Hiatus

by Vargras

April

4/1

Celestia is taking full advantage of April Fool's today. Honestly, she seems more like a child than the co-ruler of Equestria sometimes, what with all the pranks and jokes she's created today. Then again, I suppose I can't really say much on the matter, considering I still sleep with and talk to some of my toys. 'Tia has already gotten me a few times already. The first was when she woke me up with a bugle right next to my face, and it's been all manner of things since then. She even managed to somehow replace the water in my bathroom with chocolate syrup - I have no clue what kind of magic you have to use to pull that one off.

Since figuring out the second meaning behind the prophecy, the crazy dreams have stopped entirely. I still have dreams, of course - but the wacky ones with dream mares and giant books have disappeared. Based upon the letter I got back from Twilight Sparkle, she seemed a little surprised about the revelation at first, but has nonetheless accepted it after I explained it. I still find it hard to believe myself, but looking back on it, it does make sense. At the very least, I'm no longer waking up in the middle of the night. I'll hardly miss the shaking and sweating either.

A representative from 'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal' arrived the other day to talk to me, but for some reason, some art snob from one of the fancy Canterlot galleries heard about my drawings. To make matters even worse, she showed up at the same time as the representative from the astronomy journal, and flat-out told me that it was either her or the other representative - you should have seen the look on her face when I picked the astronomy journal. Priceless!

"Luna, come on out! There's somepony out here that wants to see you!"

The young Princess sighed and set the quill down, turning on her stool to face the door - it was barely cracked open, and just outside, she could see her sister. "You've got a bucket of water right above the door, rigged to dump on me once I open it, don't you 'Tia?"

"...I really need to be more subtle, shouldn't I?"

"Yes, Celestia, you probably should."

She couldn't help but smile as she heard her sister sigh and trot off elsewhere, no doubt to try her pranks on one of the many ponies that worked within Canterlot. Turning back towards her desk, Luna shut the diary and set it aside, pulling out a blank sheet of paper and her favorite pencils and crayons - her wall was filled to the brim with drawings at this point, but April had brought about blooming flowers, giving her so much more she could possibly draw. Still, it didn't feel 'right' to be drawing inside on such a beautiful day. The young Princess gathered up her things and left, and for once, her destination wasn't the training yard.

-----

Luna took a seat upon the garden grass and spread her supplies in front of herself. Though she planned on visiting them both before the day was over, she intended on spending one half of the afternoon with each.

"Hello, father. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

She had already begun drawing in the shadow of her father's statue - it seemed very like him too, to provide shelter to one of his children, even in death. Luna drew nothing of her father's statue, for she had finished her grieving long ago. Instead, she drew the numerous flowers and shrubs that dotted the castle's garden. From what few things she remembered of her childhood, her father had been a loving and protective figure with a fiery temper, and it seemed a fitting gesture to be drawing roses, daffodils, and tulips in his presence. As every flower and shrub was slowly colored in, the drawing slowly came to life with each passing moment. The young Princess would often look up at her father's statue, as if hearing some unspoken word of advice, before returning to the drawing to make various corrections. Bushes and shrubs would be added or removed, colors on flowers would be tweaked - it seemed to be a never-ending cycle, but at last, Luna seemed content with her work. She carefully placed the drawing and her pencils and crayons within her saddlebags and stood to take her leave, but not before one last gesture. The young Princess wrapped her forelegs around one of the statue's legs, giving it a hug. "Thanks, father. Try not to run off anywhere until I visit again." She giggled at her own joke as she hopped down from the hug. "Get it? You can't run off anywhere 'cause you're a statue." Though others may have looked at her oddly for talking to an inanimate object, she knew he would have gotten a kick out of it - that was all that mattered to her. Without another word, Luna departed for another section of the castle gardens.

She soon arrived before her mother's own statue, and though she had visited before back in November, it still felt good to return. A quick shift in body weight flung the saddlebags to the ground, and she soon had a piece of paper and her crayons out. Luna already knew what she wanted to draw - it was already late afternoon, and the meteor shower a few months back gave her all the inspiration she needed. This drawing would prove to be the opposite of the one that had been made in her father's honor. In life, they had been nearly polar opposites, and it was often their mother who had to calm their father down when his temper got the better of him. To reflect that, Luna chose cooler colors, using various shades of blues, greens, and purples. She worked slowly and delicately, and even as the sun began to set, she did not stop - a soft, pale blue glow from her own horn gave her all the illumination she needed to finish the job. Like with her father's statue, she found herself always looking up towards her mother's statue, searching for those tiny pieces of latent inspiration. The moon and stars dotted the sky of the drawing, and she took great pride in adding in an aurora or two. Pleased with herself, Luna picked up the drawing with her magic and held it aloft for the statue to see. She wasn't expecting an answer back - she knew quite well that it was just a statue, after all. Still, she knew that her mother would have been proud of such work. Luna quietly filed the drawing away and packed up the rest of her things, slinging the saddlebags on once more.

