• Published 25th Dec 2011
  • 10,574 Views, 425 Comments

Stuck In The Middle With You - Vargras



Luna opens a summer camp, but the campers who sign up certainly aren't who she expects.

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Day 1 - Orientation

This was it - the big day. Over the past few days, Luna had gradually changed her own sleep schedule to one that reflected her sister's own hours. After all, it made little sense for her to still be up and about during the night when her own guests likely couldn't stay up that long. She had given the guards implicit instructions to only bring the guests to the throne room when all of them were present, and the young Princess anxiously sat beside her elder sibling as she awaited the new arrivals. Celestia herself currently occupied the throne, and she smiled as she continued to watch her sister fidget. "You seem nervous, little sister."

"Oh, it's not like I am or anything. Just trying to make sure everything is perfect and I don't make myself look like an absolute foal in front of my guests!"

"...I'm sensing some sarcasm."

Luna glanced over at her sister, laughing softly before replying. "I'm surprised you didn't get a cutie mark in stating the obvious."

Celestia rolled her eyes in response, eliciting another laugh from her sister. As the doors to the throne room swung open, however, Luna let out a gasp and quickly hopped to her hooves, making her way down the stairs to greet the new arrivals. Through the doorway, seven ponies slowly made their way into the hall - six of them had been here before, but the seventh gradually began to lag behind the others, in awe of everything he saw. One of the guards stepped forward and began to shout as each of the guests steadily made their way towards the Princess of the Night. "Now entering! Miss Twilight Sparkle, Miss Applejack, Miss Rarity, Miss Rainbow Dash, Miss Fluttershy, Miss Pinkie Pie, and Mister... um, Pip."

Luna had to try her hardest to stifle a laugh upon hearing the guard struggle with the last announcement, and a quick glance over her shoulder showed her that Celestia was having difficulty holding back a guffaw. She turned back towards the seven ponies, smiling warmly at them as they all gave her a bow. "Rise, all of you. There's no need for formalities here. For the entirety of the week, all of you may simply call me 'Luna'. The title isn't necessary, and I'd actually prefer if you didn't use it, though that may be habit for some of you."

Twilight Sparkle grinned sheepishly, drawing a few glances from the rest of the group. Luna quietly coughed to regain their attention, and she soon continued.

"Regardless, welcome - whether this is your first visit to the castle or not, I hope all of you enjoy yourselves. Now, you all seem to be well acquainted with one another, so let me show you around." Luna made her way towards the group and slipped past them, slowly leading them out of the throne room as she gave them a tour of the 'camp' itself. Before Pip was even given the chance to move, Luna had already picked up the young colt with her magic and had placed him upon her back. "You'll have a better view from up there. Just... mind the wings."

Celestia watched from her place on the throne, faintly grinning as her sister and her guests left the room and began their walk around the castle. The white alicorn slowly shook her head and chuckled to herself, far too amused with things. "And now we wait and see if you've gotten in over your head."

This was going to be entirely too much fun.

-----

"And we conclude the tour with your quarters, where all of you will be staying for the duration of the camp. Are there any questions?"

Pinkie Pie, from her spot in the back, raised a hoof.

Luna sighed. "No, Pinkie Pie, there are no 'cake dispensers' within the castle. Are there any other questions?"

The pink earth pony put her hoof down, though her spot was soon replaced by a cyan hoof. Rainbow Dash stared at the Princess, an eyebrow raised. "So, wait - you said this was where 'all of you' will be staying, meaning us. Where are you gonna be sleeping at?"

"I'll be staying within my own room. If you ever need to find it for whatever reason, Twilight Sparkle knows the way. In fact, considering how often she's been here before, you can probably ask her to point you in the direction of just about anything within the castle." Luna grinned at the lavender mare, who simply let out a sigh of defeat. "Any other questions? I uh... didn't have anything planned for today aside from the orientation, so if there's no further questions, the rest of you are free to wander about and explore."

They all stayed silently and slowly began to wander off in small groups, most of them eager to explore the castle. One pony stayed behind, however - Rarity. After the others had left, she cautiously approached the Princess and gave her another bow out of courtesy. "I... don't think we've been properly introduced, your Majes- Luna."

Luna snickered and smiled. The correction had been unnecessary, but appreciated nonetheless. "I don't believe we have, Rarity. I don't think I saw you when I visited Ponyville on Night Mare Night, but I did see the rest of your friends in one form or another. Where were you?"

