Order Report, the manager for Cafe Soleil Levante, was walking towards the aforementioned cafe when he noticed several ponies milling outside. Each of them had a notebook and camera, and, after seeing him, they all rushed over to him.
“May I help you gentlecolts?” Order asked, feeling a touch nervous at the mob of ponies around him. All at once, each of them began to ask questions.
“Who was the mare at the top table last night?”
“Was she Soarin’s date?”
“Who ordered the table, Soarin or the mare?”
“Can you spare five minutes? That’s all I need.”
Order just crashed through them, ignoring their words. Instead, he walked straight to the doors without saying a word. After opening it, he turned to look at the crowd.
“I will be more than happy to answer any question I can at 9:15,” he told the crowd. Immediately, a few of them left. However, many of the reporters stayed, breaking off into their groups to talk. Shaking his head, Order entered his restaurant.
It was clean and set up for the morning rush, and he even saw a few ponies preparing everything else. Walking into the kitchen, he managed to casually take one of the pastries the chefs were making without them noticing. Smiling, he turned and walked into his office.
Inside the office was his favorite chair, pure cotton seating, with a synthetic fiber cover. The only problem was a mare was sitting in it, a unicorn to be precise. It was one of his waitresses, Soft Step.
“Good morning, boss,” the mare said playfully, a smile dancing on her face.
“Good morning.” Order moved to the other side of the desk. “What are you doing in my seat?”
“I was waiting for you and got tired. Sue me.” Soft leapt out of his chair, relinquishing it to the rightful owner. Order sat heavily into it, sighing in comfort.
“So, why were you waiting for me?” Order asked. Soft Step sat in the chair opposite of his, which she should have been sitting in anyways.
“I was wondering, who was that mare with Soarin last night?”
Order had to stifle a sigh. Not another pony wanting to know.
“I, frankly, have no idea.” The answer didn’t seem to satisfy Soft, who just kept staring at him. “I don’t know who she is or what she does.”
“What do you know about her?” Soft inquired. She was being more forceful than usual.
“Why is this so important to you?” Order deflected. “I swear, every journalist and their pet wants to know who she was, but why do you want to know?”
Soft sighed once before leaving momentarily, returning with a small bag. “I was paid to find out by a curious young lord.” She put the bag on the table. “I was paid in advance, and I don’t want to disappoint this noble.”
“Why didn’t you say so, Soft?” Without hesitation, he ripped open the bag and poured it out. Yet, contrary to his prior actions, he seemed be count the bits without emotion. After he was done counting, he looked back up, a hint of emotion coming back. “Though, if I may ask, is this the same lord that you have been trying to impress for a while now?” Soft Step’s face redenned slightly. When he saw this, Order sighed. “Ah, nevermind. It’s not important.”
“So, what do you know?” Soft asked with a slight cough to regain composure.
“Celestia herself made the request, on behalf of her ‘servant’.” He slid over a tenth of the bits. “She nearly arrived late and was in a bit of a hurry, and I haven’t seen her around before.” He slid over another tenth. “She had authority in her voice, and knew her wines perfectly.” Another tenth disappeared into his side of the table. “Also, she asked for the wine in a Prench accent, though I don’t know whether or not it was real.” This time, he took a fifth of the coins. “I’m afraid that’s all I know.”
“Thank you, Order,” Soft said with a smile. “I’ll see you tonight.” Soft got up and began to walk out the door.
“Listen, Soft…” The manager looked at her awkwardly as she turned back to meet his gaze. “No noble would marry a pony that isn’t a blueblood, it’s not allowed. This noble of yours that you keep trying to impress… don’t be hurt when it doesn’t work out. Even if he does accept you… you’ll just end up as another Lady Rose.”
Without a further word, Soft Step strode out the door, her face completely blank. She continued walking, lost in her own thoughts, until she reached her apartment. Opening it, she found three letters shoved under the door. Reading over them, she began to compose her report for Blueblood.
Note to self: Stick to sleep schedule. Why did my stomach have to keep me up last night?
