3 - Preparations
"Cookiebutt..." Luna chuckled to herself. Immediately she heard a muffled thud behind her as something hit the door from the inside. She stuck her tongue out at the door. As she made her way through the corridors of the castle, her expression got more and more serious. The distraction her sister had provided had been badly needed, but now she had to focus on the task at hoof again. As much as she wanted to head out for her colony, Celestia was right–they needed to prepare several things. After all, they were the rulers of Equestria and it was their duty to care for their subjects and disappearing just like that was not going to be appreciated. They had to pack several things they would need on their journey and arrange for someone to replace them while they were gone. Celestia had obviously chosen Twilight Sparkle to stand in for her. She, though, had still to decide whom to trust with her duties.
While she neared the wing with the conference rooms, Luna tried to mentally prepare herself for the meeting that awaited her. She hoped that Honeycomb had everything under control; the talk with her sister had delayed her quite some time and it was almost the middle of the night now. Some annoyed ponies were waiting for her–that much was for sure.
As she approached the meeting room–a servant had pointed her the way after she had asked for Honeycomb–she was proven right. Several ponies were chatting heatedly behind the closed doors. After opening the doors she found two ponies talking down Honeycomb. Or at least they tried. Honeycomb stood before them with a stoic expression that repelled everything the two threw at her. Because Honeycomb was facing towards the door, the mare and the stallion talking to her didn't notice Luna entering. Stopping in the doorway, she waited a moment to get a better understanding of what mood the two were in.
"This is outrageous! You summon us to the castle–right away from our dinner tables–claiming that Princess Luna wants to see us, and then we wait for hours and nothing happens! There was probably no order from the Princess and you just simply wanted to annoy us! It would not be the first time a jealous commoner tried something like that." The unicorn mare spitting this tirade had dark rose fur and a dark red mane. Her cutie mark showed an umbrella. It was Sunglow, head of the Social Department. Honeycomb took the verbal hit without blinking. She was used to those quirks of the nobles and had long since stopped taking it seriously enough to get riled up about it.
"Sunglow is right, this is no way to treat us! Though I must say, Sunglow, you shouldn't blame Honeycomb. I'm sure she just did as she was told," Balance, the head of the Royal Treasury, chimed in. He wore an orange fur with a yellow mane. His cutie mark showed a money bag with a crown on it. "Look, Honeycomb, we had exhausting work days and now we have to wait half of the night for something we don't know anything about! Could you please try to find out when the Princess will arrive?"
Having heard enough, Luna finally stepped forward. "This won't be necessary. Good evening, everypony. Firstly, let me apologize for being this late, but I had important business to take care of. You will of course be compensated for the inconveniences this meeting causes. You may take an additional day off next week and you will be paid for the additional hours you will be working tonight. Please, take a seat so we may begin immediately."
Hearing their princess exactly from behind them made the two ponies jump in surprise.
"Princess Luna! Thank Celestia you're finally here. I hope we have not been too rude with our rant on the circumstances," Balance nervously tried to gauge Luna's mood.
"If you want to apologize for your behaviour, you should probably ask Honeycomb for forgiveness as she is the one who just did as she was told and had to endure you the last couple of hours," Luna replied sternly. Turning to her assistant and hanging her head low while closing her eyes she continued, "As should I, for not letting you know about my delay."
"And I apologize, too." Balance seconded Luna immediately, "We had no right to criticize you the way we did."
"I suppose that's true, Miss Honeycomb. My apologies." While sounding sincere enough, Sunglow's demeanor had not changed as much as that of Balance. It was apparent that she still considered this meeting to be a nuisance while her colleague did everything to alleviate any damage that was done to his image.
"I accept your apology, Your Highness. And yours too, gentleponies. As I said before, I understand your situation. It is indeed quite late but this meeting is as important as I told you. I think we should now do as Princess Luna requested and take our seats and get this meeting started."
Everypony took his or her assigned place at the table. Honeycomb had put two stacks of paper at each one of them, as well as an inkwell and a quill. One of the stacks held empty sheets of parchment to write down notes, while the other one bore all the information on Skyfall Orphanage she could find. It consisted mostly on facts and figures about the staff, the children and the overall situation. Additionally she had added all the letters from Willow Wind and the answers from the Social Department. As Balance and Sunglow started to sift through the pages, Luna started to explain the problem.
"Thank you, Honeycomb. Today I went to Whitefall Orphanage for a surprise visit. But in the end, it was me who was surprised. Surprised about the fact, that the orphanage had next to no money left. It has actually come to the point where the staff have relinquished a part of their salary to keep the children fed. At some point something must have gone terribly wrong with their funding."
"That's impossible, Princess!" Sunglow interjected. "The funding for each orphanage is calculated based on their specific circumstances, exactly as you decreed. This sounds more like a case of severe mismanagement."
"I fear it is not, Miss Sunglow. While I put together the information sitting before you, I gathered all their financial transactions. If you turn to page twenty-eight, you will see that their funding is much lower than is to be expected for an orphanage of their size. On the following pages you can see the transactions I just mentioned. Perhaps I have overlooked something, so please don't hesitate to check them yourself, but I'm quite sure they are sound."
As Sunglow reached the page Honeycomb had mentioned, and read through the information, her eyes began to bulge out of her head. "This can't be right! This number is simply ridiculous!"
"And why is it like that, Sunglow?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It's exactly like Honeycomb said, Princess. The funding is far too low even considering that it is a small orphanage."
"I know she was right. I meant why is it as low as it is."
