Celestia Goes to the Doughnut Shop
Princess Celestia woke up with a yawn. The time was seven o’clock and it was time to raise the sun. Waking up at this hour without an alarm was second nature to the Sun Princess. She lit some candles with her magic and her bed chambers glowed dimly. She looked into her mirror. A rather unkempt face greeted her. Her rainbow mane had fallen into stringy ends. She sighed deeply.
“Oh, every morning it’s like this...”
She levitated a gilded brush and began straightening out her mane. She yawned once during the combing. Afterwards, she stopped and looked at her progress. She turned to her right and paused. She turned to her left. Right, once more.
She smiled, “It’ll do.”
She walked out of her chambers and began walking up a spiral staircase. About halfway, she met a tired Princess Luna.
“Oh, Sister, how was the night?”
“Beautiful as always, dearest sister. Now, I must take my rest.”
“Sleep well, Luna,” Celestia warmly said.
“The sun will rise and your warmth will blanket the ponies of the Equestria. Thy blanket is as warm as your smile, dearest sister.”
“Thanks, little sister. Now please, get some sleep. You deserve it.”
Luna nodded and Celestia continued climbing the stairs. She thought about the royal duties of the day as she climbed up the stairs.
“Hmm, there’s that new tax proposal that came up yesterday. It seems like the nobles want their taxes lowered, I’m sure of it. And then there’s that filly who was playing soccer and broke one of the castle’s windows. She’s just a little filly but I know Raven will want some kind of punishment...”
She made it to the top balcony and stopped at the railing, pensively thinking. Equestria was dim with sunlight. She shook her head lightly.
“Get it together Celestia. One thing at a time.” She took a deep breath and then exhaled. She stood silent for a few seconds. Then, her horn glowed and she shut her eyes. Her left front hoof was lifted and her wings were now spread. The pressure was then placed upon her right front hoof and then her two hind legs followed suit. Each gallant stride of her wings made invisible cuts in the air yet the slices could be heard in majestic whooshes. A few strides up into the morning sky and then Celestia reached upwards with both of her front hooves and the sun was now fully visible in the sky. The warmth of the rays greeted Celestia tenderly - a special kind of happiness occurred in which Celestia never grew tired of.
When Celestia descended, a short grin drew across her face. A dash of pride could be discerned. After raising the sun, Celestia walked through the castle to the throne room to attend her duties. Raven greeted her as she walked to the throne.
“Good morning your Highness!”
“Good morning Raven, how has your morning been?”
Raven fixed her glasses, “My morning has been quite well, Princess. I had a small cup of coffee and French toast in the Royal Dining Hall at seven sharp and...”
Celestia, still a bit drowsy, started to tune Raven out. She was used to hearing her by-the-second day plans which seem to have little deviation. She nodded in agreement at appropriate intervals.
“That sounds wonderful, Raven.” Celestia smiled.
“Thank you, Princess.” Raven fixed her glasses again.
Celestia climbed the small stairs to the throne and sat comfortably. The cushion conformed to her posterior and she let off a small sigh. Many decisions occurred in this very room, good and bad. The comfort in the cushion was only a small token as the the past weighed heavily on her conscience.
“Princess?”
“Hu- oh, Raven, yes?”
She cleared her throat, “About that filly with the soccer ball...”
“Raven, I know this concerns you, but don’t you think you can let this one slide by?”
“Princess! This is protocol! Do you know what will happen if we let this ‘slide by’? My, this will be a precedence for anarchy!”
“Raven, I’m sure no such thing will happen.”
“Mark my words, Princess, you can’t always be so sure,” Raven resigned. She fixed her glasses.
Celestia chuckled lightly and softly. “Raven... always doing her best. She always wanted to be this kind of pony. A very hard working, by-the-book pony.” Celestia gave off a small yawn. She looked outside the window to her left and saw the position of the sun.
“Oh, look at the time. I think I’ll take my breakfast now.”
“But Princess,” Raven halted, “what about these proposals I have?” Raven levitated a stack of papers.
“They’re all great proposals, I’m sure of it. For now, I’m leaving you in charge of the castle. Try not to do anything drastic? I don’t think the citizens of Canterlot would want another martial law because you misplaced your quill...”
Raven blushed. “But, er, I- I!”
Celestia walked out of the throne room. “Hmm, I’ve been to the Royal Dining Hall so many times that I’m getting kind bored of it. The Golden Platter sounds nice but their pancakes are always so small...” Celestia kept thinking. She was walking to her chambers to pick up her purse. “Oh, I know!” she said out loud, “Donut Joe’s! I haven’t been there in so long, ever since the night of the Grand Galloping Gala with Twilight and her friends.” Celestia cheerily hummed as she found her purse and made sure her mane was all right. “Plus, I might actually be able to get away from those nobles. Some of them... can be a little bit snobby at times. Then there’s Blueblood...”
She left her chambers and decided to walk to the doughnut shop. No carriage, no flying. A simple walk. She made her way to downtown Canterlot, occasionally greeting ponies here and there. She took in a breath of fresh air as she neared the doughnut shop. Her head was sunken just a tad as she reflected on the events of the past.
Celestia mumbled softly, “There was the Grand Galloping Gala, the Changeling Invasion, and Tirek’s Rebellion... and now, there is peace in the kingdom - and a new princess.” She grinned at her last remark. The doorbell rang as two ponies left the shop. Celestia looked up and cut her reminiscing short. She entered through the door and the doorbell rang once more.
“Princess Celestia! Now this is a surprise!”
“I haven’t seen you in such a long time either, Joe.” She gave a warm smile.
“Anything you want, Your Highness, is on the house!”
“Please, you don’t have to do that. And ‘Celestia’ is fine. I’m just visiting casually.”
“Gotcha, Celestia.” He clicked his tongue.
She browsed through the assortment of doughnuts. She was salivating a tad but kept her composure. She eyed her favourite colour, pink, and requested for three of them.
“Three pink frostings, Joe. Oh, and a small latte.”
“Sure. That’ll be two bits.”
Celestia reached for her purse and paid the stallion two bits.
“Pleasure doing business with ya.”
Donut Joe levitated three pink doughnuts out of the display and placed them on a purple plate. He went to the espresso machine. He poured the espresso into the cup and masterfully introduced the frothed milk. He made a caricature of Celestia’s face and smiled. His teeth were like daggers and he gave off a low and other-worldly, “Goooood...” He turned to Celestia. He disguised his voice immediately back to Joe’s.
“All done!”
“Thanks, Joe.”
“Not a problem.”
Celestia levitated the plate of doughnuts and her cup to an empty table by the window. She looked happily outside, enjoying the view of a peaceful day in Canterlot.
Joe was staring at Celestia. His right hoof transformed into a wicked, insectoid hoof. His horn glowed an ominous green and so did the hoof. A jagged blade grew from the creature’s hoof and nearly half of its body changed into a hideous lifeform. Celestia took a sip from her coffee, still staring out the window.
“Finalyyyyy...”
The creature licked its fangs as it walked over the counter.