"Goodnight, mother. Hope you liked the drawing."

The young Princess quietly left, ready to return to Canterlot - though her day had consisted of nothing but drawing, she was still more than ready for some sleep.

-----

4/17

I sent the drawing I did of the six mares from my dream to Twilight Sparkle - they were based upon her and her friends, after all, even if I didn't initially realize it. It only felt appropriate, given how much she's helped me. Speaking of drawings, I've already gotten the ones I made for father and mother framed. They're both hanging on my wall, and I think it's my best work yet. Others might disagree, of course, but those will always be the best ones to me. Perhaps it's just sentimental value.

Celestia did something rather odd earlier today. She cancelled all of her meetings and anything related to political matters, and decided she would rather spend the day with me. I have no idea what she has planned, but she'll be by soon enough, and I suppose I'll find out then.

Luna hopped off the stool and meandered about her room while she waited on her elder sister, spending the time as she saw fit. She would spend a few minutes playing with Selene or Philomena, moving away from them to spend more time looking at her collection of drawings or making new ones. Her elder sister soon showed up, however, and told her where they would be going, and it certainly wasn't what Luna had been expecting at all. "The... donut shop? Really, 'Tia?"

"Of course! I've got a terrible donut craving right now, and Pony Joe is awful nice anyways."

"I swear, Celestia, if you try and hook me up with him..." The young Princess scowled at her sister, though Celestia was quick to laugh it off.

"I may enjoy a joke here and there, little sister, but I know you have no interest in love. No point in forcing you into it, right?"

Luna nodded and followed her sister out the door. The chariot ride was relatively uneventful, and it took longer than they anticipated before folks around Canterlot caught wind that both Princesses were at the donut shop. Pony Joe did his best to keep things civil, and the shop was filled to capacity not long after Celestia and Luna arrived. For the younger sister, this was a bigger deal than she realized - it was the furthest she had ever been from the castle since her year-long break started. Though Celestia was already in the midst of eating her donut, Luna simply stared at hers. She knew what they were, having read about a great many things to compensate for her thousand-year absence, but she still wasn't sure what to make of this... thing. It had chocolate and sprinkles on it. That was all she knew.

"What's the matter, little sister? Don't like it?"

Luna stared blankly at her sister before replying. "Well for one..."

"Oh, right! You haven't had a donut since your return!" Celestia quickly wiped her mouth clean with her napkin and leaned over to her younger sibling. "It's a snack, really. Just a doughy circle with a hole in the middle, and you usually put stuff on top, like sprinkles or frosting."

"So... it's like a tiny cake. With a hole in it." She still found herself eying it warily. If her sister was eating it, and quite rapidly given that she was already on her second, at least it was safe to eat. Luna gave it a cautionary nibble, with Celestia and Pony Joe both watching on. It wasn't half-bad, really. In fact, she kinda liked it. She took another bite, and then another. Before she realized it, the donut was gone - and her face was covered in sprinkles. Luna was quick to clean it up, but her sister was far quicker.

"Joe, another donut for Luna please. One with filling and glazing, if you can." Celestia leaned over towards the young Princess and playfully ruffled her mane. "I knew you'd like it! It's always been a weak spot of mine, and Pony Joe makes the best donuts in Equestria."

"That was... better than I thought it would be. Not as good as a cake, of course, but certainly more mobile."

Pony Joe placed the next donut on the table, and Celestia pushed the plate towards Luna. "Round two, sister. Are you ready for-" The sound of ravenous eating had quickly stopped her mid-sentence, and she simply stared at the empty plate in front of Luna - she had already finished it. Pony Joe and most of the restaurant simply sat in stunned silence, until Celestia herself broke it. "Another donut, Joe."

