I'm sorry, so so sorry.


Fear was a strange thing, Twilight mused to herself as their train smoothly arrived at the Canterlot station. While she didn't feel it as acutely as some ponies did, she had known her fair share of tense moments. But the terror she'd felt when facing down the many threats to Equestria she and her friends had dealt with over the past year paled in comparison to the anxiety that gnawed away at her now. The fear that had settled in her stomach days ago, and had slowly grown larger and larger the closer she came to seeing Luna again. She'd barely been aware of their train ride to Canterlot, or the song and dance number that Pinkie had burst into to convince the crew to make an early trip especially for them, lost as she was in her own world of worry.

She'd planned out the moment of their reunion countless times, imagining how perfect it would be, fearing how badly it could go, and hoping how wonderful it might turn out as she and Luna raced into each others hooves. By the time the train had come to a complete stop and they'd descended onto the platform, Twilight had built up the moment in her mind so much so that she felt as if she were heading to a life defining test. One that she'd studied for extensively, but one she didn't know the answers to, and one that wouldn't be as simple as hatching a dragon.

Honestly, there hadn't been anything in her almost bi-daily correspondence with Luna to make her feel anxious about their meeting. It was just a bit nerve racking to see her after being separated for so many months, er, weeks. What if Luna wasn't as Twilight remembered? What if she'd grown cold and distant toward her for some reason? Did she really have a chance at winning a princess' love? Or anypony's as wonderful as Luna? Maybe Luna had found somepony else, somepony more beautiful, or more intelligent than Twilight. Well, maybe more beautiful at least.

Doubts that would have seemed ridiculous to her only the day before now multiplied and twisted through her mind like a parasprite infestation. Her thoughts were so tangled; she was blind to the beautiful morning, to how the streets leading to the palace practically glowed in the early morning sunlight. In fact, she struggled to keep up with her friends as they raced toward the resplendent palace and through its wide doors, following their well-worn path to the throne room.

"What's the matter, Twilight?" Spike asked from just over her shoulder. "That's the fifth time you sighed since we got off the train. Aren't you happy to be coming back to Canterlot? I mean, you've been talking about it nonstop for weeks now."

"Of course I am, Spike. I'm just ... tired, from waking up so early."

"Boy, tell me about it," Spike replied with a yawn. Twilight could feel him shift his weight on her back. "I was able to grab a nap on the train, but I'm still bushed."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, because you really worked up such a sweat yesterday."

"Hey, it's exhausting watching you pace back and forth. Besides, I'm a growing dragon, I need my beauty sleep."

"Uh huh," Twilight replied, her unconvinced tone a bit more relaxed than before. Their brief tete-a-tete had chased away some of her anxiety, but it still lurked in the recesses of her mind as they approached the throne room.

But still, she hesitated before the large, closed doors separating her from Luna. Her friends stood by her, their smiles slowly fading as another bout of anxiety gripped her. This was it. She still had the opportunity to turn back now, go back to Ponyville and let things continue the way they were. She'd still have her daily correspondence with Luna and Princess Celestia. She'd still be both their friends. Sure everypony would question her actions, but she'd be safe, and nothing would change. However, if she opened the door, if she crossed the threshold, nothing would be the same ever again. If she saw Luna now, feeling the way she did, Twilight knew she'd have to pursue their relationship to whatever end it was destined for. She hoped, desperately wanted it to be something more than friendship, but she feared that it might end up as something less. What if Luna didn't feel the way she did and was driven away by the intensity of her emotions? What if she ended up hating Twilight, thinking that she was weird? Same sex relationships had existed a thousand years ago, but they hadn't been anywhere near as popular as in the present. What if …

What if Rainbow Dash took the decision out of her hooves? With a tone of voice bordering on impatient, Rainbow Dash said, "What are we waiting around here for? Let's go!" and threw wide the double doors. She jetted into the room, forcing the others to rush in after her to catch up.

Soft morning light filled the room, creating a warm, welcoming, yet almost ethereal feeling. The only other ponies in the room were the princesses and thanks to a trick of the light, for a moment it seemed to Twilight as if they were both sparkling. Princess Celestia was facing away from the door, her voluminous mane and tail hiding her from view. Luna on the otherhoof was facing the door, but her eyes were locked on Celestia's with a determined cast, a slight crease between her eyebrows and a set jaw. Her attention was drawn to the door which banged open and as she beheld Twilight, her eyes softened and her lips blossomed into a smile.

A bit belatedly everypony fell into a respectful bow, Twilight included. The abrupt movement caused Spike to slide forward and he tumbled end over end off of Twilight. Concerned, she looked up from where she was crouched to find him rubbing the back of his head, giving her a rather dirty look. Twilight winced in sympathy and shot him an apologetic smile.

Rainbow Dash was the first pony to stand up. Proudly she said, "See, I told you we'd surprise them."

"Indeed you have," Princess Celestia's melodic voice range out. Twilight stood up and she heard everypony else behind her rise back to their hooves as well. Princess Celestia had turned around to greet them and both princesses stood side by side, wearing nearly identical expressions of quizzical joyfulness. This close, it was easy to see the familial resemblance.

"Twilight, you're here!" Luna happily said.

"And as usual, you're more than punctual, my dear student," Princess Celestia added. "We weren't expecting you for another few hours at least."

"Oh, well, Pinkie Pie was able to convince the crew of the Ponyville train to make an early run just for us," Twilight explained.

"It was super easy," Pinkie chimed in. "All it took was a little singing and dancing and soon everypony was raring to get to Canterlot."

She took a deep breath and stepped forward, probably preparing to burst into the song from the morning, to let the princesses know just what they'd missed. However, before she could begin, Rarity pushed her way past her. "In fact, so much so that several of trainponies volunteered to transport our baggage for us."

A flicker of recognition crossed Princess Celestia's face. "I see. Then we should reward those gentlecolts by letting them get back to their train as soon as possible and setting down their no doubt heavy loads. Besides which, I'm sure you all need a bit of refreshment after your trip."

She nodded to Luna who called out to somepony beyond Twilight, "Gimlet Lime, if you would, please escort our guests to their rooms."

Twilight looked back to find several ponies had followed them into the throne room without her noticing. One of the mares wearing glasses and a stern expression nodded respectfully, acknowledging Luna's order.

"Actually, on second thought, I believe I'll escort them myself," Luna said charmingly. "It will give us some time to catch up with one another."

"That's a wonderful idea, Luna." Princess Celestia replied. "I believe I'll join you. I've been looking forward to spending time with Twilight and all her friends."

Twilight turned back around just in time to catch Luna shooting Princess Celestia an inscrutable look before she nodded and smiled. Only this time it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Well then, I suppose we should be on our way."

She strode forward, passing tantalizingly close to Twilight, leaving a familiar scent in her wake that caused a longing to weal within her. The ponies from Ponyville, as well as the group from the palace, parted to either side to give her room. Princess Celestia followed only a step behind her sister. At the door, Luna looked back at them expectantly before turning to the left slightly. Princess Celestia cleared her throat slightly causing Luna to turn to the right.

Princess Celestia looked over Luna's back at something down the hallway. "Well, it appears the porters are here with your things. Let's show them where to set them down."

"Let's go!" Pinkie cheerfully agreed, bouncing out after them, the rest of the ponies from Ponyville following her out of the throne room. Twilight paused long enough to lift Spike back up onto her shoulders.

As they passed through the doors, Twilight looked back the way they'd come and saw a veritable mountain of chests, bags, boxes, and various packages slowly moving down the long, ornate carpet covering the stone floor. Looking more closely, there was a poor pony, his legs almost at right angles to his body, shaking under the strain, sweat pouring down his face, bravely moving ever forward under the weight of his load. Beyond him she could see at least two more comparably burdened stallions. Her heart went out to them, but they had volunteered to carry Rarity's baggage, so they had nopony to blame but themselves.

Still, she turned and began to walk quickly, soon catching up to and walking abreast with Princess Celestia and Luna. The sooner they reached the guest rooms, the sooner the poor ponies would be able to put down their heavy load.

The trip through the palace was short. After a few twists and turns they left the polished stone and gilded fixtures of the palace's hallways behind and stepped through an open door and across a short expanse of close cropped grass. One of the many colorfully decorated towers that were spread across the palace was before them. Twilight recognized it as one of the ones reserved for visiting dignitaries and thus one of the ones she hadn't frequented often. Princess Celestia continued to lead the way to the shallow, wide quartz stairs which circled the vibrant tower. As they ascended, Twilight felt a moment of nostalgia. The wall of the tower they climbed was decorated in a myriad of colorful designs made up of a wide range of different materials.

"I hope the rooms will be suitable for you all," She said, looking back over her shoulder at Twilight and the others as they climbed. "I'm afraid that we're still cleaning the feathers out of our other guest rooms, so at the moment, these are all we have to offer you." They'd completed a circuit around the tower and had arrived at a round wooden door in the wall, painted a golden yellow. It was almost as wide as it was tall, which was just barely higher than the tip of Princess Celestia's horn. With an apologetic smile, she turned around fully and with a tug of her magic, pushed the door open.

It swung inward, revealing a large, circular room paneled in a rich cherry red wood. Thick, substantially built wooden furniture was spread across a hoof-stitched carpet that filled the room. Each piece had clean, simple lines, but was intricately carved with tiny stylized ponies frozen in the midst of everyday activities. The light filling the room was provided by large windows made up of a myriad of tiny mosaiced crystals. The decorations and festive designs on the exterior of the tower skillfully incorporated the semi-opaque stones. A faint breeze wafted through the open door carrying the smell of furniture polish, linseed oil, and the cherry wood panels to them.

Applejack was the first pony to step forward to examine the room. After a moment, with a wide smile, she said appreciatively, "Why, ah don't think we'll have any trouble atall fitting in here." She stepped fully into the room and turned a slow circle, taking in all the details. "Other than figuring out the sleeping situation that is," she added with a nod toward the fact that there were only two beds in the room, on opposite walls from one another. "But I reckon we'll be cozier than a duck in down."

Princess Celestia replied, "I'm glad you like it, Applejack. But you all won't have to share it. There are still two more rooms above this one. So while you will have to share, at least it won't be overly cramped."

"Oh." Applejack said thoughtfully, her smile faltering for a moment. "Well, ah'll take this one then. It's not too far off the ground, and it kind of reminds me of home," she said with a nod of satisfaction.

"Bed check!" Pinkie Pie called out loudly as she raced past Applejack and leapt high into the air. She twisted around as she fell, landing back first on one of the sturdy looking beds. She hit the homespun bedspread and bounced a few times before coming to a rest. She wore a thoughtful expression, as if thinking something of great importance over as she sat up. She sat on the edge of the bed, bouncing a few more times.

Nonplussed, Princess Celestia turned her attention from Pinkie back to the rest of the group. "Well then, on to the rest of the rooms."

Luna was smiling in amusement at Pinkie's antics, and while Princess Celestia turned to begin climbing the stairs once more, Luna's warm eyes caught Twilight's. For an instant, it felt as if they were sharing their own private, secret moment. Twilight could feel the slight warmth of a blush on her cheeks as she unconsciously smiled back at the princess. Their eyes remained locked for what seemed like forever, until the last possible moment when Luna turned around to follow her sister. The spell broken, Twilight quickly glanced around, hoping that none of her friends had seen the silent exchange.

Thankfully, it didn't look like any of them had. Applejack was busy pushing Pinkie Pie toward the door of the room while Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked on. Meanwhile, Rarity was looking back with a touch of anxiety on her face, watching the first of the porters reaching the landing they were standing on, looking hopefully at the open door of the room. With a sigh of relief, Twilight willed her heart to slow its pounding and with a wide grin, she began to make her way up the stairs again.

Another circuit of the staircase brought them to a landing that transitioned into a balcony cut into the tower. The slight stone edge that served as a safety wall for the stairs was replaced by polished oaken rails and balusters gleaming in the morning sunlight. Peeping between the balusters and hanging over the wooden rails were several lotus flowers of differing hues, still heavy with the morning dew. They grew from narrow troughs of still water slightly sunk into the surface of the perimeter of the balcony. A few fat bees meandered amongst the flowers, taking in the heady perfume they filled the air with. There was a door leading from the balcony into the tower that was nearly identical to the one from the floor below, save that it was painted a vibrant red.

This door opened outward, cloaked in the soft glow of Princess Celestia's magic. Eagerly, the whole group pushed forward to better see the room, their hooves clattering against the seamlessly fitted boards of the balcony. The room beyond was slightly smaller than the one below, owing to the space taken up by the added balcony. However, it was still much larger than Twilight's bedroom back in Ponyville.

In lieu of paneling, the walls of this room were made up almost entirely of the semi-translucent crystals. They were so tightly spaced that it seemed less like the walls were solid, and more like the room simply stretched out infinitely. An invitingly thick, soft white carpet covered the majority of the room's floor. There were only a few pieces of pristine white painted furniture to break up the gentle light pouring in from the crystalline windows. The most prominent pieces being two beds, both hidden under thick white duvets, making them seem less like furniture and more like clouds that had just happened to form indoors.

"Wow," Rainbow Dash said succinctly.

