The Gift of Life

by hell00001

Chapter 3: The Royal Babysitter

The Gift of Life Chapter 3

One year later…

“Now, Celestia, are you sure you can watch Luna while Meadow Free and Regality finish up running some errands in another part of the castle?” Queen Galactica said, staring into a mirror as she applied eyeliner. A note lie next to her that indicated that King Sol was off on a diplomatic mission to the Griffon Kingdoms to secure a much needed trade route through their mountains, so the Queen was left to running Equestria on her own.

“Don’t worry, Mother!" Celestia exclaimed. "I can take care of my little sister just fine.”

Celestia stood straight at attention behind her mother with a face set with determination. Galactica whirled around, and giggled at the sight of her daughter. She bent her head down, and kissed Celestia on the cheek.

“Oh who am I kidding?" Galactica said. "I have the most responsible daughter in the world. To tell the truth, I would trust you to guard a post over some of these Royal Guards walking around the palace.”

Celestia beamed, and nuzzled her mother against one of her front legs. She had grown over the past year. It was not by much, but there was a slight difference in her height as the tip of her horn now reached just above Galactica’s knee.

“Hm, we should give you a royal title for this job you are to undertake," Galactica mused, looking at Celestia. "Looking after a royal princess filly is no easy task you know.”

“But aren’t I already a princess?” Celestia asked.

“True, that you are. However, this is a different job from being a princess. You are like a babysitter. You are to babysit the filly, Princess Luna!”

Celestia hopped in place, and her wings fluttered against her sides, and she said, "Oh! This is like a real job! What will my title be? What is it going to be!

“How would you like to be called The Royal Babysitter?” said as she sat down on her stomach.

Celestia hopped in place once again, smiling, and said, “Yes! I like that title.”

“It’s settled then," Galactica declared, smiling, "I, Queen Galactica, Queen of Equestria, Defender of Beauty and Justice, Mother to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, do hereby dub thee, Princess Celestia, Princess of Equestria and Assaulter of the Royal Jar, Sister to Princess Luna, and Daughter of Queen Galatica and King Sol, the Royal Babysitter for the regal Princess Luna!”

Galactica brought her horn down to touch each of Celestia's shoulders. Celestia was grinning ear to ear at her mother, and each time her mother's horn touched one of her shoulders, her wings fluttered more. Once her mother had finished, Celestia dashed forward and hugged her mother’s neck tightly.

“Thank you!”

Galactica smiled down at her daughter, and said, “Don’t you have a royal title to live up to?”

Celestia quickly backed away from her mother, and stood at attention before giving her a salute. “Yes ma’am! You can count on me!”

