>You breathe a content sigh as the door clicks shut behind you.
>Despite being a part of the castle, your family's personal chamber feels like a world of its own.
>The moment you step over the threshold, the troubles and stress of the busy castle just seem to melt away into oblivion.
>Diplomatic disputes, budget blueprints, resource recourses and military methodologies,  none of it mattered any longer.
>You were home.
>The only things on your mind now were your two favorite mares in the whole world.
>Speaking of which, as you resign your cloak to a hanger, you notice a young satyr bent over the writing desk on the far side of the room.
>Approaching her, you can see crayons of various colours scattered haphazardly about the desk.
>You even take note of one or two lying on the floor.
"Hey sweetie, you hard at work there?" You ask, kneeling down by her side.
>"Hey daddy," she says without looking up from her craft.
"Making a drawing are we?"
>"Mmmhhmmm," she hums happily, turning to face you with a big smile.
"Mind if I have a look?"
>She shakes her head, pulling back slightly to allow you a better view.
>Your eyes take in the painting.
>Drawn in bright colours, it shows a white pony, a green man and a pink satyr, all smiling together in a field of colourful flowers under a bright sun.
>You look over at your daughter again, a smile growing on your face.
"Well I'll be damned, not even 10 year old and you're already a better artist than your old man," you say as you reach over and ruffle her hair.
>She frowns at the disarray on her head, before looking back at you with soft eyes.
>"So, you like it then?" She asks in a meek voice.
"It's beautiful, sweetie," you reassure her.
>She looks over at her drawing again, and then back to you.
>"Do you think mommy will like it too?"
"She's going to love it."
>Any trepidation on her face is gone in an instant.
>You almost feel the need to shield your eyes from the brightness of her smile.
>"I was thinking about taking it with me when we go on our picnic tomorrow, and giving it to her there."
"That sounds like a great plan."
>You pat her on the back before rising to your feet.
"But if you want it to be a suprise, you might want to clean up these crayons. Mommy should be comming home soon."
>She looks back over at the desk in surprise, as if only now noticing the mess she's made.
>At the sudden sound of a door handle creaking, both of your heads snap to the front door.
>It slides open and a white alicorn steps into your home, levitating a big stack of scrolls infront of her.
>You and your daughter turn to look at each other.
"Don't worry, I'll buy you some more time," you half-whisper to her.
>You leave Dawn to frantically gather all her crayons, as you walk over to your wife.
"Hey honey," you say, trying to put yourself inbetween Celestia and Dawn.
>"Hello dear," you hear her reply from behind her scrolls.
"Your advisors gave you some homework, huh?"
>"Something like that, yes," she says with a sigh as she heads for her study.
>You walk by her side, and open the door for her.
>She steps inside, dumping the scrolls onto her desk before turning to look at you with tired eyes.
>She takes a few steps towards you, and you instinctively move in to embrace her.
>Her wings flare out, wrapping around you, pulling you close as your arms encircle her neck.
>You feel the rise and fall of her chest as she breathes a sigh of relief.
>"It's good to see you," she says, squeezing you tightly. "It's been such a long day."
"At least you're home now," you say, planting a kiss on her neck.
>"Yes, but there's still work to be done," she says dejectedly, breaking your hug.
>"I got stuck in a budget meeting all afternoon, much longer than planned," she begins explaining.
>That's Dust Whiskers for you.
>"So I didn't even have time to start looking through these orders," she continues, motioning a hoof at the mountain of scrolls resting on her desk.
>"And they need to be sorted before the big meeting tomorrow evening."
>You look over at her desk, sizing up the work.
>It's an impressive stack of papers she's got.
"You think you can finish on time? With our picnic tomorrow, there won't be much time for work."
>She sighs deeply.
>"I think we shall have to postpone our trip out tomrorrow."
"What? Not again?" You lament. "Dawn has been so excited to go."
>"I know..."
>You can see the pain in her eyes.
>"I wish there was some other way, but if these orders aren't done by tomorrow, the kingdom loses some very vital trade deals."
>"We'll just have to push our little getaway back for next week."
>You are about to open your mouth to speak, when you hear a crash from the other room.
>You and Celestia share a quick look before stepping back out of the study.
>As you come through the doorway, you just manage to catch a glimpse of Dawn disappearing into her room, before the door slams shut behind her.
>A box of crayons has been thrown across the room, its contents scattered across the floor.
>Dawn's drawing has drifted to the ground and been left lying there.
>Celestia walks over to it, staring down at the colourful piece of the happy family.
>You can see her heart sink as her eyelids flutter closed.
>You sigh.
>So much for forgetting the troubles of the castle.
 