"I'm afraid the décor is a bit minimalistic, but hopefully the beds will make up for it," Princess Celestia said. "They come from the finest craftsponies in Equestria and are said to be as soft as a real cloud."

With a snort of amusement, Luna interjected, "Not quite." Seeing everypony else's questioning gaze directed at her, she hastily explained, "That is, they're quite exceptional mattresses. However, I wouldn't go so far as saying that they're the same as sleeping in the sky. They might take some getting used to if you're not accustomed to modern beds." She trailed off awkwardly, a slight blush darkening her elegant cheekbones.

"Oh, that's quite all right," Fluttershy spoke up from behind them. She'd paused to smell the flowers but now stepped forward to help Luna. "I sleep in a regular bed all the time back home, so I'm sure that these will be just lovely, Luna."

"Yeah, and I can sleep pretty much anywhere, so don't sweat it, PL," Rainbow Dash added.

Luna's posture relaxed, mollified over her slight breach of etiquette. "Well, if you do have any complaints with the sleeping arrangements –"

She was caught off guard and cut short by a blur of pink speeding by them shouting out, "Bed check!" Once more, Pinkie Pie leapt high into the air aiming for one of the beds. This time though she landed without any bouncing at all. Instead she sank deeply into the bedspread, almost disappearing from sight. Ever so slowly the mattress rebounded, gradually pulling Pinkie out of its depths.

"Nope, too soft," She finally decided while still lying on her back.

Twilight couldn't help sighing and closing her eyes as she rubbed her forehead with her hoof. She loved her friends, really she did. But did they really have to try their best to embarrass her at every opportunity?

"Whoa, nice one, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said appreciatively. "But watch this!" Without any further warning, she launched herself toward the room's ceiling, rebounding off of it to slam face-first into the unoccupied bed at a wincingly fast speed. Unlike Pinkie, Rainbow Dash did disappear completely into the soft white confines of the comforter, driving it so far into the bed that only the hemmed edges peeked above the surface.

"Oh my, I hope she's all right," Fluttershy said worriedly.

Twilight hoped so too. But a small part of her snidely answered her question from before. Apparently her friends did have to try their best to embarrass her as much as possible. Maybe there were still some aspects of friendship that she didn't know about since she was sure that she'd never embarrassed any of them the same way.

A cyan hoof followed by a rainbow hued mane rose out of the crater in the middle of the bed and with her usual energy, Rainbow Dash popped fully out, hovering slightly over its surface. "Aw yeah. If bed diving was a sport, I'd be number one in Equestria!"

Relieved that Rainbow Dash was fine, Twilight's thoughts switched from concern back to embarrassment. She hurriedly stepped between the princesses and the rest of her friends. "Well, I think everypony loves the beds. We should probably keep going now."

Princess Celestia chuckled. "All right, Twilight. Let's be on our way."

They continued their climb up the stairs, completing one last circuit around the tower, now high above the grounds of the palace. This time instead of coming to a landing, they continued climbing to the dome which topped the tower. The bottom of its teardrop shape jutted out past the wall of the tower and had a hole cut into it which the stairs led to. As they passed through the opening, Twilight felt the slight tug of magic pulling at her mane and coat. It seemed that since there wasn't a real door, somepony had set a force field over the opening to keep the elements and the insects at bay.

They finally reached the top of the stairs and Twilight felt a pleasant tug at her heart, almost like she was returning home. The room wasn't as large as the one she'd had when living in Canterlot previously, but it was still impressive. The outer walls followed the shape of the dome closely, causing the ceiling to come to a point high overhead. Thick oak planks made up the floor, mostly obscured by several rugs of various sizes and designs. The walls were plastered with an off-white, almost greyish color, ending halfway up the dome. The rest of the walls and ceiling were dark blue, covered with a dizzying array of white lines of different shapes and lengths. It took Twilight a moment to realize they were constellations, ones from halfway around the world. In between the stars were a cluster of circular skylights providing light for the room. Through their normal glass panes, a few wispy clouds were visible in the blue morning sky.

A few sturdy tables were spread around the room while bureaus, wardrobes, and cabinets dominated most of the wall space. There were only two bookcases in the entire room, both located in a small loft erected on the far side of the room from the stairs. Like the previous rooms, there were two identical beds across the room from one another. These ones both had canopies and were draped with patchwork quilts made up of various heraldry.

Spike gave a whistle of appreciation and Twilight silently agreed with him as she gazed around appreciatively, walking slowly to the center of the room. Behind them, Rarity finished climbing the stairs and took a few steps away from the stairwell, commenting, "Oh yes, this room is simply perfect."

"It is," Twilight agreed, her eyes trailing down from the meticulously decorated ceiling to where Princess Celestia and Luna were standing. "Thank you for letting us stay here, Princess."

"Yes, thank you so very much," Rarity added.

Princess Celestia smiled awkwardly down at her, her eyes flicking to the side in remembrance for a moment. "You're both very welcome. Perhaps once you're all settled in, you'll join Luna and I at breakfast. We were just discussing it when you all arrived."

"That sounds great," Spike spoke up excitedly. "I could really go for something to eat right now."

"You can always go for something to eat," Twilight rejoined.

"Hey, I'm a growing dragon, remember?"

Without warning, Pinkie's pink form burst from the stairwell, causing everypony in the room to tense for a moment. "Bed check!" she yelled, launching herself once more across the room. However, this time she was halted in midair by Rarity's blue magic wrapping itself around her.

"Not this time, Pinkie," Rarity said sternly as she none too gently lowered Pinkie to the ground.

Pinkie Pike took note of the scowl on Rarity's face and the ice in her voice. "Yeah, well, these beds look like they might be a bit too hard anyway. I think I'll just go sleep with Applejack."

"That sounds like a great idea," Rarity curtly replied.

"Well," Luna hurriedly said, likely trying to smooth things over, "We were just discussing having breakfast, Pinkie. Why don't you go get the others together, and we'll all go out?"

Pinkie perked up and she smiled widely, "Okie Dokie, I'll go get everypony else and we'll be ready to go in two shakes of my tail." She zoomed back down the stairs, narrowly avoiding the poor ponies carrying their luggage who where shakily pulling themselves up the final steps, gasping for breath.

"We'll just let you get situated," Princess Celestia said, moving back slightly to give the overloaded ponies some room. With a node to Luna, they descended the stairs.

One of the more athletic of the stallions, who still had his breath after their climb hesitantly spoke up, "Uh, Miss Rarity, where exactly do you want these bags?"

Rarity had already moved over to one of the beds and was beginning to turn it down and straighten out the comforter. Absently she replied, "Oh, please just set them anywhere." Gingerly, ever so slowly, the porters began to set down trunk after trunk and bag after bag, quickly taking up at least a third of the room. Rarity strolled back over from the bed and watched them work; only making the occasional sound when one of them set down a trunk a little too roughly. In only a matter of minutes, the strapping young stallions had finished offloading all the luggage and were sighing in relief. "Thank you all very much," Rarity said as the last bag hit the floor. She kindly ushered the weary ponies out of the room with her thanks and a few bits each.

Alone with Twilight and Spike, Rarity effortlessly began to lift and sift through the luggage with her magic. She quickly segregated their baggage, gently floating Twilight and Spike's few bags over to one of the beds before turning to the mountain of trunks that belonged to her. With a flick of her magic, the locks all sprang open at the same time, and from the depths of the trunks sprung a set of telescoping clothes racks, already packed full with a riot of colorful clothes.

"Ah, there we are. Finally, room for them to breath. I do hope they haven't been wrinkled too badly after being knocked about by those attendants."

"If you were so worried about them, then why didn't you just carry them yourself?" Twilight asked as she walked over to her own bags.

Rarity scoffed before she replied, "A lady never carries her own bags, dear, unless there is no other alternative.

Twilight rolled her eyes as she lifted up her and Spike's things, carrying past Rarity's mobile Carousel Boutique to a wardrobe standing against the wall. "Whatever you say, Rarity. Personally, this lady is going to freshen up and then go down to breakfast." She said hanging the bags on a hook inside the wardrobe.

"I could do with a quick nose powder myself, and perhaps a quick wardrobe change, and … " Rarity pulled her head out of the racks of clothes and asked, "Twilight dear, you're not going to wear that are you?"

Twilight shot a confused glance toward Rarity, before looking down at herself, noticing that she was wearing what she normally did, which was to say, nothing.

"Well, yeah," she said as if it were self-evident.

"Oh, but you can't! You should change into something with more pizzazz, something fetching that will catch Princess Luna's eye."

"Sssh!" Twilight loudly hissed, racing across the room to hush Rarity, looking over toward the stairwell. What if Princess Celestia and Luna were still outside, listening to what they were saying?

"Whoa!" Spike said in alarm, unprepared for Twilight's quick maneuver.

"Sorry, Spike," Twilight said sincerely. She looked back to the stairs, but there wasn't anything there. So she turned back to Rarity and quietly asked, "Do you really think I should?"

Getting into the spirit of things, Rarity lowered her voice almost to an excited whisper. "Oh, I know so." She floated one of the trunks full of clothes closer and began to sort through the bevy of clothes she'd brought. "I have just the thing here, somewhere." She quickly flipped through the hanging dresses in one trunk, and then another. "Er, this might take a moment or two, Twilight. Why don't you go ahead and brush your hair and I'll find you the perfect outfit," she said absently while shooing Twilight away with a hoof.

"I'll help you Rarity," Spike said, dismounting hurridly dismounting Twilight and gallantly falling on his scaly backside.

"What's wrong with my hair?" Twilight asked with uncertainty. She raised a hoof up to check if it was out of place, but she couldn't tell. It felt normal enough. Maybe that was the problem, was it too normal?

"Oh, nothing's wrong with it, dear." Rarity turned her head slightly and set a small box on the floor. "Here Spike, please sort these gems, I'm afraid they were all mixed together on the way from Ponyville." With Spike occupied, Rarity turned her attention back to Twilight. "Nothing is wrong with it at all. It's very … you. I was simply suggesting you brush it because I know when I'm brushing my mane, it helps to calm me down. I just assumed you might be feeling a little nervous because here you are, with the love of your life, trying to win her affection and all that."

Twilight frowned in thought. She was still a bit nervous. Okay, maybe a little more nervous than a bit. And whenever she took the time to comb her coat and mane she did usually feel better. Maybe something as simple as brushing her mane could calm her down a little. "Okay, I'll be right back."

"And when you return, I'll have the most wonderful outfit for you," Rarity promised her.

Not too sure how to feel about having to change her outfit, Twilight examined the room once again and found a door skillfully blended into the wall between the two beds. She opened it to find a fairly standard, albeit relatively small bathroom. With a thought, her horn started to glow and water began to fill the sink as she levitated a wash cloth off of a nearby rack. After thoroughly soaking the cloth, she scrubbed the dirt from her face and the fatigue from her eyes. The pressure felt good; as she pulled the cool cloth away from her face and set it aside, Twilight looked up into the mirror above the sink. Automatically, she began to examine herself with a critical eye, taking in the no-nonsense cut of her bangs, the plain janeness of her coat, her unadorned ears, and her unassuming eyes. To be honest, she looked exactly like she had the day before, and the day before that, just plain old Twilight Sparkle.

Maybe Rarity was right, maybe she did need to change her image, become more eye-catching. After all, in nature, more often than not, it was the bright, colorful creatures that attracted mates, rather than the boring, drab, everyday ones. It was probably too late to change her mane, at least for today, but maybe Rarity had some lipstick, or some eye-linery stuff, or some other makup that most ponies seemed familiar with, but that had never seemed all that important to her. Until now.

While she didn't have enough time to pickup makeup tips from Rarity, the least she could do was run a comb through her mane. With that in mind, she picked up a comb, as well as a couple of brushes that had been laid out next to the sink, and straightened her already near-perfect mane while brushing the dust out of her coat until it almost glowed. Rarity had been right. She did feel more relaxed thanks to the gentle tugs pulling at her hair. Feeling refreshed, she set down the brushes and comb and gave herself a final examination in the mirror. Nothing seemed out of place. She tried smiling at herself to give her courage, but her reflection only looked nervous. With a deep breath, Twilight opened the door to the bathroom and stepped back into the bedroom.

During her time in front of the mirror, Rarity had managed to unpack all her trunks. All the wardrobes and cabinets lining the room were thrown open and packed full of clothes. Rarity stood in the middle of the room admiring her hoofwork wearing a pale cream colored hat festooned with a bouquet of flowers. She turned with a bright smile for Twilight. "Twilight, darling, I've found the perfect ensemble for you," she announced. A large, wide-brimmed sunhat circled in dark blue hydrangeas lurched across the floor. With a little magic, Rarity lifted the hat, revealing Spike, and snuggly placed it on Twilight's head. A hole near the brim was just large enough for her horn to fit through, allowing it to hide amongst the flowers.

Twilight's eyes turned upwards, trying to make out anything about her new headwear, so she hardly noticed as Rarity settled a light summer dress, the exact same shade as the hydrangeas, over her. She only realized it when she felt the tug of the various discrete straps and buttons fastening under Rarity's magical touch.

"There. Now you look perfectly prepared for a day out on the town, Twilight," Rarity said with a touch of satisfaction and an appraising smile.