Luna ate another, and another, and another. Celestia wasn't entirely sure if her sister had been hungry, or if she truly did like donuts that much. Regardless, the young Princess let out a belch one wouldn't think possible of royalty, causing her elder sister to laugh - it was clear that Luna was done eating. Even so, they spent the next few hours at the shop, simply talking to one another or some of the citizens within the restaurant. Celestia would tell her younger sibling about how Twilight Sparkle would often come to that same shop during some of her late-night studies - exactly how Celestia knew that, she would never say. Luna was absolutely delighted to discover that some of the citizens of Canterlot had seen her articles within 'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal', and was more than willing to answer any questions they might have had for her. The sun was beginning to set however, and soon both Princesses had to leave. They bid their farewells to the citizens of Canterlot, but only one thing was on Luna's mind as they left.

She needed more donuts.

Comments

[Vargras]

April is now up.

[Squeaky Toy]

Dooooooonuuuuuuuuuts

[Meta Knight]

interesting

[Generic Username]

oh Luna, you so silly

Luna now has a donut addiction.

[Vargras]

36480
I'd say it's probably just sweets more than anything. She enjoyed s'mores far more than she should have in my other story.

[Litteras Anticus]

Well, I was certanly to fast last time, crying "IT IS OVER" way to fast.
Objectively speaking, this chapter is about utter nothing, drawing and eating.
But still, you manage to pull it off, to establish the character Luna in yet another setting, to prove that you have understood that using a character and forcing character growth is two different things.
Hats of to you.
*Removes imaginary hat*

[Vargras]

36535
Thanks. It's a fine line to walk, and I've often typed something out, only to go back and delete it because it simply wasn't necessary - either I was expanding Luna's character when I shouldn't, or I was doing something else equally silly.

Still have two chapters (May and June) to go, as well as the epilogue. I might do a bonus chapter for Hearth's Warming Eve/Hearth's Warming, since that's already been announced as the Equestria equivalent of Christmas.

[Vargras]

On another note, I've already said this on my actual profile, but I'll say it here for some of the other readers: If you're a fan of Applejack, my next fic will most likely be about her. As much as I love writing Luna (and she is my favorite pony in the entire show), poor AJ is in some dire need of some attention.

[katarjin]

36452 hey i was gonna do that

[Vargras]

36825
A fair point, but I never intended for it to be some giant puzzle that they had been working on for weeks or months - just something to spend part of day on. With both of them working in tandem, and thanks to their magical abilities, I wouldn't be surprised if they could solve a puzzle made up of thousands of pieces in just a few moments.

[Vargras]

And by 'a few moments', I'd say at least half an hour but no more than two or three hours.

They're good, but not that good.

[Vargras]

The May chapter might end up being delayed. I've got a report I need to work on tomorrow (because college is fun like that), but I'll do my best to get it posted.

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!

(We need Luna icons)

[Vargras]

I'm not on the front page at all anymore, yet I still have 45 readers?

What is this I don't even.

[Vargras]

37144
Patience. I tend to upload chapters once a day, most often in the afternoon. The May chapter might be delayed until tomorrow due to a clinical report I need to fill out for one of my classes.

[itsKayden]

DONNUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! luna belch :D DONNUTSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

I have a queston Vargras.... WHERE THE HECK IS MAY?!? Sorry it's just that I love this story sooo much 5 star rating I give it a ten if I can, In otherwords... MOAR!

[Vargras]

37180
Read my previous comment.

37181 Thx It's just I so love this story!

[Vargras]

Update on the May chapter: Canterlot now has a swimming pool. I'll say nothing more about it.

HAIIIIII

[BestiaAuris]

Amazing. This chapter, which at the surface is about naught (te-he-he, funny word) but the eating of donuts and drawing Pictures in front of statues, ends up being both humours and touching.
These types of sections are my faviorate, this one is Skillfully done, good job.

[Shadowstep]

Mmmh.. Donuts.. gahaaaah.....

[Hearthfire]

images.wikia.com/spongebob/images/7/75/MOAR_KRABS_by_Sporemaster.jpg
MOAR DONUTS

[Dragonas77]

Mmmmmm.....Donuts...... OM NOM NOM NOM
And now Luna shall forever be associated with Homer SImpson.

[Sleipnir]

I know it's a cliché by now, but 17. April is my birthday!

[KMCA]

I thought of Thor and his first experience with coffee... That was delicious... ANOTHER! *smash*

[Web of Hope]

doughnut addiction, HOOOO!!!

[MajorasTacos]

That's how I am with Salmon. That stuff is Bucking delicious!

[Fire Angel]

DOUGHNUTS!!!!!!

[Pegasus_Feathers]

906410 I'm like that with salmon too. I also can't stop stuffing brownies and bacon in my mouth but that's beside the point.