"Oh. That." The white mare grinned and nervously tapped her hooves together. "I... may have fallen asleep while on the job."

"On the job? Care to elaborate?"

"I'm something of a fashionista. It's what I do. Anyways, I had been up the entire night before while working on an order for a client in Canterlot, and I may have dozed off."

The Princess of the Night grinned mischievously and leaned over towards the unicorn. "You are aware that you fell asleep on my holiday, are you not?"

Given that it was Rarity's first formal meeting with Luna, she wasn't quite aware of the Princess' playful side. As such, she found herself nervously backing away from the alicorn. "Oh, I'm... terribly sorry, your Majesty! I-I had no idea! I can make it up to you! Really!"

"Nothing can make up for this now. Nothing. Rarity..." Luna had continually stepped forwards throughout it all and had backed the unicorn into a corner. With the grin never leaving her face, she leaned over towards the white mare, who was now shaking with fear. As her plan fell into place, the Princess of the Night softly whispered into her ear. "...I lied."

Rarity blinked. "...p-pardon?"

"I said I lied. Night Mare Night isn't really my holiday. Ohh, you should've seen the look on your face when I first said that! I'm sorry, but I couldn't pass that opportunity up." She giggled and held out a hoof towards Rarity. "But really, it's awfully nice to meet you. Twilight's mentioned so much about her friends in all of her letters."

"I, uh... has she now?" Rarity was nervously laughing at this point, and she slowly placed a hoof out to meet the Princess' own. "What kind of things has she told you?"

Luna gave a very slight shrug and smiled at the unicorn, doing her best to ease Rarity's nervousness. It seemed to work, too. "All kinds of things, really. She's told me about how wonderful and caring all of you are, and about the things you've all learned from one another. I've seen the friendship reports a few times myself - quite impressive. But enough about that, I won't keep you here any longer. You're probably eager to look around a bit, aren't you?"

"Oh, yes! Definitely!" The white mare dropped to the floor and looked up at the Princess. "I just wanted to tha-"

"Rarity. Don't kiss my hooves. Please."

Rarity blinked and slowly stood back up, her face slightly red as she glanced up at Luna. "I'm guessing your sister... told you about that?"

The Princess of the Night giggled and nodded, and Rarity gave another bow before quickly departing. With her guests now wandering the castle, there wasn't much of a point for Luna to simply stand there. She turned and began to slowly walk back to her room, eager for some free time of her own. If she were lucky, she might be able to finish a painting or two before one of them showed up with questions. Maybe she would actually have paints this time - it was rather odd, but Celestia had been painting more and more often herself, steadily advancing her skill. It hadn't been nearly as quick as her, but it was still progress, and she was quite happy to have another common interest with her elder sister. One question was still on her mind, however.

"What to use for a subject..."

-----

Like it or not, Twilight Sparkle had inadvertently become a tour guide. She was currently busy leading the rest of her friends and Pip around the castle, showing them the many rooms and facilities. It hadn't been entertaining for all of them - Rainbow Dash looked like she was on the verge of falling asleep - but many of them had appreciated it nonetheless. Not surprisingly, they all had favorites of their own. Pinkie Pie, in a twist none of them had seen coming, liked the kitchen. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, considering how physical both of them were, preferred the training field. She herself had always enjoyed the Royal Library, and Pip apparently liked the observatory the most. Their interests, it seemed, were as varied as their own personalities. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie had already broken away to explore a bit on their own, leaving Twilight and Pip to wander together.

Similar to the tour with Luna, Pip was currently riding on Twilight's back. It gave him a better vantage point, and it meant he wouldn't have to struggle to keep up. Twilight glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled. "You seem to be enjoying yourself, Pip. Ever think you'd get to come here?"

"Never! I didn't think they made places this big!" The colt could hardly hold back his enthusiasm, and it was enough to make the lavender mare giggle.

"Well, I know why the others like the places that they do. Rainbow and Applejack are both pretty athletic, and Pinkie is... well, she loves food, so no surprise there. But why do you like the observatory so much?"

Pip shrugged and continued to look around at the walls of the castle. "I dunno. Just do! Where are we going next?"

