The Puppetmaster

by XSomeGuyX

Princess Problems

“Princess Celestia, I want to say that I take full responsibility for this,” Twilight spoke out preemptively.

However, Celestia merely continued the same routine from before. She paused her pacing, looked up at the eight ponies lined up in front of her, opened her mouth but promptly dropped her head with a sigh and resumed her back-and-forth. She was at a loss for words. Never in the entire history of Equestria did a ship manage to crash into her castle.

Those who had taken part in the incident were spread out in the castle throne room which was left littered with fallen pillars and pieces of the ceiling. Twilight stood in front of the remaining seven, closest to Celestia with a very defensive stance. Behind her sat her friends as well as Derpy and Cloud Slider, the latter still sore from the anchor dropped on him but shaking violently in place as they waited for their Princess to lay down some sort of punishment.

“It’s not all her fault, Princess,” Rainbow Dash added. “If I didn’t leave Derpy alone on the ship…”

Celestia lifted a hoof in a motion to cut off the blue pegasus.

“We were just trying to protect Equestria…” Twilight said, lowering her head.

“Sister?” The eight ponies nearly jumped as they heard a loud, strong voice call from the room’s formerly elegant doors. Princess Luna entered the room, mouth agape, as she took in all the damage done to the castle. “What has happened to our home?”

“I am sorry if the accident has disturbed your rest, sister,” Celestia spoke. “Please, go back to your room and sleep. You have a long night to watch over.”

“Now, now, Sister, We are not so fragile that losing a few hours’ worth of sleep will prevent Us from performing Our duty,” Luna answered. “Please, tell Us; what has happened here?”

Twilight went to speak. “I—”

“We!” her friends corrected her in unison.

“We accidently caused this damage to the castle while pursuing a group of pirates that were threatening Equestria and kidnapped a stallion,” Twilight answered, bowing. “I’m sorry to you and you too, Princess Celestia. I guess I failed in my duty as a guardian of Equestria.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Twilight,” Fluttershy told her. “You tried your best…”

“We all did,” Applejack added.

“Yes, darling,” Rarity said. “Not every design I come up with is completely fabulous, but I never let it get to me… too much anyways.”

“If you get all pouty-wouty on me, I’ll just have to throw you an ‘It’s-ok-that-we-destroyed-Canterlot-Castle’ surprise party when we get home,” Pinkie said, sliding underneath the huddled group.

“There’s no use in dwelling on the past, Twilight,” Celestia finally addressed the group. “What is done is done. But I see even in this low point, your friendships remain strong and that is the very reason I know you will succeed in your future duties.”

“Thank you, Princess Celestia,” Twilight told her as she gave another bow.

“There is one thing that remains a mystery to Us,” Luna said, joining her sister at her side. “We are curious as to why this stallion was so important that you had to such lengths as this to rescue him.”

“Ah, Sister, it seems that I neglected to inform you that Spike had experienced a quite unnatural growth spurt,” Celestia said, turning to her.

“Yes. I was actually going to write you a letter about this, Princess Celestia,” Twilight added. “After visiting Zecora, we still weren’t able to find a way to revert Spike to his normal age. That’s when Spike remembered that the courier he met knew another pony that was studying dragons. So we thought if we were able to find that courier, then maybe we could find the pony studying dragons, learn more about dragons and maybe find a way to get Spike back to normal.”

“So, then, you must be that courier,” Celestia said, turning to the beige stallion, “aren’t you, young Cloud Slider?”

“Uh-I-umm…” Cloud Slider stuttered, feeling like his heart was about to burst out from his chest. “Yes…”

“Princess, how do you know…?” Twilight paused.

“That is neither here nor there,” Celestia interjected. “For now, it seems that you all have found your courier. You needn’t to worry about the castle. It can easily be repaired with a little magic.”

“Are you sure, Princess?” Twilight asked. “It was our fault that this happened. We can help with the repairs at least a little…”

“There is no need for that, Twilight,” Celestia said, raising a hoof to silence any further protests from her. “You have a duty to Spike to keep.”

“Thank you, Princess Celestia!” Twilight said, bowing once more. “I promise, I won’t fail again.”

“As I have told you before, you needn’t bow to me anymore, Princess Twilight,” Celestia told her, lifting her up with gentle hoof and a bright smile on her lips.

“I’m sorry, Princess Celestia,” Twilight replied with a twitchy smile. “Force of habit.”

