Brand New Life, It's A Glorious Day

Luna already had galloped throughout the entire Castle more than three times already, and not a sight of Celestia. It was already late afternoon, the sun was above the horizon awaiting to be set by her sister. The dinner party was going to begin soon as well. She grew uneasy as every minute passed by, knowing that if Celestia appeared to be 'missing', it would stir chaos to the ponies without a doubt. There were only ten minutes left before the party began, and still not a single hint of where she could be. Luna managed to calm all the guests and guards down by saying Celestia must've been finishing some last minute court decisions, but that still wasn't enough time to find Celestia.

'Of all the places, where is she!?' Luna wondered as she paced around frantically.

She already checked Celestia's chambers, every hallway, guest rooms, the throne room, bathrooms, kitchens, everywhere. Luna even checked her own chambers after a touch of anxiety got to her. Not to mention all of that was done more than atleast three times already.

She continues to ponder around, trying to remember the many locations Celestia could be at. If she wasn't in the castle, then that means she must be at-

Luna lifted her head up as soon as the notion came across her mind.

"Of course, the gardens!" She shouted, her voice echoing throughout the corridors rather loudly. She quickly looked around embarrassedly to see if anyone had heard her self-outburst. Seeing that nobody was around, with a swift flap of her wings, Luna flew as fast as she could to the castle gardens, and spotted Celestia in no time at all. She quickly landed, and approached her rather hurriedly.

"Celestia! My goodness, we- I mean, I, have been looking allover for you! Do you know how much the guests and guards have been worr-.."

Luna quickly silenced herself after noticing Celestia's solid unresponsive posture.

Celestia was absolutely deep in her thoughts, completely ignoring all distractions as if she was meditating (of course, she was). As the white alicorn continued to do this, Luna then mindlessly began to observe her elder sister's face, wondering what could be going through her mind. Until, she barely makes out of what looked like a small dry tear stain under her left eye, almost unnoticeable... Yet it was there.

With every second passing by as she stared into Celestia's face, she couldn't help but feel a knot form in her throat. She knew the exact reason to why she had shed a tear... and it felt like a knife in her heart.

Luna couldn't help but feel absolutely guilty for it.

Celestia then slowly opens her eyes.

"S-....Sister?" Luna spoke softly.

Celestia got slightly startled, and looked directly at her younger sister.

"Oh! Luna, please...You know how easy it is to scare me." She lets out a soft giggle.

"Ah...er... we- um, I forget easy. You know that very well." Luna smiled bashfully, but then reverted to her feelings of guilt, quickly turning her face away from Celestia's.

Luna could only think about the conversation they had this morning.

The guilt was slowly consuming Luna alive. Even after countless apologies, and several words of forgiveness deep from the heart, it still weighed itself heavily on her chest. Luna knew that Celestia truly forgave her with all her heart... but that didn't fix anything. Celestia remained in pain, and Luna suffered along, guilty for being the reason.

"Luna?" Celestia's voice abruptly broke into her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry sister. I have been lost in my mind quite a bit today." Luna replied, still half focused on her mental thoughts.

"No need for apologies. I have been clouded with my own thoughts aswell... but, i'm much better now." Celestia noted, although the last part was obviously a lie.

They both knew very well what the other one was thinking about.

Celestia then gives her a mildly quizzical look, confusing Luna at the sudden change of emotion. This caused the younger alicorn to look at her back with a face saying 'what did I do?'

"I believe you were going to say something, Luna?"

"I was?" Luna asked with a vacant expression.

An extremely loud metaphorical bell then rang in her head, causing her eyes to widen.

"OH! Sister, we must hurry back to the castle before our guests begin to further worry about us! You've been gone for far too long, and it has been causing both the guards and guests to panic!"

Celestia shot up her head rather quickly. She had absolutely forgotten about the dinner party they had planned this afternoon, and began to gallop towards the Castle without a second to spare.

"Terribly sorry Luna! It slipped my mind! I will see you there!" Celestia shouted, her voice growing faint as she ran off.

Luna shook her head, and sighed in relief now that she had that problem taken care of. Celestia's occasional acts of forgetfulness wasn't so bad when it happened only once every few months or so, but it has been happening far too much lately. And now knowing that she was the being that gave the reason for Celestia's pain, it didn't help one bit.

She gently kicked the dirt, and cantered her way to the castle.

Throughout the entire castle, many stallions and mares could be heard dining and laughing, as the sound of silverware and porcelain colliding accompanied the atmosphere. A rather large dining table suit for royalty and more held a variety of cuisines and deserts, along with countless numbers of high-society mares and stallions. At the end of the table was Celestia and Luna, accompanied by a purple mare, none other than Celestia's star pupil, Twilight Sparkle.

A light green colored mare abruptly gets up from her seat, with an expression of pure pleasure.

"Mmhmmhm! This is simply... SCRUMPTIOUS!" The mare exclaimed with a mouthful as she melodramatically places a hoof over her forehead, while holding a doughnut with the other.

Celestia lets out a hearty giggle, trying her best to keep it civilized, and nods.