"Um, thank you?" Twilight hesitantly replied, twisting her body back and forth to better see her new dress, a bit discombobulated by just how relaxed Rarity was with dressing her up.

With a flip of her mane and a swish of her tail, Rarity turned around and called over her shoulder, "Now, let's be going. It's not fashionable to keep royalty waiting."

"Plus I'm starving from helping you move all that stuff, Rarity," Spike added as he began to climb onto Twilight's back.

A light blue glow enveloped him, lifting him up and depositing him on Rarity. "Spike, dear, I'm afraid you don't quite match Twilight's color theme today. Perhaps it would be best if you spent some time with me today."

"O-okay, Rarity," Spike dreamily replied.

Twilight rolled her eyes at how easily Spike had agreed to Rarity's plans as she began to descend the stairs, following after Rarity, mindful of not stepping on the hem of her new dress. They passed the other two guest rooms on the way down, both empty. At the foot of the stairs, they found both princesses and all their friends gathered together. Luna was the first to notice their approach, and as her eyes passed over Rarity and found Twilight, they widened in surprise. Twilight hoped a good one.

Princess Celestia noticed Luna's reaction and she followed her sister's gaze. Seeing Twilight, she smiled and warmly said, "Twilight, you look wonderful in that outfit.

Warmth swelling in her chest from the praise, Twilight walked across the lawn, her cheeks flushed. "Thank you. Rarity picked it out for me." The rest of her friends gathered around an offered their appreciative comments on the dress, but Twilight's attention was dedicated to Luna. She'd composed herself and it was hard for Twilight to tell exactly how she felt about her appearance. Her stomach churned in worry until Luna said, "You look beautiful, Twilight," in a tone of voice reminiscent of somepony stating something like the sky was blue or that water was wet.

Twilight couldn't hide the goofy grin that she could feel spreading on her face at hearing Luna's words. Nor did she really want to. The day had barely begun, but already it was turning into one of the best ones she'd had ever.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting kind of hungry," Rainbow Dash declared.

"The day is passing us by," Princess Celestia observed. "We should go before breakfast turns into brunch."

Everypony chuckled appreciatively at her joke as she began to lead them toward one of the palace's exits. However, they'd just set out when a voice called out, "Princess Luna, Princess Luna, please wait!"

Everypony turned around to find a bespectacled, her obviously normally tight bun falling apart due to her cantor, breathlessly running toward them. Luna's face creased with worry and she began to briskly walk toward the harried pony, meeting her a few lengths away from the rest of the group. Twilight and the others looked on curiously while Princess Celestia's face tightened into a slight frown as Luna and the official bent their heads together, speaking quietly but urgently.

After a few moments, Luna straightened, and with a downcast expression walked back over to Twilight and the others. "I'm sorry everypony, but it seems that there are some issues that I need to personally address here."

"It's not an emergency, is it?" Princess Celestia asked with a certain gravity in her voice.

"Oh no," Luna sad with a sigh. "It's just some details about the party tomorrow, I believe. Unfortunately they require my personal attention, so please go on without me. I'll try my best to finish up here and catch up to you all later."

"Oh, that's unfortunate," Princess Celestia said, her body relaxing.

"Hopefully it won't take too long," Twilight said, saddened by the thought of not being able to eat with Luna.

"It shouldn't," Luna replied, smiling sweetly. "I'll catch up with you as soon as I'm able." She turned and fell into step with the unicorn who'd chased them down. Twilight watched forlornly as they reentered the palace together.

"Well then," Princess Celestia said. "Shall we go?"

It was still relatively early morning, so outside the palace gates, the streets of Canterlot were far from crowded. The ponies they passed paused in their morning routine to give Princess Celestia respectful bows, and to look after her companions wonderingly. Spike had moved over to Pinkie Pie's back, when Twilight wasn't paying attention, and they seemed oblivious to all the scrutiny as they carried on an animated discussion with one another. Rainbow Dash and Applejack also seemed unconcerned about the many ponies paying them attention as they surreptitiously gawked at all the colorful, magically wrought buildings that soared into the sky on all sides. Rarity, on the other hoof, seemed well aware of the attention and was strolling down the road as if it were a catwalk, her head held high, her satisfied smile making her appear all the more beautiful.

Unfortunately Fluttershy also seemed well aware of the ponies that were looking their way. She held her head low, her pace slower than the others, quickly placing her at the rear of their group. Seeing her friend in such distress, Twilight forgoed her normal place at Princess Celestia's side and dropped back to give Fluttershy what support she could.

"Hi, Fluttershy, are you doing all right?"

There was a lengthy pause before Fluttershy quietly answered, "Yes ..."

Twilight took a moment to reexamine her friend, whose posture gave off the feeling of her trying her best to melt into the street. "You sure?" she asked a bit incredulously. "I know you're a little shy around other ponies, but I thought you were doing better with being more outgoing."

"Well, that's in Ponyville, where I know everypony. It's different here. It's a whole city full of strange ponies staring at me, watching me, judging me. What if they all hate me, Twilight? What if I do something, or don't do something that makes them angry or upsets them? I don't want to upset anypony."

"Fluttershy, you're not going to upset anypony just by walking down the street. And who cares if somepony is watching you. What they think, or don't think about you doesn't make any difference."

Fluttershy sighed. "I know. But I can't help worrying about how other ponies see me. When I was a model, there were so many ponies all trying to get to meet me and coming up to me in the streets all the time. What if somepony recognizes me and wants to come talk to me, or they're disappointed that I left modeling. I don't want to disappoint anypony, Twilight."

"You've never disappointed anypony, Fluttershy. I'm sure that all your fans can respect your decision, and besides, fads only last a little while in the fashion industry. I'm sure that everypony's forgotten about you by now."

"Really?" Fluttershy asked hopefully. Twilight wondered how many other ponies would be excited by the prospect of not being popular.

"I'm sure of it. It seems like it's in pony nature to gradually lose interest in strangers and to move on to the next flavor of the month. But the ponies who really care about you won't ever forget you, Fluttershy, and you couldn't ever do anything to hurt them or disappoint them."

Fluttershy smiled for Twilight and simply said, "Thank you." Her head had risen during their conversation, and while she wasn't holding it as high as Rarity, she did seem to be a bit more at ease in her own body.

During their walk, Princess Celestia had led them down several streets and around a quite a few turns. Everypony looked up from their conversations to find that they'd arrived at a veranda-wrapped building, which dominated one corner of the intersection of two wide boulevards. Tantalizing smells of freshly sliced fruit and baking sweets wafted through the building's large open windows and there was a smattering of ponies spread amongst the tables on the veranda.

"Ah, the Caprese Cafe. They're one of my favorite caterers for the palace, especially when it comes to their breakfasts."

Standing at the entrance to the restaurant, absently shuffling through a stack of menus, was a young unicorn whose mane was held back by a headband sporting the CU emblem of Canterlot University. Noticing the shadow that fell over her from The Princess's approach, the young mare slowly looked up, her eyes dilating painfully. "P-princess Celestia!" She said as she dropped into a low bow and the menus she'd been holding clattered to the ground. She was obviously quite flustered, and seemed unable to make up her mind whether to pick up the menus or to cater to the princess.

Thankfully, she was rescued by a scarlet and grey hued earth pony who seemed to materialize from the thin air, swooping in and bowing to Princess Celestia while smoothly anouncing, "Your Majesty, it's an honor to have you come and visit us personally. I assume you and your friends are here for our breakfast. If you'll please follow me, we can seat you immediately."

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and led the way up the stairs and into the restaurant, Princess Celestia, Twilight, and the others, following closely behind, leaving the young unicorn to scrambling to pickup the menus scattered across the cobblestone street.

They swept through the dim interior of the restaurant, leaving several tables of confused customers in their wake. Obviously most ponies weren't expecting to see the princess of Equestria stroll by while they were eating their crepes. And, by the time they could figure out whether it was more appropriate to get up and bow or to stay seated and keep eating, she'd already passed on.

The older earth pony, whose wrinkles around her eyes were just beginning to betray her age, led them to the rear of the building, which opened onto an unexpected garden. Across the verdant square of grass, flowers, shrubs, and a trio of trees fed by a sparking, tinkling fountain, were the patios of the other stores and restaurants that made up the rest of the block. Each was differentiated from the next by a whimsically different architectural style, blended with vibrant colors and patterns, each unique, but which blended together to create a cohesive backdrop for the pleasant garden.

At the very edge of where the grass and the restaurant met, there was a large oval table surrounded by several overstuffed and beautifully embroidered cushions. Their hostess indicated this was their table, and the company found that there was just enough room for them all to sit close beside one another, but still remain comfortable. The old earth pony disappeared, and Princess Celestia acted as if it were a matter of course that they hadn't been offered a chance to look at the menu.

Twilight found herself sitting between Princess Celestia and Fluttershy, and in the silence of ponies settling down around the table, asked the first thing that her mind stumbled over. "So, Princess Celestia, I hope you enjoyed my last friendship report. The appendices were a little difficult to put together, but I think it was worth it."

Princess Celestia let out a soft laugh. "Yes, I agree, and the attached charts were quite ... extensive as well. I can only imagine what you had to go through in order to gather the data for them. To be honest, I'm not sure where you find the time, Twilight. Not only do you perform diligent research and write your correspondence with me, but, from what I gather, you've been sending a flurry of letters to Luna as well."

Twilight blushed and bowed her head, smiling bashfully. "Well, it's always easy finding the time to do the things you want to do. It's the things that you'd rather not be doing that are hard to fit into your schedule."

Pinkie Pie said, "Oh, yeah, like when I'm doing an inventory of the cake supplies back home and it takes forever because it's super boring. But when I'm writing a letter to my granny, I can go on and on and on for pages and pages and pages and not feel tired at all."

"Do you ever feel tired?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Of course I do, but I try to be supper excited and happy all the time, because that gets other ponies super excited and happy too."

"I'm sure the sugar helps," Rarity dryly added.

"Yes. Yes it does, but not as much as the smiles I see on everypony's faces."

Princess Celestia agreed, "It is always wonderful to see everypony smiling."

"Oh yeah, especially because when they smile, and I smile because they smile, and they smile because I smile, it's like being part of a warm, smile chain reaction."

"Hopefully it doesn't go critical," Twilight quipped.

"You're right," Pinkie said, in earnest. "I must use my powers of happiness for good."

Everypony laughed at the seriousness with which Pinkie made her vow. Spike was still laughing slightly as he said, "Somehow, I can't see you ever doing anything but good, Pinkie."

"I can," Rainbow Dash said levelly.

"As can I," Rarity added with a frown.

"What?" Pinkie asked in protest, putting both hooves on the table to lean across and get closer to Rarity. "Dash I can understand, but what did I ever do to get you mad at me, Rarity?"

Rarity looked up and met Pinkie's eyes, flatly replying, "Chimmy Cherry, or Cerrychonga. There are many other examples, but that's the one which will be forever seared into my mind."

"What's a chimmy-chonga?" Princess Celestia asked, an eyebrow arched in interest.

Pinkie's eyes grew large and she eagerly explained, "Oh, I still haven't decided whether it's a Chimmy Cherry or a Cherrychonga, but it's mashed up cherries in a -"

"Tortilla, deep fried." Rarity finished with her, using the exact same tone, even going so far as adopting a reasonably good facsimile of Pinkie's eager expression. It was a bit jarring to see the normally composed Rarity acting so free and loose, but she quickly returned to her normal self as she continued, "Yes Pinkie. After our lovely time in the desert, on our way back to Ponyville, where you spoke of nothing but that, you can't possibly wonder why I don't think everything you do is for the greater good."

"Well, what else were we going to talk about?"

"Anything and everything! There's an art to conversation, one that allows you to move from topic to topic, not belaboring a single subject for hours and hours, and hours."

"Speaking of which," Twilight broke in, not wanting to see Rarity completely lose her composure, especially not in front of Princess Celestia. "Fluttershy, how's that, uh, little wounded animal you're nursing back to health?" She turned a sickly smile upon her friend next to her.

Fluttershy stared blankly back at Twilight, before cutting her eyes away toward nopony in particular, and then back to Twilight, as clueless as before. "Um, fine?"

"Well, if you've got anymore of those honeybees, send 'em our way," Applejack said. "The last colony you gave us were some of the best pollinators we've had in years. Made some good honey too. And, they're so gentle, they'd never sting anypony, lessen you're a Cutie Mark Crusader trying for a bee keeping cutie mark anyways."

"I'm glad to hear they're doing so well. They were awfully sad when Mr. Bear accidentally destroyed their last nest looking for honey."

Applejack laughed. "Well, he's plenty welcome to some of ours. Ah think those bees visited every flower on the farm, and we've got gallons and gallons on our hooves. Why, the southeast corner's stickier than a filly in a candy store."

"Ooh, that's really sticky," Pinkie commented, nodding, obviously impressed. "I remember the last time I went to the candy store. I got my head stuck in a jar of sprinkles. I still find some on my pillow then I go to bed sometimes."

Rainbow Dash's lip curled up in disgust. "Wow, that sounds kinda gross."

"Not really, they still taste really good."