"I truly have no idea. All fundings went by my office after calculating. I signed them myself and I took a last look on each and every one. I didn't re-calculate them, of course, but something like this would have stood out like apple fritters would in my mane!"
"Do you have any idea how this could have happened? Could someone have swapped the papers after you signed them?"
"That would be possible, but unlikely. And besides, who would want to harm an orphanage?"
"There are many different ponies out there and, even if I care for all of them, I sadly have to concede that not all of them are exactly an example of harmony."
"I have copies of all the papers I signed. I will go over them and see if I can find anything. Perhaps I really just have overlooked something and we are worrying ourselves about nothing."
"That sounds like a good start. But please, be discreet about it. I don't want the possible culprit to vanish because he realized we search for him."
"Of course, Princess Luna. I will look over the papers right after this meeting and tomorrow I will let the funding be re-calculated."
"Thank you, Sunglow. Now..."
"Excuse me, Your Highness..." It was the first time Balance spoke up since the beginning of the meeting. He wore an irritated expression.
"Yes, Balance?"
"If I may ask, why did you want to see me here? I can see why you wanted to speak to Sunglow, but what exactly am I doing here?"
"I want two things from you, Balance. I want you to assist Sunglow as best as you can. Starting with retracing the flow of the money."
"Pardon?" Balance blinked, looking unamused.
"I want you to take a look at the money the orphanage got from us. Was it the same amount every time or did it drop at some point? Is there any possible way the money could have vanished? Is there anything else wrong with the transactions to or from the orphanage? I think you get the idea."
"With all due respect, do you have any idea how many transactions I will have to take a look at? Without any help this will take months!" Balance threw his forehooves up over his head in exasperation.
Luna sighed. "You may choose two of your most trustworthy employees to help you, but no more. And tell them only what is necessary to do the job."
"If you insist. But let me tell you, this won't be easy."
"Yes I do insist. Now to the second part. The first thing you will do tomorrow, is getting some bits to the orphanage. What do you say, Sunglow. Will a sum of fifty thousand bits be enough for now?"
Sunglow took a quick look at the numbers before her again, then nodded. "I think so. At least for the next two weeks. I think we will have the new funding ready to go by then.
The eyes of the head of the Royal Treasury bulged. "Fifty thousand bits? Are you kidding me? That is far too much!"
Luna closed her eyes and let out a low growl none of the other ponies could hear. She grew gradually annoyed with the stallion. "Did you even read the papers provided to you?" She snapped at him. "They amounted quite a bit of a debt and the deficit in the salary of the employees needs to be taken into account, too. Besides, we have an emergency fund you can take it from, so there will be no problem for you to take it from another account."
"The salary for the employees was adequate, if the papers you just mentioned are correct. Nopony forced them to spend it on the children. I don't think it is necessary to pay them any extra."
Luna's face turned to stone. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're right, I have a better idea. I will cut your salary in half to get something to eat for the children, how does that sound?"
Balance jumped up to his hooves. "You can't do that! That would be an abuse of your power!"
Keeping her cool, Luna shrugged her shoulders. "Try me. If you think I won't do it, just go ahead. If you, on the other hoof, come to your senses and do as I ask, I will forget about your attitude this time. I want to help these children as fast as possible and if you can't do what is necessary and expected from your position, then I have to find someone else who is better suited to the task."
Grinding his teeth, Balance relented. "All right. I see that I can not reason with you tonight, so I will do as you command."
"Great, now that the important things are settled, there's one last thing." Both ponies before her looked up at her expectantly. Where Sunglow wore an expression of neutral curiosity, Balance looked sour, as if he awaited the next ridiculous task to be thrown at him. "My sister and I will be gone for some days, maybe a week or two, starting tomorrow. In the meantime, you will report either to Honeycomb or to Princess Twilight Sparkle who will be filling in for us while we are gone. I expect you to treat their orders as if they were mine, do you understand?"
Upon their silent nods Luna wrapped up the meeting. "Good. I think we all have some work to do. I bid you all a good night, even if you will be spending it mostly awake."
After Sunglow and Balance had left the room and closed the door behind them, Luna let out a tired sigh and brought a hoof up to rub her temple. "That could have gone better."
"Don't worry, Luna. They might sometimes be a pain in the flank, but they know their jobs. You did everything you could on such short notice and I'm sure we will find something while you are gone. Oh, and thank you for the trust you put into me, I won't disappoint you."
A smile spread across Luna's face. "I know you won't. Well then, I'll be heading back to my sister to prepare for the journey that lies before us." Suddenly, an idea struck her. The answer to her question of who would fill in for her. "You may head home early today, if you like, because while I'm gone you will take over the duties of the night court entirely, while Princess Twilight will take over the tasks over the day with the help of Celestia's assistant. Do you feel up to the task?" Actually it was quite obvious. Her work was outstanding. And as her assistant she knew everything she needed for the job.
Honeycomb's eyes widened. Then she broke into a smile. "It is a great responsibility and won't be easy, but I'm sure I somehow will be able to handle it. Thank you again for your trust in me, Luna." Honeycomb agreed with pride in her voice.
"And don't be too proud to ask for help, if you should need it." Luna cautioned her.
"You mean like you did, after your return from the moon?" the minty green mare quipped.
"I don't know what you mean? I appreciated any help I could get." Luna's cheeks turned a light shade of pink.
"Sure, except that you insisted on adjusting to modern social customs by yourself."
"And I did!"
