Chapter 69: Sugar and Snow 2
Starlight Glimmer rolled to the side as she dodged a punch from Princess Celestia.
"You're nowhere near where I'd want you to be," Celestia hummed as she stomped her hoof at Starlight's head, forcing the Unicorn to once again roll away, "But at least you're improving,"
Starlight didn't say anything in return, her fur matted and sticking to her skin as she sweat profusely from the intense round of bodyguard training.
"Get up," Celestia told her as she stood over the tired Unicorn, "We're not done here-" Whatever Celestia was about to say was cut short as Princess Luna burst into the training room.
"Celly, hurry up! We'll miss them!" The Princess of the Night called out before running away.
Celestia sighed at her younger sister's childish antics, "Very well, We're ending our session early today," She looked down at Starlight with a frown before walking away.
Starlight simply stared at Celestia's back as she was walking away, breathing heavily on the floor of the training room.
"Wait!"
Celestia paused in her step, turning around to look at the Unicorn on the floor.
"How-" Starlight took a deep breath, "How do you do it?"
Celestia stared at the Unicorn, a brief flash of understanding in her eyes before she responded.
"I'll show you later," And with that, Celestia left the training room and followed after Luna.
Leaving Starlight Glimmer alone once more.
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I took another look at myself in the mirror, a Velvet red suit over my regular tux collar before my eyes laid on the necklace around my neck.
A necklace holding two red and green gem shards.
"Cadance?" I asked the other pony in the room as I stared at my reflection.
"Yes, Bluey?" Cadance's response elicited a twitch of the eyebrow.
"I want you to look over this," I took off my necklace and passed it to Cadance, "Wear it when you go to sleep," I didn't turn to look at her, my eyes still staring into my own in the mirror.
"Are you sure?" Cadance asked as she took hold of the necklace.
"I think I'll probably need a regular night of sleep after tonight," I told her and she nodded her head at the answer.
"Welp," I opened the door, "Wish her luck,"
"'Wish Her'?" Cadance repeated.
"Wish Raven Luck, She'll probably need it depending on her reaction when I tell her," Cadance nodded her head at that and frowned, looking down at the necklace in her hooves before she put it around her neck.
"I'll wish her luck," She said, "And Bluey!"
I paused my exit as Cadance called me.
"If you hurt her, I'm going to hurt you," Cadance said, eyes wide as she tried to intimidate me with a stare.
"Stop doing that, You'll get a Hernia," Cadance immediately stopped her 'Stare' at that.
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Raven Inkwell sneezed as she walked down a Neigh York street.
"This should be the building..." She told herself mentally as she stopped in front of a rather fancy-looking restaurant, several stories tall.
Raven took a deep breath to steady herself before she walked into the restaurant, shaking some snow off her legs once she got inside.
"Mademoiselle, Do you have a booking or are you searching for a table?" An Accented Stallion asked her as soon as she was inside, a notepad held in his magic as his brown horn glowed a soft pink. Staring down at her looks with his cinnamon-colored eyes.
"I uh..." Raven looked around, hoping to find her date somewhere, "I'm here for Blueblood-" The Unicorn's eyes suddenly widened at that.
"Ah, Are you by any chance Madam Inkwell zat we were told about?" The almost disgusted look in the stallion's eyes quickly changed to that of a warm welcome once the name of the prince exited her mouth.
"I'm Raven Inkwell, yes. Eh, Did Blueblood already arrive or -ooh!" Raven Inkwell jumped in surprise as the stallion grabbed her coat and led her inside, urging her to follow him.
"Many apologies, Madam Inkwell," The pony started to speak as he led her to a glass elevator on the opposite wall of the restaurant, "His Highness had some rather... Eccentric, requests for ze evening, and none of zem included ze heightened Security he brought with him," He wiped his brow with a napkin, "Ve are merely stressed for ze night,"
Raven looked through the glass walls of the Elevator as it rose upwards, looking at the many tables filled with steaming food.
Once the elevator reached the second floor, it kept going upwards, allowing Raven to see tables that very clearly were of a much higher standard than those on the ground floor.
And so too did she pass the third and even fourth floor.
