Luna's Exciting Day

by EHeroFlareNeos

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life
Length: 3544

My entry for the Happy Luna Fanfic contest over at Equestria Daily.

Luna receives an invitation to a party and decides to make cupcakes for the occasion. Can she avoid ruining her confections, or will things simply not go quite as planned?

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2011-08-15 10:10:38 UTC

Luna's Exciting Day

Luna’s Exciting Day

Intro

It began as a normal day in Canterlot for Princess Luna. Having been back from her 1,000 year imprisonment on the moon for a while now, she continued to pick up on current customs and technology, if imperfectly, thanks to help from her sister Princess Celestia. At this point in the day, she had just put on her socks in her room, her sister walking in.

“Dear sister, why do you put those socks on every day?” Celestia asked once inside.

“They feel really comfortable.” Luna said “Why do you ask?”

“No reason really, I’m just glad you’re happy.”

Luna smiled for a moment and then sat up on the floor. “While I have been learning more and more about the world in this day and age, sometimes I really don’t know what to do. Do you ever feel that way?”

“Of course Luna, it’s natural. But I’m glad you mentioned it.”

“Why?” Luna wore a look of slight confusion as she watched her sister’s horn light up to levitate a small scroll.

“Here, take a look at this. It came all the way from Ponyville.”

As the paper came closer, Luna captured it with her magic and slowly unrolled it. “Ponyville? I can’t really say I’ve been there.” After reading the words in front of her, she felt happy. “Oh my god, I’ve been invited to a party! That hasn’t happened to me for a long while.”

“So, are you going?”

“Of course I am. But, can you tell me who Pinkie Pie is?” At this point, the invitation lay on the floor between the two Alicorns.

“Oh, you’ll like her a lot. She loves to throw parties, and knows just how to make a pony laugh. Also, she’s a friend of my best student, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Now I really want to meet these people for myself. And there’s something else I want to take over there while I’m at it.”

Act 1

In what seemed like no time at all, Luna prepared to bake with an oven. In her time back in Equestria, she made sure to master this appliance first. She began to make a mental calculation. “Let’s see now. If I want to bake these, I’ll need to know exactly how many ponies will attend. So, if Twilight Sparkle has five friends… add three… there’s a dragon… include myself… ah, a couple dozen should do it. That way, if they like my baking they can have more.”

With the calculations and portioning set, she began manipulating the objects around her with her magic, the goal of creating a small batch of cupcakes. Taking great care with the instructions on her personal recipe card, Luna got through most of the process. Soon the mixture was in the oven with a timer set for the appropriate length. As she waited, Celestia walked into the kitchen. “I see you’re enjoying yourself.”

Luna smiled. “Yes sister, I just love to bake.”

“And still in socks I see.”

Luna held up a hoof and looked at it for a second. “Well, I don’t see any reason why I can’t.”

“It’s fine dear sister. I just wanted to know how your cupcakes were coming along.” Celestia could smell a delectable scent of chocolate in the air. “Ah, it smells wonderful.”

“But just wait until you taste them.” At that very moment, the timer went off, indicating that the cupcakes were ready to be taken out. “Oh, they must be done now. Hold on a moment sister.” Using her magic, Luna removed her creation from the oven and set the pan down to cool. Once enough time passed, she then levitated a container of icing, carefully spreading its contents on top. When finished, she turned toward Celestia. “Would you like to have one?”

“I’m not sure. I wouldn’t want to throw anything off.”

“It’s alright. I made an extra one just for you.” The dark blue Alicorn let one particular confection float toward her sister.

“Well, alright sure.” Celestia transferred control of the cupcake to her own magic and took a bite. “My, you still amaze me even after all this time. I’m sure the other ponies will be delighted to have these.”

Luna smiled from satisfaction. “Why thank you sister.” In a moment, her train of thought shifted to the party, a hoof at her chin. “Now, how to carry these over to Ponyville… Oh that’s right, I have these.” She remembered she had some boxes in the next room specifically for this kind of situation. Using her magic once more, she placed the confections neatly within the boxes, making sure they wouldn’t hit each other during travel. Afterwards, she placed the containers inside her satchel, making sure to include the invitation and her socks. “There, now I feel ready for the party.”

“Would you like a ride?”

“Oh thank you Celestia, but I don’t want to arrive immediately at…” She glanced at the invite “Sugarcube Corner. I want to be able to look around too.”

Celestia smiled again. “Sounds like a plan.”

After a ride in the chariot, Luna had arrived right outside Ponyville. Stepping out, she took in a deep breath of the autumn air. “This is wonderful sister. I can’t wait to explore and see what this town has to offer.”

