Me and My Daughters

Intermission: A Thousand Little Love Stories. Part 2

Celestia wasn't used to leaving the castle with such frequency, but Canterlot was such a new and thriving city, she couldn't help but explore. The mountain served as a beautiful change of scenery compared to the dull Everfree citadel; the surroundings of the forest's thick foliage made it resemble a haunted town more than a proper capital.

By every means Canterlot was an exciting town; everyday inhabitants from all around Equestria arrived to help each other build beautiful houses and shops, and it seemed to grow a little more each day. Already, it was becoming a city fit for royalty.

Canterlot Castle was another story altogether. While it was certainly a feat of architecture by itself, as not many ponies would take on the challenge to build a castle hanging from a mountain, it still lacked the charisma of a proper palace; as beautiful as marble and gold looked, they would never be a fit replacement for the more gothic style of stone and... silver...

She really needed to take her mind off... her. It wasn't healthy to wallow in sadness and self-loathing. Luna might have been gone, but Equestria wasn't, and her little ponies still needed her. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed to move on. Perhaps that was the reason she moved the capital to the once small, unknown settlement that would become Canterlot.

The move wasn't exactly planned. The weeks following her and Nightmare Moon's debacle, Celestia couldn't stop crying—she didn't sleep, didn't eat. How could she? Her own sister, her oldest friend, was lost, corrupted, trapped in the moon for a thousand years. Some days she couldn't even raise the moon, forcing her ponies to the dangers of a completely void night, no moon and no stars to watch over them.

It wasn't until the dawn of the first month since the tragedy that she showed her face once again in the court. With her filthy coat and disheveled mane, nobody dared to say a word, not even the haughty nobles who had cheered the moment Luna left Equestria.

Everything seemed so different for her then; the same gardens she used to cherish were now gray and devoid of life, and her little ponies that she once had seen so pure and kind were brutal things, spoiled and uncaring. She couldn't remember how many noble houses she disbanded that day; it was all very fuzzy in her memory, but she recalled clearly that it was the day she decided to move from the Everfree. She just wanted to get away from all the pain that came with those familiar walls.

And she finally found solace—after months of looking for a suitable place to call home—in a tiny village on top of a mountain, which would later evolve into the utopia known as Canterlot. She didn't know if it was the scenery or the ponies living there that had convinced her to stay, but there she was, walking around the would-be capital disguised as a simple commoner to prevent causing a ruckus.

"'Ey! You 'dere! Ya wanna order somethin', or ya jus' gonna stare at de glass?" The rough accent of a stallion caught her off guard, as her wandering eyes whipped up to meet his gaze.

Celestia cringed at the shopkeeper; the cakes she'd been eyeing looked really good, but she had already spent a couple of hours roaming about the city, and her absence was sure to cause panic in the castle. "Um, I'm running late, I don't think I can—"

"Nonsense, everybody has time for dessert. Take your pick, everything's delicious," the stallion said, gently pushing Celestia's disguised form inside the store. Pointing to a gold-maned pegasus in the back, he shouted, "'Ey Surprise! Serve dis mare somethin' to eat, the house special if ya will!"

Some business strategy, pushing your customers into your store, Celestia mused, getting used to the uncommon sights within. This particular bakery was completely different from the stores back in the Everfree; multiple tables allowed its customers to sit inside the store while serving them whatever plates they desired, like a tavern, but without the alcohol.