"Yes, after Princess Twilight convinced you to stop speaking in the Royal Canterlot Voice, you actually made some slight progress. Oh, and don't forget the incident where you tried accustoming yourself with modern laws!" Honeycomb snickered.
Luna harrumphed. "Yeah well, perhaps you're right. But enough dwelling in old memories, let's get going."
Honeycomb mockingly threw a hoof to her forehead. "As you command, my princess! I will meet you at your departure."
With a roll of her eyes and a suppressed grin on her face, Luna left her assistant to clean up after the meeting while she went back to Celestia.
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As she entered her bedchamber, Luna got a short glimpse of a scroll floating in mid-air. A second later it vanished in a flash of magic as Celestia sent it away with a flick of her horn.
"Was that the letter for Twilight? That took quite some time. Normally you are faster with writing to your favorite student."
Celestia sighed, "I had to reword it a few times to ensure Twilight wouldn't panic when she reads it. You know, avoiding buzzwords like 'emergency', 'immediately', 'Luna and I are leaving Canterlot' and the like. In the end I decided to keep it short and tell her just the necessary."
"Yes, I can see where you're going. When do you think she will be here?"
"She should arrive arround mid-morning; I will send her a carriage. That leaves enough time for us to prepare for our trip. For now, tell me more about the enchantments you used while we pack our bags..."
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Nightstar interrupted his second round around the sleeping rooms in Skyfall Orphanage as he heard a muffled sobbing behind the door he had just passed. He directed the pale light of his horn to the sign hanging from a hook mounted in the door to see which of the children was awake at this time of the night. The face of a grinning unicorn filly, framed by a circle of colorful flowers, beamed back at him. Underneath it, rainbow-colored letters read the name of the depicted filly, Candytuft. It wasn't that unusual an occasion for him. In an orphanage with a bunch of small children these things happened quite frequently. Nightmares, bullies and not being chosen by possible parents being the major reasons for nightly outbursts. The pony on watch would then deal with the issue and afterwards file a report for the day shift so they could take further actions, if the need arose.
Cautiously, Nightstar opened the door and peeked his head inside. Dim rays of moonlight shining through the open window curtains lit the room just enough to be able to make out some silhouettes. A dark lump on the bed shook slightly as the room's occupant sobbed quietly, completely huddled under her blanket.
Seeing that there was no immediate problem, Nightstar spoke up while walking over to the bed. "Is everything alright, Candytuft? Did you have a nightmare?"
"I scared Princess Luna and now she will never come back!" the little filly wailed.
Nightstar was far from new on the job and had heard quite some stories in the middle of the night, but this was something new. Confused he shook his head vigorously to clear it from the puzzlement Candytuft's statement had caused. Scaring off the Princess of the Night? She clearly must have had a nightmare! Laying down in front of the bed, he gently lifted the blanket up with his magic.
"Care to tell me how you scared Princess Luna?" he asked with a gentle smile.
Candytuft sat herself up onto her haunches from her huddled pose with her head hung low and tears streaming down her cheeks.
"She visited us and brought us ice cream. And then I saw –" Candytuft sniffed "– that there was no moon outside and ran to Princess Luna to tell her."
A big sob followed by a heavy sniff interrupted her.
"And what happened then?" Nightstar asked gently.
"Then she lifted me up and brought me to the windows. And then the lights went out."
"And Princess Luna was afraid of the dark and ran away?"
Candytuft looked up, obviously irritated. "Why would she be afraid of the dark? She is the Princess of the Night."
"Of course, you're right. But what happened then?" At least his question had distracted her enough to stop crying. Only a few sobs escaped her as she continued.
"Then Princess Luna put the moon and the stars on the sky; it was so beautiful! But then Headmaster Willow Wind sent us all to bed and Princess Luna put me back down and said she had to go, but I didn't want her to go. And then I did it."
"Did what, little one?"
"I scared her!" Candytuft burst out. "I asked her to take me with her! Because I like her so much! She was always my favorite princess. But she got a terrified look on her face and ran out of the room and left me behind. I don't think she will ever come back."
The little filly's voice had gotten quieter and quieter towards the end of her tale. Nightstar had to strain his hearing to get the last words. With a warm smile on his face he stood back up, lifted Cadytuft up with his magic and tucked her back under her blanket.
"I don't think you need to be concerned. Princess Luna is very kind and forgiving. Even if you really did something to upset her I'm sure she will forgive you and come back to see you soon. And now you should get back to sleep so you can go play with your friends again tomorrow."
"Are you sure?" Candytuft asked, unsure if she should believe Nightstar.
"Yes, I'm sure. No princess would ever abandon her subjects. So, sleep tight little filly and perhaps Princess Luna will visit your dream to make it all well again." With that he turned and left the room, cautiously pulling the door shut behind him.
"I hope so..." Candytuft muttered and snuggled back under her blanket looking out of her windows at the glowing moon.
Outside, Nightstar sighed before he resumed his round of the sleeping quarters, making a mental note to file a report of a bad dream about angering a princess.
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The Golden Oaks Library of Ponyville lay dark in the earliest of morning hours. The moon stood still high on his track across the horizon. The birds still slept in their homes in the trees. A light breeze wafted silently over from the Everfree Forest and through the open window to Twilight's bedroom. All of Ponyville lay totally silent.
Suddenly, the peaceful quiet was destroyed by a loud belch. Green dragonfire illuminated the bedroom as a scroll of parchment materialised and was flung right into Twilight's face where it got stuck in her open mouth, as her head had slid over the edge of her bed right over Spike's basket. Twilight's eyes shot open as she sat up and spat the scroll out onto her bedsheets, coughing the taste of paper away.
