In A Royal Problem, the cutie mark map calls Starlight Glimmer to Canterlot alone, which makes Twilight very nervous because, well, Celestia and Luna fighting is unimaginable! When Starlight arrives, she quickly senses that the sisters are upset; invited into their inner sanctum, she finds them resentful of one another. When Starlight tries to talk the sisters through their issues, the sisters feel encouraged to bicker about how easy her sister’s life is and how she doesn’t acknowledge how hard her’s is. Starlight, feed up with the princesses’ immaturity, uses her cutie mark magic to switch their cutie marks so they can live a day in each other’s horseshoes. For Celestia and Luna—and Twilight, who goes apoplectic—this proves an incredible challenge.

Prompts:

Many dreams pass by when Celestia uses her loaned dream magic. In one, Applejack is a foal being tended by somepony else than Big Mac or Granny Smith. What is she recollecting? (If other dreams prove more interesting, pick those instead!)

In the years since Luna’s return, Celestia has done a lot more than make pancakes to passively show her love of her sister. Similarly, Luna has done more than hang lavender. In a series of comedic vignettes, show the missteps each made to thoroughly worry the cutie mark map.

Daybreaker appeared for real when Celestia was a foal soon after she learned how to raise the sun. How did her parents deal with this?

Being dragged away in front of the princesses by Twilight, having solved her cutie mark map assignment so dramatically well, is the last straw. Starlight resolves to teach Twilight self-confidence and how not to worry so much that she acts crazy.

Extra credit (optional): Comedy is an essential part of all fiction, not just comedy. The greater the tension, the greater the likelihood a character will say or do something to lighten the mood. Concentrate on telling your story with plenty of comedic moments. Do not shy away from dark comedy.

Deadline: June 16, 2017

Place your entries in the folder marked “A Royal Problem”. Please, only one entry.

Stories must be appropriately tagged Everyone, Teen, or Mature. Remember, stories tagged Mature are not visible to all readers and will not participate in any contests or after-the-fact lists. Please also select one or more story categories (like Adventure, Slice of Life, etc.). Because I understand preserving the mystique of a story, you are welcome not to provide tags for the main characters.

Please post comments only here. Follow all FicFiction site rules of conduct, and be nice. Read the stories and vote on which you like best (other than your own). If voting becomes a thing, the top five vote-getters will be be appended to the post. Feel free to discuss the episode, too.

Start writing!