Princess Luna, Princess of the Night and Equestria, Protector of the Dream Realm, was having a light meal her the castle’s dining hall in preparation for a long night-duty ahead. Though her duty will be strenuous, nothing pleases her more than seeing her subjects sleep in peace, knowing that there is a protector, literally watching over them while they slumber. Over her years, before and after her banishment, she has encountered twisted forms of nightmares and a pony’s worst fears. What she might find tonight, she could not expect.
What she didn’t expect was for the dining room double doors to swing open, startling the guards who were posted on either side and in ran her sister. The look on Celestia’s face was one of panic and dread, setting alarm bells in Luna’s head. Her sister slid to her side and stopped with a skid, her golden shoes making an unpleasant sound as she skidded to a halt.
“Luna, I have the most dreadful news!” Celestia’s tone was just as distressful as her face. Luna’s eyes widened, fearing the worst.
“Has some villain from Equestria’s long past decided to return to our lands? Are Twilight Sparkle and her friends in any danger? Is there trouble with Cadance and Captain Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire?” Luna asked in worry, “Pray tell, what is the cause of such woe?”
Celestia stopped and took a deep breath, which Luna prepared for whatever bad news came from her sister’s mouth.
“The castle is out cake!” Celestia sounded almost at the edge of crying.
Dead Silence.
Luna wasn’t sure if she was hearing it right. So just to be sure, she tried to ask Celestia to repeat herself just to check.
“Come again, Celestia?” Luna leaned her head to one side, the ear facing towards Celestia perking up to make sure that she wasn’t poor on hearing.
“The castle is out of cake!” Celestia somehow managed to increase the intensity to show how distressed she was.
Luna looked at her sister with an exasperated look. She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself.
“So you barged in just before I was going to begin my duties to tell me, your dear sister, that the kitchen is out of cake?” Luna lifted an eyebrow, “We are not in danger, Twilight didn’t send you a letter saying that something bad is happening, and the Crystal Empire is safe and sound, so you just happen to barge in just as to tell me that the kitchen is out of your beloved cake?”
When she puts it like that, Celestia realised that she may have gone slightly overboard. The sound of snickering confirmed that and a stone-hard glare from both the Royal Sisters caused the guards stationed at the to return to their stoic positions.
“With most of the maids and chefs going home for the day to return early for breakfast in the morning, there’s hardly any bakers left for a good slice of cake before I retire for the night,” Celestia whispered to her sister.
“Can’t you make a cake yourself?” Luna hissed through clenched teeth, her irritation showing.
“What?” Celestia looked down at her sister with a confused look. Luna had it and face-hoofed hard.
“You make pancakes,” She reiterated, “I’m sure you can use those skills to bake a cake!” Luna’s infamous Royal Canterlot Voice was showing.
Celestia paused and looked down at her sister. Why didn’t she think of that in the first place?
“Luna, you genius!” Celestia beamed like the celestial body she controlled, and with one swift move in her magic, lifted her sister to hug her. “Why didn’t I think of it in the first place?”
“Why indeed?” Luna’s sarcasm was coming through. Celestia realised this and blushed a little at her sister’s remark. Gently placing her back on her seat, Celestia pranced happily out of the dining room in the direction of the royal kitchens.
Luna could only sigh as she drank the remains of her special tea mix that she uses to calm her mind before going into the Dream Realm before making her way to her chambers to begin her nightshift as the Guardian of Dreams.
She opened the door to her chambers, smiling happily at her specially made crescent moon-shaped bed which was a gift from her sister after her banishment. She had the finest carpenters and artists make the bed, and Luna loved it. Special interior designers also helped install her new room to her favoured choice of colours and night theme. This room was a gift from her sister, and she loved it with all her heart.
Sighing, she brushed herself up for the night and gently tucked herself in to begin her duties as the Lunar Princess. Her horn glowed its signature dark blue aura as she closed her eyes, ready to enter the Dream Realm and see if anypony is having a bad dream.
CLANG!
Luna’ ear flicked as the sound of metal hitting something hard echoed all the way to her chambers. With most of the staff leaving the castle for the night, and the marble amplifying the ruckus, it was obvious that it was coming from the royal kitchens. Luna tried to push aside this new nuisance and focused on her task.
BONG!
The teeth ground together as a second sound echoed down to her room. Luna was growing impatient. What in all of Equestria was her sister doing, putting her off her royal duties for their beloved subjects? Luna tried to imitate Twilight’s and Cadance’s breathing exercises. She put a hoof to her chest, breathed in and breathed out, her hoof stretching outwards.
BANG!
“That’s it!” Luna yelled in annoyance. She leapt out of bed and flung open her bedroom doors, startling the guards on either side. She turned to one of them, who fumbled with his spear before standing to attention.
“Where can I find the royal kitchens?” Luna asked, on the verge of using the R.C.V.
“D-down the co-corridor and the th-third door to your left,” The guard quivered. With one swift turn, she marched down the corridor. As she got closer to the kitchens, the noise of metal clattering and ingredients mixing grew louder. Luna flung open the doors and glared at the source of her misery.
“CELESTIA! WHAT IN EQUESTRIA ARE you do-“ Her voice died down as she stood there, perplexed at the sight her eyes beheld.
In front of her, with her multicoloured mane covered in flour, frosting on her nose and batter all over her was Celestia. She looked just as shocked to see Luna standing in front of her. Neither royal sister moved they took in the scene happening in front of them.
