• Published 8th Apr 2017
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Teatime - A Novel Of Twilight & Celestia - bigbear



Twilight wants to reestablish the close relationship she had when she was Princess Celestia’s personal student. But, shared trials will require them to become much more than faithful student and immortal mentor.

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Chapter 14 - Shadowing Celestia

The intervening week flew by. Twilight rearranged her schedule to free up the time she would be serving as Princess of the Day. Starlight would take up some extra duties at her castle in Ponyville to pick up the slack. As these duties would require Starlight to deal with more ponies around town, Twilight decided to file them under the label, Friendship Lessons.

When next week’s teatime rolled around, Twilight was ready to fly to Canterlot. But now she had a passenger. Spike took up his accustomed place on Twilight’s back between her wings. Starlight was on the castle balcony to see them off.

“You’re sure you have everything you need?” Twilight asked Starlight.

“We’ve been over your checklist three times,” Starlight huffed, She held up the long scroll Twilight had left her.

“We could go over it again…”

“Everything in Ponyville will be fine.” Starlight smiled. “You two go be Princess Amazing and Grand Dragon Vizier.”

Spike puffed his chest out. “I like the sound of Grand Dragon Vizier”.

“Let’s figure out how to be part time Princess of the Day and her Number One Assistant before we go fishing for promotions,” Twilight snarked.

“That’s why I’m going to be shadowing Raven while you shadow Princess Celestia.” Spike pulled a scheduling book out of a messenger bag that hung from a strap over his shoulder. “I even got one of these.” Twilight nodded in approval.

Starlight stepped up and gave Twilight a hug. “Go, you two don’t want to be the t-word. I’ll watch for your sunrise.”

“You will?” Twilight brightened.

Starlight grinned guiltily. “Actually, I’m not a morning pony. I’ll probably sleep through it. But, I’ll catch your sunset.”

“Deal,” Twilight said. “We’ll be back tomorrow night.” Spike wiggled to settle in, got a good grip, and gave a one-clawed thumb up. Twilight bounded into the air and set off on the familiar flight.

When they landed at Canterlot Castle, Spike stayed with Raven, while Twilight went to tea with Celestia. She found teatime a comforting ritual.

Luna was away in the Crystal Empire, investigating an outbreak of bad dreams among crystal pony foals, so Celestia didn’t bother to go to the Grand Balcony to end the day. She took a moment at the end of teatime, asked Twilight’s indulgence, lit her horn, and set the sun. It was a surprisingly prosaic act for an event of such cosmic importance. Twilight didn’t think she could ever set the sun so casually.

Celestia and Twilight had a pleasant dinner together. After dinner Twilight met up with Spike. The two of them retired to the Scholar's Tower early so they would be well rested when shadowing Celestia and Raven. The next morning Twilight and Spike joined Celestia and Raven before dawn.

This was the first time that Twilight was officially assigned to study Celestia as opposed to stealing sidelong glances while she was supposed to be doing other things. She decided to take full advantage of it. Celestia made everything she did seem effortless. Twilight found her mesmerizing.

Luna was still out of the castle, so the rising in the morning was as prosaic as the setting had been the night before. But even there Celestia wasted no time or motion but still treated the act with the dignity it deserved.

Celestia and Twilight had breakfast while Spike and Raven agreed on how they would arrange the day. Celestia focused the conversation on the afternoon’s meeting with the Zebrician ambassador.

Spike duplicated Raven’s schedule into his own book, so he could check off events as they were completed. Raven lent Spike one of her pocket watches so he could track the time.

Twilight focused on following, or truth be told copying, everything Celestia did. In her observations, Twilight noticed subtle ways Celestia made the morning activities proceed smoothly.

For example, after taking two steps out the door, Celestia slowed for a beat, so the others could form up. Twilight took up station to her right. Raven and Spike followed carrying schedule books, watches, and supporting documents. A pair of Royal Guards in golden armor, a pegasus and a unicorn, brought up the rear. The assembly made a formidable royal herd with Celestia and Twilight in their full regalia, conversing as they walked.

Once they were moving Twilight noted Celestia’s pace and thought she must have evolved it after much experience. With her long legs, Celestia moved with boneless grace and majesty. The others, with more normal proportions, had to stride to keep up but no one had to break into a trot. This was a pace that got Celestia where she needed to go, when she needed to get there. It also made her look good along the way and didn’t make any of those with her look out of place.

