"Court is now adjourned! Everypony not part of castle staff please vacate the premises immediately!" This was echoed loudly by the guard captain as the sun was beginning to set thanks to its Princess.
The crowd started to disperse and collected their belongings brought take make the waiting time to talk with Princess Celestia more bearable. The Princess in question waited until the doors closed and the last of the common guards left. The only ponies in the room were her, the captain, and a few of her honor guard. The second the main doors closed a side door opened and the Princess of the Moon stepped out yawning.
"I take it that court is over sister?" Luna asked stretching her wings and tilting her neck to crack it.
"Yes, it is. Did you have a good day's sleep, Luna?" Celestia asked as she turned to watch the display put on by her sister.
"Did I ever, and it's fine to drop the act. Nopony is here that doesn't already know you."
At the statement by Luna, Celestia let out an incredible sigh and began to stretch herself. She slid on the throne and slouch on the cushioned seat as a white-furred, blonde maid brought a glass of water. She drank it greedily and watched as Luna raised the moon and set the stars for the night.
"It looks great Luna, as always, way better than I've done before you came back."
"Thank you, though, you always did have trouble trying to make things less than organized."
Luna levitated the glass of water that was brought to her by the same maid and drank it in one go. "Ahhh." She said with a satisfied grin and wiped the water away. "Thank you for that Feather Down."
"It's no problem, your highness." Feather said with a slight bow. "Is there anything else I can get you?"
"The usual would be perfect." Luna said as she walked to where her sister had called for a cloud and was beginning to lay on it.
"Make it two! It's the start of my night and I'm feeling hungrier than usual." Celestia yelled as she lazily used her wings to propel the cloud around the room.
The guards and the Feather were unfazed by such antics by now since the return of Luna. In the beginning, they were surprised to see such a display coming from their longtime ruler and thought it unnerving. They thought they were being tested to see if they would be able to keep their composure under such circumstances. However, that was not the case as on the second day it happened Celestia herself felt embarrassed that she'd forgotten they were not the usual staff before Luna's banishment.
Luna on the otherhoof had a good laugh about the whole thing and explained to them that this was their beloved ruler's true personality. It was only because she had nopony else to rely on with affairs that she couldn't relax for all of the time Luna was banished. She told them to relax and be delighted to see their monarch as she was, but to be aware that any rumors spread outside the castle about it would result in far worse than banishment. All of it was said with a smile on her face that they could tell had a completely different meaning.
All in all, they got used to it and no rumors ever spread outside the castle. The rest of the staff knew except for some of the common guard as they usually held patrols outside the castle. Celestia thank them all and went about her now relaxed manner and Luna enjoyed the time spent with her sister once more. As Luna replaced the cushions on the throne and began to sit, Celestia continued to float and stop in front of her still upside down.
"How about you take the night off Luna? No pony ever comes to night court anyways and the few that do are usually just complaints about loud neighbors. You do more dream walking than this anyways, so I think it'll do you some good to take a night to relax."
"Well, that's true. I do get bored with waiting for something to happen. I guess you're right, I can leave the ponies to battle their nightmares for one night. They've done so before my return and I have been feeling a bit stressed."
Celestia smiled and her horn glowed then flashed as the cloud she was using expanded. Luna jumped on and the force made Celestia bounce into the air. She landed onto the cloud and it expanded once more taking up most of the room. She and Luna continued to bounce on top of the massive formation and laughed at the many different poses they each tried to make before landing. The guards looked on with smiles as their two rulers enjoyed themselves, it was rare for them to decide on a day off for the both of them and even rarer for them to do so spur of the moment.
"Your majesties! Your food has arrived!" yelled Feather as she brought two big trays with her magic. Each of them had the same contents of cider, pancakes with zap apple jam drizzled with maple syrup, cupcakes, a tub of hoofendas, and a box of Joe's specialty donuts.
"This isn't the usual." Luna said as she flew to the edge of the cloud where Feather was waiting.
"I know your highness." She said setting down the trays on two separate clouds Luna provided for her. "I figured since Princess Celestia asked for one as well that she would somehow convince you to take a night off. So I brought the usual for such an occasion."
"Is it really that obvious that I would agree with her?" Luna asked with a warm smile.
"Very much so your highness."
"Thank you, Feather. You know us so well." Luna flew back to the center where Celestia waited watching the ceiling. She propped herself up as the clouds with the trays came into view and the self-made massive trampoline substitute shrunk.
"Thank you, Feather!" Celestia yelled waving to the maid who bowed and took her leave.
"I hate to say it sister, but it seems we've become predictable." Luna laid down next to her and began to eat some of the pancakes.
"No Luna, just you. I'm still super mysterious and unpredictable." She emphasized this by waving her hooves in the air and making the wind whistle with what sounded like an "Oooooooooo".
The guards couldn't help it at this point and started to laugh alongside Luna as Celestia just sat there atop the cloud self-satisfied and chugging a cider.
"Quite. So, what shall we do on this wondrous night?"
"Let's just talk some more, did I ever tell you about the time I caught Twilight practicing her kissing with a poster of Starswirl?" she said barely containing her laughter.
"She didn't!" Luna couldn't help and smile as Celestia nodded vigorously.
"She did!"
The room was filled once more with roaring laughter and both the Princesses couldn't hold back their tears grabbing their sides as Celestia continued with the story. Luna barely able to breathe with each new bit of information and the guards hardly able to stand due to the story. It was another lazy night in the castle and everypony knew that the laughter wouldn't stop anytime soon.
Author's Note
Another short story! Honestly, I was thinking of making this a series but couldn't see myself actually doing so due to the other ones I already have. Maybe at some point in the future, I'll come back to it but that would be if there is decent demand for it. Regardless, the story was swimming in my mind for a while ever since I saw Celestia and Luna having Tea with Twilight during "Gauntlet of Fire." It wasn't much of an idea as it was a passing thought about their daily lives and what they talk about when at the castle away from most of their subjects.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please leave a comment or critique below as any critique helps me grow as a writer. Have a great day!