Almost everypony turned to look at Pinkie with varying levels of surprise. However, further discussion was mercifully interrupted by the arrival of several earth ponies wearing special saddles, allowing them to carry large trays laden with all manners of food on their backs. A couple of unicorns accompanied them, and with the aide of their magic, the table was soon on the verge of being overwhelmed by all sorts of foods. From pancakes and waffles to all sorts of sliced and artfully arranged fruits to carafes of syrup, it was a most impressive breakfast. They each quickly made their choices, and for the next few minutes, silence reigned as they happily ate the most important meal of the day.

While she was daintily levitating a slice of honeydew, Twilight couldn't help noticing that Princess Celestia seemed to be stealing a surreptitious glance at her from under her long eyelashes. The scrutiny caused the piece of melon in her mouth to feel twice as big, and while she self-consciously chewed, Twilight tried to think of a way to rekindle the conversation.

"So, what is this festival about anyway?" she asked nopony in particular. "I don't really remember it from when I was living here. Is it a new holiday?"

"Oh?" Princess Celestia replied, her eyes widening in surprise, then crinkling in amusement as she gave out a soft laugh. "Well, I suppose I'm not too surprised you're not familiar with it, Twilight. I don't believe it's all that popular outside of Canterlot, and really it's one of a dozen or so yearly festivities the city has. Mostly students use it as an excuse for a final celebration before the start of the fall semester and the beginning of a new school year. Friends get together to leave their studying behind before they have to pick it up again."

"Well that explains why she never heard about it while she was here," Rainbow Dash said. She jumped up from her seat and glared at Applejack. "Ow! What was that for?"

Rarity coolly interjected, "Perhaps we'll give it a new meaning with Princess Luna's ball. This could be the beginning of a new tradition."

Princess Celestia smiled kindly at her. "That's a wonderful thought." Her attention shifted and Twilight felt a thrill run through her when Princess Celestia asked her, "So, Twilight, speaking of Luna's party, are you looking forward to it?"

Somehow feeling like there was much more beneath the surface of Princess Celestia's question than was apparent, Twilight smiled shakily and replied, "Yes, of course I am. Very much so."

"I see." Princess Celestia lapsed into silence for a few moments, and thoughtfully sampled a few slices of fried banana wrapped in grape leaves. "And what do you think of Luna since she's returned from the moon? Do you think she's pushing herself too hard, taking over the duties of the court at night?"

"Well a'course we don't," Applejack quickly replied. "Aside from that bit of unpleasantness at the start, Princess Luna's been nothing but kind and hard working. You can't ask much more from a pony than that."

Pinkie swallowed the croissant she'd just picked up, hardly without chewing, creating a noticeable bulge in her throat as it went down. "She's just a little out of whack with everypony else because of that whole 'not being around for a really long time' thing. But that's okay. I know all about being out of whack, and it's not bad at all."

"She seems very knowledgeable," Rarity added.

"Luna'll make an awesome princess," Rainbow Dash said, settling back down into her seat. "She's always on the level, and you know she'll try her best to make sure everypony gets a fair deal."

"Why?" Twilight asked nervously. "Are you second guessing whether it's a good idea to make her co-regent?"

"Oh no, not at all," Princess Celestia said with a reassuring wave of her hoof, as if to dismiss the thought. "In fact I agree with you all that Luna will make a fine ruler again. I simply wanted to gauge the thoughts of regular Equestrians. Although, you all may be a bit biased. It seems like you're all already members of Luna's fanclub."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Twilight replied with a bit of embarrassment. "We are her friends though."

"Of course you are," said Princess Celestia, turning back to Twilight. "But then, as her friend, what do you think about Luna, Twilight? How do you feel about her?"

Twilight's blush was almost physically painful as it burned across her cheeks and she twisted in her seat to try and relieve her embarrassment. This was beginning to feel like discussing her love life with her mother, awkwardly compounded by the fact that it was about Princess Celestia's sister.

"I like her, a great deal. She's a wonder friend, of course, and I hope ... I hope that she always will be."

"I see," Princess Celestia said thoughtfully, her attention turning down to the plate in front of her. She seemed almost glum and her mood settled heavily over the rest of the table, halting the conversation and causing everypony to focus on their meal.

For Twilight, it felt almost as if she'd failed a test somehow, transforming the formerly scrumptious breakfast into so many ashes in her mouth. Idly, she examined her plate, wondering where her appetite had fled to, and how she was going to finish it all when, without warning, it felt as if a wave of energy swept through the room. As if somepony had opened the window on a cold winter day and a breeze had shot through the summer morning. But as it passed by Twilight, it felt as if it struck something within her chest and reverberated louder and louder, until her entire magical aura felt as if it were shaking, vibrating in harmony to an unheard melody.

As quickly as it had begun, it ended, and Twilight looked around the table in surprise to see how everypony else had reacted to the strange occurrence. Only Rarity seemed disturbed, wearing a thoughtful frown, as if she'd faintly heard something in the distance, but wasn't quite sure what it was. Everypony else seemed unaware that anything had happened, except Princess Celestia, who smoothed her features into a natural smile and turned to look back over her shoulder.

Twilight followed her gaze to where two walls met and formed a sort of alcove which was a bit darker than the rest of the restaurant. For a moment, Twilight thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. However, as she watched, the shadows seemed to gather in that particular corner, swirling together until they turned opaque. Then, out of that impenetrable gloom stepped Luna.

She looked around appraisingly until she saw Twilight and the others, and approached their table as if nothing unusual had happened. Behind her, the shadows dispersed and the alcove was simply an alcove again.

As she approached, Princess Celestia called out, "Welcome back, I hope it wasn't anything too serious."

Luna smiled beautifully as she came to stand slightly behind, and between Princess Celestia and Twilight. "No. Thankfully Gimlet Lime was mistaken about the severity of the issue. There were just a few questions about the ball tomorrow night. Was the caterer prepared, the floors waxed, that sort of thing."

"That's a relief."

"Yes, I'm glad it was something trivial, so I could return quickly. But not quickly enough to be in time for breakfast it would seem."

Fluttershy spoke up, twisting in her seat to see Luna better. "Oh, please join us, Luna. There's so much left, or if you'd like, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to make you something."

Luna beamed down at her. "Thank you, Fluttershy, but I'm not all that hungry. I was just making a joke."

"You sure?" Applejack asked with a cocked eyebrow. "Cause you're looking a might thinner than when you left Ponyville, and you weren't all that big to begin with."

Luna's eyes momentarily met Princess Celestia's as she replied, "I've been doing some ... intensive research lately. It's kept me from eating regularly. But, the worst of it should be behind me now, so I assure you that I'll eat more heartily in the future."

"Well, now's a good a time as any," Applejack pressed.

Luna lightly laughed. "Actually, I had a snack back at the palace so I'm not all that hungry, thank you. Besides which, I don't want to waste the rest of our day together since it's not all that often that you all come to Canterlot."

Applejack appeared sullen, as if she'd like to sit on Luna until she was certain that she'd had a proper meal, but she remained silent as Rarity spoke up instead, "Oh, you're right. I have so much shopping that must be done before tomorrow. Fluttershy, Pinkie, I think I'll need your, er, eye for fashion. A second opinion if you will. And Spike, I'll definitely need a strapping young dragon to carry all those heavy bags we're sure to end up with."

"I don't know," Spike said uncertainly, his eyes quickly darting from Rarity to Twilight and back again. "I mean, Twilight might need me ..."

"Oh, I'm sure it's all right, isn't it, Twilight?"

"Uh, sure."

"Excellent." Rarity replied with a gleeful smile. "And Rainbow Dash, I believe you had that thing you wanted to see…"

Rainbow Dash simply looked across the table in confusion toward Rarity for a few moments, before her eyes widened, and she leapt out of her seat. "Ohmygosh, what time is it?" she asked, darting back and forth. "Let's go, Applejack. The Wonderbolts will be starting their practice any minute!"

"What, me?"

"Well yeah. I thought I'd show you what real athletes look like."

"Now hold on there -"

"Yeah, yeah. We don't have time for this. Let's argue on the way." Without further ado, Rainbow Dash jetted over and swooped up Applejack, causing her to grunt in surprise as she was tackled by her friend, her hat knocked off from the impact. Only her lightning fast reflexes allowed her to grab a hold of its brim with her teeth before Rainbow Dash carried her into the mid-morning sky.

The rest of the table watched them disappear into the distance in shocked surprise. "Well," Rarity said, the first to recover from Rainbow Dash's surprising exit. "I suppose we should be off as well. So much shopping to do, so little time." She stood up and began to herd Fluttershy and Pinkie toward the door while Spike eagerly hopped off his seat to join them. Pinkie seemed reluctant to go, but after grabbing several small sugar dusted puffed pastries, she allowed herself to be led away from the table.

Princess Celestia watched them leave and commented, "I should take my leave too. There are several students taking supplementary classes at my school for gifted unicorns, and I promised I'd peak and see if there were any who could benefit from my personal attention." She stood up from the table, leaving Twilight and Luna to look at one another a bit uncertainly. At least that's what Twilight thought she saw in the depths of Luna's intensely blue eyes, the color of deep, pure ice, the kind that held an inner fire which -

Somepony cleared her throat and Twilight tore herself away from Luna's fine eyes to find Princess Celestia a few lengths away, wistfully looking back over her shoulder at them. "There will probably be a few students, perhaps even Bay Breeze, who will require my particular attention, my mentoring. I'll likely be gone all afternoon," she said whilst giving Twilight an odd stare.

Twilight wasn't sure how she was supposed to respond, so she artlessly replied, "Oh, well, I'm sure they'll really appreciate the special attention. I know I always did."

Princess Celestia let out a sad, humorless laugh, then turned and walked away, holding her head not quite as high as she normally did.

Twilight looked back to Luna questioningly. "Did I say something wrong?"

Luna though looked just as confused as she felt. "I don't believe so. Perhaps she'd just prefer to spend more time in our company." They fell silent as they contemplated the direction in which Princess Celestia had disappeared. Luna breathed in deeply and did her best to dispel the gloom that had somehow settled over them. "It seems that we've been left to our own devices, Twilight, and we have the whole day in front of us? What do you think we should do?"

Twilight thought a few moments. The possibilities were endless, yet somehow she couldn't pinpoint exactly one thing she'd prefer to do. Since she was in Canterlot, naturally it should be something that they couldn't do in Ponyville. But what were the normal things that a pony did in Canterlot? Shouldn't she know this?

Luna could apparently tell Twilight was having a bit of a mental dilemma and she kindly suggested, "We don't need to decide right now. We can just take a stroll and see where the day takes us."

"That sounds like a good idea," Twilight replied gratefully.

Attracting a bit less attention than when she'd come in with Princess Celestia, Twilight left the restaurant with Luna. Together they strolled through the wide boulevards of Canterlot, which were more noticeably crowded than earlier in the morning. But if they attracted attention at all, Twilight was oblivious to it. Though she was trying her best to appear normal and unaffected by Luna's presence, her entire focus was on the princess.

Twilight found herself transfixed by the way Luna's perfect mane absorbed the sunlight while somehow still glowing in it, hinting at mysterious depths Twilight would love to explore. She tore her gaze away, only to focus on the infinitesimal crease at the bridge of Luna's nose and the slight narrowing of her wonderfully cerulean eyes, signifying that perhaps the summer day was a bit too bright for her. Twilight couldn't help but be captured by her beauty. She could even separate Luna's hoofsteps from everypony else's around them; unique in their near absence of sound. Luna was light on her hooves, and Twilight idly wondered how well she danced. Her grace and poise seemed well suited to make her a natural dancer.

Without warning, Luna turned to her and asked, "Has anything caught your eye yet, Twilight?"

Embarrassed that she'd been caught staring; Twilight hurriedly looked away, attempting to act naturally as she scanned their surroundings for the first time. While she'd been enthralled by Luna's beauty, they'd arrived at one of the many shopping districts scattered across Canterlot. A nearby sign depicting a mortar embossed with a microscope, with a unicorn horn for a pestle caught her eye, and she had to stop herself before she impulsively made a beeline for the store that obviously carried all a pony would ever need for magic, alchemy, and science; three of her favorite subjects. However, a few doors down from the magic and science emporium, she spied a clothing store and had a wonderful idea.

"How about that store over there," she said, pointing out a store window filled with ponyquinns dressed in sequined leisure suits of varying color. "Now that I think about it, I need to pick up something for a friend."

"All right," Luna amiably agreed.

They navigated through the crowd and pushed open the glass doors of the store, causing a tiny bell to chime overhead. Within moments a snow white unicorn with a turquoise mane and tail, wearing a smile that bordered on maniacal appeared at their side.

"Welcome to Blackmoore's haberdashery and clothing store. How may I help you?"

"Do you sell sunglasses?" Twilight asked.

"Why yes. We have a wide selection of accessories to make that perfect outfit just that much more perfect. They're right over here, if you'll follow me." She led them deeper into the store, to a chest-high display covered with bangles, broaches, bows, and several pairs of sunglasses.

"That's exactly what I was looking for." Twilight said, beginning to browse the many sunglasses available.

"Thank you for your assistance," Luna added. "I believe she'd like some time to peruse your selection."

