Oh. My. Celestia.
Artemis called me "Twilight." What's more, he smiled at me and called me his friend.
Yes! It made me feel really good when he said that to me, maybe because I'd been hoping to be his friend ever since he got here. He just seemed so distant and lonely, it made me really want to crack open his shell and I did! Now he's more willing to talk to me about certain things, like how he finds this place too rural for his tastes. Living in Canterlot for the past year has really changed his standards, I suppose. He also answered a lot of my questions on time travel, matter manipulation, and cooking. I can still remember the look on his face when I asked him about cooking; it was kind of an incredulous look mixed with copious amounts of amusement once he realized that I didn't know how to cook. It's not my fault that I'm too busy studying all the time! Plus, I can have Spike take care of that for me.
While he was no professional chef, he showed me how to brew my own coffee without the aid of a coffee machine. It took a lot longer, but the coffee tasted amazing. He also showed me how to make simple things like spaghetti, flatbread, and potato stew in which he insisted in throwing in extra amounts of onions and celery.
By the time we finished our impromptu cook session, it was around twelve at night. While I thought he was going to sleep right away, he offered to take me stargazing. He said he'd studied the constellations before in Canterlot but was eager to see how they looked without having light pollute the view, so we agreed. We must have stayed over two hours just looking at Luna's brilliant sky until our conversation turned towards more light-hearted topics (or as lighthearted as Artemis could be).
While I talked to him about my friends and tried to convince him to meet them, he adamantly refused. "While I consider you my friend, Twilight, it did not come easily. I would rather choose who my friends are and much rather avoid acquaintance with other ponies." No amount of pleading would budge him, so I eventually gave up on the topic and moved on towards other things.
Asking him about his childhood, I listened as he talked about how he was much more lively back then, as colts are wont to be. He seemed to have a bittersweet smile as he talked about those times, but his eyes turned liquid with some sort of hidden sadness. I never even got to find out what it was that was making so sad, because he kept jumping around the subject like a pro. I suppose when you live in the city of nobles and politicians, you pick up some of their skills in avoiding the question.
The night ended with me slowly falling asleep on the hillside where we had chatted. After pulling two all-nighters in a row and also re-filling Artemis' magic to the brim, I couldn't force myself to stay awake. All I remember is that when I woke up, I was in my bed with the covers pulled up over me to keep me warm.
You know, I'm starting to see the pony that Celestia told me to bring back. Little by little, I'm using the magic of friendship to bring his real self back to the sunshine.
If only I knew what was bothering him so much from his childhood.
-Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville Librarian and Bearer of the Element of Magic