The royal siblings quietly watched the eight ponies exit the room, during which Cloud Slider narrowly avoided a piece of the ceiling from crashing down on him.

“Sister,” Luna asked as soon as she was sure that the others were out of earshot, “do you really believe that covering for her mistakes will ready her to serve as a true princess of Equestria?”

“We all have to begin somewhere, Luna,” Celestia answered, beginning to magically fuse together the debris back together and reuniting it with the rest of the damaged column. “Not even we were born so prepared and regally groomed. True success is not measured by the absence of failure, but learning from it when it does occur.”

“Yes, yes. I suppose you are right in that regard,” Luna replied as she began aiding her sister in her task. “However, correct Us if We are wrong, We believe We heard you promise her the throne in the event of succession.”

“Ah, so you overheard that, did you now, sister?” Celestia said, her eyes momentarily widening.

“Yes, I did,” Luna responded, her unusual use of “I” catching Celestia’s attention. “I had always that it was I who was meant to succeed you if some misfortune were ever to befall you.”

“Well, it was only a matter of time before this presented itself before us,” Celestia sighed. “I did not want to offend you in any way, sister. However, your leadership skills are lacking. It is only to be expected, having been absent for over one thousand years. You still have not been able completely adjust to our current times and integrate yourself into the society you wish to reign over.”

“If this is a question of my manner of speech, I have been slowly adjusting it ever since the prior year’s Nightmare Night. It does feel very strange not using the royal ‘we,’ but I know We—I will grow accustomed to it,” Luna replied as she lost concentration of her magic, dropping a piece of a nearby wall in a frantic attempt to prove herself to her sister. “And after visiting the modest cottage of Fluttershy, I can assure you that I have learned to lower the volume of my voice.”

“Dear sister, it is not only your speech that is one thousand years behind, but your way of thinking as well,” Celestia continued. “Much has changed from that time long ago. With that said, I can’t blame you for I know it was I that sent you away to spend that millennium sealed within your own moon.”

“I’d… rather not remember that time, sister,” Luna said as her work slowed to a halt.

“I’m sorry to bring back those painful memories,” Celestia said, placing a gentle hoof on her sister’s shoulder. “Back on point, our citizens have known peace for generations now. There no looming threat of war or some awful, deadly creatures as back in the old days. Most focus their energy in creating luxurious conveniences for their lives, rather than defending them. Our guard is no military force. No, they exist for the sole reason of peacekeeping and deterring what little crime there is in our fair kingdom.”

“But I still see you schedule frequent trips to the different towns, villages, and cities,” Luna interrupted as she walked over to an opening in the wall of the throne room, looking down upon some of the awestruck citizens gazing up at the destruction of the castle. “Surely that must mean that your presence is required to deal with severe happenings.”

“No, sister. That is not why visit our land’s small towns or big cities. I no longer pass down royal mandates to tell the our subjects how to live in order to stay under my rule and protection or see to any punishment,” Celestia said as she joined her sister, waving down at the citizens with a disarming smile. “I visit them for the sole reason to present myself before them, an event that many of them regard highly.”

“But there must still be some lingering tension between the different races,” Luna added, walking away from the hole in the wall. “Back before I had become Nightmare Moon, they were very much at each others’ necks. Even if they had progressed so far in a thousand years, I have doubts that such prejudices could simply disappear.”

“In that too you are wrong, dear Luna. The once divided tribes have grown docile and accepting of one another. The pony races no longer eye each other with malice and one makes no problems for either of the other two,” Celestia replied as she eyed her throne will a sigh. “You must understand, there is really very little I do other than serve as a symbolic ruler. More of an idea, really, than a pony whose hoof guides their way of life. The intricacies of my actual duties are derived from what I see is required to continue the way of life they have grown accustomed to.”

“I-I suppose those years I missed have changed much,” Luna stuttered as her gaze fell to the floor. “I have yet to understand their obsessions with such things as garments. It used to be such a worry seen only among the wealthiest, as they were the only ones with the time of day to fritter away. All this trade confuses me as well. Back in our time, trade was simple, perhaps a carrot for three radishes or a pumpkin for two heads of cabbage. Now there are these ‘sales,’ bits being exchanged for actual useful items, each with an ever fluctuating amount of bits attached to them. I can see your logic in having chosen a pony who’s much more informed and understands the ways and culture of these times…”

“Thank you for taking it so well, sister,” Celestia told her as she resumed repairing their castle. “I was afraid you would hold some ire for me. I only do what I must for the citizens’ well-being…”

“Oh, do not mistake my understanding for acceptance!” Luna said with a bit of fire in her voice. “And merely because I was worried to who would assume the throne does not mean I wish for some incident to happen to you, sister. I am sure that there will be much time before you are removed by some extraordinary circumstance. In that time, I will learn all that I can about our current subjects and how to properly rule over this new Equestria. You can take my word on that!”