The clerk took Luna's hint and quickly went in search of other customers to assist. Meanwhile, Twilight had found a silvered, circular pair of sunglasses and had levitated them over and settled them on her nose. She looked up and found a mirror attached to a nearby wall. Seeing her face almost entirely obscured by the large sunhat and the wide rims of the glasses, Twilight pulled her mouth into a small, stern frown and murmured. "Now it's time for de magicks." Immediately her facade broke into a wide grin.

"What was that, Twilight?"

"Uh, nothing." Still smiling, Twilight turned to find that Luna had picked out a pair of heart framed, rose-tinted glasses; the dangling price tag looking just like a tacky earring. Twilight couldn't hold in her snort of laughter, or the giggles that followed after.

"What?" Luna asked with insincere obliviousness. "Don't you think these fit the royal visage beautifully?"

"Oh no, they look great on you. In fact, I think you should just go to court one night wearing those, and never saying anything about it the whole night long."

Luna couldn't hold her straight face any longer and broke into a wide, lovely smile. "I don't think anypony would say a thing. In fact, it would probably become some sort of new tradition; wearing sunglasses at night."

"You can say you're wearing them so you can see the light before your eyes, but, I think these might be more your style," Twilight said as she gently plucked the glasses from Luna's face and replaced them with a pair that had jet black, half-circular rims. "Oh yeah, these say, 'I'm your new president for life, deal with it.'"

Luna chuckled and removed the glasses Twilight was wearing. Twilight tried not to show the shiver that raced through her body at the close contact with Luna's magic. It's cool, now familiar current was like an electrical, icy caress against her face. Luna seemed oblivious to Twilight's reaction to her magic and slipped another pair of sunglasses into place over her eyes. These had rectangular lenses that were so narrow that they hardly covered her pupils.

"There. As president for life, I think these look fetching on you." She examined Twilight closely for a moment before deciding, "Yes, now it looks as if you have an opinion on neo-post modernism in a classical proto-antediluvian culture."

Inwardly, Twilight laughed at Luna's joke, but outwardly she adopted a discerning frown and replied, "Yes, I'm into some pretty obscure philosophies. You probably haven't heard of them before." She couldn't hold it for very long, and soon both of them had broken down into fits of laughter.

They went through all the sunglasses the store had, modeling them for each other, quipping and laughing their way through each pair. Eventually though, Twilight had made her choice, and Even Luna had found something to buy. After settling accounts, they found themselves back out in the street with their purchases.

"Celestia is going to love these," Luna said with glee as she contemplated the gift wrapped box that held the heart shaped glasses inside.

Twilight grinned as she said, "I bet she will."

"By the way, Twilight, I don't think you said who it was who needed sunglasses. Are they for somepony back in Ponyville?"

"No, not exactly," Twilight replied as she unwrapped her purchase. With slow, deliberate movements, she lifted them up and perched them on Luna's nose, sliding them into place. As she'd thought, they looked great on her. "I thought that you might need a pair, since it's so bright outside today." she said by way of explanation.

Luna's eyes crossed for a moment while she tried to see the glasses she was wearing, then she turned her gaze on Twilight without comprehension for a moment, until realization seemed to settle in and her checks were tinged with red. She ducked her head a bit and said, "I – I thank you." The heat in Luna's cheeks kindled a matching warmth in Twilight's chest. A sloppily sweet smile blossomed on her face as she caught sight of Luna's tender side.

Though the crowd had disappeared for Twilight, Luna soon began to look around uncomfortably, obviously not easy with showing her vulnerable self in public. Her cheeks still had a bit of a rosy hue as she cleared her throat, lifted her head, and squared her shoulders. A tendril of magic pushed her new sunglasses firmly against the bridge of her nose as she attempted to impassively scan the stores across the street from them, in the exact opposite direction from where Twilight stood.

"How about visiting that store next?" She asked with a nod of her head toward the building.

Twilight stepped forward to look past her and saw a store whose facade seemed to be made of gingerbread, complete with frosting mortar, and giant gumdrop accents. The sign above the door hung from a red and white striped candy cane, and was in the shape of a golden wrapper embossed with cursive chocolate letters spelling out Coco le Chocolatier. She cocked an eyebrow at Luna's choice. It seemed like any other candy store, and to be honest, she wasn't too hungry; but, if Luna wanted to go, then why not? "Sure, it's always a good time for chocolate."

"I agree completely," Luna said with an eager smile. She led the way to the candy store at a brisk clip, and Twilight had to almost break into a trot to catch up.

The inside of the store was just what the outside had promised. The smell of bubbling, molten chocolate filled the air, and the whirring hum of a taffy machine revolving, pulling taffy on a distant counter filled the room. The walls, ceiling, and even the floor looked as if they were made of fresh baked gingerbread. Ropes of licorice dangled from the ceiling, suspending intricate chandeliers of rock candies, each lit by an inner fire. Large graham cracker bins were stacked in orderly rows, each filled with a multitude of candies, created aisles bounded on all sides by sugar. A glass counter ran the length of one wall, piles of artfully created chocolates, spun sugar, interlaced ribbons of taffy, and candies of every imaginable shape and size filling every conceivable space on and around it.

Standing next to a large scale, weighing candy by the pound for a pair of intensely focused fillies, was a young stallion whose crisp white uniform contrasted beautifully with his dark blue coat and his cream and orange mane. Aside from the three of them, Twilight and Luna were alone in the store.

Twilight looked over to Luna and found her grinning excitedly, her eyes jumping from one candy themed display to the next, like, well, like a kid in a candy store. With a bounce in her gait, Luna stepped over to the nearest aisle of sweets, absently picking up a paper bag from the stack atop the beginning of each aisle, flipping it open with a sharp crack while she began to carefully examine the candy on display.

"Oh, look, Twilight, they have honey roasted peanuts. I remember when these were almost the only option for sweets, aside from raw honeycomb. Have you ever had honey dipped rose petals? They're quite good. But I wish I could have known the pony who discovered how to refine sugar, or who discovered chocolate, so I could personally thank them."

Twilight smiled in amusement at Luna's excitement, following her through the aisle. "Well, nopony's sure who discovered sugar exactly; it was a long process between extracting sugar cane juice and turning it into sugar granules. Chocolate's the same. Cocoa was actually discovered about eight hundred years ago, but Princess Celestia was actually the first one to suggest adding sugar to it to make it less bitter, while Hans Sloane was the first pony to add milk to it to make it lighter."

"I'll have to thank Celestia, and remember to award Mr. Sloane the Order of Leneighn posthumously. Although, to be honest, I much prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate. It just tastes more distinct and flavorful."

"I do too," Twilight replied. "I used to hate it when I was younger, but I've started to like it more as I get older."

"Really?" Luna asked, turning to regard Twilight with an expression usually reserved for meeting a fellow countrymare while sojourning in a strange land. Excitedly she said, "It looks like they have a whole section devoted to chocolate. We should see if they have any that we both like." She ushered Twilight over to a corner of the store dominated by bars, chunks, drops, chips, and shavings of chocolate. They were sorted from the darkest, graduating to the lightest, even including white chocolate.

Luna gravitated toward the darker spectrum of the chocolate and plucked a shaving from the crystalline vase marked 'samples.' She popped it into her mouth and tilted her head contemplatively. "Hmm. This one is a bit too dark," she eventually decided. "What do you think?" She selected another sliver and without preamble, slipped it into Twilight's mouth.

Feeling Luna's magic on her lips sent an electrical jolt down Twilight's spine, causing her to instinctively shiver. Time seemed to slow down for her, and she felt as if the moment stretched out for far longer than she had any right to hope it would. Being touched, caressed by Luna in so intimate a place felt so wonderful. It took her a few moments to realize Luna had withdrawn her magic, and all she was left with were the minor aftershocks of that brief contact. She looked up, dazed, to find Luna regarding her expectantly.

Belatedly, Twilight shifted her focus from her lips to her tongue, where the chocolate had long since melted. As Luna had said, it was quite dark. Not nearly as bitter as the baking chocolate she'd tried once, but far from sweet. However, it wasn't unpleasant. Along with the chocolate, Twilight thought she could taste a hint of something else, something dark and wonderful. Like the feel of a starry mane running through her hooves, or the scent of distant rain left in her sheets by Luna. Perhaps it was a lingering taste of Luna's magic, or perhaps it was simply wishful thinking. "I like it."

"Oh?" Luna asked, raising her eyebrows above her sunglasses in an expression that was either suave or comical, Twilight couldn't decide which. Maybe it was a bit of both. "I thought you would have preferred something a bit sweeter."

"Sweet is good. But, I like the darker things too. Sometimes … sweetness can be overpowering. It can be the first thing, the only thing you notice. But if you give darker things a chance, you find that they're more complex, more interesting, and ultimately richer once you get used to them."

Luna nodded thoughtfully. "That's quite a compelling argument. But I think I'll still go with the sixty-five percent cocoa instead anyway. I've had my fill of bitterness, and prefer it a bit brighter than what I've known before." With a snap, she unfolded another one of the paper bags stacked neatly nearby, and began to fill it with no small amount of chocolate bars.

"What's this?" She asked to nopony in particular as she moved down the row to a bin of chocolate cubes. She sampled a display piece and Twilight quickly followed suit, not entirely prepared to have Luna feed her again.

The candy turned out to be chocolate flavored caramel coated in a shell of slightly dark chocolate. It tasted great, but was really chewy, and Twilight could practically hear her teeth begging for a reprieve. "It's okay," she said after chewing her way through the tough chocolate.

"Oh," Luna said, sounding almost disappointed. "Let's move on then."

And so they turned down a nearby aisle and paused by each of the bins long enough to sample the candy they held, then moved on to the next aisle, then the next. Twilight enjoyed candy as much as the next pony, but Luna seemed intent on sampling the entire store. After so much sugar, Twilight could only muster halfhearted replies when Luna asked her opinion on each piece of candy they tried. At least until they reached what appeared to be the soft candy aisle where there was a bin of what looked like tiny pink pillows with a line of red peeping out from either end.

Twilight popped one into her mouth and bit into a world of cherries. The outside of the candy was soft and easily gave way to the jelly-like center which somehow hid the flavor of an entire cherry tree, but it wasn't too intense or sweet. In a matter of seconds the candy had melted away, leaving only the pleasant memories of its taste behind. "Wow, these are great! I could eat these for days and not get tired of them."

"Really?" Luna asked, perking up and becoming more energized than only a minute ago. "Excuse me sir," she called out to the colt behind the counter which was now just on the other side of the aisle they were standing in. He'd long since finished with his two petite customers and had been surreptitiously watching Twilight and Luna's progress through the store.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"I'd like to purchase these. All of these."

Both the clerk and Twilight stared at Luna in shock for a moment. "All of them, Your Highness," the stallion repeated in disbelief.

"Yes," Luna matter of factly replied.

"But why?" Twilight asked, perplexed.

"Because we finally found the candy you like, and I want to make sure that you have as much of it as you want."

Twilight blinked a few times as she mulled over Luna's words, not quite sure if it was a gallant gesture or not. Nonetheless she quickly replied, "That's kind of you Luna, but there's no way I could ever eat that much candy."

"Fine then, ten pounds will do," She called over to the clerk, while setting down her other bags of candy on the counter in front of him.

"I'd get sick if I ate that much."

"Five pounds."

"I'd get fat from all that sugar."

"That doesn't matter. Whatever you look like on the outside, so long as you're still Twilight Sparkle on the inside, my feelings for you will never change."

Twilight blushed, and she found herself quietly capitulating. "Maybe a pound wouldn't be too much."

Luna's smile lit up the room and she opened her wings and literally flew over to the counter. "All of these," she said gesturing to the bags she'd collected, "And two pounds of that candy there." She turned to look back over the low aisle wall toward Twilight. "One for you, and one for me to share with you," she explained.

In a matter of minutes she'd settled the bill and had left instructions for delivering their order to her suite at the palace. Soon she and Twilight were on their way back out, leaving behind a bewildered chocolatier.

Still feeling a bit uncomfortable about what had just happened in the candy store, Twilight sought something familiar, something safe. They were now across the street from the store that had first caught her eye, the magical science emporium. "Do you mind if we go into that store over there? I have a few supplies that I need to pick up that the stores in Ponyville don't carry." Without waiting for Luna's reply, too embarrassed to even look her in the face at the moment, she rushed across the street and up the short flight of stairs leading to the entrance made out of large honed granite slabs with relatively small, pony sized entryways carved into them.

The inside of the store was larger than the others had been, two stories tall with the second made up of a u shaped balcony granting access to a wall of books stretching up to the ceiling. Even the walls on the first floor were packed with books and scrolls sorted according to subject, and there were several displays scattered throughout the store on both levels containing various equipment and tools necessary for various scientific and magical pursuits. The center of the store was dominated by a large circular wooden desk from which several employees helped various customers. There were dozens of ponies browsing through the store, most of them far too engrossed in delving through the stores inventory to pay any attention to their surroundings. But some took notice of the entrance of one of the princesses of Equestria, and went to their knees as she passed.

Being surrounded by so much science, Twilight imagined she could relate to what Luna had felt at the candy store. Just from where they stood in the entrance, she could see five different items she either desperately needed or had wanted for months. It was hard to just decide on where to begin shopping, so, always the model of efficiency, she made a beeline for the closest one.