And then she was off towards her and her sister’s bed chambers. Queen Galactica looked on as her daughter ran off down the hall out of her room with a proud smile on her face.

~~~

Princess Celestia was running through the halls of Everfree Castle at top speed, her mane whipping through the air and her metal shoes clacking loudly on the floor.

"I have a royal duty," Celestia said to herself as she rounded a corner, "and it is up to me to keep my sister happy and entertained. This is so exciting! I can't wait to get more jobs like this.

The princess was about to round another corner, when she collided with another pony that was much larger than she was. She fell back onto her haunches. and brought both of her front hooves up to her nose when her nose started to feel very hot. Her eyes began to water, and she looked up to see who she ran into.

The stoic face of General Reaper was looking down at Celestia. General Reaper was a massive, white pegasi who carried a whole display of battle scars lining his coat. Both his mane and tail were very straight and very black and his wings looked to be battered and torn to the point where he should not be able to fly. He was garbed in full armor, including his spiked wing armor, except for his helmet which was missing so you could see his multi colored eyes. One eye was orange while the other was a dull bluish grey.

“Are you alright, Princess?” General Reaper asked in a gruff voice as he extended his hoof out to help Celestia up.

Celestia shied away from his hoof, and looked away. Reaper was an unsociable individual, and he mainly kept to himself. Celestia had heard rumors that he hardly slept or ate, and that he had died back in one of the many battles he had fought, and the only thing remaining was an emotionless shell of a ponies. Some ponies liked to joke that he was part of the walking dead.

Celestia finally gingerly took his hoof, and allowed herself to be helped up. Once she was standing on her hooves with one hoof still pressed against her nose, she said, “I’m sorry, General Reaper.”

“It’s alright,” General Reaper replied, “Where are you headed to?”

“I-I’m going to my bed chambers. I’m supposed to be Luna’s babysitter.” Celestia said as looked down at her hooves.

Celestia heard a snort, and looked up to see that General Reaper was now talking to one of the other guards that were following him. The other pony nodded, and then trotted away with his fellow guard, leaving Celestia alone in the hall with General Reaper.

“Come on, I’ll escort you to your bedroom.” General Reaper said once the two guards had turned around the corner in the direction Celestia had come from. Celestia nodded, and started trotting alongside the giant pegasi in order to keep up with his quick pace. With every step he took, she had to take two lest she fall behind.

After walking a short distance, General Reaper noticed the difference of sounds in their hoofsteps and looked down. When he saw that Celestia was straining to keep up, he quickly slowed his pace down to a reasonable one for her, and said, “I apologize, princess. I am not quite used to walking with a filly.”

Celestia looked up at the general, and mumbled a quiet “Thank you” to him. He seemed to have noticed the thanks, however, and looked down at Celestia. There was no change in his expression, but she noticed that there was a gentle flash in his eyes. Before Celestia had a chance to look more at his eyes, General Reaper turned his head back up, and took her around another corner to her bedroom.

A few more minutes of silence followed as the princess and the General walked. The only thing that could be heard was the pair’s hoofsteps as they traversed the castle. Finally, the two ponies rounded the last corner, and up ahead was the door to Celestia’s and Luna’s chambers. Celestia turned to General Reaper.

“General Reaper?”

“Yes, Princess?”

“I-Is it true that you are not really here? That you are just dead?”

The two stopped in front of the door to the bedroom. General Reaper stood staring at the door, although Celestia could tell that his thoughts was elsewhere. The edges of his mouth curled into a frown. Before Celestia could ask the general what was wrong, he quickly turned to his princess and gave a salute.

“Here we are, your majesty. I must take my leave.” he said, before turning and marching away.

Celestia watched as the general marched away, her face filled with perplexity. She stared in the direction that she and Reaper had come, and watched as Reaper turned a corner. The door behind Celestia opened, and Regality poked her head out through the crack.

“Oh! Hello there Celestia," Regality said as she opened the door and ushered the princess through. "Your mother said you were going to be stopping by soon.”

The royal pony sister’s room was located in the furthest eastern part of the castle and could overlook the entire Eastern District of Everfree. The Eastern District was the market district of Everfree, and was constantly bustling with activity from visitors of all parts of Equestria and beyond. Even late into the evenings, there were always ponies in the central market square trading their goods and wares to any passerbyers who might take interest.

Celestia slowly made her way to the middle of the room while Regaility closed the door behind them. Her and her sister’s room was very large and rectangular in shape, while a balcony was connected to the outside of the room and was semicircular in shape. Toys, books, games, coloring utensils, and paper littered the floor through the whole room, while small paintings and portraits decorated the walls around the room. A beautiful chandelier dangled from the ceiling of the room, and, during the night, brightened the room sufficiently to make sure that every corner of the room was lit. In one corner of the room were two beds that were large enough to fit two full grown ponies on while in another corner sat a crib. A sleeping blue filly lie inside the crib and was quietly snoring away peacefully as Celestia strode up the wooden bars.

“So, I heard you are now the new Royal Babysitter.” Regality said as she walked over next to Celestia, and watched Luna with some of the gentlest yellow eyes Celestia had ever seen.

