Sisterly Switched

by Harbinger Of Mist

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Rarity, Discord, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Sweetie Belle
Length: 16257

Celestia and Luna switch bodies with Rarity and Sweetie Belle respectively and hi-jinks ensue. Just as you-know-who planned.

Thank you, Knight N Gale for the new title! (previously Wacky Weekend)

Celestia feels as though she has been in a rut. Thinking of a way to spice up her weekend off, Discord comes in with a proposition. Just to make things interesting, Luna also came along for the ride, despite not being given any notice.
They will spend the weekend as Rarity and her little sister Sweetie Belle, and vice versa.
Problem is, Celestia has the weekend off, but Rarity does not. What is she supposed to do now?
How will Luna deal with being a filly? How will Rarity and Sweetie act as royalty?
Will Discord have enough popcorn to last him through the show?
Let's hope everything turns out okay.

Inspired in part by Freaky Friday, though it is not the same premise.

Artwork made my marking

Published 2015-02-14 21:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-09-23 19:21:26 UTC

Royal Rut

"...It has always been of our greatest interest to indulge in the culture of our gracious pony neighbours..." A griffin ambassador chided on about foreign relations.

Celestia sat at her usual end of the table during the discussion, keeping her utmost composure and being sure to absorb every word. All this talk about exchange and trade is something she has heard hundreds of times before. She knows exactly how these all end, it's nothing new to her. In these such meetings, she would usually let her sister do most of the talking. She made sure to nod and give her brief two bits on occasion, but she already had her answer. Whether her visitors knew the answer as well or not, it was still important to not miss any details. It was always a politician's specialty to speak for hours while saying nothing.

With this meeting coming to a close in a few moments, Celestia's mind began to wonder. Her experience with these extended meetings gave her a capability of losing herself in a dream world whilst still being fully aware of what was around her. Perhaps that is why she is always smiling. She had time to think; time to consider what else could be accomplished.

She and Luna have the upcoming weekend all to themselves for the first time in years. With all that free time just up ahead, she began feeling anxious. She didn't know what she could do.

"Sister?"

Celestia shifted her focus back to the meeting at Luna's beckon. "Yes. It all depends on the demand and value of our wares." She turns her attention to the griffin ambassador. "I remember the griffin kingdom showing much interest in pony art?" She inquired.

"It's the magical precision that makes all the high pieces so endearing." He responds.

"Well with our growing mechanical industry, we ponies will need an excess of iron to create such machines. If we were to give you one our more prized vintage portraits, you'd have plenty of income just from the tourism alone."

"It's true, we do have a flourishing wealth of the metal..."

Having reached an agreement, the meeting soon finally met its end and the partakers have left on good terms. On her way to her chambers, Celestia was followed at the side by her sister. "You seem a tad tense, dear sister," said Luna. "Are you uncomfortable about the art trade?"

"It's not that at all, Luna." Celestia began to share her worries about their upcoming "vacation" (two days would be enough for them to justify calling it such, given their positions). "It's just that I'm not sure what to do with our time off this weekend. I'm too used to having business to occupy myself from dawn to dusk. I'm still grateful to you staying awake to help me in certain tasks."

"'Tisn't a worry, sister." Luna assured. "I've had too much free time on the moon. I need to make up for time I didn't spend awake."

Hoping that Luna's remark about her banishment was casual enough, Celestia decides to prod for information. "What else have you done to keep yourself busy?"

Luna begins to respond, but suddenly stops dead in her tracks without an immediate response. "I... I'd rather not say." She turns her head away and bites her lower lip in embarrassment.

"You can share your insecurities with me. You know that."

"It's not-- I think-- Or actually... Umm..." She inhales and gives a confident reply. "Let's just say there's a reason I'm more..." She turns to head to her own bedroom, but not without bumping their flanks together. "...toned." She briefly looks back with a smirk and dashes off. "Night, Tia!"

Celestia scoffs as she watches her sister scamper away with a hop in her step. She then looks down at her flank and sways it lightly side to side, contemplating Luna's remark. A guard just so happened to rear the wrong corner as she observed herself. She felt surprised at first, but quickly asked the guard, "I'm not... eh, am I?"

The guard maintained a stoic form despite his wide eyes. "We were trained not to have such discussions, your highness." He turns back to avoid further words. "...at least not outside private areas."

Celestia decided to perform a few aerobic stretches before retiring to bed. She hoped to get not only a short workout to spite her sister, but to give herself an excuse for more time to work out her unresolved issues of her weekend. She doesn't plan to shed the extra cake-pounds from her flank the whole time. Though, it was a plan at first, she didn't want to give Luna the satisfaction as she would surely find out.

Her elongated pose for stretching her front legs out in parallel along the floor garnered an unfortunate response. "What a fantastic view!" She spins and plants her haunches firmly on the ground in a humiliated panic, and soon found herself on the receiving end of a bright white flash from a couple of feet away. When her vision returned seconds later, she saw Discord sitting in a theatre chair with popcorn in his lap and a camera in one of his hands. The other held a photo that instantly developed. "Hmm... This adorable face will work just fine though."

Celestia shook herself back to stability. "D-Discord?! What are you doing in the castle?! In my chambers?!" She snags the photo out of Discord's claw. "...Eyeing my--" She takes a short glance at the picture and growls as she slams it on the floor.

"Oh, now forgive me for the intrusion." Discord slithers up to Celestia's side and massages her chin. "I couldn't help but eavesdrop on your little weekend situation."

Celestia's body tensed up. "I never said anything of the sort out loud recently." A mental light flashed on. "What were you doing in my mind?!"

Discord summons a filing cabinet out of thin air and pulls open a drawer. "Oh, nothing that I could hold against you." He spouts with a posed look as he places his new photo in a file labeled 'The Real Celestia'. "It's just one of my favourite boredom-killing activities..." He smirks innocently as he closes the drawer. He made the cabinet vanish as he leaned over the top, leaving an invisible platform.

Celestia could pick up very quickly on what he was up to. "I'm not interested."

"I understand your caution. But couldn't you give a friend a chance?" Discord clasps his hand together as a halo materializes above his head.

"I'd hardly call you such."

Discord's halo shatters as he gives a defeated moan. "And here I thought I was reformed."

Celestia trots over to her bed and crawls in. "I know what kind of 'help' you would try to employ. You're not one to offer assistance unless there was something in it for you."

Discord sat at the foot of Celestia's bed as he pleads his case. "Now how can we build our trust if you keep pushing me away? Whether it entertains me or not, I want to prove I can be helpful to you." He stretches out and lands himself beside Celestia on top of her sheets. "You're looking for something to spice up your weekend, and that is something I specialize in." His words only caused the princess to roll over and face away from him. "Hmm... How about this? If you accept my offer and you're angry with me by the end of the weekend, I will never butt in on your personal affairs again." Celestia turns back slowly with a look of intrigue. "And you can tell Twilight and her friends I can no longer be trusted."

"You seem so confident..." Celestia responded, causing Discord to form a smile. She sighs. "Alright. Do your work. Spice up my weekend! And for your sake..." She turns back over to face away. "I better enjoy it."

Discord teleports himself to the center of Celestia's room and jumps with glee. "Woohoo! This I can promise you -as a friend-, you won't regret it." He snaps his fingers and disappears with a flash and a cloud of confetti.

Celestia groaned as she rubbed her eyes. "I'm starting to already."

Discord had waited until an hour or so before sunrise to execute his plan. Now that he was sure the riled princess was off in Neverland, he took a position beside her bed. He snapped his fingers softly and summoned a door off to his other side. It landed with a thud and caused him to clench his eyes shut. The noise fortunately went unregistered by the royalty in slumber. He opened the door as it led to a new room entirely. The "portal" door formed an instant rift between Celestia's room and that of one of Twilight's friends. He walked in and examined the pony of his choice.

In the bed was a sleeping Rarity, complete with earmuffs and sleeping mask to assure her beauty sleep. Discord carefully reached down to her forehead and with a quick motion, phased his hand through and plucked out a ghostly apparition of Rarity. His prize was snoring lightly as it dangled between his fingers. Discord quickly returned to other side of the door and did the same to Celestia with his other hand. Now with both of their bodies empty, he pulled the old switcheroo. He gently placed Rarity into the lifeless husk of the sun princess, then quickly hopped back through the door to put Celestia into her new temporary home.

Sorry Celestia. Discord thought to himself so as not to stir his work. But any specific activities would have surely had you pulling your mane out. He walked over to the fashionista's dresser. May as well have you spending your weekend off with more work to do. If I recall, this friend of Twilight's is normally working on a project of some sort. He quickly noticed a picture of Rarity with what he presumed to be her little sister. Hold on... He disposes of the door and stretches his neck through a few of the walls of Rarity's home. He happened upon a sleeping Sweetie Belle and another idea instantly sprouted.

Discord brought the rest of his body into Sweetie's room and he looks down at her with wide eyes. I shouldn't... He conjures another door leading to Luna's room. Should I? He repeats the process with the filly and lunar princess. No. I *really** shouldn't.* With two more bodies switched around, he rids of the door and teleports back to some undisclosed location away from other ponies. "But I did anyway!" He cheers to himself with a smile on his face. He falls back onto an "insta-hammock" and quickly lifts his head, pondering how this would affect the situation. "Is this really worth Celestia not talking to me for the next few months or so?" He scratches his chin for a few seconds. "Of course it is!" He lays back and awaits the morning.

"I can't wait until they wake up..."

Discord!!

