Phases of the Moon

by Laurence Brown

New -- Chapter 3

Luna waited impatiently for the cloud chariots carrying her friends to arrive. She hadn't heard anything from her sister regarding Twilight's dilemma, so she figured that things had turned out all right. Still, not knowing was driving her a little crazy with curiosity. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of pacing, she could make out the sight of the incoming chariots from Ponyville, flying through the sky.

After a short round of hellos and hugs, the group slowly wandered away from the landing area and deeper into the castle gardens. Luna lagged a bit behind the others, and catching Dewdrop's eye motioned for the unicorn to come back to her. Once they were side by side, Luna leaned in and whispered, "So, what happened? Is Twilight no longer stuck as an earth pony?"

"Everything is back to normal," Dewdrop answered. "A little before lunch the next day, the stone finally came out; she wasted no time changing back."

Hearing the news, Luna let loose a breath she hadn't been aware she had been holding and smiled at the orange unicorn. "That's good to hear!"

"What's good to hear?" asked Feather Down from up ahead. "Does this have to do with why you spent the night at Twilight's, Dewdrop?"

"It is, but it's nothing important," she replied. Then, with a wink to Luna, she said, "I'm just letting her know that everything came out all right at the end."

Luna groaned at the bad joke and Dewdrop giggled, while the other ponies simply looked on in confusion.

"Don't worry guys," Feather Down said to the two stallions, "I'll find out what happened and pass it along." Turning back to Luna, she said, "Anyway, what's the plan for today?"

"Well, last time we stuck to the gardens and just a couple of rooms in the castle. Today, I was thinking I could give you the grand tour, so to speak. I could also show you some places in the city, although I've only visited a few. I'm still learning the town myself. As you can imagine, there aren't that many buildings still standing from a thousand years ago. Also, I want Pine Needle to help me out with the sapling, although when we do that isn't a concern to me. And, of course, if there's anything you guys want to do, I'd love to hear it." Luna's friends looked at each other, trying to determine if anypony else had a preference.

"Well, I would love to have a tour of the castle," Haystack volunteered. "I think it would be neat to see some of the famous rooms in it. The great hall, the throne room, the parade grounds..." Haystack turned to his friends. "...Unless one of you has another idea?"

Dewdrop shook her head. "I'd like to explore the gardens some more, I had no idea how big they were, but that can wait. That's something I can do while Pine Needle and Luna work together."

"That works for me," Feather Down said. "How about you, Pine Needle? Anything you'd rather do instead of the tour?"

Seeing the earth pony shake his head no, Luna smiled and motioned for her friends to follow her. "I don't know of anything happening in the throne room this morning, so why don't we stop by there first? It's this way."

---

Feather Down rolled onto her side, shooting Princess Luna and Pine Needle a grumpy look. They were in the gardens again, their tour of the castle having been completed, and she had been stuck at their side for what seemed like hours, and thus far they hadn't even moved.

"You know," she said, "when I decided to stay behind with you two, instead of exploring the gardens some more, I thought that there might be something, I don't know, spectacular or flashy to watch. Instead, it's just been the two of you standing there with your eyes closed, whispering back and forth! Bor-ing!"

Pine Needle opened his eyes. "I have told you many times in the past that earth pony magic is very subtle. Just what were you expecting?"

"I don't know..." Feather Down stood up and starting to gesture wildly with her hooves. "Pillars of earth shooting up from the ground, plants growing like crazy, some sort of light show... I mean, this is magic we're talking about, right?"

Pine Needle chuckled. "Well, I don't think even Luna could do something like that, although I could be wrong. But I know that nopony in mine family has ever been able to do anything like that."

Luna opened her eyes and looked at Pine Needle questioningly. "You don't think I could make plants grow on my own?"

"Hmm. Maybe. The only way I can think of it happening would be for you to gather up all the potential in the area, and then force it into the plant. That could make it grow fast in the short term, but it could also harm it's growth overall. It might even hurt it by leaving the ground around the plant barren, so whatever short term gains you produced would be ruined by the fact that it would then slowly wither and die."

"How about the rest of what she said, like manipulating the earth?"

Pine Needle shook his head. "I can't even begin to think how earth pony magic could accomplish that. And I think it would be easier for you to use unicorn magic to perform such a feat."

Luna nodded. "You're right, it wouldn't be that hard at all for me to do that with telekinesis. Although I think the gardeners might object to me doing so."

