CelesTea

by Zeitless

II

BEEP . . . BEEP . . . BEEP . . . BEE--

click

"Ugh, is it already 1pm? 'Tis feels like I barely slept an hour." Her sisters voice pushed down from the matress above.

"Oh, good morning Luna! Don't worry, sister, it's only six thirty in the morning." Celestia explained. "Have you been up all night again?"

More annoyed by the mixture of cheer and worry in Celestia's voice than by her own interrupted sleep Luna let out a groan, turned over and tried to enter her sweet dreams again.

However, listening to her sister getting up and realising that soon she'd also be moving around the apartment quickly caused Luna to find her hopes would be to no avail.

"I had to conquer the Rift of Thimore before the event for the legendary Sword of Thousand Truths ended," though it's not like thou ever carest. Luna finished the thought in her mind. She sighed. "Why art thou up already? And why set the alarm-clock if thou anyway rises up before the sun herself does?" Luna didn't even try to hide her vexation.

"Well, my dear sister, ever since I do not have to raise the sun anymore I found myself waking up a little later every day. Just last saturday my nose was tickled awake by some warm rays of the sun." Celestia let out a light chuckle. "Is that not a funny change of roles after all those centuries?" She turned her face up towards the upper level of the loft bed.

Dry as the desert the voice from above answered "Indeed it is, sister."

Why can't she just for once speak like a normal pony would. This cheery attitude will drive me insane. At least the room was still dark and the window covered completely by the curtain. Still, sharing a loft bed with her sister was something Luna definitely would require time to get used to.

"Also I have got a store to run!" Celestias enthusiasm grew even larger.

After the delivery yesterday she spent the rest of the day organizing and re-organizing the shelves with the different kinds of teabags until she eventually settled for sorting by aroma. It would make it easier for ponies to find the flavor they're looking for.

Luna groaned once again. It hasn't been just a bad dream. Celestia actually spent most of their money on this teastore.
Ever since the princesses retired they've been living off a government fund to get started until they find their own source of income. After all it would paint a controversial image if the loyal subjects of Equestria would pay their taxes to finance the eternal lives of their former rulers just so these wouldn't have to work. Hence reasoned on not wanting to risk unnecessary troubles they both agreed on renting a small 4-room apartment on the outskirts of Manehatten.

As Celestia stepped out the door she turned her head back to face her still sleepy sister: "Do you want to join me for breakfast? I think some lovely syrup pancakes would be just right to start this memorable day!"

Luna shuffled herself deeper below her blanket before again finding it would be to no avail. Leaving the warm cover of her bed for some pancakes is arguably a good decision but her growling stomache gave the winning argument. "I suppose some pancakes would indeed be quite lovely."

As her younger sister got out of bed Celestia made her way through the living room into the kitchen. With only four rooms in the apartment the remaining one was a small bathroom; although Luna had also managed to repurpose the former boxroom into her gaming chamber.

Albeit it being rather tiny the apartment was furnished quite cozily. Shy light of the morning sun shone through the windows and brightened the room into vivid colors. A new wooden table and its two seating pillows had their place in the front of the kitchen counter. Between the two a tall potflower found its place to grow.

Celestia stepped beyond the counter and started to prepare the meal.

Luna on the other hoof took her time getting ready. She intuitively went through her routine of checking in on social media every morning.

However the smell of fresh pancakes eventually got the better of her and pulled her out of the comfy bed. Guided by the aroma of sweet syrup and warm pancakes Luna took rest opposite of her sister in front of the window.

"Thank you for the breakfast, Tia." Luna lifted a pancake near her mouth, took a large bite and quickly gulped it down. "Those are delicious!" Even after the grumpy wake-up call she couldn't deny that there was a familiar and trusted flavor within them.

"You're welcome, dear sister." Celestia took a bite herself. "I got a hold of the syrup the chef back in Canterlot used. Even after leaving most of our lives behind the food is simply too good to not take along," she gave a warm smile, "don't you agree?"

Luna nodded while chewing on another bite. Upon swallowing she narrowed her eyes and asked: "How did you manage to do that? I was to believe the chef even created the syrup himself back then."

"Well, while commissioning the tea delivery for yesterday I wondered whether I could get a hold of where our former chef got my favourite tea flavors. So I sent him a letter and it turns out he started his own restaurant chain in Fillydelphia." Celestia took another bite before going on. "We talked a little about how he got started and eventually I asked him if he could give us one more bottle of his syrup."

Luna's face now also wore smile. But only a few seconds later the realisation overcame her: "Does this mean it's the last bottle we have now?" She waited for her sister to answer while looking onto her remaining two pancakes with her own shadow resting on top of it. A weak reflection glimmered from the texture of the syrup.

"Yes it is. So let us enjoy this meal to full extend." Celestia took her next bite and spent her time munching on it in order to savor the taste. Luna mirrored her sister. After all they might not experience such divine flavor that often as soon as the government fund runs out.

After finishing her plate Celestia looked up and outside the window behind Luna. The sun had risen up and the sky was bright and clear. The colors had grown even more alive throughout the meal and it seemed like this would become a wonderful day.

"To be honest, sister, I am quite nervous about today." Celestia's smile hid as her eyebrows furrowed. "It is the first day of me running the store and opening up for the public. I hope everything will be fine."

Luna - taken out of her dreamland and right back into the reality once again - still couldn't believe that Celestia spent most of their savings into opening her own tea store. At the same time Luna knew how important it was for this project to work out so that they both would at least have some sort of income. After swallowing her last bite Luna mustered up her at least partially honest positivity: "I'm sure you got this, sister. After all you do like your tea a lot, and so do many more ponies out there."

"Thank you, Luna." Celestia's face loosened up for a few silent seconds. Then it returned to a frown. "But what if the ponies here enjoy different tea than back in Canterlot? They also are usually rather busy around the streets so what if they don't like tea at all?" Her frown deepened into a mess of worry and fear.

Oh now she's really overreacting. Why am I even being this supportive. But well, don't wanna start a fight with her on her big day. With a slight tone of annoyance Luna let out another quick "it'll be fine, sister. Really," teleported her plate into the kitchen and made for her bed.

Unknowing of how to respond to whatever had happened within her sister Celestia took a leap of faith and hoped it would go as Luna predicted. After washing the dishes, showering and brushing her teeth she left the apartment and to Luna's pleasure finally let her sleep in peace.

Author's Note:

Orignally wanted to fit the first day working at CelesTea into this chapter too but the morning conversation proved longer than expected. So I decided to split them into seperate chapters and provide an update ASAP. Thanks for reading on everyone!

Comments

[DefiantPosition]

This is coming along really nicely. I can't wait for what shenanigans will happen during Celestia's first day.

[Pete100]

Is this going to continue?