The sun is due to rise in 10 minutes. Out of habit, Celestia stirs herself awake beneath her bedsheets. She was greeted by the usual darkness in her room, though for some reason, it seemed much darker. Seeing nothing but the colour black, Celestia's first instinct was that Discord had rendered her blind. She flailed her front hooves out from under the sheets and tried to stare at them. Her frantic blinking made the faint noise of her eyelashes scratching up against fabric. Lifting her hoof up to her face, she could feel the incriminating item. She lifted it up and became fraught with confusion. "A blindfold?" She immediately gasped at the sound of her voice, which was not her own.

Upon another realization, Celestia flings the sheets clear off the end of the bed. She thinks nothing of the pink robe she was wearing and lifts it up to reveal her flank. What she saw was not her sun, but a few blue jewels. With another gasp, she shifts her head around to inspect her room: A sewing machine, mannequins, a wardrobe, shelves of fabric and string... and a full-body mirror. She scrambles over while removing the robe. Standing still and staring right into the face of one of her protege's closest friends had her jaw drop. Discord had put her in Rarity's body.

She soon growled and began to let out a cursing of a certain someone's name, but she was cut off by a shrill squeal coming from beyond her door. She gasped at the sudden sound, but quickly remembered that Rarity had a little sister. "Sweetie Belle?" Celestia asked herself, mostly guessing the sister's name. Celestia walked out of her room and down the hall to where she heard the scream. Before knocking, she heard some panicked breathing.

"No, no! This isn't happening! How could this have befallen us?!" The filly's voice bellowed from within the room on the other side. Celestia began to wonder what could have Sweetie Belle all worked up, but then considered how a filly of her age would use a word such as 'befallen'. Sweetie Belle continued, "I cannot believe this! I must be in one of this filly's dreams."

That last phrase immediately supported Celestia's suspicion. She knocks on Sweetie's door nervously, begging to come inside. "Sister! Let me in!"

Sweetie Belle gasped and tried to not to get the older sibling worried. "Nothing is the matter!" She hollered back. "Return to what you were doing previously!"

Bingo! That was Luna, without a doubt. Celestia promptly tried barging in by twisting the handle of the door. The twitching and resistance quickly alerted her that it was locked. In a haste, she then tried to teleport into the room. With a flash of light and a "poof", Celestia infiltrated her way into Sweetie's room. While the spell was successful, the host-mare's lack in proficiency with advanced magic struck Celestia with sharp but quickly faded migraine.

The filly reared back from the white mare's sudden entrance and tried to play it cool. "Good morning, sister!" She greeted with an appalling facade. "I am quite surprised the princesses have not started the day off proper yet." She pointed to the window.

"That's because both the princesses are right here!" Celestia stated with great force.

"What?"

"Luna! It's me! Celestia!"

"What?!" Luna exclaimed from within the child's body. "Celestia? How could this happen?! Why are we in the bodies of Twilight's friends?"

Celestia faced away from her sister and donned a flat and stern face. "I know exactly how..." She growled out from between her teeth.

"DIS--"

"--COOOOOOOORRRRD!!!" Celestia's booming voice echoed inside her royal chambers. A once regal figure now poised like a rabid manticore. She growled and ignited her horn in a large fiery yellow aura.

Just behind her, Discord phases into the room through her door in a neat suit and carrying a large serving dish. "You called for service?" The dastardly serpent replied.

The being he will know as Rarity until further notice wasted no time in turning around and pouncing him to the ground. She snarled at him inches away from his face.

Discord kept a slight look of confusion on his face rather than fear. After a few seconds of being blown on by the alicorn's nostrils, he spoke up nonchalantly. "What seems to be the problem?" Rarity backed up and back-hoofed him on the side of face, causing his entire mug to spin around the rest of head rapidly before slowing down and settling back in its regular position. "I can see you're upset." He noted.

Rarity forced a smile and walked away from him. She breathed deeply before answering him. "Upset? Oh no. Why would I be? I just woke up on this saturday morning to find that I'm in the body of our beloved sun princess. I have no idea how to do her job, and I cannot do mine. The latter of which involves spending every waking moment of this weekend filling an order for a high-end client. I'm not upset!" She scoffs in a mocking fashion and turns back to face Discord. "I'm A B S O L U T E L Y  L I V I D . . ."

Discord stands up and brushes himself off. He walks toward her without a hint of caution. "Now, now. There's no reason to blow your top." He rests his arm around Rarity's shoulder, much to her chagrin. "After all, this is what she wanted."

Rarity's expression went completely dead as she sluggishly angled her head to stare directly back at Discord with the blankest look in her eyes. "She... explicitly asked for me to become princess for a day?"

Several seconds went by. Discord could finally recognize and register the insurmountable disdain the mare is bottling up. One wrong word could send him off the deep end. He twiddles his thumbs. "Well... No, but--"

A small platoon of solar guards were sitting calmly at their table in the luncheon area. Ambient chatter in all directions. The entire room went silent once they heard a resounding thud that was much akin to an explosion from the floor above them. They could even feel the entire castle shake.

Soon enough, a crudely ovular shape cracked into the ceiling. As debris finished falling into some of the guards' breakfasts, the whole abrasion fell in a single piece and landed in the middle of the table. The guards within collateral distance tensed up and stared in shock at the smoke-black splotch that covered the top. That splotch soon opened its eyes and lifted a paper-thin arm and positioned it above the eyes.

Discord peeled his flattened and sooty face off the chuck of royal bed chamber floor and stuck his thumb in his mouth to reinflate it. He and the guards looked up through the hole to see Celestia leaning over and looking down to them. She yelled out, "...without my notice!?!"

The guard to Discord's right sincerely inquired on the conundrum. "What have you done this time?"

Discord turned to him. "Nothing world-ending, I assure you." He took his finger and ran it through the remaining contents of the guard's bowl. He sampled the food he scraped up. "Who puts salt and pepper in their oatmeal?"

Eager to return to business, Discord snapped his fingers to return the piece of building he laid upon back in its place, leaving a whole room of worried and confused guards who will not get an answer as to why their boss is so angry. Another snap and he stood upright and clean. With a vivid look of concern -more for his own safety-, Discord clasps his claws together. "I suppose I do owe you an explanation."

"That would be a start." Rarity exhales out.

A distraught Celestia lays on the fashionista's bed. She would be focusing on how she'd get back at Discord, but she quickly became preoccupied by thoughts of how Equestria could run without her or Luna technically in power. Fearing for her kingdom, she set her eyes on the window and bore witness to the still-night sky. She wished her magical prowess came with her just so she could cycle to day. But if there was anything that teleporting taught her, it was that Rarity's body couldn't handle the strain of any higher forms of magic.

Luna fared no better. She angrily stomped around the room and growled. "What did I ever do to deserve this? That comment about your flank was nothing more than pushing your buttons!"

"I assure you none of this is your fault, Luna." Celestia got off the bed and walked over to comfort her sister. "When I made that deal with Discord, I wasn't expecting anything like this. And I certainly did not want you to get involved."

"Oh?" Luna inquired, "so if whatever he had up his sleeves actually did turn out to be fun, you would not have wanted to share?"

"What? No! Ugh... You know what I mean." Celestia walked back to bed. "But it's nice to know you still have a sense of humour." She smiled.

"It won't last long," said Luna. "The second I lay eyes on Discord, I'm not going to hesitate in--" She is cut off by a bright flash of light on the side of the room.

Discord has appeared inside with what looked like Celestia.

"YOU!!" Luna kept true to her promise and immediately went to jump him. She latched onto his torso and began beating down on his chest with an adorably powerless pounding.

Discord gave her little attention as he soon turned to Celestia laying on the bed. "Have you two gotten settled in?"

Seeing the clown of a god and herself from the outside left her with only one important question. "If I'm not mistaken, that should be you in there, isn't it, Rarity?"

Rarity looked down at herself with a quelled assumption and sighs. "Yes, Princess Celestia, it's me." She then grabs Luna off of Discord and sets her down. "I just hope you're okay, Sweetie Belle."

Luna calms down after her assault and bore a look that said "yeah, about that..."

Rarity quickly became worried. "What is it?" She turns back to Celestia who had a similar expression.

"I'm afraid that's Luna."

"What?!" Rarity walked back up to Discord to stare him down once again. "Why did you have to bring our sister's into this?!"

"I didn't have to," he confessed. "But the temptation was too strong to overcome."

Rarity's eyes went wide. "Oh no..."

Sweetie Belle leapt off the lunar princess' balcony with her new wings spread out. "I can flyyyy!!" She exclaimed in total excitement. Her extacy was cut short as she soon found herself plummeting toward the ground below, screaming the whole way. She belly-flops on the grass, leaving an imprint in the process.

Will There Be Antics?

One lonely solar guard, one very bored and growing less and less patient for the day to begin. There was no mistaking the time that was said on his clock, his shift began 20 minutes ago. He has been at his post for that long, and he has yet to see the sun rise. They sometimes don't even see the break of dawn since the sun is already up by the time they arrive at their designated areas. They'd be lucky to get out a minute early to watch the magic. But this so-called morning has been confusing and frustrating for this guard. He has been staring off at the horizon to catch the sun as it rose for far too long. He had way too many questions. Some of which became answered when the princess of the moon launched herself off her balcony and face-planted down into the grass just a couple body lengths away.

The now panicked guard rushes to the princess' aid. "Your Highness!" Watching her lay motionless for a moment, he then shakes her side-to-side from her back to jostle her. "Are you okay?! Your Highness!"

The princess lifted her front legs and planted them down at her sides. She raises her torso up and proceeds to pull her mug out of the dirt like a weed. With a few quick motions, her face was freed and showing a surprisingly neutral expression. After shaking herself out of her dizziness, she begins to giggle. "Wow! I didn't feel a thing!"

