Secrets and Surprises

by Midday Shine

Rating: everyone
Tags: Vice-Principal Luna, Comedy, Equestria Girls, Principal Celestia, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Sweetie Belle
Length: 15600

While trying to find a birthday gift for Celestia, Luna spots Sweetie Belle, talking to a suspicious-looking stranger. This triggers a whole chain of events.

The mall. A huge area filled with shops of all kinds. Finding the perfect birthday gift for your own sister, whom you've known your whole life, should be easy in such a place… right?

Yeah, sure. As long as your sister's name isn't Celestia.

Luckily, the mall is also a great place to have fun, even if your big sister has gone to a shop you don't like. Who knows, maybe you'll get to make a star out of her thanks to a guy you met by accident and who claims to be a part of a rock band? They all wear ripped clothes anyway, so there's nothing to worry about, right?

Yeah… sure. As long as your vice principal, feared by pretty much the entire school, doesn't suddenly materialize next to you and yell at you.

But wait. Why does she seem different than at school? Kind of… nicer? What's going on?

This was supposed to be a quick, short comedy (Pinkie Promise!), but ended up as a two-part, somewhat humorous, more than 30 pages long (in Word, at least) slice of life I've written for over a year.

Was created simultaneously with the Polish version (PM me if you're interested), so if you catch any mistakes I've missed, tell me.

A huge thank you to Lyokoheros for the preread.

Enjoy!

Published 2019-02-23 17:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-05-29 18:57:18 UTC

Auntie Detention

Luna sighed softly, moving away from yet another display. She’d thought that finding the perfect birthday gift for her sister (or even a gift idea) shouldn’t be a problem, considering the size of the mall and the number of stores in it. Drugstores, home décor stores, bookstores, confectionery and jewelry stands… something should have long since given her an idea of what to look for. And yet, the more displays she saw, the more confused she felt. Should she go for jewelry? Perfume? A book? A plant?

No, none of those. Celestia had a lot of jewelry – especially for someone who wears it occasionally. She also had quite a choice of perfumes. A book was something she’d probably buy on her own, especially since about an hour ago, she’d gone to a bookstore “for just a little while”. As for the plants, Luna wasn’t an expert; besides, her sister had a miniature jungle in the greenhouse, anyway.

“Guess it’s down to the chocolates again,” she mumbled reluctantly, plopping onto a nearby bench. “What else can you give to someone who has everything?”

At times like this, she missed her childhood. Back then, she only had to make a picture and the matter of all presents was settled. However, she had to be a realist. Although those days had been wonderful, she couldn’t turn back.

Actually, instead of sitting on a bench, she probably should continue her search… but a short break couldn’t possibly hurt… And she had to consider her options anyway.

Many people passed her, but her attention was mostly on the children. She didn’t even try to hold back a smile whenever she saw one. In this respect, she was very much like her sister… though she didn’t express her awe as openly as Celestia did.

Her pleasant mood was ruined when she spotted a young girl talking to an elderly man, a few yards away. Normally, it wouldn’t be surprising – going shopping with one’s father, grandfather or uncle wasn’t forbidden – but she looked neat while he was wearing some rags. Something was definitely wrong and had to be investigated.

Approaching a bit, Luna noticed that the girl had a light skin and slightly curly hair in pastel shades of pink and purple; while the man next to her – raggedy, unshaven and with an ashen complexion – seemed at least suspicious. After a while, the woman identified the kid as one of her students – Sweetie Belle. To make matters worse, neither her parents nor her older sister were in sight.

Who, for all the stars’ sake, has raised such a naive child? Luna thought with a mix of exasperation, disbelief and horror.

She had to do something about it. She felt that otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to look at herself in the mirror for the rest of her life. Taking a deep breath, she made one of her strictest faces, then walked over to her student and put a hand on her shoulder.

***

“And you really could arrange my sister’s band’s national tour?” Sweetie stared at her new acquaintance with hope and awe.

“Sure thing, kid.” The man winked at her. “I told you I have friends in the industry. Say… how about we go over the details in a quieter place? Like mine, for example?”

The girl glanced at her watch.

“Hmm… I’m supposed to meet with my sister in an hour … Do you think we’ll make it?”

“No problem. It’s not that far from here.”

“Then let’s go.” Sweetie grinned. “Rarity will be proud when she hears about my business talent and…”

She fell silent upon feeling someone grasp her shoulder. Turning around, she found herself face to face with Vice Principal Luna, whose gaze was as firm as the hand on the girl’s shoulder. That didn’t bode well…

“What is the meaning of this?” the woman asked sternly. “Everyone is looking for you.”

“But…” Before Sweetie could say anything more, the vice principal grabbed her wrist and began leading the way.

The girl glanced over her shoulder.

“Don’t you dare,” said the teacher harshly, not even looking at her, and strengthening her grip instead.

For a time, they hurried ahead without a word. When they turned into one of the side alleys, the vice principal stopped and, not letting go of her student’s wrist, peeked around the corner.

“Looks like we’ve lost him,” she said with relief, then glared at Sweetie. “What were you thinking? Haven’t your parents taught you not to talk to strangers?”

“But… he wasn’t a stranger. He’d told me his name. Besides, he promised to help me organize a national tour for Rarity’s band. We were just about to go talk about the details…”

The woman heaved a sigh, facepalming with her free hand.

“I can’t believe it,” she said a moment later. “I just can’t. Listen to yourself, child. Not only did you talk to a stranger, but you also were willing to go with him off to who knows where?”

“But…”

“No ‘buts’! Do you have any idea what you were risking?! He could’ve been a kidnapper, a thief, a drug pusher, a murderer, a pervert, a human trafficker… or all at once! Remember once and for all: DO NOT! TRUST! STRANGERS!”

Although the vice principal was well-known in the school as the stern one, Sweetie had never seen her so furious. The woman’s eyes were full of fire, her lips curled, exposing her teeth, and her cheeks flushed. Frightened by the sight, the girl felt her lips tremble – and burst into tears.

“I-I’m s-so-orryyyyyyyyyy!” she sobbed. “I… I just w… wa-anted t-to help Rarity…”

A warm hand lifted her chin. In the teacher’s blue eyes Sweetie saw something resembling… guilt?

“Unconditionally trusting anyone who comes along has exactly opposite consequences,” Luna said in a slightly gentler tone, offering her a handkerchief. “Your sister wouldn’t be happy if something had happened to you. Your parents neither. By the way… where are they?”

“Dad’s at work, Mom’s at a friend’s, and Rarity’s in a clothes store.”

“Any reason why you’re not there with her?” The vice principal raised her eyebrow.

“I don’t like the music they play in there.” Sweetie smiled sheepishly.

The woman closed her eyes and sighed again.

“Your phone,” she demanded, holding her hand out toward the girl.

Though she sounded calm and collected, it was clear she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Sweetie, in turn, didn’t want to make her situation even worse – so she handed over her phone without a word.

The vice principal quickly dialed a number and put the device to her ear, waiting for the call.

Sweetie said nothing, lightly tapping the toe of her shoe against the floor.

“Rarity?” Luna spoke at last. “Vice Pri… calm down though, child… yes, you do know me. Vice Principal Luna speaking. It’s about your sister… really, do calm down… she’s in my care for now… I’ll explain when you come to pick her up. In a quarter of an hour by the fountain…? All right, let it be half an hour. We’ll be waiting. See you.” She hung up and gave the phone back to her student.

Sweetie wordlessly put it in her pocket.

“Let’s go.” The vice principal took her wrist again, though not as strongly as before, and began leading the way.

Soon, the girl saw the large fountain, one of the most characteristic locations of the mall. However, before they reached it, the woman turned to one of the stalls with sweets. That… was at least strange.

“What would you like?”

“Er…” Sweetie was unable to say anything smarter.

“A waffle? A milkshake? Ice cream? My treat.”

Okay. That was really strange.

“Who are you and what have you done with the real Vice Principal Luna?”

The blue eyes sparkled, and the lips covered with pale blue lipstick stretched in a smile.

“Did you think that adults don’t like sweets?”

“No, no! I know that thanks to my dad… But… you’ve just yelled at me…”

“Only because I was angry. And I’m sorry if I was too harsh.”

“Wh-what?” Sweetie stammered.

She didn’t understand any of this anymore. That didn’t seem like the vice principal’s usual behavior. Maybe she’d gotten hit by magic, like Rarity and her band had?

“Though all students are terrified of me, it doesn’t mean I’m a monster.” Luna looked amused. “Someone has to make sure that Celestia’s lenience doesn’t plunge the school into chaos… but you didn’t hear it from me,” she added quickly.

Her student couldn’t help but giggle.

“What’ll it be?” the boy standing behind the counter asked suddenly.

“Can I really have whatever I want?” Sweetie asked, looking at the not-so-scary vice principal.

“Really.” The woman nodded.

The girl grinned and turned to the vendor.

“Then I’d like a vanilla-mango-coconut ice cream in a white chocolate sauce and with sprinkles!”

Yes, the vice principal did act like another person today, but to tell the truth, Sweetie was kind of happy with it. All things considered, it wasn’t like she got free ice cream every day, especially before dinner. It would be a shame to miss such an opportunity.

“You, ma’am?”

“A waffle with whipped cream, fruit and chocolate chips,” Luna replied without hesitation, which made Sweetie suspect it wasn’t the first such order in her life.

After getting their sweets, the two sat on a low wall surrounding the fountain.

“And now I’m all ears.”

“Huh?” The girl blinked and looked at her teacher in confusion.

“I hope you can give a logical explanation on why you thought that an unkempt, dirty hobo could be trusted?” The woman cocked an eyebrow.

Sweetie felt her self-confidence go away like the air from a pierced balloon.

“Well… he said it was just a look… and that he had connections in a couple of recording studios, because he recorded a lot with his band, and… I’m just digging myself deeper, right?” She hung her head.

“I’d lie if I said otherwise.”

“Are you going to tell Rarity about it?”

“Yes. It’s my duty. I can only promise you that I’ll do it vaguely enough for your sister not to get a heart attack.”

