//------------------------------//
// Chapter 35- Preparing for Departure 
// Story: Of Heaven and Earth 
// by Garuda IV 
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Sol and Twilight joined Pinkie's party after their talk with Celestia and Luna, both feeling a bit shaken at the request that they undertook. Having agreed to rule over Equestria for the duration of Celestia and Luna's vacation, Sol and Twilight were told to arrive two days before they would be taking over, allowing for them to get themselves settled in and rested, as well as be there for the announcement that Celestia and Luna would be making the day before their departure.

Wandering through the crowd of celebrating ponies, the two felt as though they needed something to help calm their nerves, and immediately sought out the nearest buffet table for something to drink.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this," Twilight said with disbelief before filling up and chugging a cup of punch. "I mean, I've had my own share of princess duties here in Ponyville, and I like to think that I've done a pretty good job at it so far, but this... oh boy."

Sol nodded and downed his own drink. "I know what you mean, Twilight. Mother has trained me in how to be a good ruler, and there have been plenty of times when I've joined her in open court where I was occasionally asked to give my opinion, but this will be different... and probably difficult."

Twilight hummed in agreement and began on her second cup. Once its contents were empty, she let out a loud sigh.

"Well, there's no going back now. We've made a commitment, and now we've got to see it through."

"Indeed." Sol gave a small smile and quickly nuzzled Twilight's cheek. "But don't worry about it too much. We'll be alright."

Though she initially flinched at the sudden and affectionate gesture, seeing as she was still getting used to it, Twilight did feel a little calmer.

"I suppose. It does make me feel a bit better knowing that you'll be there right with me through this. It's also nice to know that we'll have some trustworthy ponies there to help us out."

"Exactly. And, if we need some extra help, I doubt that Cadence and your brother would mind if we sent them a message and ask them for some additional advice."

"Hopefully it won't come to that, but it does help knowing that they'll be there to help too if we need it." Twilight looked around. "Should we tell our friends?"

Sol tapped his chin as he thought. "... maybe later. While Mother probably wouldn't mind us telling our friends, she wants to keep this quiet until she and Aunt Luna make the announcement, and don't want anypony to accidentally overhear us when we tell our friends."

"Alright, but when then?"

"How about tonight at your party?"

Yelping in surprise, Twilight and Sol spun around and saw Pinkie idly munching on a cupcake while looking at theme expectantly.

"Pinkie! Please, don't do that," Sol asked.

"Sorry," she shrugged. "I'll try, but I make no promises. Anyway, the girls told me about you two."

Twilight and Sol shared a look of surprise at how Pinkie was handling the news.

"You seem rather calm about it, Pinkie," Twilight commented. "Knowing you, I would've figured that you'd be screaming with joy and bouncing off the walls right about now."

"Oh, believe me, Twilight, I am super excited and happy for you two, but I'm just holding myself back for now. They told me that you two don't want other ponies to know just yet, so I won't say anything about it, or do anything that might give it away. But when that party comes around tonight, then the gloves are coming off. Oh, and you'll also have to tell me all about how you two hooked up."

Besides, she mentally added, it'll give us something to talk about during our next Pinkies' Night Out.

Twilight smiled for her restraint and thoughtfulness. "Thank you, Pinkie. And sure, we'll tell you all about it then."

"You're welcome, and thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a tree-shaped piñata full of candy that needs whacking."

Following Pinkie's example, Twilight and Sol went back into the sea of celebrating ponies and began to mingle. After several minutes of talking to various ponies about how the tree grew back, and how he'd transformed into a dragon, Sol spotted a certain pony who he wanted to talk to. Excusing himself from Twilight and the ponies they were talking to for a moment, Sol made his way through the crowd until he came face-to-face with Cadence.

"Hey, Cadence."

"Hello, Sol," Cadence smiled. "Having fun with the party?"

"I'm starting to."

Cadence's smile wavered for a moment as she noticed Sol's hesitation.

"Is something on your mind? You seem... uneasy. Almost nervous, even."

"... you'll find out later," Sol hesitantly answered. "There are too many ponies around right now that could overhear, so I'd rather not go into detail."

Cadence gave an understanding nod. "Alright, then."

"But, if it's alright, would you be alright with Twilight and I asking you for advice if we need it?"