>It was late.
>Way past your bedtime.
>Daddy would be really angry if he knew you were still awake.
>But you have a good reason.
>You were Dawn, and you had been sulking in your room the whole evening.
>When you heard mommy say that the picnic was pushed back yet again, you just felt like being alone.
>At first, you were mad.
>You were angry at how unfair everything was.
>Then you calmed down, and you were just sad.
>You just wanted to spend some time outside the castle with mommy and daddy, doing things like a normal family.
>But the castle always seemed to get in your way.
>But now, you were determined.
>You wanted to go on this picnic. You knew daddy wanted to, and mommy as well.
>The only thing stopping you was a stack of papers.
>So all you had to do, was make the papers go away.
>You can't believe you didn't realize it sooner. It was so simple.
>Putting an ear against your door, you listen for any sounds of activity.
>You're pretty sure mommy and daddy went to sleep a while ago. But you could never be too sure.
>The sound of silence bolsters your courage, and you place a hand on the door handle.
>Carefully, slowly, you push the handle down.
>As the door soundlessly drifts open, you peer anxiously out into the darkness.
>The door to your parents' bedroom was closed.
>You hold your breath, straining your ears, and faintly make out the sound of your daddy's snores.
>Your confidence grows.
>The hardest part was done.
>The papers are the easy part.
>You've seen how mommy puts her sigil on them in the past.
>It didn't look very hard.
>This should be a cakewalk.
 
>You start to stir from your sleep when you feel your blanket move.
>Absently, you struggle against the pull of the blanket.
>It tries to pull away, but you hug it tighter.
>"Anonymous, please..." You hear your blanket plead in a tired voice.
>Wait a minute.... Blankets don't talk.
>You crack an eye open and find a weary looking Princess Celestia staring down at you.
>One of her wings is tightly locked in your arms, covering your naked torso.
>A sheepish grin spreads on your face as you release her appendage.
>As she folds her wing in, you sit up and lean against her form.
>You wrap an arm around her, and enjoy the warmth emanating from her coat.
"Mmmm, can't you stay in bed just a little longer?"
>You feel her body relax and slump against yours.
>"Don't tempt me, Anon. The sun does not rise on its own."
>You bury your face in her mane and take a deep whiff, savoring her essence.
"You're all the sun I need, we could just stay in bed forever."
>Your head moves up slightly, finding her ear.
>You take it into your mouth and begin to nibble on it softly.
>"Anon..."
>Your arms encircle her completely as your hands begin to travel across her body.
>They glide slowly over her chest, and gently caress her neck.
>"A-Anon~"
>Glorious, great, white wings suddenly flare open, pushing you back down into the sheets.
>Celestia rises from the bed and shoots you a dirty look.
>"You are a terrible husband, starting this up when you know I have to leave."
>You sport a huge, shit-eating grin.
"How about we pick this back up later tonight then?"
>"You bet your flank we will," she says before stepping out of the room.
>Still smiling, you lean back onto your pillow.
 
