Under New Management

Chapters

The Decision
New Ruler. New Rules
By Royal Decree
Guess Who's Cumming for Dinner
Prince St.
Sibling Rivalry

The Decision

It had been a few years since Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor spent that Brohoof Bash with the Apples. Since then, the four of them have tried to get together as often as Shining could get away from the Crystal Empire. They did as much as they could, within the letter of the law. But despite the new-found outlet that they had, the illicit desire they held had not lessened in the slightest. It was a constant test of will for them to resist eachother.

But Twilight had to be careful. Ever since her ascension, she was in the public eye more than ever. It became incredibly difficult to get away with the Apples for their little trysts. And Twilight knew that a pony has only ever been caught for two reasons: They did something too big; or they did something for too long. And after a long enough time, the probability of them being caught would eventually become one hundred percent.

And just like that, Twilight received a summons to Canterlot Castle.

Twilight Sparkle sat nervously at the royal dining table in Canterlot. But it was long after dinner. The sun had already been set and the moon had just risen. There was only two times in the day that a meeting like this could occur.

At the royal shift-change.

Opposite her were Princess Celestia, Luna and Cadance. Luna rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Celestia likewise looked tired, having been up since before the dawn. And Cadance looked burnt-out from the long train ride all the way down south from the Crystal Empire. None of them looked thrilled to be there.

The room was silent but for the occasional shuffling of papers as they were each reading over a thick packet in a set of folders. Luna leaned over to her elder sister, pointing at something in her folder, bringing it to her attention without a word. Celestia frowned disapprovingly.

Twilight could hear her own heart pounding in her ears. She had been summoned to Canterlot, but she was not told why. When she arrived, she was directed to the royal dining room and instructed to take a seat. So she sat. She sat and waited for something, anything, as an explanation for her summons. None came. The other three continued to deliberate silently. Cadance showed something to Luna. What it was, Twilight had no idea. She feared the worst.

Oh no. They know about me and Shining Armor. They know about Applejack and Big Macintosh. They know about what we've been doing! But we didn't do anything -illegal- in the strictest sense of the word. We were so careful, how did they find out?

Twilight tried to keep a cool demeanor on the exterior. She hoped that she wasn't sweating as obviously as it felt like she was. Celestia seemed to finish and returned the papers into the folder, sitting back in her chair. She looked to Luna. Luna shook her head 'no'. She looked the other way to Cadance. Cadance shrugged noncommittally, glancing at Twilight and then back to Celestia with a small smirk.

Cadance knows! Shining told her. He said he would have to. He said he never kept secrets from her. She must have told the other Princesses!

Twilight's heart pounded faster. She feared what would happen to her.

I'm going to be stripped of my title! My wings! Is it going to hurt? It probably will! And what about Shining!?

Her concern shifted to her brother, whom she loved more dearly than any other pony in the world. She knew she would die to protect him, just as she knew he would do the same for her.

What are they going to do to him? They geld ponies for that don't they? But he's a prince! They can't do that, can they?

Celestia and Cadance both looked back at Luna, trying, it seemed, to convince her of something. Luna crossed her hooves in defiance, but relaxed after a moment and rolled her eyes in peer-pressured surrender. The three of them sat back in their chairs and looked at Twilight. Celestia wrapped up the bundle of papers in twine.

"Yes," Celestia said. Twilight gulped and looked back and forth among the three of them in confusion. Could they read her mind? Yes to what? What had they agreed upon for me? Celestia answered only by picking up the bundle and tossing it across the table landing in front of Twilight.

Twilight's Kingdom

"Twilight's Kingdom?" Twilight said aloud.

"At least she can read," Luna remarked.

"Luna!" Celestia scolded, and turned back to Twilight. "Twilight, you have proven yourself to be a good leader and a moral pony. That was why you had been made a Princess." Celestia looked to Luna.

"Even we do not completely understand the magic will of the Tree of Harmony, but it seems that it has chosen Ponyville to be your kingdom. We have decided to trust in the tree's wisdom, and see if you are indeed ready to be a ruler," Luna said.

"At dawn, tomorrow, the town of Ponyville will be under your jurisdiction to rule as you see fit. Congratulations," Cadance said. Celestia recovered the folder from Twilight and rose from the table.

"These proceedings are closed," Celestia said, and walked out of the room, followed by Cadance. Luna stopped at the door for just a moment.

"Do not disappoint us, Twilight." Luna closed the door behind her.

Twilight remained at the table, sitting in the dim candle light.

"My own kingdom!?" She said to herself. She looked down at her hooves. They were shaking. She was relieved that she and her brother had not been discovered, but the idea of being in charge of and entire kingdom frightened her. "Ponyville." Twilight got a hold of herself. She knew Ponyville. She could walk from one end to the other in less than an hour. How hard could it be to manage a town that small? It was just a test, she reasoned. A 'practice' kingdom to prepare her for the real thing someday. And besides, Ponyville already had somepony managing it.

Even still, leading the Elements of Harmony was one thing. And a task force for Winter Wrap Up was another. But to manage an entire town? That was something she had no experience in whatsoever. The other three princesses had experience with ruling. But she couldn't go to them for advice now. Not after they just gave her the independence to rule for herself. It would shake their confidence in her. She needed to talk to somepony who knew how to run a town. And to Twilight, that meant just one pony. With a plan materializing in her mind, she rose from the table and made for the exit.

It was time for her to pay Mayor Mare a visit.

New Ruler. New Rules

Twilight Sparkle took the red-eye train back to Ponyville. The town would be hers to rule at dawn. And she didn't want to miss a single moment. She didn't roll into the town station until after midnight. She could get a few hours of sleep. But she was too excited to sleep tonight. She spent the wee hours of the night pacing in her tree castle, her mind a flurry of ideas, until it was so late in the night that it was early.

The hour of the dawn approached. Twilight poured herself a cup of coffee and freshened up her mane in the mirror. She turned her head from side to side. Even with her wings folded behind her, she didn't feel like she looked like a princess. Her mane wasn't wavy, but then neither was Cadance's. She didn't look regal or even any taller. She looked the same as she always did. She took a deep breath. She admitted that at the very least she looked... ready.

Twilight walked out of the front door of her castle into Ponyville. She made a bee line for Town Hall, stopping in front of the door, counting down in her head. ...four... three...two... The sun breached the horizon. Twilight tried the knob. The door was locked. She waited another moment. It was still locked. It was dawn. Ponyville was officially now her kingdom. And she as locked out of her own Town Hall. In the window beside the door, the hours of operation were posted.

Monday - Friday 9-5

It would not be open for another three hours. Twilight waited anxiously, pacing in a circuit along the perimeter of the round structure. She arrived back at the door a couple minutes later. It had not miraculously unlocked, and time had not advanced any faster. Twilight tried to shake off her anxious feeling. But she had so many plans and ideas, and so many questions. But standing and waiting accomplished nothing productive. There was only one other place that she knew of that would be open this early. Twilight walked to Sugar Cube Corner.

The jingle of the bakery's doors bell announced her entrance.

"Just a moment please!" came a voice from the kitchen. Twilight recognized it as Cup Cake. She trotted out a minute later, her hooves covered in flour. "Good morning Princess Twilight!" She did a quick curtsy. "What can I get for you? There's not much ready at the moment I'm afraid, the bread is still baking. But there are a few things from yesterday that are still good if you'd like."

"That apple turnover looks good," Twilight said, pointing through the window at the pastries on display.

"Let me put it in the oven real quick and warm it up for you," Mrs. Cake said, taking the pastry into the kitchen, returning with it on a plate steaming a couple minutes later. Twilight took her time to enjoy it. "So what has you up this early?"