"What kind of a question is that? Of course you can."

"Thank you. Well then, on a different topic, I need your advice."

Cadence giggled. "That was fast."

"This is for something else," Sol said with a playful eye-roll. "But seriously now, I need your advice. It's about Twilight."

Hearing that it was about her sister-in-law, Cadence gave Sol her undivided attention.

"Alright. What can I do for you? You two aren't having problems already, are you?"

"What? No, of course not." Sol blushed as he idly clawed at the ground. "It's just that, now that Twilight and I are together, I've been considering what to do for our first date. I had thought of taking her out on a picnic, taking her to a nice restaurant to eat, and I even considered bringing her to the library in Canterlot to look at some books she might like, but..."

"But what? All of those sound like things that she would enjoy. Especially if you brought her to the Canterlot Library."

"I know, but I want to do something extra special for her. Something that would leave a strong impression on her that she wouldn't easily forget. And since you've known her for much longer than I have, I was hoping that you might have an idea or two?"

Cadence hummed to herself as she thought it over. While she'd known Twilight since she was a filly and knew just about everything that she liked, Cadence wasn't sure of what exactly Sol should do. It sounded like his ideas were ideal for a first date for Twilight, so figuring out something else would be a challenge. As her mind began to wander, Cadence recalled something that Twilight had once said that gave her pause to her musing. Blinking in realization of the perfect outing, Cadence leaned in to whisper her idea into Sol's ear. After whispering her idea to him, Cadence pulled back to see Sol with confused expression on his face.

"Is that actually a thing? I mean, it does sound interesting, but I've never heard of it before."

Cadence smirked confidently. "Trust me, Sol, she'll love it."





Nearly a week had passed since the party. During that time, Twilight and Sol had been busy working with getting the Golden Oaks Library back up and running like it was prior to it's destruction. It was a slow start at first, having to figure out what all was needed exactly, and then having to place orders to acquire them. While some of the stores in Ponyville did have what they needed, such as bedding, furniture, and a few other things, some of the larger stuff they had to order from some of the other cities, such as the refrigerator, bathtub, oven, and of course, the numerous books to refill the library shelves. There was the idea of using the books in her own personal library, but that was quickly pushed aside as the books would be handled by other ponies who might accidentally ruin them, and perhaps even foals.

By the time the evening of Twilight and Sol's departure came around, they had just about just everything back to how Twilight remembered it, minus the books that were still being shipped over, and wouldn't be there for another three days. Even though it was lacking the books, thanks to the deliveries of their appliances, and their friends' help, the tree had once again become a livable home.

Now standing outside of the Golden Oaks with their luggage, Twilight let out a sigh, looking at her home as she leaned against Sol.

"You alright there?" Sol asked, only to smile when he saw Twilight smiling.

"Yeah," she replied before giggling. "I guess the reality of having the Golden Oaks Library back is still sinking in."

Sol gave a throaty chuckle before draping an arm over Twilight, hugging her close to his side.

"I'm really glad you like it so much."

Leaning into his hug, Twilight nuzzled Sol before she gave him a brief kiss.

"Like you wouldn't believe," she contently sighed. "Although, it won't be quite like home until we get those books in."

"Of course it wouldn't," he chuckled. "After all, it's not a true 'Twilight Home' unless it's got books in it."

Sol continued to chuckle on, even after Twilight playfully jabbed him in the ribs for his playful remark. Despite the verbal jab at her, Twilight couldn't help but chuckle alongside Sol, knowing that even though he was kidding, he was right to some degree.

"Somepony tell a good joke?"

Hearing his voice, Twilight and Sol looked over to their right to see Spike, Starlight, and the rest of their friends walking towards them.

"You could say that, Spike," Twilight smirked.

Starlight stepped forward. "We just wanted to come and see you two off before you left for Canterlot."

"Thanks, everypony." Twilight walked up to Starlight and gave her a goodbye hug. "Are you sure that you and Spike can handle watching over the castle while we're gone?"

"Pfft. Of course we can," Starlight waved off. "Don't you worry about it. Besides, the guards will be there to watch over it too while you're gone... although..."

Twilight arched an eyebrow as she cautiously responded. "Yes?"

