> The Canterlot Cookie Caper
>  by Marcato
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Canterlot Cookie Caper
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon Canterlot’s towering marble spires did the sun cast its golden rays, hanging high above as it crawled across the azure skies, scattered clouds speckling the word below with soft, fluffy shadows. A chill rolled down the mountain, warning of Autumn’s approaching end and the coming of a cold winter for the royal city overlooking Equestria. Even with the brisk wind dancing through the muti-coloured leaves, little Celestia couldn’t have asked for a more tranquil day, the sun gracing her juvenile coat with a comforting heat as she stood in the doorway leading out of the castle.
That is, until her little sister’s high-pitched shriek reverberated throughout the marble corridors of Canterlot Castle. "TIAAAAAAAA!"
Her peaceful afternoon was shattered in an instant, recognizing Luna's shrill voice cutting through the otherwise tranquil silence. With a whip of her tail, she whirled around and bolted back into the castle, taking off so swiftly she nearly tripped over her own little hooves. 
The very windows trembled in terror as Celestia’s gallop assaulted the tiled floor, the elder princess firing past several anxious guards who stumbled out of the filly’s trajectory. 
Skidding around a corner, Celestia found a towering wooden door shut firmly and locked just down the hall, panicked yelps coming from the other side. “Hold on, Luna!!” Celestia roared, not slowing down for even a moment as she spread her wings. Her hind legs tensed as they pulled together, and with a powerful thrust, she propelled herself forward into the air.
With a violent CRACK, the twin-doors burst open, sending a spherical doorknob bouncing across the floor with a melodious ring as a few splinters of wood clattered after it. Celestia’s hooves screeched across the tile, the princess narrowly missing a chair as her horn ignited and she lowered her body defensively. 
“What is it? What is it??” She shouted as she scanned the room frantically, panting as her fluorescent pink mane draped partially over her eyes. With her vision cleared, she spotted a cloudy-blue filly rushing up to her.
“Tia, Tia! Oh, it’s terrible… simply terrible!” she cried out.
“What? What is it??” Celestia exclaimed, stepping past her sister defensively.
“Th-the cookies, Tia!”
“They’re poisoned??”
“No! They’re gone!”
Celestia narrowed her eyes as she registered what her sister had said, one eye twitched before she whirled around. “The cookies are gone. That’s why you screamed, Luna??”
The younger princess nodded vigorously. “Uhuh! It’s a… a travesty!” She paused mid-sentence as she found her words.
Celestia groaned as she relaxed, the golden aura dissipating from her horn as she stood tall again. “‘A travesty’? I thought you were in danger!”
“But I am in danger!” Luna said through a frown.
“How?”
“I haven’t had a cookie in like… an hour! I’m gonna starve!” Luna declared.
Celestia let out an exasperated sigh as she hopped onto a chair, the plush, violet cushion sagging beneath her as she looked out over a long table covered by a white silken cloth. “Why would you scream over something like… like cookies? I mean, if you dropped a dish, or hurt yourself… or found a spider, I would understand!”
“But Tia, this is so much worse! This is an emergency!” Luna said, hopping up on another chair beside Celestia.
“How is this an emergency?”
“Cuz somepony STOLE them! There’s a thief in the castle!” Luna said.
Celestia squinted, looking at the table again. “Maybe somepony just ate them all…”
Luna shook her head violently. “Nuh-uh! There was a whole plate of them at lunch! There were like… a hundred cookies!”
Celestia rolled her eyes. “I was there, Luna, there were not ‘a hundred cookies’.”
“Well there were a lot! Too many for one pony to eat!” 
Celestia exhaled sharply, scanning the dining room again. “Maybe one of the cooks put them away.”
Luna’s eyes lit up as she hopped off the chair. “Good thinking! Let’s ask Cream Puff!”
Celestia blinked as she watched her sister dash to a door in the furthest corner of the dining room, the younger princess knocking rapidly. Celestia followed after her, little Luna practically bouncing out of her navy-blue regalia. 
The door opened with a creak, revealing a parchment-coloured pony, her pale-blue mane done up in a net. “Oh, good afternoon your majesties. Can I help you?”