The guard is noticeably confused. "Uh, I should hope so, Princess..."

Luna still seemed surprised at her unintentional feat; near the point where she almost didn't notice the guard behind her. She danced in place on her tip-toes. "This is so neat! I wonder what else I could do."

The guard felt it was best to question the state of the princess' mind later and instead try to get her focused. "Um, Princess Luna." She turns to listen to him with a child-like grin on her face. "I don't mean to butt in, but--"

Luna chuckles and cuts him off. "You said 'butt' twice." She takes a quick glance at his spear and gets an idea. "Ooh! I wanna try something!" She bows her head in front of the guard. "Hit me over the head with your spear! I wanna see if it'll break in half!"

The guard said nothing and just let his jaw drop. "Uuuuuuhhhh..."

"Come oooon!" The princess acted like an impatient filly, shaking her legs and making a somewhat pouting face. "If that didn't hurt," -she gestures to the pony-shaped hole she made in the ground- "this surely shouldn't!"

The guard had had enough. He dropped his expression to the point of frustration. Luna saw this as clearance to bow her head and close her eyes. Okay, This is ridiculous. At this point, he has all but given up. He lifts the blunt end of his spear and prepares to whack Luna over the head as she requested. Maybe if I hit her hard enough, she'll regain her senses.

He brings down his spear with tremendous force,  but has it come to a sudden halt due to a familiar golden glow. His eyes shoot open and quickly realizes that Celestia is standing behind him. He instinctively assumes a military stance beside Luna and attempts to explain his actions. "Your sister's orders, Your Highness!"

Upon hearing the guard's acknowledgement of another certain pony being present, Luna opens her eyes and makes a sheepish grin at the sight of her unamused sister.

"...Believe it or not." The guard finished.

Celestia stood there with her eyes set on Luna. Normally she'd be angry at the guard for such a deed. But noticing how willingly Luna was going along with it, she quickly figured that the guard was right before having to hear him speak. "Actually, I do." Celestia returns the spear to the guard and beckons Luna to follow her back to her chambers. "Luna, come with me. We have some business to tend to."

'Bout time. The guard thought.

"Alright." The lunar princess uttered lightly in guilt. As Celestia flew up to return to her bedroom balcony, Luna tried to follow. Her wings did nothing but flop about at the sides and cause her to stumble and trip onto her face upon take-off.

Celestia sighs at the sight of her klutz of a sister failing to use her wings correctly. She magically snatches both sides of her flank from afar and carries her up into her chambers in a hilariously awkward position.

The guard stares in confusion at what has unfolded in front of him. With his eyes still glued open, breaking the effect of an otherwise stoic expression, he returns to his original post with spear in hoof. "Alright. Even though it has not even started yet, I think I've had enough morning for today..."

The royal fashionista arrives back in Celestia's bedroom with her half-and-half sister in humiliating tow.

Seeing her body being sorely mistreated caused Luna to grimace, and Celestia to giggle beside her. "Did she have to carry her with my royal flank in the air?" She forced through her teeth in embarrassment.

"Bringing back memories?" Celestia turned and smiled brightly to give her sister a hard time.

"It is now, thank you." The little filly replied.

Discord chuckled. "Oh-ho! It's nice to have the whole gang, finally."

"Oof!" Sweetie Belle grunts as she gets dropped on the floor. She is soon greeted by an unpleasant reflection. "Oh! Hi... Me."

Luna looks down at her misused body with disdain. "I understand that being the little filly you are, you're bound to treat your newfound alicorn abilities like a dream-come-true. But please, for both our sakes, could you try to disregard such feelings and act like an adult until further notice?"

Sweetie Belle quickly hops to her hooves and gives a sturdy stance and bow as an answer. "I'll do my best."

Luna sighs. "I suppose that's all I can ask of you."

Celestia walks up to the new owner of her body and pushes Discord away. "Speaking of which, what I would ask of you is to shift the day/night cycle."

Rarity begins to feel nervous. "What? Me?" She knew very well that the responsibility now rested with her, but simply possessing such power did not mean she knew how to use it. "I'm not too terribly sure I can. I mean... It's more than basic telekinesis after all. You know what?" After twiddling her hooves, she turns to Discord with a predatory look in her eyes. "Why don't we get him to do it instead?"

"What?! But I--" Discord quickly peters out his original thought and shifts gears, "...guess I'm in no position to talk back." He gives in and walks over to the balcony in compliance. Outside the sliding glass door, he casually claps his hands together twice and the moon instantaneously turned into its solar counterpart; no fancy show, it just "turns on". The jarring change in light caused a voice from down below to yell in grief about his eyes. A screeching crash heard from somewhere else caused another voice to call out about his leg.

Rarity and Celestia were busy discussing their plight. "I greatly apologize for this. I'm afraid this is partially my fault since I gave the bozo the idea..." Celestia buries her forehead in her hoof. "As well as permission, technically."

Rarity felt calmer than before. "You know? I think now that I have your power to back up my wealth of knowledge on making dresses, I should have no trouble at all at making those duplicates."

A light shined on in Celestia's head. "Duplicates?"

"Yes," Rarity replied. "I have to make 11 copies of 8 different designs I have already finalized. Making the the whole line from scratch is the hard part. I'm just worried about having the order completed on time because making so many of the same dress is more time-consuming than difficult."

Celestia began to smirk and rub her chin. "So you already have physical representations of all your designs?"

"Yes. One of each, all set up on mannequins."

"Oh, filly's play!" Celestia scoffed off.

"What, really?" The baffled Rarity responded.

"No problem at all. If all I have to do in your place is replicate inanimate objects, I'll have this weekend to myself after all!" Celestia gasps. "And it will be so much easier, too!" She paces around her leased-out figure. "I could go out in public without having to be escorted by guards and having numerous sets of eyes glued to me! I could go to the spa, visit your friends -especially Twilight-, shoot the breeze and play games with Luna--"

"What makes you think I have the weekend off now that I have this body?" Luna cut her off.

Sweetie Belle leaned down close to the diminutive princess. "Children don't go to school on the weekends."

Luna's expression remained stern as she slowly closed her eyes. "Forget I said anything."

"That still doesn't leave Sweetie and I with anything to do." Rarity joined in. "What do you do when you have free time?"

"Well..." Celestia pondered. "I've never had too much of it. But I do remember at some instances... Chasing Luna throughout the halls, playfully harassing the guards... gorging myself on sweets from the royal kitchen and exercising away the guilt afterwards."

"Ah! So you admit it!" Luna exclaimed. "You are jealous!"

Celestia gasps at the accusation. "I keep telling you: I am NOT! I am every bit as toned as you!" She forcefully pokes at her Sun cutie mark a couple of times with her new hoof, leaving Rarity slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh, come now." Luna grabs her occupied body's hind leg and pulls it forward so that her flank was in full view of her sister. "Does this look anything like all of that?" She gestures to the sun goddess' flank with a circular motion.

Rarity snickered as she took a good look at her new flank, prompting a quick response from the rightful owner. "Oh, hush." She turns her attention back to Luna. "I'm sure there are plenty of stallions who adore a mare with a little meat on her bones. I think I'll do dear Rarity here a favour and put on a couple of cake-pounds."

"I'll do that on my own time, thank you." Rarity replied in a low register.

Luna gasps. "I'll have you know that all of my thestral guards find me VERY desirable with this slender muscle look!" She inadvertently tightens her grip on Sweetie's leg. "All of them!"

Sweetie Belle was getting increasingly uneased. "I need an adult..."

"I am an adult." Luna sassed back.

"Not anymore!" Sweetie whined back.

Discord walks up to beside Celestia with an empty bowl of popcorn. "Ladies! Please!" All four of them stop to give him their attention. "Save some for the rest of the weekend. The morning has barely started and I'm already finished with my first bag." He upturns the bowl and lets the unpopped kernels fall to the floor.

Celestia has calmed down and put on a sincere smile. "Oh, now Discord. I assure you you're going to have your claws full."

"Hmm?"

"Cut yourself lucky that what little work I have now won't interfere with the free time I planned to have. Your little joke has actually worked in my favour." She turns to Rarity. "I'm all for this arrangement if you are, my fashionista friend."

Rarity rubs her mug to think about any consequences. "Well... What if there's another all-powerful threat from a thousand years ago?"

Celestia waves it off nonchalantly. "Oh, just tell Twilight it's another test and have her handle it."

Rarity's face lights up with a smile. "In which case, I'll agree!"

"That makes three!" Discord raises his hand to join in on the motion.

"Four!" As does Sweetie Belle.

"NO!" Luna shouts in objection. She stomps up to Discord and yells up to him. "I refuse to be stuck in the body of a child, and to have said child be in control of mine!"

"You don't trust me?" A timid tone of Luna's own voice uttered from behind her. Turning back around, she sees a very dejected lunar princess stand-in staring at her with watery eyes and a sad frown.

Luna feels flabbergasted at the strange sight. "D-d-don't give me my sad puppy eyes! I don't even look cute when I do it."

"I don't know..." Celestia said from behind her. "She's pulling it off rather well."

"I grew numb to Sweetie doing this to me," Rarity added. "But this different. I wouldn't say no to Luna acting sad."

"I am NOT supposed to be cute!" Luna shouted in refusal. However, the longer she stared at herself making that particular pout, the more she broke down. "Fine!" She reluctantly raises her hoof. "I'll go along..."

"YES!" Sweetie Belle cheered and picked Luna up in a tight hug. She swung her side-to-side within her grasp. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She caps off her gratitude by kissing Luna on the cheek and nuzzling up to her, giggling like an excited school-filly.

