Princess Shopping [Open]

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Perhaps....

Perhaps this was not such a good idea. Princess Luna glanced around self-consciously, and with a sense of impending disaster. There was nothing within sight to give such alarm, however. The sky was the brilliant azure of summer, with only a decorative cloud here and there. The air was warm and heady with the sweet, damp smell of fresh-mown grass. Even the leaves of trees were the dazzling green of emeralds. It was, in every way, a beautiful, perfect, morning.

Except for the Princess of the Night and the hundreds of pony eyes upon her, of course. Luna unfurled her wings a moment, as though she might take flight right back up into the sky from whence she came, or at least hide her face in them. Then, determinedly, she folded them again and took a deep, steadying breath. No running away. No hiding. They, (meaning the citizens of Ponyville) could not be blamed for staring, of course. To see a princess in their midst was not an everyday occurrence, even in Canterlot. They wouldn't know what to do. Should they bow? Should she address them? It wasn't supposed to be an official royal visit. Luna didn't wish to make it into an occasion.

Legs trembling, the dark Alicorn took a few hesitant steps which turned into a sort of royal stroll, as she moved among the market stands. This seemed to ease at least a bit of the tension, as the ponies realized that nothing was required of them,at least not yet. Still, the market was unusually silent, and surreptitious stares and whispers followed Luna wherever she went. As if her errand wasn't challenging enough.

Luna wanted desperately to find a gift for her beloved sister's birthday, which was coming up. But how in Equestria did one shop for a princess? What could you get Celestia that she didn't have at least three of, already? Luna might have tried to make something, A cake, or some jewelry, or an embroidered bathrobe! Something! but she didn't really have any talent in those areas. So it would have to be a thoughtful gift chosen and purchased. But Celestia was bound to have everything good in Canterlot, Manehattan, Cloudsdale, and Fillydelphia. The younger princess would have to look in unexpected places and hope to stumble upon a hidden treasure.

The stares and whispers, though, were sapping her courage. Hardly ten minutes had passed, and she already needed a break. Princess Luna, trying to look as though she were not in any hurry, or disturbed in the least, crossed over a bridge and found a nice bench under a shady tree to rest on. She wasn't tired-tired, but this shopping business would have to be taken care of in little bursts of effort. She let out a deep, somewhat unhappy sigh.

Perhaps this was not such a good idea.

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It was just another casual day in Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle was out doing her usual errands (mostly shopping for new quills and parchment for her lists), as well as a few side tasks for herself and possibly her friends. Everything seemed normal for once, although for some reason, the looks on everypony's faces were worried. What was going on? She approached one and inquired further, and after correcting them that the 'dark alicorn' was Princess Luna and not Nightmare Moon (hadn't they learned that after the Nightmare Night festivities?), the purple unicorn set out to find her. If anything, she could cheer up the Princess of the Night and if she was really lucky, have a lesson to write to Princess Celestia about.

Having asked almost every pony where the princess headed off to, Twilight followed their directions and soon found Luna on a bench in a quiet section not far from the markets. Remembering how they came across each other last time, she cleared her throat to make sure she wasn't startling the younger princess. "Hello, Princess Luna." She called softly with a smile on her face. "What a wonderful day your sister made...that just means we'll be in for a night equally as wonderful." No sense in stirring up hurt feelings and jealousy again, even though Twilight and her friends used the Elements of Harmony to cure Luna of that. "Did you need anything? The other ponies saw that you looked a bit worried about something..."

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Princess Luna looked up as Twilight cleared her throat. She had been wavering between trying again and packing it in, but the appearance of the unicorn gave her a little more confidence. Twilight was, after all, a friendly face, and a pony who'd helped her, perhaps more than she'd ever know. Luna smiled, but it nearly turned into a wince to see Twilight tread so carefully around the issue of night and day. That was part of the problem, she supposed. Ponies afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing. But it wouldn't help to get upset about it. That would just make everything more awkward, wouldn't it?