“Hello, Cream Puff, we were just wondering about the cookies from lunch… are they all gone, or were they just put away?” Celestia asked.
Cream Puff tilted her head. “You mean they aren’t still on the counter?”
Celestia’s heart skipped a beat, her mouth hanging open a touch. “N… no. They aren’t…” she muttered as she slowly turned to Luna. 
“Seeeee? I told you! Somepony must have stolen them!” Luna said, raising her head high.
Celestia bit her lip, no longer able to so easily dismiss her sister’s concerns. Cream Puff, meanwhile, appeared far more concerned as she looked past the fillies. “Even the plate is gone. Your mother loved that plate…”
Celestia looked back to the dining room, utterly perplexed. If Cream Puff doesn’t know what happened, and the plate is nowhere to be found, someone surely took them out of the room.
“I think we’ve got a mystery on our hooves, Tia!” Luna said confidently. 
Celestia met her little sister’s gaze, surprised to find them alight with excitement and determination. The elder princess couldn’t help but smile back a bit. “I guess so!”
“So you’ll help me find them?” Luna asked.
“Well, I was gonna go for a walk around the courtyard…” Celestia muttered, looking up at the ceiling.
“But you're always doing boring stuff like that on your own... Come on, this'll be fun! Please?” 
Celestia rolled her eyes, not taking her eyes off the ceiling. “Walks aren't boring, they're relaxing.” 
But as she lowered her gaze again, she found Luna standing directly in front of her, her eyes wide as she leaned forward. Celestia took a nervous step back as she locked eyes with her little sister, a sparkle in her gaze leaving Celestia speechless a moment. “Oh no, that’s not gonna work on me!” Celestia said, closing her eyes and turning her head away.
“But Tiaaaaa!” Luna said, an exaggerated sniffle escaping her little nostrils. “I really want some of those cookies…” 
Celestia stood firm, raising her snout further and avoiding eye-contact. Luna strafed around her sister, trying to get in front of her again. “Don’t you want some too?”
Celestia made a face, grimacing as she recalled the delectable pastries that had graced her tongue at lunch not two hours ago. The scent of fresh-baked, sugary dough immediately overwhelmed her memories, the sweet, partially-melted chocolate chips practically sticking to her tongue. She could almost feel the soft warmth of the desert between her teeth.
“U-ugh, fine…” Celestia finally surrendered, shaking her head free of those tempting treats. 
Luna squealed and hopped around in circles. “Yes!! We’ll be like… defectives!”
“D-detectives,” Celestia corrected.
“Yes, that! C’mon! Let’s look for clues…”
Celestia rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help but smile as Luna began prancing about the dining room, peering under the table and peering up over the counters. 
Cream Puff chuckled, backing up through the door. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me, little one.”
“Okay, thank you!” Celestia chimed, the door to the kitchen shutting with a click as the princess returned her gaze to her rambunctious sister, who was now partially draped over a counter, her hind legs clawing at the cupboards below as she tried to get up.
“Wait, Luna,” Celestia said as she trotted over, the younger princess glancing over her shoulder. 
Celestia stood beneath her sibling, allowing Luna to find a hoofhold on her back and use the support to push up and climb atop the counter. 
“Aha!” Luna declared.
“Find something?”
“Crumbs!”
Celestia tilted her head. “Do they lead anywhere?”
“Uh… no… I think this is just where the plate was before…”
The elder princess snickered, scanning the rest of the dining room for anything out of the ordinary. Her eyes passed over a set of curtains partially obscuring the windows. Only upon closer inspection did Celestia notice the gentle rhythm the fabric swayed to. 
Celestia narrowed her eyes as she approached the windows, tilting her head with curiosity. She brushed the dancing curtains aside to find one window was open, the faintest of squeaks coming from the hinges in the breeze. She glanced at the other windows along the wall. All closed… she observed.
With a grunt, she hopped up on her hind legs and looked over the window sill.
Just beyond the window was a well kept yard, hedges towering over beds of flowers and a fountain in the middle of the garden. The princess’s gaze turned downwards, and her eyes widened. “Luna!”
With a burst of wind, Luna skidded to Celestia’s side. “Did you find something?”