The girl sighed quietly. What else could she expect? Analyzing the meeting from a few minutes ago, she realized that Bouncer (as that man had introduced himself) was probably too unkempt for a famous stage artist. Who knows how it would have ended if Vice Principal Luna hadn’t intervened… Without thinking anymore, Sweetie clung to her side.

“Beg pardon, what exactly are you doing?” The woman, sounding uncomfortable, froze immediately.

“Weeeeeell… I just… thought it was a good thing that you found me, after all, and… and thank you.”

A lean hand lightly patted her shoulder.

“As I said, I’m not a monster… but could you let go of me?”

“Er… heheh…” The girl felt sheepish. “Sure. Sorry.”

For a time, the two sat without a word, busy with their treats. Suddenly, the teacher froze with the last piece of waffle halfway to her open mouth, and her eyes got as big as saucers.

“Is something wrong, ma’am?”

Luna… that is, Vice Principal Luna shushed her student with a short hiss.

“Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” As soon as Sweetie said that, her ears caught something like… sobbing? “Huh? Where does it come from?”

The vice principal looked around quickly and nodded towards a small, crying boy and a man in a black security guard uniform leaning over him. She watched them in silence for a while, her eyes gradually changing into two tiny slits. Finally, she put the rest of the waffle in her mouth, swallowed, and stood up.

“Come on,” she said over her shoulder, hurrying toward the other two.

Knowing she already was in enough trouble for one day, Sweetie followed her obediently – almost running, because the vice principal, most likely angered again, took much longer steps than usual.

A few moments later they were there. Luna, most probably not even giving it a second thought, slipped in between the guard (a fairly tall, broad-bodied man with yellowish skin and dark green, short hair) and the boy who took the opportunity to immediately dive under the nearby bench.

“What’s going on here?” she nearly shouted, putting her hands on her hips and giving the man a look that Sweetie identified as ‘you better think twice of what you want to say, since your every word can be used against you’… or maybe it was ‘you’re about to get detention for the rest of your life and even a complaint to the school board won’t help you’?

He, however, didn’t seem impressed.

“Are you the boy’s mother?” he asked calmly.

The girl saw sudden confusion on her teacher’s face. An uncommon sight.

“No, but…”

“Then this case shouldn’t concern you. But,” the guard added, noticing Sweetie, “we’ve received a report that a guy looking like a pedophile was spotted in the mall, so you better keep an eye on your daughter.”

“Student,” the woman corrected.

Sweetie could have sworn she’d heard sorrow in her voice.

“She could even be both. I don’t care at all.” The man shrugged. “I have another job right now, and all you do is bothering me. Just take your kid and go your own way.”

Sweetie noticed that her teacher’s lips were now a thin, straight line. Oh, boy… this guy didn’t even know who he’d just messed with. The girl instinctively stepped back and swallowed. As was to be expected, the ‘kind Auntie Luna’ disappeared, leaving only the strict and firm vice principal whom all the students feared.

After a while, the staring contest was over and the woman smiled somewhat haughtily.

“All right then. I’ll leave as soon as I see you have the situation under control.”

“I do,” said the man, clearly annoyed by now. “I can handle it. Goodbye.” He turned around.

“I’d love to see that…” Luna muttered.

Sweetie could swear she’d heard mockery in her voice. Puzzled, she glanced at her teacher, who added in a low voice:

“Just watch.”

The guard, meanwhile, looked under the bench where the boy was hiding.

“Okay, kid, come outta there,” he demanded, a bit gruffly.

“No!”

“Don’t be silly, I won’t eat you. Come on out now.”

“No!” The child squeezed into a corner.

“I don’t think you’re doing too well.” Luna smiled again, this time somewhat mischievously.

“Are you still here? I said I could handle it.”

“Oh, I don’t think so. Children need a special approach.”

“Uh-huh. And you just happen to know just the trick?”

Considering the vice principal’s normal behavior (as today, she was acting kind of strange), Sweetie also had some doubts about it.

Meanwhile, Luna knelt by the bench, under which the scared boy was still hiding.

“Hey there, sweetheart,” she almost whispered.

Sweetie jaw-dropped and looked around quickly. Vice Principal Luna, the famous Miss Detention whom the entire school feared, simply couldn’t be capable of using such an affectionate tone! Surely someone else had said it!

Within a few feet radius, there was nobody, except for the security guard, slack-jawed as well – because the toddler, previously wary, crawled out of his hiding place and stared at the woman with two big gray eyes.

“I’m Luna. And you?”

The boy answered softly.

“That’s a lovely name. Where’s your mommy?”

The toddler’s lips curled into a pout. A moment later, he began crying out loud.

“Shh… it’s okay.” Luna stroked his head, took a tissue out of her purse and began wiping the tears off his face. “We’ll find your mommy.”

“Will?” the boy sniffled.

“Yes. I promise.” The woman took out another tissue. “Can you wipe your nose yourself?”

The toddler nodded, so Luna handed him the tissue, in which he blew his nose loudly.

“Done,” he said after a moment, clearly proud of himself.

“Way to go,” Luna said. “But you missed something, you know.” Using the tissue she still had in her hand, she wiped the area of his upper lip.

The little one giggled and embraced her neck.

Yup… so much for not trusting a stranger, I guess, Sweetie thought.

“Okay, that’s enough,” said the guard, walking up to Luna and the boy. “Thank you for your help, and now you really can…” he paused, because the toddler hid under the bench once more.

Luna gave the man an exasperated look, then peered into the boy’s hiding place.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” she said gently. “Come out, please.”

“No!” replied the child’s voice.

“Why?”

There was silence. After a moment, Luna looked quickly at the guard, then turned her attention back to the still-hidden boy.

“No need to be afraid,” she assured. “This man only looks scary.”

“Weawy?”

“Really. Promise.”

The toddler came out from under the bench and clung to Luna once more. However, he still seemed wary about the guard.

“I assume you have a way to get in contact with the information desk?” Stroking the boy’s back soothingly, the woman looked at the man.

He, in turn, took a walkie-talkie off his belt.

“Then please do pass word that the young Fern Leaf is waiting for his mother by the fountain.”

“Um,” Sweetie dared to speak, “but that’s where we were supposed to wait for Rarity…”

That kind of sounded as if she was jealous, which was pretty silly, come to think about it.

“I know.” Lu… that is, Vice Principal Luna stood up and grabbed the boy’s hand, putting her other one on the girl’s shoulder. “I figured waiting for both of them at the same time would be the most practical solution.”

“Well… I guess you might be onto something,” Sweetie admitted after a moment.

“I’m glad you’ve decided to trust me on this.” The teacher, clearly trying not to laugh, began to lead her two unexpected charges.

The girl decided against mentioning that she didn’t exactly have any other options, and focused on trying to lick the remains of ice cream and the topping off her fingers.

The woman let go of her shoulder and, after rummaging in her purse, handed her a packet of wet wipes.

“You could’ve just asked.”

Sweetie felt her ears and cheeks burn from embarrassment.

“Um… thank you…”

“I knew women had separate universes in their bags…” she heard behind her back. “What’s next? A shampoo and a towel?”

“Of course. Right next to the bathtub and the closet.” Judging by her smirk and voice, Luna was having a great time.

Rarity would’ve given anything to get such a magical bag, Sweetie thought, barely holding back a laugh.

Little Fern Leaf liked the fountain very much; so much, in fact, that as soon as he was seated on the edge, he leaned towards the water and began splashing it with his hand. Also, Luna’s quick reaction was the only thing that saved him from an unexpected bath at one point.

“Keep an eye on him, Sweetie Belle.” The woman seated the toddler on the low wall once more.

Then, reaching into her purse, she took out a notepad and tore out a piece of paper.

“Hey, Fern,” she said warmly, which in her mouth sounded so strange that her student felt like she were watching a movie with swapped voices. “We’ll make a boat, okay?”

“How?” the boy wanted to know.

“Look: we take the paper and ply it here, and then…”

Luna’s hand movements were well thought-out and neat, yet slow, so that the little one could see everything. That actually made sense – as a teacher, she certainly had to show students how to do things every now and then. But why did she seem more like a cool aunt at the moment? Maybe she liked young children more than teenagers? But then why would she work in high school instead of an elementary school or even a kindergarten? Sweetie had to admit to herself that she didn’t understand it at all.

“Now here…” The vice principal plied the paper once again. “And done!” she announced, handing the young Fern Leaf a neat paper boat.

“Thank you.” The boy immediately put his new toy onto the water.

“OH!” the guard exclaimed. “I used to love making paper ships, too!”

“Don’t you mean boats?” Sweetie cocked her head.

“Nope. Ships,” said the man proudly. “My father taught me when I was not much older than this tot here.”

There was a sound of torn paper.

“I’d love to see that.” Luna gave it to the man, smiling almost mischievously.

“Challenge accepted.”

For a while, the woman and the girl watched the man’s quick movements; in the meantime, the boy, whom Luna held with one arm, was playing with the boat.

In the end, the guard presented an expertly crafted paper ship.

“Told you.” He smiled triumphantly.

Turning to him for a moment, the little Fern Leaf opened his mouth.

“Want!” he said, pointing at the ship.

“Wow…” Sweetie’s eyes went wide. “And it will float?”

“I’m not entirely sure.” Luna tilted her head. “It does seem stable, but considering the size and the material, I’m afraid it might soak up too quickly to stay afloat…”

“Then how about we set it and see?” the guard asked, as confident as ever.

Before they could do so, however, they heard a female voice:

“Fern!”

All four of them – Luna, Sweetie, the guard and the young Fern Leaf – turned as if on cue. A young, short woman with pale green skin and short, dark red hair, dressed in a brown T-shirt and denim cropped pants, was hurriedly walking up to them. Upon seeing her, the boy beamed, slid off the fountain’s edge and ran up to her with a joyful cry:

“Momma!”

“Wait here, Sweetie Belle. And you keep an eye on her.” Luna stood up and walked over to the child and his mother. “What’s your name?”

“Rose Leaf,” the other woman replied carefully, picking up her son and snuggling him. “And you would be…?”