Celestia couldn’t help but stare at the beautifully accented jawline of Regality's face. Ponies secretly feared the Night Guard because of their outlandish and slightly intimidating forms, but Celestia saw that Regality would be held as a beautiful mare among her species. She was slender and graceful when she walked, and spoke with a calm and flowing accent from her homeland.

“Yes. Mother gave me the title of the Royal Babysitter, and crowned me the same way I have seen her knight someone. I’m so happy to be Luna’s babysitter! I’ll play with her and feed her and teach her how to be a princess. It will be so much fun!” Celestia said, her voice squeaking as she continued to talk to Regality.

Regality smiled and gestured towards the filly in the crib, and said, “Shhh, I think she is waking up.”

When Celestia turned her head back to look at Luna, her eyes met with her sister’s. They stared at each other, until Luna broke off and gave a big, squeaky yawn, and fluttered her tiny wings. She stood up on her hooves, and then looked over at Regality, who reached into the crib and pulled the tiny blue princess out to set her on the floor next to her sister.

“Okay, I need to head off to another part of the castle and help Meadow Free set up the decorations for the upcoming Grand Galloping Gala. You have everything under control, right Celestia?” Regality said as she started walking over towards the door.

“Of course, Regality! You can count on me,” Celestia said.

“Alright, behave you two.” Regality said, shutting the door behind her and leaving Celestia alone with her sister. The older sister turned to the younger with a great smile upon her face.

“Hey Luna! Guess what?” she asked.

Luna cocked her head, and gave her wings another flutter. Celestia rolled her eyes, and fluttered her wings in return to her sister. Luna threw her arms open wide and smiled.

“Mother made me the Royal Babysitter today!" Celestia exclaimed. "I can now take care of you without the help of Regality or Meadow Free!”

Luna gave a bright smile, and sat down on her haunches. Celestia's smiled fell slightly when Luna didn't respond to her exclamation, but soon returned when her sister bounded forward and nuzzled Celestia on the leg. Celestia nuzzled her sister on the nose in returned, and then turned to look at the list Regality had left on the side of the crib for Celestia.

Hello Celestia, this is a list of things that need to be throughout the day for Luna. I’m sure you know the general time when each of these items falls into place. I trust you will do a great job!

1st. Feed Luna lunch. She enjoys eating a couple carrots or an apple along with her enriched bottle of milk.
2nd. Today is Luna’s bath day. Now that you have started taking a bath yourself, I trust you know how to clean your sister.
3rd. It would be a good idea to play with your sister on the balcony today. The skies are clear and it is warm outside.
4th. If you think she needs assistance using the bathroom, please help her. She is already going on her own, but you can never be too careful.
5th. Try to get her to speak a little. We can’t have her be a mute when she grows up. It’s important.

Meadow Free and I should be back before dinner is ready. Until then, good luck!

-Regality

Celestia turned to the counter that was placed up against one of the far walls of the room, and saw that Regality had already brought up Luna’s bottle and a couple carrots, and had them laying in a bed of ice. She looked over at Luna, and set the note down onto the ground.

“Hey Luna, are you hungry?" Celestia asked, "I know you just woke up, but it is almost past two o’clock now.”

Luna looked at her sister, and then over at the food on the counter, and then back at her sister. Before Celestia could ask if Luna wanted the food, she was nearly knocked over as Luna rushed towards the counter at a full gallop. She skidded to a stop at the bottom of the counter, and tried to jump and reach to get her food to no avail. She turned back to her sister and gave a barely audible whimper.

“You know, there has to be a better way of saying yes than that.” Celestia mumbled to herself as she started to trot over to Luna. When she reached the counter, she jumped into the air, and with a couple of flutters with her wings she was able to jump higher than normal and grabbed Luna’s lunch. She then gracefully set back down and gave the bottle to Luna..

Upon receiving the bottle of milk, Luna grinned at her sister, and then rolled onto her back with the bottle in her mouth. Celestia smiled, and set the carrots on a plate next to her sister, and then proceeded to walk over to one of the enormous windows that overlooked their balcony and the Eastern District. She saw pegasi and griffons flying in and out of the central market square, either delivering supplies or mail to their respective owners.

After staring out of the window for a few more minutes, Celestia turned back to her sister, and saw that she had finished drinking her milk and was now eating the last of her carrots. She over to Luna, and stopped next to her with another smile on her face.

“Hey Luna, would you like to take a bath?” Celestia said.

Luna’s eyes dilated. Celestia's smile faltered, and her eyes darted side to side, following the movements of Luna's eyes. Trying to recover from her mistake, Celestia pounced at Luna, but she was too late. Luna had already taken off towards the other side of the room, and dived behind a bunch of pillows that were piled high on her future bed. Celestia gave a huff and galloped over to the bed.

“Will you please be a good sister?” Celestia pleaded as she made a jump onto the bed.

Before her body could land on the pile of pillows, Luna bolted out from under her hiding place, and made a gallop for the door that had been left partially left open by Regality for Celestia. Celestia’s eyes widened, and she quickly made a dash after her sister, but she was too late again. Before she had made it half way across the room, Luna had already managed to open the door enough and slip out and down the hall. Celestia pushed open the door, and watched as her sister disappeared around a corner. She sighed before dashing back into the room to get a few things.

She was going Luna-hunting.

