grabbed it. Carefully I held it to my chest, crumpling it back up. Princess Luna smiled. “Enough teasing Silent Knight. The preparations are perfect. You two go home and get some rest. We’ll all be having a big day tomorrow. “Yes, Princess,” we replied before we all started to head home. The banner came with me to ensure no further shenanigans. ☾ ☼ Sunny Day and I stood next to each other in our ceremonial armor. It was a lot lighter than my usual suit and offered virtually no protection. Of course I’d also been ordered to retreat at the first sign of trouble. “Who do you think is going to come through first?” Sunny asked. “That is a good question. We don’t know exactly who is coming. Just be ready with those name tags,” I replied. The mare laughed and shook her head. “Hello, my name is? What are you going to do when another Princess Celestia comes through?” “Half the point of the summit is to figure out who is who!” “Good luck with that… I can barely wrap my head around this. We really need a…” Sunny trailed as the mirror started to glow with an unnatural light. The surface ripped and an elegant white horn came through followed by a pair of gold clad hooves. It was Princess Celestia. “Show time,” Sunny Day whispered. The Princess Celestia came through fully and looked around. Sunny and I bowed deeply. “Greetings, great alicorn. Welcome to the Summit of Equestrias. How may we refer to you?” “I am called Princess Celestia,” the alicorn replied. Of course she was. “Of course,” I replied and took one of the badges. I wrote on it Princess Celestia. Then I tilted my head and added Arrived First. Offering the badge to the alicorn I said, “I hope this will do?” The princess smiled and nodded. “Yes it will, thank you.” She looked back at the mirror as another white horn appeared and was followed by another alicorn. This one I did not recognize. She was white with a burgundy mane and tail. Her cutie mark was an ink and quill. “This is my mother and our second representative for this summit.” We bowed again and I reached for another badge. “How may we refer to you?” The white alicorn smiled and winked. “I have many names but for today you may call me Mother Mare.” I made the badge and motioned to the door behind us. “Once again I thank you for attending and invite you to go into the reception area. The local Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are waiting to receive you.” Both alicorns smiled and nodded before moving through the door. “Her mother?” Sunny Day asked me. I shrugged. “I’ve always assumed they had a mother. Although I’m not positive she was an alicorn.” “What makes you say that?” She asked. “Oh… no reason. Just that an alicorn would still be al—” The mirror lit up again and I fell silent. Another white horn and set of gold covered hoofs appeared. “This is going to be interesting,” Sunny whispered. It was, in fact, another princess Celestia. She was more or less identical but her adornments were slightly more delicate. We bowed to her. “Greetings, great alicorn! Welcome to the Summit of Equestrias. How may we refer to you?” The alicorn looked at me curiously and then smiled. “You may refer to me as Princess Celestia.” “Very good, Princess,” I replied before writing out a badge. Princess Celestia, Arrived Second. I offered it to the visiting dignitary. Princess Celestia Arrived Second, looked it over and then softly laughed. “I see.” The mirror swirled again and the second dignitary arrived. This one was more of a surprise. It was Princess Luna but she was not exactly the same as our own. Our Luna is still taller than a regular pony but she is smaller than her sister. This pair was exactly the same size and that made me wonder. We bowed to her as well. “Welcome, great alicorn. How may we refer to you?” The alicorn looked at me in slight confusion. She studied me the same as I studied her. Particularly my armor. Finally she replied, “I am Princess Luna.” I started to make the badge and then stopped. Sunny asked, “What is it?” “She is the first Princess Luna to arrive. If she is Princess Luna Arrived First others will associate her with Princess Celestia Arrived First which would be incorrect. Clearly she is here with Princess Celestia Arrived Second,” I said outloud. Princess Celestia Arrived Second grinned at me. Princess Luna continued to stare. Finally I wrote on the badge Princess Luna Arrived First and then in smaller letters added With the Princess Celestia Arrived Second delegation. “Princesses, if you’ll just go right through that door you’ll find the local Princess Celestia and Princess Luna waiting to receive you.” “Thank you,” they replied before going inside. Sunny Day waited for the door to close and then nudged me. “That Princess Luna was into you. Did you see those looks?” “She was confused is all,” I replied. “Sure… sure…” Light erupted from the mirror again and I softly steeled myself for yet another Princess Celestia. I was surprised, however, when a fluffy pink pony wandered through. She was fuzzy beyond belief and had a set of cardboard wings sticking out of her fur. On her head was a similarly made cardboard horn. Sunny Day and I briefly exchanged glances and then bowed. “Greetings, great ali… pony! Welcome to the Summit of Equestrias. How may we refer to you?” “Pfft,” was her reply. “Of course,” I said, writing an approximation of the noise her tongue had made into words. “And you’re the authorized representative of your Equestria?” I asked politely. The fluffy pink pony quickly nodded and said, “Pffbt, pfft pftt.” “Very good then,” I replied, offering her a badge. We then waited. The mirror didn’t illuminate. “Where is the second member of your delegation?” From nowhere the pink pony pulled a plush doll out. It was black with a green mane and button eyes. It looked an awful lot like a changeling. She lightly waved it in my face. “Pffffffft, pffbt.” “Does… she need a name tag?” I asked. Pfft quickly nodded and produced a crayon. She took a tag herself and wrote Chryssi on it before sticking it to the doll. “Excellent. Please head inside. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will be waiting to receive you.” The pony gasped in excitement and charged through the door. “Good for her,” I said once she was gone. “Huh?” Sunny asked. “In our Equestria she is a dancer. A pretty good one too. She danced at my bachelor party.” “Bachelor party? You’re not married!” Sunny Day tilted her head and raised her brow suspiciously. “My cousin didn’t understand what it was. It is this whole long thing. Look, just go read Mem—” The mirror illuminated again. It was going to be a long day.