A Sister’s Helping Hoof

by RoyalPonySisters

Chapter 2

After informing the core Castle staff about the changes for the day, Luna trotted back to the dining area to fetch her sister’s list. The first few items of business weren’t too bad- raise the sun (already done), cook breakfast (too late for that now), and attend a tree planting ceremony (boring, but doable). It was the next task on the list that really filled her stomach with a sense of dread: Review Tax Policy Changes With Paper Cut in Meeting Room 3.

Paper Cut was the Royal Tax advisor and he was about as pleasant as his name suggested. He was a short, stocky Unicorn with a pale gray coat, stringy blue hair, and a sheath of papers for his cutie mark. He was already sitting in Meeting Room 3 with some others, in a plain gray room with a long table and some graphs up, which just about represented his personality. When he saw the Lunar Princess enter the room he frowned.

Try to be pleasant, Luna heard Celestia’s voice in her head, and resisted the urge to return his gesture. With a forced smile on her face, she said, “Good morning, Paper Cut. I am here to discuss the finalization of some policy changes regarding the-“ she glanced down at the list- “tax status of ancient buildings in Canterlot that have been converted.” Well, at least I know ancient buildings, she thought gamely.

Paper Cut ignored her attempts at friendliness and stared at her, “Princess Luna, where is Princess Celestia? I was under the impression she would be leading this forum?” His tone was quite accusatory.

Luna did not attempt to transfigure him into one of his precious piles of paper, which she would then flush down a toilet. Instead, she straightened her back and stated calmly, “My sister was not feeling well this morning, so I am filling in for her. I do hope that is alright with all of you. Now, to business!”

Paper Cut reacted to the news with dismay. “The Princess is ill? I have known her for many, many years now and she has never been ill. This is quite concerning... if it is indeed true.” Luna did not miss the subtext at the end of his comment.

“I didn’t even know Alicorns could get sick!” somepony said, who Luna later recognized as the deputy governor of Canterlot, Turning Gears.

“Has she seen a doctor? Is it serious?” somepony else asked.

“Ponies.” Luna said firmly. “My sister and I can take ill, just like any other pony in Equestria, but it happens quite rarely, only once or twice a century perhaps, so it makes sense that none of you are familiar with it happening. It is not a cause for alarm. Celestia has not seen a doctor, but I can assure you, should she need one, she has access to the best medical care in Equestria. I would like to repeat that this is not a cause for alarm. Now, if we could begin going over the upcoming policy changes....”

Paper Cut sighed, “If the Princess is truly sick, I would prefer to hear so from her personal physician- or at the very least, to see a document from him attesting to her condition. Nevertheless- let us begin.”

Luna tried her best to pay attention to the monotonous conversation that followed, but participating in a discussion on something extremely boring, that one is also unfamiliar with, can be quite difficult.

“Now, Canterlot buildings normally are under the jurisdiction of the Canterlot Municipality, but some of these buildings are so old they are from the time that Canterlot Castle controlled the city directly,” Turning Gears began. “That means they follow the rules of Part 1, Section IV, subclause B.2 in the Equestrian tax code. But Canterlot buildings follow the Canterlot Municipality tax code rather than federal law, and Canterlot law also governs building renovations. The question is at what point is something considered a new building? And of course I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Preservation of Equestrian Architecture Act of 883 CE (Celestial Era) which also governs...”

Luna could feel her lack of sleep catching up to her as he droned on. Pay attention! she chastised herself, but it was hard to muster up the ability to care about which tax systems some old buildings in Canterlot followed.

“...and of course, if you destroy everything but only keep part of the foundations it can’t really be considered the same building,” Straight Corner, who had introduced himself as an architect and historian, continued. “But a lot of the owners want to keep the benefits of part B.2.2, so they’ll claim it is. Now, the Equestrian Architectural Society released new guidelines 5 years ago on when a building can be considered new or not, so if we incorporate that into B.2...”

