"There will be no interruptions!" Luna landed before Sugar Belle with a scowl. "No dream fog. No avoiding me. You will answer me."

"Alright." Sugar Belle didn't seem upset or bothered. "Hit me with your worst."

"Oh..." That was not the response Luna had been expecting. "I need to speak to the new princess. Orchard Blossom is her name, we are informed. Do you know who they are?" Her eyes darted. Sugar Belle was not very good at hiding her secrets, with Big Mac off to the left and a mystery princess to the right. What did it mean?!

Sugar inclined her head. "You're just saving us time. We're going to visit you, as soon as they're ready." Choosing a gender-neutral term was quite intentional. "Speaking of that, do you have any tricks for a pony that wants to stay up later?" She clapped her hooves. "Please?"

"A pony that wishes to remain healthy should get their rest." Luna set a hoof on Sugar's head aside her horn. "Using magic to stay up later will only work for a time before it all comes crashing down. Better wizards than you have tried."

Sugar didn't even qualify as a poor wizard, really. "What about you?"

"I drink a lot of coffee... and still get sleep." Luna glanced away. "Even the princess of the night needs her slumber. I just get most of it during the day. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes." Sugar sagged with defeat. She wouldn't be able to join Big Mac's world full time, from the sound of it. "You know, she wants to do her best for Equestria. She's not a threat to anypony."

"Then why does she hide from me?!" Luna cleared her throat, recontrolling herself from that outburst. "As a princess, we must know who and how. Who even oversaw her creation? All ascended unicorns have somepony who oversees that. To do it oneself is too difficult to even imagine!"

"Don't know anything about that." Sugar shrugged softly. "But I will ask them and give them a nudge towards you. Stop chasing them! They aren't doing anything wrong, even if you are curious. They didn't hurt anypony, and they won't!" She tapped at her chin. "Unless you're more mad that an earth pony got to do the princess thing."

Luna's eyes widened. "They were an earth pony?!" It was her surprise that broke the dream link, to her chagrin.

"An earth pony?!" Luna was seated at the breakfast table with her sister across from her. "They were an earth pony, with no overseeing pony, so far... I'm still digging into it..."

"But..." Celestia took a bite of her pancake, sinking her teeth into the fruity toppings. "We're looking at an earth pony princess. That's a first. Not technically impossible, you know that."

"I know that!" Luna threw a hoof wide. "Of course I know that!" With a flicking tail she slammed the same hoof against the table. "But that just makes this more mysterious. An earth pony self-ascending? An earth pony learning how to fly, and to use magic on their own? The very idea!"

"Sounds like we should speak to them." Celestia tipped her glass of morning juice at Luna. "What stories they may have to share."

"Stories, yes." Luna inclined her head. "So far... they have caused no harm."

"Good." Celestia looked only pleased at the news. "When you find them, invite them for some tea and cookies. I truly wish to hear their tale."

"For now," hissed out Luna with a frown. "They are a big question mark and you're treating it like a new flavor of your cake."

"Don't insult the cake." Celestia sat up to the affront on her tastes. "If they meant us harm, they likely would have acted by now. They have run into the palace guards before, and nothing came of it. They are not hiding, just not presenting themselves to us." She tapped at her chin in a moment of thought. "Are we scaring them? Maybe that's the problem."

"Hm... I should sleep." Luna rose from the table. "But I will try to approach more easily then, since you are so confident." She winkled her snout. "If she tears me limb from limb, it is entirely your fault."

"Fault accepted." Celestia waved in a shooing manner. "Go to bed. It's my turn to watch over our ponies." She smiled suddenly. "Oh, do you think she would come to me? That would be lovely."

"She shares my schedule." Luna cocked a brow. "Making that unlikely. Good or not, she is a princess of the night." Luna headed for the door at an even stride. "I will likely have to be the one to greet her."

"It's right that way." Orchard pointed the way down the road. "Right hand side, can't miss it."

"Thanks!" And off went the pleased stallion, knowing which way to go.

Ochard had saved the day! Er, night. She had saved the night. She hadn't solved a mystery or captured a bad pony, she had just pointed the way when needed. Sometimes that was good enough, right? "Ayup." She was talking to herself, but nopony around needed to hear it other than herself. She trotted with a big smile down the road, confident that she was helping in her little ways.

"Princess!" Orchard perked at the word and looked around. There was a unicorn, not odd for that town, but it was a unicorn she knew, Minuette. "Hey!" Minuette huried up to Orchard with a grin. "Wow, didn't think I'd run into you again."

"Ayup. Jus' patrollin' fer anythin' wrong." Orchard nodded at the unicorn and her big smile. "You?"

"I was gonna get something to eat, but then I saw you and you rate way higher than a midnight snack." Minuette danced in place. "How are you doing?! You're a princess, you know that, right? The guards can do that job. Do some, I don't know, princess stuff!"

Orchard inclined her head slowly. "What's princess stuff 'xactly?"

"Oh gosh, good question." She curled an arm to bring a hoof to her chin with a thoughtful squint. "Most of it is ruling over other ponies and helping them be happier by giving good commands, I guess."