Pine Needle turned back to Feather Down. "To be honest, I thought you volunteered to stay because it would be a good excuse to take a nap. I'm sorry, I would have said something sooner if I had known otherwise."

Feather Down softly sighed. "That's all right. This is what I get for not ever listening to you when you've talked about this in the past." She looked around. "Though if you two don't mind, I'm going to go ahead and explore the castle a little more, if that's okay with you, Luna?"

"Of course it is! And I'm sorry for boring you, but this is my only chance to be able to do this."

Feather Down waved a hood dismissively. "Don't worry about it at all! There were a couple of things I wanted to take a closer look at, like some of the stained glass windows, but I didn't want to make the tour drag on for everypony else. This will be the perfect chance for me to go do that."

Luna smiled at Feather Down. "Thank you. Remember to meet back here if you hear the bells ring for dinner, okay?"

"Will do!" Feather Down said as she trotted away. She soon found herself in the hallways of Castle Canterlot. Pausing at an intersection to get her bearings, she noticed a hallway that was filled with the stained glass windows she had mentioned to the princess. Instead of heading towards it though, she took a different path, and smiled as she found herself entering one of the quieter parts of the castle.

She felt a small twinge of guilt. She hadn't exactly lied to Luna; she really had wanted to get a better look at some of the fine displays of craftsmanship that the window builders had utilized long ago. However, there was something else she wanted to see up close; really, really wanted to see up close.

On their first visit, they had all gotten to see Luna's bedroom. And while the princess had a suitably amazing bed, she was surprised to find that it wasn't that much better than hers. Oh sure, it had a fantastic canopy held aloft by jeweled pillars, and all sorts of fancy sheets and lace trim on the side. But those were all decorations. The important part, at least to her, was the comfort. After all, it didn't matter how extravagant a bed was if you couldn't get a good night's sleep on it! Luna had been nice enough to let her lay down on it, and while it was better than her own, she couldn't tell that much of a difference.

Feather Down paused at a corner to sneak a look around the turn. Seeing that the next stretch of hallway was empty, she walked as quietly as she could. The marble floors were making it hard to be stealthy when every time her hooves came down, the resulting sound echoed like crazy. Reaching the next intersection, she waited a moment to let her rapidly beating heart slow down. Then, she slowly stuck her head around the corner, and quickly pulled it back.

It was the very door that Luna had pointed out during their tour that morning. And there was only a single guard, slowly pacing up and down the hallway. If she could time things just right, and be quiet enough...

She would get a chance to see what kind of bed Princess Celestia had yet!

---

Princess Celestia finished composing another scroll of instructions to be sent out to her representatives across Equestria. Finding herself out of sealing wax, and not seeing any close by, she got up from her giant purple cushion and walked into an adjoining room to see if she had some in her private library. She had just located a good sized brick of it when she heard the door to her bedroom open and close with just a soft click.

Sealing wax instantly forgotten, she gathered the magical energy in the area to her, and cautiously looked back into the bedroom, wondering who had entered her quarters unannounced. She was quite surprised to see that the intruder was one of Luna's friends, Feather Down.

Keeping herself hidden in the side room, Celestia watched as the pink earth pony slowly looked around. The princess frowned; instead of gazing about in wonder, enthralled at all of the knick-knacks and souvenirs she had accumulated over the last millennium, it seemed Luna's friend was searching for something in particular. She slowly circled the room, forcing Celestia to step back into the shadows and release her hold on the magic she had readied so that her glowing horn wouldn't give her presence away.

She thought back to the letters that Twilight had sent her and what her sister had told her about Feather Down. She couldn't recall anything that would make Celestia think that the earth pony who was carefully nosing about her room was some sort of burglar. She certainly hadn't come equipped to properly rob her room; she lacked any means of carrying anything away with her besides what she could hold in her mouth.

So what did she want? Was she here to spy for some foreign kingdom? Did she have some tie to a dark cult, or an evil organization that wanted the princesses out of the picture so they could claim power? Celestia couldn't see the pony in front of her being such an agent, but then, wouldn't that make her the perfect candidate for such a position?

Celestia watched as Feather Down looked into the other side room, where she kept her jewelery and (for those rare times of conflict) armor, as well as her rarely slept in bed. Most nights she found herself working very late on one thing or another, so she ended up falling asleep on the cushion that took up a good part of the floor in front of the fireplace. Feather Down paused, and then slowly entered the side room.