"Well today, I'm officially the Princess of Ponyville."

"But- you've been a princess for a while now."

"True. But I guess before it was more of a figurehead sort of thing," Twilight said. "Today I officially begin as acting Princess of Ponyville. That means that I would have jurisdiction separate from Princess Celestia, like the Crystal Empire."

"We've seceded!?" Cup Cake asked.

"No, no! It's nothing like that!" Twilight assured her. "It's like the Crystal Empire, ruled by another princess, but still a part of Equestria."

"Oh." The answer seemed to calm her. "Will there be anything else?"

"No. I just needed something to eat. All I've had for breakfast was coffee, and I need to kill some time before I meet with Mayor Mare."

"Well when you go to see her, tell her I said 'hi'."

"I will."

It was nine o'clock. Twilight stood in front of the Town Hall door again. There was something very wrong with the world in that moment, for the door was still locked. Twilight looked at the clock tower. The hand moved to 9:01. This is madness! Twilight was nearly shaking. A public official, tardy? Twilight heard the mechanical lock of the door click undone from the other side. Twilight quickly opened the door, pulling it from Mayor Mare's surprised hoof.

"Good morning!" Twilight greeted.

"Oh my! Uh, good morning, Your Highness."

"It certainly is! Do you know why it is?" Twilight asked excitedly.

"It's Arbor day?"

"No... Well, yes, but it is also the day I become Princess of Ponyville," Twilight said.

"Are you not, already?"

"Well now I am officially the Princess of Ponyville, with all the power and title granted within."

"Oh...kay...then. Are you personally telling everypony this?"

"No. I'm here today because we have a lot of work to do."

"We do?"

"We do. You're going to help teach me how to run a town."

"Oh no-"

"Oh yes. I want to learn everything! So there's no time to lose." Twilight trotted past her inside the hall. Her first stop would be the records room. If she was going to state legislating policy, she needed to get familiar with some existing ones.

Mayor Mare hovered in the doorway of the records room. Despite Twilight seeking her out to teach her how to lead a town, she had asked little after her initial arrival. Twilight, instead, was digging through filing cabinets and boxes of old decrees and laws. Everything from the town's founding charter to minor zoning ordinances.

"Is there something in particular I can help you find?" Mayor Mare asked. Twilight looked up at her from her seat on the floor.

"Why yes, could you direct me to the law against incest so I can repeal it so I can finally have sex with Shining Armor?"

"No thank you," Twilight said. "I'm just... browsing." Mayor Mare looked at the clock on the wall.

"Well if you're all set here, I need to get to my office and do... mayor stuff."

"Uh huh." Twilight nodded, engrossed in another treatise of legalese. Mayor Mare took the opportunity to slip away. Twilight continued to pour over the papers until nearly lunch time. "Ah HA!" Twilight's eyes lit up. She had found it at last. The document that she had been searching for. 'The Prohibition of Carnal Consanguineous Relations'.

She quickly retrieved a quill and parchment, copying down the body of the text and the reference information for its location. Searching through the mountain of paperwork was the easy part. Next came the hard part.

Twilight filed her copy of the information away in her bag, and restored the room to the state in which she had found it. She trotted to Mayor Mare's office.

"Mayor Mare?" she asked from the doorway. The mayor put down her daisy sandwich from her lunch.

"Ah, Princess Twilight! I'm glad you're here. I have some things for you to sign."

"For me to sign?" Twilight asked.

"Yes. As the Princess, you must sign off on this legislation. Normally I would have to send this paperwork to Canterlot for Princess Celestia to sign, but now I don't have to!" She smiled, pushing the stack of paperwork across her desk toward Twilight.

"Do I have to sign all of these right now?" she asked.

"Of course not, if you need time to read them. But as soon as possible, preferably by the end of today," she said.

"Is there someplace I could sit?" Twilight asked.

"Oh my gosh! Forgive me, please-" Mayor Mare grabbed a chair from the next room and brought it into the office, on the opposite side of the desk from hers. "Here you go." Twilight sat down at the desk. Mayor Mare returned to her own desk and finished eating her lunch while Twilight went over the paperwork.

Most of it looked familiar to what she had seen in the records room. Various appropriations for town funds, new policies and proposals awaiting approval.

"What's this? 'Repeal of ordinance 4PP13'?" Twilight asked, pointing at the paper. Mayor Mare leaned across the desk and looked at it.

"Let's see, 4PP13 was a law about..." she flipped through her binder of reference papers, pulling out and older one, "Ah, here we go. 4PP13 was a law forbidding the use of land plot grid 41.883632, -71.352260 for agricultural use due to soil exhaustion. But that was decades ago, and the land has recovered by now. This act would repeal the law and allow for the land to be owned and used as farmland."

"And what about this part at the bottom? 'can not be used for an apple orchard'?" Twilight asked. Mayor Mare smiled.

"Miss Applejack is a sitting member of the town committee. Rightfully so as the Apples and Sweet Apple Acres are pillars of our community. I believe she was intending to prevent any competition with her farm."

"And that can just get added on?"

"Yes. In the 'biz' we call that 'footnoting'. It makes it more convenient since it doesn't require an entire separate law to be written. It just requires a second signature to indicate that it was present on the paperwork at the time of your signing."

"Can I attend these town committee meetings?" Twilight asked.

"Your attendance isn't required any more than Princess Celestia's ever was. But it would be a good attraction for the other citizens to attend and be active in the community. The next meeting is this Saturday. I would encourage it if you could attend."

"Could I propose bills?" Twilight asked.

"Y- yes... As a residing citizen of Ponyville that is within your rights," Mayor Mare explained. Twilight clapped her hooves excitedly.

"Excellent. I will be there!"

Saturday could not come fast enough for Twilight. News had spread of her attending the town meeting, and many citizens wanted to spend an extended period in the same room as the resident princess. The hall was filled, standing room only. The mayor called the meeting to order. It was the same boring town meeting as in the past, with a few ponies proposing ideas, and requesting earmarks. Twilight simply sat and waited until everypony else was finished.

"Are there any others?" Mayor Mare asked. Twilight Sparkle stood up, raising her hoof. "Yes? Princess Sparkle?" Twilight cleared her throat.

"I've noticed that the Main Street bridge over the river has come into disrepair. I motion for an amount of fifteen thousand bits to pay for repairs based on estimates I've collected from local masons as the lowest bidder." Twilight passed the papers to Mayor Mare, who looked over them quickly.

"That seems reasonable. But what is this? 'The repeal of regulation 1nc35t'?"

"1nc35t is an old regulation prohibiting masons from performing public works over moving water. Effectively preventing them from being able to do the needed repairs. Advances in construction safety equipment have made it obsolete. Its repeal is necessary for the proposal."

"I see. Any objections?" Mayor Mare asked the room. None came. There were no further proposals. She banged the gavel on the podium, bringing the meeting to a close.

Twilight collected the papers and brought them out of the meeting room to her small, temporary office. It was smaller than the mayors. But it suited her just fine. She shuffled through the papers as quickly as she could, seeking out her own bill to sign first.

She had spent the entire week preparing for this moment, to sign this bill. To the casual observer, it seemed innocuous enough. Of all things, why a bridge repair bill? Twilight smirked at her own cunning, as she retrieved her quill and ink well. The regulation prohibiting masons from working over moving water was actually 1nc34T. Its designation was next to 1nc35t, her intended target. Historians might write it off as a clerical error some day. But it didn't concern her tonight. She spent days searching for something over moving water for a mason to repair, damaging it, and then getting estimates for it. She brought her quill to the paper, signing it off in permanent ink on an official government document. With a stroke of her pen, regulation 1nc35t: 'The Prohibition of Carnal Consanguineous Relations' was repealed... and incest in Ponyville was now officially legal.