~~~

When Celestia walked back out of her and her sister’s room, she was carrying a large butterfly net, a pair of binoculars, and a small bag of candy. Her face was set with a serious look of determination as she started trotting through the halls trying to figure out where her sister went off to.

"She could not have gotten far," Celestia mumbled to herself as she checked behind a vase. "How fast can that little filly gallop?"

Celestia rounded one of the corners of the halls, and spotted a maid who was busy cleaning one of the vases. She galloped up to her, and dropped the butterfly net from her mouth.

“Excuse me, Miss?" Celestia asked with large, round eyes. "Did you see Luna pass by you here?”

The maid turned to Celestia, and said, “Oh, hello Princess. No, I’m sorry. I did not see your sister pass through here. Would you like some help finding her?”

“No, it’s okay," Celestia said, dejected. "Thank you, though.”

The princess left the maid and continued on down the hall, building a mental layout of the castle. The hall she was currently walking down led to the library, the throne room, and the guest bedrooms.

"Luna must have gone down the other section of the castle," Celestia mused, "the section with the kitchens, Mother and Daddy's bedroom, and the soldiers rooms."

Celestia turned, and galloped on down a hall that connected the two sections of the keep, and made her way towards the kitchens first.

"There are always ponies coming in and out of the kitchens, someone must have seen her."

Celestia turned the last corner that lead to the kitchens, and she froze in place. Luna was sitting underneath a cart that was carrying a tray of food off towards the guest quarters of the castle. She waved at Celestia, stuck out her tongue, and then vanished under the cart as the cart passed behind wall. Celestia bounded up to the wall, and peered around the corner, watching as the cart took her sister further and further away from her grasp.

Once the cart turned another corner Celestia continued to follow the cart as it snaked its way along the large corridors of the castle. Finally, they came to a stop in front of one of the doors to a guest bedroom. Celestia quickly hid behind a plant that was close to the door, and watched as the serving pony gave a knock on the door and politely waited for an answer. After a few moments, the door opened.

“Oh, hello there," came an elderly voice from inside the room. "I see you brought the food already.”

“Indeed it has, Mr. Starswirl. Here at the castle, the royal cooks pride themselves at being quick without losing quality.” the serving pony said in reply.

“I do not doubt you. Well, let’s wheel this cart in so you may be on your way.” Starswirl the Bearded chuckled.

As the pony pushed the cart into the room, Celestia made her move and quickly swept in behind them, and then hid behind another plant once she successfully entered the room. She parted the leaves a bit, and saw that the room she was in was very spacious and had a perfect view of Everfree City’s Northern District. The Northern District was the wealthy district of the city, and held some of the most elegant and beautiful buildings in all of Equestria. It was there that the Everfree Willow had been planted and grew to be larger than some of the buildings that surrounded it.

Celestia watched as the serving pony left the cart next to the dinner table that was placed in the center of the room, and then turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. She saw Luna was still hiding under the cart, and as she was about to make her move she saw Star Swirl the Bearded move into view. He was not very large for a pony, although unicorns were not large in general. He had a coat that was a dark grey color, while his mane and tail consisted of brittle, white hair. He also had a very long beard that almost dragged along the ground that was white as well. He was wearing his signature hat that rang with the bells that were attached to the brim.