It was a just released, gold embossed copy of 'De Aerodynamica,' a treatise dealing with the theoretical physics of non-pegasus powered heavier than air flight. Thanks to the many responses to it in various scientific journals she read, Twilight was already intimately familiar with the arguments the treatise put forth, as well as their counterarguments, but she'd wanted to read the source material herself. There was something about the subject that piqued her interest. While lighter than air vehicles and those based on gyrocopters allowed terrestrial ponies a taste of flight, they lacked the speed, and freedom of movement that pegasi enjoyed. The thought of a device capable of allowing her to soar through the sky with the dexterity of Rainbow Dash, or Luna, fired her imagination.

Thankfully there were several copies left. She picked one up and quickly flipped through it, coming to the infamous illustration which attempted to depict the theory that with enough thrust, it was possible to make even a brick fly indefinitely.

Twilight smiled to herself as she recalled some of the more colorful responses to that particular idea, and held the book in front of her as she moved on to a display of astrally aligned graduated tuning rods. Of course she already had a set, but hers were in standard Celestian, while these were in the more exacting metric. It didn't hurt that the rods had to be made out of solid silver, and these ones were bright and shinily new while her current set were really tarnished because Spike hadn't quite gotten the hang of polishing silver yet.

She was a bit disappointed by their selection of mugwort and powdered narwhal horn, some to the catalytic compounds used in various alchemy recipes. They only had the most common varieties, and they'd obviously been sitting on the shelf for a while. Instead of being fine powders easily sifted, most of the samples the store had were clumped together, almost like little pieces of cement.

She easily passed by that display, but then another caught her eye, and then another. Eventually she found herself literally climbing the walls, one hoof on the ladder leading up to the topmost shelves of the book cases encompassing the second floor, perusing a volume on pony physiology. She had the unabridged version back in Ponyville, but at nearly ten thousand pages, it was kind of awkward carrying it around. The abridged version the store carried came well recommended, and was only a few hundred pages long, but Twilight wasn't sure it covered all the topics she'd like it to. She was mentally debating whether to buy the book or not when she happened to look up and meet a pair of soft, caring eyes.

Abruptly, she remembered that she hadn't come to the store alone, and began to panic over just how long she'd been absorbed in her own little world, abandoning her friend.

"Oh, Luna, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed as she snapped shut the book and shoved it back approximately in the place she'd found it. "I completely forgot – I mean, there's so much to see here, I just kind of got caught up in things."

Luna's smile was warm and kind as she replied, "It's all right, Twilight. I understand how easy it is to get carried away by these things. And honestly, I enjoy watching you when you get so focused and lost in your own mind. You make the cutest expressions." At some point she'd tilted her sunglasses back until they rested in her mane, just in front of her crown. She'd also picked up a small box wrapped in brown paper that she levitated next to her alongside the package containing the sunglasses for Princess Celestia.

Twilight blushed in embarrassment and looked around her to find a dozen or so books, scientific instruments, and other things she'd decided that she needed, orbiting her slowly, held aloft by her lavender magic. Sheepishly she smiled. "Heh, well, I think I've done enough shopping for one day. I'm going to go check out now."

"Are you sure?" I think there might be one or two bookcases you haven't browsed yet."

"Well, there's always tomorrow." Twilight collected her things and began moving toward the stairs. "Sorry for getting so caught up in things, I'll just go pay for these and we can go."

The line for the register seemed to melt away in front of her, and soon Twilight had her purchases secured in a pair of bulging complimentary saddlebags bearing the store's name and an advertisement for a sale at the end of the month. In no time at all, she and Luna were outside once again, where Twilight found that several hours had gone by without her noticing. The afternoon was well underway, on the verge of becoming early evening.

She was about to comment on just how much time had passed, when Luna stepped close and quietly said, "I bought you a gift. I hope you like it." She produced the box Twilight had seen her carrying earlier and held it between them.

Twilight looked down at the gift, then up at Luna in surprise, before looking back down at the plain package. "May I open it?"

"Of course."

Carefully, making sure their magical fields didn't touch, Twilight gently plucked the box from Luna's grasp and made short work of the external packaging. Inside, resting on a bed of form fitting velvet was an ebony sextant made of blackened brass; the knobs and raised ticks made of gold. "It's beautiful," Twilight said breathlessly. "Thank you."

"Well, I thought that it might be a good time to trade in your astrolabe for something a bit better."

Twilight laughed gaily. "I already had a sextant. But this one is much more beautiful. Thank you, Luna."

"You're more than welcome." Luna looked up to judge the position of the sun, and with a genuine smile, seemingly impossible to dampen, she said, "There's a place I'd like to show you, Twilight. It's still a bit early, but they may have opened by now."

Twilight was intrigued. What kind of store didn't open until so late in the day? "Sure. I'd love to see it."

"Then follow me. I've never walked there, but I think I know the way," Luna said. She set off at an eager, brisk pace, but one Twilight found that she could easily keep up with.

In the upper reaches of the older wing of the palace, where the stones were grey and worn, carved from the heart of the mountain Canterlot was built around, long, long ago, Celestia sighed. She had retreated to that particular spot expressly because it was suited for sighing. Most ponies avoided the older, less grandiose sections of the palace, so it wasn't likely anypony would see her downcast expression, her furrowed brow, her persistent frown.

The gallery she stood in, its paintings and tapestries long since removed, looked out upon a garden forgotten by time and pony. The soaring towers of the newer sections of the palace blocked out the sun for most of the day, leaving the garden in perpetual twilight. The plants that had survived such little exposure to the sunlight had been untended by any gardener's hoof for many years. They grew wild and melancholically beautiful.

Once again Celestia's mind was troubled. Or perhaps it was still the same trouble and it had simply pushed its way to the forefront again, no longer content with being suppressed beneath the calm, benevolent image that all her little ponies depended upon. Once again, she felt more than knew that her worry was centered on Twilight, Luna, and their relationship.

Though she couldn't quite put her hoof on why exactly she objected to them becoming romantically involved, for the past few days her mind had been excessively occupied by her sister and her most prized pupil. So much so, that when touring her school for gifted unicorns, she'd been unable to give the students the attention that they deserved and had cut short her visit. She couldn't even recall who she'd seen or talked to. For some reason she'd kept expecting Twilight to appear at any moment, to rush in through a classroom door and show everypony what magic, and living up to your potential meant.

Celestia wasn't sure why that bothered her so much, but it likely had something to do with the argument that she'd had with Luna. That she was still having actually. Though they'd silently agreed to a cease fire, they'd not yet made a binding resolution to resolve their disagreement.

Like many things relating to her sister, while Celestia could understand Luna's point of view all too well, she didn't agree with it. While Luna focused on the things important to her, she sometimes became so obsessed with them that she forgot the rest of Equestria, and all the ponies which depended upon them. It was a responsibility that Celestia could never forget, not even for a moment. She didn't dare to.

Before she and Luna had risen to power, the world had been full of rulers who'd put themselves before their subjects. Tyrants and despots who'd ruled with fear, and under whom ponies lived a life of oppression and desperation. Celestia had seen that the world didn't have to be so hard, so heartless, that it could be a better place full of love and happiness, and had made it thus through hard work and determination.

Her rule had benefited all pony kind, raising her ponies from abject misery to safety and contentment, giving them the hope and the power to do whatever they set their minds to. However, to single out a pony and to try and move heaven and earth, to subvert nature in their favor, seemed hypocritical at best, and the first step on the slippery slope to despotism at worst. If they lifted up one pony, why not all? Was Twilight more important than all the other ponies in Equestria? Was she really all that special?

Celestia knew intuitively that she shouldn't be, but deep within her heart she knew the answer was yes. Twilight was special, more so than anypony else in Equestria.

Though it pained her to admit it, if she were in Luna's place, with the power she held and not under the same obligations Celestia placed upon herself, she could all too easily see herself making the same choice. That was why, though she'd argued with Luna, and would continue to argue with her, she couldn't completely censure her plans. Indeed, she considered, she had been putting up such a stubborn fight over the issue out of simple envy. Luna wasn't the perfect princess ponies expected her to be, the leader that all the creatures in Equestria looked up to. She had the freedom to declare her love, the freedom to act upon it that Celestia didn't.

The sun continued its trek across the sky as the afternoon waned, and a sliver passed beyond one of the palace's spires, blinding Celestia for a moment. She moved to another pool of light where the sun was no longer blinding, but warm and comfortable.

Again her thoughts turned to her argument with Luna. There were parts of it, certain ponies she'd rather not think about, but one good thing had come from it. The argument itself, though unpleasant, was an indication of how much both she and Luna had changed, how much they continued to change. A thousand years ago, they would have never argued. Instead, Luna would have simply hidden her feelings away. Celestia would have remained silent, tacitly encouraging Luna to maintain the status quo, to pretend that everything was all right.

The end result, needless to say, had been disastrous. That's why it was important to talk to Luna, to ask her questions, to argue with her. Not because it was easy for either of them, but because it was hard for both. It was better to regret what had been said than to regret what hadn't.

Though Celestia objected to Luna's plans, as well as some aspects of her relationship with Twilight for a variety of reasons, some of which she'd rather not think about, she cared deeply for her sister. That's why she needed to support her, even if she disagreed with her. Luna needed her the way nopony else ever did, and this time Celestia wouldn't fail her. Besides, working together with Luna would allow her to make suggestions, to guide her effort into more productive and potentially less drastic channels.

Still frowning, but in resolve rather than sadness, Celestia took a deep breath and stood tall. The day was fading and no doubt Luna and the others would be returning soon. With a determined stride she set off for the royal apartments to let Luna know just how much she loved her. Behind her the gallery and the garden fell once more into silence, dreaming of times long past.

Twilight and Luna had long ago left the shopping district behind, following a curving road that led away from the palace toward a section of Canterlot that Twilight knew well, the blocks of the city surrounding its academic heart. Either by design or happenstance, several universities and schools had all clustered together in the space of a few dozen square miles. Around this nucleus of learning were blocks and blocks of student housing, restaurants, hangouts, bookstores, and all the other businesses necessary to support the many young ponies who flooded into Canterlot each year to receive the best education a pony could ask for.

Luna cut through one of the many narrow side streets characteristic of the newer, less planned Canterlot, and they arrived at a boulevard that climbed up the steep slope of one of Canterlot's many foothills. Luna led Twilight halfway up its length to where a tall, narrow building stood, so squeezed in by its neighbors that it almost appeared crooked. In fact, it was so narrow that it was impossible to make out the facade between its windows and its neighbors. The architecture seemed uninviting; however, there was a freshly painted sign over its door depicting a steaming cup, promising the much needed caffeine essential to students everywhere.

There were dozens, if not hundreds of coffee shops spread throughout Canterlot, so it was no surprise that Twilight had never been in this particular one. It appeared that Luna had been a customer before though as she turned back to Twilight and explained, "It's usually very quiet here, and they have the largest tea selection I've come across," as she pushed open the store's door.

The store turned out to be a tiny room, made even smaller by a circular table flanked by two optimistically placed cushions. The wall opposite the door had been converted into a tall counter, behind which a voice called out, "I'm sorry, but we're not open yet." The owner of the voice poked her head over the counter and her eyes widened. "Oh, Princess Luna, come in, come in!" She stood up fully, beaming. "Welcome back. It's been weeks since you were here."

Luna smiled disarmingly. "Hello, Red Tie. I'm sorry if we're interrupting you, we can come back when you're open."

"Oh nonsense," Red Tie replied as she came around the counter to properly greet them. "You and your friends are always welcome here, Your Majesty. Would you like your usual spot?"

"Yes, if it's not too much trouble." Red Tie scoffed good naturedly at Luna. "By the way, this is my ... friend, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight, this is Red Tie, the owner of perhaps the best all night teahouse in Canterlot. She's humored me as I've attempted to sample every tea known to ponykind."

Red Tie's eyebrows shot up. "Twilight Sparkle? You wrote 'Of Magic and Mien' for your senior thesis, didn't you? It's the best dissertation on early Cartharic influences on modern spellcasting I've read. You really have a way with words."

Twilight felt the familiar pride from whenever somepony mentioned her academic accomplishments well up within her, and she allowed herself to puff out her chest a little. She insincerely demurred, "Oh, it wasn't all that special, really. I just consolidated the research Silver Dusk the younger and Star Dancer had already put forward."

"That may be true, but to be honest, I always fall asleep whenever I read any of their books. But you managed to make it all seem fun and exciting." Red Tie laughed and took a step back. "But look at me, gushing all over the place when all you two want is somewhere to sit and relax with a cup of tea. Please, come on back, and don't pay too much attention to the mess."

So saying, she turned and began walking past the counter, into the rear of the store. Luna shot Twilight an amused glance before following her. Due to the narrowness of the hallway Red Tie was taking them down, Twilight trailed after Luna closely. Deciding it wouldn't be too polite to stare too hard at the view in front of her, Twilight tried to focus on the hallway around them instead.

The ceiling was low and the hallway was made narrower by the bookshelves that lined it, crammed tightly with loose sheaves of paper and loosely bound scrolls. At the end of the hallway was a staircase leading up which made a sharp turn after only a few steps and doubled back on itself, creating a small alcove with a sloped roof too short for a bookshelf. Another small table had been awkwardly squeezed into the open space.