Celestia hid her tiredness well, keeping her mane flowing and a tiny illusion spell to hide any bags under her eyes.
Her guards didn’t mention her stumbles, nor did anypony else. Even though it was simply a short walk to her sister’s rooms, she had already nearly collided with two walls and a small end table. Fortunately, a careful sidestep and an elegant turn had made any errors look like they were purposeful.
Within a few minutes, she found herself in front of Luna’s door. Knocking, Celestia entered the room. Her guards, politely, waited outside. Scanning the room, Celestia found that Luna was nowhere to be found.
“Luna, you here?” Celestia called out, examining the room. The bed was only slightly wrinkled and the food was already out, meaning that her sister had been there. But where could she have gone?
It was at that moment that Celestia spied a note on the table with her name on the front. Picking it up, she flipped it over.
Hello, Sister. If you are reading this, then I have not yet returned from my late night swim. I will be back by 9, but if I’m not back then I’ve probably gotten sidetracked.
Sighing, Celestia looked at the clock. Already, it was 9:30, meaning Luna was overdue. Grabbing a mug from the table, Celestia filled it with a bit of coffee and chugged it where nopony would see her. Feeling a bit more energized, she returned to the hallway, heading downstairs. Wordlessly, her guards followed.
It took several minutes to make it down to the Canterlot Palace pool. There were two of Luna’s personal guards, which were guarding the door. Celestia’s royal guards opted to wait with them rather than entering. Inside the enclosed area was a 25 meter by 15 meter pool, broken up into 6 lanes of 25 meters by 6.5 meters. Swimming in one of the lanes was Luna.
“Good morning, sister!” Luna called out while panting heavily. “Care to join?”
“I’d prefer not to.” Celestia took a seat on one of the patio chairs. “Unfortunately, I still have paperwork to take care of, and being tired won’t help.” Celestia laid out under the sun, relaxing a bit more. “Though I suppose a minute here won’t hurt.”
Luna kept swimming, though she seemed to only be doing the most common stroke: Free style. Celestia, however, kept quiet, lest she give Luna anymore exercises to do. Soon enough, after several more minutes, the Princess of Exercise got out and began to dry her coat off.
“So, how was your date last night?” Luna asked.
“It wasn’t a date,” Celestia argued, getting a bit more relaxed in her chair.
“Of course it wasn’t, it was just at a fancy restaurant.” Luna’s smile became more genuine as she took a seat next to her sister. “So, how was it?”
“It wasn’t a date, Luna!” Come on, think of a way out of this! “I am curious, though. Why aren’t you doing other strokes in your exercise?” Celestia sat up from her chair, getting ready to leave.
“What do you mean, Tia?” Luna inquired as she continued to dry herself off.
“Well, there are many other strokes, though I thought you’d at least know Backstroke or Breaststroke as those are the simplest.”
Luna’s face suddenly flushed, her eyes growing wide. She nearly dropped her towel as she glared at her sister.
“Tia, I know that such acts are more accepted today, but I do not ‘swing that way’ as is the common phrase!” Luna’s glare intensified as Celestia backed away in confusion.
“Luna, those are actual strokes, and some of the most common ones---”
“I don’t care if they are common or not! I do not believe in such ways of pleasure!”
Outside the pool area, the royal guards were still standing watch. Once they began to hear yelling, one of the newer guards moved to open the gate, only to be blocked by the others.
“I wouldn’t do that if I was you, Steel Tip,” one of the older guards warned.
“Why not?” Steel Tip asked. “This is our job, isn’t it? To defend the princesses?”
“Yes, but not against each other,” another guard said. “Believe me, this is a sisterly dispute, and whoever gets involved will learn their lesson the first time.”
Steel backed away, and stood to the side again. As he moved away, the other guards unblocked the door.
“Five bits says that Luna leaves first,” one of the Lunar guards said.
“I’ll take that bet,” replied the oldest Solar guard.
Just then, the door burst open as Celestia walked out of the pool area, her face a stony mask. Without a word, the Solar royal guards began following her. Unseen by the princess, a small bag with five bits inside was thrown to the winner of the bet, who stuffed it into his armor without another word.