“...amending B.2.2 will be complicated because of the exceptions to B.2a, but I think this can work out.” Paper Cut finished. He raised his eyebrow at Luna. “Well? What do you think? Do you approve?”

Luna looked around quickly, at all the ponies staring at her expectantly. “Uhh, yes, it sounds- wonderful! Thank you so much everypony for your hard work, and now I am ready to dismiss this meeting. Dismissed!” She galloped out of Meeting Room 3 as fast as she could.

The next item on the list was to greet the patrons coming to meet Celestia in the throne room. Some of them wanted pardons, others wanted her blessings on newborn foals, some brought gifts. This was one task nopony could substitute in for. Luna had her own time for patrons in the night, and the ones coming in during the day wanted to meet with Celestia specifically. Knowing this, when she informed the Castle staff that she was taking her sister’s place, they made sure to cancel the event. Nonetheless, some of the most persistent petitioners had still shown up and were refusing to leave the throne room. Luna figured now was a good time to check in with her sister about how the day was progressing.

She knocked delicately on the doors to her sister’s bedchambers, flicking her ears back to listen for a response. She thought she heard the faint stirrings of a pony who had just been woken. Feeling guilty, she tried to quietly slink away, but then she heard a voice say “Sister?” Resigning herself to the fact that she had awoken her sister, she responded, “Yes, it is I. May I enter?”

“You may,” the voice replied, so she trotted in.

Celestia was sitting up in her bed, so perhaps she hadn’t just woken up. “How are you feeling, Sister?” Luna asked.

“About the same as before,” Celestia admitted. “But I will grant you, it is a good deal more pleasant to be in bed.”

Luna smiled, “I am glad I could help.”

Celestia looked intently at Luna. “But enough about me. Tell me how the day is going. I assume my patrons have been told to leave?”

“Yes, as early as possible, although some of them still insisted on showing up to nothing. They could not believe you were absent. I believe some of them are still here.”

Celestia sighed. “I expected as much. I hope everything else has gone well?”

“I think so,” Luna said. “The tree planting was uneventful, and the tax meeting was fine, although Paper Cut was rather rude to me. He implied I had made up your illness and demanded I produce a doctor’s note. Truthfully, I do not know how you tolerate him.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Celestia said. “I do hope you didn’t take it personally. He treats most ponies like that. In any case, I’m glad to hear the meeting went well. We’ve been working on that for so long. I assume that means they’ve been able to resolve the issues of B.2.2?”

“Uhh... yes?” Luna guessed. She hadn’t expected to be quizzed on the meeting.

“Luna,” a harsh note entered Celestia’s voice. “Did you pay attention at the meeting?”

“Kind of?” Luna admitted. “I tried to pay attention, ‘Tia, but it was so long and boring, and I hardly knew what they were talking about anyways. Why does it matter so much?”

Celestia looked angry. “Because you are supposed to be helping me by reducing my work, not creating more. This is an extremely complex topic that needed to be handled carefully and you didn’t do that. Now I’m going to have to deal with a mess after problems inevitably arise.”

“I cannot do everything perfectly on my first try, Celestia!” Luna said in frustration. “But do remember that I am only trying to help you!”

Celestia sighed. “I know. That’s why I said that letting you run things was a bad idea, so I guess I’ve only got myself to blame for this. It’s not really your fault.”

For some reason, being absolved of guilt made Luna feel worse. Was that truly how her sister viewed her? As inevitably doomed to mess things up? She felt both a rush of determination to show Celestia that she could do things right, that her sister could rely on her, as well as as a burning tiredness and a desire to quit while she was ahead. The feelings mixed to combine into a righteous anger, and she narrowed her eyes at her sister defiantly. “I will ask one of the waiters to fetch you some soup, and I will continue with your duties. I am perfectly capable of performing them, and you should rest instead of complaining so much. Goodbye!” She cantered out gaily, as if Celestia wasn’t even there and nothing had upset her. When she saw the door about to slam behind her, she made no attempt to stop it.