My Dearest Princesses

by Chickenscratch

The Leaf Turning Festival

This was, in a sense, how most of Celestia and Luna’s days were spent in Unicornia Castle. Though it may have seemed dull, it was the way of life they had abided by for as long as their memories had served them, and was therefore the only way they knew how to live. The day of the Leaf Turning Festival had arrived again that year, and again the unicorn sisters would beg their mentor for permission to attend.

“Pleeeaase!” Luna whined loudly, pulling on Clover the Clever’s braided mane. The older unicorn winced and pulled the filly away with her magic, setting her on the bed next to her sister.

“Really, Luna,” Clover scolded, “you’re acting like a child!” The filly stomped her hooves on the bed.

“That’s ‘cause you won’t let us go to the Leaf Turning Festival!”

“You’re too young, Luna!”

“Am not!!” Celestia tapped her sister with a hoof to try and calm her down. Luna always did seem to get carried away with her emotions. Sure, Celestia was upset, too. Clover had never let them any further than the castle gardens.

“Clover,” Celestia piped up, “we’re older now. Nothing’s going to happen to us if we go to the festival.”

“But how do you know that?” Clover stuttered. “Why if something happened to you, you two are-” She cut herself short, seemingly searching the fillies’ expressions.

“We’re what?” Celestia asked, holding her hoof over Luna’s mouth. The younger unicorn snorted.

“…too important to me to lose.” That hadn’t been what she was going to say before. Celestia took it anyways.

“You won’t lose us,” she said, hopping off the bed to hug Clover.

“Yeah,” Luna added. “If you’re so worried about that just come with us!” Clover wrapped a leg around Celestia.

“Come with you?” she echoed. Her voice was heavy with reluctance.

“Yeah, duh!” Luna vaulted from the bed, latching around Clover’s neck and causing her to stumble. The aging mare looked down at Luna despairingly, and then at Celestia.

“Well…” she said, her expression softening. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt anything…” There was a loud cheer from both fillies, and they hugged their mentor tightly and kissed her over and over.
“Thank you!!” Luna screamed. Both Clover and Celestia cringed.

“Really Luna, inside voices,” Clover said pleadingly, trying not to grin.

“Sorry,” the blue filly whispered. Clover giggled. This would be the very first time the fillies had left the castle grounds, and they bustled about all morning to get ready. Celestia was certain her sister had skipped brushing her teeth and had been sent off by Clover to brush her mane, even after insisting she had done it several times already.

“Do I need to take anything with me?” Celestia called out to Clover. The older mare spit her toothpaste into the wash bin.

“No, I’ll bring some bits for food or something,” she replied, swishing her mouth with water. Celestia galloped off to her room, where Luna was trying to brush her mane with the brush in her mouth.

“Thith!” she called, droll splattering on the brush handle. “An oo buth ma mae?”

“Oh Lulu.” Celestia giggled, forcing the brush from her sister’s mouth with her telekinesis. “You really have to learn to control your magic.”

“I’m trying,” Luna replied, grimacing as the brush hit a knot in her mane. “It’s super hard though.” Clover the Clever trotted in, and the two fillies jumped off the bed and ran over to her.

“Can we go now?” Luna asked, bouncing up and down. “Huh? Can we can we can we?” Clover laughed.

“Let me just get my bag ready and-” She was interrupted by a tremendous shriek from Luna, who began trotting around excitedly. Clover quieted her quickly, and the young filly stood trotting in place as Clover gathered her bags. She lifted Luna onto her back with a groan. “You’re getting heavy,” she said. Luna puffed out her cheeks in embarrassment and said nothing in return. The three of them headed downstairs and exited the castle into the morning light. Celestia’s eyes widened at the sight of the town below. Unicornia Castle sat on top of a large hill that overlooked its subjects with a watchful eye. The young unicorn brimmed with excitement as she remembered she would be down among those buildings for the first time in a matter of minutes.

The path down from the castle spiraled around the hill, and Clover led the way down the rough cobblestone road. Celestia followed her closely, though her eyes wandered all around her. Every step she took was one step further from the castle, and further from the world she had been confined in for her entire life. She cast a quick glance at Luna, who was keeping a tight hold on Clover’s braid with one hoof as she pointed out everything she saw with the other. Celestia grinned to herself. Luna was the more eccentric of the two of them, and wouldn’t let anything get in the way of what she wanted. This fact had been proven earlier that day, and Celestia quietly thanked her for her efforts.