But, the brisk pace also didn’t allow others an opening to suggest alternatives to Celestia’s determined itinerary. It took so much energy to keep up with the pace and the banter while trying not to look stressed that questioning events never entered Twilight’s mind.

As the group walked through the castle halls, ponies stopped and bobbed their heads in respect, before continuing on their way. Celestia was careful to acknowledge these with her own subtle head bob. It took Twilight a few bobs to catch on, but soon she was acknowledging the ponies respect as well. It turned out there was a trick to timing your steps and head bobs so the action seemed natural. Between trying to keep up with the taller alicorn’s strides, and watching for when a head bob was required, Twilight kept falling out of sync. To be fair, she had a similar problem when dancing and trying to keep to the beat of the music.

All morning, Celestia’s timing was exquisite. Raven never once took out her pocket watch, but all events began and ended on time. The group barely broke stride when they got to the sitting room behind the Throne Room. Raven flashed the top page of her pile of papers at Celestia who nodded in return. A waiting guard opened the door to the Throne Room and the group went through, exactly at the top of the hour.

When they entered the Throne Room for Morning Court, the seneschal called out, “Hear ye, hear ye, the Royal Court of Equestria is now in session. All having business before this court draw near, give attention, and you shall be heard. Her Royal Majesty Princess Celestia presiding. Her Highness Princess Twilight Sparkle attending.”

The royal herd strode up the red carpet and took their places on the dais. Celestia climbed to the highest level and sat on the throne. Twilight and Spike stood on the right of the second level, while Raven stood on the left. The guards took up positions on either side of the ramp leading up to the dais.

The first petitioners were a pony from the Treasury and one from the Foreign Office. They proposed to adjust the taxes on goods imported from Yakyakistan. They spoke in acronyms that Twilight didn’t recognize. She could barely follow what was going on. Celestia ultimately agreed with their proposal, but Twilight wasn’t even sure what had been agreed to.

As the two ponies stepped down from the dais Celestia leaned down and spoke softly to Twilight. “Do you have any questions about the first presentation?”

“I’m afraid I didn’t follow most of it.” Twilight cringed. “I didn’t read Raven’s background briefs before court.”

Celestia’s face was impassive. “There are a number of complex issues scheduled for court today. Perhaps you should take some time and have Raven brief you on what to expect. I will continue court in your absence.”

Twilight closed her eyes for a moment and swallowed hard. Her heart rose until it felt like it would escape from her throat. “Yes, Princess Celestia.” She turned to Raven, “Please follow me and bring your briefs. Spike, stay here in case Princess Celestia needs anything.”

Twilight trudged down from the dais. Raven followed her. As they got to the back door of the Throne Room, the seneschal called the next petitioners.

Inside the sitting room, Raven said, “Princess…”

“No, no, no…” Twilight interrupted. “I need to read the background and get back in there. Speed-reading is something I know how to do. I’ve got a spell...”

“I’ve seen it, your Highness,” Raven said. She levitated the large pile of papers out of her saddlebag and presented them to Twilight.

Twilight made a grab for the papers with her magic. But in her haste, she didn’t get a firm grip. The pile fanned open and exploded. Pages flew everywhere until it was raining briefing papers. Raven tried to reach out with her pink field to catch a few pages near her. But her field was overwhelmed. Twilight’s lavender magic filled the room and stopped everything in it. The papers hung in mid-air. Raven’s pocket watch stopped ticking. Raven found she couldn’t move a muscle other than to breathe.

“I can fix this,” Twilight said. Her heart was pounding. “Gotta calm down,” she thought and used the calming technique taught to her as a filly by Princess Cadance. Twilight brought a hoof to her chest, took in a deep breath, then blew it out and extended her hoof straight ahead. She felt the tension flow out and her calm return.

Twilight cast a reversal spell, and her lavender field began to recede. The explosion of pages flew backward until the room was empty of magic and the pages were on the floor, stacked back in their proper order.

When Twilight’s magic was gone, Raven let out a held breath. Her pocket watch restarted. She shook her head to clear it.

