Poppy's Delivery Service

by XombieSlayr

Delivery #4: "The Tyranny Of Princess Celestia."

It was a lazy morning in Ponyville, as the market square was bustling with commerce for weekend shoppers.

And as it was the weekend, this meant one very important thing: Poppy didn't have to work! No deliveries to make, no insane misadventures to be had, no insane hypnosis conspiracy being noticed. This was Poppy's time to relax.

Poppy sat on her couch in her PJ's enjoying this moment of tranquil silence, before she turned on her TV and sat down with a bowl of her favorite cereal; Berry-mint blast.

As the commercials played, she glanced to the side where yesterday's paper lay, with her proudly displayed on the front page with Agent 14 (Aka Stripe Dorton). Last week, she had saved Equestria from being overrun by evil hypnotic teddy bear toys and took down one of the most infamous criminal outfits in the world: The HappyTime Mafia. Since then, Poppy had been interviewed by every newspaper, been on every news station, and was the subject of many ponies conversations. It was exhausting being so famous, and she relished this time she had now, to just unwind and enjoy her morning.

Turning back to the TV, the commercials ended and the jaunty tune of Cooking Without Looking played as the camera panned down to Chef Coco Pie, who was smiling broadly as ever. "It's meee again!" she sang happily. "And happy weekend everyone! Or, I guess whenever this chapter comes out." she said with a shrug.

"Still weird." said Poppy with a smile. She ate a spoonful of cereal as she watched.

"Today, I have something super special planned today! In celebration of crossing another milestone, I'll be baking a pie to commemorate our current word-count of forty-thousand words! Yay!" squealed Coco. "Or I guess whatever word-count we hit by the time this chapter is done." she added with a smile and wink.

"Still weird." said Poppy. But before she could take another bite, the show was suddenly interrupted by a breaking news announcement.

"We interrupt this program to bring you a special statement from the royal princesses." an announcer said. "We apologize for any inconvenience."

The camera then changed to show Princess Celestia, herself, as well as her sister, Princess Luna, standing at a podium in Canterlot, just outside the royal palace. A large crowd of reporters and camera-flashing news ponies in front of them as Celestia smiled at the cameras. Luna, however, only looked disinterested and almost...mean. Perhaps she had been unable to catch her morning nap before hand?

"Greetings my loyal subjects." said Celestia with unerring grace. "I'm so glad you could all be here, for this is a very important announcement. As of today, I am closing Equestria's borders."

Poppy spit out her cereal. "What!?" she grabbed her remote and turned up the volume on her TV.

"Additionally, martial law will be declared starting tomorrow. Anypony who tries to leave Equestria, will be strung up by their feet and savagely beaten with foam bats." said Celestia with a smile, completely ignoring the shocked gasps and shouts from the crowd. "As well, there is now a curfew in effect. Anyone out past curfew will also be savagely beaten with foam bats. The curfew will be put into effect at random times throughout all this month, every time I say the word cabbage."

The crowd was stunned, and at a loss for words. Poppy had dropped her spoon into her bowl as she just stared at Celestia's smiling face, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Celestia tilted her head to the side, still smiling. "The curfew is now in effect." she said sweetly. The crowd then dispersed in a panic, screaming and running around in hysterics while Princess Celestia looked like she couldn't have cared less. "That is all. Have a lovely day now!"

The screen then went blank.

Poppy sat on her couch, mouth agape, speechless at what she had just seen. "W-Was....was that really Princess Celestia?" she asked herself. "Why...why would she do this? Do any of this!?"

Just then, the phone on Poppy's desk rang. Poppy went over and picked it up. "H...Hello?" she asked.

"Poppy!" it was Miss Wintergreen. She sounded exactly how Poppy felt right now.

"Miss Wintergreen! Did you see the news!?"

"Seen it? I'm still here watching with my kids, and none of us know what the heck just happened!" she cried. "What in the wide world of Equestria is going on here?!"

"I...I don't know!" cried Poppy. "Princess Celestia....I don't know what's gotten into her!"

"I don't know either....but I know how you can find out." said Wintergreen.

"I'm sorry?"

"I just got an order in from the royal palace; Princess Celestia has asked you to deliver a baker's dozen of strawberry donuts to her at her quarters, in person."

Poppy nearly dropped the receiver. "M-Me!?" cried Poppy. "Why...Why me?!"

"No idea." said Wintergreen. "All I know is, she asked for you by name. And I'd be insane not to give it to you. And you'd be insane not to-"

"Take it cause it's the princess, right." said Poppy with a shrug.

"No!" cried Wintergreen. "You'd be insane not to use it as an opportunity to find out why the ruler of Equestria's gone completely nuts!"

"Oh! Well, yeah. That too I guess." said Poppy. "Okay, I'll do it."

"I thought you might." Wintergreen joked. "To make it easier, I put the order through to The Inconvenience Store just down the block from you; just head in, pick it up, then teleport yourself to the palace. And, Poppy?"

"Yes, Miss Wintergreen?"

"Keep your eyes open." warned Wintergreen. "I have a very strange feeling about all this. Be careful, okay."

"Of course. Thank you, ma'am." said Poppy politely.

"Good luck!" with that Wintergreen hung up the phone.

---

To-Do List: Pick Up Celestia's order from Pears, then head to the palace.

Poppy wasted no time getting ready, then heading out the door to The Inconvenience Store. Except this time, she stopped as saw that the entire perimeter around the store had been blocked off by wired fences and sandbags, like a military blockade. Cameras poked around every corner, watching Poppy's every move.

"Um....Pears?" called Poppy. "I'm here to pick up the delivery!"

The front door opened and Pears, wearing a army helmet, peeked out. "Pears?" Poppy got closer. "What are you-"

Before she could finish, Pears grabbed Poppy and pulled her inside, slamming the door behind her.

The Inconvenience Store

Poppy nearly ran into a display of soup cans, as Pears threw her in then slammed and locked the front door. "Were you followed?" demanded Pears.

"Followed? What-"

Pears sighed. "Okay, good. You weren't followed."

"Pears what is all this? You're acting even crazier than usual, and that fact literally terrifies me."

Pears grabbed Poppy and pulled her close. "Of course I am!" she yelled. "Haven't you seen the news!?'

"The news. Of course." said Poppy getting the picture now. "This is because Celestia was acting all wacko isn't it?"

Pears laughed. "Acting!? Oh, no, no." she said shaking her head. "Whatever that was, that was not Celestia! And she was by no means, acting, my naive friend!"

"What are you talking about? What do you mean that wasn't Celestia?" asked Poppy, confused.

"Think!" cried Pears. "Why the hell would Celestia suddenly wake up, look outside her window and then say 'Hmm...today looks like a good day to declare martial law."

Poppy had to admit, she thought that was indeed crazy. But that didn't mean it wasn't really Celestia....or maybe...

"If it's not Celestia, then who is it?" asked Poppy, now curious.

"A clone, dummy!" cried Pears, her eyes pinpricks. "Or maybe a dummy clone, either one."

Poppy laughed. "A clone?? Really, Pears?"

"Yes, really!" yelled Pears. "And not just her; that 'Luna' she was with is one too!"

"How in the world could somepony replace Celestia and Luna with clones? Where would they even get clones of them?"

"They had to make them!" said Pears. "And now that they've successfully replaced the princesses, who knows what sinister plot they have in store for Equestria! I'm prepping my store for the worst!"

Poppy didn't believe it was clones, but she couldn't ignore the fact that she did notice Luna looked very different from her usual smiling self. She had even looked mean and hateful, standing there beside a Celestia that had just declared martial law with a smile.

"Maybe....maybe there is something to this after all." said Poppy. "I don't think they're clones, but they are definitely not acting like themselves." then it hit her. "Dear Celestia....They've been brainwashed!"

"That was my second theory." said Pears. "And now you've spoiled it."

