Sun Salutation

by Twinkletail

June 11th

Dear Journal,

Well, we can add another title to my name after tonight's events. I am Celestia, Princess of the Sun, of Equestria, and of Impulse Decisions That May Damage Budding Friendships.

I can explain! That doesn't fully absolve me of the decisions I made, but explanation is possible.

I actually had very little on my schedule for today, so much so that it was practically a day off. So I decided to make the most of it and go out to get things together for the party on Saturday. Yaks have very particular tastes, and griffons don't like much of anything from my experiences with them, so finding the right supplies for a party that both would enjoy was...vexing, to say the least. In retrospect, I probably should have contacted Pinkie Pie and using her expertise in this area. It may sound silly, but the concept completely slipped my mind. Maybe it was a deep-seeded pride issue, an urge to fix everything myself rather than bringing other ponies in to do the jobs that I requisition off to them. Or maybe I just didn't think of it. I like to think it's the latter. Sometimes you just need to take things at face value.

I had to go to four different stores, but I finally found what I believe to be passable party supplies. "Passable" is often not good enough for yaks, but I've been led to believe that the yaks have mellowed out a bit since my last dealings with them, so I'm going to hope that they find everything to be acceptable. As for the griffons, I really have to just hope that they don't especially hate anything. It's so hard to play to what one likes when one does not really like anything. The thought that I got in over my head with this party did spring to mind once or twice, but I'm sure I can handle this. I've fostered friendship between warring nations, not to mention the fact that I co-run a nation of my own on a daily basis. A party should be foal's play.

I hope.

I was supposed to enjoy a light game of golf with Cadance this afternoon, and I must admit I was looking forward to it. Golf is not always the most exciting game in the world, but it was one of the few things on my itinerary whose sole intent was pleasure, and I do so enjoy spending time with my niece. That, unfortunately, had to be put on hold. An envoy from the Crystal Empire arrived at the palace shortly after I returned from shopping to inform me that Flurry Heart was feeling ill and Cadance would be unable to attend. I do hope she's alright, but Cadance and Shining Armor do tend to overreact when it comes to their daughter. I suppose I can understand though. If I had a child, I imagine I would be similar.

Oh, it would be so wonderful to have a child of my own someday...

So golf was out of the question. This actually ended up working out well, because on what was otherwise a day mostly off, I found myself forced to answer for the attitude problems of my dear nephew. Blueblood...he's not a bad pony by any means, but, well...he has a way of prickling at other ponies' patience. Today, he happened to prickle the wrong pony, and I had to fly all the way to Las Pegasus to calm things down. He had apparently earned the ire of one of the casino owners, and I was needed to quell both of their tempers. This was one of the few times where I actually hoped that a pony would treat me with reverence like most usually do, but the owner was not having it at first. Thankfully, cooler heads eventually prevailed, and the extreme violence that the casino owner was wishing upon Blueblood was avoided.

This trip, of course, led to me being slightly late for my meeting with Thorax. Thorax didn't seem to be the least bit offended by this, but being late, especially for royal business, frustrates me so. The meeting went well, but the day's pitfalls were really getting to me, and I nearly called him "Chrysalis" as he was leaving. He told me he believed me when I tried to claim that it was simply an odd cough, but I still worry that I may have offended him.

Luna was already awake when I returned home for my meeting with Tree Hugger. All she could talk about was her date for Saturday's party as she hung the lavender from the hallway sconces. She made sure to spend the whole talk prominently displaying the bouquet of umbral lilies that Prime Minister Apollo Cruise had sent her. The way they glowed when I'm the vicinity of her mane was both lovely and irritating. I really, truly am happy for her, and I know she isn't purposely flaunting and lording her ability to procure a date over me, but it certainly feels like it sometimes, and the jealousy that I wish I didn't have certainly can't tell the difference between bragging and not bragging.

Which is what led to the impulse decision I mentioned earlier. Tree Hugger was helping me with the stretches she'd been teaching me. She was very hooves-on with her approach, always reaching out and gently nudging at parts of my body to help get me into position, seemingly without a care in the world that I was her Princess. It was just...so refreshing to be treated as an equal rather than a superior, and she kept speaking in that soothing voice of hers, and my mind was so wound up over Luna and her date...

And that is why I invited Tree Hugger to be my date for the party. It was an impulse decision, but something about it just felt right at the time.

Until it started feeling wrong when Tree Hugger said that she would let me know her answer tomorrow, just before taking her leave. Granted, our session was over, so she wasn't just abandoning ship, but I still worry I overstepped my boundaries and made her uncomfortable. I know it sounds odd, but there's something about her that just makes me feel good...about her, about myself, about lots of things. She's an unorthodox mare with a beautiful soul, who treats me in a manner that very few other ponies would. And now I fear I may have messed everything up. I am an alicorn Princess, and yet I still worry like anypony else about things like this.

I suppose I'll write tomorrow and update you on what happened. I just hope I can manage to get some rest before that happens.

-Celestia

Comments

[NorrisThePony]

Aww. Poor Celestia.