Ochard danced away at the idea. "Nope! I don't wanna be in charge of nothin' 'sides myself. If that's what being a princess is about, no thanks."

"Don't shoot it down so fast." Minuette kept up with Orchard's slow retreat easily. "Twilight didn't know what was going on at first either, but she's coming around, step by step. I bet you'd be a great princess." She dipped her head. "I'd swear fealty to you."

Orchard blushed at the implications. "Ya barely know me."

"I barely know Princess Celestia, or Princess Luna." Minuette shrugged. "Royalty's like that. I know you better than either of them, so I'd say it's actually less odd that I'd toss my hat in your ring, given the choice."

It was a mark of Equestria that she could do that without being censured, grinning at the foreign princess as if it were a natural thing to do. "Give it a try! It's not so bad, I bet. You're just scared of something new."

"Ain't that!" she barked out, blushing at the accusation. "Bein' a princess comes with a lot of 'xpectations. Don't know how to do that, and don't really wanna! Ah jus'..."

"Wanna fight crime?" Minuette was peering at Ochard a bit skeptically.

"A little ah that, yeah..." But that wasn't really the truth. "Ah... just like havin'... Ah like bein' able to help. If a pony's in trouble, ah wanna fix it. That so bad? They're happy, and ah'm happy and... what's wron' with that?!"

Minuette waved her hooves wildly. "Nothing, nothing! You're doing a bang up job and I feel safer knowing you're out there, looking for trouble." Minuette suddenly jumped in place. "You use those wings yet? Are they fun? What's it like? Were you born with them? If not, what's it like to have them! Tell me!"

Orchard struggled to come up with an answer for that."Wasn't born with 'em, no." That only got the unicorn to bob harder. "So... why does that change anythin'? Ah'd have 'em just as good if I was born with 'em or not."

"Wrong!" Minuette crossed her arms in a big X of a signal. "If you were born with them, they'd feel like 'that thing I always had'." She pointed up at her horn. "If you asked me what it's like to have a horn, I couldn't tell you. I always had one. It'd be way super stranger to not have a horn. What's it like having four legs, huh?"

"Uh..."

"Don't know, do ya?" Minuette bounced closer. "But you weren't born with wings, so maybe you can answer that. C'mon! What are wings like?" She shrugged wildly as if trying to flap wings she didn't have. "What's flying like? Share!"

Orchard Blossom spread her wings wide in either direction. "Well... When ah'm not flyin' or thinkin' 'bout it much, it's real easy to forget they're there." She folded her left one in and left her right extended. "But now that ah'm thinkin' about it." Minuette's eyes went slowly wider with fascination. "Um... It's funny. Um, like another set of arms."

She bent that right wing, bringing the tip towards Minuette. "It can do things too. Right like it. Useful to have."

"Like what?" Minuette sniffed at the wing, but otherwise didn't bother its motions. "Is it as good as magic?"

"Um..." She backed a step at that. "Different kinda useful. Magic don't let me fly none." Maybe for some talented unicorns, which Orchard was not. "And ah suppose ah could grab things with either, but it feels right sometimes to just put a wing on it, or to reach with mah horn." She pointed up at that pointed bit. "Not sure what the difference is though."

"What about now?" Minuette pulled out a pack of gum and casually tossed it about a foot in front of Orchard. "Grab it!"

Orchard floated the gum up to about eye level, then wrapped the edge of her wing around it to hold it firmly. "Are ya givin' this to me, or jus' testin'? Ya can have it back."

"Huh..." Minuette did take it back with her glowing horn. "You use both without even thinking about it. Now I want wings!" She bounced up and down, but no wings appeared on her despite her cry. "You're so lucky! They're pretty wings too. How long do you spend daily with preening?"

Orchard blinked softly. "Preenin'?"

"Cleaning your wings." Minuette pointed at the still extended wings. "Keeping them clean and managed so they can provide lift, you know? Never saw a bird pecking at its own feathers before? It's not taking care of an itch! Well, maybe it is doing that too. Never been a bird, or had feathers." She leaned in towards Orchard. "Hook a mare up. What do I have to do to get some big feathery wings? I'll do the princess thing!"

"Nuh uh." Orchard Blossom began to grin at the enthusiastic unicorn. "Ya'd make Twilight sad if you did that."

"Oh, wow, yeah... Probably." Minuette pouted a moment. "But we could be royal buddies. Her and Me and... you too! Yeah, royal buddies" She began to dance in place. "That sounds super fun! So hook me up." She waggled her brows. "You weren't born a princess, right?"

Actually... "Not sure that's... Um..."

Minuette's dance slowed to a stop. "Wait... You were born a princess?" No denial came quickly. "Get out! Wait! You said you weren't born with the wings." She waved a hoof wildly at the feathery limbs. "Which means you're lying about one thing or the other and that's not nice. Fess up! Which is right and which is a big fat lie? I'll forgive you if you come clean right now." She crossed her arms, looking at Orchard Blossom expectantly.

Author's Note

Minuette has questions, dang it. Answer them!

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