Twilight noticed Raven’s distress. “I’m so sorry…”

Raven swallowed hard and then put on her most implacable court face. “I’m fine, your Highness. Do what you need to do.”

“Right.” Twilight lit her horn again. Her face was grim and determined. The pages streamed out of the pile, past her white eyes, and restacked in the proper order. A minute later, Twilight finished the spell and gave the papers back to Raven. She turned to walk back to the Throne Room.

“Hold on, your Highness.” Raven stepped to the door. She slid a small cover next to the door open. Behind the cover was an opening to the Throne Room that was covered by a grate. The dais was visible through the grate, but the viewer wouldn’t be visible from within the Throne Room. “Princess Celestia is still hearing a petitioner. I recommend we wait until she’s done before we enter to minimize any disturbance.”

Twilight pranced with impatience but finally nodded her head in agreement. “You can listen to the proceedings here, your Highness,” Raven said.

Twilight took up a position near the door. Through some combination of ambient magic and acoustics, she could clearly hear what Princess Celestia and the petitioners were discussing. But between coming in during the middle of a presentation, and the disorganized jumble of new information in her head, Twilight was as confused as listening to the first petitioners. She let her head fall as she stood listening but not understanding. She didn’t even have the energy to investigate any ambient magic to see if that was what was making the sound so clear.

When Celestia finished ruling on the second petition she nodded to the seneschal. He hesitated before calling the next petitioner. Twilight and Raven took the opportunity to resume their positions. “Are you ready to proceed, Princess Twilight?” Celestia asked softly.

“Yes, Princess Celestia,” Twilight replied.

By the time the third petitioners came up to the first step on the dais, the information in Twilight’s head had begun to make sense. She could follow the arguments, this time between a unicorn from Vanhoover and an earth pony from Manehattan. The two cities were the finalists after a long process to determine where the Summer Sun Celebration would be held two years hence. Both ponies made good points and Twilight found herself swayed first one way and then the other. Celestia’s questions gave her no hint of how she might decide. When Celestia finally did rule for Vanhoover Twilight was surprised. She thought the final points made by the pony from Manehattan were convincing and that the decision could have gone the other way.

The fourth petitioner was a pegasus from the Cloudsdale Weather Factory. He recommended that professional weather teams take full responsibility for clearing winter and other seasonal changes instead of leaving them to the local authorities. “Experienced weather teams could do a more consistent job and do it with less pony power than volunteers from the towns and cities,” he said. “There would be a slight cost to the Treasury to pay for the effort but it would be offset by the savings in local administration.” Celestia considered the argument and then looked to her right. “What do you think, Princess Twilight?”

Remembering what Celestia had said about the advantages of taking her time, Twilight gathered her thoughts before responding. “Clearing winter is a time-honored tradition in towns like Ponyville and it would be a loss for the community to take it away,” Twilight said. “Perhaps the crown could give towns the option to have weather teams do the job if the local authorities want to save the effort.”

The pegasus was not happy with that option. “Having some towns do the work themselves and others leave it to the professionals would lead to increased management overhead and reduced efficiency. That could eliminate any savings in cost or effort.”

“Respecting local traditions is one way we preserve our culture,” Princess Celestia said. “Please review and report back on the ramifications of adding Princess Twilight’s proposal to your own.” The pegasus bowed to Princess Celestia, then to Princess Twilight, before leaving the dais.

There were many other petitioners that morning. Twilight took lots of notes and picked up several practices that could make her own court run more smoothly. But just as many times, she was unsure about why Celestia asked a particular question or why her decision came down the way it did.

The clock hand swept towards the time when Morning Court was scheduled to end. When Celestia’s final ruling was done, she motioned to the seneschal.

“Hear ye, hear ye, the Royal Court of Equestria now stands adjourned.”

Sitting at lunch with Celestia, Twilight practically tripped over herself trying to apologize. “I was so caught up in watching what you were doing, I forgot to prepare…”

Celestia raised a hoof to interrupt, like a teacher silencing a class. “Twilight, what’s the goal of our joint activities today?”

A quiz!” Twilight thought. Aloud she said, “For me to shadow you and see what happens during a normal session as Princess of the Day.”

Celestia shook her head. “That’s what we are doing. What’s the result we want?”