“Auntie!” the boy declared happily, reaching towards Luna with one hand.

She, in turn, giggled. Yet another thing she usually seemed unable to do.

“Actually, Luna Prince, vice principal of Canterlot High School,” she said, holding out her hand. “I just wanted to make sure Fern was safe; I’ve already seen one suspicious man today.”

“In that case,” Rose Leaf shook her hand, “may I invite you for a ‘thank you’ coffee?”

“No, please don’t bother. Besides,” Luna nodded towards Sweetie, “my student and I are waiting for someone.”

The other woman didn’t insist.

“Say goodbye to ‘auntie’, sweetheart,” she told her son.

“Bye, bye!” The boy waved.

“Bye.” Luna replied in kind.

When she returned to Sweetie and the guard, the man rose from the low wall and slightly scratched his neck.

“Well… I guess I’ll be off now. And, uh… thank you for your help and… see you, I guess.”

To her surprise, Sweetie noticed that the vice principal looked slightly embarrassed. A soft blush filled her cheeks, and her lips quivered as if in a timid smile.

They must’ve fallen in love, the girl thought, grinning from ear to ear. And Scoot said such stories can only happen in movies! Hah! I wanna see her face when she hears about this!

“You’re welcome,” Luna said finally. “But considering the size of the city, I don’t think you should get your hopes for another meeting too high up.”

“Who ever said we can’t help our luck?”

The woman blushed a little more.

Yes! Say yes! Her student, whose own heart was pounding like mad due to excitement, crossed her fingers with hope. Please, please, please!

Eventually, Luna blinked and slightly cleared her throat.

“I’m sorry to break it to you, but I don’t date strangers,” she said in a tone that allowed no discussion.

OH, COME ON! Sweetie groaned inwardly.

The man made a disappointed face.

“Alright then.” He lowered his head. “I’m not going to force you. Goodbye.”

I can’t even! The girl barely resisted the urge to facepalm. What’s wrong with adults?! Why are they always complicating everything?!

As the guard walked away dejected, Luna, not even trying to stop him, shrugged and sat down next to her student. After about a minute of silence to honor the vice principal’s would-have-been suitor, Sweetie decided to bring up an issue that had bothered her earlier:

“So… what’s the actual deal with strangers? Can they be trusted or not?”

The woman was silent for a moment; most probably, she realized the discrepancy between her words and her deeds had just been found out.

“You’re a clever child,” she finally admitted, sighing softly. “Maybe a little naive, but clever. Strangers shouldn’t be trusted immediately, but most young children don’t understand it. If that boy, Fern Leaf, had met the man who’d talked to you…” She shuddered. “I hope his mother will explain to him the risks of this kind of behavior.”

“Anyway… how’d you know how to handle him?”

“Getting on well with children can make a teacher’s work much easier.” Luna winked at her student.

“Really? I thought you’d say you’re a mom or… well, something like that…” Actually, the girl had a hard time imagining Vice Principal Luna as a mother (her sister would be more plausible), but she just couldn’t think of other options.

The woman bit her lower lip, looked away, and remained silent for a while.

“Not everything in life goes the way we’d like it,” she almost whispered in the end.

What did she mean? Did she want to have children, but couldn’t, for whatever reason? Or maybe… she’d had one, but had lost him or her? Sweetie didn’t find the courage to question her further about it, simply clinging to her side instead.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you…”

“I know.” Luna put an arm around her and gave her a quick hug. “But let’s drop this subject now, please.”

“Okay.” Her student nodded, but didn’t let go.

For a time, both the woman and the girl sat without a word or movement, each lost in her own thoughts. To be more precise, Sweetie tried to figure out the mystery her vice principal had just turned out to be. What would she be like for her children if she’d had them? Stern and harsh like at school or gentle and caring like towards this little boy moments ago? Which one of her faces was real and where had the other one come from?

Suddenly, the girl noticed in the crowd the very familiar dark violet long hair put up in very distinctive curls.

“Oh!” She perked up. “That’s Rarity! Hey, Rarity!” She waved.

Her older sister, strangely enough not carrying a bunch of shopping bags, noticed her and quickened her pace.

“I’m so sorry it took so long,” she said, having come close enough to avoid having to shout. “I had to… well, maybe I didn’t have to… I wanted to put all the things in place to spare the staff the unnecessary work…”

“Relax, child,” Luna replied softly. “No need to explain yourself. It’s alright. Though I believe it would be best if you didn’t take your eyes off your sister until you come home. When I found her…” She trailed off, as if hesitating.

Feeling a wave of heat flush over her, Sweetie nervously clasped her right hand around her left wrist.

“Oh, no,” Rarity groaned. “She’s been up to mischief, right?”

Sweetie’s heart was pounding as if it wanted to jump out of her chest.

“That’s not it.” The vice principal shook her head. “It’s just that there was a very suspicious hobo talking to her.”

Sweetie felt relieved.

“Oh, my.” Rarity put her hands to her mouth. “I don’t know how to thank you… oh! Or maybe I do!” She beamed. “I have a loyalty card in almost all clothing, shoes, handbags and cosmetics shops around here! And that means… SHOPPING!” She grinned, clearly ecstatic about her idea.

Luna sighed.

“All those are things I usually shop for on my own…”

“Oh, pfft, nonsense, darling,” Rarity snorted. Almost immediately, she made a terrified face, which most probably meant that she realized who she was talking to. “Erm, I mean…”

Luna waved it off.

“Besides, I have something else on my mind right now.”

“Principal Celestia’s birthday?” Judging by her tone, Rarity already knew the answer.

Where did she even get this idea? Sweetie looked at her sister in disbelief. Luna’s eyes went wide as she opened and closed her mouth several times before stammering out:

“B-but… how do you…?”

This time, it was Rarity’s turn to sigh.

“Yesterday, Pinkie and Twilight have started working out a way to secretly decorate the entire school in five seconds or less.”

“This will end in either a royal mess or astronomical bills for yet another renovation.” A fleeting scowl appeared on Luna’s face. “Be a dear and tell Pinkie Pie I wish to see her in my office tomorrow, before the first period.”

“Of course,” Rarity replied in a calm voice, making a face as if she’d just unintentionally sentenced her friend to a terrible fate.

The vice principal must have noticed it, because she added:

“Don’t worry, I just want to talk to her.”

“Oh.” Rarity relaxed visibly. “Then… we shan’t disturb you anymore. I hope your search for a gift will prove successful.”

“If I only knew what to look for…” Luna sighed.

Her students gave her puzzled glances.

“But,” said Sweetie, “I’m sure you know your sister better than anyone. Shouldn’t that make things easier?”

The teacher slowly shook her head.

“Have you ever tried to get a gift for someone who has everything they need?”

“Of course. Several times a year.” A smile crept onto Rarity’s lips. “Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays…”

“Our parents’ wedding anniversary,” Sweetie chipped in.

“The point is,” Rarity took the lead again, “that although everyone needs something, it’s not always an actual thing. This year, for example, as the anniversary gift, Dad takes Mom on an exotic trip, because they haven’t gone anywhere on their own for quite a long time…”

“Oh! Oh!” Sweetie waved her hand. “And I made Rarity breakfast for her last birthday!”

“And you’ve been hiding the recipe for liquid toasts ever since.” Her sister winked at her.

The vice principal shot them a weirded out glance. Rarity slightly cleared her throat.

“Anyway: I think it doesn’t matter what you give to your sister. Actually… well, I don’t know about you, but I sure see it that way… the most beautiful gifts are those coming from the heart. And now we really shan’t disturb you. Goodbye. Come on, Sweetie.”

“Goodbye.” Sweetie nodded.

“Just remember that I really need to speak with Pinkie Pie tomorrow.” The vice principal replied in kind.

Once they were out of the woman’s sight and earshot, Sweetie asked her sister:

“Rarity… what would you do if you saw that somebody liked somebody else and that they’d make a cute couple?”

***

Once her two students disappeared within the crowd, Luna sat a little more comfortably, leaning back against her outstretched arms, closing her eyes and rethinking Rarity’s words.

‘Although everyone needs something, it’s not always an actual thing… The most beautiful gifts are those coming from the heart…’

What did Celestia need? She had plenty of jewelry and enough perfume to last her for the next few years, she’d long since converted one room into a library, and her plants would soon run out of space in the greenhouse.

On the other hand… when was the last time she had a day just to herself, free from the principal’s usual responsibilities and crisis situations as well as from house chores? Though she tried with all her might, Luna couldn’t remember it. It seemed she’d just found the perfect gift idea…

“LUNA!” she heard all of a sudden.

Opening her eyes, she saw a breathless and clearly upset Celestia run towards her – and groaned inwardly. No doubt she was in for a lecture. Nevertheless, she did put on a smile, albeit a rather weak one.

“Hi, Tia…”

“‘Tia’? ‘TIA’?! What… what were you… thin… thinking…?” her sister gasped out, slumping onto the fountain’s edge. “I’ve… I’ve been looking for you everywhere for h… half an hour! I thought something bad happened to you!”

“Oh, give me a break.” Luna resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I’m not fifteen anymore; you don’t have to mind my every step.”

“Wait a moment…” Celestia narrowed her eyes and pulled a finger across her sister’s cheek. “Is this… whipped cream?”

Although a wave of heat flushed over her, Luna managed to keep a straight face. Or at least she hoped so.

Meanwhile, the elder sister took a handkerchief out of her purse, grabbed the younger one’s wrist, and began wiping her cheek.

“I’ve told you hundreds of times that eating sweets before dinner spoils your appetite, remember?” Her voice was tinged with annoyance.

This time, Luna did roll her eyes.

“Yes, Mother,” she replied sarcastically.

“Mind your tone, young lady,” Celestia warned, not raising her voice. “And by the way: why weren’t you waiting by the bookstore, like you were supposed to?”

“Maybe because I got bored after half an hour?”

“You know you could’ve come in, right?”

“Accept it already, you bookworm: I’m all for a good story, but spending entire days in bookstores and libraries isn’t my thing. Also, I did do something productive while you were inhaling the smell of paper and ink.”