The princess's mind raced, considering what was in that room that might be of interest to somepony else. Did she mean to steal some of the royal jewels? Or maybe- Her thoughts came to a halt when Feather Down slowly walked out of the room with a puzzled look on her face. The earth pony had taken nothing from the room, and unless she had a photographic memory, there was no way she could have studied anything in the side room long enough to have gained any insight or information!

While thoughts of punishment still worked their way through her head, Celestia was now more interested in discovering just what the intruding pony was looking for. Feather Down walked towards the fireplace, and paused next to her cushion. She nudged it with a hoof, then thoughtfully walked around it twice, before nodding her head in approval. Then, to Celestia's surprise, Feather Down took a step back and then jumped into the center of the cushion like a filly leaping into a pond. She stretched her body back and forth a couple of times and then, with a very content sigh, quickly fell asleep.

Princess Celestia stood still, blinking and trying to comprehend just what exactly had happened. Had Luna's friend broken into her bedroom... just to take a nap? Quietly, Celestia walked over to where the earth pony softly snored with a smile on her face. Taking a moment to consider how she wanted to approach the situation, she decided against doing the angry monarch bit, with eyes and horn aglow with power, and settled for simply prodding Feather Down awake with a hoof.

Or at least she tried to, but the sleeping pony seemed oblivious to the subtle attempt to wake her. Celestia then placed a hoof on Feather Down's shoulder and shook her, but all that did was cause her to murmur something unintelligible before rolling onto her side. With a soft sigh, she channeled her magic, and created a small bolt of magical energy which arced from her horn to Feather Down's cutie mark to give her a mild shock.

Feather Down awoke with a start, and Princess Celestia fought back the urge to laugh. The earth pony's eyes darted back and forth before spotting her and widened in astonishment and fear. Instead of accusing her of any crimes, or demanding to know what was going on, Celestia simply raised an eyebrow while keeping a neutral face.

Softly, barely audible, the awakened pony said, "I can explain..."

---

Feather Down found herself in an all too familiar situation; awakened by somepony who was not amused by her actions. Granted, this was the first time that it was the ruler of the realm awaiting an explanation, instead of her roommate or her boss. However, she had learned long ago that there was only one way to successfully handle this kind of encounter.

"I'm sorry, Princess Celestia, but I had just wanted to see how comfortable your bed was. Once I got in it though, well, it lulled me right to sleep." A slight twitch in one of the alicorn's eyes was the only sign she got, but it was enough. Once again, telling the truth, no matter how wacky and improbable it sounded, had been the way to go.

"So, why lie down here then, and not on the bed?" Celestia asked, gesturing to the side room.

"Oh, please," Feather Down said derisively. "That thing is barely worth putting in an inn, let alone a royal bedroom. Even for you the height is wrong, plus the sheets are too coarse, the pillow is made from an inferior grade of down, and it's plain to see that you don't favor it because it doesn't have any valleys in it from where somepony would sleep on it regularly."

She stood up and gently walked off of the cushion. "Now, take this marvelous thing. While not your typical bed, it's strategically situated near a fireplace, so being down on the floor won't leave you cold in the fall and winter. Also, the stuffing is sturdy enough to support you comfortably, and it's obvious from the impressions in it you sleep here more often than not. I bet you don't even worry about it lacking a pillow, do you?"

Feather Down's recitation was answered by laughter from the princess. "It isn't often I am pleasantly surprised like this. Thank you." Celestia stepped back onto the cushion and knelt down where she had been working previously. "While you are here, would you mind taking a moment to chat with me?" Celestia motioned at an open corner of the cushion. "While I've heard about you from Luna, I would like a chance to get to know my sister's friends personally."

"Of course, your highness!" Feather Down quickly made herself comfortable. "What would you like to know?"

"Well, first off, how are things going? I'm surprised to see you away from the others."

"Oh, that's because Luna and Pine Needle are working together on something to do with that earth pony magic he keeps talking about. Not much for the rest of us to do, but that's okay. Luna doesn't have any other chances to get to do something like this with him, and the rest of us had other things we wanted to look at. Dewdrop and Haystack went off to explore the gardens, although not together," she said with disappointment in her voice.

"Oh? Is there a reason why they would?" ask Celestia.

"Oh my goodness, yes!" Feather Down exclaimed. "It seemed like they had been in each other's faces forever. Always bickering and giving each other the cold shoulder, I was amazed that they even willingly entered a room if the other was already there. And then, they shared a moment, and it was beautiful! Dewdrop even kissed him on the cheek! And while they aren't nipping at each other anymore, there still seems to be some sort of distance between them.