One camera flash later, Discord is holding onto another photo. "I have a feeling we'll all want to see this again." He passes the picture of Sweetie Belle cheek-to-cheek with Luna making one of the cutest faces a princess has ever made over to Celestia.

"Thank you." Celestia tucks the photo away. "And now that we have everything settled, why don't we start off properly? I have work to do."

"At once." Discord obliges her by grabbing Luna by the scruff of her neck out of Sweetie's grasp and materializing another door. He turned the knob, opened up the door, and tossed Luna onto Rarity's bed. "Have fun, you two!"

"I'll make sure she does." Celestia replies as she walks through and closes the door.

Discord turns to the temporary princesses. "Anything else you may need?"

"I think we'll be okay." Sweetie Belle replied.

"Very well." He snaps his fingers to summon another bag of popcorn. "I'll be sure to let you know if the world begins to end." Another snap and he teleports out, leaving Rarity and Sweetie alone in Celestia's chambers.

"So, Princess Rarity..." Sweetie entices her sister. "What shall be our first royal decree?"

"Mmmm... Let's hold out on that for now." Rarity dons a somewhat sinister smile and looks back at her new flank. "I think I'd rather raid the royal refrigerator."

"Race you!" Sweetie shoves Rarity out of the way as she bolts out the door. Rarity soon follows in hot pursuit. "Last one there gets the smaller slice of cake!"

"Get back here, you silly filly!" Rarity joyfully called out.

Meanwhile, in the royal kitchen, the chef was busy preparing pancakes. He suddenly gets a strong feeling in his gut that told him something was wrong, causing him to gasp and flip one of the flapjacks up high and stick to the ceiling.

The other present cook looks at his paralyzed boss with concern. "What is it, Chef?"

He wastes no time in diving behind a counter on the far side of the kitchen. He hastily beckons his assistant over. "Quick! Get over here, boy!"

The young cook obeys his boss and seeks the same shelter. "Why are we hiding?"

"Princess Celestia... Her sweet tooth!" He brings his partner close to him in a fearful embrace. "Ohhh... We're going to have a huge mess..."

As the pancake stretches and finally falls down to the floor, the door to the kitchen flings open and soon had the royal sisters stuck side-by-side.

Sweetie Belle grunts as she tries to break free and reach the fridge. "Get your big flank out of the way!"

"My flank?!" Rarity snaps back. "I can tell yours is stuck in the frame, too!"

As they both struggle to get through the door, Discord is enjoying his view from the dining room window with another fresh bowl of popcorn. He pours some melted butter and seasoning salt on top as chuckles to himself. "Oh, Celestia... You need more weekends off."

Down To No Business

With the sun now in Discord's hands -which he knows better to leave in the sky-, Equestria could finally start off their day as normal. They would spend the rest of the morning conversing about what could have caused the delay in the sun rising, but they trust the princesses to such a degree that they believe they have a reason for everything.

Celestia felt it was best to get the dresses out of the way. Soon she'll be safe to do whatever she desired, even go outside and mingle. Hard at work inspecting the finalized products as they sat displayed on the mannequins, she lifts and fondles the materials to get every detail down perfectly. Her littler-than-before sister watches impatiently from the bedroom door. "You sure you don't want to start off with breakfast first, sister?"

"Neither of us are adept cooks." Celestia replied as she continued scanning the dresses. "I'm afraid of even making my own toast, lest the castle burns down."

"As if an 'all-powerful demi-goddess of the sun' would allow that to happen." Luna replies slyly. "But if you're so timid about having your sorry sunny flank scorched by pancake batter or whatnot, I suppose I'll have to prepare breakfast myself." She closes the door behind her and heads downstairs.

Celestia had still not broken her concentration. She kept the first dress of Rarity's line suspended in the air as she levitated over the very pieces of fabric, string, and sequins to commence her duplication.

She focused on the finished dress and caused the magical field around it to stretch out an arm of sorts that reached out and engulfed the materials. They got sucked in like a vacuum up the arm and disappearing into the dress like a black hole. The dress started becoming a more and more opaque shade of white as it absorbed more of the materials. Soon enough, it began to shine brightly to the point of leaving the colours of the dress completely indistinguishable. Celestia set the fabrics down and stared at the glowing white dress. One spark and the dress split into two, with the white shine completely fading away. Celestia's method had proven to be successful, as well as not as straining as she may have thought. "Oh, splendid! Not too much of a headache either." She takes the replica and lays it on Rarity's bed. "I should make a note to teach her that technique once we switch back."

After setting the first dress back on the mannequin for the time being, she starts heading down to the dining area. Upon opening the door, she was quickly greeted by the smell of smoke; smoke which was so obviously coming from the kitchen, and had to have been caused by certain pseudo-filly. She bolts downstairs to her sister's aid. "Luna!"

Luna was backed away from the counter and pressed her back up against one of the dining chairs. A small ceramic bowl was expelling an alarmingly sized flame from the top. Whatever Luna tried to do, she had apparently gotten it burned. She turned to her sister and let out a squeak for help, "I need an adult!"

Acting quickly to prevent the house from burning down and getting either of them hurt, Celestia turns on the kitchen faucet from where she stood and directed a splash of water to where the bowl still sat extinguishing the flames before the fire spread to the wooden cabinets.

She rushed over to Luna and held her in a panicked embrace. "Oh my goodness! Please tell me you're not hurt! We're vulnerable in these bodies, remember?!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Luna pushed her away. "I just need to get used to using this filly's magic." She tries to lift the bowl off the counter and over to the table. It wobbles about as Luna struggles to keep it airborne. But despite her apparent best efforts, her magic faltered from exhaustion and the bowl crashed to tiled floor and shattered. Luna growled. "It's so unpredictable! I was able to open the cabinets and cereal box with ease just a moment ago!" She groans as she buries her face in her hooves. "Perhaps I shouldn't even be trying while Sweetie's magic is still in a stage of immaturity."

Celestia seemed confused. "Wait. What were you trying to make?"

Luna drooped her ears down in embarrassment. "Cereal and milk..."

Celestia shook off the events that had just transpired and went over to comfort her sister. "Cheer up. We can't let one little slip ruin our vacation. Things can only get better. It's only our first hour after all." She looks out the window. "I wonder how our friends are doing for their breakfast."

Rarity and Sweetie Belle were sitting hunched over the royal dining table putting their new god-like appetites and stomachs to good use. While Rarity managed to maintain a slight form of regalness and proper etiquette as she used her fork to shovel in everything in front of her while keeping her mouth clean, Sweetie had forgone manners altogether and opted to simply use her front hooves and ignore all the crumbs she was dropping around her. They were both absolutely gorging themselves on cakes, pie, pastries and all other sorts of treats like it was nopony's business. But that didn't stop a small group of confused and frankly concerned guards from watching from around the kitchen door.

The guards watched in awe as their once elegant bosses feasted like wild animals on a smorgasbord of dishes that are unfit to have so early in the day, let alone for breakfast. One bravely entered the room and approached the disguised Sweetie Belle. "Your Highnesses. I hate to be a worrywart. But I must advise you to take it easy on these sweets."

Sweetie Belle lifted her head and froze. She turns to face him with her mouth full of raspberry tart and responds. "Ah dun thee--" She spits some crumbs onto the guard's face before catching herself and swallowing. "I don't see what the problem is." She gestures with her dirty hooves and mouth. "It's not like Celestia and I will get sick from all this, right?"

The guard answers back with a momentarily chippy tone of voice. "Oh, we all know that very well, Your Highness." He promptly shifts back to sounding concerned. "I'm speaking more on the behalf that... at this rate, there will be nothing left for any of us." He swings his hoof back to his posse back at the door.

"Oh!" Rarity exclaims as she lets down her fork and wipes her mouth with a handkerchief. "How insensitive of us!" She sounded genuinely sarcastic. Though not at the guards' expense, but rather to go along with a little joke and over-dramatize the situation. "I shall see to it that this is rectified immediately!" She leaps off of her chair and trots over to the window between the dining area and kitchen. The cooks were already standing in attention as she arrived. "Clear your schedule!" Rarity declared with a smile. "For the rest of the day, you are to prepare enough strawberry shortcake for the entire castle staff!"

The cooks were taken aback by this request. The younger stallion was especially shaken. "The- the... th-th-- All of the guards?!"

Rarity tried to inquire and quell their worries. "Oh, we only need a slice each. One cake for every dozen should do the trick. I'm sure you can accomplish this with the ingredients and equipment available."

The elder chef responds with a level tone. "I'm sure it's feasible, Princess. I always make sure we're practically overstocked with any given material. But... by sundown?"

"There's only two of us after all." The younger sous-chef added. "And I'm still fairly new."

"Aw, Now you know I don't like to hear my royal workers doubt themselves." She leans in through the window and gives a quick kiss on his cheek. "I have faith in you."

The sous-chef stands stunned for several seconds staring into space. He soon quickly turns to his boss and gives an overly dramatized and stiff military salute with the utmost confidence. "Let's get to work, Chef!!"

The chef too stood frozen at the shock of seeing the solar princess take time to show such affection. But he also received a shot of adrenaline when he felt the same happen to him just afterwards. Turning to give a similar gesture, he inadvertently shouts into his bosses face. "We'll bake enough shortcake to blot out your sun, Your Highness!" He calms himself down as he sees Rarity recede away from him with a slight look of discomfort on her face. "...If you don't mind my phrasing, that is."

Rarity fans the air in front of her away with her hoof; the chef didn't have the best morning breath. She quickly slaps her smile back on as she answers, "oh, not all. It's nice to see you two so willing and zealous." As she backed away from the window she bore witness to the cooks zipping away to the back closet area to dig out all the ingredients. She could have sworn she heard saws and jackhammers on her way back to her seat.