"I can't believe it!" cried Poppy. "They actually managed to brainwash Princess Celestia and Luna!?"

"Yes!...or they're clones." said Pears. "Either way, Equestria's not safe anymore! I have to lock everything down!"

Poppy took a minute to calm down. If the princesses really had been brainwashed, then she had the perfect opportunity to find out the truth and hopefully snap them out of it. "The delivery!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Pears went behind her counter and pulled out a large box of a dozen strawberry donuts, with the address of the royal palace stamped on the label. "Here, you go. Now what was I saying?"

"That we're all gonna die, or whatever." Poppy put the box in her satchel, taking care not to squish the donuts within.

"Oh yeah! Anyways, I'm gonna lock things down here in a minute. Did you need anything before you left, and I have to bolt up the doors and windows?"

"Uh...sure?" said Poppy moving over to the counter.

"Alright, let's see." Pears checked her inventory. "How about some unprocessed ketchup?"

"That just sounds like you just shoved whole tomatoes into a bottle."

"You say tomatto, I say....unprocessed ketchup."

"Pass."

"How about some stray tufts of Sasquatch hair?" suggested Pears.

"What the heck is a Sasquatch?"

"A sassy squatch? I don't know, I got them in Tanzania."

"No thanks. What else?"

"I just got a shipment of udder hats!"

"Do I even want to know?"

"What? They're hats in the shape of a cow's udder. Nothing weird."

"Right. Next."

"Amulets of protection against greater hypnosis?"

"No tha- wait. What did you just say?" asked Poppy suddenly alert.

Pears reached behind her counter and withdrew three large brass amulets and set them down on the counter. The amulets themselves were perfectly round with a seemingly infinite and extremely complex swirling design carved into them, that made Poppy's eyes hurt just by looking at it.

Poppy picked one up and turned it around in her hooves. "How does it work?" asked Poppy.

"They're enchanted with Draconequus magic." explained Pears. "Whenever you are directly up against any form of mind control, hypnosis, brainwashing or what have you; the amulet will instantly absorb the magic, rendering you completely immune."

"Seriously?! How long have you had these?!" cried Poppy, knowing these could've really come in handy in her last delivery.

"I just got em in yesterday!" said Pears. "Trust me, I would've told you if I'd had them sooner.....probably."

"Huh. Let me guess, they cost yet another insanely exorbitant amount of money?" asked Poppy.

"What? No, they're only sixty bits." said Pears.

"Wait. Really?" asked Poppy. "Well in that case, "she took out her purse and handed over sixty bits. "I'll take one!"

"Excellent choice!" Pears took the bits and handed Poppy one of the amulets.

Poppy smiled as she put it on, and felt a strange tingling in her flank that moved up to her neck. "So...I just wear this and I'm invincible against mind control?"

"Yep." said Pears depositing the bits into her register. "Draconequus magic is pretty straight-forward with one thing."

"What's that?"

"That it's freakin' broken." said Pears "Seriously, you can do anything with that kind of magic."

"True." Poppy agreed. With the delivery secured and now being completely immune to any form of hypnotic influence in the universe, Poppy said goodbye to her friend Pears, and left, watching as Pears began to board up her doors and windows.

---

As Poppy made her way down the street from The Inconvenience Store, she noticed there was a new store on the block. One that hadn't closed its doors due to their now being martial law in effect.

It was a bookstore, and standing outside it was a friendly and familiar face; Hue Humble!

"Hue!" Poppy ran over to him, who turned to greet her with that same calm smile, obscured by his long, white, manchu-mustache.

"Well, I'll be." he said happily. "If it isn't miss Equestrian Idol herself! Good to see you again, Poppy, my friend."

"You too Hue!" said Poppy, happy to see her friend again. "What have you been up to?"

"Just spreading the news about the wonders of Huetology, little lady." he said cooly. "Even opened up my own little slice of heaven, right here in Ponyville."

"You own this bookstore?" asked Poppy.

"That's right. I'll be here all day, giving out copies of my book, New Horizon, to any walking that path of life." said Hue, gesturing towards the ponies on the street. Though they looked too panicked about being caught out after curfew then buying books. And the soldiers patrolling the streets didn't help matters much.

"Um...I don't think you'll be getting too much business today, Hue." said Poppy looking at the soldiers.

"I'd say you're right, Poppy." said Hue shaking his head. "All on account of that craziness on the news, right?"

"You saw that too?" asked Poppy.

"Hard not to have seen it, I'd say." said Hue with a chuckle.

"It's crazy." said Poppy. "What do you think is going on with the princesses, Hue?"

"I couldn't say, my friend." said Hue sadly. "I'd wager too much stress from ruling Equestria all these centuries. Maybe they just need a little time to unwind, you know?"

"It looks more like they're trying to cut us off from the rest of world for some insane reason." said Poppy nervously.

"There's a reason for everything my friend." said Hue putting a hoof on Poppy's shoulder. "I know things'll work out for the best."

"I hope so." said Poppy. "Oh! While I have you here, do you mind if I ask you more about Huetology? You said it's about helping people find their way in life, or something?"

"Something like that, my friend." said Hue with a smile. "What did you want to know? I'll answer whatever you want."

"How does it work? Does it really show ponies their innermost potential?" asked Poppy.

"Hmmm...how about instead of tellin' you, I show you?" asked Hue with a wink. "Just a basic practice is all; tells you a bit about yourself. Want to give it a shot?"

"Uh...I don't know. What do I have to do?" asked Poppy.

"Just answer some questions. Your answers reveal a little about yourself. That's all there is to it." said Hue with a warm smile.

"Well....alright. Why not?" said Poppy with a shrug. "What's first?"

"Groovy!" said Hue. "Alright then; first: What's your name?"

"Poppy Blossom."

"Race?"

"Unicorn."

"Celestial Sign?"

"Pisces."

"Coat color?"

"Red."

"Mane color?"

"Orange, and also kind of white-ish."

Hue nodded. "Thank you, my friend. Now let me run things through in my noggin a bit." A mere ten seconds passed before Hue said "Done!"

"Um, okay, so what-"

"You possess immense determination and bravery. Despite your job, you always find yourself in trouble or on some insane misadventure that almost always requires you to make daring choices and decisions that equally affect others. You are outgoing, dependable and loyal to your friends and family. You are not slow to embrace new ideas, and in fact sometimes welcome the new experiences they bring. You can be reckless, and almost always find yourself in trouble. But the real question that can't be answered is; or you attracted to trouble? Or is trouble attracted to you?"

"Your Huetology Rank: Level 5 'Yellow."

Poppy was at a loss for words. "Geez." said Poppy, here eyes wide. "You got all that from me answering a few questions?"

Hue nodded. "Magic of Huetology, my friend." he said with a wink.

"Wow. Has anypony else been told about this Huetology, thing?" asked Poppy.

"As a matter of fact,' said Hue with a sparkle in his eyes. "Do you remember that director from WARP?

"Make It Shine?" asked Poppy. "Of course! Have you talked to her, recently?"

"Indeed I have." said Hue. "She's our newest Level 4 Huetologist! She's been making crazy amounts of progress with her studies!"

"Wait. Shine joined Huetology?" asked Poppy. "I thought she was going to try to get another job."

"She did, my friend!" said Hue cheerfully. "Thanks to your kind and uplifting words inspiring her, and the newfound confidence she's gotten from studying Huetology, she's decided to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a magician. And she's mad skilled at it to boot!"

"Whoa. A magician? I had no idea!" said Poppy. "But that's fantastic! Say hi to her for me, Hue?"

"Absolutely." said Hue with a polite bow. "Well, I'll let you get back to it, I'm sure you got deliveries to make, and all that."

"I do, I'm afraid." said Poppy with a smile. "I'll see you around Hue!"

"Good luck on your journeys, my friend!" Hue waved goodbye as Poppy made her way further down the street to her cottage.