"What the hay?" she groggily murmured. Looking down at Spike she found him still sleeping peacefully. Sighing she turned back to the scroll, pondering if she should read it now or wait until she got up. Eventually she decided that if Princess Celestia thought it necessary to send a letter in the middle of the night it should be important enough for her to read it now.
Twilight unfurled the scroll and held it up with her magic while simultaneously casting a dim light from her horn onto it. Coming to the end of the letter her eyes shot wide open, a shriek escaped her mouth and she teleported out of her bed.
Prancing she shouted, "Spike! Get up! Hurry! We need to get to Canterlot immediately!"
"Whassup?" Spike asked, still half asleep.
"I got a letter from Princess Celestia and there is something horrible going on. We have no time to lose! Just grab our emergency bag and let's go!"
Knowing Twilight, Spike crawled out of his bed, picked up the scroll that had sailed to the floor and began to read.
Dear Princess Twilight,
I'd like to invite you to come to Canterlot tomorrow to stay a few days. I will send you a carriage to pick you up at 9 am. I eagerly look forward to seeing you again.
Your friend, Princess Celestia
PS: Don't worry, there is no emergency.
Raising an eyebrow Spike looked up to Twilight questioningly. "Seriously? You did read the 'PS', didn't you?"
"Of course I did! And that's just what made my alarm bells tick off. Why would she write that if there wasn't an emergency? And then there is the whole rush about it. Sending a simple invitation in the middle of the night for the following morning? Please! And she calls me 'Princess Twilight'. If it was just a simple visit, she would have called me just 'Twilight', or something."
"I don't know, Twilight, I think you're overreacting again. Besides, how do you plan to get to Canterlot in the middle of the night? The carriage will only arrive in the morning and there are no trains driving up there at this hour. And even if you are an alicorn, you can't teleport that far!"
"I'm not overreacting, Spike. Trust me, there is something going on and Celestia needs my help. As to how I want to get there... well, you said it. I'm an alicorn, so come on!" Flapping her wings, Twilight took to the air for a moment before settling down again.
Spike stretched his arms out in front of him, trying to keep his distance from Twilight. With a fearful expression on his face he slowly moved backwards. "Oh no! Forget it! I won't be flying with you again when you're in a hurry. The flight from Canterlot to Ponyville when Discord's vines ponynapped the princesses taught me my lesson. If you really want, go ahead and fly to Canterlot. I'll follow you with our stuff in the morning taking the carriage."
"Even better. That way I won't be slowed down by all the luggage. Alright then. I will see you in Canterlot then, Spike. Take care!"
And with that, Twilight teleported out of the library. After a quick scan of the sky she took off and angled towards the distant mountains.
Spike watched her go through the open window. When he was sure she wouldn't return to get something she had forgot in her hurry, he sighed. "Time for some more quality sleep." He adjusted the alarm clock on the bedside table so that he would have enough time to pack in the morning before snuggling back under his warm and inviting blanket.
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As she neared Canterlot Castle, Twilight started to think about where she should land. Her flight had took her longer than she estimated but it was still early and only a faint shimmer on the horizon told of the coming sunrise. On her way to Canterlot, her mind had run away from her again, imagining hundreds of dreadful visions about the things that awaited her.
Twilight let her gaze wander over the castle. Most windows were dark. Only the kitchens were illuminated, as well as the barracks of the royal guard. And a lone window high up in a tower to the east. If Celestia was awake, it would probably be the best to fly directly to her bedchambers. This was an emergency after all!
Concentrating, she cast the spell that Celestia had taught her after she became a princess to dispel the wards that secured the balcony doors from intruders. At the last moment she remembered to push the doors open and to start her deceleration.
But she was still too fast when she touched the ground. Shouting, she bounced off the ground a few times before sliding the last few feet on her haunches, backpedaling with her front hooves, wings spread wide. Stopping just a few inches short of crashing into the doors on the other side of the room, she flopped down on her belly and exhaled deeply.
Celestia had turned around as she heard the balcony doors open. Stunned, she watched Twilight landing in her bedroom.
"Twilight! Are you alright?" Celestia quickly trotted over and nudged Twilight in the side to get her back up. "What are you doing here? I said I would be sending a carriage in the morning."
"I had to come as fast as I could. After I read your letter I knew something was going on and that you needed me. So, now that I'm here, you can tell me about the emergency."
Celestia groaned. Obviously she had not managed to keep Twilight calm about the situation. "Twilight, there is no emergency. Didn't you read the 'PS'?"
"Of course I did! Why does everypony think I didn't? And why would you send such an ominous letter in the middle of the night if it wasn't urgent?"
"Well, it is kind of urgent..."
"Aha! I knew it!"
"... but not urgent enough for you to drop everything and hurry over to Canterlot. It could very well have waited until the morning. Luna and I are still preparing." She pointed to a saddle-bag sitting before her private bookshelf. It was yellow with a white rim lining the flap and two white straps coming down beneath it each ending in a yellow tassel hanging down from the bag. Purple gems adorned the white straps as well as the flap. The carrying strap that connected the two bags was of the same colour.
Twilight's ears drooped as she sat down on her haunches. "I'm sorry, princess. I overreacted. Again. Spike was right." She turned her head away in shame.
"Don't be, Twilight. I appreciate your concern and I am happy to see you again. At least it gives us some more hours to talk."
