Three, equally-timed raps came from the door, alerting Twilight Sparkle to rise from her book reading.
“Come in!” Twilight shouted over her shoulder, closing the book, making sure to mark her place first before turning around in her chair.
The door lever twisted and turned before unlatching. The heavy door creaked open, and a tall, broad-shouldered guard took two steps into the room before stopping, keeping his head held high.
“Forgive the interruption Miss Sparkle, but her royal highness, Princess Celestia requests your presence in her chambers,” spoke the guard through his golden helmet.
“Thank you, sir,” replied Twilight with a smile.
Twilight levitated the book back into it’s place on a nearby bookshelf before stepping down from the chair and following the guard out into the hallway. The two continued to line the many corridors and passageways until they came to a tall, curved staircase.
“Did she give any reason why she wants to see me?” Twilight asked as they started up the stone steps.
“No, Miss Sparkle. All I know is that it’s a private meeting. Her royal highness Princess Luna is with her, plus one guest, but I know nothing more than that.”
After much climbing, Twilight and the guard stopped off at a very tall, elaborately decorated door. There must have been every gem under the sun embedded in the door’s face. Gold and silver outlined each and every carved symbol and piece of colored stone, symbolising Equestria’s sudden prosperity as of late.
The guard raised a foreleg and knocked three times on the door. From behind the door, a muffled voice keyed up. Both guard and lavender unicorn backed away as the door began to open, stopping only after a few seconds, leaving a small gap in the doorway only about a meter wide.
“I must return to my duties. Her Royal Highness is expecting you. Good day,” said the guard, turning around and walking back to the descending flight of stairs.
Not wanting to keep her mentor waiting, Twilight did a quick once over of her appearance before stepping through the doorway.
The princess’ bedchamber was the most lavishly decorated room in the castle. Even though she’s seen it more times than she could count, the level of luxury always fascinated Twilight. Everything from the crystal chandelier up high to the tapered floors rugs below spelled luxury in several languages, each one of them ending off on a soft note.
“Over here, Twilight,” spoke up Princess Celestia from across the room, sitting next to Luna at a chess table. The lady Amalthea sat on the other side of the table, focusing hard on her chess pieces as if they were part of a test. Twilight smiled and trotted across the room to her mentor’s side.
“You can do it, Thea,” encouraged Luna, posing as Amalthea’s opponent in the match.
The white unicorn looked up and nodded before returning to her thoughts. Very carefully, Amalthea flared magic into her horn and lifted a bishop piece off the table, placing it in an empty space facing an interesting formation of knights on Luna’s side.
“It’s her first game, and Luna’s teaching her how to play,” whispered Celestia into Twilight’s ear.
“And it’s much more difficult than I imagined,” said Amalthea with a nervous chuckle.
“You’ll get the hang of it. It just takes practice,” said a cheery faced Luna.
“Would either of you care if we postponed this now that Twilight’s here?” asked Celestia with a smile.
“I suppose,” replied Amalthea, stepping away from the chess table.
“Fine,” Luna groaned, rolling her eyes playfully. “But let’s make it quick.”
The two sisters took up positions next to Celestia’s sides, forming a regal line for the talk ahead.
“Twilight, I guess it comes from the three of us when I say thank you for all that you and your friends have done in the past few days,” said Celestia. “Thanks to your help, we have averted a danger unlike any other, and once again, Equestria is safe.”
“Thank you, princess,” replied Twilight with a smile. “But to be honest, we never expected such a bizarre twist of events! We were just expecting a simple friendship.”
“I’m more in favor of Schmendrick’s actions,” Amalthea spoke up playfully. “You heard him. We had little chance of beating the bull by ourselves. Who knows what would have happened had he not arrived?”
“We could have taken him! I know we could have!” yelled Luna, inciting giggles from Celestia and Amalthea.
“I doubt that, princess,” said Twilight with a smile. “Anyway, is there anything else you wanted to tell me?” she asked.
“All I ask is that you keep the events of the last few days a little bit on the...quiet side,” said Celestia.
“Somepony’s gonna find out about your secret sisterhood eventually, princess,” Twilight pointed out. “You can’t keep her locked up in your bedroom forever you know.”
“Oh, I’ll reveal it eventually...” started Celestia. “Why wouldn’t I? After all, it’s not like she’s the last. No...”
“She’s the last no more...”