"Good Morning, Twilight Sparkle." Luna called back softly. "Tis a lovely morning indeed," the alicorn hesitated and tried to organize her thoughts into a statement regal and dignified, a respectable explanation. One intelligent pony to another intelligent pony. Instead, a moment later, she just blurted it out."Nay, 'tis a terrible morning! We are most unhappy! Our beloved sister has a birthday coming up and we don't know what to get her. We wish with all our heart to get her something she will treasure, but all the finest things- she must surely already have those. So we came here to look, but the ponies are uneasy with us. They stare and whisper. It..it is most...distressing, but perhaps it cannot be helped...perhaps it is what we have rightly earned."

Luna drooped, and seemed to look much smaller than a royal princess should look, and more lost. Had the shade of the tree she was under been a little darker, the alicorn might have merely tried to hide within it. She felt bad, but strangely, she also felt a little better!

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It was nice to see Princess Luna out and about like this, and felt better in having greeted her. She had returned it with the agreement that today was a beautiful day...then went into an explanation as to why it wasn't. Princess Celestia's birthday was coming up (a fact she needed to write in her notes while this was going on), and her sister wanted to get her a meaningful gift. But upon coming to the markets, everypony was staring and speaking about her in whispers, almost like before on Nightmare Night. It immediately made her feel a bit bad; had they not learned that the Princess of the Night was like them too?

Approaching the darker-colored pony, Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder and gave a soft smile. "Don't worry, Princess. It doesn't matter what sort of gift it is; as long as it is given from the heart, I'm certain Princess Celestia will like it." But then the question remained: what sort of gift to get that Princess Celestia would like? Then again, it is rather ironic that I'm saying that she should get anything and give it with the appropriate thought of kindness and such, and here I am worrying that anything I give her won't be good enough! Twilight fought back a chuckle at this revelation, and settled on trying to help Luna with her dilemma. "We can start by figuring out what sort of things she likes. I'm sure Ponyville has something unique to offer, and I guess people are still trying to get used to the real you being out and about like this. That happened with me when I first moved to Ponyville; new pony in town and all. Everypony reacted the same way when Zecora first came to town too. We just need to show them - again - that even a Princess of the Night has to shop for things too."

[Trixie Lulamoon]

As the door closed on City Hall, a certain blue-coated and star-studded mare could be heard grumbling about “permits” and paperwork. The Great and Powerful Trixie had just spent much of her morning getting through all the bureaucracy needed for her to set up her wagon-home in town. Considering the events that had occurred the last time she was in town, doing so had been a rather headache inducing scenario. Eventually, however, they had relented. She now officially could park her trailer in town as a temporary residence, but no Ursas of any kind were to be brought into town.

Yeah, because I was just dying to get a chance to meet one of those again.

But now that everything was over and done with, Trixie took a deep breath and sighed to calm her nerves. Now she could focus on getting herself comfortable. She had a nice stash of bits from her shows in Appleloosa after all, and the wagon could use some personal decorating. And oh the many joys of having more than a general store to shop in. She was appreciative of the Appleloosans’ hospitality, but being such a small town left very limited options for her. Especially since most of the general store’s goods had been necessities. Understandable, of course, but for someone like Trixie who had been used to more variety of creature comforts, it had left a lot to be desired.

”Let’s see…I need to get some paint, stuff for posters, a couple books…”

Trixie mumbled to herself, lost in her thoughts of what she needed to personalize her wagon. She heard ponies whispering about something, and her first thought was that it was about herself. After all, her last visit here did lead to the town being attacked by a rampaging Ursa Minor. Before she even had a chance to grumble about that, however, Trixie noticed Twilight Sparkle. Remembering her conversation with the mare, Trixie resigned to hold her tongue against the neighsayers and instead decided to approach her with a friendly ‘hello’.

”Good morning Twilight Sparkle,” she said, finally paying full attention to her surroundings,”How are….you….”