Sweetie Belle and the guard who was still standing at her side were noticeably confused. The guard continued to look dumbfounded as he let out an audible "uuuuuuhhhhh..." When Sweetie angled her head down to him, he began to feel slightly nervous. "I-I... We can leave now, if there's nothing else."

Sweetie Belle took a quick glance at her sister sitting at the other end of the table, then back at the guard. Maintaining a straight face, she put a new theory to the test and planted a quick peck of her own on his cheek.

The guard immediately went stiff and felt his mane stand on end for a moment. He then turned around and charged at his unexpecting squad. "Get back to your posts! Now!! We have tedious positions to tend to!" He knocked through them and toppled them over like bowling pins. Not wanting to disobey their commander, they disregarded the princesses' strange tactics and scrambled away to leave them to their meal.

Sweetie Belle couldn't help but smile. "Well... Looks like we won't have any trouble getting their attention." She states to her sister.

Rarity chuckles in response. "Oh, like they had trouble before so. I just found a way to make them not be such sticks in the mud."

"Speaking of which..." Sweetie licks her hooves and lips clean and gets up from her seat. "I'm going to see what kind of fun I can have with Luna's 'sticks'."

"Are they even up this time of day?"

"Oh, they will be..." Sweetie shoots back a cheeky smile as she rears the corner and heads down the hall. With a small spring in her step, she proceeds down towards the main throne room, thinking it would be a good place to start. "Now where can I find them anyway?" She mutters to herself.

Up To No Good

"Oh, Luna..." Discord chuckled as he leaned back in his La-Z-Colt beside his film projector that displayed all the highlights of the four's shenanigans. "I didn't know you had it in you. My cereal doesn't spontaneously combust more than twice a month." He tosses a kernel into his mouth and takes a hard bite. He cringes as he feels his teeth disintegrate around the unpopped abomination. He spits out all of the contents onto his paw and stares at the incriminating kernel in disgust. "Unek-THeptable." He picks up the dastardly piece and flicks it away before shoving all the shards of broken teeth back into his mouth. He swishes them around as if he was rinsing with water and then inspected his repaired pearly smile in a mirror.

Suddenly, the projector began to falter and film unwound and fell to the floor. "Oh, no no no!" Discord panicked as he picked up the ends of the frayed film and paused the machine. He brings the broken film up close to his eye and minutely positioned it back into its original state. The film, thanks to being is his hands, repaired itself and appeared to have never snapped. Discord sighs as he examines his DIY. "Now where was I?" He scans through the film to find the frame where he had left off. Upon finding a new scene entirely that came afterward, he sets the reel back into place and resumed the projector. But not before taking out another bag of popcorn from his microwave and dumping it into his bowl.

Luna was pacing nervously up and down the upstairs hallway while Celestia continued on duplicating the dresses in swift fashion (pun half-intended). "Sister!" She called back. "What do fillies usually partake in on the weekend? I can't wait for those dresses forever, I will surely have to rely on your wisdom for the time being."

Celestia had barely heard and registered Luna's comment. She was hard at work starting on replication of the last dress in the line. That and the onset of a headache of the continuous strain which slightly muffled her hearing caused an involuntary moment of silence before she answered back. "I'll be finished in just a couple of minutes, sister." She seemed to have sighed out loudly. She continued to overestimate the capabilities of the everyday unicorn. But that still didn't deter her from finishing her entire load all in one stride. "Don't... worry about me. We can... play a board game or something. Why don't you... dig one out in the meantime?"

Luna started to head out the door when she took careful note on her sister's condition. She may have known better than to try at all, what with Sweetie's magic being juvenile. But Celestia still needed to learn not to try too hard. Just because she knew advanced magic spells doesn't mean she has the raw power to back it up. What terrible strain she must be putting herself through. Then again, the opportunity of an actual weekend appeared to act as one heck of a driving force for her efficiency. Nonetheless, Luna felt it better to focus on something more important than a board game. "How about I search the medicine cabinet for ibuprofen, sister?"

The realization hit Celestia like a locomotive. She set her materials down and sighed as she fell back onto her haunches. "Yes, please." She groans out while holding her forehead. She heard the pitter-patter of a filly's hooves head down the hall as she tried to massage away her migraine. Doing such an advanced magical technique may be quite effective, but not so when done continuously. "Perhaps I should leave some for the evening..." She fell back to lay on the floor and closed her eyes in exhaustion. Her chest pumped slowly as she took in laboured breaths. She could not remember the last time she felt like this.

"Princess... Princess..." A male voice chanted to her. Her condition clouded her mind with visions of being back at the castle and being looked over by a worried guard. "Your Highness. Please, you mustn't overwork yourself."

"I'm fine." Celestia responded. "There's no need to be worried."

"Honestly, I'm more exasperated than worried." A small filly's voice chirped from the guard's mouth before Celestia returned to reality completely. Luna was standing directly above her with a bottle of pills in magical grasp.

Celestia twisted herself around and sat upright. "I thought you weren't going to use your magic."

"Child-proof cap." Luna pointed out. "Would not have mattered if I dropped it. Which I actually did."

Celestia took the bottle in her hooves for the sake of getting rest and removed the cap. She realized that she may need water for this. Being the demi-goddess she was, she was not attuned to taking pills to cure her ails. Fortunately, Rarity was the type who preferred to have a glass of water on her nightstand as she slept. However warm it may be at this point, she promptly got up from her spot on the floor and trotted over. Landing the pill on the back of her tongue and finishing the whole glass in a single swig, Celestia experienced the oddly satisfying feeling of the pill slithering down her throat. She sighs heavily in relief and crawls back onto the bed.

"20 minutes, it said." Luna quoted the bottles label. "Then maybe we can get around to something hopefully more exciting than a board game."

"I agree." Celestia repents on her silly idea from earlier. "Maybe building a fort out of cushions and blankets may be more appropriate."

"Aren't we too old to be doing such childish activities?"

Celestia just turns her head and stares at Luna with half-lidded eyes, waiting for the light to turn on in her head. Watching her look down at her adolescent body and sighing in defeat made her smile and giggle. "Don't lie to me. Building a fort still sounds fun no matter how old we are."

Luna shrugs. "Fair enough. You got me there."

The doorbell suddenly rings, causing Celestia to reel back in soreness and Luna to gasp in shock.

"What was that?!" Luna inquired. Being back from her imprisonment on the moon for just a few years left her unaware of some inventions that had occurred in her absence.

"That was... a doorbell." Celestia groaned. "Someone is at the front door. So you should go see who it is."

"Ohh. That actually sounds like quite a convenient little device." Luna proceeded down the stairs to answer the door. "Being able to know who's at the door without someone else having around to answer it for you... and hearing it throughout the house. A commoner's life sounds more and more intriguing." She mumbled to herself before arriving at the front door. She opened it and was unable to give a proper greeting due to a couple of enthusiastic fillies about Sweetie's age blurting in her face.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle!" They both greet with just a hint too much charisma.

Luna shrieked and backed up from the sudden fright and landed on her flank.

"Oops," said the orange one. "Sorry for scaring you."

"We were just too excited t' begin on our new crusadin' list." The cream-coloured one finished.

Luna recovered from her scare and had just split seconds to recall the names of her visitors. I remember helping them with their nightmares. What were their names? Ugh. Oh! Scootaloo and... Applebloom, that's right. "I'm fine, you two." She invites them inside and closes the door behind them. Having heard of their cutie mark crusading routine, Luna was at least slightly up in the know of what they were refering to when they mentioned their list. Also figuring that they must have made previous arrangements to meet first thing in the morning, being the adventurous tykes they were, she went along. "So, what's on the agenda?"

"Well, first..." Scootaloo lays down a short list on the ground. "Applebloom suggested corn husking. Don't ask me why." She turns back to her with a look of confusion. Why the apple farmer thought she could have a chance at a cutie mark about corn was still beyond her.

"Hey!" Applebloom retorted. "Ya never know. Besides, if it isn't my talent, it could be one of yers." She takes another look at the list. "Plus Ah don't think yer one to talk if y' thought of make-up artist."

Scootaloo sighs. "Well, like you said, you never know. Heck, I might actually be good at it."

"Won't know unless you try, after all." Luna coined.

"Thank you!" Applebloom blurted. "In that case, why don' we try dairy farmers?"

"Says the--" Scootaloo cuts herself off and recalls the conversation they just finished. "Never mind."

"Uhhhh..." Luna was unsure of what to go along with. She figured it would be best to start out with something fairly labour-inducive just to get it out of the way. If something bad were to happen down the line, it's best she finds the other limits to this body as soon as possible. "I like the dairy farmer idea. We could make some friends with the cows there."

"I agree!" Scootaloo furls up the list and starts heading back out the door. "Dairy farm it is!"

Applebloom was about to follow her out back to the scooter when she catches Luna trying to walk past her. "Don' forget t' let Rarity know yer gonna be out."

"Oh... right." Luna had almost let Celestia slip her mind, she doesn't normally let her know when she leaves the castle for non-royal business. "Rarity!" She hollers up the stairs. "I'm going out with my friends!"

Back up in Rarity's room, Celestia was trying to doze off, hoping the pill would kick in soon. She listens to Luna's last words before she left the house. "I don't know when I'll be back! See you later!" She doesn't give a response. She flips over to her side and massages the sides of her head. She groans, "ugh, sick AND all alone. What a way to start my vacation..." She takes Rarity's blindfold and ties it around her eyes to get in a quick nap. "I trust that she'll have fun for me though." She sighs.