Starswirl sat on one of the pillows that surrounded the table, and levitated the tray over to him with his magic. Seeing that the elderly unicorn was occupied, Celestia started to sneak her way over to Luna. She hid behind every plant and piece of furniture she could so as not to be detected. Luna peeked out from under the cart, and started glancing around the room frantically when she saw Celestia approaching. Celestia got within pouncing range of Luna.

“I’ve got you now!” she yelled as she dove from her hiding spot behind a couch directly at Luna. Luna let out a yelp, and dashed away from the butterfly net as it came down on the ground next to the cart. Celestia growled and chased after her sister, both sisters zooming around the room, slamming into furniture and knocking plants over in the process.

Suddenly, the two sisters were caught in a white magical aura. Celestia turned her head and saw Starswirl the Bearded was looking back at her with a stern expression on his face. Slowly he brought Celestia and Luna closer to him until they were both hovering in the air half a meter from his face. He narrowed his eyes.

“Now what do you two young fillies think you are doing disturbing an old stallion from his food like that?” he asked.

Celestia smiled nervously, and said, “Well, I was trying to catch my sister. Today is her bath day and she is refusing to cooperate.”

Starswirl's face broke into a smile, and he chuckled, “Shouldn’t that be Regality’s job?”

“Oh, I was made the Royal Babysitter for my sister!" Celestia beamed, her smiled becoming genuine. "Regality is helping set up decorations for the Grand Galloping Gala.”

“And you were hoping to catch your sister with this?” Starswirl said as he gestured to the butterfly net that was lying on the floor.

Celestia blushed a little. “Well…”

Starswirl held a hoof to his mouth, and said “Say no more. I understand,” before he placed both sisters onto the floor. He then levitated the butterfly net up to him and examined it.

“Luna, you are going to go back to your room with your sister to take a bath," Starswirl instructed.

Luna cocked her head at Starswirl, and flicked her tail behind her. Starswirl faced her with a sly smile etched across his face.

“And your sister is going to give you a ride back.” he said as he levitated the net between the two fillies.

The two sisters looked at each other, and slowly they both smiled. Starswirl levitated Luna into the butterfly net, and then allowed for Celestia’s magic to take hold of the handle. Celestia hopped in place, smiling at the unicorn.

“Thank you Starswirl the Bearded!” she said.

“It was my pleasure, young one. Take care of your sister now.”

Celestia nodded, and then left the room with her sister, taking them both back to give Luna a bath.

~~~

Both Celestia and Luna walked out of their steam filled bathroom with their heads held high. Celestia had successfully given her sister a bath, while Luna was now freshly cleaned and surprisingly well groomed, thanks to Celestia’s diligence. The two looked at each other for a moment and then smiled.

“So, shall we go outside? It’s a beautiful day.” Celestia asked her sister.

Luna looked over out of the large windows to the balcony, her wings opening up from her sides. After a few seconds, she broke into a gallop over to the door. Celestia followed her sister close behind, and upon reaching the door, the two sisters pushed it open and clambered outside. The fresh air and the warm rays of the sun suddenly consumed Celestia, and she paused her advance further onto balcony to look over the Northern District. She heard the sounds of the market square, and she could see the masses of ponies as they squeezed themselves through the massive throng that occupied the market.

“’Tia!”

Celestia snapped from her stupor and looked over towards the source of the noise. Her sister was staring at her.

“’Tia!” Luna said again.

The older filly blinked and stared at her sister some more. “D-did you just say my name?”

Luna fluttered her wings and with a big smile on her face, and she said “’Tia!” again. The surprised look on Celestia’s face soon started to morph into a large smile. She bounded over to her sister, and tackled her to give her a big hug.

“Luna, you talked!” she cried out. Celestia rolled with her sister into a pyramid of blocks, causing them to topple over and for the two princesses to burst into giggles. After wrestling with each for a bit longer, the two fillies finally got to their hooves and looked at each with giant smiles.

Oh, Luna," Celestia exclaimed, touching Luna on the nose, "I can't tell you how happy I am right now. You know how long Regality and I have been trying to get you to speak?"

Luna blushed, and rubbed one of her forelegs against the other. Celestia glanced back through their windows at the doors, a smile forming across her lips.

“Hey Luna,” Celestia said.

“Y-yes ‘Tia?” Luna replied

“I have an idea, follow me.”