OK, zero for one on the quiz,” Twilight thought. “Refine the answer.” Aloud she said, “For me to learn what happens during a normal session as Princess of the Day, so I can do a good job when it’s my turn?”

“You could do that the hard way by simply assuming the role.”

Zero for two,” Twilight thought. “One more chance.” Aloud she said, “For me to learn, without the cost of making those mistakes when I’m acting as Princess of the Day.”

Celestia nodded, “Exactly.” She reached a wingtip over and laid it upon Twilight. “This morning’s result neatly fulfills our goals. The cost of you forgetting to prepare today was minimal,” she said. “And after this morning I predict that you will never again go into court unprepared.”

Twilight looked Celestia in the eye. “Never.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “How can I be best prepared for this afternoon,” she thought. Aloud she said, “Does Raven have background briefs on our meeting with the Zebrician Ambassador?”

Celestia smiled. “I’m sure she does.”

Twilight wiped her muzzle with a napkin and stood up. “If you will excuse me, Celestia, I would like to speak to Raven before our meeting with the ambassador. I’ll meet you in the waiting room five minutes before.”

Celestia stood and nodded her head. “I’ll see you then.”

Later, Twilight rendezvoused with Celestia. They met with Zuberi, the Zebra ambassador. Twilight greeted Zuberi with a formal greeting in his native tongue. Zuberi’s eyes widened a bit and he gave the appropriate formal response. The Zebrician formal greeting litanies were quite intricate. The two went back and forth, call and response, for several minutes. Finally, Twilight ran out of appropriate phrases. She finished with a translated version of the all-purpose phrase, “Please, could we continue in Equestrian? My Zebrician is limited.”

Ambassador Zuberi smiled and bowed his head. In Equestrian he said, “It is my great honor to be welcomed in my native tongue by the world renown heroine, Princess Twilight Sparkle.” He raised his head and asked, “May I ask how much Zebrician you speak?”

Twilight blushed. “Other than formal and informal greetings, I only know the casual way to say hello, goodbye, yes, no, count to twenty, and ask where the restroom is.” She blushed deeper. “And a few expletives.”

The Ambassador laughed. “I invite you to visit my country and take a ride on the Trans-Zebrician Express some day. Our land is vast and our trains are slow. By the time you got to the far shore, you would be quite fluent in conversational Zebrician.”

After the meeting, Twilight shared teatime with Celestia. Like the rest of the day, it was dominated by shoptalk.

“Luna and I have different styles of rule,” Celestia said. “You will develop your own style as well. For example, I wouldn’t have shut down High Roller as firmly as you did. I try to keep my door open to everypony, even when it makes my life harder in the short run.” Celestia stopped and took in a great whiff of steam rising from her teacup. “I have a longer time horizon than most petitioners and I’ll outlast the annoying ones.”

Twilight wasn’t sure if that applied to her so she stayed silent.

“Also, I wouldn’t have empowered the seneschal to review High Roller’s future plans.” Celestia took a sip of tea. “I try to never give away power unless I need to. In my experience, once a prerogative is lost, it is seldom regained.”

“On the other hand, Luna would have banished High Roller forever from Evening Court for being both stupid and insulting. She does not suffer fools gladly.” Celestia nibbled on a teacake. “You will have to find your own balance.”

Twilight asked Celestia about each of the times she was unsure about a question or decision in court. Celestia patiently answered each question. Some of her choices had to do with political ramifications that extended beyond the decision in question.

“An example,” Celestia said. “There were equal advantages in scheduling the Summer Sun Celebration in either Vanhoover or Manehattan. Both cities would be good hosts. And the host city gets increased income from tourists and infrastructure improvements that remain after the ceremony is complete.

“An outside consideration in my decision was my long-term goal of extending the rail line to connect Vanhoover to Tall Tale. The connection would be good for both cities. But it will disadvantage a few important business ponies in Vanhoover. Holding the celebration there should strengthen the mayor so he can support the rail extension in the face of a few opponents.

“I don’t recommend you take such outside considerations into account in your rulings. I only do so in very specific cases, where my choices are well supported by other facts.” Celestia looked Twilight in the eye. “I suggest that you rule only on the merits of the cases before you to avoid unnecessary complications.”

Twilight realized Celestia played the game of politics at a level that was beyond her. “I’ll just stick to the cases before me,” she said.