Four Corners

"So," Fox said. "You're alive."

Twilight nodded. More uncomfortable silence.

"I know it's a tad worthless, but... uhh..." Milvar cleared his throat. "We're sorry."

"Yes, we are." Fox shifted his arm a bit to relieve stress from a cut.

Twilight glared, wordless. Not that she could talk, anyway. Her horn ignited, and a pillow from the empty bed beside hers floated up. Suddenly, it flung forward, swiping Fox and Milvar across their respective faces with one swing. Both recoiled in shock, recovering quickly.

"I guess I deserved that," Fox chuckled.

"Me too," Milvar replied.

"Look, uh... I don't know how to say this, but, I'm glad you're OK, Twilight." Fox tugged at his jacket a bit awkwardly.

"I am too," Milvar replied sadly. "Especially since I'm the one that did this to you."

"Does it hurt?" Fox asked, leaning closer. Twilight gave a slow nod.

"Gods above, forgive me for harming your poor body and mind," Milvar whispered.

Twilight then smiled and shook her hoof at him in a mock bout of anger.

"So I guess we're forgiven?" Fox asked, ears perking up. Twilight nodded again. "Thank goodness!"

"I don't think I could've lived with myself if we weren't," Milvar seconded. His breath came out in a relieved sigh.

Twilight smiled a bit, then used a hoof to tug and adjust the bandages surrounding her neck. She then dismissed them both with a hoof wave, flopping her head down with a groan. Almost instantly, she was dreaming. Fox smiled, and left. Milvar, however, stayed behind. He walked to Twilight's bedside and kneeled, stroking his beard nervously. He laid his hand upon Twilight's brow, then mumbled something under his breath; a prayer, told to him by his mother years ago.

"May Talos guide you to light. May you be stronger when in need, wiser when in panic and faster when in peril. May none stand in your path, and if that is so, may they be demolished. Talos Guide you." Twilight then shifted in her sleep, mumbling and wheezing. Milvar sighed and stood, exiting the room.

Upon stepping outside, he found that most of the room was empty now, save for the Princesses and Fox. Milvar knew what was coming next. He braced himself mentally for his punishment. Instead, he was embraced in a hug by none other than the fox he had just tried to murder.

"It's alright, buddy," Fox said. "I know I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"What...?" Milvar asked, puzzled. "But I... I tried to kill you!"

A nearby nurse shushed the pair, waving her hoof towards the INTENSIVE CARE UNIT - PLEASE KEEP QUIET sign.

"I know you did, but whatever caused that rage, it was my fault." Fox released Milvar and looked him in the eye.

"Well, you still owe me for kicking me in the round tables," Milvar joked. "But I guess I'm sorry too."

"You guess?" Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I am sorry," Milvar said, holding out a hand towards Fox. "Truce, furball?"

"Truce, brute," Fox said, chuckling, then took Milvar's hand and shook it merrily. "Now, let's get lunch. I'm starving."

"Wait," Princess Celestia demanded. Both men stopped dead in their tracks. "Come here a moment."

Fox and Milvar paced over to Celestia, who was still in her bathrobe, and stood in front of her nervously. They expected banishment, dungeon, and maybe even other horrid things for harming her beloved student. Princess Celestia eyed the two warily, her face expressionless. Then, she spoke.

"I am not angry with you," she said, much to the pair's relief. "But I am disappointed." This hurt the boy's morale even more. "Equestria is a land of friendship, magic and love. Never before have I ever seen such behavior. Even wars were less ruthless."

Milvar and Fox nodded, Fox's tail hung low behind his legs.

"Don't think you're going to walk away from this unpunished, however," Celestia said, tilting her head high. Her horn, which was still wrapped in a cast, glinted in the afternoon light. "I hereby sentence you two to kitchen duty for the remainder of the day."

Fox blinked. "That's it?" He scoffed. "With all due respect, Princess, I think that's a little dumb, don't you think?"

"How about a month of community labor, then?" Celestia replied. Her face was hard and unforgiving; she meant business. "Cleaning bathrooms, digging ditches, mining rocks...?"

"Uhh..." Milvar had a history with mining. He didn't like it. "I think kitchen duty is fine."

"Me too," Fox said. "Let's go make lunch!" The pair turned about and began their trek to the kitchen.

"One more thing," Celestia demanded. The boys looked back to her. "I'm also a bit proud of you. Murdering each other one day, friends the next." Celestia smiled warmly. "It's rare to see such forgiveness." She dismissed the pair with a flick of her head. "Get going! I'm hungry too!"

Fox and Milvar nodded, turning again and jogging in the general direction of the kitchen.

"So... he just burst out in rage?" Horatio asked.

"Yep." Naughty leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the dinner table, earning himself a glare from Princess Celestia. "Dunno what caused it. Fox just said one teensy thing to the guy, then BAM!"

Naughty's loud voice made more than one guardsman jump.

"Well!" Horatio stroked his mustache. "I've never heard of such a short fuse. Are they alright?"