>Before long, the rays of the waking sun peak in through the windows.
>It really feels like it's too early to be morning already.
>But that's what you get for sitting up late last night.
>You and Celestia stayed up longer than usually, working on the orders.
>You feel like you got a nice chunk of the work done, but it sure took its toll on your slepp.
>You lay there and contemplate getting out of bed, when Celestia comes back into the bedroom.
>She's practically beaming with joy.
>"Anonymous, come quickly. You have to see this."
"See what?" You ask, but she's already gone.
>You grumble to yourself as you force your body out of the warm, velvety embrace of the bed.
>Yawning as you step out of the bedroom, you find Celestia in her study.
>She smiles and points to the papers on the desk. "Look."
>"We must have gotten more work done last night than I thought we did, there's hardly any left."
>You eye up the unattended orders.
>You seem to recall leaving a considerably larger pile behind when you went to sleep last night.
>But you're not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"We could finish this up in a matter of minutes."
>"I know, and then we can start preparing for our picnic," she says, grinning ear to ear.
>It warmed you to the core to see Celestia so happy, especially after how crestfallen she'd been last night.
"She is going to be so happy."
>Celestia nods fondly. "Yes, let us finish these orders, and then we can wake her up and have breakfast as a family."
"I like the sound of that."
 
>You could get used to days like this one.
>Days that made you forget all your worries, and made you really appreciate what you had.
>You had spent the whole day with your two favorite mares.
>Dawn hadn't stopped smiling all day.
>After having breakfast, the three of you had wandered the city, picking up supplies for your picnic.
>When you started to grow hungry again, Celestia magicked you away to a green field covered in wildflowers.
>You spent the afternoon there as a family, eating, laughing, playing and just laying in the grass, enjoying the sunlight.
>When the evening started crawling closer, you had to head back home though.
>Celestia still had her important meeting.
>With a flash of her horn, you were back in Canterlot, outside the castle walls.
 
>"And then it took Cloverhoof two hours of searching the library before he realized that his pen was behind his ear the entire time," Dawn finishes a story about her teacher as you approach the castle entrance.
>The three of you share a laugh when a guardpony comes running up to you.
>Your laughter fades away as you see the serious look on his face.
>"Your Highness," he blurts out, facing Celestia. "Your presence is requested at the meeting room for a crisis meeting."
"Crisis?" You say unison with your wife.
>Never a dull moment in this castle.
>You make your way to the meeting room post haste, all three of you.
>As you step inside, the gathered crowd of advisors and counsellors all turn their attention to Celestia.
>"What is the meaning of this meeting?" Her voice bellows.
>"Princess," Dust Whiskers, the head economics advisor, steps forward. "The orders you put your sigil on were sent out to our merchants as usually, but..."
>He goes silent for a bit, as if unsure of how to explain himself.
>"We just fail to follow your reasonings for approving some of these orders," he continues.
>"Whatever do you mean?" Celestia ask.
>"Well, if I may ask, why would the city need fifty tons of goat cheese?" He says, presenting a scroll with Celestia's sigil on it. "Or what about one thousand boxes of Gorilla Munch cereal?"
>Celestia levitates some of the offending scrolls over to her.
>"I have never seen these orders before," she says, studying them with a perplexed look on her face. "And yet, they carry my sigil."
"But your sigil is magic, right?" You interject. "Aren't you the only one who can use it?"
>"Well, technically, I guess my sister could use it as well..."
>You hear the door creak open behind you.
>"But I don't really believe Luna would do something like this."
>"Who could have done it then?" Dust Whiskers speaks up again.
>Celestia brings a hoof to her chin in contemplation.
>"Hmmm, the only other pony that I can possbily imagine being able to operate my sigil would be..."
>Her voice fades away as she turns to look behind her, at the now open door.
>Everyone else in the room follow her gaze and turn their attention to Dawn, who has frozen in place, halfway out the door.
>She smiles sheepishly.
>"Now, mommy, before you jump to any conclusions, I just want to say that, uhh..." Your daughter says, as she slowly begins moving further out the door.
>"I regret nothing," she finishes, before slamming the door shut behind her.
>You hear hoofsteps echoing down the hall as she bolts away.
>You sigh and shake your head as your wife bursts through the door, hot on your daughter's trail.
>Forget about the castle.
>You'll never have a dull moment with these two mares.
 
 
 
 
Man, these stories just keep increasing in word count and decreasing in cuteness. I should probably stop.