Luna came out a minute later, her face also smoothed over. Turning to her guards, she passed over a small bag of bits.
“Take this and find me a pony that is knowledgeable in swimming techniques,” she commanded. “I need to speak with one as soon as possible.”
“Of course, Princess,” the guard said with a bow. Without another word, Luna returned to the pool and dove into the deep end, beginning another set.
Several hours later and in the slightly lower area of Canterlot, in the residential area for most ponies, Blueblood was in disguise. His hair, usually over an hour to style and make perfect for a public appearance, was hidden, stuffed under a wide brimmed hat. His clothes, usually made of the finest silk and studded with gems was replaced by a simple alabaster waiter’s uniform that hid his Cutie Mark and a the most distinctive parts of himself. The best part about going incognito was the clothing, which suited his tastes much more.
Blending with the crowd, he made his way to Apartment 86C. Knocking, Blueblood waited patiently. He couldn’t hear any hoofsteps, but he knew she was there. Giving the door his best smile, he knocked again. After a few seconds, the door opened to show a bedraggled navy blue unicorn.
“Hello, Soft,” Blueblood greeted. “Mind if I enter?” Not waiting for an answer, he walked in.
“Sure, come on in,” Soft Step deadpanned. “Do you have any questions about my report?”
Blueblood moved to take a seat at her couch, tossing aside his hat. Taking a look, he couldn’t help but smile. He always loved seeing Soft when she was tired, without that cold look in her eyes. An added bonus was seeing her liberty blue hair al naturale, sticking up in several places. Unfortunately because of this, her usually dazzling lilac eyes were clouded. Shaking himself, he returned his mind to slightly more important matters.
“Yes, I was wondering why you included information about some random pony in your report.” Blueblood raised an eyebrow at her. “I know you are better than to simply give me useless information… So what is your reasoning?”
Soft moved to sit in the chair opposite of him. “I… don’t know.” She levitated a cup over and took a long sip.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Blueblood asked, pushing himself up from his chair to sit straighter.
“I can’t tell you why I was so curious.” Soft looked Blueblood directly in the eyes. “All I can say is that my instincts told me to look into her.” Blueblood gave her a small smile.
“Oh. One of your gut feelings.” He sat back in the chair, but was just as alert. “Well, we better listen to them. You remember what happened last time we didn’t.”
“Oh please.” Soft dismissed the matter with a wave of her hoof. “You and I both know that there was no reason to listen to it then. How were we supposed to know my gut feeling about Sunset would turn out right?”
“It was right nonetheless,” Blueblood countered. “If we had listened to it, we may have been able to save her from… wherever she is now.”
“You didn’t have the resources then that you have now.” Soft levitated a cup of coffee over to Blueblood, who took a large sip. “Your father was still alive and you hadn’t established your networks yet. You barely had enough ‘allowance’ to pay off two servants, much less the guards.”
“Now that’s not true.” Blueblood set down his coffee on the glass table separating them. “You’re the one who spent my allowance on trivial expenses.”
“I am insulted you would even suggest such a thing.” Soft huffed and stuck her nose in the air in mock offense. “I did not waste a single bit of yours. Each one had a purpose.”
“Including that perfume for a certain mare’s prom?” Blueblood finally asked, his eyes twinkling. Soft’s face froze as she remembered that day. Within moments, the apartment was filled with laughter.
“Oh, Celestia, I was such an idiot,” Soft said between laughs, a hoof covering her face. “How was I supposed to know parfum d' âne would smell that bad?
“Maybe if you took Prench, you would know, ma puante fleur,” Blueblood playfully mocked between laughs. After a few more seconds, the laughter died down.
“For the record, I thought you smelt lovely,” Blueblood told her with a smile. She looked over into his eyes, her own smile growing. Before she could speak further, a bell began to ring. It was 4:00 in the afternoon.
“Oh buck me,” Soft grumbled under her breath. She got out of her chair and moved towards the hallway before turning back. “Sorry, but I have to get going soon. Can you show yourself out?”