~~~

It was nearing dinner time in Everfree Castle as an earth pony and a Night Guard traversed the halls back to the royal princess sister’s room. Both Meadow Free and Regality were tired out from getting the majority of the decorations for Everfree’s upcoming Grand Galloping Gala, and felt relieved to finally be able to get back to their jobs as caring for the two princesses as they rounded the last corner to the princesses’ room.

“I wonder how Celestia fared taking care of Luna?” Meadow Free asked aloud.

Regality turned towards Meadfow Free, and said, “I’m sure she did alright. It’s Luna that I’m worried about. She can be quite a handful, especially now since she figured out what the word “bath” meant.”

Meadow Free chuckled. “I’m sure you’re right. Celestia already acts years beyond her age, and wishes to get more and more involved with royal duties. She is so excited for when she can start raising and lowering the sun on her own.”

The two maids reached the room and Regality pushed open one of the doors, and Meadow Free continued, “Besides, both Celestia and Luna get along exceedingly well with each other.”

Meadow Free and Regality stopped and stared in awe at the room they just walked into. The room was almost entirely clean with nothing on the floor except for the center of the room. A giant fortress made of pillows, boxes, and blankets towered higher than the two maids. At the top of the tower stood Celestia, wearing a hat made out of tin foil.

“Luna! Ready the catapult!” Celestia ordered down to her sister, who was readily waiting behind the fortress.

Meadow Free looked over at Regality who was as equally wide eyed as herself, and asked, “Catapu…?”

Meadow Free was cut off suddenly by a loud THUNK. Flying through the air directly at the two maids was an assortment of plushies, clothing, and paper balls. The two maids screamed out loud, and bolted out of the room before the barrage of projectiles could hit either of them. Once safe behind the door they both looked at each other.

“This means war.” they said in unison, gasping for breath.

Together they pushed both doors open, and charged the fortress. Celestia gave a yelp, and then yelled out a retreat as she jumped from the fortress to avoid being caught by the two maids who plowed directly through the center of Celestia’s and Luna’s creation. The two fillies were running towards the balcony, but they were easily overtaken by the two fully grown mares, and were soon subjugated to a round of tickles and funny face wars.

Celestia tried to fight back as Meadow Free plowed her muzzle onto her belly, buzzing her lips and sending Celestia into a fit of giggles. She eventually pushed against Meadow Free's cheek with her foreleg, and pounced onto the maid, biting at her hair. Meadow Free bucked Celestia off of her onto the bed and pounced on top of her, resuming her tickling onslaught.

After all the giggles from all of the ponies subsided Meadow Free looked over at Celestia, and said “So, I take it you had a fun day babysitting your sister?” she asked.

Celestia jumped onto her hooves and fluttered her little wings, beaming, “Yes! It was so fun. I fed her lunch, and then chased her around the castle trying to give her a bath, and then we both met Starswirl the Bearded, and then we came back to the room and built that castle to battle you!” Her excitement influenced Luna, as the younger filly started to grow a large smile on her face as hopped up to her sister fluttering her wings too.

“’Tia!” Luna exclaimed.

“Oh, and Luna said her first word too.” Celestia said as she was grinning with pride when she looked at her sister.

Both Meadow Free and Regality looked at each with surprised smiles, and then returned their gazes back to the two fillies.

“This is going to be a fantastic story to tell your parents over dinner," Meadow Free said, turning around. "Come on, it should be ready at any moment!”

Upon hearing the word “dinner,” the two fillies quickly exited the room, and galloped towards the dining hall while the two mares followed closely behind them.

Comments

[Wiggidy]

Those d'aws gave me cute cancer.

[The Princess Rarity]

1377079 I second that opinion. Luna saying "Tia" was the cutest thing *ever*

[AtTheCrimsonFckr]

first my feeling die now it in a TNT trap and destroyed