Dear Prince Shining Armor,

Please come to Ponyville as soon as you are able. I have wonderful news.

- Princess Twilight Sparkle

By Royal Decree

Twilight Sparkle stood at the Ponyville train station platform along with many other citizens awaiting the arrival of the train. She stood with all of the poise and grace that was to be expected of a princess. But inside she was positively electric. She wanted to run, and jump and do a back-flip. She wanted to sing at the top of her lungs and dance in a hurricane of excitement. Her mind raced along with her heart. Her legs twinged, rigid, and on-edge. She felt like she was going to explode with energy. But Twilight stood with the continued outward appearance of calm. Prince Shining Armor had replied immediately after receiving the letter.

'I'll be on the next train.'

The next train wasn't for almost a week. It had been a long week but now it was scheduled to arrive in "seventy two seconds... seventy one... seventy..." Twilight shuffled her hooves anxiously when she heard the whistle, heralding the approach of the locomotive.

A voice came over the speaker system, "The train from the Crystal Empire is now arriving."

The smoke stack breached the horizon. The rest of the train appeared behind it. She had to resist the urge to will the train to the station faster with her magic. She would not be able to guarantee stopping it in time, safely. Twilight felt like her teeth were trying to escape her tense jaw. After so many years of waiting, it was finally going to happen. They were finally going to be able to consummate their love.

The door to the train cars opened. Passengers began to file out of the train. Ponies met each other on the platform and embraced. Some were families. Others were more passionate reunions, aggressively kissing one another, onlookers be damned. It was a pure, uninhibited love, that knew neither shame or regret. Twilight's cheeks flushed with heated envy.

Inside, Twilight saw a flash of white fur moving forward from the private caboose. She made a special effort to keep her wings pinned to her sides. At last, after the rest of the ponies had stepped out, she saw him. Her brother, Shining Armor, stepped off of the train. Every fiber of her being wanted to pounce on him right there and kiss him, the ropy muscles of her legs were pulled taught as a piano wire, ready to spring.

"Your Highness," Shining armor greeted with a polite bow.

"Your Highness," Twilight replied with a curtsy, herself. Both of them held the act up for about another microsecond before they both gave in to giggles at the silliness of it. Twilight could feel her body relax with the desperately needed laughter. He leaned in and hugged her, as family would.

And at once she was pressed to his fur. She leaned her head into his mane, taking in his familiar scent. Nothing else in the world smelled like it. It was absolutely unique, incomparable to mere corporal things. It smelled like vague ideas, like 'nostalgia', like 'safety'. She hugged him back harder. The mountains might melt, and the sea may burn, but as long she was in his hooves, it would somehow be okay. She smiled. He smelled like happiness.

"Hey, it hasn't been that long, has it?" he asked, gently pulling himself free. Twilight couldn't help the goofy smile from her face.

"I have wonderful news!" she said in an excited, but hushed tone.

"Yes, I saw in the letter. What is it?" he asked. Twilight glanced around nervously.

"Not here. Let's go back to my castle. I can tell you once we get away from the crowds," she said.

"Okay. Sure." They left the station and walked side-by-side across town toward her castle.

Twilight opened the door and held it for him.

"Please, come inside," she said with a smirk. Shining missed the double entendre, and simply walked inside the castle. Twilight followed behind him and locked the door. The moment the door latched closed Twilight hurled herself across the room at him. Shining caught the blur of purple motion out of the corner of his eye and reflexively put up a hoof to defend himself, accidentally smacking her in the face. Undeterred, Twilight didn't even give him time to apologize before she forced him to the floor, kissing him all over his face and on the lips. Especially on the lips. He kissed her back the first couple of times.

"Hemm- hmmf- hey. Hey!" he tried to say between smooches. He held her head still with his hooves. "Hey, what's all this about?" he asked. "I mean, I'm excited to see you too, but-" he felt her hoof running down his chest to his belly, down lower to his- "Whoa! Hey now, come on!" He stopped her, and lifted her off of him. "You know we can't do that!" She looked hurt briefly, but remembered that she hadn't told him the big news yet.

"Wait here!" She darted upstairs and ran back down with a few rolls of paper.

"What's all this?" he asked, opening the first scroll.

"The big news!" He started reading. She watched his eyes moving along the paper.

"Let's see... blah, blah, blah, Princess Celestia by Royal Decree yada yada..." he skipped ahead "do officially proclaim the town of Ponyville as jurisdiction kingdom under rule of Princess Twilight Sparkle." He looked up from the paper. Twilight had a grin that would put the Cheshire Cat to shame. "So Ponyville is your own kingdom?"

"Yup!"

"Wow! Congratulations! That is big news," he said.

"But wait! There's more!" She passed the next two scrolls to him. He opened the first.

"It's a... requisition to repair a bridge. Oh, you signed this."

"Yup! It was my first act as Princess. But look at the bottom." He read to the end.

"This act formally repeals regulation 1nc35t." He looked up at her with a blank stare. She waited patiently. He opened the second scroll. Unlike the first two which were brand new, the last scroll was very old. "Regulation 1nc35t, oh, this is the law you repealed..." his eyes ran over the old document. He blinked a few time and re-read it. "... prohibition of carnal consanguineous relations... uhhh, what?"

"Consanguineous means relation by blood. In other words, family."

"Oh... and carnal?" he asked. Twilight blushed.

"It means 'sexual'."

"Oh. So you repealed the 'prohibition of sexual family- " he stopped mid sentence and looked up from the paper at her. She saw the realization in his eyes. "...relations'." Twilight smiled even wider. "Twilight, is this real? I mean, is this official?" he asked nervously.

"Yes! I signed it into law a week ago. It's legal in Ponyville!" she said. She leaned in and kissed him again. "And Spike is away for the holiday weekend helping Rarity find gems. So we have the whole castle to ourselves." He kissed her back and dropped the scrolls. Twilight broke the kiss at the sound of the paper shuffling onto the floor. "Wait-" she put a hoof to him, pausing the action, "I need to get these back to the records room at the Town Hall." She collected the papers and put them into her bag. "I'll run them over there and come right back as soon as possible."

Twilight ran as fast as she reasonably could without making a scene. She made short work of getting to the records room, filing the papers away in their proper locations and headed out.

"Princess Twilight!" Mayor Mare caught her at the door. Twilight stopped and did an about-face.

"Yes?"

"I have these items for you to sign, while you're here. I thought that I would save you a trip later."

"Oh, okay. Thank you." Twilight hastily trotted back inside to sign the paperwork as quickly as possible.

"And this... and these... and just a few more, I promise," Mayor Mare said. As Twilight signed each document, Mayor Mare fed them each into a light blue box on her desk. A flash of light emitted from inside and then the document slid out of the bottom.

"What is that?" Twilight asked.

"Oh this? Princess Celestia sent it to my office the day you took over rule of Ponyville. She's asked me to feed your papers through it. Apparently it uses the same spell as Spike's breath to magically send copies of documents to her, while leaving the original here. Amazing isn't it?"

"So everything I've signed, you've sent to her to review?" Twilight asked, feeling her fur standing on end.

"Yes," Mayor Mare answered. "I think she just wanted to make sure things were going smoothly and you weren't trying to do anything too..." Mayor Mare's memory flashed back to the Smarty Pants 'want-it need-it' incident, "...extreme." Twilight's throat went dry. She quickly signed the rest of the papers, and left in a hurry.

She needed to get home and warn Shining Armor. She needed to get him out of Ponyville immediately before the true intent of her plans could be discovered.