“Sure,” Blueblood answered reluctantly. “It was a pleasure talking to you, Soft.”
“You too, Blueblood.” Without another word, she bolted off into the bathroom.
A few minutes later, Soft was in the shower. Her head was hung, the water washing over her navy blue coat. Her eyes were closed tightly, holding back tears.
“Stop it, Soft,” she ordered herself. “You know he can’t make a move. You can’t jeopardize his future and his noble station. For him…” She took a deep breath. “You can’t…” Shaking her head, she tried to banish thoughts of their shared past. “For his sake, you can’t be with him.” Tears began to mix with the water running down her face. “Why did I have to be born a commoner?”
Blueblood could hear the shower running, and had to beat back temptation with an iron will. Shaking his head, Blueblood smacked himself across the face.
“Why do you continue to do this to yourself, Blueblood?” he whispered to no one. He clenched his teeth, angrily glaring at the floor. “You can’t marry her, so why do you continue to see her?” Mist began to fill his vision, but he worked at repressing them. “Why did I have to carry this tainted noble blood?”
Without another word, he put on his hat and walked out. As soon as he was out of the apartment, his face became smooth again; a mask was in place.
Celestia was on her way towards the palace gardens when she was interrupted by Prince Blueblood, wearing a very fine pale suit. Nodding a hello, she made to walk past him, only for him to stop.
“Hello, Princess Celestia,” he greeted with a humble bow.
“Good afternoon.” Celestia stopped as well, waving him to end his bow. “Do you need something?”
“Yes, might I speak with you in private for a moment?” Blueblood requested as he opened a nearby door.
“I do have a few minutes to spare.” Celestia entered the room, leaving her guards outside. As soon as the doors closed, Celestia walked closer to Blueblood. “How have you been, Bluey?” she asked as the two shared a hug. “We barely get to talk personally these days.”
“I’ve been well, Aunty,” Blueblood said with a small smile. They broke the hug, and he waved a hoof to one of the cushioned chairs, which he sat across from. His smile fell with his face as he approached the topic he wanted to discuss. “I’m afraid that this talk isn’t just for pleasure, though. I wanted to ask you about somepony. A mare in particular”
“I can’t be sure I can help you until you give me this pony’s name.” Celestia could only smile warmly. Oh Blueblood, are you really so bad with the mares that you need my help?
“It’s a pony named Sun Beam,” Blueblood informed her, his lips pursing. “Do you know a mare with that name?”
Celestia’s smile became frozen. Her heart began to beat faster and heavier “Yes, what do you want to know about her?” How does he know about Sun Beam?
“I was just curious who she was and if I could speak with her,” Blueblood answered. He began to play with his cuffs as he awaited Celestia’s answer. When none came he looked into Celestia’s eyes. “I heard you helped arrange a table for her at Cafe Soleil Levante, but I don’t know anything about her.”
“I’m afraid that she is a private pony,” Celestia started, trying to assuage any fears and crazy theories. “I can confirm to you that she is my servant, and that I appreciate all she’s done for me, but I can’t tell you anymore than that.”
Blueblood sat back on his haunches, digesting that info. His mind was working quickly trying to connect the dots.
Celestia took the lull in conversation to truly scan her nephew. He was a powerful noble, there was no doubt of that, but he did have a habit of being horrible with mares. Every one of them that came to him for a date or just to try and get close, he got away from. He needs a nice mare to settle down with, though that would require a great deal of patience.
While she was musing, Blueblood finally wrapped his mind around the issue. Deciding his course of action, he rose from his seat.
“Thank you, Aunty,” he finally said with a fake smile. “I thought maybe somepony had stolen a seat from one of your servants.”
“Thank you for your concern, Bluey.” Celestia’s real smile returned. “Now, if you don’t mind, I simply must be going.” Celestia stood and opened the door with her magic. Before she could leave, though, a cyan pegasus, who was waiting by the door, flew in and landed. Celestia’s mind blanked as her face froze at seeing him.