They reached the base of the hill soon enough, and all around them was a sudden burst of activity. There were banners strung across the streets and houses in the warm colors of fall. All over there were stands selling sweets like caramel apples and funnel cakes, and along with them were games and activities for the foals. The air was thick with the sweet smell of cider and produce, and a small band could be heard playing in the distance. Luna jumped from Clover’s back and made a dash off down the street. Clover retrieved her quickly with a burst of magic, teleporting the blue filly back to her hooves.

“Luna!” she scolded, “you’re going to have to stay with me or we’ll go back to the castle. Do I need to leash you like a dog?” Luna said she didn’t. “I didn’t think so. That goes for you too, Celestia. Either of you wander off and we’re going straight home, you hear?”

“Yes, Clover.” The three of them began to make their ways down the street, Luna almost tripping Clover with how close she was staying to her. Celestia watched as foals galloped about, giggling as they played in the road. Older ponies were standing off to the sides, talking and making merry in their conversations. They passed a makeshift bar, where a tremendous uproar could be heard of several ponies singing loudly. She grinned ear to hear, feeling her chest swell up with warmth.

“Oh Clover, I never want to go back to the castle again!” Celestia exclaimed with joy. The unicorn looked at her quietly, her expression turning sad.

“You may not have to,” she murmured, looking away. Celestia didn’t hear her. She was trotting towards an apple bobbing stand with wide eyes.

“Clover, come look at this!” she called, keeping her eyes glued to the ponies dunking their heads into the large tub of water. One triumphantly emerged with an apple between his teeth, the other removing his head quickly and spitting water into the dirt. Celestia looked up at her mentor with pleading eyes. Clover already knew what she wanted, and tossed a bit to the vendor, who caught it expertly and deposited it in his saddle bag.

“Step right up you two,” he said, motioning towards the tub. Luna hopped from Clover’s back and stood on her hind legs, putting her hooves on the edge.

“What do we do?” she asked, poking at an apple with her hoof.

“Just stick your head in and try to get an apple with your teeth,” the vendor said, winking at Celestia. She giggled, bouncing with her excitement to try. “You each get three tries a pop, so go ahead! You can keep the apples you catch.” Luna quickly splashed her head under, and came up with a gasp.

“I forgot to breathe first,” she sputtered. The vendor giggled.

“That try won’t count for you then,” he said. Celestia wandered up to the edge, peering into the tub. The water was clear and bright, and light glittered off of its surface in dazzling patterns. She searched for an apple to go after, and found a relatively small one close to her. She trotted up beside it and thrust her head into the water. Her snout was immediately enveloped in cold water, and bubbles streamed off the sides of her face and up into the autumn air. She bit at the apple, feeling the fruit bob against her nose and slide back up to the surface. Celestia removed her face from the water, shaking it slightly.

“Did you get one Tia?” Luna asked, leaning over the rim of the tub, her ears perked.

“Almost,” she replied, quickly catching sight of the apple and dunking her head after it again. She could feel her teeth slide against the skin of it to little avail, and it slid up out of the water again. Celestia resurfaced, spitting water out of her mouth.

“Here sis, let me try!” Luna called out from across the tub. The small filly leaned over, her teeth biting at a particularly large piece of fruit.

“You have to put your head in, Lulu,” Celestia said encouragingly. Her younger sister did a slight nod and thrust her head into the icy water. All at once she lost her balance and her entire body slid into the bin with a splash. The water bubbled for a moment before Luna resurfaced with the apple in her mouth, a huge grin on her face. She was quickly removed from the water and they left after Clover made a profuse apology to the vendor, who was laughing the entire way though. Luna walked beside Clover, using her weak magic to just barely levitate the fruit in front of her as she ate. The apple was almost as big as her head, and she took every chance she got to comment on its size.

“It’s an Earthton apple, that’s why,” Celestia said matter-of-factly. “Earthton grows the largest apples in all of Equestria.”

“And how would you know that,” Luna said through a mouthful of fruit.

“Because I read the books Clover gives to me, that’s why.” Luna stuck her tongue out at her sister before taking another bite. Eventually she proved unable to finish the apple, and Clover gave it to Celestia, who devoured it quickly. Not only were Earthton’s apples large, they were delicious too. Celestia smiled as her mouth was flooded with the sweet, juicy flavor. Their party passed the band they had heard when they first arrived, and Luna begged to stop and listen. There was a pony on fiddle, one on what appeared to be a fife, and another playing a tambourine along with an assortment of other small instruments. Luna danced about in the dirt, kicking clumps of earth every which way with her hooves. Celestia joined her, and they trotted around in the square merrily, surrounded by other ponies that were dancing as well. Clover the Clever watched from the sidelines, her old age preventing her from joining in the merriment, but she still enjoyed it nonetheless.