“No matter the reason, I am glad that you’re willing explore more of Equestria,” Celestia told her, flashing a faint smile. “Perhaps as you do, you’ll come to realize why I made that decision on your own.”

“And perhaps you will come to realize that you have made the wrong one,” Luna told her, beginning to walk the room’s entrance, her heavy hoofsteps echoing loudly. “Even though you have groomed Twilight Sparkle yourself, and I have seen first-hoof just how well, she is still far from ready to rule this kingdom on her own. However, I am in no better shape to do so myself. Until then, I shall respect your choice.”

Celestia sighed heavily as she watched her sister exit the room. She had been afraid that her decision to leave the throne to Twilight would create some turmoil between herself and her sister, just as the ponies from a thousand years ago had by rejecting her sister’s night and preferred bathing in the light of her sun. Celestia was worried that Luna’s ambitions would once again lead her to a dark place. Watching her younger sister be sealed away once more was not something she was prepared for, but she also was not prepared to leave the kingdom to her just yet.

Celestia sincerely hoped that perhaps her sister would indeed learn the proper lessons that would continue her down the right path. She knew that Luna would not accept her help in teaching her the correct lessons; her pride would not allow it. Fortunately, it seemed Luna was not dejected, more as determined to prove her worth. All she could do is wait, watch and hope that her sister could in fact change her mind and prove to her that she deserved to assume the throne.

For the time being, Celestia allowed her mind to wander to the predicament that her student was trying to resolve.

---

“How do you know the Princess?” Rainbow Dash asked, menacingly pressing her forehead against that of Cloud Slider.

“Huh?” he asked, a bit intimidated by her brashness. “I…”

“She knew your name,” Twilight added, closing in on the stallion with a raised eyebrow. “I didn’t even tell her yet.”

“Umm… I—” Cloud Slider stuttered, breakin out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, or unfortunately, his eyes wandered onto the sky-ship’s wreckage, reminding him of his original task. “The package! I haven’t delivered it yet! Oh… ‘Wrangler’s’ going to have my mane!”

“We just spoke with her. I think she’ll understand if you’re late,” Twilight told him.

“Umm… well… uh—” he stuttered, his ears folding flat on his head.

“Will you just spit it out already!?” Rainbow Dash snapped.

“N-n-no offense, Princess,” he replied, bowing as he spoke. “And I can’t stress that enough, b-b-but you’re kind of a princess. She can’t really get mad at you. But she still can scream my ear off.”

“Guess she wasn’t jokin’ when she said she’s hard on ‘em,” Applejack said.

“I guess you are in a hurry. I can always ask Princess Celestia,” Twilight said. “But before you go, we have been looking for you for awhile.”

“Me?” Cloud Slider said as he pointed a hoof at himself with eyes wide open. “Why me? I’m just a regular courier.”

“It has to do with Spike. You remember Spike, right?” Twilight asked him.

“The big, purple dragon?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in further confusion. “Kind of hard to forget meeting someone like him.”

“Well, as you probably heard in the throne room, I couldn’t get him back to his normal age,” Twilight continued. “We need to meet that pony you know that is studying dragons. Can you please take us to him?”

“Professor Tall Tale?” Cloud Slider asked. “I guess… b-but not today.”

“Hold it right there, buddy!” Rainbow Dash said, pushing him down until he landed. “Your little delivery can wait. Right now, Princess Twilight Sparkle is asking you to take her to a pony.”

“What Rainbow is trying to say is: why can’t you take us today?” Twilight asked as pushed Rainbow Dash aside.

“I-I’m sorry, Princess, but… i-it’s already late…” he responded with a shaky voice, taking a step back from her and bowing once more. “H-he lives up in the Frozen North.”

“You mean in the Crystal Empire?” Twilight asked. “I think there’s still one last train going there today. We can still make it.”

“N-no…” the stallion stuttered again.

“Ya all right there, sugarcube?” Applejack asked concernedly. “Yer stutterin’ worse than Fluttershy he— Wait, where is she?”