“And that would be…?” Celestia raised an eyebrow.

“Long story short: I saved one of our students from a potential pedophile,” Luna didn’t even try to keep the pride out of her voice, “and then I helped a guard…”

“Was he handsome?” Her sister smirked mischievously.

“I know that face. Forget it. You know I don’t date strangers.”

“But you would get to know each other…”

“I said: forget it. And don’t interrupt me. The guy found a boy who’d lost his mother, but had no idea how to handle children…”

“So you stepped in and babysat the little one until his real mother showed up?” Celestia looked as if she barely held back a giggle.

“Of course. And you know very well why.” Feeling her eyes burn, Luna blinked and bit on the inside of her cheek.

“I know.” Her older sister’s gaze softened as she gave her a hug. “And just between us,” she added after a few moments of silence, “I probably would’ve done the same if I were there. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks… but now stop embarrassing me in front of all those people around us, could you?”

“If you promise to at least send me a text next time.”

“How many times do I have to tell you I’m no longer a child?” Luna rolled her eyes, trying to break free.

Her sister had no intention of loosening the grip, though.

“And how many times do I have to tell you that your safety comes first to me?”

Luna let out a faint, resigned sigh. Celestia was in the overprotective mode again. There was no way to get through to her with any logical arguments right now.

“Okay, okay,” she said, lightly patting her older sister’s back. “Next time, I’ll let you know where I am.”

“Promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“That… sounded like Pinkie Pie promising not to roller skate around the school again.” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “When did she teach you?”

“Ugh.” Luna rolled her eyes again. “A promise is a promise. Can you let go of me now?”

“Of course.” The elder sister finally did as asked and smiled sweetly. Too sweetly, in fact. “After all, you’ve just made a promise that, as Pinkie Pie had assured me, you can never, ever break.”

Luna grabbed her head and whimpered.

The B-Day

The alarm clock went off exactly at 6 a.m. Luna turned it off in one practiced move, yawned, sat up and rubbed her eyes, fighting to stay awake. Usually, she woke up over an hour later, but this time, she had an important mission – to prepare a breakfast to bed for her sister who had her birthday today… and who would help a lot by not waking up at her usual time. Luna didn’t cherish the memory of her last attempt to prepare a surprise in a rush. It must have been a miracle she hadn’t burned the house back then.

The decision was made. The “Birthday Breakfast” mission had to start with an operation under the working title “Be Quick To Deactivate Celestia’s Cursed Alarm Clock Before The Whole Painstakingly Planned Surprise Goes Up In Smoke”.

Resisting the urge to fall back onto the pillow and doze off for the next hour (or better yet, several hours), Luna threw back the covers without further hesitation, got up and walked over to the door. She winced when it creaked upon opening. Sure, it wasn’t a loud sound, but in the morning, Celestia was a rather light sleeper; sometimes even a murmur could wake her, which would be extremely undesirable today.

After about a minute of complete silence, Luna sighed in relief. Apparently, she was in luck. Watching her every step to make no unnecessary noise, she sneaked into her older sister’s bedroom.

Celestia was still asleep, lying on her back. Her one hand was tangled in her long, multi-colored hair, randomly scattered all over the pillow; the other, hanging from the side of the bed, touched the floor. Nothing new, then. Maybe it was a good thing she’d never gotten married. What guy would withstand a wife sprawling all over the bed in her sleep?

The alarm clock was on the bedside table, next to the lamp. The digits on the display spread a dim, greenish glow. The alarm was surely set at half past six, as usual during the school year. Without thinking long, Luna carefully lifted the device, took out one of its batteries, rendering it useless, and silently put it back on the previous place.

Then, she froze, because Celestia rolled over to her side, muttering something incomprehensible. She didn’t wake up, though. After a while, Luna slowly let out the breath she hadn’t realized holding, carefully tucked her sister in and gently put a strand of her hair behind her ear, just as she liked it. Celestia purred with satisfaction (oddly enough, she sounded a bit like a cat) and buried her nose in the pillow.

Luna smiled, tiptoed out of the room, closed the door softly and went to the kitchen, all the while trying not to make noise. Good. Now she just had to prepare all the necessary ingredients, roll up her sleeves (metaphorically, as they actually didn’t even reach her elbows), and get to work.

“Eggs, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes…” she muttered under her breath, looking over the products she’d put on the countertop, “…bread, butter… good, seems nothing is missing.”

About half an hour later, she looked at her work proudly. It came out perfect. The scrambled eggs with bacon and mushrooms hadn’t burned; the neatly chopped tomatoes adorned the plates’ edges; the cookies, bought in secret the day before, didn’t crumble (nor had they been eaten too early, though the temptation had been great); and even tea had steeped for long enough. Satisfied, Luna lifted the tray with the breakfast for two and, humming to herself, went to her sister’s room.

On the threshold, her cheerful mood disappeared. The door was closed. Obviously. It was her own work, as she hadn’t wanted the noises or smells to wake Celestia before time.

“Me and my brilliant ideas…” she muttered, annoyed, trying to push the handle with her elbow without dropping the tray’s contents to the floor.

“Luna…?” she heard a sleepy voice from the other side. “What are you doing out there…?”

Luna sighed. So much for the surprise… but at least there would be no mess she’d have trouble explaining.

“Just open the door, okay?”

Moments later, she was facing her sister, who went wide-eyed upon noticing the breakfast tray.

“What have you come up with this time?”

“I meant to bring you breakfast to bed, but I totally forgot I closed the door so you wouldn’t wake up too early… and the whole thing kind of fell flat.” Luna smiled, somewhat embarrassed. “But since I’m already here, why don’t we sit down and eat?”

“That sounds great.” Celestia smiled, closed her eyes and gently sniffed the air. “And it smells even better. Wait, I’ll help you…”

Luna, however, didn’t let her take the tray away.

“Another time. It is your birthday, after all.”

*

During the first half of the day, everyone at school – from Celestia herself to the rest of the faculty, the student body, and the supporting staff – behaved as usual. The best students were still the best, the troublemakers (unfortunately) still caused trouble, and Pinkie Pie, chattering restlessly, was pretty much everywhere… only between classes, fortunately. Frankly, Luna was now outright admiring the girl’s family for bravely enduring her hyperactivity. She herself had been returning home terribly tired during the week she’d spent teamed up with this extremely talkative volcano of energy.

Now, however, after the lunch break, the situation was about to change. The time to go ahead with the plan that she’d been developing in secret for several days, has finally come. She just had to get to her sister… who’d just emerged from around the corner, her eyes fixed on a book. No wonder Twilight Sparkle admired her from the very beginning. Each one was as much of a bookworm as the other.

Celestia walked slowly, seeming too absorbed with her book to notice anything, but Luna still retreated to her office as quickly as she could. After waiting some time for her oblivious sister to pass her, she re-emerged into the corridor, smirking. Celestia now had her back to her, which meant that before she realized what was going on, it would be all over. Perfect.

Feeling her heart beat faster due to adrenaline, and a delightful thrill run down her back, Luna began sneaking towards her like a cat, taking a long piece of cloth out of her pants’ pocket. She was about to leap when, without turning around, her sister asked:

“Could you tell me what in the world you’re doing… Lulu?”

Luna blinked in confusion.

“How’d you know it was me?”

Celestia looked at her with a mischievous smirk, closing the book.

“I’m your big sister. I know everything.”

“I don’t think so.” Luna copied her face, not even being ashamed. “If you knew everything, you wouldn’t have to ask what I was doing.”

“Picking on every word is my job…”

“See what a great teacher you are?”

Celestia chuckled, shook her head, and gave a soft sigh.

“And yet, you usually pretend to be so harsh and stern… Now tell me why you were hunting me.”

“Let’s say,” Luna grinned, “that I have a surprise for you.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“You do know that if I tell you, it won’t be a surprise anymore, right? Don’t worry, you’ll understand soon enough. But first, hand over this harlequin or whatever it is.”

“Why?”

She didn’t deny… so it is a harlequin.

“You won’t need it. It can wait for you in my office. Come on, hand it over.”

Once the book was on her desk, behind the locked door, Luna turned back to Celestia, who looked at her blankly.

“Good!” she exclaimed, grinning. “Now that this is taken care of, just trust me and stand still so I can blindfold you.”

“I trust you, but… aren’t you overdoing it?”

“No.” Luna shook her head, making sure the blindfold’s knot was firm in place. “I’m not going to risk you seeing something that could put you on the right track too early.”

Her sister sighed again.

“Just warn me before I walk into a door this time.” She held out her right hand.

Luna grabbed it, allowing herself an eye roll at the same time, and began leading the way.

“I was only five back then. Will you remind me of it for the rest of my life?”

“Of course.” Celestia grinned. “That’s what siblings are for.”

“Ah, so I can remind you of the time you sneaked Mom’s lipstick, blush and mascara, and practiced on me?”

“I seem to recall you were absolutely delighted with it.”

“You have a comeback for everything, don’t you?” Luna shook her head slightly.

Spotting Sweetie Belle at the end of the corridor, she gave her thumbs up, just as they had agreed. The girl answered in kind and disappeared around the corner.

“Years of practice,” said Celestia perkily, unaware of what had just happened.

***

Sweetie Belle ran the school corridors, barely making some turns, and finally reached the gym.

“They’re coming!” She leaned against the door, huffing and puffing after the crazy sprint through about half a school.

“Thanks a lot.” Sunset handed her a bottle of water, then headed towards the middle of the room, shouting, “Places, everyone! This is not a drill!”

After that, there was some commotion, but after a while, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom emerged from the crowd, approached their friend and stood with her on watch, leaning against the door.

“Doesn’t it seem strange to you?” Scootaloo said suddenly.

“Mmm?” Sweetie mumbled, mouth full of water.

“The whole party, I mean. Usually, Vice Principal Luna is all against such huge, spontaneous events during the classes…”

“Land sakes, yer right!” Apple Bloom’s eyes widened. “Ya think someone coulda brainwashed her?”

“Or maybe she’s under a spell? What do you think it would be this time? Sirens again? An amulet from this Equestria land? Aliens?”