They spent the rest of the day wandering about the town playing cheap games. Celestia won a small wooden top and a few pieces of taffy, and Luna claimed a whistle, which she blew constantly. Clover bought them both a small funnel cake and invested in an apple tart for herself, and they sat in the shade of a tall oak as they ate.

“This is the most fun I’ve had in my whole life,” Luna said, taking a huge bite of her sweet morsel. Powdered sugar clumped up around the rims of her mouth.

“Pony bites please,” Clover reminded her, taking a small bite of her tart. Luna swallowed and took a sarcastic nibble of the cake. Celestia chewed her funnel cake dazedly, watching the ponies of the town pass them by.

“When will the leaf turning start?” she asked Clover.

“I think the Season Turners are going to meet in the square just before sundown,” she replied, casting a glance at the sinking sun. “We should probably head over soon. We’ll want a good spot to watch them.”

“What’re Season Turners?” Luna asked.

“They’re the ponies assigned to change the seasons, Luna,” Clover explained. “They use magic to turn the colors of the leaves from green to yellow, which is why it’s called the Leaf Turning Festival.”

“Ooohhhhhh,” Luna said, drawing out the word longer than needed for her dramatic effect. “That makes sense.” They finished eating quickly, and Clover carried both of them on her back to the square.

“You two are getting a bit too old for this,” she said wearily.

“So are you,” Luna replied, yawning. Clover said nothing, but Celestia thought she saw her grinning. There was a large platform in the north end of the square, which was occupied by a small crowd of ponies. They stood on the platform, retaining a perfect posture as the crowd began to settle in around them.

“Are those the Season Turners?” Celestia asked as they took a seat on the ground. Luna slid from Clover’s back and landed with a thud before crawling over to her sister.

“I believe so,” Clover replied. “Now we just have to wait until they start the leaf turning.” It was getting fairly late in the evening, and Luna was drowsy from the day of excitement. She leaned on her sister, her eyes half lidded in her efforts to remain awake. Celestia encouraged her sister best she could, and let her play with the top she had won. Luna spun it awkwardly, taking little interest as it swiveled out of balance and toppled to the ground. Luna was about to drift off when a loud voice boomed across the square.

“Mares and stallions, foals of all ages! We welcome you to Unicornia’s annual Leaf Turning Festival!” There was a loud cheer from the ponies that had gathered. Luna snapped back into attention, blinking the weariness from her eyes. “This year again we have our wonderful and talented Season Turners to thank for changing our summer into fall! Let’s hear it for them fillies and gentlecolts!” There was a great stomping of hooves and more cheering. Luna did her best to raise her voice with them.

“Yeah, seasons…” she said tiredly, her eyes flickering again. Celestia forced her to sit up straight and patted her back to keep her occupied.

“Now without further ado, let us begin the turning of the leaves!” The crowd grew very quiet, and a strange light began to emanate from the horns of the ponies on the platform. At first it was colored to the respective hues of its caster, but they all joined together to form one large, white mass of magic. The winds slowly began to blow, and the crowds gasped in awe. As the winds blew the leaves on the trees, flecks of green began to fly into the air, swirling up high into the skies. Celestia watched open mouthed as the leaves slowly changed from their greens to shades of orange and yellow. The crowd cheered loudly, and the season changer’s magic slowly died away. The flecks of green that had sailed from the leaves floated down to earth, and the crowd began to dance in the showers of their last moments of summer.

Luna patted her hooves together wearily and finally allowed her eyes to close, letting out a tired sigh as she collapsed onto Clover. The older mare smiled and hoisted the sleeping filly onto her back. She motioned to Celestia, and the two of them slowly began to disperse with the rest of the crowd as they made their way back to the castle.

“Did you have fun?” Clover asked quietly.

“I sure did. Oh Clover, can we do this every day?”

“If you did you’d be tired of it for sure.”

“I’d never be tired of being with everyone.” Clover looked at Celestia in surprise.

“Really?” she asked. “You enjoy these ponies that much?” Celestia nodded.

“I wish I could be with them all the time!” Clover looked off into the distance, focusing on something Celestia could not see.

“You know, you have more studies to begin tomorrow.” Celestia looked at Clover, puzzled.

“I thought we finished all of the books in the castle library last week.”

“I know.” Clover stopped, turning away from her student. “You two are going to be leaving for Maytown tomorrow. I’ve already packed your things.”