“Your highness,” Soarin greeted with a bow, “I apologize for being abrupt and barging in, but might I speak with you for a few minutes?” Celestia, still slightly frozen, reacted on pure instinct.
“Of course.” She motioned for him to rise and took her seat. “Please, come in.” Soarin moved to the chair by Blueblood.
“I will leave you to your conversation, Princess Celestia,” Blueblood said as he left. Once he was past the guards, he quickly went into the room next door, which was a chess room. Though there were many nobles playing, the wall to Celestia’s room had a vacant couch. Relaxing into the couch, Blueblood closed his eyes and activated an eavesdropping ward he had in the room.
Back in the room, Celestia was trying to regain her mental footing while keeping up a conversation with Soarin.
“Sun Beam works for you, right?” Soarin asked, shifting in his chair. Celestia nodded, though didn’t say a word. “I’ve been looking for her all day, but couldn’t find her. Do you know where she is?”
“Oh, right.” Celestia looked to her side, trying to figure out an excuse. Buck, what do I say? Why wouldn’t I be here… “She is going to Saddle Arabia right now. To perform a few tasks for me.”
“Sun told me she was your servant…?” Soarin’s eyes squinted as his head tilted. “Why would she be in Saddle Arabia?”
Celestia blinked once, her mask slipping ever so slightly.
“She is my servant,” she emphasised. “But she often helps me by going to other countries to pick up different… recipes and get small things to help me stay connected with other parts of the world.” Celestia looked at the clock. I can leave now without appearing too rude.
“Do you know when she’ll be back?” Soarin adjusted himself, trying to get more comfortable.
Celestia’s eyes drifted to the clock again. Then again… this could be my chance to dig for some info.
“She should be back late Sunday night.” Celestia gave a small smile to her companion. “I am curious, why were you looking for her?”
“O-oh, it was, uh, *ahem*, nothing,” Soarin assured her. “Nothing important, really.” Looking at the clock, Soarin got out of the chair. “Dang, I have to go meet with Spitfire.” He started for the door before pausing and turning back. “Uh… with your... leave?”
“Yes, you may go,” Celestia said, stifling a laugh. As soon as he was out the door, she let a small laugh escape her. He is never going to have refined social graces is he? A wide grin on her face, she got up and walked out. Once she was out the door, her face was smooth and expressionless again. She continued her steady gait to her sister’s tower.
Knocking on the door, she heard a quiet voice bid her to enter. Opening the door, she found Luna trying to smother herself with a pillow.
“Luna, what are you doing?” Celestia asked as she approached her sister, removing the pillow with a bit of magic. 1,253 years later, and some things don’t change. The thought made Celestia nostalgic, a smile on her lips that she had to hide.
“I was trying to suffocate myself.” Luna gave her sister a baleful look. “I thought that was obvious, and why did you stop me?”
“Luna, why were you trying to suffocate yourself with a pillow?” Celestia sat at the end of the bed, her smile breaking through. Luna sat up next to her sister.
“I hired an aquatics expert to help me learn new ways of exercise… and the first few strokes he suggested were the backstroke and the breaststroke.” Luna’s face flashed red again. “Turns out they are real strokes.” She turned to look at her sister, who was sporting a massive grin. “Stop smiling! It’s not funny.”
“It is a little funny, Lulu,” Celestia snickered. How could she not know what… Oh. Right. She put her hoof around her sister’s shoulders and pulled her in for a small hug, her smile fading. “I know there is so much that is different, but it’ll be fine.”
“I know, sister.” Moving her free hoof, Luna rubbed her eyes. Taking a deep breath and expelling it, she continued. “But, let us not dwell on such… unpleasantries. You never did tell me about your date yesterday.” It was Celestia’s turn to glare at her sister.
“It was not a date, Lulu,” Celestia insisted, removing her supportive hoof. “Come, I’ll tell you about yesterday’s dinner over today’s.”
The two walked to the small table and opened the lids for their dinners. Celestia’s salad was completely green, with only a few splotches of color where vegetables were left in. On Luna’s plate was a new dish, Manehattan in origin. All it seemed to be was a load of beans and cheese, melted together, rolled up in flat bread. The two dug into their respective meals before talking.