“She’s right here,” Pinkie sang, pointing at Fluttershy who was hiding behind Rarity.

“Well… this is only the second time I’ve talked to a princess…” Cloud Slider admitted.

“So you have met Princess Celestia before!” Twilight exclaimed, pointing a hoof at the nervous courier.

“O-only once! A long time ago! When I was a colt!” he said defensively, shaking his head violently. “I didn’t think she’d remember me!”

“Ahem, Twilight. Spike?” Rarity whispered, giving the alicorn a small nudge from her knee.

“Oh, right…” Twilight said, taking a second to clear her throat. “So why exactly can’t you take us to Professor Tall Tale today?”

“He lives up in the Frozen North…” Cloud Slider paused. “Past the Crystal Empire. Up in the Icepeak Mountains. It takes most of the day to get there. We can’t go now. It’s too cold to climb the mountain after the sun sets and there are snowstorms almost every night.”

“Why does he live all the way up in the mountains?” Twilight asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“To study the frost dragons…” the courier answered.

“Frost dragons?” Rainbow Dash repeated. “You expect us to believe that?”

“Hey! I’m not lying!” Cloud Slider said, taking flight once more and meeting Rainbow Dash’s gaze with narrowed eyes. “There are frost dragons up there! He said the others were too dangerous for him to study!”

“Okay, okay! That’s enough, you two!” Twilight said, placing herself between the two pegasi. “When can you take us?”

“It takes about two days for a round trip…” the stallion responded, breaking his staredown with Rainbow Dash. “And I work every other day… so…”

“Now you’re just trying to get out of it!” Rainbow Dash snapped.

“That’s fine,” Twilight said, nonchalantly walking over to her grounded hot air balloon and producing a quill and scroll from inside the basket.

“What!?” Rainbow Dash replied as Cloud Slider stuck his tongue out at her.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow,” Twilight told her, waving her hoof at her friend. All ponies present waited for her as they watched the lavender aura-enveloped quill rapidly dance across the levitating paper.

“Uh, Twilight,” Applejack spoke. “No offense, but I don’t think it’s the best time to write a letter to the Princess.”

“Oh, this isn’t a letter,” Twilight said, apparently finishing what she was writing with a final flourish of her quill.

“If it isn’t a letter, then do tell what it is, Twilight,” Rarity said, stepping forward, only to have Fluttershy continue to follow close behind.

“What this is is a ‘Writ of Conscription,’” Twilight said with a proud smile as she handed it to the confused courier. “Princess Celestia taught me about these while I was staying here in Canterlot.”

“What does it do!? Is it like an invitation to a party!?” Pinkie excitedly bounced in front of Cloud Slider, taking the paper from him, twisting and turning it in some futile effort to understand the writing.

“Actually, it kind of is, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “But it’s the kind of invitation you can’t say ‘no’ to.”

“It must be a really good party then!” Pinkie added.

“Actually, it requires whoever receives it to do what it’s asking,” the alicorn said, removing the paper from Pinkie’s possession and tucking it inside the stallion’s saddlebags. “Since he has to work, Cloud Slider can present this as proof that he has been called in to serve Equestria and it will excuse him.”

“Huh!?” Cloud Slider asked, his head jerking back.

“HA!” Rainbow Dash laughed, sticking her own tongue out at him.

“Now that your job isn’t in the way, when is the next time you can take us to see this professor?” Twilight asked. “The sooner, the better.”

“Tomorrow, I guess,” Cloud Slider sighed defeatedly. “You are all going to have to wake up early, though.”

“How early?” Twilight asked.

“When I go with the rest of the couriers, we usually want to catch the first train to the Crystal Empire,” Cloud Slider explained.

“I know that train,” Applejack said. “I always hear its whistle when I’m out in the fields.”

“But that train leaves Ponyville around six in the morning,” the courier commented, wide-eyed.

“Six o’ eight!” the apple farmer corrected, beating a hoof into her chest. “I’m usually up at the crack of dawn! That’s life on the farm for ya!”

“Okay, girls. You heard Applejack, we got to be up and ready by six tomorrow so we can catch the train,” Twilight said, turning to the rest of the group. “Well… not you, Derpy. You can stay home.”

“It’s okay. I don’t really like the snow anyways,” Derpy replied, giving the princess the usual wide smile that hardly ever left her face. “It always gets my muffins all soggy.”

“Anything else we should know?” Twilight asked, turning her head to Cloud Slider.