After getting ready, and locking her doors, Poppy used her teleportation spell to take her to the courtyard of the royal palace in Canterlot, hoping things hadn't gone too off the rails.

The Royal Palace Courtyard, Canterlot

Arriving in a flash of orange light, Poppy was relieved to see that the courtyard was unchanged; it was still beautifully gardened with wide clearings of flowers and patches of freshly mowed grass all over the main campus. Butterflies of several different colors and shades danced playfully amongst the blooms. It was very peace and for a second, Poppy thought maybe things weren't as bad as she had thought. At least not yet.

Approaching the great gleaming carved-oaken doors to the palace, Poppy was stopped by a royal guard, who stood to the side. "Sorry, ma'am." he said gruffly. "No civilians allowed within the palace without necessary clearance."

"Oh! Sorry, I'm actually the delivery mare for Princess Celestia." said Poppy politely. "I have her donuts." Poppy showed the box to the guard, who gave them a quick look.

"Hmmm...one moment ma'am." He pressed the magical gem on his armor, which lit up with a blueish glow. "Base, this is Dancer. Donuts at the gate. Permission to allow passage?"

There was a brief moment of static. "Access granted. Let her in." said another guard's voice from the gem.

"Understood." said Dancer. He clicked a button behind him and the huge doors opened up with a loud, rich creaking sound. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are meeting with their three new governors at the moment, but you're allowed to enter her actual office. Just head down the main hall past the welcoming lobby, and take the right wing stairs over to the observatory wing. Princess Celestia's quarters are down the opposite hall, huge door; can't miss it."

"Thank you." said Poppy.

"Have a good day, ma'am." Dancer said with a smile.

With that, Poppy entered the majesty of the royal palace and made her way through its many halls to Celestia's quarters.

To-Do List: Deliver the donuts to Princess Celestia in her office.

Following Dancer's instructions, Poppy found herself before a large beautifully ornate door, inscribed with a large pattern of a sun. Poppy removed the donuts from her satchel, then used her magic to open the doors and let herself inside.

Princess Celestia's Office

Princess Celestia had three rooms that meant the world to her. One was the kitchen, where she ate her morning cake. The other was her bedroom. And the third was, of course, the office where she did all her necessary paperwork, government documentations and basically the office from which Equestria was run. There wasn't a single document that could make or break the nation that didn't go through this office at least ten times, before it became a new law, or new decree, or even a new breakfast menu for the local schools.

Walking into the office, one thing was certain: of all the offices Poppy had visited in her deliveries, Princess Celestia's was by far the most amazing.

It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of extravagant rich purple carpeting. A number of sparkling golden astronomy instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little sounds that sounded vaguely like a song. The walls were covered with portraits of Celestia and Luna, as well as Celestia with her students at her school for gifted unicorns, all of whom were smiling warmly in their frames. Two floor-to-ceiling tall glass windows stood on either side of the room, letting in the morning sunshine, that only served to brighten up the already, sunny room. There was also an enormous, claw-footed dark oak desk, and, sitting on a throne-like chair behind it, was Princess Celestia and beside her, was her sister, Princess Luna.

But Poppy didn't say anything, as Princess Celestia was busy having a conversation with, who Poppy assumed to be the governors Dancer was talking about. Poppy silently shut the door behind her, as she caught ear of the conversation.

"I'm very glad that you three have brought this to my attention," she heard Celestia say. "But I'm afraid I still don't fully understand the issue here."

As Poppy was about to enter the room, she then heard a very familiar, sweet sounding voice answer Princess Celestia. "The problem, your highness; is that we aren't governors!" the voice cried.

"We're just kids! Heck we're still in elementary school!" another equally familiar voice exclaimed.

"Yeah!" said another familiar voice. "What on earth possessed you into making three kids the governors of some backward patch of dirt out in the Badlands?"

Poppy knew exactly who the three "governors" were now. But, she didn't dare interrupt while the Princess was in a meeting. She didn't want to make things worse by upsetting her.

"I understand." said Celestia calmly. "But, I believe in equal opportunities to all creatures. That includes, non-ponies like you kids!"

"For the last freakin' time; we are ponies! You crazy-"but her voice was muffled by a hoof.

"Thank you for your time, your majesty, we'll be taking a break for a minute before we continue." said another voice politely.

"Of course. Take your time." said Celestia.

After a series of hoofsteps and the sound of a door opening and closing, the room was silent.

"You in the waiting area. Get in here." said Luna in a much ruder tone then Poppy had ever heard her speak. But she went in anyways.

Upon walking into the room, Princess Celestia spotted the donuts in Poppy's hooves and squealed with glee. "Yay! My donuts are here! Thank you Poppy; who knew running a nation would make you so hungry?"

Poppy looked confused. "Um...I'm sorry?" she asked.

Princess Luna growled at Celestia, who turned around to look at her. "Huh? Oh! Um...I mean, uh, I would! I would of course!" Celestia turned back to Poppy with a nervous smile. "Because, I am definitely Princess Kalheesi!"

Poppy raised an eyebrow. "Don't you mean, Celestia?" she asked, getting increasingly suspicious.

"Yes! That too!" said Celestia nervously. Behind her, Princess Luna facehoofed. "Sorry, I um...I just forgot for a minute, is all!"

Poppy wasn't buying it. "You forgot your own name?....Really?"

"Its....been a stressful day, so far." Celestia said with a nervous smile.

Poppy ignored it. After all the Princesses were being brainwashed! She had to snap them out of it while she had the chance.

"Princess Celestia, I have something to tell you! It's critically important!" said Poppy urgently.

Luna shook her head. "Yeah, no thanks. You can leave through the door you-"

"Dear sister, wait!" said Celestia alarmed. "If it's critically important, I should know about it!" she turned back to Poppy. "Please go on."

Poppy was wondering why Luna was being so mean, but ignored it for now. "I don't mean to alarm you, your highness; but I have reason to believe that you and Princess Luna have been brainwashed." said Poppy calmly.

Luna chuckled to herself. "Insanity, isn't a valid reason to believe in things, kid." she snapped.

Poppy narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "How else can you explain why you're both acting so.....unlike yourselves?" Poppy refrained from saying they were acting like raging jerkbags as well as completely insane. Regardless of how true it was.

But Celestia only laughed. "Oh come now." she said with a smile. "We haven't been brainwashed. That's crazy talk."

"No, literally every single word you've said today is crazy talk." said Poppy. "You have to be brainwashed! What other reason could there be?"

At this, Luna suddenly looked very worried. "Uh, yeah! Yes, we are sooo brainwashed!" she said loudly. "Wow. MY brain....my brain sure feels..uh, washed, right now!"

"Huh?" asked Celestia. "What are you talking about, we're not (Luna glared over at her sister). "Oh! I mean...yeah, we are definitely brainwashed and need your help to break the trance!" Luna facehoofed again.

Poppy was now sure there was something more going on here. They clearly weren't really brainwashed. So what other explanation could......No. No it couldn't be.

Poppy tried to deny it, but the evidence was overwhelming. They'd both been acting weird the entire time. But she had to be sure.

"Princess Luna. Can I talk to you, for a minute?"

"Huh?" Princess Luna suddenly looked quite nervous. "Uh, why?"

"No reason. Want to see if I can break your 'trance' is all." said Poppy.

"Ugh. Fine." Poppy approached Luna, who hadn't smiled once this entire time. More then that though, her eyes looked almost....lifeless. They held no trace of the usual sparkle of the night sky that Luna's had. These eyes were cold, calculating and dark. Definitely not those of Princess Luna's.

"Well?" Luna asked irritably. "What do you want?"

To-Do List: Find out what's really going on with Princess Celestia and Luna.

"What do you do around here, Luna?" asked Poppy. she decided to drop the mannerisms, as she was quite sure they didn't matter to this jerk.