“So, was Soarin a proper gentlecolt?” Luna asked between mouthfuls of her food. Celestia just sighed.
“No, and I still can’t believe him!” She waved her fork and hoof in the air for emphasis. “He was downright… disrespectful to everything around him. His outfit, though making him into quite the figure, was far too simple. And don’t even get me started on his table manners.” Celestia forcibly bit down on more food.
“Do you know who that reminds me of?” Luna asked, putting her food down. She lowered her head and raised her eyebrows a few times. “Come on, can you guess?”
“Just tell me who, Luna.” Celestia simply gave her sister a begging lip, forcing her to concede.
“Fine. He sounds just like that guardspony you had a crush on in your youth.” Luna waited for the impact, only to find Celestia’s face freeze.
“Luna, I never had a crush on any guardspony,” Celestia said softly. Her mind went back to a dashing warrior from her past. “I honestly have no idea where you got that from.”
“Tia, will you truly make me do this?” Luna sighed, getting up from her chair and moving to the bed. She opened a drawer and began to pull out many scraps of paper. She read through each one until finding the one she needed to. When she finally spotted it, her eyes lit up, a devious smirk tugging at her lips. She walked back to the table and gave it to her sister.
Our Gallant Thunder Spear,
We shall be awaiting your return. You and We simply must have dinner together upon that hour. We pray you safe travels, and return to Our side swiftly.
~Princess Celestia
Celestia tried to hide her reddened face behind the note, but to no avail. Though she couldn’t see Luna, she could still hear her sister’s snickerings.
“Never try to lie, sister.” Luna took the note and levitated it back into the drawer. “We know you, and you can hide nothing from us!”
I need a way to turn the conversation, fast. Hm…
“Luna, I have actually been meaning to ask about this for some time.” Celestia sat back at the table and began to eat again as she talked. “How has being the Minister of Coin been?”
“It is a challenge, learning 1,000 years of economics, but I have a firmer grasp of it now,” Luna answered, taking her seat and grabbing her food. “I have been studying the works of Victor Canter, and put one of his policies into place.”
“That’s great to hear.” Celestia enveloped her sister in a hug. “See, I told you that it would be an easy concept for you. You were always good with numbers.”
“Yes, but I prefered when we used abacuses, not calculators,” Luna muttered, returning the hug. “I hope that it will help out our ponies.”
“It will, I’m sure of it,” Celestia ensured before the two returned to their usual topics.
Soft Step was working her cover when a very normal pony walked in through the front. They were wearing a royal blue hoofkerchief, Blueblood’s signal for a message. She approached the pony, a menu in hand.
“Hello, how may I be of service?” she asked in her normal voice. “We have a table for one, or you can sit at the bar.”
“No, not today,” the pony answered, reaching into one of its pockets. “My friend left their wallet at my place, see? Thought I’d return it. Eh, they work here. ‘Er name’s Blue Violet.”
“Oh, yes, I can return it immediately.” Soft Step took the wallet and walked to the back. She walked past the chefs, past the other waitresses on break, and into the back storage room. Opening the wallet, she pulled out a single piece of paper.
Talk to the Trigonas in the sand. Ask about the new Livery you had an interest in. Livery was not delivered to the Embassy in Saddle Arabia. It disappeared.
Soft stuffed the paper back into the wallet and pulled a pill from her pocket. Gulping it down, she walked back out to the cooking area. Halfway through the kitchen, she darted for the nearest sink, which was blessedly empty, and continued to remove whatever contents her stomach had into it.
Order Report came storming out and, upon seeing Soft, rushed over and practically carried her to the employee bathrooms.
“You need to go home and get better,” Order ordered. “I want you gone for at least two days after that. I can’t have a sick waitress handling the food.”
“Y-yes, sir,” Soft managed weakly. As soon as she was down the street, her weak, stumbling steps slowly turned into more assured and confident ones. By the time she got home, she was fully recovered. Within five minutes, she was sending off orders and requesting reports