As the crusaders cruised through the town on the scooter and wagon, Luna was clinging onto Applebloom like a vice. Knowing very well that she couldn't fly and that a child's body is a especially fragile she didn't want to take any chances at stumbling out of the wagon; much to her friend's chagrin.

Applebloom had let her hold on at first under the oblivious thought that it may have been a hug, but it quickly donned on her how tight she was trying to cling. "Um... You okay, Sweetie Belle?" She asks back to her friend.

"No," Luna squeaks out in fear. "We hit a rock! I almost fell out!"

Scootaloo calls back, "but we hit tons of rocks along the way! And since when are you so afraid of falling out? We've been doing this for almost two years."

Luna didn't know how to answer back. She shifted her wide eyes around and tightened her lips together. "Uhh..." After swallowing her fear of falling out and having it replaced with concern of blowing her cover, she lets go of Applebloom's back and grabs onto the sides of the wagon.

Applebloom still did not let her confusion go. "Yer actin' a little odd today."

Luna didn't answer, she instead gave a nervous grin.

Scootaloo disregarded and continued on with their trek to the dairy farm.

Rarity sat anxiously atop her new throne, darting her eyes around to take in the scenery of the wide open room; the stained-glass window mosaics, the tapestries, the red carpet, and her two guards that stood patiently at the base. She was a princess. Taking it all in left her with a most ecstatic smile and her shoulders shrugging up to the sides of her head.

One of her guards couldn't help but listen to the subtle noises she made. He turned around just in time to see his Princess Celestia making a rather childish expression as she stared out one of the windows. If he wasn't trained to know better, he'd admit to his boss that she looked cute. "Forgive me, Your Highness. But you seem particularly cheerful today."

Rarity snapped out of her blissful trance and responded to the guard. "Oh! Is it that noticeable?" She blushes. "Oh, look at me. I'm going to have myself bored to pieces in no time." She sighs and slumps over the arm of her throne. "What could I possibly do -as a princess- to kill some of my time off?"

The same guard taps his comrade on the shoulder to have him join in. "Have you thought of continuing on your millennial memoir?"

That idea sounded a lot like literary business to her; not her field of expertise, and of course, can't be done without any of Celestia's knowledge. "Mmm... It's been far too long a while since I've worked on it..." She's hoping her assumption doesn't lead to one of them saying that Celestia just worked on it last week or something. She took the split second of silence as clearance to continue. "So I think I'll just nix the whole thing." She hops up from her seat and descends the steps of the throne. "I'm sure I can find something to do..." As she was about to leave the room, her ears perk up and she got a wonderful... awful idea...

Rarity turns her head back to the guards with a mischievous grin to rival Discord's, causing them to tense up at their posts. She turns and walks back a few steps and speaks to the one who spoke up before.

The other guard couldn't help but practically do all the trembling and sweating for him. He hasn't seen Celestia make that face since the "Night of the Great Moan".

...That poor triple chocolate statue never saw it coming.

Rarity stared intently into his eyes. "Tell me... You are loyal to me down to the core, correct?"

"Yes, Your Highness." The first guard confirmed, remaining stoic and proud.

"...And you would do anything I ask?"

"Yes, Your Highness." He repeats as his comrade audibly gulps from beside.

"In that case..." Rarity takes a step back to give him some room. "Sing me a little number."

He didn't seem the least bit confused by her request, though that couldn't be said about his partner. "Which one, Princess?"

"Whatever you can think of." Rarity's tone of voice had loosened up.

"Very well..." He jabs the blunt end of his spear onto the ground and propped himself up on his hind legs. After gaining his balance, he turned to his side and places his other front hoof on the front of his helmet...

Hello, my baby! - Hello, my honey!

Hello, my ragtime gaaaal!

Send me a kiss by wire

Baby, my heart's on fire!

If you refuse me - Honey, you'll lose me

And you'll be left alone, Oh baby, telephone

And tell me I'm your oooooowwwnn

The guard returns to his regular post as if nothing happened, leaving his partner awestruck and his boss impressed in more ways than one.

Rarity smiled widely at her guards' apparent willingness to carry out any order she could think to give them. With an entire castle full of them, she's bound to think of something to do that takes advantage of this. Though, she quickly considered against it. Whether such a strange command could blow her cover, or maybe Celestia would be upset at the grievous misuse of her guards' loyalty. Or maybe, just maybe, give Celestia the idea to organize stunts of her own. Nonetheless, Rarity was immensely proud. "Oh, wonderful! That certainly brightened up my day more than my sun ever could."

The guard responded with deep, prolonged, bellowing frog croak. The princess and other guard were understandably befuddled.

Discord was standing above and behind his projector screen, acting as the marionetteer for the guard who was displayed. He pauses dangling his tools around in his hands and reconsiders. "Okay, maybe that was going a little far..." He drops them and returns to his seat. "I'm sorry, dear Rarity. But I had to make my own fun there."

Rarity had long since disregarded her little surprise performance as she merrily trots down the hallway. She thinks to herself, I remember something about Celestia saying she sometimes likes to harass the guards... Perhaps I can spend the next hour or so playing small games with the more stiff ones.

She has made her way out to the royal garden and proceeded along the cobblestone trails. After a tranquil few minutes, Rarity had come along a pair of unicorn guards who were stationed at the opening of a path that led out of the fountain area. These two guards were no different from the others; stoic as usual. Rarity had a few ideas brewing, but had them put aside for a moment.

The guards gave a quick bow and greeting once Rarity made herself known. "Working hard as usual, I trust?" She asks.

The guard on the left responded. "As always, Your Highness. Though standing here guarding the fountain still leaves plenty of time to ourselves."

"This is your assigned post?" Rarity inquires with a hint of disbelief. "You two just stand here all day and watch the fountain?"

"'Twas our task for months now, Princess." He answers.

The other guard speaks up. "We don't mind it at all. It may be uneventful, but it's also low risk, low responsibility, and no stress. If you're suggesting a change in shift for us, it would depend."

Rarity takes a seat between the two. "Not at all. I suppose if you both enjoy being here, I see no reason to reassign you." She was getting poised and ready to execute one of her little tricks. However, she didn't want to be too sudden. She decided staying around for a minute or two would help to lull them into a false sense of security.

Rarity's irksome plans were tossed out the metaphorical window after just 40 seconds of sitting there doing nothing; seeing, hearing nothing... except that darned fountain in front of them. Rarity groans in discomfort. "Oh, what have you two done to me to deserve this? Don't tell me again that you want to stay."

The guard to her left paused for a moment. "In that case, that will be difficult to answer, Your Highness."

Rarity scoffs off her guard's blasphemous words and stands up to look him in the eye. "Whether you enjoy it here or not, I cannot stand the notion of having you two doing something so unproductive." She recalls that they said that Celestia assigned them to this location and rubs her forehead. "Oh, what was I thinking?" A much better idea had popped into her head and she began to smile. "Ah! I know what I'll have you do." She leans down to look at him from his level. "Disregard the fountain and carry out this little demand for the day: Go into town, ask around for which little shop makes the best coffee, then go there and get me a mocha latte in the largest size they have. Be sure to keep it warm with your magic until you return." She stands back upright and allows clearance for the guard to take his leave.

He looked confused at first. But then he remembered that Celestia had the weekend off. Perhaps she's finding new things to try? She has never had coffee before. Nonetheless, the guard left his post and proceeded on his task. "Yes, Princess." Before turning the corner leading out, he looked back to his boss for further information. "Would you like it to be fat-free, Your Highness?" He couldn't help but finish his inquiry with a subtle, yet sly grin.

Rarity shot him a playfully stern expression for a split second before remembering that it was not technically her body he was referring to. She fakes a slightly dejected and embarrassed blush before answering with a regal smile. "Yes, please." During the last moment she had him at her disposal, she catches him for one more command. "Oh! While you're out there, feel free to bring home a date if you can."

This made the guard's eyes shoot wide open. However, now filled will adrenaline, he sets off with great haste. "Yes, ma'am!"

Rarity promptly shifted her attention to the other guard. "And you..." He stands in attention, ready for whatever unorthodox command she may have. "Do you know anything about massages?"

"Yes, Princess." He answers. "To help relieve stress and muscle tension to other fellow guards, we are all trained to know the basics. But don't you have professional masseuses at your command?"

"Yes," Rarity replies. "But I am asking you. I feel like giving you an opportunity to break away from any rut you may be in and give you a special task just like I did with your partner. Besides, wouldn't you consider yourself crazy to turn down a chance to get so close with me?"

"I don't consider myself to be in a rut, but you are quite right about the latter. Very well." He sets down his spear and removes the armoured slippers on his front hooves. "Where do you wish to receive your massage?"

"The rim of the fountain sounds suitable, wouldn't you agree?" Rarity suggests.

"Quite, Your Highness." He concurs. "It's nice and level and has plenty of sitting room."

"Are you making a crack at my flank like the other one just did?"

He tenses up and looks up to her with worried eyes.

Rarity looks back to her sun-butt and continues. "Because I don't mind the small ones at this point."

The guard was still a bit confused. "I... suppose?"

"Well, no big deal." Rarity trots over to the fountain and begins to lay down on the rim. She tucks her left hind leg under her body and allows the right one to dangle in the cool water. After nuzzling her mug down onto her front hooves and relaxing her wings, she beckons the guard over. "Shall we begin?"

He plasters on a delighted smile and walks over to his boss. He removes his helmet and gives a quick bow before staring. "At once."

As he proceeds with a routine, gentle massage, Rarity closes her eyes and allows a soft coo to escape her. Surely Celestia is feeling just as comfortable as I am...

Shenanigans at Dawn

The sun still lingered just above the mountain tops, waiting to rise to its further position. That is if a certain someone actually remembers how to do his one job during his little ploy. The popcorn can wait.