“Or maybe the real Vice Principal Luna got kidnapped, imprisoned and replaced by a double or some kinda robot? All so they could take over the world!”

“Or two!” Scootaloo was getting more and more agitated. “You think that old Crystal Prep meanie would be able to do that?”

What were they talking about? Sweetie Belle, until then just listening to their conversation, pulled the bottle away from her lips.

“Or maybe the VP just loves her sister and can be very nice if she wants to?” she suggested.

Her friends were silent for a moment, looking at her in worry.

“You hit your head or what?” Scootaloo asked eventually.

“With a ton o’ apples?” Apple Bloom chirped in.

“What?” Sweetie was stunned. “What are you…?”

“Or maybe t’was that apple pie?” Apple Bloom tilted her head. “Ah told ya them apples were suspicious.”

“No, really, what do you mean?” Sweetie blinked in confusion.

“You, talking like crazy?” Scootaloo shrugged. “Do you even know what you’re saying? Miss Detention? Nice? Polite, maybe, but probably only out of fear that Principal Celestia will yell at her otherwise…”

The three of them winced and shuddered.

“Never again…” Apple Bloom muttered.

“You said it.” Sweetie nodded. “But you see? If she didn’t show up and calm her down, the principal probably would’ve expelled us. Are you saying that wasn’t nice of her?”

“Huh. Come to think of it… ah guess y’might be onto somethin’.” Pondering on that, Apple Bloom tapped her cheek with a finger.

“That was just one case,” Scootaloo insisted. “But usually, she’s awfully stiff and strict. Do you think ‘Miss Detention’ came out of nowhere?”

“Doesn’t mean she’s a heartless monster, though.” Sweetie shrugged.

“Well, duh!” Pinkie said, appearing next to the trio as suddenly as if she’d materialized out of thin air. “Otherwise, she wouldn’t have thrown a surprise party for Celestia.”

“But t’was you, Applejack and the girls that prepared everything,” Apple Bloom remarked with an admirable calm.

“Well, yes, but the idea was Luna’s, so she’s actually the one throwing the party, which means she loves her sister very much,” Pinkie rambled in one breath, “so she just can’t be as scary as she seems or Celestia would’ve long since fired her, if not of her own will, then forced by the school board, though I don’t know if you can actually fire somebody just for looking scary, but it doesn’t matter, ‘cause Celestia didn’t do it and surely won’t, so… mmmm-hmmm-mmhmm-mmmm!” She pulled a light blue hand away from her lips and turned around. “Oh, hi, Dashie!” she chirped happily. “What’s up? I was just telling the girls…”

“Yes, I heard.” Rainbow clogged her mouth again. “Weren’t you supposed to see if the cake arrived intact, by any chance?”

Pinkie’s eyes widened and again, she pulled her friend’s hand away from her lips.

“Gotta go!” she said, quickly disappearing in the crowd.

“I’m not getting roped into babysitting her ever again,” Rainbow murmured, crossing her arms and slowly following her friend.

Sweetie Belle exchanged glances with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. All three were stifling a laugh. Life with Pinkie Pie and the rest of her gang just couldn’t be boring.

“And there you have it, Scoot,” Sweetie said after a while, once she managed to get a hold of herself. “Principal Celestia would be the last person to trust someone bad to the bone, so turns out Luna can’t be evil.”

Just as Scootaloo was about to say something, the three heard the vice principal’s voice:

“Wait just a little longer, we’re almost there!”

Upon hearing the code phrase, the lookout trio exchanged glances, nodded, and mingled into the crowd, half-whispering the news. Soon, everybody in the gym fell silent in anticipation.

“Why are you yelling?” Celestia’s voice, sounding much louder than usual due to everybody else’s silence, was tinged with slight annoyance. “Do you want me to go deaf?”

Both principals eventually stopped in the wide open door.

“Sorry, I might have overdone it.” Luna let go of her sister’s hand. “The good news is that we’re here.”

“Great!” Celestia pulled the blindfold off her eyes with one firm motion. “Now tell me what was all… that… a…bout…” she almost whispered the last syllable, looking around wide-eyed.

It was a sight to behold. The gym, decorated with balloons and artificial flower garlands (more practical than the real ones), held the entire school community, including Granny Smith and the cleaning staff. Everybody, without exception, had party accessories – funny, pointy hats, party blowers, ratchets, exaggeratedly large, colored glasses… or just school headbands with quasi-horse ears and waist wraps with quasi-tails. Above their heads, there was a hand-made banner hanging from the ceiling and saying ‘Happy Birthday!’.

The dumbfounded principal kept opening and closing her mouth for a while. That didn’t surprise Sweetie at all. She wouldn’t know what to say, either, if she suddenly found herself at such a big party thrown in her honor…

“Surprise!” Twilight burst at last.

Immediately after that, there were cheers, the sounds of blowers and ratchets… and the bang of four party cannons Pinkie had placed in the room’s corners.

***

In truth, Luna was actually glad Twilight Sparkle had yelled when she had, because the original version of the plan in which Celestia was to speak first, probably wouldn’t have happened for a long time… if at all.

After a while, she looked away from the noisy, slightly rippling crowd of not only students – and looked at her sister, whose purple eyes seemed glazed…

“Are you crying?”

“Is… is this all really for me?” Celestia’s voice was slightly trembling.

Luna was tempted to remind her all of her own teachings about answering a question with a question, but stopped herself.

“Sure. It is your birthday after all, genius.” At the last word, she nonetheless allowed herself a little snark.

“Ooooh… thank you!” Her sister, looking deeply moved, embraced her tightly.

Glancing around quickly, Luna saw the students nearest to them stare with their mouths open. Thus, she gave up trying to free herself – she wasn’t too successful anyway – and lightly patted Celestia’s back.

“I swear, the older you are, the sappier you get,” she said, amused. “But I’d be grateful,” she added more quietly, “if you calmed down before I get all emotional, too. I don’t want to ruin my image of the tough one, especially not in front of the whole school.”

Her sister giggled.

“Softening up a little bit has never hurt anyone.”

“But it would hurt the school. Let me go now or you won’t get the cake.”

“Denying the birthday girl her own cake… that’s a first,” Celestia remarked cheerfully, pulling away nonetheless.

“Okay… you got me this time.” Luna smiled. “Jokes aside now, though.” She cast a quick glance around the room. Meeting Applejack and Rarity’s eyes, she nodded. “Girls, do come over here, please.”

The other students parted, creating a corridor wide enough for Rarity, walking first, to easily guide her friend, who pushed a trolley with a multi-level, multi-colored cake, which largely limited her view. Deep down, Luna had to admit that Sunset Shimmer’s management skills were quite impressive.

“Well, happy birthday t’ya,” Applejack said, placing the cake right in front of Celestia.

“Just don’t forget to think of a wish!” Pinkie Pie cut in, appearing from… who knows where, actually. It was probably better not to think about it. “Oh, and I hope you don’t mind there’s only one candle. I know there should be more, because you’ve turned one year a long time ago, but Luna…”

“Vice Principal Luna,” Rarity reprimanded her.

“That’s what I said.” The pink-haired chatterbox tilted her head slightly. “Vice Principal Luna…” She giggled. “Actually, that sounds funny, ‘cause normally you should use the last name in this situation, not the first… I mean, I know it’s been this way for a loooong time, ‘cause it would be a huuuge mess if we couldn’t know which sister we were talking about, but you’ve gotta admit it still came out pretty funny…”

Luna slightly cleared her throat and shot her a meaningful glance.

“Well, anyway,” said Pinkie, getting the hint, “she didn’t want to tell me how old you actually are, so it has to stay the way it is.”

Her sister’s grateful gaze reassured Luna she’d made the right decision. She didn’t fully understand why Celestia was so sensitive about her age – surely it couldn’t be only about her biological clock ticking louder and louder… right? – but she wasn’t going to ruin her special day. On the other hand, however, going easy on her in everything seemed like an overkill.

“Can you handle this candle or should I help you?” she asked mockingly, nudging her sister’s arm.

Celestia just smiled, then stood on tiptoe (the cake was quite tall, all things considered) and blew out the flame in one, almost careless, breath.

“All right, everyone,” she spoke loudly, so she’d be heard well, “it’s time to split the cake… and no pushing!”

All of a sudden, the gym was filled with a cheerful roar of hundreds of students – and, who knows, maybe several adults, too. Also, it quickly became clear Celestia had gotten her hopes up ridiculously high… once again. Obviously, there were arguments about the place in line, stepping on feet or (allegedly accidental) poking with elbows; in case of two junior boys, the pushes literally came to shoves. Without even asking who’d started it and why, Luna grabbed them by the collars and walked them to the end of the queue.

“Detention till the end of the week,” she hissed angrily. “You’ll only get away today, because I’ve already got other plans, but starting tomorrow, no mercy. Is that clear?”

They both nodded sadly, so she left them under Cranky’s watchful eye and began patrolling the rest of the gym in case there was a commotion again. However, it seemed that her little intervention had scared the other students quite effectively, because they now stood one behind another in an orderly manner, like soldiers during a drill. Satisfied with herself, she returned to her sister who, helped by the still chattering Pinkie Pie, the clearly elated Twilight Sparkle, the slightly stressed Fluttershy and the completely calm Rarity, was giving away the cake, cut into neat slices. It must have been done by the latter; after all, these magical crystal shields (or whatever they were) probably had edges sharp as knives… Or maybe Twilight’s more versatile magic was behind it…? Well, actually, there was also the possibility the cake had simply been cut with a knife. If so, Celestia probably had done it herself; given her occasional overprotectiveness, it wouldn’t be strange for her not to let any of the students even touch the knife. On the other hand, even she had her limits; the problem was that they weren’t always easily predictable…

No, stop. Celestia could have her eccentricities, but she actually was a wonderful woman, ready to defend her students. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have risked her health or perhaps life by standing in Camp Everfree’s mess hall’s doorway like a human shield, even though she was powerless against magic.