Trixie looked over at Twilight’s companion, who bore a striking similarity with the newly returned Princess Luna. After a few seconds Trixie realized she was still staring with some level of disbelief. She knew that Twilight was a student of Celestia’s, but it did not occur to her that meant Twilight would be strolling through town with a princess. Thoughts of jealousy, envy, confusion, and slight resignation that of course this is the sort of thing that would happen flittered through Trixie’s head.

Trixie, stop staring slack-jawed at the princess.

”Oh, uhm….hello princess?” Trixie finally said, not exactly sure how she was supposed to address or act towards the princess of the night.

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Princess Luna felt a little silly, taking advice and comfort from Twilight as though she herself was not hundreds of years old, she, who should be the wise and knowledgeable one. And yet, she was comforted anyway. Twilight made the whisperings and unease of the ponies sound a little more natural, and a lot less like rejection. And if Twilight would go around with her, Luna was sure the ponies would be more willing to approach and talk with her. It had worked on Nightmare Night, surely it would work again?

Still, the other problem remained. What to get Princess Celestia? "We had thought perhaps we wouldst get our royal sister something to demonstrate..." Luna gazed skywards and gestured around them, as though to indicate everything around them,
"The Order Of The Universe!" she explained, accidentally slipping into the Traditional Canterlot Voice! With a start and a blush, she remembered herself and gave an apologetic smile to Twilight. "Our pardon. We still forget, sometimes... But something such as a wondrous and lovely clock... our dear sister hath a little trouble with the one she relies upon waking her up too early...Or mayhap a gentle and soothing music box to calm the royal spirit..." Luna considered these two ideas a moment, before giving a sigh.

"The problem remainst that Celestia hath many of these things already, or couldst get them within moments, if she wisht. How dost one go about giving a meaningful gift?" It was at this point that Luna noticed that they were joined by a blue unicorn with a distinctly haughty air, though her words were friendly enough.

"Good morning Twilight Sparkle, How are….you…."

The words trailed off as this new unicorn caught sight of the Princess Luna. At first, the alicorn took a step back, as though she might, literally, turn and run away. But princesses don't flee, and so, she gathered her courage and straightened up, looking stern and imposing before remembering that that kind of attitude didn't work well, either.

And really, despite her first fears, the expressions that traveled on this unicorn's face did not resemble the actual terror Luna was afraid to see. Without really understanding why, the alicorn felt a sense of familiarity, then a strange and faint sense of kinship, though they were not related in any way she could lay a hoof on. Princess Luna finally settled on the uncertain look of confusion and mirrored it.

”Oh, uhm….hello princess?” The newcomer said at last, acknowledging her.

"Greetings..." Luna began. She glanced from Trixie to Twilight. "Art thou two friends? Canst thou introduce us?" she asked, uncertainly.

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Princess Luna had mentioned possibly getting a gift that would explain the order of the universe, but before the unicorn could explain what exactly the princess meant, Luma had slipped into using her 'loud' voice, but she quickly apologized. Twilight shook her head. "No need to apologize, Princess." She replied with a smile. "Old habits sometimes take a while to break...and believe me on that one." She gave a wink before using her magic to pull out her rather long list of errands to do and items to get at the markets. "I had to write this out myself or else I was going to give Spike another claw cramp."

Luna then suggested other possible gift ideas such as a music box or a clock (to be honest, both sounded wonderful), but then asked Twilight what she meant by a meaningful gift. Just before she went to answer the question, somepony else had come up to them; none other than Trixie. Questions on what the blue unicorn was doing in Ponyville were shoved aside as Trixie stared at Princess Luna, clearly lost for words. Clearing her throat, the purple unicorn gestured to one than the other. "Trixie, this is Princess Luna. Princess, meet Trixie, a magician stage pony." Turning back to Trixie, Twilight continued. "The princess is looking for a gift to give Princess Celestia for her birthday, so we are trying to come up with a heart-felt, meaningful gift. Something from you that no pony else has, something with your unique touch to it. What about something hoof-made?" It was worth a try, anyways; maybe Trixie had an idea or two to contribute.