"Oh, my! 9 already?!" Discord scampered to his patio on an indiscreet tower of the castle. He put on a pair of sunglasses and held a chart out at arm's length that displayed various sun positions and the times at which laid. "Hmmm..." The devious draconequus bit his tongue as he studied the chart. He soon reaches out his free claw and "plucks" the sun from the its very top and raises it to a higher spot among the clouds. The light now less yellow and more vibrant, Discord took it as a job well done. "Eh, close enough." He rapidly folds the chart into an airplane and tosses it over his shoulder.

Eager to get back to his snooping as usual, I see, the imprints left in his chair welcomed him back with more fresh buttery delight at his beck and call. He ignores a male voice from outside exclaiming from sudden pain to his eye and leg and resumes his more important duty.

Having completely lost track of what she meant to attend to, Sweetie had been wandering the halls for ten minutes now. The hard clop-clop sounds of her adult hooves echoed throughout the emptiness. Thanks to her short attention span, Luna's usual duties were no longer a concern to her. As far as she knew, she had a holiday to spend as the princess of night with no responsibilities.

Yet she could not muster up what she could do to have fun. A filly in an adult's body, Luna's body, and she cannot put her imagination to work and find a way to put her new power to use? She lets out a sigh to herself in disappointment.

"Your Highness!" A mare's voice called from behind. Sweetie turned to face her. From her formal outfit and glasses, Sweetie's best guess was that she was an adviser. Her somewhat haughty tone of voice had Sweetie stand in attention. Not that she needed to, being a princess and all, but she felt it was important to show this dignitary any respect necessary. "There you are! Terribly sorry for being so up front, but where have you been? Your guards are still waiting!"

Sweetie instantly remembered what she meant to do after breakfast and began to panic. She had mere moments to process how she was supposed to respond. Asking about Luna's guards was out of the was question, it was sure to lead to her blowing her cover. Nonetheless, she kept a level head and quickly responded after a brief pause. "Oh my! How foolish of me!" She began to rush back down the hall in the opposite direction. "Forgive me! I've been having a little much on my mind lately! Thank you!" As she approaches a corner she was repeating over and over in her head hopes that the mare doesn't call to her she's going the wrong way. From the lack a of a response, she could relieve herself in a safe assumption that wherever Luna's guards were waiting must have been where she was heading. Now if only she knew where exactly to go.

"Let's see... Lunar guards... probably sensitive to sunlight... check downstairs... near the center of the castle." Sweetie muttered to herself as she makes haste to a still undisclosed location. She knew for sure to keep heading down flights of stairs and get away from the sunlight from what she could deduce. One particularly wide set that began in a hallway not too far from the main throne room caught her eye. It led down to a large set of doors. Surely whatever it was must hold her answers.

Beyond the doors was a pair of spiraling staircases mirroring each other. The lack of natural light only fueled Sweetie's hopes. At the bottom of the stairs she walked down another long corridor, this one decorated with various portraits of bat-ponies donned in pale violet armour. Yes! This has to be it! She smiled and felt her worries were about to be put to rest. How lucky would she be to find to right room on the first try?

Passing through what she hoped to be the last doors of her journey, she was met with an alarming amount of dark-coloured ponies with their backs facing away from her. Sweetie took immediate notice to their wings; black and leathery, definitely bat-like. They all turned their heads to face her. She then spied that they all had narrow, serpent-like eyes. A few of them had their mouths open slightly. She could see fangs in the mouths of the guards closest to her. This had to be the place, without a doubt.

They all remained silent. Sweetie grew more nervous with every passing second. She looked around and noticed a podium on a stage on the opposite end of the room from where she had entered. No aisle down the middle, and no clearings on either sides of the columns upon columns of bat-pony guards. She quickly realized there was no need for such space; thestrals can all fly.

...Oh no. They're expecting me to fly.

As several guards continued to stare her down, Sweetie Belle tried her best to improvise; or at least stall for time to think of a better idea. She slowly splayed out her wings, more so to get accustomed to using them. Seconds went by as she continued to rise them up and out to her sides, being careful not to let her childish fears show. The guards remained silent as Sweetie felt her wings reach their furthest points.

It dawns on her: These guards do whatever Luna says. Why fly over when you can simply make your own way? Sweetie claps her wings together and swings them down directly in front of her, landing them inches away from being between two of her guards. Arrogance radiated from her facial expression as she took in a deep breath through her nose and tipped her chin up. She slowly parts her wings, and subsequently, the thestrals follow suit. Now with a clear path for her to walk up to the podium atop a small stage, Sweetie relaxes herself and cheerfully approaches.

Sweetie hops up and positions herself behind the dais with her chest puffed out. After a quick scan of the crowd, she breaks the silence by landing her front hooves on the top of the podium and gives a long, drolling speech.

"Now! We all know... why we're here." Her face was passably masked in authority as she takes her precious time with each sentence. She also darted her eyes to random guards in a shifty manner. "We are here... to review... some past events. As we always do. But first!... I need... to pinpoint... the perpetrator... of--"

"OK, YES! It was me!" One of thestral guards blurted out from near the middle of the crowd. "I did it, I did it! I took your sister's last cranberry muffin! It's here! I'm hiding it under the floorboards!" He pushes some of his comrades out of the way and pries up a loose board. "And you're not going to stop me!" He pulls out the incriminating muffin which was sealed in a small bag. "I couldn't stand knowing my favourite treat was so close by and not being eaten by ME!" He yanks it out and quickly stuffs it in whole. As he desperately chews away, begins to fall over to his side and sob softly in his guilt.

Sweetie and the other guards were noticeably confused. She was, however, immensely relieved. My dumb luck doesn't seem to have any limits. Now, how would Luna handle this? She regains her composure and beats on the podium once more. "Stand straight!" Her guard obeyed and stared back with the face of a guilt-ridden foal awaiting punishment. "Now... I see you are distressed. But I assure you, my sister is far more benevolent than you give her credit for. She has had plenty of treats in her lifetime. The..." She pauses to scan her limited vocabulary, "absence of but a single muffin would surely mean little, if anything in the long run." The guard began to calm down. "All you need to do is confess. Heck, I'll bet you she didn't even notice it was gone." A lucky line for her to end on, considering Rarity would have to go along with it.

"Yes, of course!" The guard responds in raised spirits. "Right away, your highness." He wasted no time in bolting out the doors to find the solar diety.

As the doors closed themselves back up, Sweetie bided her time by leaning over the podium and spouting more improvised nonsense. "Any other confessions?" Much to her surprise...

"I only took this job because I can't sleep at night!"

"I've never kissed a mare!"

"I once experimented with kissing a mare!"

"I'm scared of seeing more than two colours of the rainbow at once!"

"I've always wanted to be a concert pianist!"

"My fangs are fake!"

"STOP!" Sweetie halted them before she had a riot on her hooves. She turns her head toward one of them in particular. "You want claws for what?!"

Scootaloo's scooter rested securely locked to the porch of the farmhouse at their destination. She herself took the three's helmets and set them down next to the stairs leading to the front door. "Alright, are we all ready?"

Luna was about to answer in tandem with Applebloom when a middle-aged colt opened the front door and greeted them.

"Ah, There you are!" He wore a modest plaid button-shirt and a straw hat. Judging from how he spoke, he seemed to be pleasant. "I'm glad you three girls were nice enough to give me a helping hoof. Most fillies these days only seem to think of themselves."

"Probably because they're a lot more privileged today than they were back when you were their age." Luna blurted out in a mature deadpanned voice. "They don't understand the meaning behind a hard day's work when machines and magic are evolving to do everything for them." She soon realized her mistake and froze in place. Scootaloo and Applebloom stared at her in confusion, as did the farmer to a lesser extent. She desperately tried to cover it up. "Which... is why we are here!" She ensured her new tone was fraught with childish enthusiasm. "To set a good example for our generation!" Oh, sweet Pestilence... Do children speak like that from time to time? She smiles widely and nervously as she turned to face Applebloom standing inches away.

"Uh, sure! What she said." The adolescent apple-bucker blindly concurred.

I suppose so. Luna sighs and let's herself relax.

The farmer disregarded her remark for the most part. "Well, at any rate, I'm still thrilled to have three willing assistants." He makes his way down the front stairs and follows a path leading to the back field. "Come. Let's get down to business."

Now gathered in the large barn out back, the Crusaders were awaiting instructions as the farmer put on a long white coat. "Alright, While I get the stations set up, I just need you three to out into the field and let the cows know it's time for milking. Should be simple enough, just be polite and you shouldn't have any trouble at all." He points them to the doors at the other end that led out to the field. "I'll be right here if you need help."

Did I just agree to physical labour? Luna reluctantly followed the other girls out into the field. They all spread out to different sections to gather groups of cows more efficiently. Luna decided to take an area close to the barn. Well, at any rate, just don't blow your cover. Being a pleasant little filly. She walks up to a random cow and smiles. "Good morning, my bovine friends."

"Oh!" One of the cows turns her head to the source of the sweet voice. "Who might you be?"

"My friends and I are helping out with the milking this morning. It is time for all of you to report to the barn." Luna made sure to maintain her nice and innocent demeanor.

"Ah, now how could we say no to such a polite filly?" She begins to take heed toward the barn. "Old Brown sure knows how to pick his assistants."

As Luna sees the other cows following suit, she began to ponder. Wow. I doubt it would've been that easy as myself. I guess being a cute little filly has more advantages than i thought. I wonder how I else I can use my new cuteness... She begins to raise her hoof to her chin but gets it covered in dirt. "Ah!" She looks down in momentary horror. Okay, just dirt. Phew.