“I think I did… look!” Celestia leaned over and pointed with her hoof.
Beneath the window sill on the other side of the wall was a three-step step-ladder resting in a bed of smooth, pale rocks against the wall of the castle. It was tucked closely into a hedge, the top-most step almost entirely obscured by the tangle of branches.
Luna did her best to climb up, once again scrambling for a moment before finally getting her head over the lip. As her eyes fell upon the step-ladder, Luna let out an exaggerated gasp. “A step-ladder! The thief must have used this to climb into the dining room!”
The gears in Celestia’s head began to turn. This did indeed appear very deliberate… With only one window open and a step-ladder below, it would be an easy way to get into the dining room, even if the main entrance was locked. Somepony was definitely sneaking around! But why cookies of all things?
“I bet they retreated out the window, too!” Luna declared, grunting as she pulled herself up onto the window, before letting out a disgraceful shriek as she fumbled over the sill. 
Celestia gasped and flung herself over after her sister, stumbling into stability in the rock garden… only to find the little moon princess upside-down and tangled in the hedge, a scowl on her face. Celestia smirked and tightened her lips, withholding a laugh as Luna frowned at her. She reached forward and took Luna by the shoulder, guiding her to flip over while the branches snapped, before the younger princess staggered out of the bush with a huff as the two fillies sized up the courtyard.
Luna cleared her throat, standing tall as she tried to maintain her composure. “Do you know anything about tracking ponies?”
Celestia shook her head. “They don’t teach us that in princess school…”
“Well… maybe we could ask her if she’s seen anything,” Luna suggested, nodding towards a bright green earth mare with a curly blonde mane. She was leaning over a plot of flowers with a watering can in her mouth.
Celestia nodded, clearing her throat as she trotted forward. “Good afternoon, ma’am!” she called.
The mare immediately jumped, nearly dropping the watering can as she stood upright again. Her amber eyes were wide with surprise. “Y-... your majesties! Ah… good morning- I-I mean afternoon!” she echoed.
Celestia narrowed her eyes. She seems on edge… Nevertheless, the princess put on a smile. “We’re looking for someone who might have stolen a plate of cookies from the kitchen. What’s your name?”
The mare blinked. “A plate of cookies… I-I mean… you’re looking for a plate of cookies! My name is Morning Glory. Not that… my name is ‘A plate of cookies’ haha!”
The mare was practically sweating buckets, her entire body tense as Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Are… you okay, miss?”
Morning Glory took a breath, smiling awkwardly. “Y-yes! I’ve just… I’ve never spoken with royalty before-!” 
It was only then that Celestia was finally able to recognize just how giddy Morning Glory appeared to be. Luna squinted. “Really…? But we’re around all the time…”
“A-ah, well… I’m usually just so busy…” she cleared her throat. “I’m sorry… what brings you to the courtyard if you are looking for cookies?”
Celestia gestured over her shoulder. “We just crawled out of an open window from the kitchen. There was a step-ladder there.”
Morning Glory stared for a moment, a look of perplexion written across her face until her eyes lit up. “Oh… oh! My step ladder!” She exclaimed, trotting past the fillies.
“Your stepladder?” Luna affirmed.
“Yes! I was wondering where it went! I use it to reach the higher hedges!” Morning Glory said as she tugged the steps out from their entanglement in the branches against the castle wall.
“Aha!” Luna exclaimed, narrowing her eyes with a smug grin. “So you must have stolen the cookies!”
“W-what?” Morning Glory’s excitement immediately faded, confusion written across her face as she stood up straight.
“Luna!” Celestia snapped. “You can’t just accuse someone like that! There’s not enough evidence!”
Luna snorted. “Sure there is! She’s acting soooooo guilty, and she even admitted it! That’s her step-ladder!”
Celestia sighed. “That doesn’t mean she’s the one who did it! If the step-ladder was missing, somepony may have stolen it from her in order to reach the dining room.”
“Oohh… I hadn’t thought of that…” Luna muttered, lowering her head and placing a hoof to her chin. “But she’s still acting veeeeery suspicious…!” she declared, glaring daggers at poor Morning Glory, who audibly gulped.
“That’s true…” Celestia agreed. “Morning Glory, do you have any idea what may have happened to the cookies?”