"Take the chariot ride over here, for example. I keep on offering to ride with Pine Needle so the two of them can be together, but Haystack insists on flying over instead. Doesn't want to burden the guards any, he says. Heck, I even stayed behind when they went off to explore the gardens, to give them some time alone, but it's like they didn't even notice!" The pink earth pony sighed deeply.

"Maybe they aren't interested in each other?" Celestia asked.

Feather Down shook her head. "I thought about that, but I'm certain they are. I mean, Dewdrop makes sure that Haystack is included in our get-togethers in Ponyville all the time now, something she almost never did before. And seeing Haystack grin used to be as rare as finding a five leaf clover, but he does that all the time around Dewdrop now. He even made a joke once! Not that it was any good," she added, "but the fact that he even tried was amazing in and of itself."

"Well, maybe they just need some time?" the princess suggested. "I know it always seems to happen so quickly in the stories, but from what I've seen over the years, true love rarely happens at first sight."

"Oh, you're most likely right," Feather Down said with a sigh, "but they're my friends! I just want to help them out, somehow... oh, listen to me! Here I am, going on about this, wasting your time. I'm sorry!"

Celestia smiled. "No need to be. I did ask, after all. How about you? Are you enjoying your visits here? I know they aren't the best way for you and Luna to keep in touch, but I can't see any other solution that works without making things difficult for the others."

"Oh, I fully understand," Feather Down said. "She mentioned all the studies she has to catch up on. Heh, I had trouble when I missed half an hour of school, I can't imagine how much she missed over the last thousand years!"

"How does a pony miss just half an hour of school?" Celestia asked, her voice filled with curiosity.

Feather Down shook her head sadly. "School is hard when your special talent is sleeping, let me tell you. It's almost impossible to not take a nap when the teacher is describing multiplication tables. If Dewdrop hadn't helped me with my homework, I might not have graduated." She tilted her head questioningly at Celestia. "So, what do you have Luna studying for, anyway? Is she going to retake her old positions, whatever they were?"

Celestia sighed. "Actually, that's one of the hardest problems I face right now. Everything has changed so much, whatever tasks she took care of that haven't become obsolete are now run by other ponies. To give them back to her would mean that they would be out of a job through no fault of their own. I'm trying to find new things for her to do, but most of what I come up with might be better suited for somepony of a lesser station." The princess cocked her head. "What do you think? Would Luna be satisfied with doing things like that, or would she take offense?"

Feather Down stared in amazement at Celestia. "You, you're asking me, of all ponies, about something like this?"

The alicorn somberly nodded her head. "You see a side of Luna that I don't get to. Anything you can tell me that would help give me a more complete picture would be greatly appreciated."

Swallowing nervously, Feather Down thought about the question. "I don't think I can give an exact answer, but in my opinion I think she would be happy to do what she could to help you out. When she was disguised as Moonbeam, she was always willing to do whatever she could for us. Assisting Dewdrop at the inn, getting help for Haystack's harvest... I think that, as long as what you find for her to do are things that need to be done, and aren't just busy work, she'll be happy to do them."

Celestia smiled. "Those are my thoughts too. It is good to hear them from somepony else, though." The princess stood up, and floated over a couple of pieces of parchment to her. Looking them over, she tucked them under a wing and motioned for Feather Down to follow her. "Let's go find my sister and your friends then, I have something I want to ask all of you about."

The two mares stepped out of the bedroom. The guard gaped as a pony he didn't remember seeing go into the princess's chambers came out with the alicorn. "So, to the gardens, then?" Celestia asked, pointedly ignoring the stammered apologies of the guard. Feather Down nodded, barely containing the laughter that was bubbling up inside of her.

---

Luna struggled with the small shovel in her hooves. Although the digging implement had been built so that ponies without magic could use it in a pinch, she was beginning to think that the creators hadn't tested their design before sending the plans off to wherever the shovel had been built. She looked over at Pine Needle, who was helping her with a shovel of his own. He seemed to be having better luck, although it looked to her that he wasn't making any significant progress either.

"I still don't understand why we're doing this the hard way," she said as she stabbed the head of the shovel into the ground once more. "I could have the hole dug and the sapling planted in less than a minute if I used my magic."