"I give out free T-shirts to the pony who asks me the stupidest question-"

"Haha. No, really. "Poppy glared at her. "I want you to tell me what you do, here."

"Fine. I'm helping my sister out with the new laws we're having put into effect. And I am not leaving her side."

"New laws?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about it; you'll find out what they are soon enough." said Luna with an evil grin. "Let's just say I hope you enjoyed your personal freedom till now. Heh."

"Uh-huh." Poppy ignored her. "You never leave Celestia's side, huh? You must be a very caring and loving sister, then."

Luna rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Sure, let's go with that." she then let out an annoyed sigh. "Look, this has been fun, or whatever, but me and my sister have a country to run, so...Guards!"

Two guards entered the room with spears at the ready. "Princess Luna? You called."

Luna looked away from Poppy. "You can take the delivery girl back to the lobby now."

"Right away, ma'am." The guard approached Poppy. "If you'll follow us, miss Poppy." he said politely.

Poppy glared at Luna who simply glared back with an evil smile. Poppy knew there was something sinister going on in this castle. But she wouldn't find any more answers here. Maybe she could enlist the help of those "governors" from before.

Poppy smiled warmly at the guard. "Of course. Lead the way, sir." The guards lead Poppy out of Celestia's office. She looked back to see Luna and Celestia's eyes suddenly glow for a brief second, before the doors shut behind her.

---

Poppy stood in the lobby of the royal palace, trying to think through what she had just experienced. It was painfully clear that Princess Celestia and Luna weren't themselves. But why hadn't anyone else noticed anything? Surely the butlers and maids must have noticed something; they had been taking care of the palace and been around Celestia and Luna for years!

The best thing she could do was talk to the staff, the guards, anyone that may be able to tell her what was wrong with the princesses.

To-Do List: Uncover the truth behind the Princesses bizarre behavior.

Poppy must have gone to every guard and staff member in the palace but every-time she asked about the princesses acting strange, she got:

"Oh, it's probably just stress."

"They've been working so hard as of late. That's probably it!"

"Luna pushed me down the stairs yesterday. But she said sorry afterwards, so it's probably nothing. (She heard that one a lot more then she think she should have.)

It wasn't until she reached the library wing, where she ran into a familiar friend, that she finally got some answers. Poppy entered the library and saw sitting by herself, engrossed in at least three separate psychology books was her close friend, Penny Metronome!

"Penny!" said Poppy.

Penny looked over. "Poppy!" said Penny.

"Shhh!" shushed the librarian stallion.

Poppy and Penny quickly apologized as Poppy sat down beside her friend. "What are you doing here?" Poppy asked excitedly.

"I'm actually here on psychology business!" said Penny, equally as excitedly. "I've decided to do a paper regarding the, shall we say, intriguing behavior of the royal princesses."

Poppy scoffed. "If by intriguing, you mean both evil and completely nuts, yeah I'd say intriguing is the perfect word to describe them."

"Evil??" Penny asked. "Why would say such a thing, Poppy?

"I just got done talking to them!" cried Poppy. "They're both completely out of their minds!"

"Really? What did they do to make you think so?" asked Penny, taking out a notepad and quill.

"First, Celestia forgot her own name. "Said Poppy. "Second, I'm pretty sure Luna wants to secretly either murder me with insults or by physically throwing me off a cliff. Probably both. And then there's how they, y'know, issued martial law in Equestria! How can they not be called crazy?"

Penny eagerly scribbled down everything Poppy told her then thought to herself a moment. "Honestly, I don't think they are well...insane or evil per se." said Penny adjusting her glasses. "It sounds more like they are being influenced by another; someone else is making them do these things. This would explain Luna's outward hostility towards you, who could help her. Or Celestia's forgetfulness and current lack of common sense.

"So...they actually are brainwashed?" asked Poppy?

"Not brainwashed. Controlled." said Penny. "Someone is controlling the way they think and act, to a much higher degree then we've seen before."

"How do we snap them out of it?" asked Poppy.

"I'm afraid this level of mental influence requires more study and in depth analysis first, before I can make a conclusion." said Penny, moving her notebook. "Give me an hour and I should have our answer."

"Thanks Penny." said Poppy. "So, um....how is everything? Did you manage to...you know."

"Escape certain doom at the talons of the HappyTime Mafia?" asked Penny. "Yes I was, thanks to you and miss Pears."

She set her notebook aside then continued. "Honestly, I didn't know what to make of what Pears told me about my life being in danger, the mafia coming for me, and then you being in danger if I didn't leave Equestria!"

"I'm really sorry to have put you through that, Penny." said Poppy. "I just wanted to make sure you were safe is all."

Penny smiled warmly and laughed. "You don't have to apologize for anything." she said calmly. "I knew what it meant, and luckily I was planning to visit my cousin down in Nawland that week, anyways. Saved me from booking a trip too late!"

"You have a cousin in Nawlans?" asked Poppy.

"Mmhm. Her name is Karosta. She's actually the chief of police in Nawlans!" said Penny excitedly.

"Wow! That's amazing!" said Poppy. "I'll have to say Hi if I ever make a delivery down to Nawlans, then."

"Indeed!" said Penny. "Just let her know your coming before hoof. She doesn't like being caught off guard with visitors."

Poppy nodded and laughed. "Oh! Penny, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Of course not. What can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for three fillies. Probably being hailed as governors despite all being about ten years old; Seen them?"

"Hmm...now that you mention it, I did see three fillies hanging out by the kitchen. They were making rude comments about the princesses and something about Luna being a....well, frankly I don't tolerate that sort of language from children!"

"Yep, that's them." said Poppy. "Thanks Penny. I'll be back in an hour then?"

"Yes! I will see you then, my friend!" said Penny happily.

Poppy waved goodbye to Penny before making her way to the south-most wing of the palace: The kitchens.

The Royal Kitchens

The royal kitchens were easily the busiest area in the palace (And not just because they were always making cake for Celestia's midnight cravings) with hundreds of ponies going in and out every day. Sometimes with dishes, other times with food, sometimes with both.

But as Poppy entered, the kitchens were strangely empty, as Poppy immediately noticed three fillies loitering around the dining room just outside the kitchen. These fillies were of course, The Fizzy Poppers.

"Can you believe how those two are acting?" said Cherry to Root. "Is that the princess we've held in such high standings these past thousand years or so?"

But Root shook her head. "No way!" she said. "Princess Celestia visited our school once, remember? And she did not act like that."

"You're right." said Lemon Lime. "But then what the heck is wrong with her? With either of them?"

Poppy then stepped into the room. "That's what I'd like to know."

The Poppers all turned in their seats. "Poppy!" They jumped from their seats and clamored onto her in one giant hug, that nearly toppled her over, as she laughed.

"I thought that was you three in there." said Poppy laughing. "So....moved up from judges to governors now, huh?"

The unanimous "Ugh!" The Poppers then let out was a clear sign they weren't too happy about this fact.

Poppy looked confused. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"What's wrong," said Cherry, "is that we're the governors of a dinky little patch of dirt in the Badlands with only one other guy; an old as dirt griffin named Crungs."

"Crungs? Sounds like some kind of disease." said Poppy.

"That's what we said!" cried Root. "Seriously, what do you do with a patch of dirt like that?"

"I see your problem." said Poppy. "And I heard you try to tell Celestia, or whoever that is, about it as well, and you would've gotten better sense from a brick wall with head injury, am I right?"

"Yeah!" said Root. Then she looked confused. "Wait. What do you mean by whoever that is?

"Guys, I'm going to level with you: I don't think that's really Celestia and Luna. Or if it is, something's been done to them." said Poppy lowering her voice as a guard passed by the hall.

"You mean they're being brainwashed like Moira was?" asked Lemon Lime, her eyes going wide.

"Maybe." said Poppy. "All I know is, they're not acting like themselves at all, and Equestria might be in danger! We need to do something."