The mare let out a breath. “W-well… my step-ladder went missing about an hour ago while I was in the castle getting some clippers,” she started. “I did pass the dining room on the way to the storage closet, and I thought I heard some ponies talking in there.”
Celestia’s eyes widened. “Ponies talking? Did you recognize any of the voices?”
Morning Glory bit her lip. “I don’t like eavesdropping, so I kept trotting… but… one of them sounded like your mother. Ahh, I couldn’t possibly mistake that graceful, regal tone…” the mare mused, seeming to relax at the mere mention of the queen.
Celestia made a face. “So mother was probably in the dining hall about an hour ago…” the elder princess concluded. “Maybe she knows more.”
There was a loud gasp as Luna’s eyes lit up. “Orrrrrr… she already caught the thief! Maybe that’s who she was talking to!”
Morning Glory took a few steps forward. “Y-yes… of course! That would make sense!”
“Or at least it would… if that’s what you wanted us to believe, suspect!” Luna snapped at the other mare.
Morning Glory flinched, shrinking back, but Celestia gave her little sister a firm nudge. “Come on, Luna. She’s told us all she can.”
Luna didn’t take her eyes off the gardener. “Hmmm, okay… but I’ve got my eyes on you!” she said, widening one eye.
“Y-yes, ma’am!” Morning Glory said, bowing as Celestia led her sister away.
Once the two were out of earshot and nearing a door leading back into the castle, Luna scoffed. “I still think she’s our number one suspect!”
“Whatever you say, sister… We’ll come back to her if mother doesn’t know anything,” Celestia reasoned, pausing for a moment in thought as they stepped back inside. “Doesn’t mother usually have her afternoon meeting around this time in the throne room?”
Luna met her sister’s gaze. “I dunno… I don’t pay attention to schedule stuff.”
“Yes, I know you don’t…” Celestia said, rolling her eyes. “Which is why I always have to remind you when it’s time for class.”
Luna gave a mischievous giggle. “Mhmm! …Oh yeah! Do we have a class this afternoon?”
“We don’t have classes on Saturdays, Luna.”
“Ohh, right… Do we have any studying we should be doing?” 
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “I thought you hated studying.”
Luna’s eyes looked up to the ceiling. “Uhh… I do! But I really like, y’know… the thing we’re learning about right now.”
Celestia squinted. “Manners…?”
“Yeah! That!”
Celestia held her sister’s gaze for a few seconds, the two staring at each other without blinking. A toothy, innocent smile spread across Luna’s face as she tilted her head. 
Celestia just let out a snort and brushed past her little sister. “C’mon, let’s just go find mother.”
Luna whirled around and pranced after Celestia, the two clip-clopping down the hall as stained glass windows went by. 
Luna is acting very strange… Celestia thought to herself. She was so quick to accuse Morning Glory, and now she’s thinking about school? Is Luna trying to hide something? The elder princess shook her head. She wouldn’t steal cookies just to play detective. She’d probably eat them all herself… she concluded, narrowing her eyes as she glanced at Luna out of the corner of her eye.
Before long, the princesses found themselves before the massive door to the throne room, towering above in all its ornate splendor. A pair of guards stood on either side of the door, stiff as boards as they kept their gazes forward. Luna glanced at her sister and gestured with her head. “Well, let’s go,” she whispered.
Celestia looked indignant. “I don’t want to interrupt her! What if there’s a very important meeting?”
“More important than missing cookies?” Luna asked with a tilt of the head.
Celestia rolled her eyes as she stepped up to the door. “Yes, Luna, more important than missing cookies.” 
She pressed her fluffy little ear against the wood, listening for any voices. She could hear some shuffling about somewhere near the door and some distant mumbling… and then a laugh. “They’re… laughing about something.”
“Do ponies laugh during meetings?” Luna wondered aloud.
Celestia scoffed. “No, silly, fun isn’t allowed in meetings!” 
“Then there’s no meeting! C’mon!” Luna let her voice reach a more natural volume as she began to push the door open. 
Celestia joined her as the twin doors slowly creaked open, causing the elder princess to wince at the noise, but as the throne room revealed itself… Celestia was surprised to see hardly anypony around.