A shy smile spread on Twilight's face as she looked back up at Celestia.
"I was just going to go down to the library to get some more books to take with me. Do you want to accompany me?"
"Of course I want to. But... what did you mean 'take books with you'? Are you going on a trip?"
"More a journey, but come now. I will tell you everything on our way down."
--------------------
Luna turned to the doors of her study as they opened behind her, revealing her sister and, to her surprise, Twilight. The two talked about something. Twilight was completely fixated on Celestia and didn't notice Luna sitting in a corner packing her own saddlebags. Hers were a midnight blue with a white flap bordered with a blue rim. A big turquoise gem framed by two purple half-moons adorned the flap, while the bag itself sported a pattern of equally turquoise lines on a white ground.
"I see why you want to go as soon as possible and I am honored that you chose me to accompany you." Luna heard Twilight say to Celestia.
"Twilight Sparkle! What are you doing here? I thought you would arrive sometime later in the morning."
"There was a slight misunderstanding with my letter, sister. I already filled Twilight in on what happened yesterday. Though she got one thing wrong about it all, as you just heard."
"I did?" Twilight asked quizzically.
"Yes. You won't be accompanying me."
"I won't?" Now she was seriously confused.
"No. I will be accompanying Luna."
"Then why am I here? What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to take my place while we are gone and take over the rulership of Equestria."
Twilight's jaw dropped. Her left eye began to twitch.
"Good job, sister. Actually, I'm thinking about turning this into a hobby of mine."
"What do you mean?"
"The jaw-dropping. It amuses me," Luna said, beaming. "Though it seems you overdid it this time– I think you broke her."
Celestia waved a hoof in front of Twilight's face. "Twilight? Are you alright?" This was the second time she had to ask this of her former student in the last hour. She made a mental note to talk with her about being more careful later. "Twilight?"
"Are..."
"Thank goodness, she is still there."
"You..."
"Come on Twilight just sit down while I get you some water." Celestia floated a carafe and a glass over from Luna's desk. But just as she wanted to pour the water...
"CRAZY? Where did you get the idea to put me on the throne of Equestria? I will be messing things up. I will be doing things wrong, I will upset ponies, I will drive Equestria into ruin, I will... I... I..." Twilight started to hyperventilate.
Celestia was by her side immediately. "Easy, Twilight! Calm down. Breath slowly, just like I taught you. In... and out... In... and out... Good."
Regaining a steady breath again, Twilight slumped down onto the ground. "Princess, this is too much. You can't ask this of me. It is too soon, I'm not ready for this."
"Oh Twilight, don't belittle yourself. You are an amazing leader; all you lack is some experience. You have a very sharp and logical mind and a tremendous sense for justness. And you won't face this task alone. My personal assistant, Raven, will be by your side to support you in all ways necessary. You know her from your time here at the castle, don't you?"
It seemed her words helped. Twilight looked much more reassured now. "Yes, I remember her. I think we even talked once or twice. Thank you, Princess. I honestly don't know if I can do this, but I will do my best."
"And that's all I want. Fear not, Twilight, Equestria won't fall into chaos that fast. Not with an alicorn princess sitting on the throne. And you can always ask Cadance if you need the advice of another princess."
"Couldn't I just write a letter to you?"
"No, you won't be able to reach us after we have crossed a certain point in our journey. Luna's enchantments will block any attempts to do so." She turned to Luna. "Are you ready, sister?"
"I just got the last things packed, I'm ready to go."
"Good, so am I. Let us get some breakfast. The sun is already up and I'm getting hungry."
"You are always hungry, Celestia," Luna deadpanned as they left her study.
"It may seem so to you, but if it didn't occur to you, I am bigger than the average pony, so I need to eat more."
"Ah, finally! Now, was it that hard to admit that you are on the heavier side of the scale?"
"Luna, I am not fat. Stop pestering me about it. We have some days before us where we can't just go our separate ways and I don't think either of us wants to fight all the time."
"Oh, Celestia, you know I'm just teasing, right? Come on let's go to breakfast as you proposed, I'm hungry myself."
"Do you two do that often?" The voice shook them out of their zone. Surprised they both looked at Twilight, as if just recognizing she was actually there. Both turned slightly pink.
"We're mostly doing this when we are alone, Twilight, but you are so close to us that we sometimes have to restrain ourselves more consciously than normal," Celestia apologized.
"Oh, don't mind me. I think it's refreshing to see you two have what could be called a 'normal' life. It's what siblings do. Even Shining Armor and I did it and occasionally still do it now when we see each other. You don't need to restrain yourself while I'm around if you don't want. It's fine, really."
A loud rumbling could be heard in the corridor. Twilight blushed. "It seems, I'm hungry too."
"Then it is good that we are here already. Let us get some breakfast, everypony." And with that, Luna opened the doors to the breakfast buffet.
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Two hours later they emerged from the great hall that functioned as a canteen for the castle staff. From time to time the two sisters joined the ponies there instead of having a private meal with each other. Though the latter was the more frequent occasion, as it was one of the few times they could spend time alone together during their tightly planned schedules. Raven and Honeycomb had joined them at some point to discuss all the small and big things that needed to be taken care of during the absence of Equestria's rulers. They now were on their way down to the gardens where Spike was supposed to arrive soon.
"So, Princess Twilight, do you think you are up to the task that was given to you?"
"Please, Honeycomb, just call me Twilight. At least when we're not working."
"Are you sure? It doesn't seem appropriate. We barely know each other. And you are a princess after all!"