"Just say the word, Poppy." said Cherry with a determined smile. Her sisters huddled around her, with the same look.

"Yeah, it's about time we get some payback for this stupid governor stuff!" said Root.

"What do you need us to do?" asked Lemon Lime.

Poppy thought a moment. "Okay, I have a plan: It's clear that nopony else is noticing whats going on with the princesses. And they are definitely not themselves. But I did find one more weird thing, that should tell us a bit more, if we can confirm it."

"What's that?" asked Cherry eagerly.

"That their eyes glow." said Poppy.

The Poppers all gasped in surprise. "Glow??" said Root. "As in, like, glow, glow?"

"Yes." said Poppy. "I saw it happened just as I was being escorted from Celestia's office; I looked back and I saw both Celestia and Luna's eyes glow, just for a second. But it was still enough for me to confirm something wasn't right."

"Whoa. Creepy!" said Lemon Lime, shivering at the thought.

"I know." said Poppy. "But I need you guys to confirm it; go back into Celestia's office and say you have some new ideas you want to present to her about, what's you territory called again?"

"Hackdirt." Root said glumly. "Ugh."

"Right. Go in and say you some ideas to make Hackdirt more tourist friendly or something. While your there, keep an eye out for their eyes glowing. If we can confirm it, then we can confront them about it face to face."

"Sounds good!" said Cherry. "But what about you?"

"I've already been escorted out of there once. It's pretty clear Luna doesn't want me around." said Poppy.

"That may be true," said Lemon Lime. "But what if you were there on our behalf? Like our....vice governor?"

"Can you even do that?" asked Poppy.

"As far as we care, we're governors; we can do whatever we want." said Root with a sly grin.

"Fair enough." said Poppy. "Okay, so we'll head in, start spouting about some new ideas for Hackdirt, and keep an eye out for their eyes glowing. Sound good?"

"Yeah, but what if their eyes don't glow?" asked Cherry.

"Then we excuse ourselves so we can come up with more ideas." said Poppy. "Then at the very least we'll know they are who they say they are....maybe."

"Alright then!" Root stood up with both hooves pumped in the air. "Let's expose these phony ponies!" The Poppers cheered, and Poppy cheered right along with them.

Afterwards, they headed back to Celestia's office to confirm Poppy's suspicions.

To-Do List: Return to Celestia's office and talk to them with The Poppers. Keep an eye out for their eyes glowing.

Celestia's Office

Poppy and The Fizzy Poppers opened the great doors of Celestia's Office, where the "princesses" were still waiting for their return. But upon seeing Poppy with them, Luna glared at her in anger.

Celestia on the other hand, was very happy indeed to see Poppy back as well as the Poppers. "Poppy!" she exclaimed happily. "I'm so glad you're back! And you brought our three governors as well! Excellent!" she clapped her hooves in joy. "Shall we continue our discussion then?"

"First!, dear sister." Luna said rather angrily, through clenched teeth. "I'd like to know why she is back here with you."

Root rolled her eyes. "She happens to be our vice governor, Princess Luna. Her presence is needed to continue this meeting properly."

"Oh!" cried Celestia. "I had no idea! Then by all means, please go ahead."

Poppy's plan would only work if they kept the princesses talking for as long as possible. Between the four of them, they were sure they could come up with enough ideas for Hackdirt to keep both Celestia and Luna talking for as long as they needed. But they really just had to keep an eye out for that glow.

"Princess Celestia," Cherry began. "On behalf of the proud city of Hackdirt, we would like to thank you for this time you have taken from your busy schedule to listen to our proposals to improve our fair city."

Celestia blushed. "Oh, of course! Anything to help my loyal subjects." Still no glowing eyes.

Lemon Lime stepped up. "My proposal, is that we build a water park for ponies from all over to come and cool of from the blistering heat of the Badlands while staying in Hackdirt."

"Oh!" said Celestia. "That does sound like fun! Please go on!"

Lemon Lime, not spotting the eyes, continued. "First we...."

Poppy kept her eyes trained on Celestia and Luna the entire time Lemon Lime proposed her water park idea. But aside from some crude remarks from Luna, their eyes didn't glow. Yet since she was looking at them so intently, Poppy noticed that Celestia's eyes also held no sparkled in them. They weren't dark or cold like Luna's but they looked...lost. As if Celestia was trying her best to hide something from the world. But what was it?

After Lemon Lime finished her proposal, Celestia clapped joyfully as Luna simply rolled her eyes. After Lemon Lime, was Root Beer.

"Okay," said Root. "My idea is for a huge monorail system, so that...

Poppy kept her eyes trained on Celestia and Luna, but still no glow. After Root was Cherry, and then it would be her turn. She had to think of someway to get their eyes to glow like they did before. But how?

"For my idea," said Cherry, "I propose the construction of a new university! One that..."

Poppy racked her brain trying to think of some way to make their eyes glow. Why did they glow before? What had happened that caused them to....wait. That was it! Poppy knew what she had to do now.

She went up to Root as Cherry continued with her proposal and whispered something into her ear that Luna found suspicious. But didn't think it meant anything. Root nodded then Poppy went back to her place. Root then turned to Lemon Lime and whispered the same thing in her ear. Lemon then whispered it to Cherry.

When they all heard Poppy's plan they looked at one another and nodded with serious expressions. Now, it was Poppy's turn.

Poppy stepped forward. "Princess Celestia and Luna! I have an idea that will make Hackdirt truly the city if ponies dreams!"

"Oooh! This sounds exciting already!" said Celestia looking quite eager.

"But first, I have to go get some charts I've drawn up." she began to back out of the room slowly, to the door she had been escorted out of before. "Do you mind?" she asked.

"Oh! Not at all!" said Celestia. "Go ahead!"

Poppy backed out of the room, and began to shut the doors.

And then, just before they closed; they did it again. Clearly glowing for a split second. But Poppy smiled as she hadn't been the only one to see this time...

"I saw them!" yelled Root. "They glowed!"

At once Celestia and Luna looked nervous. "I-Im sorry?" Celestia asked, sweat forming at her brow.

"I saw it too!" yelled Lemon Lime. "They glowed! They really glowed!"

"Poppy was right! You two are fakes!" Cherry yelled, narrowing her eyes.

"What!?" Luna bellowed. "That's ridiculous! Why would you think that!? You didn't even see anything!"

"Oh" Poppy walked back into the room smiling broadly. She had them now. "But they did. I told them to turn and look at you two the moment the doors shut. They saw your eyes glow, just like I did the first time, you tried to get rid of me."

Luna snarled angrily. "You meddlesome little!-

Celestia only looked worried as sweat was now dripping down her muzzle. "I-I...uh." Was all she could say."

Poppy was done playing games. It was time to find out who these two really were.

To-Do List: Confront the false Celestia and Luna.

Poppy slammed a hoof down on the desk, her eyes flaring. "Enough of this! I know you're not really the princesses!" she yelled. "So it's time you two start talking; who or what are you?!" The Poppers stood by Poppy, glaring up at the fake Celestia and Luna who looked at one another.

Then smiled.

"Well...looks like they got us." said Celestia her smile growing wider.

"Little brats. Always making things hard for the adults." snarled Luna.

Then they both laughed. High, cruel laughs that didn't suit either of them. It made Poppy's skin crawl.

When they were done, Celestia got up from her desk and stood beside it. "Well done, little ones." she said. "You're the only ponies who figured out we aren't your precious little princesses."

Luna then stepped up, her smile just as evil as her sisters. "You'd think that with everything we've been doing, that others would've at least suspected something." then she laughed. "But, no. They just thought we needed naps, or tea, or something to take the stress off. Idiots."

Poppy glared at the imposters as The Poppers stood bravely beside her, not backing down even an inch. "So...Pears was right." she said. "You two are-

"Clones?" sneered Luna. "That's right, girl."