Ding dong!

"Cranberry muffin!" Celestia chirped as she was stirred from her brief slumber. The sound of the bell, still unfamiliar to her, was enough to have her immediately spring back to life. Her first thought was to, naturally, answer the door. She got out of bed and started to head down the stairs, noticing along the way that her migraine had subsided. Upon opening the door...

"Good morning, Rarity!!" Pinkie Pie nearly pressed their faces together with her abrupt greeting. The sudden noise causing Celestia to yell in surprise and fall backward onto her rump. "Or rather 'Good belated morning'! Isn't that weird?! You think the princesses were planning something so special they had to hold off raising the sun for 15 minutes and 23.0462855397 seconds?"

Celestia brought herself upright and smiled timidly. She knows little of what Twilight's friends are truly capable of, but that little is still enough to know what to - or what to NOT expect from Pinkie. "Well... I'm not entirely sure what to make of it, Pinkie. Are you here to speculate with me?"

"Oh, no," Pinkie responds with a wave of her hoof. "This occasion was so unusual and special that I had to go to every pony in town for a personal greeting. How often do you get to celebrate a belated morning?! This is something that may -neigh- should never happen again! I am going to say it to ponies until it is exhausted!" With a confident expression and pump of her front leg, she turns and marches off. "There will be a party for this!" She exclaims back to her friend.

"Goodbye, you eccentric wonder of a pony, my friend." Celestia closes the door but momentarily starts thinking about Pinkie's party habits. "Wait... they probably go to so many of her parties that they must know by instinct when they occur. She must expect me to know when it is. Hmm... Asking her might tip her off... Maybe I should tell her I'll be too busy. The dresses, of course." She then reopens the door to find no Pinkie in sight, but another pony staring her in the face, supposedly about to ring the bell.

"Oh, Rarity!" A cream-coloured earth pony with various shades of blue in her mane greeted in shock. "Don't tell me you've gotten so good with your clients that you can read their minds. Because that would scare me a tad." She chuckles.

Faced with only a mere moment to conjure up the name and give a greeting right back, Celestia set her mind into overdrive. High-end client... probably from Canterlot... fashion... blue mane... "Sapphire Shores!" She opens her hooves to greet with a hug. Her guess was verified when her offer was accepted without hesitation. "It is so nice to see you." They separate and Sapphire makes her way inside.

"I figured I'd make a detour to your base of operations along my trip back to Canterlot to give myself a sneak peak at your line." She takes a quick seat on a nearby couch. "With the show tomorrow evening, I trust you are making great strides for completion?"

"I have had the designs finalized a while ago, and you will be pleased to know that I am close to finishing the dozen duplicates for each as per your request."

"Splendid to hear! Might I see them?"

"Oh... I see no reason not to."

They both make their way up to Rarity's room and Sapphire is pleased to see her dresses brought to life just as she had envisioned. She gasps at the fashionista's signature flare being accentuated in each design: The different colours and accents, the jewels, the flashy yet modest shapes; everything was to her expectations and then some. "You have the workings of a diety, my friend. How long will the rest of the dresses take to complete?"

Celestia tilted her head and smirked. "I trust myself to have it all done by noon."

"Phenomenal, my dear!" Sapphire begins to leave. "I'll be back from Canterlot just in time for the presentation. Until then, ta ta!" She exits out of the boutique and closes the door behind her.

"Rarity's fashion show is her in Ponyville?" Celestia ponders as stays up atop the stairs. "That certainly works out: No train ride for me, and Rarity will be right here when it comes time for Discord to switch us back. Speaking of which..." She trots down the hall to a window and looks at her sun in the sky. "Next position! Anytime now!"

After several seconds, the sun is seemingly flicked to a higher position in the sky, nearing the high noon state. Celestia groans at the display. "Not so abruptly!"

Rarity laid nearly plastered down on the rim of the fountain as the solar guard continued his massage. She let herself melt away in pure ecstasy as the trembling of Celestia's voice leaked from her. "O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oh. Yo-ou are cer-rtainly... pr-r-r-rodigious. A-a-a-a-all the guar-r-rds lear-r-rn to m-m-m-massa-age like this?"

Her willing soldier was quite literally dancing atop of her spine; mixing in folk, salsa, disco, and tap dancing into his session. "Only to the light-hoofed, Your Highness. Certain ponies, pegasi in particular, are light and delicate enough to use such unorthodox methods effectively." With a grunt, he jumps and back-flips off of her and lands on solid ground on all fours. "Bear in mind, your masseuses are adept in chiropractics. They are much more accurate in hitting those sweet spots, not just for pleasure." He starts to turn back to his position at the entrance. "But you know that already, Princess. Thanks anyway for the opportunity." He reassumes his stance with helmet donned and spear in hoof.

Rarity peals herself off and tries to stand up. The massage had certainly left her felling limp. Surely, Celestia's body would be able to resist such effects, but she had not anticipated such finesse and left herself vulnerable. While still being able to remain upright, there was a subtle relaxing treble surging throughout. "Oh no, thank you. I should probably make a habit of having massages like that every evening."

The guard spoke up. "Forgive me if I sound out of turn. But would that not sound a little unfair for the more massive of your forces who never learn these techniques?"

"Oh, yes. Silly me. We don't want anypony getting jealous, do we?"

They were both interrupted by the sound of wings flapping frantically close to the ground. As the noise arrived from around the corner behind the guard, he took a defensive pose and splayed his weapon out to block access to the fountain area.

The figure responsible for the sound was a distraught thestral from Luna's guard. His eyes were shot open and his mane was disheveled. He was almost charging in their direction with a spark of insanity in his eyes.

The solar guard was grappled him and wrestled him down to the ground after rolling several times over back to the fountain.

Rarity looked on in horror and confusion. She couldn't see much past the cloud of dust they were kicking up. She had a feeling that Celestia would have broken up this skirmish herself almost immediately, but something about her kept her quiet. A snap decision was pushed to the wayside as she began to see the crazy thestral holding his opponent to the ground and bending his leg back in uncomfortable manner. Now she knew she would have to intervene no matter what. "Alright, what is the meaning of this?!"

"IT WAS ME!!"

Rarity was taken aback by his sudden declaration. All she could do was arch her neck away in fear and stare back with eyes just as wide as his.

"You're being quiet... I knew it! You wanted it more than I did! I'm sorry!!"

The solar guard beneath him could offer no assistance. "Ow ow ow..."

"I can't be forgiven for something like this! I'm a disGRACE!!" He lets go of the leg in his grasp and hastily removes his armour. he shoves everything into Rarity's chest. "Tell your sister I quit!!"

Rarity's expression did not change as the now naked thestral flew off in a direction toward the city. She cradled the armour in one front leg as she tried to process what may have happened. The first thestral she ever meets, and he was a complete psychopath? Surely this couldn't be normal.

The solar guard stretched and returned to a standing position. "My apologies, Your Highness. it seems they're more brutally trained than we are."

Rarity breaks herself out of her trance. "Not to worry, I'm not harmed, just flabbergasted." She dropped the loose armour where she stood and began to fly back to the castle with a clear idea of what may have influenced this unusual event. "You're dismissed."

The thestral forces remained down in the lunar gathering hall where they originally waited for their princess. They all stood proud and patient, but above all, confused as said princess gave an out-of-ordinary speech in a much more dynamic and matter-of-fact fashion than usual.

"...A bird in hoof could be very unsanitary, ponies who live in glass houses can't get a moment's privacy, and he who laughs last... does not get the joke." Sweetie Belle leaned over the dais with a serious look glued on her face. She internally panicked as Luna's soldiers seemed to stare her down. All she could do was hope she at least acted like Luna. Maybe they'll all draw a parallel between the delayed morning and the princesses' behaviours, a different one that is, and wave it off as nothing to worry about. She formally ends her speech with a quick slam on the podium and declared, "dismissed!" Don't flip the podium! Don't flip the podium! Sweetie took heed to her own words and simply hopped off the front of the stage and parted the crowd anew with but a simple strut as she exited the room.

With the giant doors now closed, the guards were all free to discuss their boss' odd behaviour, as well as several of the secrets that were blurted out amongst them. Two guards in particular decided to leave for the dormitories immediately. The first one spoke up. "Okay... It's clear to everyone that that was not Luna." The two of them enter a hall leading to the sleeping quarters. "I mean, an hour and a half of nonsense? The most she's ever stayed up for the routine review was 15 minutes. And have you ever had one of the meetings start off so strangely? How do we have a guard who's afraid of rainbows? Jedd?"

His friend replied, "I don't know, Waning. You know more about this stuff than I do. I just got done with the academy two months ago, I still don't know what's considered normal around here. Heck, not two days into my tenure as a guard did I see one of the mares break out into a song and dance routine in the middle of the messhall."

The two of them pass several doors before coming across one with a brass plaque labelled 'W. Braid - J. Gibbous'. "Oh yeah, i remembeer her." Waning takes out a key and unlocks the door. "I don't know if anyone's told you, but we thestrals cannot sing."

"So I've noticed." Jedd rushes past his friend and quickly retires to his bottom buck. He groans exasperatingly as he neglects to remove his armour and lets his right legs dangle over the side. "But what do you think is up with 'Princess Luna'?"

Waning locks the door behind them and begins removing his uniform. "I think she's a changeling, so we should be able to take her if we sneak up on her and tie her up for answers."

"Uh, Waning... We only know of ONE changeling that's fully capable of coherent speech."

Waning reconsiders his plan as he settles into the bunk above his partner. "Right... I'll think of something else. Give me until sunset; we're going to get to the bottom of this."