This time she made no affordances for appearances. She ran and flew as fast as she could, teleporting herself where she accurately could, outpacing the sound of her own approach. But for the magical properties of the hinges mounting them, did the doors remained attached to their frame as she kicked them in. She needed to contact the princesses before they-

"Greetings, Princess Sparkle," Princess Luna said, standing in Twilight's Castle foyer.

"Hello Twilight," Princess Celestia said, standing beside her younger sister. "We just arrived a few minutes ago. Your brother was kind enough to bid us entrance." Twilight could see Shining Armor standing behind them with their bags and the same 'oh shit' look on his face that Twilight herself was trying desperately to conceal.

"We realize we are early for our weekend vacation at your castle," Luna said, "But Tia was confident that it would not be of any concern."

"You received my letter about our impending arrival, yes?" Celestia asked.

She had sent Spike away with Rarity for the weekend to look for gems.

"Weekend Vacation!? Uh, I- of... course!" Twilight lied. "But... but I haven't had a chance to get Shining caught up on the itinerary. Would you mind filling him in on the details while I make the final preparations for your guest rooms?"

"That's fine," Celestia said, turning to Shining as Twilight bolted upstairs to her bedroom. She had managed to buy herself a few minutes to think, to come up with a plan.

No, wait, she hadn't. She needed to make up a guest room. Two actually. All she had was her own bedroom. Which she had been planning to share with her special somepony. The room adjacent to her own was empty. It had a few basic furnishings and lighting fixtures, but no bed. Twilight focused her magic and vanished from the room, teleporting outside of Quills and Sofas. Across the street was the the Bed & Breakfast. It was a combination bed store and breakfast diner. She didn't question the reasoning behind its existence, only grateful for it. She burst into the front door.

"Your Highness," the clerk greeted. "What an honor it is for-"

"I NEED A BED! THE BIGGEST BEST-EST ONE YOU HAVE!" Twilight said, far louder than was explicitly necessary. It did the job of making the clerk move quickly, running to the back of the store with the princess giving chase. He pointed at a huge, ornate king-size bed .

"This! This is those things!" he said in as frantic a tone as hers. Twilight heaved a large bag of bits at him.

"I'LL TAKE IT!" She leaped onto the bed, vanishing in a flash, along with the bed itself, leaving behind the bag of bits and the faint smell of ozone where the massive bed once was. She reappeared in the guest room of her castle. She had never teleported that large of an object with her before. "Ow." She quickly climbed out of the bed and remade it, neatly folding and tucking the covers. "Shit I need two!" Twilight realized. The store only had the one really nice bed. There was no way she could safely teleport to Canterlot and back with something that large in time. And she couldn't make up another guest room with a regular, plain old bed could she?

"Who would I be more comfortable insulting?" she wondered. Celestia was the elder of the two, but she might be more understanding... no no. Twilight realized she could occupy the other room with her own, over-sized bed, and give herself something simple. "Perfect." She finished preparing the bed and readied to move her own into another guest room. She heard voices approaching.

"... -anterlot...be fine...ithout us for a few days," she heard Luna saying, presumably to Shining Armor.

"And we can move the Sun and Moon from anywhere," Celestia added, reaching the door of the one guest room.

"Princess!" Twilight greeted, trying not to seem out-of-breath.

"Princess," Celestia parroted. Luna looked into the next room from the hallway, finding it empty.

"Just the one room?" Luna asked.

"Well you see- um, it's just that, the thing is-" Twilight stammered, "I uh, had already invited Shining over for the weekend, uh, as you can see." She motioned to her brother with her hoof.

"Yes. We can see that plainly," Luna said.

"Yes. Plainly," Twilight replied with an awkward smile. "But it's just that, I had already invited him, before I got your letter, and I didn't want to cancel his visit, since you know, it's so rare that he's able to get away from the Empire," she said, not explicitly lying. "And um, when I got your letter, I uh, didn't want to say no to that either, since it's so difficult for you two to get away too, I would imagine," she said, stalling.

"And the one guest room?" Luna asked again, growing impatient.

"Yes, the one room, well um, you know me! I'm not one for extravagances. I didn't want to spend a lot of public money on personal effects, so um," She smiled nervously, "One of you are welcome to my bed. Mi casa su casa!" The princesses stood there in silence for a moment.

"Oh Twilight," Celestia shook her head in disappointment, "that will not do at all." Twilight was mortified. She had failed. "We are your guests, but you are our honored host," she said.

"We applaud your frugality. But we could not possibly force you from your own bed," Luna said. "You are a princess after all. You are as much our peer as Princess Cadenza." Celestia walked into the room.

"This bed is wonderful," Celestia said, pressing her hoof into the plush covers. "And it is far more than spacious enough for two. I'm sure that Luna would not object to sharing it with me for a few nights, no?"

"Not at all, sister," Luna confirmed. "But what of Shining Armor?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I've slept in the cots in the Royal Guard," he said, bringing their bags into the room. "I could sleep anywhere flat, really," he pointed at the shag rug, jokingly.

"Preposterous!" Luna scoffed. "Twilight offered her bed to us. You are a Prince now, and you deserve no less." Celestia looked to Twilight.

"Certainly your bed is likewise large enough to accommodate another, yes?"

"Sure Twilie!" Shining said. "Hey, it'll be like when you were a little filly and you had a bad dream."

"Splendid. It will be a-" Luna paused for a moment, "oh how would the pink one put it... a sibling sleepover slumber party!"

Twilight just stood there, awestruck. Never before had she screwed up so successfully. They had been understanding, nay happy even, that she was a bedroom short. And not only that, but they all but commanded Shining to sleep with her in her bed.

"Thank you for accommodating us Twilight," Celestia said. "But if you don't mind, it has been a long trip from the capital and we'd like some time to unwind before dinner."

"......'kay." Twilight slowly backed out of the room, into the hallway with her brother as Celestia closed the door, affixing a Do Not Disturb sign on the handle. Twilight turned and started to walk down the hallway, past her own room. "What the hell just happened?" she whispered to him.

"A damn miracle," he answered. Twilight glanced back at the guest bedroom door and grabbed Shining's hoof to pull him into her bedroom. "Whoa, what are you doing?" She pulled him to the bed. "Hey, come on! We can't!"

"I told you. It's legal now," Twilight said.

"But Celestia and Luna are right in the next room!"

"We'll be quiet."

"What about dinner?" Shining asked.

"I'll just make Spike do-" Twilight stopped in her tracks.

She had sent Spike away for the weekend.

"..."

"Fuck! I actually have to cook!?"

Twilight and Shining ran downstairs to the kitchen. They each tore through the pantry and refrigerator.

"They are going to be disappointed," Shining said.

"How do I have no food!?"

"Well when was the last time you went grocery shopping?"

"Well I usually have Spike... Damn it!"

"Well we've got a frozen pizza, half a loaf of bread, a box of Cheerilee'Os, and a fridge full of condiments," Shining said. "You know, in the Royal Guard, I used to make a mean ketchup and mayonnaise sandwich in the barracks microwave."

"It's Celestia and Luna. Celestia and Luna! And we've only got" Twilight began to panic as she looked at the clock, "forty five minutes!"

"We could order out!" Shining said. Twilight clapped her hooves.

"Brilliant!" Twilight felt a chance of hope. "How much cash do you have?"

"You don't have any bits?" he asked.

"I just bought a BED! Just now! A huge one!"

"I have a little. But not enough for this plan," he said. Twilight went over her options quickly in her mind. She was going to have to ask a huge favor. She needed a party and she needed it fast. There was just one mare for the job. "Wait here. I'll be back as soon as possible." And with that, Twilight vanished. Shining stood there alone in the kitchen, casually scooping hoof fulls of dry Cheerilee'Os into his mouth.