"What did you do with the real Celestia and Luna!?" demanded Cherry.

Celestia put a hoof to her chest. "Oh, don't worry!" she said. "They're perfectly fine. Just somewhere far away." She actually seemed sincere as she said this.

"What are you two? How are you here?" asked Poppy.

Luna suddenly got super close to Poppy, smiling wickedly as their eyes met. There was that glow again. But now that she was so close she could see that this glow...glowed green.

"Green?" said Poppy. "So when I said you two were brainwashed-"

"You were half right." said Celestia. "Rather then us, being brainwashed....it was us doing the brainwashing." she said menacingly.

"That's why everyone acted like they didn't notice anything weird about you two!" said Root. "You've brainwashed everyone just by looking at them!"

"Yes." said Luna. "Although it seems like fillies with too much moxy and delivery mares are immune. Interesting."

The amulet around Poppy's neck is what protected her from the Evil Celestia and Luna's hypnotic gaze. But as for the Poppers, she guessed that fillies with their level of bravery and willpower couldn't be controlled anymore, thanks to Poppy saving them from Charming before.

"So what's your plan?" asked Poppy. "What are you two trying to accomplish by brainwashing everyone?"

Luna smiled, as she turned to look out the window. "Our plan?" she asked. "Oh no. Our creator has plans for this little nation of yours; big plans. And we've just now gotten started!"

"Well too bad!" said Root. "We know what you really are, so now-"

Luna then rounded on Root, jumping over to her and glaring down at her menacingly "Nowwhat, exactly?" she sneered. "You go out those doors and tell are your little pony friends 'Oh dear! Don't listen to them; they're not the real Celestia and Luna!", she mocked in a high squeaky voice. 'They're just clones hypnotizing you into not noticing anything!'she laughed cruelly as Root just glared angrily up at her.

"Face it." said Celestia as her sister moved back behind her, and she herself sat back down at her desk. "It doesn't matter that you found us out; as far as the rest of Equestria is concerned; we are the real princesses."

"And as the princesses," said Luna with a wicked grin. "We get to do whatever we want!"

Poppy was going to say something back. Possibly several things back. But Lemon Lime spoke first.

"Oh, Yeah!?" said Lemon Lime stepping forward. "Well what if you guys weren't the princesses of Equestria!?"

Luna snorted. "What are you talking about you little brat?" she spat.

"I'm saying, what if we had a new princess? One that was better then both of you, so people picked her over you!" said Lemon Lime.

"Lime?" asked Root. "What the heck are you saying?"

Lemon Lime turned to her sisters. "I'm saying, that we have an election for a new princess!"

At that Celestia and Luna laughed hysterically at Lemon Lime's expense. Poppy and the other Poppers didn't feel too confident in such an idea either. "Uh....Lemon?" Poppy started. "That's not how princesses become well....princesses."

"Well it is this time!" snapped Lemon Lime, visibly angry. She gestured to the cackling princesses. "These two aren't the real Celestia and Luna; and more then that, they're horrible leaders! They don't care about Equestria, it's ponies or anything other then doing what their creator tells them!"

"Hey!" said Celestia suddenly. "I care about stuff! Well....mostly donuts."

"You see!?" said Lemon Lime. "If we don't get these two out of this office, and a new princess in it, Equestria is doomed!"

Poppy looked at the Poppers. The Poppers looked at Poppy, then their sister. Then together they all smiled and nodded. "She's right." said Poppy. "If we hold an election for a new princess, then whatever these two idiots have planned, fails!"

"Hey!" said Celestia. "I know stuff! Well....mostly stuff about donuts."

Poppy moved to Celestia's desk and smiled. "As citizens of Equestria," The Poppers opened the doors so that the ponies outside could hear; guards and staff stopped what they were doing outside the hall to listen. "We hereby demand a royal election for the next princess of Equestria!"

There was a great murmuring from the halls, as ponies whispered excitedly to one another:

"An election? for a new princess?"

"There's never been an election before!"

"Who do you think will be in the running?"

Soon, the entire palace was alive with conversation of a possible royal election, while Luna and Celestia simply looked panicked.

Luna stepped forward her eyes flaring. "Y-You can't demand something like that!"

But Poppy only glared back at her with a triumphant grin. "Oh, but I can!" she said "I'm a vice governor; a member of the Equestrian government. As such, I have a say if the current actions of the current princesses don't meet the needs and wants of, or or otherwise unfit to rule over Equestria or it's ponies." she then glared at Luna. "And you two, definitely are not fit to rule Equestria."

Luna snarled at Poppy, but with all the guards and staff now watching her and Celestia, she had no choice. She smiled and through gritted teeth said "Fine. We'll hold your stupid- I mean, wonderful election." she growled.

"But," said Celestia with a smile. "An election for the next princess won't work unless there is another pony running against the current ones; and who would be crazy enough to run against us?"

Poppy was not expecting what happened next at all. She had thought perhaps another governor, a member of the royal committee or even just ask Princess Cadence to run things till they found the real Celestia and Luna. But she most certainly was not expecting...

"Poppy will do it!" yelled Root. "Poppy Blossom hereby throws her hat into the ring, for the first royal princess election!"

The room suddenly exploded with surprised shouts and excited whispers from the guards and staff, all centered around this new, hot young candidate that just called out the princesses, to their faces.

"Poppy Blossom? The delivery mare?"

"How exciting!"

"Good on her! She's so sweet and kind with her deliveries. And dependable, to boot! I know who I'm voting for!"

Poppy looked up. "Wait....what?"

---

Two hours later, Equestria was gripped by that ageless condition known as "election fever."

The Poppers (Who had decided to be Poppy's campaign managers) had election posters of Poppy lining every wall in Canterlot, each with their own catchy slogans:

"Don't stand for somepony who's morality is floppy. Do the right thing! Vote for Poppy!"

"If I can deliver your mail, I can deliver you your rights!"

"Poppy's Not Sloppy."

"Yes we can! (Prevent evil donut-loving rulers from taking over the nation!)

"With Poppy, our Equestria will blossom."

But naturally, Evil Celestia and Evil Luna also had their own campaign posters, lining the walls, and baring their own catchy (as well as vaguely threatening) campaign slogans.

"Stand with the sisters that make the world go round (no, but literally)"

"Equestria is at stake, what we need is more cake! (And donuts.)"

"From the truth, don't stray away. Stand with the sisters night and day."

"Prosperity, Progress and guaranteed Pony well-being."

"Make Equestria definitely-not-evil again! (Not that it ever was in the first place, of course, nope!)"

"I'm with (the ponies who may or may not kill us all by depriving us of sunlight if we don't vote for them!)"

Meanwhile, while news of the very first royal election spread, Poppy racked her brain trying to think of a way out of this. She pace the floor of her campaign office (which just so happened to be her own office) while Penny and Pears stood by, trying to calm her down.

"Poppy." said Penny softly. "I think you might be overreacting a bit; being put in the running for princess of Equestria is a wonderful opportunity for you! Think of all the good you can do!"

"It's not that I don't understand that, Penny." said Poppy rubbing her temples. "I just don't understand why it has to be me!"

"Somepony has to run Equestria till we can find out where the real Celestia and Luna are!" said Pears. "And why not you? Look at how many times you've save Equestria in the last few weeks alone!"

"Well....I mean, yeah. That's true." said Poppy. "But I'm a delivery mare! I don't know anything about running a country!"

"You'll have us to help you, the whole time." said Penny. "Between all of us, Equestria will be in good hooves till Princess Celestia and Princess Luna return."

"Yeah! It's not like you'll be princess for ever!" said Pears. "It's just till we locate the real Celestia and Luna! Wherever they may be."

Poppy thought hard about all this. It was true; she wouldn't be princess for long. It was just till Celestia and Luna were back. And in the meantime, she could actually do some good for Equestria in her position. Plus, with that much power and influence, she'd be able to easily track down and stop the mastermind behind the mass hypnotism conspiracy!