[Trixie Lulamoon]

Though it had taken a few seconds for Trixie’s head to fully comprehend what was now standing before her, she had finally said something. Trixie was rather worried that the princess had gone from stern and imposing to being confused as well. Had The Great and Powerful Trixie somehow upset the Princess of the Night? The brief terror at thought was soon swept aside as the Princess returned the greetings, and then spoke to Twilight for introductions.

Great Trixie, you missed your chance to dazzle a Princess with your introduction.

Then again, would a princess really appreciate Trixie’s usual style of introductions? Well, at the very least Trixie felt like she deserved a little more than Twilight’s boring old introduction of her. But what was done was done, though if given the chance she would try and slip in the whole “Great and Powerful” thing. It was just too much a part of her identity to just let it slip away.

”A gift for Princess Celestia?

Great, now that was two princesses that Trixie felt the need to try and show off too. She had to try and think of something that would not only be a good idea to Luna, but something that the Princess Celestia would enjoy. Quite a tall order, but the Great and Powerful Trixie was not going to back down. Even if there was a possible threat of getting one of them mad and being banished to a dungeon in the place she was banished to…which was totally not a real threat of course. Right?

”Uhm, let me think for a moment…”

Trixie was never really that good at gift-giving. Sure, she had her family and all, but even then she hadn’t really engaged much in the whole exchanging of gifts thing since she left. Yes, she liked getting them, but giving was a whole different matter. At least this time she had the rule of something “hoof-made” to go by. Though that did get rid of her standard “coupon to X place” gift for when she absolutely had to get something. So what kind of stuff would Celestia like or want anyway?

”Maybe you could, I don’t know…make her a storybook or something?”

Considering Trixie made her trade in telling stories, such a suggestion was about all she could come up with. Might as well go all the way with it then.

”Yeah, maybe write a story about something, and then get a bunch of pictures together to go with it. I mean, I’m sure you have some stories that you would love to share with Princess Celestia, right?”

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Something hoof-made... only Princess Luna, as far as she knew, was so out-of-practice in making anything! The first time she'd tried to do so much as make herself a cup of coffee, for goodness's sake, she'd nearly set fire to the palace. Well, how was she supposed to know that you weren't supposed to put logs in the oven and burn them to heat the stovetop? It looked like that was what the oven was for!

The unicorn, Trixie's suggestion, of a storybook, seemed meritorious... at first glance. At least, the process of using quill and ink had not changed in all the time she had been gone, even if the language had. And books were something that the alicorn was quite familiar with, and hadn't changed much over the years either.

But on deeper consideration, Luna found that suggestion rather... unsuitable. A story to tell her beloved older sister? With their long and mostly shared history, what could she write about that Celestia didn't know already? A Millennium on the Moon? That would be a disaster. She might as well print up a ticket for the one-way guilt trip she'd send Celestia on. The story of their separation had already been written up, and Luna hated even passing by that book in the Library.

With a pained expression, the Princess tried to explain. "We do not think that that idea... well, what we mean to say is, we would not know what kind of story we could write that Celestia would both enjoy reading... and hasn't already been written... or that we didn't experience together." Luna managed to give Trixie a somewhat halfhearted smile, hoping there would be no offense taken.

Sometimes, being a Princess felt like trying to stumble through a minefield. Blindfolded.

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Well, Trixie tried suggesting a storybook idea, but since Luna and Celestia were sisters, that left it a bit impossible, since they shared their lives together for the most part, and having a book about the one thousand years Luna was on the moon banished...wouldn't exactly be a conversation starter. Granted the book wasn't a bad idea, or perhaps there was something else she could write a story on...or even maybe something night-related. That gave Twilight an idea.

"Princess, what if you made something based off of the night sky? Since your sister rules the day, you could have it change every night based off of the movement of the stars, even throw in some comets for a bit of a surprise." Glancing to Trixie, the purple unicorn smiled. "We could add in your idea on having a story, perhaps on how a group of stars got that certain formation...or how one came into being. That would be a nice touch." In her mind, Twilight was already planning out how it could work; the magical abilities of two unicorns and the Princess of the Night could surely make something worthy of Princess Celestia, right?