“I’m sure you’ll find something to like. The people are nice here, but they sure get nervous around royalty.” Celestia smiled a little.

“I can’t imagine why.” said Luna, rolling her eyes.

“By the way, a word of advice…” Celestia moved her head closer and whispered to her sister, pulling it back in once she finished speaking. “Don’t compete with Rainbow Dash.”

“Huh?”

“Have a good time sister Luna!” And with that, the white Alicorn went on her way back to the castle.

“That was oddly specific.” Luna said to herself. “Now, time to explore!” She then trotted over to the forest, wishing to see how it compared to Canterlot. Among the trees, she felt at peace. Never before had she seen plant life in such a natural setting, different from the maintained atmosphere at home. She especially enjoyed watching a few of the leaves fall, and the fact that only some of them fell on their own made it seem like something bigger would happen later. “This is just simply fascinating. I’ll have to make sure to come back when all of the leaves are going to fall.”

At that moment, a Pegasus appeared right behind her, one the Alicorn had only just learned the name of. “Hi!”

This startled Luna at first, but she calmed down once she saw the owner of the voice. “Oh, hello. You startled me there for a second.”

“Sorry about that.” the Pegasus said with a laugh. “You seem a little familiar to me, but I don’t think I’ve seen you around here. What’s your name?”

Luna took a moment to clear her throat. “My name is Princess Luna.”

“Ah! Pardon me, I forgot who you were.” The blue Pegasus bowed in her presence.

Luna gave a nearly inaudible giggle. “Oh, there’s no need to be formal. You can stand up now.” The pony did so with slight embarrassment. “So tell me, what’s your name?”

“Well, I’m glad you asked. The name’s Rainbow Dash. I’m the fastest flyer in all of Equestria.” While saying this, Rainbow Dash made a pose in front of an imaginary background.

“Rainbow Dash you say? I’ve heard about you from my sister’s letters. So you really are the fastest?”

The Pegasus floated triumphantly. “Yup, there’s no pony that can top me in a race.”

Luna gained a look of fascination, followed later by slight disappointment. “Wow, that’s sounds great. Too bad I can’t do anything with this cargo.”

“Oh, where are you going?” Rainbow Dash broke out of her pose.

“Well, I got an invitation to a party at Sugarcube Corner. Perhaps you could help me?”

“Hey, I’m going over there too. It’s a Pinkie Pie party right?”

“Um…yes.”

“That’s cool. Maybe we can go over there together.”

“I was thinking about that.”

Suddenly, a familiar thought crossed Rainbow Dash’s mind. “But… why don’t we make this more exciting?”

“How do you mean?”

“I mean, let’s race over there.”

“Oh, I’m not sure about doing that. I wouldn’t want to ruin what’s in here.”

“Then we’ll just move slower, though that wouldn’t be much fun for me.”

Luna pondered this for a moment. “Well, my sister told me I shouldn’t, but I don’t really see the harm in one little race. Sure, I’ll do it.”

“Alright!” Rainbow Dash felt psyched up. “It. Is. ON!”

Act 2

The two ponies lined up side by side, ready to start their race. “Ready?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Just say the word.” Luna replied happily.

“Alright, ready, set, go!” They both took off, the Pegasus gaining an early lead, leaving behind a rainbow trail.

“Wow, she’s fast.” Luna thought. She tried to get into the spirit of competition, but her cargo of cupcakes held her back.

Rainbow Dash noticed the huge lead she had and looked back to see the Alicorn far behind her. For a brief moment, she stopped to yell back to her. “Come on Luna, I know you can do better than that!”

“Maybe she’s right. But how can I go fast with all of these cupcakes? I don’t want to ruin them.” Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. “Wait a minute. I can still go fast if I levitate my satchel with my magic. All I have to do is keep it level.” She began to act on impulse. “Alright Rainbow Dash, I’m coming for you.”

“That’s the spirit!” The Pegasus sped off into the distance again.

This did not deter Luna, as she had a plan. “Get ready.” she said to herself. With her magic acting the way she wanted, the Alicorn increased her speed in an attempt to catch up to Rainbow Dash. Eventually the two ponies were neck and neck, which didn’t surprise the Pegasus. “Alright, I caught up to you.”

“Nice work, though I should probably tell you that I’m not really going at full speed.”

“You aren’t?”

“Oh yeah, watch this!” Rainbow Dash rocketed forward, bursting with speed. However, this created an unintended side effect.