Poppy made her decision. "Alright." she said with a sigh. "I'll give it a shot." She walked over to her foot length mirror and adjusted her scarf. "Just till we find the real Celestia and Luna."

Penny nodded and smiled, while Pears jumped up from the couch and stretched. "Well then!" she said with a grin. "Let's head to Canterlot, already! You have an election to win!"

Canterlot Market Square, The Royal Princess Election

The air was filled with tension on the sunny afternoon of the very first Royal Princess Election. A crowd of some several hundred ponies gathered around the main stage, where Poppy stood nervously at her podium, while the Evil Celestia and Luna stood at theirs smiling through shark smiles at the crowd; completely confident that they would win, no question.

Behind Poppy sat Pears, Penny and The Poppers who sat quietly, smiling with determination for Poppy, as well as periodically sneering at Evil Celestia and Luna.

After several tense moments, the chatter of the crowd finally died down, as the cameras moved over to the stage and the announcer began. "It is a beautiful day in Canterlot, as we bring you the first in a series of debates for this surprise election for royal princess of Equestria." The crowd was silent save for a few eager whispers. Poppy looked back at her friends who smiled and wished her good luck. She smiled back before turning back to the crowd.

"In the royal monarchy corner, we have the current holders of the position; Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." Evil Celestia and Evil Luna waved as the crowd cheered for them, while the cameras focused on them.

"And in the opposing corner, we have titular delivery mare and Equestrian Idol star, Poppy Blossom." Poppy waved as the crowd also cheered for her, much more then she thought they would, as the cameras then focused on her.

"Acting as completely impartial moderator for the debates will be Coco Pie." Poppy looked up as Coco Pie, herself sat at the moderator's desk with a huge smile and sparkling eyes, that seemed to be looking right at Poppy.

"Why in the world would they get a TV chef to moderate for the election?" wondered Poppy.

"The candidates are ready, so let's begin." said the announcer. "Miss Pie?"

Coco stood up and cleared her throat before she read off from the papers in her hooves. "Let's begin by hearing the candidate's prepared statements!" she said cheerfully. "Princesses Celestia and Luna, you're up!"

"Thank you, miss Pie." said Evil Celestia with a warm smile. "My loyal subjects; have we not been here since the beginning? Have we not cared for and watched over this great land for centuries?" she asked. "We've been your princesses for thousands of years; why change that now? Why put your faith in a simply delivery mare, when you can put your faith in the alicorns who have several lifetimes of experience and wisdom, that could be used to benefit Equestria? Think of all we could do, if we all worked together to make Equestria great. Thank you."

The crowd applauded as Celestia shot a look over to Poppy. It wasn't a mean look (Like Luna's) but it did seem like it was meant to challenge Poppy to 'top that.' Poppy accepted her challenge, with a smile.

Coco then looked over at Poppy. "And miss Poppy? Your statement?"

Poppy took a deep breath, and spoke not from her head; but from her heart. "Look, I'll level with you...I'm not a princess. I'm not a politician: I'm a delivery mare." said Poppy. "But I can safely say that I am the best choice for you to pick for Princess, at least the only one who was either brave or dumb to try it anyways. Why?" Poppy moved away and stood beside the podium and looked over the crowd. "Because I'm not like them. I'm one of you."

The crowd began to whisper as they leaned in to hear more.

"Unlike them, I walk through the same streets you do; I face the same daily struggles you do, and I embrace new challenges as you do." said Poppy. "I'm not up here cause I want to be princess. I could care less. I'm up here cause I want to give you all a voice. I want to let these royals know what we think, and that we can do better. If we can get them to listen, to see us as more then just 'loyal subjects' (She shot a look over at Celestia who smiled nervously at the crowd) then I think Equestria really can blossom into something greater. But I can't do it alone." Poppy smiled at the crowd who were now smiling at her. "So, I ask you. Will you give me a chance? Will you help me make our home a home worth living in? Thank you."

As Poppy turned to go back her podium the crowd behind her erupted into thundering applause and cheering, as well as standing ovations from the announcer and Coco. Poppy turned back to look at the cheering crowd and blushed furiously, before returning to her podium.

As the crowd settled, Coco stood up once more with her papers in hoof. "A very well-put statement from Candidate Blossom!" she cheered." Now then, on to the issues." She shuffled her papers and read from the next page. "For this portion, I'd like you to sum up your stand on the following issues in a few concise words."

Both Poppy and the Evil princesses nodded.

Coco read off the first issue. "What do you plan to do with the recent closing of the Equestrian borders?" she turned to Poppy.

"Um...reopen them? They're how we do merchants trading, traveling and commerce with other nations; they shouldn't have been closed in the first place!" said Poppy. The crowd nodded and agreed with her, as did Coco.

Coco read off the next issue to Evil Celestia and Luna. "Where do you stand on religion and schools?"

Evil Luna's eyes suddenly widened. "Wait....ponies have religions? I mean, of course! Of course you, uh we, have religions."

Coco nodded. "Uh huh, and your stance on them and schools?" The crowd leaned in.

Sweat beaded at Evil Luna's brow. "Oh...um....sister?" she turned to Evil Celestia, who just shrugged. She rolled her eyes and went back to the crowd. "Religion is....good. And....so are schools?"

The crowd nodded and clapped at that. Evil Luna breathed a sigh of relief, as she moved back from the podium.

Coco read off the next issue to Poppy. "How would you solve the problem of travel within Ponyville?"

"Well that's easy" said Poppy. "Fix the pot holes on the road, so we don't trip over our hooves every time we have to lug a heavy carriage for a delivery, or are in the process of moving. More then that, have a weekly meeting with Mayor Mare to discuss what problems Ponyville currently has and work out a plan with her and it's citizens on how to best resolve them so everyone benefits."

The crowd clapped and cheered as Poppy smiled at them. Evil Celestia looked quite nervous now.

Coco then read off the next issue to Evil Celestia. "What Equestrian landmarks would you say should be rebuilt and refurbished?"

"Um...I would say that the schools should be the focus of refurbishment; education is our foal's future after all!" said Evil Celestia with a smile.

The crowd clapped at that, but Poppy raised an argument. "Whoa, whoa. Hang on a minute. "she said turning to Evil Celestia. "Not every school in Equestria needs refurbishment; we should focus on the one that's barely standing!"

"Hey! She's right!" said a colt in the crowd. "The old Perjorative University in Manehatten! That place has been falling apart for years now!"

"Yeah!" a mare agreed. "Celestia and Luna said they would be rebuilding it starting this month! And that was only a month ago!"

"So...why didn't she say that just now?" asked a nearby colt.

The crowd began to talk amongst themselves, some talking rather loudly about why indeed the princesses hadn't talked about the plans that they (Which of course refers to the real Celestia and Luna, before they went missing) had said they would put into action only a month ago.

But Evil Luna jumped to the podium. "We were planning on rebuilding the university, yes, but we thought we could take this opportunity to discuss other matters relating to schools who may also be in need of help! That's all."

The crowd accepted this, nodding and then applauding as Evil Luna sneered over at Poppy. Poppy only glared back, as she wasn't giving up just yet.

Coco read off the next issue to Poppy. "What is your overall plan for Equestria, should you be elected?"

"My overall plan hasn't been written yet." said Poppy. "Because rather then try to plan for a future I can't predict, I would rather prepare Equestria for a future where we won't have to; we will work together as one nation, and whatever problems may come, we will face them head on together, and resolve it as we would any problem."

The crowd cheered and clapped once again, some standing up and applauding even louder then before. Poppy didn't bother shooting a look at either of the evil princesses.

Coco then read the final issue off to Celestia and Luna. "Friendship is easily the biggest part of Equestria, and the thing that binds us together. Can you please state your opinion on the importance of friendship and it's place in your vision of Equestria?"

