This one's for Shadow Beam, who asked for a scene of the Royal Sisters in The Kettle (a tea shop run by two of my OCs). I'm not sure this entirely follows what you asked for in your prompt, but I hope you enjoy it anyway

If you like what you see here, you can request your own flash fiction in the comments here or on this blog post (which also explains the rules for requests)!

Chamomile and Ginseng bustled about their beloved tea shop, making sure that everything was in its place before turning the sign hanging in the window from “closed” to “open”. From there, the two positioned themselves behind the counter, where Ginseng anxiously awaited the first customer, feeling more than ready for the day ahead.

Once the first two customers opened the door however, Ginseng felt entirely caught off guard. There was no way she could have prepared herself for this.

Walking towards her were none other than the royal sisters themselves, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Neither of the twin shopkeepers could help but stare up at the regal pair, stunned by their presence. Princess Celestia seemed to notice this, as she let out a quiet giggle before speaking.

“Good morning my little ponies. My sister and I would like a pot of your dragonwell green tea, if you would be so kind as to brew it for us.”

Chamomile had the dragonwell tea canister off the shelf and was measuring out the amount of leaves she would need before the princess had even finished her sentence, leaving Ginseng to speak with the princess alone.

“Of, of course princess! That will be right out!” Ginseng replied a little louder than was necessary.

“Wonderful. Thank you so much.” Celestia levitated enough bits for the tea along with a very, very large tip onto the counter before her and her sister took their seats.

Ginseng turned to her sister and whispered. “Chami… I’m not dreaming am I?”

Chamomile didn’t feel the need to whisper, but she kept her voice down. “You are not, those two are really here, and in a few minutes you’ll be bringing them this pot of tea.”

Ginseng spent every second of those few minutes nearly bouncing in anticipation before the tea was ready, and then carried it over to the princesses with two cups.

“Enjoy your tea” was all she could manage to get out. Both of the princesses thanked her before she returned to the counter.

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh,” she muttered to her sister.

“Yes, I know, I know.” Though Chamomile was much more composed, deep down she was every bit as excited.

Though they both tried not to be nosy, they couldn’t help but watch the two out of the corners of their eyes.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Ginseng asked quietly.

“I couldn’t say, though they’re starting to look rather heated. It must be something important.”

“Like what? Do you think there’s trouble, like a potential war or a threat against Equestria?”

“Careful not to let your imagination run away with you Ginnie,” she chided with a small smile. “I would imagine it’s just politics, nothing to worry about.”

Ginseng nodded, and the two tried to get back to focusing on their work.

“You can be so obstinate sometimes, sister. Why can you not just trust my judgment here?” Luna asked.

“I do trust you sister. It’s just that I’ve known Twilight since she was a filly, I know what she likes best.”

“Yet you still wish to give her the most obvious gift a pony could think of.”

Celestia frowned at this, her usual composure beginning to crack. “It may seem like an obvious choice, but that’s because it’s something she loves. Besides, she’ll want a practical gift, and nothing would be more practical than keeping her library up to date.”

“Birthday gifts are not supposed to be practical, they are supposed to be fun, and I don’t see how she’ll have any fun with a bunch of reference books.”

“The Encyclopedia Equestria can be very enjoyable for somepony as interested in learning as Twilight Sparkle. Besides,” she grinned mischievously. “If you really want to give her an exciting gift, then perhaps you should suggest something that will allow her to do more than look at the stars.”

Luna huffed. “I’ll have you know that astronomy and stargazing can be very exciting. One can hardly help being in awe of the stars, especially Twilight. She greatly enjoys taking her telescope out to look at the stars, and unlike your books, it provides an activity that she can do with her friends.”

“Yes, it is something she can do with her friends, with the perfectly suitable telescope she already has.”

“She also already has a copy of the Encyclopedia Equestria.”

“It’s an old edition!”

“So is the telescope!”

Both ponies paused, letting out a frustrated huff. They each poured tea into their mugs and levitated them, glaring at each other over the brim of the cup.