Finally, It stopped on the top floor of the building, 45 meters above the ground floor.
The Elevator opened up to an open floor with a see-through glass roof, a balcony overlooking the outside city, and a single table for two in the middle of the floor.
The roof was surprisingly clear as the snow landing on it melted at the touch, allowing a clear view of the night sky.
"Zis is your floor, Madam Inkwell," The Stallion's voice pulled Raven out of her awe as she turned back to him, watching as he placed her coat on a hanger near the Elevator.
Raven walked out onto the floor as the Stallion walked back in,
"Ve hope you enjoy your meal," He bowed to her as the Elevator doors closed, leaving Raven to look back at the only table on the floor, and at the only other pony there.
"I was starting to get worried you wouldn't find the place," Prince Blueblood Platinum said with a cheeky smirk.
"Took ya' long enough,"
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On a building across the restaurant, hiding under a white blanket and holding a pair of binoculars in her hooves, A certain pony was looking at the top floor of the fancy restaurant.
Next to her, another pony was wrapping herself in more blankets, an invisible bubble surrounding her and keeping the snow off her pristine white fur as she held a mug of hot coffee in her hooves.
"The Raven has reached the nest, I repeat, The Raven has reached the nest," The Pony lying under the blanket close to the roof said as she stared through her binoculars.
"Lulu, We can both see them perfectly fine, The walls are made of glass," The taller pony chided her stakeout partner before she took a sip from her mug.
"Hmmm, still too hot,"
"But Sister! We need to make sure nothing bad happens tonight! Do you remember what happened last time Blueblood left the castle on his own accord?" Princess Luna asked Celestia, her eyes not leaving the two ponies on the top floor.
"He spent the afternoon with you as you two hung out in Tartarus?" Celestia blew at her coffee before taking another sip and shaking her head, "Still too hot,"
"No! We mean before that!" Luna exclaimed as she floated a nearby snack bag closer to her before opening it, spilling a small amount of salted crackers onto the roof.
"I believe you are talking about the last time he left the castle for reasons that weren't his job, so I'll ignore his Caninia trip. And I'll also ignore the time before that when Nightmare Moon kidnapped him." Celestia said and Luna shrunk into herself at the mention of the Nightmare Moon situation a month prior.
"If so, the last time He left the castle was slightly over a month ago when he tested for his Nautical Science degree," Celestia said and took another sip of her coffee, "Now it's too cold," She frowned as her horn glowed a prismatic ray of multiple colors before a beam of magic shot at her mug.
"And what happened during that time?" Luna raised her eyebrow at Celestia.
"I believe he saved the lives of many civilians from drowning, got his degree, and appeared as a top headline in many newspapers, eclipsing Twilight Sparkle and her achievements from the same day," The Princess of the Day said as she once more took a sip from her coffee and spit it out.
"Now it's burnt!"
"You know, I can clearly see both of you," An Image of Prince Blueblood suddenly said as it appeared next to the two barely hidden Alicorns.
"Ah!" Luna yelled as she quickly jumped in fright, her wings and legs tangling under the blanket as her salted crackers flew all over the roof.
Celestia smiled at the sight before she turned back to look at the restaurant across the street, spotting her adopted son waving a greeting to her through the window, Raven Inkwell waving alongside him, a confused look on her face as she stared at the Princess.
Celestia merely smiled and waved back at the two Ponies, her magic grabbing Luna and getting her to stop struggling under the blanket.
"We're compromised!" The Princess of the Night yelled as Celestia stood up and spread her wings, dragging Luna along with her like a bag of potatoes as she magically held her in flight.
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Omake: A Doctor's Party
"Thank you two so much for coming," Time Turner said with a relieved smile as he opened his door to invite his two guests into his home.
"There's not much, but I hope you feel at home," He told the two Ponies as he led them to the living room, where two other ponies sat waiting on a couch. A Pegasus Mare and a Unicorn Filly.
"Not much?" One of the two guests walking with Time Turner asked, almost offended in his reaction, "Doc, there's nothing here!" He exclaimed, pointing at the lack of any decorations on the wall.