As they climbed the stairs, it was often difficult to tell the floors from the landings, the space for either being so small. The floors they passed all had the same motif. Nearly every open wall was covered with bookshelves, many of which were mismatched, all of which were packed with scrolls, notes, pamphlets, and loosely bound papers. None of which seemed to have been cataloged in the least. Amidst the chaos of paper were scarred, well used tables, an eclectic assortment of chairs, cushions, and crates for seats, with the occasional door doubtlessly leading into narrow spaces which promised more of the same.

At last they arrived at the top of the stairs where Red Tie opened a door to reveal a comparatively spacious room, with sunlight streaming in from several large skylights. They stepped in and Twilight found the roof of the building came to a point not too far above their heads, especially Luna's. Unlike the rest of the shop, not all of the walls were covered by bookshelves. Instead, a few were occupied by an odd arrangement of art, from dusty tapestries of faded ponies frolicking to a reprint of Whirall's Campbelle's Apple Cans. The shelves that were lined up against some walls were only partially filled with papers, the leftover space taken up by small chests, game boards, and various other odds and ends.

The floor was covered by thick carpets with intricate, almost abstract designs woven into them, which helped to hide the various stains soaked into the fabric. Several cushions and couches were spread around with a few tables intermixed among them. As Twilight was taking this all in, Luna settled down on a few cushions next to a table near the center of the room.

"So, I'll just leave you two alone," Red Tie said from the doorway. "Please stay as long as you like. But, before I go, what would you like to drink?"

"I think we'll both have chai lattes," Luna answered. "It's been too long since I've had one and you make them so wonderfully."

Red Tie's face lit up with a smile of pride. "That sounds good. I'll have them up in a jiffy," she replied. As she trotted out of the room she called back over to them, "You two have fun," before closing the door behind her.

"I hope you don't mind that I ordered for you," Luna said as Twilight drifted over to join her, taking off her saddlebags and hat, setting them gently nearby.

"No, not at all; though it's been a while since I've had chai tea. I don't have the time to make it myself, and Spike doesn't like making it all that much either since it's a bit more involved than other teas."

"I can't say that I've ever tried making it, but I do enjoy it immensely. Especially the way they prepare it here."

They lapsed into a brief, comfortable silence as they examined all the interesting things in the room around them. Twilight's eye was soon caught by a chess set sitting on a nearby table. Both sides of the pleasantly carved set were in position, carefully aligned, waiting for the other's opening gambit.

Seeing what had drawn Twilight's attention , Luna asked, "Do you play?"

Twilight smirked a bit. "A little," she admitted, memories of her various blue ribbons as a filly filling her head.

"Shall we have a game while we wait?"

"Sure."

Luna floated the set over to their table, rotating it so that she was the night side, naturally, allowing Twilight to be the day, and thus have the first move. After a moment's consideration, she sent out her pawn, beginning the classic Giuoco Piano opening.

Twenty or so minutes later and Twilight had lost three of her pawns while Luna had give up several pawns, as well as a rook and a knight. Early in the game the princess been on the attack, but Twilight had shifted the momentum and Luna was now playing very defensively, and Twilight was about to make her pay for it.

Luna unconsciously worried the corner of her lower lip as she studied the chessboard, trying to decide on the least damaging move. Twilight spent this time studying Luna and found her state of unease, and the undivided attention she was paying her remaining pieces more than a little endearing, especially since her uncertain expression was such a striking contrast to her normally collected persona. It made her want to both comfort her, and to keep pushing her at the same time.

Luna was still weighing her options when a bell mounted on a far wall began to chime. With a sigh of relief, Luna turned her attention away from the game, over to a small door beneath the bell. She slid it open to reveal the ropes and pulleys associated with a dumb waiter, along with a large, heavy tea set. She levitated the heavily encumbered platter over to their table, setting it down gently enough to cause the pieces on the chessboard to wobble only slightly.

The teacups were wider and deeper than Twilight was used to, neither of them matching the other, both filled with a creamy brown, slightly frothy tea. The steam that curled up from them was aromatic, rich with the promise of spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and many more in a medley too complex for Twilight to differentiate.

Luna floated one of the cups, and the saucer it sat upon, over to her and took a small, expeditionary sip. She smiled in satisfaction. "Exactly how I like it."

More relaxed than before, she finally made her move, and almost immediately Twilight countered. "Check." While Luna regarded the board in surprise and tried to get her mind back into the game, Twilight sampled her own cup of tea. It was still almost scaldingly hot, but the temperature was bearable in small doses. The first thing that Twilight noticed, aside from the temperature, was the sweetness. The tea was much sweeter than what she had been expecting, but it was balanced by the rich mixture of spices blended in. Mostly. It was an interesting drink, she decided. Not bad, just different.

With slow deliberateness, Luna chose her move. Unfortunately for her, there were only three ways out of the check Twilight had put her in, and none of them would leave her in a good position. Twilight turned her attention back to the board and emotionlessly announced, "checkmate," as she closed her trap.

Luna looked down at the board in surprise, studying her princess and all the options no longer left to her. After a few moments, in an odd voice, she observed, "You won."

Twilight couldn't quite tell whether Luna was upset over the loss or not. With an awkward, neutral smile, she replied, "Well, yeah. You played well, but when you over-thought many of your moves and fell into Kotov's syndrome."

"I see," Luna said, still oddly calm, but then she broke into a determined smile. "I'm not familiar with this Kotov, but I think I can do better. Would you like to play again?"

They ended up playing three more games, each longer than the last. The third game Luna had won, by a back-rank check, using the abundance of Twilight's pieces on the board against her. The fourth game had lasted for quite some time, and Twilight frowned when she couldn't see a way forward which Luna couldn't counter. Conversely, Luna had no way to press an attack without leaving herself vulnerable. They were at a stalemate. Her lips twisted in resignation, Twilight looked up and asked, "Another game?"

Luna chuckled and replied, "No, I think I'll keep what dignity I have left and quit for today. I'll have to spend more time practicing before we play again, so that I can offer you a worthy challenge."

Twilight leaned back from the table and chuckled. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You played better than most ponies would have. I don't want to brag, but I am a pretty good chess player. I've even won a few competitions, years ago."

Luna archly raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I see. You're one of those ponies who prey upon innocent princesses; playing a few games to build up their confidence, and then raising the stakes only to defeat them soundly."

Twilight regarded Luna askance for a moment before she broke out laughing. "What kind of stories have you been reading?" she asked while setting the chess pieces back as they'd found them.

"Well, I thought it was a biographical tale of a maid. However, I don't think there are any ponies quite that ... wanton in real life."Still chuckling, Twilight set the chessboard back down on the table they'd taken it from.

Luna poured herself another cup of tea, reminding Twilight that her own cup was cold and nearly empty. The teapot was light, and as she poured another cup for herself, she noticed a few sediments slip in. She set the teapot down and contemplatively swirled her cup, mixing the tea and waiting for it to cool as they lapsed into a comfortable silence, the reddish-orange light of evening coloring the sky overhead.

In the muted, quiet atmosphere, the only sounds that filled the room were their slow, soft breaths. As if the entire world had moved on, leaving them there in that moment.

Twilight looked up from her tea to find Luna leaning heavily on the table, regarding her with half-lidded eyes, as if she were studying a Rainbowrant or a Moneigh. Absently, almost as if she were somniloquizing, she said, "I wish this could last forever."

"So do I," Twilight replied with a soft, sad laugh. "But we'll probably have to get back to the palace one of these days."

"And then?"

"Well, we have a party to get ready for tomorrow -"

"And after that?" Luna asked, oddly insistent, unnervingly focused compared to a moment earlier.

Twilight's smile fell somewhat. "Then I'll go back to Ponyville and you'll go back ruling Equestria like normal. Don't worry though, I'll still write every day and we can get together again. You can come visit me in Ponyville or I can come back and visit you in Canterlot. Or, maybe we can go on a trip together, someplace neither of us has ever been, that we could explore together."

"And what then, Twilight?" Luna asked, almost mournfully. "What dreams do you have? Where will the future find us? Do you plan on spending your whole life in Ponyville?"

Twilight blinked, unprepared for Luna's question, and not really sure where she was coming from, what answer she was expecting. "I-I'm not sure, I guess. I haven't really thought about it. I mean, that might not be all that bad. Ponyville's a great place and all, er, most of my friends live there." Luna's face didn't change, but Twilight could nonetheless feel her disapproval from across the table. "But, like I said, I haven't really thought about it." Nervously she laughed. "It's just, I don't know, all my life I've been in school, and I never really had to think about the future all that much. I just got used to it all being mapped out already. I just needed to study and pass tests and move from one grade to the next, from one school to another. When I moved to Ponyville, it felt like the same thing, like it was another test, another grade that Princess Celestia had moved me to. I suppose I've just been waiting for Princess Celestia to tell me what to do next, to tell me when I'd passed." She laughed again, this time sadly and without any humor. "It sounds kind of silly when I put it that way."

Luna's eyes had softened and she sighed remorsefully. "No, it sounds completely understandable. I never went to school, but on many occasions I've lost sight of the distant future in favor of the short term. I know how it can feel, focusing on tomorrow and letting next year care for itself. I sometimes find myself envying ponies who are able to live day-to-day, who go their entire lives without a thought for the future. Like beautiful, colorful butterflies who know only summer."

Luna was speaking low, softly, and growing pensive. To lighten the mode, Twilight tried her hoof at humor. "I don't think there's anypony who doesn't worry about the future, at least somewhat. But I don't think anypony could think about it as much as you and Princess Celestia do. After all, nopony will live as long as you two. Long enough for the future to become the present, for the future worries to become today's."

"But what if you could?" Luna asked, her eyes catching Twilight's with a fierce intensity. "What would you do if you could live as long as we do, Twilight?"

It felt as if there was some unseen weight behind the question, and rather than answer glibly, Twilight turned her eyes to the side and thought for a few moments. Slowly she replied, "I'm not sure if I'd want to. It would be fascinating to see how Equestria changes in the future. To be there to see ponies discover new inventions, new magic, to revolutionize the world in ways we haven't even thought of. But at the same time, what about my friends, my family? I'd hate to watch them grow older, until my friends are all Granny Smith's age while I'm still young and eternal. And after that, when they're gone, I'd be all alone. There might be other ponies who'll come after them, but they're irreplaceable." She said it simply, feeling as if she'd suddenly been dragged to the edge of a cliff at the edge of an endless sea of sorrow.

"You'd still have me. And Celestia," Luna softly offered.

Twilight refocused on the present and smiled kindly. "I know. But still, I think I'd like to live forever only if I didn't know how to love, how to feel. So I could watch the march of time without growing too attached to any one part of it. I guess that's why you and Princess Celestia are princesses. You're the only ponies I know who could handle the weight of so much responsibility."

Luna's head was bowed, and she seemed broken somehow as she stared into the depths of her tea. "I see," she said quietly.

The afternoon seemed dimmer and the silence which stretched between them felt cold and impenetrable. Twilight wasn't sure what had changed, but felt that something she'd said had upset Luna. Unfortunately she wasn't sure what it had been, so she held her silence lest she hurt her friend further. She quietly drank her tea while Luna left hers untouched and allowed it to grow cold.

After several long minutes, with a shaky sigh, Luna looked up from the table to the skylights overhead, the evening light making her eyes appear red ringed. "It's growing late, we should probably return to the palace."

"Okay," Twilight gently replied. She gathered her saddlebags and hat while Luna stood and deposited a bag full of bits on the table without bothering to count them.

Twilight had started for the door when Luna spoke up, "I don't feel much like walking. For some reason the palace feels further away tonight than normal."

"Oh. Do you want to fly back then?" Twilight asked, her thoughts returning to the last time Luna had flown with her, when they'd soared above the Everfree laughing.

Luna's eyes looked haunted and remorseful. "No. Not tonight. I think I'll teleport us instead."

"Are you sure? Doesn't it take a lot of power to teleport two ponies so far?"

"Power and resolve. Both of which I have in abundance at the moment since I'm devoid of anything else." Luna closed her eyes and her horn glowed, navy blue slipping into black. Around the room, the shadows began to gather and coalesce, spinning faster and faster around one another as they bunched together in front of Luna. Eventually they were spinning so quickly that they formed a large oval, solid and black like the empty space between two stars.

Luna opened her eyes and there was an emotion there that caused an icy shiver to pass through Twilight, a mixture of pain and resignation. She took a few steps forward to say something meaningful, but her words abandoned her, and she found that she could do little more than wrap her hooves around Luna's neck and hold her in a tight embrace. "Whatever it is, it'll be okay, Luna."

Luna didn't respond. Instead she rested her face on Twilight's shoulder and Twilight could feel a repressed shudder run through her. At length she whispered, "I don't know how much longer I can hold it. Please go, Twilight."

