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Good Morning Ponyville2,427 words
The Plan1,614 words
Mwa ha ha!2,808 words
Maid for Service1,313 words
Sunrise1,552 words
Roi de Sol2,011 words
Mayhem + Romance1,774 words

Mayhem + Romance

It was an elegant dinner, from one of the finest Canterlot dinner destinations. Celestia and Derpy both munched quietly on their meals, small talk seasoning the dish well. "Dinky is adorable. And she seems to have her mother's eye for detail."

"Thank you Pr—. Thank you." Derpy smiled a bit. "I've always tried to let her find her happiness. I know it's not always easy for her with me working so much."

"Why do you work so much? I'd think with your many jobs you'd be able to handle all expenses, including the reimbursements."

Derpy chewed on her meal thoughtfully, before nodding. "I'm trying to save up for Hearth's Warming. I know it's still months away.. but last year, I couldn't get much for Dinky after a few ill timed mistakes wiped out the money I'd saved. This year, I'm going to make sure everything is perfect. Or at least as close as we can hope for."

Celestia nodded, smiling gently. "She's got quite an imagination. Did you make Mr. Bear?"

"Oh yes, button eyes, button nose, stuff, fluff, and plush." Derpy smiled at the wave of nostalgia. "She was always afraid of the dark, which didn't help when I couldn't be around much. So I made Mr. Bear to keep her safe. Oddly that bear always seems to get into the oddest antics."

Luna wiped away a cold drop of sweat. She was losing. It was a game to three kills, and she was losing. To a teddy bear. Dinky had simply placed the bear in front of the mouse and keyboard, mimicking Luna's hoof placement, and walked away. She only stood the bear back up each time he fell on his face. And somehow the bear had drifted, stumbled, and wandered into perfect positions before finishing the princess with a headshot each time.

It was completely impossible. But his reign of terror was at an end. Luna had finally completed a long circuit around the map, not leaving herself exposed a single time, ready to remove the bear from his sniper perch with a single well placed attack. She trotted up the stairs, scanning carefully from side to side.

And never even noticed the pony in the corner, rotating seemingly at random, as he got the final headshot.

"FFFFFF—"

"Do you think maybe you 'broke' something about him?"

Derpy put a hoof to her chin. "It would explain a lot. Princess, is— Celestia, is Luna doing alright?"

"I believe so, why do you ask?"

"She's trying so hard to get better at those games, because she's hoping ponies will judge her for her skills, rather than for her status as princess. She doesn't seem to intentionally shirk her duties, but they occupy a place so low in her priorities." Derpy poked at her meal with a fork.

Celestia sighed. "I shouldn't be surprised you noticed too, Derpy. She's still having problems getting used to modern Equestria. She needs friends nearby, and she still has a reputation to work through. Her intent with these online games is that she's clean of her reputation. But at the same time, she's starting from nothing. And not everypony has a computer, so who's playing is inherently limited. It's a decent idea, but it's incomplete, and I'm unsure of how to make it better."

"Invite her along for silly things."

"Sorry?"

"Go to the movies. Go out for a meal. Order in and play with her. I've already said you need to get out more. That advice can only be, well, doubled." Derpy smiled lopsidedly.

Celestia let out a peal of laughter, smiling at the pegasus across from her. "Again with the wisdom. Aren't I supposed to be the wise one?"

"You're too close to the problem to look at it like that. You wanted her to find her own way through it, since you're worried about how you might've contributed to her becoming Nightmare Moon."

Celestia blinked a few times at the rolling eyes of the grey pegasus, and wagged a hoof warningly in her direction. "That's going from 'insightful' to 'downright omniscient'." Derpy offered a sheepish smile in return. "So what shall we do after dinner?"

"You're asking me?"

Celestia chuckled at the mare's surprised expression. "I set the date for tonight, and picked dinner. You get to choose activities after that."

Derpy considered carefully. "Movie, and then we go back to the palace and make muffins. That way even if nothing else happens, we've still got a muffin out of it."

"Again with the wisdom." Celestia smiled warmly.

The movie was pleasant, the mares were both chattering cheerfully, and the fellow movie goers couldn't help but stop and stare as Celestia made her way out of the movie theater with her date. "It's almost strange. I feel like I got to know you rather well after the day with Dinky."

