Finally! Canterlot!
The train comes to a full stop and the doors open. The group exits and looks up to see one of the most prestigious cities in Equestria. Finally, they have arrived at Canterlot! Alex looks up to the castle in the distance and has a good idea on where he wishes to go. Twilight also has the same idea, but it seems their meeting in mind is with a different pony.
“Well, just so we’re all clear, we’re going to the castle up ahead.” Twilight told them.
“It’s hard to miss, so even if Alex gets lost, he can just go to the castle by himself.” Rainbow stated.
“Alex?” A voice called out to him. He turned to see a beautiful mare with a silky mane. The way she stands was elegant as the city itself. Alex smiled as he recognized who she was.
“Fleur De Lis! Is that you?”
“Oh, it is you, Alex!” She said happily. “I’m so glad to be able to see you! I wasn’t able to attend the event that you planned a few days ago, but I’m glad I was still able to see you!”
“Oh my, you know Fleur Fe Lis as well Alex?” Rarity spoke in surprise.
“I guess you could say I’m one of his close friends.” She giggles some. She turns to him and says, “Alex, there’s somewhere I need to go, but would it be too much trouble to ask you accompany me for a while?”
“I’d be glad to take you up on that offer.” Alex accepted.
“Well, we’ll leave you two be for some time to talk to each other.” Rarity told them. “Come on girls.”
“Eh, but…” Twilight muttered, only to be pulled by Rarity.
“Let’s not bother them. Old friends should talk about old times sake.” Rarity told Twilight.
Twilight looked at Fleur De Lis and Alex exchanging laughs as they talked. She sighed and nodded. “You’re right… I just hope he doesn’t get lost.”
“Good! Now then, let’s just spend some time here in the city now that we have the chance.”
The group splits up, touring the city once again to see the sights. Alex and Fluer De Lis left together to talk about their time way back when. Twilight was somewhat fidgety however after they had left.
Meanwhile, in the castle at Canterlot, Princess Luna drinks a cup of coffee to begin her day as early as possible. The night makes her weary in the day, so she must act quickly for things to go well. Alex is about to come over, and she must prepare as much as possible.
“Alex is coming…” She mutters to herself. Taking a look at the mirror, she reviews herself. “Do I look alright?”
She looks at her face and sees nothing stretched. No wrinkles or bags under her eyes. “Thank goodness…” She sighs in relief.
Princess Luna goes up to the balcony and looks at the table with her tea set. She levitates the tea pot and thinks about what to prepare. She has a hard time deciding however when she turns to look at her possible choices.
“Which one… Which one…?” she mutters again, pondering at her choices. It takes some time, but she suddenly notices one. One that she feels would be the right choice. She pulls it out and prepares the tea. “Must… be… perfect…”
Alex was having a good time catching up with his friend and new friends. Alex was able to meet with Fleur De Lis’s husband, Fancy Pants. They hit it off when Alex was invited to join them for their wine tasting party. As they tasted the wine, they talked about other things.
“This tasting is honestly a bit drab.” Fancy Pants noted. “I’m glad you came to make things more interesting.”
“It’s a pleasure to spend time with friends.” Alex smiled.
“Yes, ever since Fleur here told me everything about you after you arrived with news telling it, I was quite interested in meeting you. Shamefully, the business had me stay behind during your celebration. And Fleur here didn’t want to leave my side at the time either.”
“She’s a very kind mare.” Alex nodded.
“Thank you Alex. It’s nice to hear you say such praise.” She giggles.
Alex takes another sip of wine to taste. He didn’t really want to spit, so he decided to swallow. His sips were as small as they can be, so he was the most elegant one in the party despite being the most otherworldly.
“It tastes nice.” Alex thought. He held his chin for a moment before he realized the flavor was familiar. “This is… Mare’s Vanity.”
“Very impressive Alex.” Fancy Pants complimented him. “Not many get to try that. It’s hard to get one's hooves on such an expensive and even rare bottle.”
“You’re an expert on care taking and wine tasting, Alex!” Fleur said, clapping her hooves together.
“Thank you,” Alex replied gratefully. He turned to the castle, still in view despite it being a tad far. He then remembered that this may be his chance to see them again. Something he shouldn’t forget. He looks at the two and says, “I just recalled I have some business in the castle. I hate to be rude, but I must go.”
“It’s quite fine Alex.” Fancy Pants told him. “Perhaps we can meet again at another event.”
“I hope it’s soon then.” Fleur smiled.
Alex smiled as he stood and said his farewells. After he left, Fancy Pants thought of something.
“Hmm… Business at the castle? Maybe he’s familiar with the wine because he’s royalty.”
Fleur gasped and questioned the idea. “But if that were the case, does that mean he’s… seeing one of the princesses?”
“Who knows?” He responded. “But he is a unique one indeed.”
Luna was making tea while being careful not to make any mistakes. It was going well until she realized she doesn’t know when Alex will arrive. Suddenly, many thoughts came up to her mind.
“If I prepare the tea too early, it may get cold!” She realized. She breathes in and breathes out calmly to regain her focus. “I’ll just have to keep it warm on the stove.”
She attempts to remain composed, but another thought comes up. “What if it gets too hot to drink?”
She pauses and realizes her mistake. “Why am I worrying about tea!? I should worry about my attire! Should I wear this crown and crest? Or should I…?”