“Well, we’ll be walking the rest of the way, and it gets colder the longer we’re out there,” Cloud Slider began to list. “So, take only what you absolutely need. It’s pretty far from the Crystal Empire to the mountains and a long way up after that. You also want to dress as warmly as possible. I mean, sweaters, coats, hats, scarves, boots, the whole nine yards. It only gets colder the farther we go up the mountains.”

“Alright then,” Twilight answered. “We only want to ask a few questions. I don’t think we need to take much anyways. However, if it’s not asking too much, would you mind showing up a little early… just to make sure we’re ready for the trip?”

“I guess…” Cloud Slider replied with a small sigh under his breath.

“ROAD TRIP!” Pinkie yelled, spreading confetti over the group.

“Can I…?” the courier asked, gesturing toward the wreckage of the air ship.

“Oh yeah, your package!” Twilight exclaimed. “Of course, but remember tomorrow!”

Cloud Slider gave the purple alicorn a quick bow before taking flight towards the crash site, but paused as he overheard the group begin speaking. He hovered in the air a short distance from the group, though the mares seemed too wrapped up in their conversation to notice him.

“So what are we going to do now, Twilight?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, can we head back to Ponyville now?” Rainbow Dash added.

“You girls can head back,” Twilight answered as she turned back to the castle’s entrance. “I want to stay and help out with the castle. I know that Princess Celestia said it would be alright, but I can’t help feeling a little responsible.”

“Then we’ll stay with ya, won’t we?” Applejack responded as she walked beside the alicorn.

“I guess missing one nap won’t kill me,” Rainbow Dash answered, hovering above Twilight.

“A chance to redecorate Canterlot Castle! I wouldn’t miss such an opportunity for the world!” Rarity said as she excitedly pranced behind the group.

“Oooooooh! Do you think there’ll be snacks after we’re done!?” Pinkie asked, bouncing in front of the group without waiting for an answer.

“We couldn’t just leave you here all by yourself, Twilight,” Fluttershy said as she also caught up with the group.

Cloud Slider hesitated for a second, turning around briefly before ultimately shaking his head and heading back into the wrecked ship to retrieve his package and finish his delivery.

---

After hours upon hours of work on repairs, the group finally returned to their home town, just as the sun rested on the horizon, lighting the sky in a brilliant orange. However, the majesty of the beautiful sunset seemed to be lost to the alicorn guiding the groups hot air balloon.

“Why wouldn’t she tell me?” Twilight asked herself out loud, her head hanging low. “He seemed like a normal pegasus. It didn’t even look like he even remembered meeting her at first.”

“There ain’t no use worryin’ yerself over it,” Applejack said as their balloon descended from the sky. “Ya can ask him tomorrow. But y’all better get ta sleep soon. Tomorrow’s gonna be an early day for y’all.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, Applejack. Also, since you’re used to waking up at that time, can you make sure that Rainbow Dash wakes up on time?” Twilight asked.

“No problem!” the orange pony answered, a small, prideful smile breaking across her face. “Ya hear that Rainbow?”

“I’m losing a lot of sleep here,” Rainbow Dash sighed, her shoulders drooping as she headed back to her cloud home. “Spike owes me big time for this.”

“Alright, girls,” Twilight said after the group shared a small laugh. “I’ll see the rest of you tomorrow morning.”

Comments

[Animated Rarity]

U bet not turn him into no alicorn and way to much one oc involvement

[XSomeGuyX]

5956213

How would I do that? I suppose you're talking about Cloud Slider, he's pegasus with no affinity to magic as far as been seen so far. I guess there are other stories out there that have some deus ex machina type of plot devices that people came up with to make their OCs into alicorns. But, I don't consider this a spoiler because it's just such an annoying trope that you're justified for hating (and which I also find kinda hackneyed and usually unnecessary), he will not be going to go all alicorn at any point in the story.

But take note that I do have an OC character tag. If they were not going to play an important part in the story, I wouldn't have it. However, it won't become OC-centric, not by a long-shot.

Other than that, thanks for reading and commenting! Hope you continue to enjoy the story!

[Animated Rarity]

5956450 oh ok its just some stories start off good then change to (self-insert)Oc and the mane 6. So if your not making this oc-centered I'll keep reading since I like the story anyway

[XSomeGuyX]

5958155

Thanks for the comment. Hope you enjoy the story!

[DDDDDDDDD23]

So is it really a monarchy