"I have to agree with Zephyr here," The second guest added, her purple eyes looking over the spartan living room, her light blue hair swinging in front of her forehead, causing her to swipe her hoof at her hair, pulling it aside, "Even I have at least one plant in my caravan..."
"See!" The filly on the couch loudly exclaimed as she jumped to her small pale-purple hooves, "I told you you needed more color here,"
"I don't know," The Pegasus mare spoke up as she also took a look at the empty walls of the house, "It has a unique look to it, I think?" She questioned herself at the end, her eyes looking in different directions.
"Guys. We're not here to talk about my living room-" Time Turner tried to say but he was cut off by his lively guests.
"Oh My Gosh! There's no way you actually live like this!" Zephyr Breeze exclaimed as he looked through a nearby door, seeing another mostly empty room with only the bare essentials.
"Trix! You have to defend me here!"
Trixie Lulamoon rolled her eyes at her friend's antics but nodded her head regardless, "He's right Time, Your interior design in sad,"
"Very sad!" Zephyr yelled from further down the hallway as he looked through more rooms.
"See! More color is needed!" The filly pointed a hoof at him.
The Pegasus mare merely looked between all the other ponies, a confused smile on her face.
"I thought this was your birthday party?" She asked.
"IT IS?!" Zephyr screamed from the other side of the house, his voice banging on the walls as it bounced back to the living room.
"You didn't tell them?" The mare asked the aspiring inventor.
Time Doctor Turner sheepishly smiled and rubbed the back of his head, looking away from his guests.
"Why didn't you tell us it's your birthday?" Trixie asked with a frown.
"I eh, I thought that you wouldn't come if you knew..." He answered shyly.
"Why wouldn't we?!" Zephyr yelled as he flew into the room, a glare on his face as he grabbed hold of Time Turner.
"If you told me this was your birthday I would have brought a present, Doc! Everyone loves my presents!"
Trixie coughed to the side hearing that, remembering the present Zephyr Breeze gave her after she showed him her Caravan.
She didn't necessarily hate it per se, but she wouldn't say she loved it.
"I'll be right back!" Zephyr let go of Time Turner, "I'm getting you a present," He told the Earth Pony and swiftly walked out of the house, followed soon by Trixie as she went along.
Not because she felt the need to bring him a present, but because she knew she'd look bad if she didn't follow Zephyr.
"Wait up!" The Filly exclaimed as she jumped off the couch and ran after the two older ponies.
"Wait Dinky! Don't go without me!" The Pegasus yelled as she flew after the filly, hitting the wall a few times and luckily not dropping or breaking anything.
On account of there being nothing to break.
Time Turner watched the ponies leave his house with a sad look on his face before he sighed to himself and sat down on the now empty couch.
"Doc! Come on! I have a perfect gift!" He jumped suddenly as Zephyr returned to his house, followed by the rest of his guests, carrying a camera in his wings.
"What are you-" Time Turner couldn't finish his sentence as a flash of light blinded him as the camera went off, catching his surprised face in a photo.
"Okay now everyone on the couch!" Zephyr said as he jumped onto the couch, throwing the Camera over the Trixie.
Once everyone was seated next to Time Turner, Trixie levitated the camera to face the group.
"Everyone say 'Happy Birthday!'" Zephyr said loudly as he tried to push Time Turner over to Derpy. Accidentally knocking Trixie on the shoulder in the process.
The Unicorn Mare quickly turned to admonish her friend for bumping into her, only for her hair to whip back and hit Dinky Doo in the face, causing her to close her eyes and fall off the couch.
Seeing the filly fall off the couch, Time Turner quickly tried to dive and catch her, landing on the floor as the filly fell on his back.
Derpy Hooves widened her eyes and flapped her wings in shock at the quick series of events, a yell of surprise exiting her mouth at the sudden chaos.
And with a flash of light, the picture was taken.
Time Turner was on the floor, a Unicorn Filly lying on his back. Trixie was glaring as she held Zephyr in a choke-hold, his long legs trying to pry her off as the two wrestled on the couch. And Derpy was mid-air, flying off the couch as her wide eyes looked in different directions.
Suffice it to say, This was the beginning of the best Birthday Party of Time Turner's life.