In the back corner near the throne, a group of mares were chattering away, giggling about something, while directly to the right of the fillies a stallion was brushing the marble floor with a broom and humming a tune to himself. The throne, meanwhile, was empty, no hide nor hair of their mother to be seen.
“She’s not here…” Celestia grumbled as she entered the room proper.
Luna let out a sigh, her gaze tracing over the enormous room. “I guess she already finished her meetings.” 
Celestia trotted up towards the throne as Luna trailed behind her. 
“Maybe we should head back to the kitchen,” Luna suggested. 
“No… wait…” Celestia muttered, squinting as she climbed the steps to the throne. She inspected the red plush seat, leaning in close until she could see the silky patterns within. Upon the fabric, the princess could make out a few scattered crumbs.
“There are crumbs on the throne!” she exclaimed, raising her voice.
“What? Really??” Luna squeaked as she rushed up to join her sister.
“Uhuh! Look right here!” Celestia pointed at the cushion as Luna pushed past her. 
Luna gasped loudly, leaning back in exaggerated dismay. “MOTHER stole the cookies…!” 
Celestia, however, was left stunned, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. Why would she steal the cookies? she wondered. Mother would never take all those cookies for herself! What could this mean...?
Celestia took in a breath as the gears turned in her head. “We gotta go find her,” she declared.
“W-what? Right now?” Luna said.
“Yes, right now!” Celestia hopped off the throne, brushing her mane aside as it fell down in front of her. 
Luna followed her, a look of nervous excitement on her face as Celestia darted to the group of mares near the throne. “Excuse me!” she called. 
The mares, who had been watching the fillies with fascination, opened up their little gossip circle as the princesses arrived. “Yes, your majesties?” A sky-blue pegasi with a braided pale-orange mane spoke first.
“Our mother was here a bit ago… do any of you know where she went?” Celestia asked.
“Oh, oh, oh!” A mare of white equipped with golden armor began to canter on the spot, her eyes alight with excitement. “I do! I do! She said she was going to do some writing after the meeting… so she must be in her office!”
Celestia beamed, already making to turn around. “That’s just down the hall! Thank you, miss!” 
“You’re very welcome, your majesty!” the guardsmare said with a bow as Celestia took off through the throne room.
“T-Tia, wait!” Luna called after her, breaking into a gallop to keep up with her sister.
“Hurry, Luna! We’ve almost solved the mystery!” Celestia said as she skidded out the door, spooking a mare carrying a tower of towels upon her back as she collapsed with a yelp. “Sorry!”
Celestia could hear her little sister panting as she struggled to keep up. “B-but we’ve already solved the mystery! Mother did it! So there’s no thief!” she said between breaths.
“Maybe, but I need to know for sure!” Celestia slowed her gallop to a trot as they arrived at the door to the office, a slight smile spreading across her features as Luna closed the gap. “Think about it, Luna… mother wouldn’t need a step-ladder to get in through the window. She wouldn’t need to even use the window at all, cuz she has the keys!”
Luna fidgeted on the spot, still catching her breath. “W-well… we shouldn’t interrupt her while she’s writing!”
Celestia raised an eyebrow as she met her sister's gaze. “Her writing can wait! I wanna know what's going on here. Besides… weren’t you the one that wanted to solve this mystery, Luna?” Luna gulped as Celestia turned around, knocking on the door. “Mother! May we come in?”
A muffled voice spoke from beyond. “Yes, dear.”
Celestia’s horn ignited, gripping the handle as the door opened with a click. Within the room sat a mighty alicorn with a platinum coat; their mother Stella in all her radiant glory. Her curled mane was painted with the colours of the dawn in a gradient of ocean-blue, orange and gold, her sapphire eyes soft like her smile. “What is it, my little ponies?” she asked.
Celestia trotted on in while Luna trailed behind. “Mother, I have a couple questions for you…” 
Stella cocked her head, eyes alight with curiosity. “Yes?”
“Where were you roughly an hour ago, shortly after lunch?”
Stella blinked, but there was the slightest smirk to her expression. “Hm? I believe I was in the dining room… with your sister.”