"I know, but we will have to work together and even if I have grown more comfortable with my new status in the last months, I feel much more relaxed to be addressed informally while not on royal duty. You would make this whole thing easier for me, if you would indulge me."
"In that case, I'm happy to oblige, Twilight."
"Much better, thank you. Now, concerning your question... Actually, I'm quite nervous, but I've got Raven by my side to help me, so I think everything will go just fine. But what about you? You have to face the Night Court all on your own after all."
"Well, I will be working harder than ever, but I will cope. Night Court is, in general, much more quiet than Day Court and I've been working long enough with Luna to know what I have to do and what to look out for."
"Right, I've heard that you and Luna are quite a good team?"
"Oh yes, I love working with her! She is very kind, even if she doesn't usually show it as openly as Celestia does. Don't get me wrong, she treats everypony with respect and kindness, but it is different from how Celestia acts. And she is very hardworking. Sometimes she is even more obsessed with her work than her sister."
"Hey! I'm not obsessed!"
Honeycomb smirked. "Remember when you tried to get a grip on modern laws shortly after you came back and I started working for you?"
Luna's face became a pale blue. "You promised to never speak about it!"
"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad. Besides, we're among friends and I don't think they will think any less of you."
A grumble was all she got from her employer.
"Anyway she was there in her study. All around her every single law book from the library she could get a hold of. She had been trying to get a grip on the concepts of modern legislation for four days straight by that point. Without any sleep I might add."
"I don't need to sleep every night," Luna huffed.
"No, but even alicorns get a little nervous with not enough sleep and too much coffee." Turning back to a grinning Twilight, Honeycomb continued. "So when there was this owl landing on the windowsill and it hooted really loud, she jumps up into the air right up to the ceiling and clings to the chandelier, frantically looking in every direction and repeatedly muttering 'Who? What? Where?'"
Twilight burst into giggles. "And what did you do?"
"I just stood there dumbfounded with my chin hitting the floor."
"That's how I found her five minutes later after I calmed down and got back to the ground. I think that started my hobby of confusing ponies to do this for me," Luna pondered.
Now Twilight burst into full laughter. "You deliberately confuse ponies to make their jaws fall down?
"Why yes, it is most amusing!" She genuinely smiled back at her fellow princess.
Twilight shook her head in disbelieve. "What happened then?"
With a wry expression Luna took over narrating. "I needed several attempts to shake her out of her stupor and after she had recovered, she sent me to bed."
"She what?" Twilight asked incredulous.
"I sent her to bed immediately. I feared she would hurt somepony if she got startled again in that condition. You know, firing her magic at some unsuspecting pony bringing her food or something."
Twilight imagined a princess of Equestria being sent to bed by her personal assistant with an outstretched hoof and a stern expression on her face. A maid with a singed mane and a baffled look on her face stood nearby while Luna left the room with her head hung low in embarrassment. Slowly she came back down from the next laughing fit. "And she just did as you told her?"
"It's good to see you in such a good mood again, Twilight Sparkle. And yes, after we reasoned for about half an hour I indeed went to bed," Luna hastened to answer.
"Hmph, if that was reasoning I don't want to know what you consider a shouting match." At Twilight's raised eyebrow, Honeycomb continued to explain. "Let's just say at the end I had to dodge a few books flying right at me."
"And you are still her assistant? Most ponies would have quitted after being attacked by their employer," Twilight asked incredulous.
"Well, if you are the personal assistant of a pony of a certain authority level you have to know them pretty well, be it privately or concerning work. I had known Luna for quite some time by then and I knew she would not be angry for long. Besides, it is part of my duty to voice concerns to the princess if I think she overlooks or overdoes something. Driving yourself to exhaustion without necessity fits that case pretty well, don't you think, Princess?"
Luna smiled kindly. "I already told you that you did well that night and I don't hold a grudge against you."
"It seems you two really are good friends by now." Twilight observed.
"We do share some private gossip and I value Honeycomb's opinion a lot." Luna turned to her assistant, a warm smile on her face. "I even consider her a friend, yes."
"And you, Honeycomb? From how you spoke I think that I'm correct when I say, that you think likewise?"
"Very much so. I can confide in Luna regardless of her being my ruler. She will listen and give me advice on a personal level, not as a superior. We laugh together and can talk just about anything."
"I thought as much. Do you want to know what I think?" Twilight asked with a honest smile and before Luna or Honeycomb could answer, she continued, "You should accompany Luna on her journey."
A simultaneous and nonplussed "What?" came from the two mares.
"It's quite simple, really. I have studied friendship for a long time now so I'm confident to say I'm kind of an expert on the matter. What I have seen of you two in the short time since I came here today, and what you have told me just now, is clearly a very deep friendship. Maybe even deeper, than we realize just now. And take it from someone who had to learn the hard way: Having friends around when you are on an important task helps a lot."
"I don't know if I will be that much of a help, Twilight. And I will slow them down quite a bit, I'm afraid. After all, I'm just an ordinary earth pony and they are the two most powerful beings in all of Equestria! Although, to be honest, I do want to help her with this."
"Don't underestimate yourself or, to paraphrase another princess, you are anything but a regular old earth pony, Honeycomb. Not every problem can be faced with power and wisdom alone. I'm sure you can contribute something important to all of this even if you are just there for Luna if she needs someone to talk."
"You have clearly spent too much time with my sister, Twilight Sparkle. That sounded exactly like something Celestia would say."
"I was referring to Princess Cadance, but I think you're right."
