Reintegration via Mischief
Celestia stared into her banana pancakes, wondering what doom they could possibly foretell.
Having her sister, Luna, back was wonderful and nopony could tell her otherwise. Celestia loved her sister dearly. However, she was also in the midst of rediscovering a critical truth: having a younger sibling around was annoying.
Luna had made her breakfast. Which, in itself, was wonderful. Celestia loved banana pancakes. But Luna had no official duties, apart from raising the moon, because everypony with the exception of Celestia, some of the Element Bearers and the cult-like Night Guard feared her (the Astronomers Guild and many others insisted that the stars were perfectly fine where they were, and that they required no ‘additional meddling’, much to poor Luna’s vexation).
All this was not to say that Luna spent all night twiddling her hooves. She would plot all sorts of things, from fanfiction writing to nice favors for Celestia (usually baked goods) and, most commonly, pranks on whichever noble Luna perceived as most deserving. She had a self-declared vendetta against the stupidity of the nobles of the era, which was fine, but the issue Celestia found with this particular occupation was that Luna had a habit of dragging her elder sister down with her or targeting the wrong ponies.
Celestia shuddered as she put a piece of pancake on her mouth, recalling the time that the sugar had been ‘mysteriously’ swapped for salt during a charity ball hosted by Fancy Pants.
Finishing her pancakes, Celestia stood and went to find her assistant. It was time to tackle the first and most onerous item on her to-do list: the Day Court.
“Lord Tooth Cavity, I cannot promise that your hidden budget for frivolous and sugary things will not be taken away. I can, however, promise that I will look into this. Something must be done.” Celestia stated with absolute seriousness.
“Thank you, Princess,” The stallion said, completely unaware of the fact that he would probably be in serious legal trouble tomorrow and that he had admitted all of his scheming to the one and only pony who had the authority to fast-track an investigation.
Celestia wrinkled her nose in mild disgust as Lord Tooth Cavity, who looked more like a pink smooze than a respectable pony, exited the throne room. Raven, her assistant, coughed at the lingering sugary odor and then spoke up.
“I would suggest that we take a fifteen minute recess before we continue. Perhaps the guards could air the room.”
Celestia nodded, noting the sudden eager looks trained on her from every occupant of the throne room, even the guards. “I, for one, would appreciate a little air. And possibly a savory snack if I ever recover my appetite. If anypony needs to get some air or take a break, they are welcome to. Guards included.”
If only Luna could bring her pranks to the Day Court, Celestia pondered, maybe she would find some better targets for her pranks. With that thought lingering in the back of her mind, Celestia made her way out of the newly sugar-scented throne room and followed her assistant through the corridors to get some air.
“If all the guards are on a break, how are going to find volunteers to air out the throne room?” Raven inquired.
“I’m sure we’ll find some unsuspecting pony to do the job.” Celestia replied, absently placing one hoof in front of another as she focused on breathing the marvelous fresh air.
As they made their way through the Hall of the Cakes (just pictures, thank goodness), Raven gave a small gasp and dropped her clipboard, bowing quickly and shaking in fear while prostrated on the ground. Slightly confused, Celestia pressed onwards a step before the source of Raven’s terror became clear. Instead of the usual bored-looking guard standing at attention in the hallway, there were three most unusual ‘guards’.
Standing in the hallway was Luna, all dressed up in Day Guard armor. She would have been at a passable attention if not for her constant giggling. By her sides were two disguised Night Guards; one wearing an ‘open eyes’ mask and a small black mustache, the other wearing dark sunglasses and an orange curly mustache, both wearing day guard armor. Both Night Guards looked very tired, while Luna was brimming with giggly energy.
Celestia smiled a little bit at what was surely a budding prank, and then smiled even wider when she realized a way to short-circuit this prank in its tracks.
“Raven,” Celestia whispered ‘subtly’, “I think we’ve found the guards who are going to air out the throne room.”
Luna tilted her head quizzically, clearly in innocence, not yet knowing what exactly she was going to be airing out.