Luna felt a powerful wind underneath her. Even though she slowed down, she felt herself launched into the trees above, a sensation which frightened her. “Oh no, help!” While flying through the thick leaves, the Alicorn felt herself become covered in thick tree sap, a phenomenon that affected her bag as well. She eventually hit the ground with a small thud, the sap delaying her drop. Thankfully, her cargo landed the same way directly in front of her. “Oh thank goodness, my cupcakes are safe.” Suddenly, she saw a stampede of bunnies heading in her direction. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

In the moment, Luna felt more worried about her cupcakes than anything. She tried moving, but the sap made the task rather difficult, especially with her wings now stuck to her body. “If only I had some help.”

“Did somepony say ‘help’?” Rainbow Dash arrived just in time, lifting Luna’s satchel above the ground to prevent it from being trampled upon. As the stampede came and went, Luna felt scared, but then felt completely underwhelmed once she noticed the bunnies avoiding her entirely. With the bunnies gone, Rainbow Dash helped the Alicorn back up onto her hooves. “Sorry about that. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I think I am.” Luna shivered from the feeling of tree sap on her coat. “But I wonder what caused those bunnies to do that.”

Still in midair, Rainbow Dash gave a nervous laugh. “Well, I think that was my fault.”

“Why? Did you scare them?”

“Um…yes?”

Luna glared at the Pegasus, who gave a nervous smile in return. After a brief moment, she sighed. “I guess you didn’t mean to do that. Anyway, I think it’s more important that my cupcakes are safe.”

“Wait, you were carrying cupcakes in there?”

“Uh huh, I baked them myself.”

“Man, Pinkie Pie would love to try those. You should have said something earlier.”

Luna blushed. “I’m sorry. Let’s see if there’s any damage.” Rainbow Dash opened the bag to remove the contents within. With two boxes in hoof, she opened them to check on the treats inside. Breathing a sigh of relief, Luna commented “Wow. That was a close call.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe nothing bad happened to them.” Unfortunately for them, irony decided to rear its ugly head. A large thick pinecone landed on Rainbow Dash’s head, causing her to drop the box in her hooves. Luna tried to save it using her magic, but she couldn’t react in time and the cupcakes inside ended up getting damaged anyway.

“Oh no, they’re ruined.”

When the Pegasus stopped rubbing her head where it hurt, she noticed what the Alicorn meant. “Oh crud.”

Act 3

Rainbow Dash looked down at the mess within the box, immediately placing the blame on herself. “I’m sorry Luna. I didn’t mean to drop it.”

Luna felt down at first, but then spotted the other box intact. “Well, it wasn’t your fault. I guess I should’ve been faster with my magic. Anyway, there’s still another box, so I can still take those at least.”

The Pegasus breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, I thought you would be mad at me.”

“Actually, I’m a little more concerned about all this tree sap. It feels really sticky… and a little gooey.”

“Don’t worry, I know someone who can help with that.”

Luna lit up. “I’d like to meet them then.”

“Then follow me.” Rainbow Dash flew off, only to come back a couple seconds later with a nervous smile. Luna didn’t seem amused. “Um… need help?”

Soon, the two ponies ended up inside Rarity’s boutique, Luna receiving a cleaning. “I must say, I couldn’t quite tell who you were under all that icky sap. When I found out you were a princess, I knew I had to do something fast. Are you alright now dear?”

Luna giggled. “Yes Rarity, I’m fine. You don’t need to be so worried.”

“Oh, she’s always like that.” said Rainbow Dash.

Rarity replied “A proper mare must always be polite Rainbow Dash, especially around royalty. Besides, wasn’t it your fault she ended up this way in the first place?”

“It’s alright Rarity.” Luna said with a laugh. “There’s no need to argue. I just want you to treat me like you would a friend.”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh yes. Sometimes I get tired of being pampered so much. Besides, I’m still young so I might as well slow down for a day and look at things like a normal pony.”

“Well alright. If you insist…”

“Thanks. I think my sister would appreciate this.”

Soon, Luna’s bath finished and she got out to dry herself off with her magic. “Ah, that’s better.” She then grabbed the socks out of her bag and started to put them on.

“I hate socks.” said Rainbow Dash as she watched this.

Rarity gave her a look of disappointment.

“Don’t give me that look!”

Once the Alicorn had her socks on, she felt at ease. “Now I feel comfortable.”

“Glad to know that dear.” said Rarity “So tell me, what brings you all the way to Ponyville?”

“Oh, I got an invitation from Pinkie Pie. I think it’s for a party.”

“You did? I got invited too.”

Luna smiled. “That’s wonderful.” Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. “But wait, if you got invited, why aren’t you over there right now?”

Rarity wandered around the room to inspect all of the dresses. “Didn’t you read the invitation dear? It isn’t until later.”

“Hmm?” Luna took another look at the invite she brought with her. When she noticed the time, she sighed and slumped onto her stomach. “It’s in the late afternoon? Well, I guess I hurried over for nothing then.”