She stammers with many thoughts in her mind, trying to make this moment with Alex absolutely perfect.
Alex arrives at the castle. He looks around for his companions, but they have not yet arrived. After a few minutes of waiting, he decides to go see Luna right now.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine if I go on ahead.” He thought to himself. “I’ve kept Luna waiting for far too long.”
As he approaches the tall doors, the guards by the door wait beside it.
“Do you have business here… Uh, sir?” One of them said, unsure what Alex was. The other guard, however, had his jaw open slightly in surprise. Alex turned to that guard and realizes who he was.
“Bronze Blade! Is that you?”
“Alex! I can’t believe it!” He said joyously. “I haven’t seen you for years! What are you doing here?”
“I came to see Princess Luna. She invited me to come and visit as well as catch up on old times.”
He gasped with sparkly eyes. “You and Princess Luna were…!!!”
The guard who witnessed this was bewildered by this. “Wait, wait, who is this man?”
“He’s a very good man.” Bronze assured his partner. “Let me escort him inside.”
“Is this really alright!?” He questioned.
“Trust me when I say, ‘He’s a good man’.”
The guard sighs and allows it. “It’s on you if he causes any problems.”
Bronze agrees and enters the castle with Alex. They exchange stories of their lives thus far as they make their way to Luna’s quarters.
Luna levitates the tea set at the balcony from her room. She checks the tea, the cakes she had the chefs make, and a shinier crown and crests. She also received word of a strange bipedal creature entering the castle. That must be him. She ordered everyone to treat him like a guest and to spread the word.
It’s finally happening. She thought. I don’t know who he is or why he makes my heart race, but… I must know who he is… or was. Why I know of him a bit more than the stories my sister told me of him.
She sighs in an attempt to cure the goosebumps she has right now. In moments, a knock on the door echoes her room. She walks towards it with unease and gradualness. When she opened the door, she found one of her servants.
“Hello, your highness.” She bows.
She groans quietly, somewhat unhappy of the rise of tension to drop so flatly. “Rise, Lunar Drop. What have you come here for?”
Lunar Drop waves her hoof to her left. “There is someone who came to see you.”
Alex enters her view, smiling with a friendly wave. Her perspective on the young man shines like many different stars dancing at the night. Her heart races and her eyes shrink with surprise as he comes into view.
“I hope I didn’t arrive too late, Luna.” He says honestly.
“N-N-Not at all!” She assures him, barely regaining her composure. She clears her throat before proceeding any further. “Ahem… Please, come inside.”
“Do you require any assistance?” Lunar Drop asked.
“Remain on standby outside of my room.” She tells her.
“Understood your highness.” She responded before closing the door.
Alex looks around the room of the Night Princess. It’s like the night itself, nice and cool as well as wondrous with star like drawings upon her ceiling.
“This room fits you. It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She smiles back. “Would you like some tea?”
“That would be nice.”
As they sit down outside at the balcony, they looked down to see a wonderful view of Canterlot. The city looks amazing from where they were right now.
“This is a lovely view.” Alex says somewhat excitedly. “You must be used to it by now, huh?”
“I feel blessed every time I get to see such a place prosper. I think today is one of those lucky days where things are going smoothly.”
Alex felt something warm inside from what she said. As he takes a sip of his tea, his eyes shrunk as he found a pleasant surprise. “Violet Night Tea.”
“You recognize it?”
“This is the same tea back home. I used to drink this a lot.”
“Hmm… I took a liking to this flavor when I returned to Equestria.”
Alex’s expression dims down a bit from hearing that. Luna noticed and realized that he sympathized with her. What happened a long time ago.
He really does care for her.
“Alex…”
“Yes, Luna?”
“I brought you here to do more than talk about pleasantries.” She stated. “About how I know of you and how you know of me.”
Alex looks at her before placing his hands on the table, twiddling his fingers.
“It was about 4 years ago. In my world, ponies from this world would sometimes somehow mysteriously cross to my world.”
“I’ve heard the stories from my sister on how she went to your world.” Luna pointed out.
“I see. Well, as for 4 years ago, there were many different ponies. You were one of them.”
Luna took in the information and pondered on it before having a frightening theory. “Alex… Are you saying 4 years ago… I was there?”
“Yes.”
“But 4 years… Who was I during that time…?” She questioned.
Alex placed his hand on Luna’s hoof, trying to make sure she would stay strong. Soon, he answered back. “Nightmare Moon.”
Silence flooded in. Luna was shaking at the thought. She could barely remain firm. If it wasn’t Alex, she would have stormed out.
“The time you were there, you were injured and weakened. My sister and I took you in and cared for you.”
“Rochelle…” Luna spoke.
Alex nodded. “We grew to know each other. A lot of things happened. An… incident also occurred.”
“I’m starting to recall, but it’s still so fuzzy.” She stated.
Alex held Luna’s hoof and told her, “Things happened back then, and they weren’t all good. But no matter what happened, I never blamed you. Not as Nightmare Moon and not as Luna. You’re still my friend, and that won’t change.”
Her eyes started to tear up. She began to cry as she wipes the tears before embracing Alex. She hasn’t regained all her memories, but she has remembered her dearest care taker.
The chariot lands at the castle with the guards bowing at royalty before them. Princess Celestia herself steps out of the chariot and looks up at the castle.
“It’s good to be back.”