Derpy chuckled. "You have me at a disadvantage there. Luna didn't spend very much time with me."

"And yet I'm sure you've managed to build something of a profile on me anyway."

"Over the years and deliveries, perhaps." Derpy laughed happily, then stopped, turning to her left, looking at the very not suspicious dark alicorn and grey unicorn filly sporting handlebar mustaches and top hats. Celestia peeked over after a moment and boggled wordlessly as well. Luna facehooved.

"Hello strangers! Are you enjoying this lovely evening?" Dinky played her perfect disguise to a hilt, aside from not disguising her voice in the slightest. Celestia and Derpy exchanged a small grin, turning to the 'mysterious strangers.'

"Hello strangers. We were just about to go to Canterlot Castle and make muffins. It's too bad you can't join us. They were going to be delicious."

Dinky completely threw discretion to the wind at that revelation. "Aww momma, it's really me! Dinky! I wanna muffin!"

Derpy casually put a hoof to her chin. "No, no, my little Dinky doesn't have that kind of mustache." Shedding her disguise in seconds, the little unicorn filly grinned proudly up at her mother. "Why Dinky! When did you get here my little muffin?"

Dinky giggled proudly at her masterful use of the perfect disguise. Celestia slid up next to Luna as she removed her own top hat and mustache. "So why are you here?"

Luna sighed. "Dinky wanted to come out to spy on your date. I told her no. She wagered going to bed early versus coming out. I took Mr. Bear on in a first to three kills game, to make it end quicker."

Celestia blinked. "You lost to a plush toy."

Luna blushed. "He cheated! He must have!"

"Oh, oh, momma. Luna said something and I don't know what it means. What does fffff—"

"Dinky!" The lunar princess wished she could sink into the earth.

The Canterlot Castle kitchens were a place of refinement. A place where the most expertly crafted dishes in all of Equestria would be finalized in taste and appearance, prepared and waiting for the judgement of royalty. Diplomatic envoys would note that most of the employees truly enjoyed their jobs. The challenges of the ingredients, maintaining qualities of taste and texture, each aspect of a dish striving to produce a final work. What they would not note, however, was laughter.

The happy laughter spilling forth from two alicorns, a unicorn filly, and a pegasus all covered in dabs of honey, flour, ground oatmeal, and some vanilla extract was quite unusual. Especially since it was hours after the chefs had retired for the evening. Warmed by the sense of family and togetherness the two royal sisters and the two non-royal ponies engaged in a group hug. One that ended with a small kiss being planted on Derpy's nose by Celestia. As her mother blushed and stammered, Dinky let out an excited squee. It wasn't all according to plan, but it was still progress.

Epilogue

Dinky, Derpy, and Celestia walked the streets of Ponyville cheerfully. Dinky was being left with a sitter for the afternoon, but she was simply too excited to worry. "This is gonna be so great. So when am I gonna have a little sister? Or a little brother? I wanna teach them magic!"

Derpy and Celestia both blushed, laughing nervously at Dinky's enthusiasm. "I think we'd have to get married before we think about that, Dinky." Her mother turned to Celestia, who nodded.

"We are only on our second date."

"Oh, psh. You two are just takin' it slow because you're both happy and not sure what might happen." Derpy and Celestia exchanged a glance and laughed.

"Again with the insight."

"Quite." Celestia cleared her throat. "Of course, there was a reason I asked this specific sitter to help today, Dinky."

"Oh?" The little filly perked up happily.

"You see, while I really appreciated the letter and the muffins you sent, there were quite a few spelling errors."

Dinky just now realized they had stopped in front of the Golden Oaks Library. Her eyes widened in horror as the door opened, revealing the purple bane. The bringer of studying. The princess of homework!

"Hello Princess Celestia! Hello Derpy! Hello Dinky!"

"Hello Princess Sparkle!" Came the chorus from the two adults, earning a sheepish blush from the former student at her former mentor's casual reply. Dinky sought an avenue of escape.

"Well, she's all yours for the afternoon Twilight. Do try to teach her well."

"Be good my little muffin!"

Dinky's attempted escape was halted as she found herself wrapped up in Twilight's magenta aura of magic. As the little filly's struggles were blocked out by the closing library door, she let out a final cry of woe. "I regret everything!"

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