Celestia gave an affirming nod. “And you have the plate of cookies that were in the dining room, don’t you?”
Stella paused for a moment, not breaking eye-contact with Celestia, before letting out a chuckle and getting up from behind her desk, igniting her horn. 
She approached a bookshelf heavy with tomes as her orange aura enveloped a plate that sat atop the shelf. “As a matter of fact, I do,” she said, lowering the plate down to reveal only three cookies remaining.
A smile spread across the elder princesses face. “So you did take the cookies!”
“That I did, sweetheart... but do you know why?” Stella asked, leaning forward with a smirk.
Celestia hesitated, reading her mother's expression. “Hmm... did you share them with the ponies at your meeting?”
“Yes, I did! But why wouldn't I take the remaining cookies back to the dining room?”
A silence fell between the alicorns, little Celestia skimming through all the clues they had found in her head. “You weren't gonna eat them on your own, were you?”
Stella shook her head. “Of course not. These are supposed to be for all of us, after all.”
“Then...” With one last review of what she knew, the answer finally clicked for the little filly. “You didn’t steal the cookies, you hid them… from Luna!”
Luna shook her head in confusion. “W-what?”
“You used Morning Glory’s step-ladder to sneak into the dining room an hour ago to help yourself to the cookies… but got caught by our mother! Morning Glory must have overheard mother talking to you!” Celestia started. “You then came back later the same way, hoping to not get caught a second time… only for the cookies to be gone, because mother took them with her to the meeting to share! After that, she hid them in her office so you wouldn’t keep eating them!”
Luna’s mouth moved, but no words escaped her lips as she fumbled over her words. “B… but… how could you figure all that out?”
Celestia giggled. “Once you started trying to avoid seeing mother, I knew something was up. You knew all along mother took the cookies, didn’t you?”
The younger princess was still stunned, her whole body tense as she glanced back and forth between her sister and her mother, before she finally slumped, lowering her head. “Y… yeah…”
There was a rather delighted giggle from behind the desk. “Well done, little sunshine. You’re quite the sleuth!” Stella praised.
Celestia grinned from ear to ear, puffing out her chest with pride, before glancing back at Luna, who still hung her head low. Celestia blinked, approaching her little sister cautiously and leaning down to her level. “Luna? What’s the matter?”
Luna only sighed, sitting down on the floor as her tail curled around her front hooves. “We don't play all that much anymore... so I thought pretending there was a mystery would be fun." Luna stared at the ground. “I'm sorry for lying to you...”
“Oh...” Celestia whispered, her excitement dwindling with a skip of her heart. “So that's why you insisted on this whole detective thing.” 
Luna nodded, not a word escaping her lips as she exhaled through her snout.
Celestia placed a hoof to her chin. “Well... you were right. It was fun!”
The little princess seemed to freeze for a moment, appearing rather bewildered as she raised her head and made eye-contact with Celestia. “You’re… not mad?”
Celestia made a face. “Huh? No- I mean, you did scare me with that scream, so maybe a little, but… you're right, we haven't played much lately, and... I'm sorry about that.”
A smile began to spread across Luna’s face. “It's okay, sister! So... that means we'll play more now?” 
Celestia pulled her sister into a hug, giggling as Luna nuzzled into her neck. “Whenever we can!” She swallowed her joy for a moment, thinking back to the courtyard. “Buuuut… we should probably apologize to Morning Glory for scaring her.”
Luna returned a nervous giggle. “H-heheh… yeah…”
From behind the desk, Stella cleared her throat, lifting the plate of cookies again. “Well, such impressive detective work is worthy of a little reward… yes?”
The princesses immediately released each other with a cheer, hopping over to the desk as the remaining cookies were offered to them, Stella taking a seat as her magic retrieved a cookie of her own. Luna took a monstrous chomp out of one biscuit as Celestia savored a mere bite from another, the royal family taking a moment to enjoy an afternoon snack. 
The elder princess hummed with satisfaction. “I think these taste better after solving a mystery for them!”
“Mhmm, mhmm!” Luna mumbled, her cookie already gone.
Through a full mouth, Stella muttered to herself with a whimsical smile. “Mmm, perhaps I should write a detective story some time…”