I should’ve stood by her side, Luna thought. Cursed fear…

She looked at the students swarming over Celestia and her assistants. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer did what they could to keep the crowd at a reasonable distance, but even the superhuman strength of the first one, the unbelievable speed of the second, and the well-developed leadership skills of the third were of little help. Thus, she stood next to Sunset and glared at the students pushing one another. She didn’t even have to say anything; almost immediately, they went back a few steps and stood in two rows.

“You’re not going to change, are you?” Her older sister shook her head and handed her a paper plate with a piece of cake.

“Being firm is the key. You should give it a try one day.” Luna shrugged, automatically passing on the cake.

The student she gave it to gaped at her jaw-dropped for a few seconds. Poked several times by someone behind him, he blinked and hurried away, accidentally knocking a few people off. A girl lost her balance and bumped into another, who bumped into yet another, who in turn nearly knocked off Luna herself.

“I-I’m s… sorry,” she stammered, clearly frightened.

Luna, who wasn’t even remotely mad at her, opened her mouth, but before she could speak, her older sister stepped into action.

“It’s all right, that was just an accident,” she said soothingly, helping the student regain her balance.

“But as you all can see now,” Luna said at once, “impatience doesn’t end well.”

“Actually, that wasn’t a matter of impatience…” Celestia muttered.

“Oh, for all the stars’ sake, not now… Everybody, two steps back, NOW! And come over here ONE BY ONE!”

Nobody dared protest, so the rest of the cake was given away without major hiccups. Of course, the most impatient students wolfed down their servings long before the queue came to an end, but that couldn’t be helped. Then, Celestia asked for a microphone, said a few words of thanks – and everyone started eating.

Only then did Luna realize that in all this commotion, she’d missed the opportunity to get a slice for herself, and could just watch the others now. She knew she could only blame herself, but still was jealous of the students around her, some of whom somehow managed to get the icing on their faces. However, there was no point in just standing around idly. Walking aside, she sat on the bleachers’ lowest step, rested her elbows on her knees, and her chin on her hands – and closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to look at the treats she’d missed.

“May I join you?” asked a voice she recognized as her sister’s.

Thus, she didn’t even bother to open her eyes.

“Sure. Unless you have cake. If you do, go away before I get mad.”

“Why? Aren’t you even going to try it?”

Cracking one eye open, Luna noticed Celestia give her a paper plate with quite a big piece of cake.

“Now, don’t be ridiculous. You don’t have to give me your own slice. I’m not a child to throw a tantrum over such a small thing.”

“It’s your slice, silly. Did you think I could leave you out?”

“True, it would be unlike you.” Luna smiled, then used a plastic fork that came with the plate to cut off a bite of the cake and put it in her mouth. “But be honest: if nothing was left, would you have tried to give me your piece or not?”

“No, I wouldn’t. I would’ve just told you it was yours, and I’d already eaten mine.”

The younger sister stopped the fork with another morsel halfway to her mouth and looked at the elder wide-eyed.

“Please tell me you haven’t just done this very thing.”

“And if I have, then what? It’s my cake and I decide how to split it.” Celestia shrugged, a look of indifference on her face.

However, one detail was off…

“All right, quit this charade.” Luna rolled her eyes. “You’ve never been a good actress.”

“What gave me away?”

“The corners of your mouth, twitching as if you were about to start laughing.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever control it.” The older sister shook her head, reached for the plate that had been lying on the bench next to her, and put a forkful of cake in her mouth.

“If it cheers you up, you did much better than as a kid. If I didn’t know you my whole life, maybe I’d have fallen for it.”

They fell silent for a moment.

“Did it take you long to prepare everything?” Celestia spoke finally.

Luna gave a little shrug.

“Pinkie Pie and her friends put up the decorations in an hour, Granny Smith took care of small snacks, and her grandson brought the cake from a nearby patisserie. I guess we can say it went pretty well.”

“You know that’s not what I meant. How long were you scheming behind my back?”

If it weren’t for her sister’s playful tone, Luna would probably be sweating in anxiety by now.

“No more than a week,” she answered casually. “And no, I didn’t break the promise,” she added quickly as Celestia opened her mouth to say something. “I wasn’t bound by it ever since I told you I was going to my room that day. Pinkie Pie was absolutely sure of it.”

*

The party ended the very second the day’s last class would have ended. As soon as the bell rang, the vast majority of the students rushed out of the gym, making lots of noise and not even looking at cups, plates, forks and crumbs lying around among confetti and streamers.

“Wonderful.” Celestia winced a little. “It seems we’ll have to put more emphasis on teaching our students the co-responsibility for the state of the environment.”

“And pay the cleaning staff for the overtime work, somehow,” Luna put in, nodding towards three women who’d already gotten brooms out of the closet and started cleaning up. “Do we even have any money left after this year’s renovations?”

“We would’ve found a way.” The older sister grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the closet, then handed her a broom, grabbing a mop and a bucket for herself. “Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be fair to leave them alone with all this.”

“That’ll take us all night,” Luna whined. She couldn’t tell Celestia what surprise she’d planned for her for the evening, but that didn’t lessen her disappointment.

“Don’cha worry,” Applejack said, smacking her shoulder so hard that the woman winced. “Oops… sorry, sometimes ah ferget how much strength ah really have.”

“Eeyup,” her brother confirmed, carrying several empty beverage crates, then walked out the door.

“Anyway,” said Sunset Shimmer, apparently wanting to change the subject quickly, “you don’t have to worry about it.”

“That’s right,” Twilight Sparkle agreed and grinned like Pinkie Pie. “We’ve got this.”

“That’s nice of you, girls,” Celestia said, “but I wouldn’t want it to affect your plans for the afternoon…”

Rainbow Dash laughed.

“Are you kidding? We’ll do it in ten seconds flat.”

“I believe that might be an exaggeration, darling.” Rarity rolled her eyes. “But I do agree that it wouldn’t do for the birthday person to have to clean up after her own surprise party.”

“Enough chit-chat!” Pinkie Pie lifted a finger in a theatrical gesture. “Let’s get this party started!”

Luna facepalmed.

“Uh, Pinkie… the party’s just ended,” Rainbow said.

“The birthday party sure did, but…”

“Girls, not now,” Sunset said firmly. “We’ve got work to do. Fluttershy, ask some birds to get the streamers down from the ceiling in exchange for the crumbs. Rainbow, bring us two big trash bags. Twilight, you collect the bigger garbage with your magic, and don’t forget the separation. Rarity, your shields will make perfect dustpans. Pinkie, Applejack and I will do the sweeping. Any questions or comments?”

“My creations are not some common shields, Sunset, darling.” Rarity turned her nose up a little. “They’re diamond shields.”

“To-may-to, to-mah-to,” Applejack muttered.

Sunset Shimmer sighed.

“Okay, diamond shields and diamond dustpans. Now let’s get to work.” With that, she took the broom out of Luna’s hands. “If I may, Vice Principal.”

Luna opened her mouth out of habit, but realized she didn’t quite know what to say. In theory, she should tell the girls to go home (she had a nagging feeling Celestia would do it any second), but on the other hand… this could be her only chance of not getting roped into the long, arduous cleanup, which, in truth, she didn’t really want or had time to do.

The conclusion was obvious.

“But of course. Do your thing, girls. And let me know when you’re done.”

With that, she turned around and was going to leave – but someone grabbed her shoulder.

“You’re not going to let the children do all the work, are you?” Her sister’s voice and eyes were full of outrage.

“One: they aren’t children, but teenagers who volunteered on their own. Two: you were talking about co-responsibility yourself. Three… don’t you have any papers to organize?”

***

“Are we there yet?”

Usually, Celestia wouldn’t ask questions of this kind – she’d heard too many of them in her life not to know how annoying they were – but this time, she felt justified. It wasn’t every day that she happened to be driven towards the unknown… well, actually, it was the first such case in her life, at least the adult part of it. Also, her sister had insisted on blindfolding her again.

Yes, she had every right to ask even the most annoying questions.

“Closer than five seconds ago.” Judging by her tone, Luna had a hard time to keep her exasperation in check. “I swear, if you ask one more time, you’ll be going back home on foot.”

“Blindfolded?”

“You know you can just take it off then.”

“Why not now?”

“I’ve already told you. I’m trying to surprise you. Stop pestering me before I cause an accident because of you.”

Celestia shuddered slightly. She liked bantering with her sister, but if she were to be responsible for her harm…

“That’s the last thing I’d ever want,” she replied. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” Luna stopped the car. “The last part was supposed to be a joke, but apparently it fell flat. The good news is that we’re here. Come on,” she added, opening the door and grasping her older sister’s hand.

“Can you take this blindfold off my eyes now?”

“In a moment. First, we have to walk a little bit.”

“Do we have to do it at a snail’s pace?”

“Unless you want to stumble over some root or a hole, we do.”

“Where have you taken me…?” Celestia slightly shook her head.

“See for yourself.” Her younger sister finally stopped and uncovered her eyes.

Celestia needed a few moments to get used to light again, but eventually, she saw a large group of people gathered around a small pile of wood inside a circle of stones. She blinked one last time and recognized their faces. Granny Smith had her grandson, Big Macintosh, with her. Her younger granddaughter, Apple Bloom, was with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, as usual. Applejack sat with Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, with whom she was friends at least from the freshman year, and with Sunset Shimmer, who’d started the year as the five girls’ enemy and had recently grown into an informal leader. Twilight Sparkle, who’d joined them only a few weeks ago, after the Friendship Games, chose a seat at the edge of the group, next to a young man with fair skin and blue, half-long, somewhat disheveled hair, looking like her brother; Cadance, the de facto new principal of the Crystal Prep Academy, sat on his other side. Judging by their furtive glances, those two apparently were into each other.

“Wait… where are we and what’s going on here?” Celestia turned toward her sister, hoping for an explanation.

“Welcome to your birthday campfire party on Granny Smith’s farm.” Luna beamed. “I’ve been driving you all around the city, so you wouldn’t realize and to let the others get here before us.”

“And it looks like you did it perfectly… but you didn’t really have to.”

“Of course she had to. You didn’t mean to celebrate without us, did you?” Cadance came over and gave Celestia a strong hug. “Happy birthday, Auntie.”