Twilight reappeared in Sugar Cube Corner.

"Pinkie! I have a party emergency!" Twilight cried out into the bakery. The pink earth pony stepped out from the kitchen. Her eyes narrowed and she wiped the flour from her cheek.

"I have prepared for all of my life to hear those words," she said with utter conviction. "Who what where when?" she asked in rapid fire, a notepad and pencil seemingly materializing in her hooves.

"Princess Celestia and Luna. Dinner. My castle. Right Fucking NOW!" Twilight said.

Pinkie Pie didn't even write the last word. "Fly you fool," she said and then she was already moving, Fillysecond incarnate, a blur of motion. For her, the rest of the world slowed down.
[Listening to the link in another tab will only enhance your reading experience]

She had released the pencil from her hoof. It began to accelerate toward the floor.

Twilight squinted and her horn began to glow, charging up her spell. Pinkie Pie went down to the basement and began to go through her party supplies. As much as she would have liked it to be, this was not going to be a party of a six-year-old foal. She got together different items of refined taste, making sure to account for theme and colors. Celestia White and Luna Blue, with a splash of Twilight Purple.

She took the first load of party supplies and ran with them past Twilight as she continued to call the spell to her horn. She ran out of the door of the bakery and headed across town. Along the way, she ran past Rainbow Dash, suspended nearly motionless in the air as she passed. She was probably flying at top speed, Pinkie thought. She arrived at the castle and carefully arranged everything around the dining room. Yes it was a formal event, but she added her own personal flare. Balloons, ribbons, streamers. All color coordinated.

She ran back to Sugar Cube Corner to get more things, such as the table cloth, the dishes and silverware. She made another trip to the castle, passing by Twilight, still standing there, her horn glowing a little brighter. Pinkie arranged the place settings on the table, making sure to have the silverware in the correct order, just like Twilight would have wanted.

On the third trip she made a stop in the bakery's kitchen. She grabbed a loaf of fresh bread and some produce to cut up, carefully checking each one to ensure that it was free of blemishes. She cut up some apples in a particular way, arranging the slices to make tiny little swans. Edible art wasn't just for cakes after all.

She assembled the rest of the food and the slices of bread and made a couple of sandwich platters, cutting them into bite-size triangles with colorful tooth picks, and diced the rest of the vegetables and a giant salad in a decorative bowl. She ran out past Twilight again. Her spell was nearly complete and she was starting to disappear. She brought the food to the castle and arranged them in an aesthetically pleasing manner on the table.

It was then that she saw Shining Armor in the kitchen. A lone Cheerilee'O hung in the air, mid way from his hoof to his mouth. She snatched it out of the air and ate it herself. Emergency Party planning always did make her snacky. She ran back to the bakery and got another place setting for the fourth pony, and made some more sandwiches. She ran back out as Twilight just finished disappearing.

Back in the castle, she made a place at the table for Shining Armor, and rearranged the table for the new symmetry of a fourth seat. Twilight began to slowly reappear nearby. Pinkie Pie made another circuit of the room, double checking everything, and ensuring that everything was perfect. Once she was satisfied, she ran upstairs to the bathroom and wiped the sweat from her face, fixing up her mane in the mirror with a brush and headed back downstairs. She stood nearby to greet Twilight and present her the work invoice for her to sign. Pinkie realized that she had forgotten her pencil.

She ran back to Sugar Cube corner and grabbed the falling pencil just before it hit the floor.

She brought it back to Twilight's castle, doodling a detailed mustache on Rainbow Dash's face as she ran past. Just as Twilight finished materializing. The world lurched back into normal speed around her.

"Done!" Pinkie Pie thrusted the invoice to Twilight to sign. Twilight and Shining both froze in surprised shock. Everything around them had seemingly just appeared. "Sign here." Twilight took the pencil from her and signed the invoice. "Thank you for your business." Pinkie trotted casually out the door.

"..."

"It's a good thing that she's on our side."

With dinner set, Twilight trotted upstairs. From down the hall she could see that the Do Not Disturb sign was still hanging on the door. Twilight was reluctant to interrupt their nap, seeing how Princess Celestia had been working basically every day for over a millennium. Nopony was more deserving of some rest and relaxation.

But as she drew near, she could hear a rhythmic thumping noise emanating from inside, in symphony with the squeaking of the bed frame. Clearly one or both of them were awake. She rapped her hoof on the door. The noise inside ceased immediately.

"Aww, I was so close!" Luna's muffled voice said from within.

Twilight waited in silence for a moment. She could hear hooves approaching and the door handle turned from within. The door opened a barely a sliver. Just enough for Celestia to peer out. The sign on the handle glowed yellow for a moment as Celestia checked that it was indeed still there.

"Yes?" Celestia asked, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Um, sorry for the intrusion. I came up to let you know that dinner was ready. I was just checking on the noise. What was Luna close to?"

"The noise!? Um, Luna was jumping on the bed," Celestia said. "She was close to touching the ceiling. Bad Luna! No more jumping on Twilight's guest bed!" Celestia yelled into the room.

"I shall have to be punished," Luna said.

"She and I will be coming soon," Celestia said, blushing at her own words, "By which I mean we'll be going down." She blushed harder. "That is to say, eating." She was beet red. "Dinner!"

"..."

"Go away!" Celestia barked and shut the door, audibly locking it. Twilight turned around and began to walk away. The bed started squeaking again.

"Luna must really love jumping on beds," Twilight thought.

Guess Who's Cumming for Dinner

Back downstairs, Twilight Sparkle looked over everything at the dinner table. Along with her brother, Shining Armor, they each waited patiently for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to join them from upstairs.

"They might be a few minutes," Twilight said.

"Should we start without them?" he asked, taking a cucumber from the platter.

"No! We will wait for them before we start eating," Twilight said.

"I wasn't talking about eating," Shining said, levitating the cucumber. "I was thinking of something a little more creative to do with this," he said with a wry grin moving it under her tail. Twilight gasped as she felt the cold contact on her filly bits.

"Shining!" He gave it a little more pressure, pushing it into her entrance, giving it a few small thrusts in and out before lodging it completely inside. "Ahhaa!" She moaned as he wiggled and turned it about inside of her. Twilight's knees buckled as she plopped into her seat.

"I knew you'd like it. Maybe we don't have time for the real thing, but I thought that I'd give you a little treat as a preview," he said. Twilight pawed at the table cloth.

The door upstairs flew open and the two sisters trotted downstairs. Shining froze, rising to his hooves, pinning himself against the table, keeping his erection concealed beneath the tablecloth. Twilight barely had time to react, struggling to stand, both weak in the knees and trying to stay the embarrassment of the hidden vegetable from falling free from her withers.

Behind her, Luna grinned. It was not often Twilight saw her smile. But she was practically glowing. More so, neither had their ornamental shoes or helm of office. They were completely bare. It only stood to reason, Twilight figured. They were on vacation after all. Celestia looked at the room and the table.

"Everything looks wonderful! How ever did you manage all of this so quickly?" Luna asked.

"Oh, it's a-aah" Twilight felt the cucumber inside her shift a little "A Ponyville Kingdom secret," she said with a smile.

"Very well," Luna conceded, taking a seat beside her elder sister, putting her hoof on hers. "I suppose every kingdom must have its secrets." Celestia took some salad and a small sandwich from the platter onto her plate, waiting for the others to do so as well before she began to eat. She took small bites and chewed quietly with her mouth closed. Ever the image of regal poise.

"On the subject of your kingdom, Princess Twilight," Celestia began, "Luna and I have been curious as to what you have been accomplishing so far. And what sort of plans you might have for the future of Ponyville."