"Think back to the Running of the Leaves in Ponyville," Pine Needle said. "Why do you think we have all the ponies run the course, instead of simply having the pegasus ponies create a giant windstorm to blow all the leaves down?"

Luna thought about the situation for a moment. "Well, my first guess is that the amount of wind needed to blow down that many leaves might also damage the buildings nearby. However, given what we've been doing for the last couple of hours I'd have to say that it has something to do with earth pony magic. But I'm still not completely sure as to why, except that the act of doing it with earth pony magic is somehow important?"

Pine Needle nodded. "It is. How can I describe this?" He tilted his head in thought for a moment. "Okay, it's like... no, no. Ah! It is like a a coat of paint put on a house. While the house will still stand with or without it, the paint helps to protect the house from the elements. In a similar manner, that's how the earth pony magic used in the Running of the Leaves helps the tress. It gives them more strength to survive the harsh conditions of winter."

"That makes sense. It feels kind of backwards to me though. Magic is something I've always used to make things easier, but in this case it's making things harder instead." She removed another spade full of soil from the hole. "What do you think, is this deep enough?"

Pine Needle looked back and forth between the sapling and the hole they had dug. "I think so. Go ahead and put the tree in."

As Luna carefully lifted the sapling with her hooves and placed the plant into the hole, Haystack and Dewdrop came walking up. "Hello!" said Dewdrop. "I see you two are finally finishing up?"

"Indeed! Now all we have to worry about is if the gardeners will take offense to us doing some unannounced additions to the area." Pine Needle looked at Luna. "I am assuming that you have permission to do this?"

Luna chuckled. "Of course, silly!" She grabbed the shovel and started to scrape dirt back into the hole to fill it up again. "Did you two have fun exploring?"

"I sure did!" said Dewdrop. "I found this one clearing with a bunch of plants trimmed to look like various animals, what are they called? Topiaries?"

Haystack nodded. "That would be the word. I found a really interesting fountain, it was shaped like a dragon, and the water sprayed out of its mouth in a way that made it look like it was breathing fire into the sky."

"Well, I'm glad the two of you had fun," Luna said as she started to tamp down the loose soil around the sapling. "I just need to finish filling in this hole, and then I'll be done. After that, we can wash our hooves real quick, and then we can look for something else to do." She turned to Pine Needle. "Well, what do you think? Did I do an adequate job?"

"I'm sure you did, but let me double check." Pine Needle closed his eyes briefly, only to open them up again right away. "Princess Celestia is coming," he said.

Dewdrop blinked. "Are you sure?" she asked.

The earth pony nodded. "The only other pony I know who has such a bright essence is Luna. And since she is here already..."

Luna nodded as she quickly cleaned her hooves with a spell. "Simple reasoning would certainly point that way, wouldn't it?"

Sure enough, a few seconds later Princess Celestia came into view, followed by Feather Down. "How were the windows?" Pine Needle asked when the two had come to a stop next to them.

"Windows?" Celestia asked Feather Down. "You should have told me, we could have passed by some on the way here."

"You didn't," Dewdrop said, an annoyed look on her face. Seeing Feather Down give an embarrassed chuckle while looking at the ground, the unicorn moaned. "Are you trying to get us banned from the castle for good?"

"What?" Haystack asked, looking back and forth between the two roommates. "What did she do?"

Celestia chuckled. "Oh, Feather Down came by my room and after I woke her up we had a nice little chat, that's all."

Haystack stared slack jawed at Feather Down as Dewdrop hung her head to the ground in dismay.

"Now, now, no need to be upset. I was hoping to get a chance to talk to each of you sometime soon, so it worked out for the best." She smiled at the group. "But that isn't what I'm here for. I have something I'd like for you to consider for your next visit." Celestia lifted her wing slightly, and the pieces of paper she had retrieved from her room floated out to lay on the ground in front of the ponies.

"My school for gifted young unicorns is hosting a charity function next week. It's a fancy dinner, followed by the chance to mingle with the hosts and the other guests afterwards." She looked at Luna. "I was thinking your friends might enjoy the chance to attend an upper class event like this. And I'm certain that once the word gets out that both princesses will be present that the dinner will sell out quickly."

Luna studied the leaflet and then looked at her friends. "Well, what do you say? Do you guys want to go?"

Dewdrop nodded. "I think it would be a fun experience. Besides," she said with a chuckle, "this may be the only time I'll get to be inside such a prestigious school."

"You bet I want to go!" Feather Down said. "The chance to be served a fancy meal, instead of being the one who has to pass out the food? And who hasn't wanted to be at a high society event like this?"