"And I think that it is not all that bad that I could teach you something, Twilight." Twilight blushed. It was the first thing Celestia had said since they had left breakfast. She had been smiling her trademark smile the entire time while listening to the conversation going on. "And I think she is right, Honeycomb. You should accompany us."
"As you wish, Princess."
"No, not as I wish, my little pony. This is your decision and yours alone."
Honeycomb looked at the floor, her hooves uncertainly shuffling on the ground. "I'd really like to help but, as I said, I don't want to be a burden. What do you think, Luna?" She looked up at her employer, ruler and... yes, friend. Her usually self-confident manner had by now completely vanished.
"Rest assured, that I would be as happy as you if you would come with us. And don't worry about slowing us down, we do have our ways with traveling great distances." This assurance, together with the genuine smile on Luna's face, eased most of Honeycombs worries.
"Okay, then I will go with you and help you as best as I can." Her short burst of confidence was however dampened the second she thought about the thing that was the most obvious. "But I need to prepare. I need to pack some things, food for example and I need to get a tent or something where I can sleep and I have to tell my family where I'm going to be. It will take the whole day and you want to leave now. I fear, I was a bit hasty with my decision after all." Her head dropped in defeat.
Luna and Celestia looked at each other, then began to chuckle. Turning back to Honeycomb, Celestia explained their amusement that had let Honeycomb's head sink even lower.
"We have everything you will need in our bags and Twilight can let your family know of your whereabouts. Now come, we should get going."
Suddenly, Twilight stopped dead in her tracks as something occurred to her. "Princess Luna!"
Curious, Luna turned around to where Twilight had stopped. "Yes, Twilight Sparkle, what is it? Didn't I tell you to call me Luna?"
"Only if you start calling me Twilight, you know that! But that's not what I wanted to say. If Honeycomb will go with you, who will be responsible for the Night Court?"
"Hm... you are right, someone needs to take care of that, but who? Do you know someone, Celestia?"
"The only one I can think of who is capable of handling this on such short notice would be Raven."
"Of course, Your Highness."
Twilight trembled with suddenly returning nervousness. "But, Princess, who will help me? I am not ready to do this on my own."
"I know it will be hard Twilight, but I trust you with this. You will get as much help as the ponies of my staff can give you. You just have to ask them."
"Or, in the case of some of the ponies of the more noble origin, you have to demand it," Luna interjected, a slight scorn in her voice as she thought of some of the more tedious encounters with the nobles.
"In any case, you are quite clever, Twilight. I'm confident you will find a way to do this."
Finally they arrived at the doors to the gardens belonging to Canterlot Castle. Stepping out into the warm mid-morning sun, the small group trotted over to the big lawn to the left side of the path that led to the castle doors they had just exited.
"So, here we are," Celestia noted as she turned around to the small group while Luna walked up beside her, followed by Honeycomb. "Any last minute thoughts?"
Twilight looked as if she wanted to say something but then decided otherwise and shook her head like the others did.
Spotting a small dot in the distant sky, Luna spoke up. "It seems like Spike is just arriving. How convenient. You can greet him right away and fill him in on everything, Twilight."
"Alright everypony, let's get going then. Would you do the honor to get us started, sister?"
"Of course, Celestia."
Luna concentrated as her horn began to glow. A pale blue aura encompassed the two alicorns and the earth pony mare. A second later they were gone and a low plopping sound could be heard as the air flowed into the vacuum they had left behind.
A moment later a chariot landed before Twilight and Raven.
"Was that the princesses who vanished just there?" Spike called out to them while jumping over the edge of the chariot. "They could have at least greeted me..." He huffed.
Suddenly, the bush beside Twilight sported some mismatched eyes. "Are they gone?" an all too familiar voice asked excitedly.
"What the?" Twilight jumped.
The bush vanished in a flash, only to reveal Discord dressed in a shrill-coloured camouflage-patterned jacket and a matching helmet on his head. Discarding his costume with another flash, he slung himself around Twilight. "Oh Twilight! We will have so much fun while you are sitting on the throne of Equestria!"
While Spike looked confused from Twilight to Discord and back again, Raven stood there wide-eyed with her forehoof raised slightly off the ground.
Groaning, Twilight slumped down, covering her eyes with her hooves.
--------------------
"Nightstar, may I talk to you for a minute?" Willow Wind called out for the stallion as he passed by her office. She was just finishing up her work to head home. As she had seen Nightstar walking by, she had remembered the report from him that she had found this morning on her desk.
Nightstar stopped in his tracks as he heard the headmaster call out for him. He had just arrived and was heading to his office to get ready for his night shift. "Sure, boss. What's up?"
"I wanted to talk about the incident with Candytuft last night."
At first he looked puzzled, then turned curious as he remembered what happened. It was a routine thing, nothing special, and as such it had slipped his mind already. "Oh, sure. I hope she got some sleep after I left and wasn't too cranky today."
"Not in the way you think of, no. But she was seen the whole day sitting in some corner with a sad frown on her face. She didn't even want to play with her friends. Obviously we tried some things to get her cheered up, but up until now we didn't succeed."
"The poor thing! I will keep an extra eye out for her tonight."
"I appreciate that, but that wasn't what I wanted to tell you."
"Oh, okay. What is it then?"
"That was no dream she had. It was real."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You see, Princess Luna visited us yesterday after dinner and brought some ice cream for the kids. All the things Candytuft told you took place after the kids finished eating the ice cream. I just wanted to let you know so you can react accordingly to her needs."