Reluctantly Twilight let go and walked to the portal. She looked back at Luna with uncertainty as she stepped through. It was like stepping into an airless void. It was so dark that Twilight couldn't tell whether her eyes were still open or not. There was absolute silence, as if the world had ended, or hadn't begun, and all of existence was suffused with a still, silent nothingness. At the same time though, something pressed against her, pounding her like the force of a mighty waterfall trying to sweep her away. As if the empty universe were pushing her away with all its might, trying to expel her and all she represented by merely existing. At first it pushed at her, and then it pulled, and without any idea of how she'd come there, Twilight found herself tumbling into Luna's suite back at the palace.

She steadied herself and looked back to find Luna sedately stepping out of the ebony portal, identical to the one they'd entered. Behind her the portal disappeared as the shadows making it up split and swiftly scattered to the corners of the room. Luna's neck was bowed in defeat, her mane and tail drooping as if pulled down by the weight of the world. With listless carelessness, she tossed both her new sunglasses and the package for Celestia to a nearby table.

"I had fun today," Twilight said hopefully.

Luna lifted her head and smiled sadly. "I did too." Twilight opened her mouth to comment that she didn't exactly look like she'd had a wonderful time, but was forestalled by Luna continuing, "Though, perhaps I've ... overextended myself. I'm afraid that I'm not very good company at the moment. Please believe me though, today was one of the most wonderful that I've had in quite some time."

"I'm sorry; I forgot how late it must be for you. Please, if you're tired, get some rest. I'll just go ahead and go back to my room. But I'd really like it if we could spend tomorrow together too."

"I'd like that," Luna replied with an attempt at a smile. "Good night, Twilight."

"Good night, Luna." Twilight slowly walked over to the door, and on the threshold she paused to look back. Shadows cloaked the room, except for the spot Luna stood, her eyes shining bright and baleful in the darkness. Twilight turned away quickly. She knew that there was something else bothering Luna, beyond exhaustion. She also knew that whatever it was, it likely was her fault, and simply by being there, she was somehow hurting her. Perhaps Luna simply needed time alone to settle her thoughts.

Twilight opened the door with a pull of her magic and was surprised to find Princess Celestia on the other side, her hoof raised in preparation to knock. "Ah, hello, Twilight," She said with a brilliant smile. "Hello Luna ..." she looked up from Twilight toward her sister and she trailed off as her smile faded.

Twilight whispered, "I think I said something that upset her. I don't know what it was, but maybe you should talk to her, cheer her up."

"I'll do my best," Princess Celestia whispered back as she brushed past Twilight into Luna's room. Twilight looked after her, feeling conflicted. She wanted to help Luna, but wasn't sure how. If there was anypony who could, it was Princess Celestia, so at least Twilight knew she was in the best hooves possible. She just wished that those hooves were hers. Silently she closed the door behind her and set off down the palace corridors toward the guest rooms, frowning thoughtfully.

The late evening sunlight peeped through the cracks of the curtains, casting amber beams over the many shades of blue which decorated the room. Luna stood in an island of darkness at the far end of the room, her head turned away and her mane falling like a wall between her and the rest of the world. Though she couldn't see her face, Celestia could see from her tense but defeated body language that something had upset her badly.

"Hello, Luna," Celestia called out again, this time without any cheerfulness in her voice. However, her words didn't elicit so much as an ear twitch from her sister. Slowly, carefully, Celestia crossed the room as if she were approaching a wounded tiger, warily swishing its tail back and forth.

Though her steps were silent as she crossed the deep pile carpet, Luna's head cocked slightly when she'd come to within a length of her, causing Celestia to pause. Still without turning to face her, Luna sighed and her shoulders slumped further. In a defeated tone she said, "You were right, Celestia. As usual. Even if I can overcome the natural order, I still can't overcome nature, pony nature."

Far from feeling triumphant, Celestia was filled with worry and asked with concern, "Why? What happened, Luna?" She closed the distance between them and comfortingly stood by her side. "Did you tell her how you felt?" She asked with trepidation. Celestia thought back to a moment ago. Twilight had been too composed to have knowingly caused Luna any pain like that.

"No. No, not yet. But it might be a moot point. I asked her about the future. About what she would do if she could live as long as we us. And she said that she didn't want to. That she'd prefer to live and die with her friends and family rather than to watch them grow old and fade away, powerless to stop it." Luna turned to look up at Celestia with tear filled eyes. "Like us."

Celestia's heart went out to Luna. Seeing her about to cry was causing tears to well up in her own eyes. But, she had to be strong for her sake. With a compassionate, "Oh, Luna," she gathered her into a tight embrace. Luna collapsed into the hug, burying her face in Celestia's mane. "I don't want her to leave me, Celestia, but she doesn't want to stay."

"It'll be all right," Celestia said comfortingly as she rocked them both back and forth slightly. "You know she didn't mean it that way."

"I know she didn't, but I never thought that she, that anypony would rather die than live forever."

Thinking back over the many years she'd lived and the many ponies she'd known, Celestia quietly sighed. "But they do want to live forever. Nopony wants to die, but the ponies in Equestria are special and don't want to see those that they love die either. Most ponies come to accept the cycle of life and death and their place in it. Instead of worrying about the future, they instead try to live each day to the fullest and with all their hearts."

Luna pulled back away from Celestia, her red rimmed eyes searching Celestia's face for answers. "And where's our place in it, Celestia, the cycle of life and death? Why are we the only ones who have to witness pony after pony being born, live, and then die?" She shook her head uncomprehendingly and stepped further away. "Twilight said something that reminded me of you. She told me that she could only live forever if she couldn't love. At least not in the way that other ponies love. Maybe both of you are right. Maybe it's impossible to live as long as we do and to be truly, madly, deeply in love."

"No," Celestia sighed. She stepped forward and tenderly kissed away the tears on Luna's cheeks. "It's not impossible. It's just painful."

A bit more composed, but still downcast, Luna whispered, "I'm not afraid of the pain, no matter how long it lasts. I'm afraid of what comes after the pain. The numbness, the acceptance, the forgetting. Do you remember Countess Red Velvet, Baron Rain Whisper, Lightning Whisper? I can't. I can barely remember their names. For the life of me I can't remember their faces, their voices, the color of their manes, not even their cutie marks. I didn't love them as I love Twilight, but how long does it take to start to forget a pony, their face, the color of their mane, their laugh? How long until they become nothing but a dull memory, or a memory of a memory? A millennium, two, ten?"

Celestia smiled sadly, a familiar ache in her heart. "I'll be sure to let you know when I find out."

Realization flooded Luna's eyes, and abashedly she said, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You're right. Memories are ephemeral, even the most powerful of them. But if you truly love somepony, I don't think you can ever fully forget them. When you least expect it, a smell, a sound, the way the light glints from a stained window will remind you of their smile, or the way the sunlight played in their mane, and it hurts so badly, and feels so painfully wonderful."

Luna sighed again. "But I don't want to lose her Celestia. I can't hold a memory in my hooves. I can't kiss a recollection. Maybe you're right. Maybe it's better to love and die than to love and live. Maybe if it's possible to turn a normal pony into an alicorn, it might be possible -"

"Don't," Celestia said sternly but pleadingly. Desperation led ponies to think strange things, and she was deathly afraid of what a desperate Luna could be capable of. "Please don't think that way, Luna. It was painful enough to be separated from you for a thousand years. I don't know what I'd do if you were gone forever."

Luna's brow scrunched in vexation. "I'm sorry, but it's just so frustrating. Why can't love be easy?"

Celestia could only smile in resignation and offered, "Because then it wouldn't be worth it." Seeing Luna so dejected caused her heart to contract painfully. She gently stepped closer and folded her into an embrace with her soft, warm wings and led her over toward the large bed.

Sensing that Luna needed some encouragement to bring her out of her depression, Celestia lightly asked, "Have you ever heard the story of the gryphon and the cat?"

Unprepared for the odd question, Luna answered questioningly, and in a more normal tone of voice, "No, I don't believe so."

They settled down on the edge of Luna's soft, luxurious bed. "Well, a long time ago there lived a dragon who'd amassed a huge fortune, one famous throughout the land. While he was indeed rich, his most prized possession was his pet cat, which he loved dearly. He thought it was the finest, the smartest, most wonderful cat in the whole world. It could perform all sorts of impressive feats, like algebra. But there was one thing the cat couldn't do that the dragon would pay any price for. It couldn't speak. The dragon wanted to know that the cat knew how much he loved it, and to know what it was the cat thought about all day.

"So, he made a promise. Anypony who could teach his cat how to speak would be rewarded with whatever price they named. But to discourage opportunists from needlessly harassing his beloved pet, he also promised that he would eat anypony who tried and failed."

Luna was paying rapt attention to Celestia's story, but she interrupted to comment, "That seems rather barbaric, even for a dragon."

"It was a different time," Celestia breezily replied. "The dragon hadn't amassed his wealth by being the most agreeable creature around. Needless to say, nopony took him up on his offer because everypony knows that teaching a cat to speak is impossible and nopony wanted to be eaten."

Seeing Luna take a breath to interrupt again, no doubt with one of the many spells that could be used to let a cat talk, Celestia pressed on. "However, at the time, there was a poor gryphon who had no home and drifted from village to village, relying on the kindness of others. Hearing of the dragon's offer, she saw it as a chance to finally make a home for herself. So she went to the dragon and said that she could teach his cat to talk. But, she told him that it wouldn't be a simple process. It would take her a year, during which she had to have complete focus on the lessons, so she couldn't worry about where she was to sleep from night to night, or where her next meal would be coming from.

"Her words made sense to the dragon and he agreed to her terms. When the ponies who lived near the dragon's lair found out about the deal, they came and asked the gryphon why she'd made such a deal. Didn't she know it was impossible for a cat to talk and that in a year she'd be eaten? She replied that for the first time in her life she had a place to call home, a roof over her head, and the finest meals known to ponydom. And she had a year. A lot can happen in a year; maybe the dragon would find a new project and release her from her promise. Maybe the cat would die, maybe the dragon would die, or maybe, the cat would talk."

Luna was frowning, but it was thoughtful and suited her much better than her tears from earlier. "Was that a true story, or was it a parable? Either way parts of it -"

Celestia couldn't help herself and chuckled. Luna had a wonderful mind for detail, but it sometimes didn't allow her to see the larger picture. "The important part of the story is that nopony can know the future, Luna. As long as we're alive, there's always hope. Maybe today Twilight is content with her life as it is now. But she might change her mind tomorrow. Neither she nor we are going anywhere for many years to come. I'm sure that with enough time you can persuade her Luna, or maybe we can find some other solution. Things will work out, you'll see. You haven't even told her how you feel about her yet. That will give her a lot to think about." Celestia smirked. "Although if you want to change her mind, I'd suggest writing a research paper in APA style, it's her favorite."

Luna's ears had pricked up, and based on her slightly absent gaze, the simple fact that Twilight's decision might not be set in stone hadn't occurred to her, and she was busy examining all the possibilities. Slowly a tentative hope dawned in her eyes. But when she looked back at Celestia, it was with a questioning frown. "I thought you were against my relationship with Twilight."

Celestia felt her smile slip as she remembered their argument and her resolution from earlier in the day. "To be honest, I can't say that I support it." She gave Luna a squeeze with her wing and a reassuring smile. "But I do support you. Even if I don't agree with the direction you're going, when it's all said and done, I'll always be here for you."

Luna smiled tenuously and whispered, "Thank you. That means more to me than you'll ever know." She laid her head down on Celestia's shoulder and snuggled closer to her.

Celestia was thankful that Luna was in no position to see the goofy smile she knew she must be wearing. She leaned down and planted a soft kiss on top of Luna's head before resting her own head on the same spot.

The sun had been waiting on the horizon for a few minutes, and with a thought, Celestia pushed it over the edge and made way for the night. She felt a spark, and Luna's horn flared to life before her eyes, sending a familiar tingle through her. The light from Luna's magic faded, and over the next few minutes, so too did the light coming in around the drapes. Softly the night arrived.

Beneath her, almost inaudibly, Celestia heard Luna ask, "Celestia?"

"Yes?" she softly murmured back.

In a small voice, Luna asked, "Could you stay with me? I don't want to face the darkness alone tonight."

"Of course I will."

Celestia could feel the tension leave Luna's body as she replied, "Thank you."

Celestia closed her eyes. For the next several minutes the only sound in the room was their steadily slowing breathing and, thanks to her position, the beating of Luna's heart.

Eventually another quiet "Celestia?" broke the silence

Once again she asked, "Yes?"

"Did the gryphon teach the cat how to speak, or did the dragon eat her."

Celestia smiled wistfully at the question. It reminded her of a time long, long ago, when both she and Luna were much younger. "Yes, the cat learned to speak, and the dragon was so overjoyed that he invited the gryphon to live with him permanently. They grew to be the best of friends, and all three of them lived happily ever after."

Her speech thick with sleep, Luna replied, "Good. I'm glad. Good night Celestia."

"Good night, Luna."

In silence they welcomed the night together, and drifted off into their own dreams.


Thank you Pyrite, Lambotrist, and Axis of Rotation for looking this over.

I'm sure you're all wondering why this chapter took so long.

Anyway, for those curious, the working title for this one ended up being: Don't let N-2 side B v2-3.

So, instead of making two more chapters, I'm just going to throw everything into one final chapter and end this thing once and for all. I'm not sure how long it will take, but trust me, this story will be finished.