Pine Needle and Haystack looked at each other nervously. "Well," Haystack said, scraping at the grass with a hoof, "you know I'm not all that great when it comes to being sociable." Seeing the mares start to frown, he hastily added, "I'm not saying I won't go. I'm just warning you that I won't be the best pony to be around is all. Remember the 'Welcome to Ponyville' party for Luna? All I really did was talk to a couple other farmer ponies and keep away from Pinkie Pie."

"Well, you won't have to worry about her this time," Feather Down said. "And you'll have us to hang around with. We can keep each other company and make fun of all the silly outfits if nothing else, right?"

"I suppose so..." Haystack conceded.

"Great! And how about you, Pine Needle?"

"Um, well, sure, I'll go," he replied, unable to look any of the others in the eye.

"You don't sound like you want to go," Dewdrop said after an uncomfortable moment of silence. "Why not, hun?"

Pine Needle sighed. "An earth pony farmer, at an upper class event for a unicorn school? I'm going to stick out like an unkempt mane."

"It won't be as bad as you're making it out to be," said Dewdrop. "As long as you don't eat your food like a colt, the dinner shouldn't be a problem at all. And just stick next to us for the rest of it, we'll make sure that you aren't forced to talk about stuff like the latest styles in hoofwear, or who's running for mayor in Manehattan."

Pine Needle sighed, "Very well." He lifted his head to give the others a small smile. "It would be rude of me to refuse to do this when you all let me monopolize Luna's time today."

"Excellent!" Princess Celestia said. "Make sure when you come next week to bring your dress wear with you. And now, I had better go inform the organizers that my sister will be there, as well as four extra guests." She smiled at the group before turning to walk back towards the castle.

Luna had listened to the preceding conversation silently, watching her friend's various reactions as well as her sister's. As Celestia walked away Luna turned to her friends and said, "Wait here one moment, please," and trotted after her sister.

Catching up to the white alicorn, she asked in a quiet voice, "This dinner has been in the works for months. Why invite me and my friends at the last minute? I would think that the tickets had been sold out long ago."

Celestia nodded. "They have. But I think this dinner will be a great learning experience, and adding five more ponies to the guest list won't be a problem at all."

Luna looked questioningly up at her older sister. "But eating in public was one of the first things you made sure I got reacquainted with, because of all the formal dinners with foreign dignitaries. Do you think I still need more work on it?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Celestia chuckled. "This isn't for you, but for your friends." She stopped and looked Luna in the yes, her face suddenly very serious. "They mostly know you as an earth pony, who wandered into town one day with very little to her name. I want to make sure that they understand just exactly what being the close friends of royalty means."

Seeing Luna about to protest, she raised a hoof. "I'm not trying to drive them away from you. Trust me. In fact, that's why I chose this upcoming dinner. Since it's for charity, the majority of the attending ponies will be there because they believe in helping a good cause; you won't find a more accommodating crowd for your friends to get their first taste of high society with.

"And with winter coming up, there will be lots more of these events happening. You'll need to be present at some of them, if you want to be able to regain the full trust of everypony." Celestia smiled sadly at Luna, who looked very frustrated. "I know, these events are quite often tedious and boring. And it seems like there's always another one to attend. But that's just the way society has evolved. It may be dull, but at least it keeps the nobles away from the ponies who actually get the work done."

Luna slowly nodded her head. "I understand."

Celestia grinned at her younger sister. "Good. Oh, and when Pine Needle has taught you everything that he can, I'll be happy to show you what I learned about earth pony magic over the years." Seeing Luna's shocked expression, she chuckled. "There's a lot of free time to fill over a millennium, after all." With that, Celestia turned and headed back inside the castle.

Luna watched her sister leave. While she understood Celestia's intentions, she wasn't certain that she approved of her methods. Was such a roundabout approach to the situation needed? Frowning, she turned around and headed back to her waiting friends.

Comments

[Astarea]

Why do I get a feeling this will be another Grand Galloping Disaster?

[Vates Despero]

940433 Because you're a FOAL! This is clearly going to be a Charity Catastrophe.

[Pete_Bagheera]

Then, to Celestia's surprise, Feather Down took a step back and then jumped into the center of the cushion like a filly leaping into a pond. She stretched her body back and forth a couple of times and then, with a very content sigh, quickly fell asleep.

Feather Down is best CatPone.

Relevant!!!
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