“AUNTIE?!”

All eyes turned to Twilight, who sprung up from her place and stopped short, mumbling something unintelligible and pinching her hand every now and then.

“Uh, Twi?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You okay?”

“She’ll get over it.” Twilight’s brother assured her. “It’s her usual reaction to very unusual events. Best to just act as if nothing happened.”

Shaking off (quite literally) the shock from this sudden and unexpected outburst, Celestia turned to the involuntary culprit of the whole thing.

“Thank you very much, Cadance… but I believe we’ve long since agreed you can call me by name. I’m not that much older, after all.”

“I know, I know… Auntie,” the other woman laughed.

A moment later, however, her smile disappeared, because a small purple hand gripped her shoulder and forced her to turn around.

“Let’s get one thing straight.” Twilight’s voice was full of outrage. “You’ve got such a wonderful aunt and you haven’t told me for all those years?!”

Leaning slightly out and seeing Cadance open her mouth only to close it as if she didn’t really know what to say, Celestia decided to step in.

“That might be because we’re not actually related,” she explained calmly.

“Then why…”

“Force of habit, I’d assume,” Luna cut in, a hint of amusement in her voice.

“But how?”

“I’ll explain later,” Cadance promised, regaining her ability to speak. “Can we sit down for now?”

While Big Macintosh and his sisters were starting the fire, Celestia took the place she was shown, in between Granny Smith and Luna, who as a result was right next to Cadance, in a spot perfect for discreet chatting, which in all likelihood she’d planned a long time ago. And yet, the first thing she did after sitting down wasn’t to start a conversation. After some rummaging in her purse, she pulled out a small, cream-colored envelope.

“You’ve had a party with a cake, you will have an outdoor dinner, so it’s time for a gift,” she said, not even trying to hide how proud of herself she was. “Here.”

Not understanding any of this, Celestia raised an eyebrow, but accepted the envelope.

“What is it?” she asked, turning it in her hands.

“A herd of moles. They’ll plow your garden in no time.” Her sister’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Just open it and see for yourself.”

Shrugging, Celestia did as she was told, and took out a small, fancy piece of paper folded in half. Glancing inward, she looked at Luna in disbelief.

“A cruise? But… you didn’t have to…”

“Of course I had to. You deserve some slack.” The younger sister slightly nudged the elder’s ribs with an elbow. “We’re leaving right after the end of the year.”

“We? What about the garden?” Celestia asked, suddenly concerned.

“Don’t worry,” said Twilight, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ll take care of it.”

“That’s nice of you, but…”

“No ‘buts’,” Luna said firmly. “Everything has been arranged already. Stop trying to pick holes in it, and just be glad you don’t have to put an ad in a newspaper.”

Celestia smiled and hugged her.

“What would I have done without you?”

“I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have even considered not spending your vacation in the garden.”

*

Before it got dark, all the sausages, skewers and marshmallows had been roasted and eaten, and Twilight had finally managed to press Cadance for the details of her connection to the Canterlot High School’s principals… and as a result had begun looking at Luna with something resembling worship, which seemed to amuse her friends, especially Sunset Shimmer. Celestia didn’t understand it, but decided against overthinking it – in case it had something to do with magic; so far, she hadn’t had many pleasant experiences with it (to put it mildly) and it also eluded her understanding. She just preferred to pretend she hadn’t noticed anything.

She couldn’t, however, ignore the sudden pressure on her left shoulder; her younger sister, who’d been struggling for some time to keep her eyes open, now rested on her with all her weight. Hoping to reduce her discomfort, if only a little, Celestia embraced her shoulders.

“So? Are we going home?” she asked softly.

The only answer she received was a short snore. Of course. Luna wasn’t a morning person, so waking up very early today couldn’t leave her unaffected. At the thought of having to get her to the car, and then into the house, Celestia winced slightly. She had a feeling her spine wouldn’t take it too well; after all, she wasn’t twenty anymore, and Lulu… that is: Luna wasn’t a child.

There was no point in delaying this. Celestia took a deep breath, threw her sister’s arm around her neck, and stood up gingerly.

“Good night, everybody,” she said softly, embracing Luna’s waist so she wouldn’t fall. “Thank you very much for everything, but it’s time for us to go.”

“Yeah… us too, I guess.” Rainbow Dash glanced at the three youngest girls sleeping on top of one another. “Hey, Rare, you’re gonna drive us back home, right?”

“I did promise you that, Rainbow, darling, didn’t I? Who do you think I am, honestly…”

While Rarity, Rainbow and Applejack were separating the young trio, their friends started helping Big Macintosh to clean up. Celestia watched them with a small smile for a moment, wondering if she should ask Granny Smith for an overnight stay. Luna had already fallen asleep deep enough to become completely inert. One false move would be enough for both of them to fall to the ground and get bruises, at the very least.

Before she could make a decision, the weight resting on her left shoulder was considerably diminished, and a male voice asked softly:

“Should I help you?”

Turning her head, she saw Twilight’s older brother, Shining Armor, holding Luna up on the other side.

“Oh, yes, pretty please,” she replied gratefully. “I’m afraid I might have somewhat overestimated my strength.”

She took a few careful steps forward, with her unexpected assistant doing the same – and together, they pulled Luna over. They didn’t fall down, so the woman nodded with satisfaction. This had a good chance to prove successful, even though at this rate, it would take an hour, if not more.

“You’re always taking too much on yourself, Auntie.” Cadance put a hand on her right shoulder. “Luna’s right. A vacation will do you good. Now give me the keys, I’ll open the car for you. Unless you prefer me to help Shiny… I mean, Shining Armor?”

Celestia smiled wider than most likely was appropriate for a mature woman, holding the post of school principal. “Shiny”? Yes… those two definitely were into each other. She would have to discreetly get details out of Cadance as soon as possible.

The current problem came first, however.

“Luna was the last to have the keys. You’ll have to search her pockets.”

“That’ll be rather hard in the dark,” Shining Armor noted, then called over his shoulder, “Twily, you’ve got any flashlight over there?”

“I don’t think so.” Twilight left the cleaning group and came up to her brother. “Why? What’s going on?”

“In a nutshell: we need Auntie Celestia’s car keys, but they’re in one of Luna’s pockets,” Cadance explained.

“You should’ve just said so!” Twilight grinned and touched the pendant she wore around her neck.

A deep pink glow enveloped both her free hand and Luna’s pockets; a moment later, everything that had been in there flew out smoothly. The cellphone, a few small coins, a lipstick, a pen, two candy wraps (so she’d found them again), house keys… every single object hovered quietly in the air, bathed in the pink glow. In spite of herself, Celestia felt a chill run down her back, for it crossed her mind that if this girl weren’t too honest for it, she would have made a perfect pickpocket.

“These are the right ones, yes?”

The woman, suddenly brought back to reality, blinked. The latest of her students was magically handing her two small keys with a worn, round key chain. The magic light shone on its thoroughly cleaned metal surface, bringing out a heart with the decorative letters engraved inside, forming the word “always”.

In spite of herself, she smiled affectionately. This little ordinary object was related to so many beautiful memories…

You’re fantasizing again, Celestia, a little voice in her mind chided.

Thus, she blinked again and looked at her student.

“Yes, they are.” She clenched her hand around the memento of the days gone by, and the magical glow disappeared. “Please put the other things where they…”

The objects, surrounded by the pink glow, found their way back into the pockets of their owner.

“Done!” Twilight smiled broadly.

“Thanks, Twily.” Her older brother ruffled her bangs a little. “Go make sure we haven’t forgotten anything, and ask your friends if we should give them a lift, okay? We’ll be going home as soon as I help…”

Before he could finish, the magical glow appeared again, this time surrounding Luna and lifting her like a feather. The other three adults’ eyes turned to Twilight, who made a surprised face.

“What? I managed to move a boulder bigger than a car, so why wouldn’t I be able to lift one person?”

“That makes sense,” Cadance admitted, “and it also gave me an idea…”

*

About half an hour later, Celestia gently stopped the car near an actually rather small house she shared with her sister. One glance in the rearview mirror assured her that Luna, half-lying on the backseat, was still asleep.

“We’re here, Twilight,” she said softly, getting out as quietly as she could. “Could you…?”

The girl nodded and magically lifted Luna into the air once again.

“I’ve always thought school principals lived in big mansions,” she said, following Celestia to the porch.

“The ugly truth is that teachers don’t earn so much. Also, neither of us would like the perspective of regularly cleaning a lot of rooms we wouldn’t even use.” The woman opened the door and let her into the hall. “By the way, thank you very much for your help again. I certainly wouldn’t have moved my sister with equal ease.”

“Oh, it’s nothing…” Twilight sounded slightly embarrassed. “Sunset said that every unicorn in her world can do it…”

“Maybe, but it’s a much rarer skill over here.”

“If you say so… So where should I put Miss Luna?”

Grasping her student’s shoulders, Celestia gently turned her left, toward the living room.

“The couch will be just fine.”

With that, she went to a dresser standing by a wall of the room, and opened the top drawer to take out one of her sister’s favorite blankets – dark blue, with tiny, pale yellow stars, made of a nice, thick fabric. Turning around, she noticed that Twilight was magically adjusting the pillow under Luna’s head. Smiling indulgently, she touched the girl’s shoulder.

“It’s perfect, child,” she whispered.

The only answer she received were the proudly bared two rows of even white teeth. With a little nod to let the girl know she’d noticed, she moved closer to the sofa and carefully covered her sister with the blanket – then, surrendering to a whim rather than reason, she leaned over, brushed away a strand of her hair and kissed her temple. Afterwards, she smiled a little wider. Whenever this happened, Luna would say, as if in annoyance, that she was no longer a child; nevertheless, she allowed her sister to mother her as long as she could be sure none of the students would know about it…

Celestia froze upon suddenly remembering Twilight’s presence. Turning towards her, she met the surprised stare of two wide, dark purple eyes. For a time, both the principal and the student looked at each other without a word. Finally, Twilight opened her mouth as if to ask a question, but she was stopped by a huge yawn she didn’t manage to hide.