"I'm gonna stop by Luna's room and see what she's up to. I've seen Celestia's room, but I never really got to see what her sister's looked like." The lavender mare continued onwards, the colt carefully balancing upon her back as the two of them roamed the halls of the castle. Celestia had once told Twilight where Luna's room was, but had never actually shown it to her - the unicorn's keen memory of both the directions and the castle layout ensured that they would be able to find it without too much trouble. Considering that the number of guards had steadily risen as they neared their destination, Twilight was fairly certain she was headed in the right direction. The pair slowly approached one of the rooms, a silver moon hanging above the doorway - this had to be it. Twilight gently picked up Pip with her magic and set him upon the ground, and both ponies cautiously approached the doorway. Though it was ajar, and technically open, Celestia had warned her in advance that Luna valued her privacy whenever she actually managed to have it. As quietly as possible, they both peeked past the door and into the room, and Twilight let out a quiet gasp.

She knew that Luna was quite the artist, as she had received several paintings from the Princess of the Night before. This, however, was jaw-dropping. Luna's room may as well have been an art studio, as paintings and drawings covered nearly every inch of the walls, all of them made by the young Princess. Numerous canvases lay propped against the walls, and the desk was covered in pencils, paints, brushes, and papers. The Princess herself currently sat on a stool, hard at work on another painting. The most incredible part about it, for Twilight, was the speed at which Luna worked - she had scarcely been gone for an hour or so, and already she had managed to nearly complete something that the lavender mare might call a masterpiece.

"You can come in, you know."

Both Twilight and Pip let out a yelp, and Pip backed away from the door while the unicorn cautiously poked her head in. "We're so sorry, Luna. We weren't trying to spy on you, we just didn't want to-"

"Disturb me? I appreciate the thought, Twilight Sparkle, but it's quite alright. I've never really had an audience anyways. C'mon in." Despite the brush in her mouth, Luna's enunciation had been as clear as always, and she snickered and shook her head before returning to her work. Pip had managed to slip past Twilight and had already taken a seat beside Luna, eagerly watching her paint while Twilight wandered about the room, inspecting everything the Princess had ever drawn or painted.

"Whatcha drawing, Luna?" True to his age, Pip was immensely curious about everything around him, and he had already taken a keen interest in what the Princess was working on.

Luna looked down to his place at her side and smiled. "I'm working on a landscape."

"Of what?"

"Just something I thought up in my head. It doesn't really exist." She put the final few touches on the painting, finishing up her work. It had originally just started as some mountains, but she had soon added some fog, as well as a rising sun peeking out past the jagged peaks. It was a rather peaceful scene, filled with a wide spectrum of colors. She carefully put the brush down upon the easel and eyed her work, smiling as she glanced over her shoulder. "Come here, Twilight. I wanna know what you think of this."

It was clear that Pip already approved of the painting, but she also wanted the unicorn's opinion on it. Twilight Sparkle slowly approached and looked over the picture, her mouth agape. "Luna, it's... it's beautiful. All of these paintings are."

Luna smiled and laughed as she picked up the painting with her magic and carefully set it aside. "Thank you. It's not often that I get compliments from ponies other than my sister. The painting is yours, if you want."

"Wait, really?" Twilight had initially seemed shocked by such an offer, but it was soon replaced by a slight frown. "That's... awfully generous of you, Luna. I just don't know how I could repay it."

"Oh, I think I know how. In exchange for the painting, you and Pip both have to be my friends." The Princess closed her eyes and smiled, pleased with how clever her little plan was.

"...um, Luna? I thought we already were your friends."

She opened her eyes and blinked for a moment - she hadn't really considered that. All this time, she had merely thought of them as being acquaintances, and yet they had been... friends? Part of Luna felt stupid for being so oblivious, but she felt so very happy to know that she already had friends before the first day was even over. "Oh. Right! Well then, um... I guess that's settled then!"

"Luna?" Pip reached up and gave her mane a gentle tug, causing her to look down at him. "Do you think you could maybe paint another picture?"

"...another? I... suppose I could. Twilight Sparkle, would you like to watch me work again?"

The unicorn smiled and gave a very slight bow to the Princess. "I'd be honored to, your Majesty."

"Oh stop that. I'm not my sister, you know. Come, have a seat." The Princess of the Night beckoned the lavender mare over, who took a seat beside Pip. It was somewhat odd, really - for the first time, she was going to have an actual audience while she worked, but she didn't mind. After all, she was spending time with friends.

To say she was overjoyed would be an understatement.