"Now that's a surprise! That changes quite some things. Thanks for letting me know, I will keep it in mind."
"Thank you. And now I wish you a pleasant night."
"I wish you likewise!"
As Nightstar turned to leave, Willow Wind spoke up once more. "Oh, one last thing! I want you to stop by my office tomorrow and tell me if anything happens tonight concerning Candytuft. I will be here earlier than usual so you won't have to wait for me after your shift ends."
"Of course I will."
And with that, the two went their separate ways to start their respective evenings.
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So, here it is. Now for real and not by accident!
Enjoy and if you want to, please tell me what you think.
Pretty sure there's a " missing in there. Other than that, no errors jumped out at me.
I'm really looking forward to reading more of this
nearly did the Twilight YES! dance when I saw this update. hope the second part comes soon.
4959778 Thanks, I corrected it.
Don't worry, there is definitely more to come
4960771 *chuckle* I don't think you would look as adorable as Twilight doing that dance!
Does this mean the next chapter will be coming quickly?
4963756
Sorry, but no. I haven't even started writing it yet. But if I would have stuck to my plan, this would roughly have been just half of chapter three and the publishing would have been pushed back at least 1-2 months more. Besides, I want wo keep chapter sizes below 10k words for readablity as the bookmark function doesn't work for everyone (for me for example it works only on my own stories and that's not very helpful to be honest).
4963795 Aww, fine.
Sooooooo looking forward to part two/chapter four to this....
And now,i wait for another amazing chapter...
No worries, this was good, but I am concerned for Candytuft.
So I'll see you at the next chapter.
4977891 May I ask exactly why you are concerned for her? What do you think might happen with/to her (yes, there is a plan behind my madness)?
4978521 Well concern might have been a bit... presumptuous? No something else... Anyway I am concerned that some less than benevolent force might take advantage of her love for Luna. Or she might be stolen by...Peter Pony? Pony Pan? I realize Luna's sanctuary for orphans is not Neverland, but I still see the similarities.
But more than anything I feel concerned for her emotions. She seems so sensitive and I wonder how she will feel when she finds out Luna left. You know in that she might blame herself.
Or the simple answer! I am concerned for her because she is a well written character that I have become emotionally invested in and thus want her to be happy.
Plans are good though. I plan to read the next chapter when it arrives.
4978780 Fear not, for I won't convert this into a Peter Pan crossover xD
But yes, you are right, she WILL find out that Luna left, though I won't tell you what will happen then.
Thank you for saying that she is well written.
Actually it feels like I don't have written much about her. There are just two scenes, really. The one with the ice cream and the one with Nightstar. Naturally in my head her character is much more detailed. I'm surprised that I could achieve something like this with so relatively few text as OC's usually aren't my strong suit.
4978859 I figured.
That said it is amazing how a few lines of dialogue can show who a character is and get people interested in them. I think for my part I am attached to her because she is in at least a little way attached to Luna who is for now the main protagonist and that makes her an important character to pay attention to. In my case I get emotionally invested in characters that will likely(in the near or far flung future) have an effect on the story.
On behalf of everyone that had been waiting for this chapter I make this reply on your update:
Sorry, couldn't help myself. (I mean a chance at a brick joke, who could?!) And the chapter was well worth the wait, as usual. I'm gonna add this to my group 'Unshown Canon'.
And for the record, I think it's good that you didn't have them arrive at the colony. It leads to a good build up, dramatically speaking.
4982864 Oooohhh, 'Unshown Canon' good to know, I have some more of that waiting to be written. My next story, when I'm done with this one, will be a Pinkie one-shot. ;)
Dramatically speaking I really hope you all won't be disappointed with the climax of the story. This is a Slice of Life after all, so don't expect anything too intense xD
And don't worry, I liked your Sweetie brick joke (actually, this is the first time I came across of the term and can't find anything on it, so I think I'm not getting all of the meaning but only the vague intuitional one, would you like to explain in which cases this term applies?
)
4982990 To tell the truth, I'm uncertain if the term applies myself. Here is a page that will help on the definition: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BrickJoke.
4983048 Thanks for the explanation. I think it fits. Though you could not be entirely sure you would get the chance to actually pull it off ;)
I hate when Fimfiction's favorite notification stops working
I didn't realize the update until today and that was after reviewing my entire favorite collection
and the thing didn't go on even though the chapter wasn't mark as read.
well at least I got to read it before the next update, good chapter by the way.
I don't recall now if this was one of the usual "stealth updates" that FiMfiction doesn't notify me of, or if it got marked as read somehow, but in any case I'm lucky to have found it! Better late than never. Looking forward to more.
Nitpicks:
discreet
I think you mean either "We'll see (or "meet") each other later" or "I'll see you later".
(delete one "and", your choice)
Quotation mark is in wrong place
5058738
Thanks for the pointers, I edited it.
No it wasn't FimFiction having hiccups, I pressed the publish button two weeks too soon and revoked the chapter. When I finally released it, there were no new notifications.
Twilight is screwed.
Discord's here to help!
5185203
That sums it up quite good
(we need a manic-twilight icon...)
is this still being updated?
is this still being updated?
5320517
Yes it is, chapter 4 is almost ready for release. I think it will be there sometime next week.
cdn.theatlantic.com/static/newsroom/img/mt/2013/11/DOCTOR_WHO_50TH_ANNIVERSARY_THE_DAY_OF_THE_DOCTOR_58/lead_large.jpg?mwmw1i