Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
How are you? It's been a while since I last saw you. I've kind of missed you. If you're not busy or anything, I want you to come to Canterlot and stay here for a bit. I've opened up more since that party you and your friend set up for me, so thank you so much for that. I don't know how I can repay you. But if you could relax a little and have some fun in Canterlot, I can have you stay at my house instead of making you pay to stay at a hotel. Then again, you're a princess, so you probably wouldn't need to pay...anyway, I'd love it if you had a little vacation here. Your friend that came with you last time can come with you this time too, if she wants to. Spike too. This letter's getting long, so I should probably wrap things up...just let me know if you can do it, okay? You can come whenever you want, but I just want you to come here.
Sincerely,
Moondancer
She reread the slim letters she'd written over and over again. It had to be perfect. It had to be convincing, but not forcing. It had to be innocent. She couldn't let her real intentions slip.
Moondancer finally decided that this letter was good enough. She folded it up with her pale pink telekinesis, and slipped it into the open white envelope she'd placed nearby. With the crimson feather quill she wrote the required addresses on the back. She turned the envelope over to slip the upper flap into it. Just one stamp and the letter would be ready for delivery.
Moondancer leaned back a bit, careful not to fall from the cushioned stool, touching her front hooves together, feeling content. After so many years, she would finally be able to make her fantasies come true. She'd finally tell Twilight the truth. And if Twilight didn't love her back...the recipe was already prepared.
"Wow." Twilight glanced over the letter again as Pinkie looked over her shoulder. "I never thought she'd send me an invitation. Especially after what I did to her."
"No, it's because of what you did for her." Pinkie nudged Twilight's plate closer to the lavender mare. "Eat your pancakes!"
"You're not eating either. All you wanted to do when we got here was to find out what the letter says."
Pinkie walked back to her seat, across the purple mushroom table from Twilight, who set the letter and envelope aside. "So are you gonna take me and Spike to Canterlot again?"
"Well, Spike can come if he wants to," Twilight answered. After taking a bite from one of her golden, buttermilk pancakes and swallowing, she added, "Do you want to go?"
"Yeah, of course! Moondancer's a cutie!" Pinkie leaned forward. "Do you think she'll want us to throw a party for her again?" she asked, before taking a bite from her own pancakes.
Twilight shrugged. "Honestly, I don't think so. She said that she wants me to relax."
"She probably knows how hard you work."
"I don't work that hard. I probably should work more, though." Twilight glanced downward. "I don't want to be lazy. What if Princess Celestia needs me for something?"
"Celestia lives in Canterlot too, so you'll be even closer!" Pinkie was watching Twilight eagerly as the alicorn ate. "It all works out, doesn't it?"
Twilight smiled a bit. "I guess you're right. I just don't want to feel like I'm slacking off." She looked back up at Pinkie. "Why do you want to go so bad, anyway?"
"I didn't get to talk to Moondancer a lot last time we were there, so I want to know her better! I want to be friends with her like you are!"
"I don't know if Moondancer's as social as you are." Twilight had finished her first pancake. "But you get along with everyone, so she'll probably take a liking to you."
"Ooh, we should get her a present!" As Pinkie took another bite and swallowed, her ice blue eyes gleaming with excitement, she added, "She likes reading like you, right? Do you know what books she doesn't have?"
Twilight chuckled a bit. "We, uh...kinda gave her every book in the world when we set up that trail..."
"Yeah, that was a real shopping spree, wasn't it? We were lucky there was a sale at the bookstore!"
"Hmm..." They thought over it as they ate some more of their pancakes before Twilight said, "Let's go look for a gift once we're done eating. Maybe our friends can help us out."
Pinkie gestured to the letter on the side of the mushroom table. "Shouldn't you write back first?"
Twilight folded up the letter with her magic and slipped it back inside the envelope. "There's no rush. But can you try to remind me once we're done shopping?"
"You have my word! I'm super good at remembering stuff!"
Meanwhile, Moondancer was at the new coffee shop in Canterlot with her friends. Her mocha was freshly brewed, and her glasses were steaming up from the heat. She took a sip of it, bracing herself for the fire that would soon spill over her tongue.
"So Twilight's coming to visit again?" Minuette asked excitedly, setting down her own white coffee cup.
Moondancer shrugged. "I just sent the letter earlier this morning. I don't even know if she got it yet."
Lemon Hearts smiled. "She probably has. The postal service has been pretty fast recently. I wonder if they fired that one mailmare? You know, the pegasus from Ponyville Lyra told us about?"
"Who, Ditzy Doo?" Twinkleshine was sprinkling some white sugar into her coffee. "I'm sure she's trying her best."
"Anyway, are you sure Twilight's not busy?" Minuette asked Moondancer. "You know, being the princess of friendship and all?" The blue unicorn took a sip of her dark coffee.
Moondancer used a nearby napkin to attempt to wipe the steam from her glasses. "I tried not to rush her. I was just saying she could come and stay a while if she wanted to."
Lemon Hearts sighed blissfully. "I still can't believe she decided to visit us again. I thought once she'd ran off to Ponyville without saying anything, we were out of sight, out of mind."
"I have a feeling we were for a while," Twinkleshine admitted, swirling a spoon in her coffee with her light blue telekinesis. "Minuette, remember when you, Lyra and I were bridesmaids for Princess Cadance's wedding? Twilight didn't even do more than glance at us. But I was still hoping she'd say hi at some point. It took forever before she finally came around to us again."
"She's come so far," Moondancer said softly. "She used to be just like me. I never would have guessed when we were fillies that she'd be a princess."
"We're still glad you've opened up a little, Moondancer!" Minuette nudged her shoulder with a hoof, smiling reassuringly. "I hope you're not feeling bad about anything!"
Moondancer took another sip from her coffee. "I'm not. I just...wish I could thank Twilight enough."
"You're not still mad at her?" Lemon asked.
"Of course not. She tried as hard as she could to make it up to me. And she really just wanted me to be happy." Moondancer smiled. "It feels good not to be cooped up in my house reading all day. Not that I don't like studying." She closed her eyes. "Twilight used to be like me too. I wonder how she felt when she realized how good friendship felt. Real friendship."
"How did you ou feel?" Twinkleshine asked, setting down her cup after taking a sip from her sweetened coffee.
Moondancer smiled. "Like a vengeful ghost would feel if they were finally at peace. Ever since that party I held, I felt betrayed. All the time. I could never really get over it. I had no idea how I felt towards Twilight. I was sad and confused. So...I lost myself in books to get away from the feelings. Then Twilight finally let those feelings escape, and...I can be happy again."
There was a silence at the table as the ponies took some more sips of their coffee, each sip greedier than the last as the coffee slowly cooled a bit. Then Minuette broke the silence. "So the party really meant that much to you, huh?"
Moondancer nodded. "Honestly, I still don't know exactly how to feel toward Twilight. But I'm definitely grateful."
And soon...I'll finally be able to express it. She was nearly done with her mocha now. She blinked slowly as she took one of the final sips. She has to accept it. She has to accept me. Why wouldn't she love me back?