Princess Celestia butted in. "They're in the kitchen, preparing supper."

"Is that so?" Horatio said, chuckling. "What's for supper, then? Donuts, french fries?"

"I hope not," Luna replied. "I'd prefer a rather cold meal; perhaps a cucumber soup with cabbage? Or maybe a banana split?"

"Banana split sounds good right about now..." Naughty rubbed his tummy hungrily.

Celestia chuckled. "I very much doubt we'll be having banana splits for our dinner, Lulu."

"Sis!" Luna hissed. "Don't call me that in front of our subjects..."

Celestia only giggled to herself once more.

A door opening caught the dinner party's attention. There stood Fox, carrying a heavy platter with both arms. His knees shook with effort as he lugged the massive plate towards the dinner table. Milvar came after, taking his time pushing a cart with ease. Fox grunted with each step, and finally flopped the gigantic platter onto the table which shook with the shock. He leaned against Celestia's chair for support, panting, garnering a laugh from the rest of the group. Milvar passed out plates and forks among the dinner guests.

"What's for grub, big guy?" Naughty asked.

"It's a surprise!" Milvar grinned. "But trust me, you'll like it."

"I'm famished!" Horatio declared. "Your majesty, would you do the honors?"

"Such a gentlepony," Celestia giggled, before lifting the silver dome off of the platter.

Everyone in the room, including the guards, gasped in shock. All except Milvar and Fox, who beamed proudly.

It was the biggest banana split anyone in the room had ever seen.

"Mother of Celestia," Luna whispered.

"Mother of both of us," Celestia finished.

"It's..." Horatio couldn't even finish his sentence.

Delecious chocolate sauce covered a large portion of the giant vanilla and strawberry ice cream balls, which were surrounded by split bananas in a large ring around the outside of the feast. Even more undescribable sauces and spices adorned the ice cream, ranging from sparkling green candies to big black plates of chocolate stuffed inside of the ice cream. The ice cream itself was enough to impress, with the entire mound being almost as tall as Celestia. Several plump cherries and other assorted fruit were spread among the top ice cream ball.

"It's..." Horatio said again, shaking his head and smiling.

"... It's GLORIOUS!" Naughty yelled.

"Very impressive!" Celestia remarked.

"Can we eat now?" Luna said, hopping in place with excitement.

"So this is why you two spent so long in there!" Horatio said, pointing an accusing finger at the guilty party, who high-fived at everyone's reaction.

"We couldn't think of any feast that would be enough for an apology..." Fox said, adjusting his jacket. "So we made this!"

"Both of you made it?" Celestia asked, impressed. "My, you two warmed up nicely!"

"Aye," Milvar said. "Well, what are you waiting for? Dig in!"

That's just what everyone did. Naughty scooped a huge hunk of ice cream and chocolate sauce onto his place, then began devouring it immediately without pity. Horatio took a significantly smaller scoop, about the size of a watermelon, then draped it with candies and bananas. Luna didn't hold back - she literally dived head-first into her scoop, covering Celestia and an unfortunate Fox in chocolate. Celestia stopped taking small, royal bites and glared at her sister, whose muzzle was smeared with ice cream. She giggled innocently.

Schlop.

Luna's face was suddenly covered in even more ice cream, which seemed mortally impossible, as Celestia flung a huge hunk of it at her sister.

The table went silent.

"Oh boy," Naughty said, taking cover behind his chair. "Here we go."

"It's on!" Luna hissed.

Ice cream hunks were suddenly flying through the air in random directions, covering curtains, walls and the floor with slippery sauce. Horatio tried to make a getaway but ended up slipping on a banana, causing him to flop face first into a hunk of ice cream. He pulled back in shock from the cold, but soon burst out laughing, picking up a piece and hurling it at Milvar. Splat.

"BOOM! Headshot!" Horatio exclaimed.

Soon everyone was into the fray, with Celestia taking her perch atop the massive mound of melting banana split, chucking food this way and that. Naughty showed no mercy, using his plate and chair as a makeshift catapult to fling ice cream at others. Even the guards didn't escape the fray, several of them ending up with delicious splots of chocolate on their noses and various armor parts. One guard in particular even joined the fun, scraping a hunk of strawberry ice cream from his breastplate and hurling it towards the table.

Soon everyone was covered in ice cream, chocolate, bananas and sprinkles. Naughty took no haste in licking most off of himself, while Fox was trying to scrape some annoying chocolate from behind his ear. Celestia shook herself rather rediculously like a dog, spraying even more mess all over the place. The table was now quiet, save for some laughs and sputters of guests covered in sticky stuff.

"Well," Horatio declared. "I'm going to have a LOT to explain to Mission Control when I get back. These jumpsuits aren't machine washable!" His once orange undersuit was now a dull brownish-gray from all the ice cream it had absorbed.

"Machine washable?" Celestia asked.

"It's a fancy machine that some richer folks got," Naughty answered from across the table. "It washes your clothes for you."