Deep down relieved that she could avoid the awkward subject, the woman put her hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Why, it seems someone’s about to fall asleep standing up,” she said perkily. “Come, child, I’ll take you home.”

“But…”

“Come on. I’m not sure if we’d be able to wake up my sister with talking, but I prefer not to check it. Besides, you wouldn’t want your parents and brother to worry over you being late, would you?”

Without further objections, Twilight followed her back to the car and sat down in the passenger front seat once more.

“Does this happen a lot?” she asked as Celestia turned the keys in the ignition, starting the engine. “I mean…”

“Do I often forget my sister is no longer a young child?” the woman guessed. “Only sometimes. But I’d be grateful if you didn’t tell anyone that you saw it. Luna wouldn’t forgive me if it spread.”

“Why? Doesn’t she want students to like her?”

“Let’s say she’s more concerned about maintaining the image of a person who ought to be respected.”

“I don’t understand…” Twilight sounded confused. “One doesn’t exclude the other. And Miss Luna isn’t as evil and scary as I’ve been told when I transferred to Canterlot.”

“True, she’s not evil.” Celestia stopped the car at a red light. “She actually has a heart of gold, but believes that the school will plunge into chaos if no one balances out my, and I quote: ‘absurdly exuberant optimism, bordering on stupidity in its purest form’.” She took one hand off the wheel to make air quotes with her fingers.

“Uhh…” she heard in response.

Turning her head for a moment, she met the stupefied gaze of her student.

“Don’t worry, it’s just harmless family banter,” she explained, as she started driving again, because the light had just turned green. “She actually has a better opinion about me.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief.

“That’s right… she loves you. I noticed it when we helped her plan and prepare all these surprises for you. But…” there was a note of hesitation in her voice, “… is she all right? Usually, adults fall asleep a bit later…”

Celestia suppressed the urge to burst out laughing. After all, she couldn’t allow herself to lose control of the wheel even for a split second. Plus, if she hadn’t known Luna all her life, she’d probably be concerned, too.

“You don’t need to worry. My sister isn’t sick, if that’s what you mean,” she said reassuringly. “Getting up early, especially when followed by a busy day, tends to have this effect on her.” She stopped the car before the next intersection. “Which way now?”

“Left, then right… Can I ask you another question?”

“Well, this isn’t a usual time to learn, but ask away.”

Twilight took a deep breath, then blurted out:

“Did Vice Principal Luna always pretend to be so harsh and stern?”

Celestia gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.

“No, not always,” she whispered. “Her first pupils adored her.”

“Then… what happened?”

“Something very, very painful. I’m afraid, however, that I’m not the right person to talk about it, and my sister doesn’t like remembering it.”

For a while, they both were silent.

“That’s the one,” Twilight spoke finally, pointing to an elegant, tall house with a tower, just a few feet away.

“Then let’s go.” Celestia stopped the car in front of the entrance and got off with her student.

“Um… you don’t have to walk me to the door…”

“Maybe, but I’ll be calmer if you let me do it.”

To be honest, the woman expected another refusal. However, to her momentary surprise, the teenager hopped over the gray, stone steps leading to the porch in two leaps, and turned, grinning from ear to ear.

“Twilight, what are you doing?”

The girl’s smile disappeared, and her eyes widened as if in sudden fright.

“I… I…” she stuttered.

“I am very disappointed with your behavior.” Celestia crossed the distance between them in a few long strides and looked at her with all the seriousness she could afford. “I thought you were well behaved. Where are the magic words?”

“Um… goodbye?”

“That’s one word; and not what I meant. You should’ve said…” the woman gently tapped her student’s shoulder “…you’re it,” she finished in a half-whisper, smiling as widely as Twilight had before, then rang the doorbell.

“Er… heheh…” The girl looked embarrassed. “That was pretty foolish of me, wasn’t it? I mean, that’s how a small child might behave…”

You should’ve seen Luna at a funfair, Celestia thought.

Upon recalling the last time she’d gone to an amusement park with her sister, she shook her head slightly. Several years had passed since then, but she had a feeling that for the rest of her life, she’d remember the shrieks of pure joy that had escaped Luna’s throat during all ten roller-coaster rides… at least until she’d finally felt sick from all those sweets she’d devoured in between. As a result, she couldn’t even look at cotton candy for quite some time.

Celestia blinked. It really wasn’t the right time for reminiscing.

“…and I really don’t know what came over me,” Twilight babbled nervously, “because of course, I’m not usually like that, and… oh, hi, Mo-o-mma…” she yawned as the door opened.

Her mother, a woman with a grayish skin and purple hair with gray stripes, kissed her cheek.

“Okay, Twily, do say goodnight and go to sleep.”

The girl nodded and, most probably not giving it a second thought, hugged the principal.

“G’night,” she muttered.

Exchanging a quick look with her student’s mother, Celestia tentatively stroked her hair.

“Good night, Twilight.”

Both women stood silent for a while, until the teenager disappeared in the house.

“Sorry about that,” Twilight’s mother said finally. “When sleepy, she becomes quite… emotional, and she adores you even without it. I just hope she didn’t cause you too much trouble.”

“On the contrary. She helped me a lot. Her abilities are amazing.”

“School-wise or magic-wise?”

“Both.” Celestia gave a small smile. “Good night.”

*

Less than fifteen minutes later, Celestia carefully closed the door behind her and quietly hung her jacket and purse on the first free peg. Slipping off her shoes, she placed them neatly against a wall and rubbed her right eye. It took her a moment to realize she’d probably smeared her mascara and eyeliner – but she didn’t care. After all, she was in her own house, and about to remove her whole make-up anyway. But first, she had to deal with a more urgent matter. Moving as quietly as she could, she crept into the bathroom, took the make-up remover and cotton pads off the shelf by the sink, and finally headed to the living room to stand by the couch.

Luna slept like a log, lying on her stomach and snoring softly. Also, she’d already kicked off the blanket. Of course. Shaking her head slightly, the older sister put aside the things she’d brought from the bathroom, carefully turned the younger one onto her back (the only reaction was a rather displeased murmur) and began wiping her makeup off with a soaked cotton pad. Luna hadn’t yet been allergic to any beauty product, but who knows how her skin would react if the foundation, the powder and all the rest were left until the morning? Better safe than sorry.

When she finished, Celestia covered her sister with the blanket once more and leaned over her ear.

“You gave me a really great day,” she whispered. “Thanks for everything, Lulu. I love you.”

After placing a light, quick kiss on Luna’s forehead and tucking her in one last time, Celestia removed her sister’s shoes, then put them next to her own – and went back to the bathroom, this time to prepare for sleep. However, she didn’t pay much attention to what she was doing. Her thoughts revolved around the short, yet so meaningful word engraved on an over twenty-year-old key ring; maybe because tonight she’d quite literally seen it in a new light. Despite herself, she remembered the man who’d given it to her one day. She wondered what he was doing these days… and whether he had a family… and…

The last thing she’d thought about before falling asleep were two gentle, green eyes she hadn’t seen for years.

Bonus: The Birthday Banner

Author's Note

The idea for this short “behind the scenes” scene popped into my head a few days ago, so I decided to give it a shot. I hope you’ll enjoy it. :twilightsmile:

Bonus: The Birthday Banner

“Listen, Twilight,” Sunset began gingerly, “I know this party is a big deal for you, because Vice Principal Luna asked us to organize it for Principal Celestia whom you… ahem… admire, but… aren’t you taking this a bit too far?”

“…ty nine… one hundred! Check!” her friend exclaimed proudly, transferring the last two balloons from their bag to a box, then put the mark on her quite long checklist. “What was it?”

“Don’t you think counting every single balloon and streamer is an overkill?”

Judging by her face, Twilight was both surprised and appalled.

“Are you kidding? We’re talking about a party for the best principal I’ve ever had… and the one at my elementary school was already very nice. Everything has to be perf… oh, Fluttershy and Pinkie are back!”

With that, she hurried off towards her two pink-haired friends who’d just entered the gym where all the preparations for the next day’s party were underway.

Sunset sighed and ran after her.

“Okay, I get it,” she said, catching up with her. “You like our principal, you admire her, you’re grateful to her and so on… but seriously: you begin to sound and act like Rarity. If you keep running around with this list and checking every detail, you’ll end up exhausted.”

“Don’t exaggerate. I’ll be just f…” Her friend paused and stopped in mid-stride.

Looking in the same direction as she, Sunset saw two girls (called, if she remembered correctly, Lily and Rose), kneeling beside a long strip of white fabric on which they’d just finished painting letters forming the inscription…

“Happy birthday… Principal Celest?!” Twilight shouted, clearly shocked. “What happened to the rest of her name?!”

“We couldn’t fit it all in.” The paler girl (probably Rose, judging by the color of her hair and lipstick) smiled a little nervously.

Twilight gave an exasperated sigh and facepalmed.

“We can’t hang a banner that says Happy Birthday, Principal Celest,” she snapped. “Scrap this one and try again.”

“We’ve got no more fabric…” the other girl said.

“Then cut it. Seriously, do I have to think for everybody in here?!”

“Twilight, that’s enough.” Sunset grabbed her shoulders, turned her around and sternly looked into her eyes. “You’re tired. I’ll take care of everything here, and you go and relax.”

“But…”

“I said: go and relax. It’s not like the world will crum…” She paused, spotting a familiar, blond-haired, freckled girl, wearing an equally familiar cowboy hat. “Oh, Applejack! It’s great to see you!”

“We’ve already seen each other this mornin’.” There was amusement in Applejack’s green eyes, and a smirk on her lips. “Seriously, though: what’s up?”

“I think Twilight’s getting a little too wound up about this all…”

“I’m not!” the bespectacled girl objected.

Sunset ignored her.

“Could you take her to a quieter place?”

“Sure thin’.” Applejack gripped Twilight’s shoulder. “Come on, Twi.”

“But… but…” the other girl babbled.

“Go. We’ll be fine,” Sunset assured her.

When her friends mingled into the crowd, she turned to the other two girls.

“Okay, let’s see what we can do about this banner…”