"I'm glad to see that you are having a wonderful time, Medley."

"Princess, you MUST tell me what this is! We've never tasted such a simple, yet sweet flavored ring of... baked goodness!" Said Medley, with very much delight.

Celestia giggles once more. "Well, if you want to know so badly..."

At this point, everpony went silent as Celestia slightly leaned in towards the table to add effect into her sentence, while everypony else, save for Twilight and Luna, followed the same action mindlessly.

"...They're called, doughnuts." She finished with a well-practiced mischievous smile.

Much to Celestia's amusement, everypony gasped in surprise, while others audibly gagged in the background, causing the white alicorn to stifle a chuckle.

"I hope my decision of bring a local food such as a doughnut in as one of the dishes doesn't bother you all?"

A stallion gets up from his chair with his hoof up in the air.

"Not at all pri-" He gagged in the middle of the sentence. "These doughnuts are simply marvelous! Would it be... much of a bother if I could ask for some of these for the way home?" He gave a half-hearted smile, mentally cursing himself for saying the last part.

Everypony instantly gets up from their seats, agreeing to what the stallion had just said.

"I'll buy them if I have to!"

"I'd buy a DOZEN of them!"

"I would purchase a BAKERS DOZEN!"

Oh how easy it was to mess with a bunch of kiss-ups. Of course, Celestia did it out of love, trying to get them to change their personalities a bit, to lighten up for once.

As the ponies continued to converse, Celestia leans in to her right, looking towards her servant, beckoning him to come over. He quickly trots over to the princess, and with an exchange of a few whispers, the servant instantly nodded. He gallops off into the kitchen, quickly bringing back a light brown coated stallion in a familiar royal chefs outfit.

He quickly took off his hat in respect for her, and clutched it anxiously with his forelegs.

"Oh, hello my p-princess. I-is something the m-matter? I hope this wasn't a b-bad decision for the theme?" The chef squeaked with a nervous smile. He then closed his eyes and bent down. "Oh please forgive me princess! It was an honest mistake, I didn't know that you invited the high cla-"

He suddenly stopped as Celestia silently giggled. She then signals the chef to come closer. He leans in slightly, Celestia doing the same.

"Oh, don't be silly Caramel Drop! This is purely genius! Bringing in local cuisines, I would have never thought of that, no matter how obvious it sounds!" She said with pride in her chef. She then waves her hoof across and rolls her eyes. "Oh, just don't mind their posh attitudes. They're simply overreacting. Your doughnuts are simply delicious Caramel, and they always will be." She finished with a warm smile.

He smiled back at Celestia's words of praise, and felt a huge wave of relief.

"In fact, let me share a little secret..." Celestia added. "Have you figured out who has been stealing that single donut from your batches?" The stallion shook his head. "Well, it's always been me!" She slightly blushed from embarrassment. Caramel Drop slightly hung his jaw.

"Oh my, princess, you-" He grew a blush of his own. "Oh goodness, you flatter me!" This caused Celestia to chuckle.

"Caramel, you are very modest, but take some pride in your work for once?" She gave a wink.

"Oh, I suppose they are.. fantastic." He gave a humble smile. An idea sparked in his mind, causing his smile to grow. "If you'd like, I can bake you some every week?" Celestia's eyes widened at the offer. It sounded very tempting, but she had to refuse.

"Oh dear Caramel, that sounds absolutely tempting, but I must refuse. You see, I would get incredibly fat, since i'm a complete sucker for your donuts." She then covered her mouth with her hoof, trying her best to keep in her laugh. This caused Caramel's blush to redden even more. After she finished her laughing fit, she sighed out of joy.

"Ah! I must ask you, Caramel. Where did you get such an idea for this 'donut' of yours? I haven't been introduced to such a snack in my entire life until... until the day you became my chef!" She asked with enthusiasm.

“Oh! Well, you see, I didn't really create these. When you gave me the opportunity to select the theme of the dinner party, I couldn't help but think about the wonderful meals I use to share with my family as a colt, and I instantly remembered all the delightful times we had together…”

As he rambled on, Celestia simply nodded and grinned, giggling at the humble chef. He was always a fun one to be around, and his stories about how he grew up from the 'not-so-classy towns' would always be a small fresh breath of air from the daily grind of Canterlot. It seemed like he had a story for almost everything, even the most smallest of things...

It always did hurt to hear his stories everytime he shared one, and at the same time, it made her happy. It hurt to hear his many stories about his life, and what went on about it. She envied it. But at the same time, she felt like a little filly listening to a storyteller, fascinated by every single word that he said, filling her mind with many images and thoughts of what it must've been like to experience those moments that he shared, and she loved it. It was both envy, and love. Most love.

An odd purple blur was passing by back and forth from the corner of Celestia's eye, which at first, she tried ignoring. She thought it must've been her imagination, but the chef suddenly stopped talking, releasing a prim chuckle.

"Ahh, princess? I think Ms. Sparkle is trying to get your attention." He pointed his hoof towards Twilight, who was gently waving her hoof to get her mentor's attention.