"Everyone has one where I come from," Horatio said, taking a strip of ice cream from his mustache. "And boy, wait until Mission Control hears about you guys!"

"Uh oh," Luna suddenly interrupted. "Sister, your horn!"

"What's wrong?" Milvar asked, walking up to the princess. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the cast holding Celestia's horn on was slightly bent in the commotion.

"It's not that bad," Celestia remarked. "But alas, it needs treating. Guardsman!" One of Celestia's guards, whose one-white coat was now pink from ice cream, came up.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Fetch the doctor immediately, please."

"As you wish," The guard replied before hastily galloping through the door, startling a maid and nearly covering her in ice cream.

"Vat is ze matter vit you?" She called after him. "Imbecile!" The maid turned to the open dining room door and curiously poked her head in.

"... Oh..."

The whole room turned their gaze to her, then suddenly went stark quiet. It was then that they realized that the entire room had been covered in ice cream. It melted quickly, dripping from walls, window sills and even the cieling in some places.

"... I..." The maid's cyan coat went white. "... I need to lie down."

The door closed quickly, and even Celestia felt a little guilty for what she had to put the maids through.

"Poor dear," Horatio mumbled. "She and her friends are going to have a lot to clean up."

"True," Luna replied. "But tis their job, hmm?"

"I suppose, your Highness."

The door opened again, and the doctor was ushered through by the guard. This doctor had what looked like a light red coat covered with darker red, but it was soon realized that he was covered in blood, much to the shock of the room's occupants. His mane was rather long for a colt, and it was a brilliant white with a few red splotches. Nonetheless, he made his way towards the princess.

"I don't care how this room got so filthy, or why you're all covered in ice cream," He said aloud. "My duty is to treat the princess."

"Why are you covered in blood...?" Fox asked, eyes wide.

"I just finished up a patient," The doctor chuckled. "Poor fellow. Hit that wall flying at least 80 miles an hour. Maids are gonna have a hard time cleaning that mess up. Heh!" The doctor finished adjusting Celestia's horn and gave the cast a little knock. It didn't budge.

"There ya go, your Highness! All fixed up!"

"Thank you, Dr. Stitches."

"No problem, ma'am," He said, backing up to admire his work. "Just doin' my job. Now, I got 2 heart transplant and a double ear replacement to take care of, so I'll catch you later!"

"Bye," Celestia called. The door shut unceremoniously as the doctor made his way out.

"Welp," Naughty said, "It's been a feast, and I'm stuffed. Literally."

"Me too," Milvar mumbled, patting his bulging belly.

"Same here," Fox said, suddenly burping loudly. "Whoof! Pardon me!"

"I think I'll take a shower before bed," Horatio finished. "Goodnight, everyone."

The party said their goodnights before heading off to their respective rooms to shower, shave and sleep. As Celestia made her way up to her bedroom, a couple guards couldn't help but giggle a bit from seeing their princess coated in ice cream and chocolate. Brown hoofprints led their way up the stairs, which a maid was cleaning up not far behind Celestia. When she reached her room at last, she wasted no time in dropping her golden cuirass and regalia in front of the shower before dousing herself in hot water. Scrub scrub scrub. Bits of chocolate and melted ice cream fell to the shower floor, and were quickly washed into the drain. When Celestia had finally rid herself of the mess, she shampooed her mane and tail before stepping out and wrapping herself in a towel. She brushed her teeth, combed her mane and all the good stuff before making her way towards her bathroom door. She opened it wide-

-and almost smacked Fox in the face with her it.

"Gyahh!" She yelled, quickly shielding herself with her towel. Not that she needed to.

"Whagh!" Fox replied in his own scream of peril, toppling backwards and flopping on his rump to the floor.

"Fox!" Celestia roared. "What in Equestria are you doing in my room?!"

"A thousand pardons!" Fox said, averying his eyes from the nude Celestia. "I didn't hear you in there, I swear!"

Celestia suddenly burst out laughing, letting her towel drop to the floor. Her mane wasn't flowing due to the fact that it was almost dripping wet.

"I'm sorry, I over-reacted. Don't worry, I've got fur, you can look."

"Uhh..." Fox slowly turned his head back toward Celestia. "Sorry, sorry... Umm, my room's locked, and I forgot my key in there."

"... Really?" Celestia asked sarcastically. "I guess you'll have to sleep with me tonight, then."

"No, no!" Fox stammered. His already red cheeks could now bring water to a boil. "I just wanted to ask for a spare key!"

"Of course," Celestia scoffed. "I was joking, by the way. Sure, just ask the mare at the front desk for a spare key."

"There's a front desk?" Fox asked. "Wow, this castle really is big. Anyways, thanks."

Fox left the room quickly, leaving Celestia to herself.

"Such a funny fellow," She told herself before flopping down on her bed. Suddenly, she had the greatest idea ever.

"Hmm... Been a while since I played a good prank..."