Rarity walked back over to the Alicorn. “Oh don’t get yourself down dear, it was an honest mistake. Why, we’ve all done it at some point in our lives.”

“Really?”

“Sure. It’s perfectly normal to overlook something on occasion.”

“Yeah, you just have to be careful about how often you do.” added Rainbow Dash.

“Thank you girls,” Luna rose up and hugged both ponies. “I feel much better now.” The hug briefly got tighter as they all smiled. With that, Luna switched her mind over to something else. “Now, what do I do about those cupcakes that got ruined?”

“You brought cupcakes?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, I baked them myself.” Luna broke the hug and stood again on all fours.

“May I try one?”

“Me too?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Luna opened both boxes and saw the already crumbling cupcakes. “Well I don’t see the harm in that now that they’re a mess.” Luna sent two of the more intact ones with magic over to Rainbow Dash and Rarity. “I suppose it’s my fault for trying to transport them all sideways most of the way.”

Rarity took a bite of the dessert, now suspended in front of her. Her eyes went wide and then reverted back to normal. “My, this is simply delightful.”

Luna had a look of confusion. “You think so?”

“Yeah, this is really good.” said Rainbow Dash as she swallowed.

“Oh yes. As a matter of fact, I think Pinkie Pie would love to sample your baking.” Rarity added.

“That’s what I thought, but then this happened.” Luna lowered her head.

“Don’t worry about it dear. You can just make another batch.”

“I guess I could, but where could I do that?”

“I know just the place.”

“Great. I can still fix it!”

The ponies all went to Sugarcube Corner so Luna could remake the cupcakes. One particularly enthusiastic pony felt more than happy to let her. “Oh wow, Princess Luna is baking cupcakes here at Sugarcube Corner,” Pinkie Pie began in her bubbly voice. “I never thought a Princess spent her time baking. Then again, I guess it isn’t uncommon for ponies to bake, especially a princess. I love baking cupcakes. It’s the greatest thing ever. Well, maybe except for baking more than just cupcakes like cookies and pies and regular cakes. Ooh or maybe making combinations of things. But do you know what my favorite part about baking is? Eating what I just made! Oh wait, that’s my second favorite part about baking. My favorite part about baking is actually licking the batter after I put something in the oven! That way I get to eat more than just what I’ve already got in the oven and then when I let what I have in the oven cool, I do my second favorite thing: Eating it!”

“Um…thank you Pinkie Pie.” Luna, still wearing socks, noticed the timer go off. “Oh, they must ready now.” Using her magic, she carefully removed her newest creation from the oven to allow it to cool. “There, it won’t be long before they’re finished.”

Pinkie Pie bounced with joy. “Yay, I can’t wait to try out your baking!”

Luna giggled with delight. “I can’t wait to share it either.”

Later on, the party got underway. Every pony had a positive reaction to Luna’s cupcakes, which in turn made her happy. Whenever someone tried to treat her special, she would blush, telling them she felt ok with informality. At one point, Twilight Sparkle approached the Alicorn standing in front of the array of pastries. “Hello Luna. Enjoying your party?”

Luna turned around. “Yes I am. You must be Twilight Sparkle. My sister has told me all about you.”

“Has she?”

“Yes, and it’s made me want to meet you even more.”

Twilight blushed slightly. “Well…”

“I also wanted to thank you for saving me that one time. Sorry I did all those terrible things.”

The Unicorn assumed a forgiving tone. “Hey, don’t worry. That’s all water under the bridge.”

“Thanks.” Luna smiled.

“So, have you met my friends?”

“Uh-huh. They’re very nice, especially Fluttershy. Applejack also seems like a pretty honest pony.”

“Yeah, I’m glad I picked them.” Twilight began consuming a chocolate cupcake, enjoying the taste. “So, what are you going to tell Celestia?”

“Well, I learned something today about friendship.”

This intrigued the Unicorn. “You did?”

“Yes. I learned that when you try to fix something, sometimes you can’t do it alone. It’s good to know a pony you can count on to help you out.”

“That’s great Luna. It’s always good to learn about something.” Twilight finished her cupcake. “By the way, your baking skills are amazing.”

“Why thank you. Now, I believe there’s something I need to do.” Luna walked over to the biggest window in the room and activated her most important spell. Within moments, the moon rose into the sky, illuminating all of Equestria.

“Alright every pony, let’s party some more!” yelled Pinkie Pie. As the party continued, Luna felt happy talking and getting to know everypony a bit better. She couldn’t wait to go back to Canterlot later so she could tell her sister about the best night she ever had in a long time.