“SISTER, WE ARE CONFUSED. WHY DOST THE THRONE ROOM REQUIRE AIRING AT THIS TIME OF DAY? ALSO, THY ATTEMPTS AT BEING SECRETIVE HAVE FAILED. WE CLEARLY HEARD THY WHISPER, EVEN AT THIS DISTANCE.” Seemingly only just spotting Raven on the ground, Luna drew her breath in deeply to make another proclamation. “SERVANT, THOU ART RELEASED FROM THY RESPECTFUL GESTURE. PLEASE RISE AND MAKE THYSELF COMFORTABLE.”
Raven got up, eagerly scrambling nearer to Celestia and assuming a standing position a lot closer to her regent than she would usually consider.
Celestia cleared her throat gently. “Luna, the throne room requires airing because there is an undesirable smell lingering. Raven and I were just discussing the issue of a lack of volunteers, and since you seem to want to be a guard today, you can do it. Afterwards, I will meet you in the break room beside the throne room to discuss… something to do with your rather quaint disguise.”
Luna straightened up, play-saluting and drawing in yet another breath. On seeing Raven’s wince, she let out a considerable amount of air and spoke at a slightly lower volume. “Fair enough, We shall go where none dare go and make it approachable to even the most timid of heart! We shall be seeing thyself shortly.”
Celestia laughed softly, turning to her faithful assistant. “That’s my sister, ever the bold one. Shall we go for that savory snack? I know there are some muffins in the kitchen just begging to be eaten.”
Raven pushed her spectacles up her nose, shakily recovering her clipboard and tidying herself up. “That sounds lovely, Princess. But I daresay your sister has no idea what she is getting into.”
Celestia and Raven walked into the throne room and were immediately blasted by a cold gust of wind. Small slivers of snow an ice decorated the room, keeping it cool and keeping any smells at bay.
“It’s certainly… fresh, I guess. My compliments to Princess Luna.” Raven idly commented, looking about the room and fully taking in the lack of the sickly sugar scent that had inhabited the room prior.
“My sister is quite talented in spells. As you can see, her more wintery abilities can be quite helpful.” Celestia replied, making her way to the (frozen) break room door, and opening it easily after applying a minor heat spell to the closing mechanism. “Please wait out here, Raven, and inform everyone as they come back that I plan on inviting Luna to observe the court. It is high time she was less feared and had some proper duties.”
Raven nodded and Celestia ducked into the break room, closing the door softly behind her.
The scene inside the break room caused a smile to spread on her face. Luna was dry-heaving into the trashcan, and the two Night Guards had shed their accessories and donned the standard-issue night guard sunglasses which allowed them to work properly in the day. They appeared unaffected by the smell, although they looked a little like they were disguising their emotions regarding the situation.
“SISTER, WE DEMAND TO KNOW THE CAUSE OF THAT VILE SMELL!” Luna boomed on noticing her sister.
Celestia smiled wider, grateful for her decision to have the room soundproofed on the last remodel. “That smell seemed to be dragged in by the last petitioner who came into the court. I cannot confirm the exact cause. I do have a question for you though.”
Luna looked up from her heaving and dramatic yelling to the trashcan.
“Why are you parading around in Day Guard armor with two of your Night Guards?”
Luna brightened. “IT WAS PART OF OUR PLAN TO ENACT A PRANK ON ONE OF THE MORE ANNOYING ROYAL GUARD STAFF.”
“Please don’t play pranks on the guard, they’re there to keep us safe.” Celestia sighed. “If you want to play pranks on ponies for revenge, can you please discuss it with me first? That way I can help you.”
“THOU WOULDST HELP US PLAY PRANKS!?” Luna’s eyes lit up like some of the stars in ‘her’ night. The very possibility that her sister, who was just as big a prankster as she, would help her was overwhelmingly exciting.
“Yes, Luna, I would. Also, it’s time you started appearing in court. Maybe you could help the guards today? It would help ponies get more… accustomed to you.” Celestia gently said, hoping her sister would not find the notion that some ponies feared her offensive.
“OF COURSE. PERHAPS BEING SEEN MORE OFTEN WOULD ENCOURAGE PONIES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE NIGHT COURT” Luna stated.
Celestia wrapped her hooves around Luna, smiling happily. “I’m glad that you are feeling more confident around others now. Even if it does come out as pranking and mischief.”
Author's Note
I was drawing a picture (the cover art) and I had the sudden urge to write. This started out as a fun comedy, but now I don't even know what it is anymore. Oh well, it's something.