"Oh, nothing much," Twilight said, trying to keep the tense nervousness from her voice. "Just a little of this and a little of thaahahat!" Twilight shivered as Shining gave the cucumber a little jostle inside her. "Pardon me," Twilight apologized. "I had a little tickle in my throat." She cut a glare at Shining Armor that said 'Stop it!'. His horn glowed as he gave her a coy smile back that said, 'Make me!', giving the produce another little twist.

Fine. Two can play at this game.

Twilight's horn glowed, levitating her fork. But she was a master at multitasking. A tendril of magic wrapped around his shaft beneath the table. She gave it a few slow strokes before letting it spring free of her magical grip, smacking it against the underside of the table with a thud. Celestia and Luna each looked at him. He hit the surface of the table with his hoof.

"Wow, this sa-ha-alad sure is something!" he said, cracking his voice and forcing a smile. He hit the table again with his hoof for effect. "Mmm, mm! Yum."

"It's. Salad." Luna deadpanned.

"Yes it is." Shining said, pointing at her. "You are- correct about that!"

"Hm." Celestia gave a neutral sigh. "Well then, Twilight you seem to have settled into your role fairly comfortably." Shining counterattacked Twilight, giving the cucumber inside her a few more thrusts. Twilight shifted in her seat very uncomfortably.

"Oh- yeah," Twilight breathed. "Well, I don't want to cause too many waves. I wasn't looking to take over and change everything. I let Mayor Mare work as she always has. I just sign things now instead of you, with the same sort of hooves-off approach you always counselled me with. It seems to have served Ponyville just fine so far."

"That is very wise of you," Celestia commended her.

"Really?" Twilight said. Shining used his magic to give Twilight's clit a little tease. "That feels soo good!" she gasped. "Uh, to hear you say that, I mean!" Luna's horn glowed blue, levitating her utensils. Celestia shifted in her seat a little.

"Of course there's nothing wrong with a little... hooves on work, when the situation calls for it," Luna said with a smirk.

"Mmm, that's good Luna," Celestia said. "Good advice," she amended. "Certainly there are things that you want to take care of personally, no?" Celestia's horn glowed, levitating her own fork. Luna's magical grasp on her own wavered, causing it to clatter on the table.

"Oooh oh. Uh, clumsy me," Luna said. Both of them were beginning to perspire. Twilight decided that she would have to see to the temperature regulating enchantment on the castle for adjustment.

"I'm sure I will come up with a few measures of my own," Twilight said, running a tendril of her magic along the length of Shining's dick. Shining struggled to keep his concentration on his fork, opting to hold it with his hoof.

"Have you not already?" Luna asked. Twilight hesitated briefly. Celestia cut in.

"Forgive us for prying into the affairs of your kingdom, Twilight," she said. "I assure you that we trust you completely. It's just an academic curiosity."

"I understand," Twilight said.

"It's just that, we've asked Mayor Mare to forward her legislation since you took office for us to review," Celestia said.

"Oh?" Twilight said, feigning ignorance.

"Again, it's not that we don't trust you," Luna said. "We just want to-"

"...make sure that I don't do anything too extreme?" Twilight said, repeating Mayor Mare's words.

"Twilight," Celestia chided.

"No, it's okay," Twilight said. "After the Want-It Need-It incident, I realized that I could be a little- impulsive." She gave Shining's dick another few strokes.

"Nggh!" Shining grunted and grabbed the edge of the table, gaining confused looks. "Ah, um, great salad. Great, great salad!" Celestia continued.

"Twilight, what Luna meant to say was-" Luna's horn glowed a little brighter. Celestia's eyes fluttered a tiny, almost imperceptible bit. "...was that we had an academic interest in seeing what the fresh eyes of new, young leadership could offer modern Equestria."

"And to check for clerical errors," Luna added.

"Oh." Twilight's only response.

"...Yes, well," Celestia hesitated, "on the subject, there was a particular bill that it seems you penned yourself-"

"The only one you penned," Luna added.

"Aaand we think you may have made an error that went unnoticed," Celestia said.

"Oh?" Twilight's only response. Now it was her turn to sweat.

"Well... it seems that the line item in the foot note called for the repeal of regulation 1nc35t. We inquired with Mayor Mare and she said that it was a restriction on masons working over moving water."

"But I did a little research," Luna said. "That regulation was 1nc34t. So 1nc35t is a typo."

"Oh. Silly me," Twilight said flatly, wearing a poker-face for the ages.

"Twilight," Celestia said, "I know you are not a pony prone to making mistakes like this. You always double check your work."

"Oh, ah well, uh, the thing is- I uh, I wrote that very late at night," Twilight said. "So late in fact, it was early! He he!" Twilight laughed nervously. "And uh, I guess I missed that! I'll have to go in on Tuesday and repeal 1nc34t properly." Celestia's horn glowed as Luna began to speak.

"Twilight, you are not exactly filling us-" Luna coughed and cleared her throat. "Ahem, not exactly filling us with confidence. Your bill repealed another law entirely!"

"Oh?" Twilight's only response.

"Yes. You actually-" Celestia paused, "Well it's rather funny, actually. You repealed the prohibition on consanguineous carnal relations," Celestia said, with a small smile as her horn faded along with Luna's. Even Shining stopped messing around at this point.

"Well, that's a mouthful," Twilight said, in a poor attempt a levity.

"Do you understand what you've done?" Luna asked.

"I repealed the wrong law, yes," Twilight answered.

"I think what she means is do you understand what the consequences of your actions are," Celestia said.

"Uhhh..."

"You've legalized incest in Ponyville, Princess Sparkle," Luna said, her horn glowing again, lifting her fork.

"Oh." Twilight's only response.

"You should be more careful when writing legislature, Twilight," Celestia said. "If you repeal the wrong laws, anything could- mmff-" Celestia shifted in her seat again, "...anything could happen. It's a long, holiday weekend, until Tuesday. Who knows what could happen until then?"

"What do you intend to do?" Luna asked. "Will you redact the measure that you've written?"

"Well... the masons have already repaired the bridge, and have been paid. I can't undo that," Twilight said.

"Do you intend to write a new law to make incest illegal again, then?" Celestia asked, taking a bite of her sandwich. Twilight opened her mouth, in reflex, to give the answer she thought Celestia wanted to hear, and say 'yes' in appeasement. She glanced beside her, at her brother, Shining Armor. Everything she had done, she had done for him, for both of them. There was something inside Twilight. And it wasn't the cucumber. Something deep inside that she felt very strongly. Again, not the cucumber. It was a strength of her will, a belief that she had very strongly.

Something she was willing to fight for. To die for.
And even, dare she say, disagree with Celestia for.

"No." Twilight's only response.

"No?" Celestia and Luna replied in stereo.

"No," Twilight repeated. "It seems like a silly law."

"Silly?" Luna replied, "It was written almost three hundred years ago. Have you no respect for your founding ponies?"

"I do," Twilight retorted curtly. "But Equestria is a very different place than it was centuries ago. This, you understand?" she asked Luna. Luna sat back in her seat.

"It is," she replied reluctantly.

"Perhaps such an archaic law is not as applicable as it was in the days of yore," Twilight said. "Perhaps ponies today are capable of being more responsible with their personal liberties, without us trying to legislate morality over them."

"Perhaps you are wrong," Luna suggested.

"Perhaps I am!" Twilight said. "But I am willing to give my citizens the benefit of the doubt!" she spat with a confidence that she did not know she even had. "Incest!? Ha! What right is it of mine to prosecute a pony for whom they choose to love? No, I do not think so. Not here. Not now. Not in my kingdom!" She stood up, her every muscle fiber tense with conviction.
"NOT IN MY! KINGDOM!" Twilight shouted, angrily slamming her hoof on the solid crystal table, threatening to crack, making the plates and silverware rattle loudly, echoing in the sterile walls.

