"Are you ready for tonight?"
"Am I ever!" Luna exclaimed, giving Cadance a playful punch on her shoulder. "This is going to be a blast!"
"I don't believe Canterlot is ready for us," Cadance chuckled. "Especially you. You've gotta use that epic voice of yours."
"Attention, peasants!" Luna announced boisterously, in a quieter version of her Royal Canterlot Voice that managed to turn a few heads in the diner all the same. "Your Princess of the Night and her niece require more cider! Provide it or face their wrath!"
Cadance snickered. "Yep. That's the one."
Celestia frowned pensively at their antics, but kept her focus on her paperwork. "You two sound like you've got quite the evening planned. Just stay out of trouble."
"Yes, mother," Luna trilled. "Seriously though, why aren't you coming, too, Celly?"
"Yeah, you totally should," Cadance agreed. "That paperwork can wait."
"I'm afraid it cannot," Celestia sighed. "I would love to go...ah—"
"Bar hopping!" Luna was grinning ear to ear.
"Ahem. Yes," Celestia said, rolling her eyes. "That. I would love to, but you two know how busy I am on Harmony Day."
Luna groaned. "That stupid Gala is still a thing? Freakin' Platinum."
"The Grand Galloping Gala is... not something I am allowed to miss," Celestia sighed.
"Come on, Auntie! Luna and I are going to have a blast! You're the leader of the country, just blow it off!"
"I cannot 'blow it off,'" Celestia said. "Last time I did, the papers destroyed me. Called me a racist because it was being held in Cloudsdale, and irresponsible because it was the 970th anniversary. Also, somepony bit their tongue eating a pickle and sued me for not being there to save him."
"I think it's your ego," Luna replied, apparently not hearing her. "You just love having ponies kiss you hooves."
"I do not!" Celestia barked. Her voice was unintentionally rising in intensity. "You two are lucky. You get candy and chocolate on your holidays. All I get is a boring evening full of stuffy, prudish ponies!"
A few offended patrons in the diner cast an offended glance in Celestia's direction. Luna's silly grin grew as Cadance's fell.
"I mean, I would love to go out and be irresponsible with you two," Celestia said, fiddling with a napkin. "But if anypony sees ME acting irresponsible, I'll never hear the end of it."
"So?" Luna replied. "Who cares what ponies think of you? You're not infallible. Pretty sure we proved that when you forgot your wallet and I had to pay for your breakfast last week."
"It isn't that I care what ponies think of me. But... I have ponies ready to make every slip-up of mine a chapter in a history book. And I have a student I must be a positive rolemodel to. "
"Student?" Luna blinked. "Oh! The unicorn!"
"Yes. Twilight Sparkle." Celestia narrowed her eyes. "The mare who saved your hide, you jerk."
Luna stuck out her tongue and looked away.
"Hey, wait, I know her!" Cadance spoke up suddenly. "She's your student?!"
"Indeed she is. Nice young mare."
"Yeah, she's... something," Cadance said. "Last I saw her she was hopelessly nerdy, but adorable, too."
Celestia nodded. The former had hardly changed, although she decided it would be positively creepy if she said the same for the latter.
"Well, that's a surprise," Cadance said. "Send her my regards."
"I will tell her tonight," Celestia nodded. "Hopefully she'll make the Grand Plodding Gala a little less tedious."
"She's attending? Well, if she's anything like I remember, she will," Cadance giggled. "I used to babysit her, you know. Once, I was supposed to have her take a bath, and she hid every bar of soap in the house so she wouldn't have to. Then, she hid all the pillows in the house when I told her it was bedtime. She was a diabolical genius of a filly."
"I admit I am somewhat hoping for that sort of madness tonight," Celestia sighed, sinking her head into her hooves. "Is it weird that I find ponies idolizing me to be oddly offensive? Does that make me selfish?"
The defeat was clear in Celestia's voice. Cadance and Luna shared a sorrowful glance.
Then, Luna brought a comforting hoof onto her melancholic sister's back. Celestia looked up and met her sister's supportive eyes.
"Yeah, it totally does," Luna nodded.
"Definitely," Cadance agreed. "With respect, suck it up, Auntie."
"Hate you two," Celestia grumbled. "Bring me back a bottle of scotch, will you?"
"Sure," Luna said flippantly. "Well, Cadance? It's getting dark. Should we head to the castle and get ready?"
"Yeah, let's rock," Cadance agreed. "Have fun at the gala, Auntie."
"I shall attempt to endure," Celestia waved a hoof, her attention already back at the last minute planning before her. By time she looked up, the other two princesses had disappeared into the dark streets outside.
Celestia blew her mane out of her eyes, ordered another espresso, and looked back at the papers on her table.
Amongst them was a letter from Twilight Sparkle that she had forgotten about.
Celestia grinned as she reread it, remembering the golden tickets she had sent in a heartbeat.
At least someponies would be having fun tonight. In the end, Celestia decided she'd be happy to endure a little monotony if it was for their benefit.