Using her magic to take out a piece of parchment, a quill and an inkwell, she started drawing a few scenes on what she meant. "We could have a pattern of stars come to life to act out a story. Sure there are books that do the same thing, but what if Princess Celestia could interact with them somehow? It's hoof-made, from the heart, and something really unique all at once."

[Trixie Lulamoon]

Trixie was rather confused on why the storybook idea wouldn’t work. Even if they shared the memories, how would that diminish the value of the gift? Granted, Trixie rarely ever put much value in storing memories, but lots of ponies made scrapbooks or journals or whatever so they could look back at memories. And even the princesses probably had forgotten some things over a thousand years’ time. But whatever, Luna’s gift, Luna’s rules. At least she was contributing something to the conversation.

Listening to Twilight’s suggestion, Trixie could already see one serious issue with it.

”Uhm, Twilight, don’t you think ponies would probably start panicking if the stars all of a sudden started moving around?

Trixie thought for a moment, figuring out if there was another way to go about it. After all, telling a story through the use of stars and magic was what Trixie did for a living. Maybe there was another way to go about doing it? Her mind started trying to pull anything, other than books apparently, but for some reason her thoughts kept settling on one thing.

”Maybe you could put them all in a snowglobe or something? Like, replaced the snow with lights or something…”

Yeah, let’s give Princess Celestia a snowglobe. Great idea Trixie…

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"We could have a pattern of stars come to life to act out a story. Sure there are books that do the same thing, but what if Princess Celestia could interact with them somehow? It's hoof-made, from the heart, and something really unique all at once."

”Uhm, Twilight, don’t you think ponies would probably start panicking if the stars all of a sudden started moving around?

Princess Luna glanced uneasily between the two. Was she missing something? Was there something more between these two that she'd been two wrapped up in her own woe to notice? They almost seemed more like...rivals than friends, somehow.

And yet... "We must admit, Twilight," Luna said, as gently as she could. "There would be a few problems with thy plan. Night fliers use the stars to navigate, we would hesitate to rearrange them without due warning. Which would, perhaps, cause our dear sister to inquire why we wished to change them at all- and also there be the issue that, since our return, our beloved sister takes her rest at night."

The midnight mare sighed, and tried not to look as discouraged as she suddenly felt. The more they worked on the problem, she was beginning to feel, the farther they were getting from a solution. She tried again, to explain what she was after. "This gift... t'will be the first thing we have given her since.. since our return."she explained, stumbling a little. "We are not against giving grand and magnificent gifts, and our sister is certainly worthy of such a gift... but for our first gift, we were hoping for something a bit..." Luna gestured vaguely with her hooves, "...Smaller. Less... showy?"

”Maybe you could put them all in a snowglobe or something? Like, replaced the snow with lights or something…” The traveling magician, Trixie, seemed almost disgusted with herself as soon as she said it, but Luna stopped to consider it. No, more than consider it. The princess closed her eyes and tried to visualize it.

"A... A starglobe?" Luna questioned, wonderingly. "We have not heard of such a thing. But... Like a snowglobe, perhaps a bit larger..." The princess's mind raced with the idea, and she struggled to keep up. "Not... Not a thing to look into, to see the stars, but perhaps... with crystal flake, and a lucent moonstone in its base to provide the light, it could project a soothing, moving image of stars upon walls and ceiling, a sort of light to sleep by..."

It sounded perfect. Celestia could not have such a thing, it did not exist, surely. Yet. If she could make it, it would be one-of-a-kind, personal, useful, demonstrate the order of the universe, could tell a story, be hoof-made AND meaningful. But...

"I wonder... if I... can really make such a thing..." Luna said, slipping out of the royal 'we' and speaking doubtfully, feeling small and more than a little foolish.

