Let's Be Royals

***Chapter 1: Morning Nourishment***

The sound of ruffling papers drifts through the corridors. It is an irritating sound. Paper rubs against paper. It slides across the wooden surface of Princess Celestia's desk. The princess... Well, she was having a rather rough morning, to put it lightly.

It began with the shenanigans of her younger sister. Princess Luna failed to lower the moon on time, putting Celestia off schedule.

Now, the elder sister was chin deep in papers, duties of the royal kind. Celestia sighs as she signs her signature on another defense proposal, marking the paper legitimate and legal.

"Your majesty..." A soft voice says.

The voice resonates from the door that lead into her office. Celestia raises her head to see who the voice belonged to. The speaker of the voice was a small unicorn, a servant. In the cloud of his magic, there was a mug filled with a steaming brown liquid.

"Ah... Good morning, Blackstar." Celestia says to the unicorn, managing a weak smile. "Is... that for me?"

The unicorn nods quickly as he trots forward, delivering the coffee to the princess. Celestia takes the offered mug with an obvious eagerness. She quickly gulps down the creamy, brown liquid. The warmth of the coffee soothes the princess' throat, reviving her physically and mentally.

"Mmmmm..." She moans as she sets the mug down on her desk. "Thank you, Blackstar. Your services are always appreciated."

The unicorn gives Celestia a gracious bow before turning to exit the room. Celestia, too caught up in her work, does not notice when another pony arrives at the door. Finally, a gentle knocking catches her attention.

"Blackstar, are you still here?" The princess asks.

Blackstar does not answer. Instead, Twilight Sparkle steps into the office.

"Good morning, princess." Twilight says with a bright smile.

At last, Celestia looks up, and her glum face breaks into a huge grin.

"Twilight Sparkle... I was not aware you were coming... My office is in such a poor state. I would have made an attempt to fix things up around here, had I known. What can I do for you?"

"I did not mean to interrupt whatever you are doing..." Twilight says uneasily.

Celestia quickly shakes her head as she stands up from her desk.

"Oh, no, Twilight. You aren't interrupting anything at all." Celestia says, motioning for Twilight to follow her out of the office and into the corridor. "I am in dire need of a break... Come. Let us make for the dining hall. Perhaps we could get something to eat together?"

Twilight smiles at her as the begin making their way down the corridor.

"That sounds perfect. I have a lot to talk to you about."

Celestia cocks her head.

"Oh? What about, Twilight?"

The hooves clopping against the tile floor echoes though the majestic corridors, adding to the silence that followed the princess' question. After a moment of hesitation, Twilight gives a suppressed sigh.

"It's these..." Twilight says, flexing her new wings.

"What, your wings?" Celestia asks. "Twilight, I know learning how to fly can be difficult, but these things tend to take time. Practice and patience are the keys to successful learning. You should know that better than any pony here."

Twilight shakes her head.

"No... It's not that, princess... Rainbow Dash has been teaching me how to use my wings. It's the title that is giving me a hard time..."

They reach the grand dinning hall. Most of the room was dark, and only a few tables were lit with dim candles as servants maintained them.

"Will you ready us a table, please?" Celestia asks the nearest servant.

In a few short moments, a small table is outfitted with a guilded cloth, brass candles, and polished plates with silver utensils. Twilight takes the seat opposite to the princess as glasses of water are delivered to them.

"Your title?" Celestia asks at last, taking a sip from her glass. "What is wrong with your title, Twilight? Are you not happy as a princess?"

Twilight's eyes widen.

"No, Princess Celestia... I didn't mean it like that. I am, really. Nothing brings me greater joy than spreading the influence of friendship across Equestria, but..."

"But what?" Celestia asks, frowning.

Twilight bites her lower lip. She greatly feared offending the princess.

"I didn't want to be a celebrity..." Twilight says at last.

Celestia's frown dissipates instantly.

"Before you made me into a princess, I was just another mare in Ponyville. I had my friends, and that was all I ever needed. Now, I can hardly set one hoof out of the Crystal Palace without being hounded by ponies waiting to see me, waiting to see the 'new princess'..."

Celestia now understood what was bothering her most faithful student. She reaches a hoof across the table and places it on Twilight's.

"You are a strong and capable mare, Twilight Sparkle..." Celestia says in her low, motherly tone. "I would not have given you the wings of an alicorn if I did not believe you could handle the paparazzi."

Celestia then cracks a silly smile.

"Plus, they do look quite fetching on you. I'll bet you have had many stallion suitors knocking on your palace doors."

Twilight's cheeks flush bright red as she tried to avoid the princess' gaze.

"No... It's just the mailmare every morning..."

Celestia's silly grin grows.

"Oh? So it is mares who come knowing at your palace doors? Twilight Sparkle, I had no idea you were into mares..."

Twilight's cheeks now burned with embarrassment.

"I am not into mares!" Twilight hisses in a hushed tone.

"Oh, calm down, Twilight." Celestia says sweetly as she strokes the purple mare's mane. "I only meant to tease you. Let me have a little fun. It has been quite a dreadful morning in that office, you know."

Twilight nods as she takes several large gulps of water from the glass in front of her. Celestia closely watches her every move, all the way up until Twilight sets the glass back down.

"You know what, Twilight? I'd say a trip is long overdue." Celestia says.

Twilight cocks her head.

"What? Do you mean the kinds of trips we would take when I was a filly?"

"Exactly." Celestia answers. "We have both worked out tails off, and a vacation is just what we need."

Twilight can't stop herself from smiling.

"A... va-vacation?" Twilight asks.

"Just you and me..." Celestia says. "What do you say, Twilight? Shall we take the weekend off and venture out a little?"

Celestia doesn't need to wait for Twilight's reply. The huge grin on Twilight's face tells Celestia everything she wants to hear. Twilight's smile was practically screaming YES.

"YES!" Twilight screams at last. "Oh, Princess Celestia, that sounds amazing!"

"I thought you might like the idea." Celestia says with a hearty chuckle. "You will have the rest of the week to ready your things in Ponyville. Then, return here. By then, I will have a destination planned."

Twilight jumps up from her chair and throws her hooves around the princess. Celestia returns the embrace, holding Twilight tightly.

"I'm going to get started right away!" Twilight exclaims as she pulls away from Celestia's embrace.

With those final words ringing in Celestia's ears, she watched as Twilight dashes out of the dinning hall. When she is gone, Celestia's stomach growls violently as she realizes she is still hungry.

***TO BE CONTINUED***