Evil Celestia froze at the podium, as she began to sweat profusely. Neither her, nor her sister knew anything at all about friendship; they hadn't been created with understanding or knowledge of the subject! Why would they? They were made to mentally enslave everyone, not....help them.

"Princess Celestia?" asked Coco. "Your statement please?" The crowd began to murmur amongst itself, unsure of what to think now.

Evil Celestia looked at her sister, who silently urged her to make something up. She looked over at Poppy, who shook her head. The Poppers only stuck their tongues out at her as she looked over to them.

She turned back to the crowd, and for the first time since she had been created only a week ago with her sister, she felt..."Why? Why do I have to enslave all these ponies? What if I really do want to help them, but I...can't; I wasn't made to. We weren't made to."

Evil Celestia looked out at the crowd of ponies, waiting to hear what she had to say. "Why do we have to be Evil Celestia and Evil Luna? Why can't we just be....Celestia and Luna?" she thought to herself. "Oh. Because we aren't them. We're fakes, pretending to be two princesses that actually care about their citizens, that know what friendship means. And since that's true....then who are we? Is this really all there is for us?"

"I....I don't want to do this anymore."

The crowd leaned in as Coco looked confused. "I'm sorry Princess, we didn't hear that last part. What did you say?"

Poppy had heard it though, and she turned to look at Evil Celestia as did Pears, Penny and the Poppers, who all thought they misheard her.

Evil Celestia wiped a tear from her eye as she said "I said, I don't want to do this anymore." she said loudly for the whole crowd to hear. She then stepped away from the podium. " We quit."

---

The crowd erupted into a volley of confused shouting, whispers and rapid-fire questions. As Evil Celestia turned to leave the stage, she was seized by her arm by Evil Luna who was outraged. "What the hell are you doing!?" she demanded in a hushed tone. "This isn't part of the plan!"

"No, we're part of the plan!" said Evil Celestia. "And I'm done being used to hurt people."

"You can't be serious." scoffed Evil Luna. "You actually care about these losers?"

"I....I don't know." said Evil Celestia sadly. "But I do know I don't want to keep lying to them, keep ignoring them when they need help, and I want to stop pretending that we're even worth being the princesses. We're not."

"So what!?" snapped Evil Luna. "We have our orders! You know what'll happen if we fail!"

Evil Celestia was at a loss, unable to know what to do. Or anything anymore.

But Poppy did. She moved from her podium over to the princesses in a huff. "Everyone!" everyone turned to listen. "Don't you see what's happening here? Why our beloved princesses are acting like this?"

"That's it." said Celestia softly.

"We're screwed." said Luna softly.

Poppy took a minute to make sure this was really what she wanted to say. "It's because....they're stressed!"

"WHAT??" said Penny, Pears, The Poppers, Evil Princess Celestia and Evil Princess Luna at the same time and equally as shocked.

Poppy pointed to Evil Celestia and Evil Luna who both stood agape at what Poppy had just said. "I mean look at them!" she cried. "Think of what thousands of years of ruling over an entire country will do you! Of course, you'll start making some questionable decisions, of course you'll start acting a little strange; that's what stress does!"

The crowd nodded as they began to talk amongst one another, that Poppy was right.

Luna leaned over to Poppy. "What are you playing at!?" she snapped quietly.

"Saving your flanks while also removing you from being a pain in mine." said Poppy without looking at Luna. Luna backed off and stared at Poppy as her sister did.

Poppy continued. "I propose that I be temporarily elected into the position of princess of Equestria, so that our beloved princesses can have a long-deserved rest and a break from having to run Equestria, for once. Who agrees?"

The crowd continued to chatted loudly amongst themselves.

"She has a point!" one mare said. "They must be super stressed out from having to do all that for thousands of years!"

"Yeah!" a stallion called. "They deserve a break from all their hard work!"

"A vacation! That's what they need! Poppy can take things over while they relax!"

The crowd all seemed to agree, and began to applaud Poppy for her suggestion. Poppy turned back to Celestia and Luna, who were at a loss for words. "What do you think, your highnesses?"

Evil Luna glared at her. "So this is your game now?" she snarled. "You think just because you've gotten all these sheep to listen to you, that we'll just back off now?"

"Hey!" Evil Luna turned to see that the crowd was listening. "We aren't sheep! We're ponies!" said a jock like colt in the front row.

Evil Luna clenched her teeth as she finally lost it. "No, y'know what? You idiots aren't even sheep!" she bellowed. "You are more akin to bacteria, crawling your way through life, completely mindlessly and with no sense of preservation! You all make me sick!"

The crowd gasped at Luna's outburst.

"I mean none of you," Luna continued. "None of you could even figure out that we were clones, this whole time! JUST HOW STUPID ARE ALL OF YOU!?"

The crowd froze, all eyes on Evil Luna as she stood there hunched over, wings out, and breathing heavily.

Then one guy said. "Whew! Now we know they need a vacation!" he laughed. The crowd laughed and joked with him.

"Seriously!" a mare said. "It must be way more stressful then we thought being the princesses."

"I'm voting we let Poppy have a run at it!" an elder stallion said "Let our princesses have some time off!"

The crowd then began to cheer and clap for Princess Luna, as if she had just declared it to be national ice cream day.

"W-Wha...?" Evil Luna stood on stage, her eyes wide and worried. "Whats....what's happening right now?" she asked softly as the crowd continued to cheer for her and her sister.

"You don't get it?" asked Poppy with a grin. "Now that they know you guys aren't yourselves, they want you to take a break; relax and take time away from ruling Equestria. Just goes to show how well-loved Princess Celestia and Princess Luna really are to Equestria and it's citizens." Poppy then took this time to tilt her head to the side and smile. "And you know what that means."

Evil Princess Luna and Evil Princess Celestia could only look at her with fear in their eyes as they realized; They did.

---

An hour later, after Evil Celestia and Evil Luna had left at the behest of a cheering crowd wishing them a fun and relaxing vacation. (And after Evil Luna swore coarsely in their direction as she trudged through the Canterlot gates with her sister) Poppy Blossom was sworn in as the new temporary Princess of Equestria, putting a stop to the evil plans set by the creator of Evil Princess Celestia and Luna and the mastermind behind the mass hypnotism conspiracy that threatened the world. However, even as Poppy celebrated her victory in her new office, with her new royal cabinet, things weren't over just yet.

---

Chuckles sat at the table, flanked by two burly guards, as Evil Celestia and Evil Luna sat on the couch in front of him, looking down at their hooves in shame. "So..." he started, glaring at them. "You two have somehow failed in literally the one thing you were even created for. How is that?"

"It wasn't our fault!" cried Evil Luna. "That delivery mare was-

Chuckles slammed his hoof down on the table. "Again, with this delivery mare excuse!" she yelled. "No, you two failed because your worthless! Nothing but cheap knock-offs!"

Evil Luna opened her mouth to say something but decided not to.

"And now," said Chuckles pulling out what appeared to be a large red button. "We have to clean up your mess." He pressed it and the ground began to rumble and shake. Not just in the bunker they were in, but throughout all of Equestria.

"Let's see that mare run Equestria," he smiled evilly. "When there is no more Equestria."

Successful Delivery!

- On Time Percentage: 100%

- Issues: None

- Complaints: None

- Rank: A

Delivery #4 of 6 Completed

Comments

[Fetch]

That book title... GUARDS! SEIZE HUE HUMBLE! And pulp all copies of his book.

(I am against book burning. Much better to pulp bad books and make paper to print better books)

Yes, I accuse Hue Humble of brainwashing Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

[Starlight Nova]

Was making each chapter progressively shorter intentional?

[XombieSlayr]

9279055
Nope. Just sort of worked out that way. ^^

But Delivery #4 is just barely getting started! We'll see how long it is afterwards.

[Ri2]

So...where are the real Celestia and Luna?