Then Luna scrunched her muzzle, trying desperately not to laugh. Celestia gave her sister a deadpanned look, but that only made it worse. Luna was practically rolling on the floor, laughing at the situation in front of her. All regal princess-like behaviour left the kitchen and soon Celestia joined in her sister’s merriment. Eventually, the laughter died down and Luna stood up and wiped away the tears of joy from her eyes.
“Sorry to intrude, dear sister,” Luna bowed courteously, “But I could hear the sound of baking trays clattering from in my bed chambers and I needed to see what was happening.” Celestia blushed.
“That loud?” Celestia asked, which Luna nodded with a smile, “Pancakes are simple to make, just your batter of flour, eggs, milk and a touch of salt. However, for the life of me, I cannot seem to master the art of baking a simple cake.”
“So all that cacophony was your failed baking attempts?” Luna perked an eyebrow. Celestia shot her a mocking glare before smiling sheepishly.
Luna looked at the pile of burnt, failed attempts. They stood on the side of the benchtop, looking deflated, crispy burnt or sloppily decorated. Luna thought for a moment before beaming. With her magic, she opened the chefs’ closet, removing her black tiara and putting a chef’s hat on her head. This time it was Celestia who gave Luna a raised eyebrow.
“Luna, what are you doing?” Celestia asked as Luna got out a mixing bowl, wooden spoon, whisk and ingredients. Luna just gave her sister a sly smile.
“Stand aside, sister,” Luna instructed, “I’ll show you how to bake a proper cake.”
“How did you become a baker?” Celestia asked incredulously.
“My first Nightmare Night in Ponyville,” Luna said as she cut the butter and added the sugar, “The Element of Laughter showed me how to bake some proper celebratory desserts. My baking will never beat that pink pony, but at least I have the basics in my head.” She began creaming the butter and sugar together, “I never had the chance to home in on this skill, but now seems like the right time.”
Celestia smiled and nodded. Luna’s first Nightmare Night would be remembered for many reasons, but it was nice that her former pupil helped Luna look beyond the past and scares and have a genuinely nice time.
“Would you like your sister to give you a cooking demonstration?” Luna turned from her work in progress. She was currently sieving through the flour and baking powder. Celestia smiled and walked to stand next to her sister. She watched as Luna added the milk in small splashes of milk.
“Alright, sister,” Luna commanded, “Start whisking and I’ll add the eggs.” Celestia simply nodded as she started gently mixing the milk with the mix. Luna opened the fridge and cracked three eggs into the mixing bowl, her expert eye checking that was no eggshells. It was then that Luna noticed a smile on her older sister’s face. A sort of caring, loving smile, her eyes full of nostalgia and a slight hint of sadness.
“Sister?” Luna asked hesitantly, “What’s the matter?”
“When was the last time we just baked together?” Celestia asked, “Just you and me, baking with no need of servants or chefs bringing food to us. A chance to get our hooves dirty and do the simple things our subjects do every day?”
Luna had that sad smile on her face, reminiscing on those times.
“It was back at our old castle,” Luna smiled, “We were much younger back then. I remember we tried to get the flour from the shelves, only for us to get covered.”
“Piping was always the difficult bit when decorating,” Celestia smiled, “We forced our magic on the bags so hard it would explode. The look on the servants faces were always understanding, but I think they had a sense of inner dread with the cleanup.”
Both chuckled.
“The good times,” Luna contemplated.
“That doesn’t mean that these good times are fixed,” Celestia nodded, “Here we are, baking not as royalty, but as sisters again. We’re re-living them now, remembering what has been and doing something now.”
“It helps seems like the times never change,” Luna murmured. During this time, the batter was silky and smooth, with no lumps and was ready to pour into a baking tray. Celestia operated the oven with Luna’s instructions and Luna slip the baking try in. the time in-between baking was when they made the frosting. Luna was focusing on a deep blue colour when she felt something cold touch her muzzle. Looking downwards to the edge of her muzzle, she found a dot of yellow frosting on her muzzle. She turned to her sister, who was innocently mixing the food colouring with her frosting.
With a quick motion of her mixing spatula, a large dollop of frosting landed on Celestia’s muzzle, causing her to yelp in surprise. She glared at her sister who snickered.
“Now we’re even,” Luna smiled. Celestia rolled her eyes and with her magic, lifted a small amount of frosting ready to launch at her sister.
“I declare a second Battle of the Two Sisters!” Celestia cried out. It ended with a fair share of frosting being flung back and forth between the two until it ended with both of them covered in the sweet decoration, laughing on top of each other on the floor.
“Of course we would have a food fight as well when we were younger,” Luna said between her fits of laughter. Luckily they still had time to refill on frosting, clearing the mess so that the poor cleaners won’t have their hooves full. It was about time that the oven made a ‘ding’ to announce that the cake was baked. Luna lifted it with her magic to avoid burning her hooves, Celestia carefully taking their finished cake out of the tin.
In agreement, they decided to decorate their circular cake like the emblem of Equestria, a sun and moon chasing each other with alicorns. Celestia and Luna worked on their half of the cake and took a step back to admire their work together. It took all night and the first glimpse of the morning was seeping through the window.
“I’m sorry you missed your night duties, Luna,” Celestia smiled with a wing over her sister.
“The night was perfect because I got to spend some quality time with my sister,” Luna smiled back.
“I think we should give this to the castle maids and guards. A way of letting them know our appreciation for all their hard work,” Celestia suggested.
“A fine idea,” Luna agreed, “Your advisors are always suggesting that you keep up with your image. We don’t want that to get disregarded now.” Luna received a light bump on the flank from her sister.
And so both sisters got ready for a new day of ruling over the land that is their kingdom, Equestria.