"Oh, yes my pupil?" Celestia switched her view to Twilight, followed by an embarrassed giggle.

The little purple mare smiles bashfully, slightly jittering as she laughs.

"S-sorry for interrupting Princess, but thank you very much for inviting me to stay here tonight! This was so very nice of you to-" Twilight was cut off by Celestia waving a hoof in dismissal.

"Just have fun, Twilight. A hardworking student like you definitely deserves it." Celestia chuckled, and affectionately nuzzled her to calm her down.

"Thank you princess." Twilight returned the affectionate gesture along with a smile. She then levitates a fork and knife with her magic, and returns to eating the content on her plate, as Celestia returns her view to the chef.

Meanwhile, Luna hadn't even bothered grabbing a plate. Instead, she has remained sitting upright in the same position, with an expression that seemed like something was bothering her, not even mumbling a single word. She stared as if she was looking through the wall, trying to find what was beyond the horizon. Twilight notices the odd silence Luna was in, and places the silverware down. The purple mare swallowed her food, and cleared her throat.

"Luna?" Twilight asked with a courteous smile.

Luna remains silent, causing Twilight's smile to drop slightly.

"Princess Luna?" She asked a little more loudly with a bit of concern.

The princess gets startled, jumping in her seat.

"Wha-? Oh, Twilight Sparkle! Yes, how are thou- Darn it! I mean, you?" The princess of the night finally spoke in a tone that was more aggressive than she meant it to be. Twilight was slightly taken aback, but continued.

"I-I'm fine princess, thank you for your concern. But, if I may ask, how are you?"

Luna tried to find some words, but simply faked a smile.

"I am... good?" She blurted what came to mind.

Twilight found the way she heightened the pitch of her voice at the end of the sentence made it seem she was unsure. Or maybe even lying.

"Princess, I don't think you’re being... truthful. Forgive me if i'm wrong."

"What? I am perfectly fine, as happy as a foal!" Luna kept her forced set smile.

Twilight simply looked at her, unconvinced. Luna strained her faux smile a little more, to the point where it seemed a little awkward, but then quickly gave up the act and sighed.

"Ok, listen... Celestia arranged for you to stay here tonight, correct?"

Twilight responds with a nod.

"Then come to me later on tonight after I finish some work I have to do, if you’re still interested to talk by then. Maybe we can discuss this later. It is a rather... delicate subject to talk about."

With a slight note of confusion, Twilight nods. She began to think to herself..

'Delicate....subject?.. What? Perhaps she is still struggling to fit in?...

Wait, no... She's been doing fine. Perfectly fine in fact. So that's not it... Oh no... What if... Chrysalis is planning her return?! No! Get a hold of yourself, now you’re just overreacting!'

Twilight continued thinking to herself, simultaneously making weird facial expressions. Luna cocked an eyebrow wondering if she did something wrong to cause the purple mare to act this way. She shook her head dismissing the thought, and looked out the window to observe what time of the day it was.

'Ah, it is getting near the time of dusk. We must- I MUST... go and prepare to bring the night in... AGH! This modern dialect is really getting on our- MY!! nerves.'

Her left eye notably twitched as she spoke in her mind.

The alicorn of the night slightly shook her head, and cleared her throat, preparing to speak to everpony. She makes a couple of mental notes to remember to say ‘I’ instead of ‘We’.

"Attention everypony!"

They all immediately halted in their exchange of words, and looked directly at Luna.

"I must go attend my duties now, so excuse me. The dinner party will go on, so enjoy it while it lasts."

As she got up from her seat and made her way out, the guests quickly jumped off and bowed as she passed them.

"Have a wonderful night, everypony. Carry on." With that, Luna left, and everyone proceeded to their conversations, and continued to enjoy the dinner party. As soon as she stepped out into the large corridor, she took a quick glance back into the dining room, then around the corridors to make sure no pony was watching, and pumped her hoof in the air.

“Yes! We have immaculately spoken the modern dialect successfully!”

After taking a few strides of pride down the giant hall, she suddenly halted into a complete solid stop as her last sentence finally processed itself into her mind.

Celestia was trying her best to keep her laugh as controlled as a princess could, while Caramel Drop shared his hilarious story of his encounter with Prince Blueblood. It was truly a funny story, one of accidental humiliation for the prince having an allergic reaction to the blueberry cake that Caramel Drop had baked, followed by an angry prince chasing the poor humble chef down the entire castle grounds. It was an honest mistake, for all Caramel wanted was to impress the prince by baking a cake that matched his name.

Everypony else was enjoying the party, Twilight herself astonished at the variety of food there was on the infinitely long table, even though this wasn’t the first time she was invited by Celestia to dine. As soon as Caramel Drop was about to get to the most hilarious part of his unintentional screw up, the ground shook as an extremely terrifying voice bellowed throughout the castle, startling everypony into complete silence as they clutched their chairs out of fear.

“MODERN DIALECT! BY MY TROTH, THOU WILT NOT HUMILIATE US ANYMORE!!!”