The ensuing silence was utterly palpable.

Shining Armor somehow turned a whiter shade of pale, his were eyes as wide as the dinner plates.

Twilight's heart was racing. She had just thrown down the gauntlet at her mentor and drew the line in the sand in the face of not one, but both of the royal sisters. But she didn't flinch. She narrowed her eyes and kept her jaw firm. Her heart was panicking, but her face said "fight me!"

Luna sat poised, ready for any outcome as she looked to Celestia, waiting for her cue, one way, or the other.

Celestia sat there in her seat and locked eyes with Twilight, towering over her on her hooves. Celestia was seeking deference. Twilight didn't yield, not even a little. Not by a long shot. Celestia could see the fire in her eyes. It told her everything she needed to know about the pony. It told her that if she fought Twilight on this, only one of them would be leaving this room alive. On any other day, Celestia would have been fairly confident about her odds. But she was not a mare who played with dice.

Celestia blinked and looked away, instead, at the sandwich platter. She picked up one of the small, triangular sandwiches a levitated it to her face, taking a moment to inspect it. The fresh bread was soft and sumptuous. The sandwich had fresh lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, sliced cucumbers and daisies with egg-free mayonnaise and a delightful honey Dijon dressing. Outside, the sun was shining low on the horizon, a deep red hue, poised to set. Birds were singing in the trees. Foals were laughing on the playground. She took a deep inhale, savoring the aroma of the sandwich, as though it were her last meal. She looked to the red light of the setting sun in the window. 'Today is a good day', Celestia decided.

Today is a good day to die.

"..."

"Good for you," Celestia said at last. She brought the sandwich to her mouth for a bite, chewing it with her mouth closed. Chewing quietly, politely, with all of the poise of a princess. She waited until she finished the sandwich, and did not speak with food in her mouth. "Good for you." She took the napkin from her place setting and unfolded it carefully, deliberately, as though it were the flag of Equestria. "You stand up for your principles." She wiped her mouth with her napkin. "A good leader- a good ruler needs that." Celestia sat back in her seat, deliberately expressing her relaxation. "Mmm. This dinner is simply wonderful... We will support your decision. Won't we, sister?"

"Yes. Of course," Luna said, relaxing herself.

Twilight visibly relaxed and sat back down in her seat. Shining finally exhaled. The clock on the wall chimed the hour.

"Forgive us," Celestia said. "Duty calls. If we may be excused?" Twilight waved them off with her hoof from her chair. Celestia stood and gave a polite curtsy. Luna joined her.

"Your Highness," Luna said with a curtsy herself before excusing herself, exiting the castle with Celestia to set the sun and raise the moon. The heavy doors of the castle closed behind them.

"Shining?"

"Yeah?"

"Did we almost just die just now?"

"Yeah."

"Don't ever let me do that again."

"... 'Kay."

"..."

"I love you."

"I know."

Twilight kissed her brother.
He kissed her back.
She kissed him harder.
And then she smacked him in the face with a pickle.

"Where'd you get a pickle?" he asked

"It's the cucumber, you ass! Don't ever do that again!" She tossed it on the table and kissed him again.

"No promises," he said with a smile, kissing her again.

"Let me finish what I started," Twilight said, dropping to her knees in front of him, wrapping her hooves around his stallionhood, jacking him off with gusto. There really was nothing like nearly dying to put your life priorities into perspective.

"Oh, oh, Oh TWI!" All of her teasing and foreplay through the dinner, coupled with the excitement of being caught, had him on the edge. He regretted that his first time cumming at the hooves of his sister was so expedited. She saw his cock flare and quickly took a small serving bowl with her magic to catch his mess. As much as she would have liked to taste it herself, the last thing she needed was suspicious breath bidding the Royal Sister's good night. As soon as he recovered, she stood and put the bowl aside to kiss him.

The light coming in through the window faded into darkness with the coming night. As the moon's light shone into the window, they broke the kiss in time for the Royal Sisters' return. Twilight was about to quickly start clearing the table with her brother. At the very least to destroy the evidence of their deed.

"Ooh! A pickle!" Celestia said, levitating it to herself before Twilight could stop her. "I didn't see this before, but I've been having the strangest craving for one."

"Uh-" Twilight tried to protest but it was too late. Celestia dipped it in the bowl of Shining's... 'salad dressing' and took a generous bite.

"Mmhh! Luna, you simply must try this!" Celestia said. She dipped the pickle in the dressing again, but bit the other end, holding it in her mouth for her sister to bite.

"But sister, what if our lips were to meet in the process? It would be like we are kissing!" Luna said. Celestia took the pickle from her mouth.

"So?" Celestia said. "It's not illegal for me to kiss my sister. Not here. Not now." She purposefully looked at Twilight in the eyes. "Not in Twilight's Kingdom." She put the pickle back in her mouth. The cucumber that had been soaking in Twilight's vagina, dipped in Shining's semen. Luna bit, chewed, and swallowed the other end until her lips met her sister's. The two princesses kissed, longer and deeper than could ever possibly be necessary to share a pickle before they separated.

"Now then," Luna breathed, "Today has been quite eventful. You will have to forgive us if we were to retire to our room early." Luna nodded quickly and headed upstairs to the bedroom.

"..."

Celestia lingered behind, circling the table slowly, with a predatory stare toward the two of them the entire time. She sidled up along side the young siblings, leaning in closely to her protege with an almost disappointed expression.

"Come now, Twilight, do you take me for such a fool?" Celestia said with a knowing look. "Did you really expect us to believe it was a coincidence that your brother was here, so shortly after you passed that bill?"

Twilight said nothing. Celestia didn't need her to.

"I've known you nearly your entire life, Twilight." Celestia said. "I could always tell when you were lying because you were never any good at it. You would never make a clerical mistake like that. Not ever. Especially not on something as important as your first law in your kingdom." She glanced over at Shining Armor. He stood there, motionless, yet nervous. He was afraid.

"You're a married stallion, Prince, Cpt. Shining Armor," Celestia said to him. "You have been honest with Cadance about your... other relationship. But know that she has likewise been honest with me." She looked at Twilight and back at him again. "For what Twilight has done here, manipulating the law as she has, it could be grounds for her to be stripped of her kingdom, title, wings and freedom. Thrown into a dungeon until she forgets what sunlight looks like."

The fear in him vanished. Shining's nostrils flared and his teeth grit tight. Every muscle in his body tensed. His eyes burned, screaming, 'You can bloody well try over my dead body!'

Twilight and Shining stood and stared, aghast. "What? Do you believe that our visit to your kingdom after you passed such a bill was any more of a coincidence than his!?" She grinned. "Every Kingdom has its secrets. Enjoy yours, Princess Twilight."

Princess Celestia took a quick curtsy. "Your Highness," Celestia said to Twilight as she excusing herself. She started to walk up the stairs, turning to Shining Armor. "I hope you enjoy your stay, Prince Armor..." she smiled. "... Luna and I certainly shall."

Prince St.

One Week Earlier

Princess Celestia was sitting in her palace office. She had just concluded her royal court session for the day and was going to be setting the sun shortly. Her magic in-box, linked with the one that she had given Mayor Mare, glowed for a moment. A paper dropped out of the bottom of it.

"Oh, It looks like Twilight has enacted her first bill as Princess," Celestia mused to herself. "Hmm, let's see... a call for the use of public funds... to the sum of..." she read through the boring legalese. "The repeal of law 1nc35t...?" Celestia scratched her head for a moment, confused as to what kind of law would need to be repealed for a simple bridge public works measure.

