Breaking Stone

by Takarashi282

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Sister!”

Celestia woke up with a jolt, heart pounding at her rude awakening. The fog in her mind had cleared when she remembered where she was. A long table shot down the oblong room, each seat filled by world leaders—Yakyakistan, Saddle Arabia, the Crystal Empire, Griffinstone, the Dragonlands—all staring at her as she became painfully self aware.

“Is our input boring you, highness?” Princess Ember snarled, smoke pluming from her nostrils. She crossed her arms across her pale underbelly, pinkish scales lining her arms and back.

“O-of course not!” Celestia stammered. “Please forgive my nodding off. I…”

Her face burned in embarrassment as her sentence trailed off. How could she have fallen asleep? She’d not done it before. She bit her lip as she attempted, “I-I…”

“My sister thinks it would be wise to call a break,” Luna blurted, hoof in the air. She smiled sheepishly as her astral mane settled from the sudden movement. “After all, we’ve been at it for no less than…” She looked around the room, scanning the walls as if looking for a clock.

“Fifteen minutes?” Cadence offered, holding up a golden-clad hoof in a shrug.

“... Fifteen minutes,” Luna repeated slowly. She stood from her chair, nudging Celestia with her shoulder. “And a five minute recess would be enough time for her to pour herself some coffee so that she doesn’t fall asleep again. Are we correct, sister?”

Celestia couldn’t help but notice her grunting the last few sentences through her teeth. Luna nudged her again, her sister’s shoulder smacking against hers. The princess of the sun mimicked her sheepish expression. “Yes, a five-minute coffee break would be wonderful.” She nudged her sister back with the same force.

The meeting room fell silent, everycreature there staring perplexed at the less-than-dynamic duo.

“I suppose a five minute break would be fair,” Gruff responded slowly. He stretched his claws outward, his greyish feathers standing on end. “Would allow me to work out this crick in my neck.”

“Then it’s decided!” Luna sped, yanking her sister to her hooves. Celestia’s heart jumped, her vision suddenly tunnelling due to the rapid change in position. She stumbled to the side, taking a wide stance as Luna announced, “We will continue momentarily!,” lit her horn, and teleported to her chambers in a blinding flash of light.

Celestia licked the telltale metallic taste out of her mouth as Luna zoomed to a coffee maker on her desk, snatching a dark mug from beside it. At the same time, she punctured a small cup and placed it at the top of the maker before simultaneously pressing the button and moving the mug underneath.

Celestia squinted. The room was darker than the conference room, the dim lighting, the dark purple hues and furnishings making the chambers night-like. Her sister’s crescent-moon bed gave off a silvery glow, scattering across the marble floor as if it were a thin sheet of water.

“I see that you have the ritual down pat,” Celestia remarked.

“Trust me,” Luna replied, still talking at the speed of light, “I live off of this stuff.” It was only then that Luna’s movement slowed down, and she let out a gargantuan sigh. “Sister.”

“Yes?”

“You stink. Have you taken a bath today?”

“Uh…”

“Also, you were unprepared. Have you not taken after your subject and bring a pen and paper with you to these things?”

“I was in quite a hurry…”

“Of course you were,” Luna snapped.

For a moment, the only noise in the room was the coffee maker pouring its dark contents into the mug below. A crescent moon and accompanying stars began to glow on the side of the mug as it heated up.

“Look, Celestia,” Luna continued after a deep breath. She placed her hoof on her sister’s shoulder, looking her dead in her tired eyes. “We’ve discussed this before. We’re tired. You’re undoubtedly tired. You’ve been princess for more than fifteen hundred years.”

“Luna, I know what you’re going to say,” Celestia interrupted, her gut churning at her words. She backed up from her consoling hoof.

“And we will continue to say it until you see,” Luna persisted, stepping closer. “It’s time that we step down. That we retire.”

The princess of the sun groaned, turning away.

“You’ve been preparing Twilight for this moment, have you not!” Luna exclaimed, trotting up to her sister’s side. “She’s nearly there, and you won’t give up the throne.”

“She still has a little ways to go,” Celestia blurted, her heart pounding in her throat. “After all, I still need to take care of some things before I pass the crown off to her.”

Luna glanced at her with an arched eyebrow. After a moment, she sighed. “You’ve been saying that for the past few moons,” she muttered. She turned back around to the coffee machine, moving over the filled mug and placing yet another under it.

The princess of the sun frowned, and her heart once again began to slow. “You know, if you want to retire before me, you can.”

Her sister froze, one hoof on the table, and suddenly coughed out in laughter. “O-oh, oh no, we’re not leaving you on your lonesome here.” She cleared her throat, reloading the coffee machine before pressing the mix button once more. “We’ve been away far too long to just leave you again two years in. We’ll remain until you decide it’s time to retire. Hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.”

Celestia opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, a guard burst through the door to the chamber, gasping for breath. Golden armor wrapped around the crest of his back, contrasting with his brown coat. He clumsily yanked off his helmet to reveal a black mane and pale blue eyes. “Princesses! Urgent news from Saddle Arabia!”

“What is it?” the sisters said in unison, Celestia’s heart jumping into her throat once again.

“A search party was found dead in a sandstorm!” the guard wheezed. “They figure… that the attack was caused by a magical creature!”

Celestia and Luna glanced at each other and nodded. “We will investigate,” Celestia said. “Is the leader secure?”

The guard nodded. “He has been moved to the west wing, accompanied by five troops.”

“Good,” Luna replied. She smirked at Celestia. “No time for coffee, we suppose?”

“Not at all,” the princess of the sun said gravely. She lit her horn, and they disappeared from Luna’s chambers in a flash of light.

Comments

[Ri2]

Wait, why are they going to look into this instead of dispatching the girls? Since when do they ever get off their rears to help?