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When Trixie responded to her idea, Twilight merely sighed. For one, she didn't say 'let's do the stars in the sky come to life', she had said 'something based off of the night sky', meaning the real things wouldn't be used at all...just a copy of them for what was needed. She figured Trixie was trying to do the 'one-up' thing again, and was mostly considering on letting the other realize just what the purple unicorn had meant; hence she was drawing it out to make her idea a bit clearer. "That was what I meant. Something based off of that, not actually using the real stars. Like a projection...or a snowglobe." With that, she gave a nod to the other unicorn present, indicating that the ideas were mostly similar, even though the way those ideas were worded was different.

While it was agreed that the starglobe would be ideal, the Princess of the Night wondered if she could make something like that. Twilight Sparkle's expression changed to that of concern before brightening up. Since she and Trixie were trying to become better friends, what better way to do that than helping Luna make her gift? "What if we did it together? All three of us?" She suggested, glancing to the magician unicorn in the hopes that this idea was a bit more straightforward. "Surely the magic of two unicorns and yourself would be able to make this work, right?"

[Trixie Lulamoon]

”Oh, you didn’t mean real stars? My mistake…” Trixie responded as Twilight corrected her. It still sounded as if that had been what Twilight meant. There had been no real attempt to embarrass the mare (maybe a little one-upship, but only in terms of gift ideas), and Trixie wished to make it clear. The last thing she wanted was to appear spiteful with the princess right here.

With that in mind, however, Trixie’s spirits were lifted with how here silly little idea appeared to actually be taken quite seriously by the princess of the night. But that was the Great and Powerful Trixie for you; her best ideas always came when she had to improvise. Even Luna’s brief hesitation at actually being able to do it wasn’t enough to stop Trixie from beaming a little from the pride of having provided such a unique solution to a problem of a princess. Besides, Twilight’s statement gave her some room to boast just a little bit.

”Yes, I am sure that the three of us will be able to make it. The Great and Powerful Trixie, my stage persona,” Trixie said, quickly letting Luna know the title was not a (completely) presumptuous title,”Is well known for her specialty in illusions, fireworks, and light shows.”

Even if I have never made a permanent illusion like this might require…meh, I’ll let Twilight handle that part of it.

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It was with a surge of relief that the Princess Luna heard the almost instant assurances of help from Twilight Sparkle and Trixie. She knew that her beloved sister's student was a remarkably gifted unicorn- Certainly, her attenuation with the Element of Magic was a sign of that, even disregarding all other hints. And this Trixie... the midnight mare gave the showpony a look that was half-curiosity, half gratitude... said she was good at illusions and lightshows. That would certainly come in handy!

"We would be most grateful for both thy assistance," Luna said, softly. "But if we are to attempt to build this thing, we must purchase some supplies, we think." the Princess of the Night paced a little bit. "A glass globe, Crystal would be better still, to hold all within. A moonstone for power and light. Diamond flakes to create the images of stars and to remember how to create the illusions and patterns. a block of gold with which to create the base. Perhaps some pearls and silver to decorate the gold with. We must seek a jeweler first." Luna spoke with the easy confidence of a pony who did not have to watch her bits carefully. As a princess, her Royal Allowance was more than she needed for trifles like these.

"Memory spells canst be cast upon inanimate stones and objects. If we show the diamond flakes how they are to move and bid them to remember, they will hold that memory. The purer and stronger the material, the stronger the magic, the longer they will remember. Perhaps they will remember even beyond our years." Luna liked that idea, the thought that something she might make could become an artifact or historical treasure for future ages. But then, she would have to choose some really great illusions for it to show!

"What thinkest thou? What stories shall our starglobe contain? We would have the strong and the soothing and sweet, the loving and the beautiful. The stories with the 'happily ever after'. Nothing to startle the sleep or disturb the dreams. They need not be all historical." In her own mind's eye, Luna wanted to be sure to include the small, yet persistent illusion of a small alicorn and her beloved older sister, wandering and weaving among the stars and illusions together.