She trotted down into the bowels of Canterlot Castle, to the records archives. It was different from the magic archives, in the castle's east wing. Down here was where backups of the records were kept in Ponyville Town Hall. Celestia thought it was wise to have, in light of the staggering regularity of disasters befalling Equestria in recent years.

"1,N..." she looked through the old shelves. Ponyville wasn't nearly as old as Canterlot, but hundreds of years of legislature was still a lot of paperwork. Luckily she'd had Twilight down here in the past to organize it. The unicorn had practically begged for the opportunity. It had been ordered chronologically, and alphabetically by law serial number. For serial numbers that didn't started with a letter, she had to go pretty far back. "Ah, here we are... 1... N...C..." she worked her way through the stack, "35t..." Celestia paused for a second. The page she sought was easy to find now. The binding of the book had been broken to this page, and the corner had been dog-eared, just slightly.

Somepony had looked up this law before. And relatively recently.

"Law number 1nc35t," she read, "The Prohibition of Carnal Consanguineous Relations." Celestia looked at the page, and back at the copy of legislature that she'd just received. All that she was required to do now was update her copy to indicate that the law had been repealed, (or, as it was called in the olde days, withdrawn) by marking it with a 'W' prefix. The law that Princess Twilight had 'claimed' to have repealed was just beside it, one letter difference. One could accuse the new princess of having made a clerical error. But Celestia had two very convincing reasons to believe otherwise.

Firstly, she knew Twilight. She had known Twilight almost all her life. And while Celestia was wise enough to know that everypony makes mistakes; a pony that triple-checked her checklist, to make sure she didn't miss anything, when she double-checked her checklist, did not make mistakes of the clerical variety. Especially not on something as important as her first piece of legislature as a new princess.

Secondly, the law in her book seemed to have already been marked with a 'W'. But it was the modern, curved version, unlike the old double V style. And it was in very familiar hoofwriting.

"Alright, Twilight," Celestia said into the empty room, setting the book back on the shelf. "Alright... Let us see where this leads."

~~~~~

On the castle balcony, Princess Celestia stood beside her sister, Luna and lowered the sun. As she did, Luna brought out the moon, and painted the sky awash in twinkling stars.

"Beautiful, as always, sister," Celestia said.

"Thank you, Tia," Luna replied. "Even though I know more ponies appreciate it now, it still means the most to hear it from you." She nuzzled her neck and they stepped back inside the castle. They each sat at the table in the shared space of their royal residence suite. Luna took a sip of her coffee, relishing its effect. "Not electricity, medicine, or railroads. This is the greatest invention in the last millennium!" she said with a smile. "So, what news have we?" Luna asked, expecting the usual turn-over report for shift change.

"I actually have something very important to discuss with you concerning Twilight," Celestia said.

"Oh? Has she formed institutions for easily-distracted ponies, to teach them pay more attention?" Luna asked.

"What?"

"You know, concentration camps," Luna said

"Uh, no." Celestia answered. "I just received this today from Mayor Mare." She gave Luna the new law. "And this is the law it repeals." Celestia showed her the copy of the old law prohibiting incest in Ponyville. Luna looked back and forth between the two documents.

"Do you think she made an error?" Luna asked.

"I highly doubt it," Celestia said. She went on to explain the evidence she had discovered in the archives.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Luna asked.

"We will need to confront her about this. But we have to go about it very carefully. We can't know for certain that this isn't a mistake. We have to eliminate any shadow of a doubt first," Celestia said.

"Yes... I suppose," Luna said with resignation.

"But?" Celestia asked, sensing her hesitance.

"But I was wondering if we could... take advantage of the situation first?" she asked, putting her hoof on Tia's. Celestia smiled.

"I've already scheduled time for us this next weekend for a trip to Ponyville."

That Weekend

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna flew side-by-side, away from Canterlot, gliding gently downwards away from the mountain toward the town of Ponyville. Luna could not remember the last time she had gone flying with her sister like this. But teleporting such a long distance was strenuous, even for the two magical veterans. And they didn't want to create a fanfare with their arrival by train.

"She should be expecting us," Celestia said as they neared Twilight's castle. "I sent a letter to Spike to notify her." The sisters landed gracefully in front of the castle's main entrance on Prince Street. It was supposed to be Princess Street, but they didn't have enough room on the sign. So it just read Prince st instead.

Celestia knocked with her hoof and the door was opened.

"Prince Shining," Celestia greeted with a measure of surprise.

"Your Majesty!?" Shining greeted with much more surprise, and a bow. He opened the other door, revealing Luna. "Your Majesties." He bowed again.

"Prithee, where art Princess Twilight?" Luna asked.

"Uh, uh, she uh, had to run an errand to Town Hall! She'll be right back though," he said, taking their bags from them. The royal sisters stepped inside the castle and closed the door behind them.

"It is curious to see you here today," Luna said. "Are you also enjoying the holiday weekend?"

"Oh, yeah," Shining said, "Well, you know, what with how hard it is to get away, and being so far away in the Crystal Empire, hehe."

"How fares the Empire?" Celestia asked.

"It's... good," he said.

"And Cadenza?" Luna asked. "What progress have you and she made to sire a foal? Might we suggest favorable positions?" Shining gulped.

"Now Luna," Celestia chided with a wink, "You know how busy it can be for a Princess. I'm sure they are trying just as often as they can."

But for the magical properties of the hinges mounting them, did the doors remained attached to their frame as Twilight Sparkle kicked them in. She needed to warn her brother and contact the princesses before they-

"Greetings, Princess Sparkle," Luna said, standing in Twilight's Castle foyer.

"Hello Twilight," Celestia said, standing beside her younger sister. "We just arrived a few minutes ago. Your brother was kind enough to bid us entrance." Twilight could see Shining Armor standing behind them with their bags and the same 'oh shit' look on his face that Twilight herself was trying desperately to conceal.

"We realize we are early for our weekend vacation at your castle," Luna said, "But Tia was confident that it would not be of any concern."

"You received my letter about our impending arrival, yes?" Celestia asked.

She had sent Spike away with Rarity for the weekend to look for gems.

"That's fine," Celestia said, turning to Shining as Twilight bolted upstairs to her bedroom.

"Yeah, uh, Twily never got a chance to tell me about you two being here. I guess she was just so excited to see me," he said.

"I'm sure she was," Celestia murmured under her breath.

"But are you both really going to be here for the whole weekend?" he asked.

"Are we not allowed to take vacations?" Celestia asked.

"No. I mean yes! I mean, of course you're allowed!"

"Tia! We are tired from travel and anxious to see our accommodations!" Luna complained.

"Alright. Let's go see," Celestia said, leading them upstairs where Twilight had gone.

"But what about Canterlot?" Shining asked.

"Canterlot will be fine without us for a few days," Luna answered.

"And we can move the Sun and Moon from anywhere," Celestia added, reaching the door of the one guest room.

"Princess!" Twilight greeted, trying not to seem out-of-breath.

"Princess," Celestia parroted. Luna looked into the next room from the hallway, finding it empty.

"Just the one room?" Luna asked.

"Well you see- um, it's just that, the thing is-" Twilight stammered, "I uh, had already invited Shining over for the weekend, uh, as you can see." She motioned to her brother with her hoof.

"Yes. We can see that plainly," Luna said.

"Yes. Plainly," Twilight replied with an awkward smile. "But it's just that, I had already invited him, before I got your letter, and I didn't want to cancel his visit, since you know, it's so rare that he's able to get away from the Empire. And um, when I got your letter, I uh, didn't want to say no to that either, since it's so difficult for you two to get away too, I would imagine," she said, stalling.