"... well, it's just that I was thinking about inviting a friend over for a few days."

Twilight shot Spike a glance, wondering if he knew anything about it, which his shrug indicated that he didn't.

"As long as you two don't make a mess of the castle, then I suppose it's alright."

"Phew. Thanks, Twilight," Starlight thanked with relief.

"You're welcome, but if you're asking me for permission, then I'm guessing that this friend of yours isn't one of our friends here, or Trixie?"

"You'd be right. In fact, if it's alright with you, we can come pay you a visit up in Canterlot."

Twilight shrugged. "I don't see why not. When does your friend plan on coming over?"

"This Friday evening, so we'll probably see you sometime around the following day," Starlight replied before quickly adding, "If you're not too busy, that is."

"We should be alright, especially towards the afternoon," Sol answered. "Mother said that the weekends are usually rather slow for them, and even more so on Sundays."

"Alright. Then we'll see you Saturday afternoon." Starlight's ears perked up at the sound of wings flapping. "Sounds like your ride is here."

Looking up to the north, they saw a pair of royal guards pulling a carriage behind them. Seeing them coming in for a landing, everyone stood back and gave them enough space to come to a stop in front of the library, where they both looked at Twilight and saluted.

"Princess Twilight, Princess Celestia has sent us to retrieve you and Lord Sol," one of the guards spoke.

Twilight gave them a thoughtful nod. "Thank you."

Approaching the carriage, Twilight was about to hop in, but stopped when Sol offered her a claw. Smiling at the gesture, Twilight took his offer by placing her hoof in his claw and letting him help her in. Once seated, Sol was quick to follow in after and sit himself down next to her.

"We'll see you all in a week," Twilight said, waving to her friends as the guards began pulling the carriage. "And Spike! Make sure to take care of the library while I'm gone! And no wild parties!"

"Okay!"

With a chorus of goodbyes, they watched as Twilight and Sol few off in their chariot to Canterlot. Once they were a speck in the distance, the group bid one-another goodnight and began to disband, save for Spike and Rarity.

"I really did miss this place," Spike said with a sigh, looking at the tree before him.

Seeing him with this look of happiness and sadness, Rarity reared up and wrapped her forelegs around his neck in a hug.

"I know, darling. It was your home, so it's to be expected that you should miss it. And believe me, we all missed it as well to some degree. Though, I doubt that it was nearly as much as you or Twilight."

Smiling, Spike wrapped his arms around Rarity as he returned the hug. After a few silent moments went by, Spike nuzzled Rarity's cheek and speaking into her ear.

"You know, Rarity," he huskily whispered, "I've got the house all to myself for the next week."

With a gasp and a fierce blush on her face, Rarity pulled back and looked at Spike. Seeing the hungry look he was giving her, Rarity slapped his chest, which only elicited a chuckle from him.

"Spike! Are you insinuating what I think you are?! And while Twilight is away, no less?!" she chided with a tone of appalment.

Spike winced at her tone of voice. "Well... maybe?" he sheepishly answered. "I figured that it would be the best time since she's gone and won't be back for a week."

Rarity stared at him for a few more seconds before she silently broke their hug and began walking away, causing Spike to lower his head in shame. A second later, Spike's shame turned to confusion when he no longer felt the solid ground beneath him. Looking up, he saw that instead of walking away, Rarity was standing in front of the door to the library, her horn alight as she held him in her magic.

"What? But, Rarity, I thought that you didn't want to?"

Rarity smirked as she looked at Spike with a half-lidded gaze.

"Really? Because I don't recall ever saying 'no' to the idea." Rarity then levitated Spike over to her and leaning up to his ear. "And tomorrow, we can ask Ember if she would like to join us. Wouldn't that be fun?"

Spike slowly blinked at what Rarity had suggested as she lowered him back to the ground and sashayed her way through the door, running her tail along his snout as she walked away. Knowing what was to come, Spike grinned and licked his lips as he followed after inside, all the while lowly chuckling to himself.

"When Twilight's away, Spikey and Wikey will come out to play."





Their carriage trip to Canterlot was a peaceful one for Twilight and Sol as the two snuggled up against one another, using each other to help keep warm with the cool night air. Even with Winter Wrap-Up having been finished, the night air would still take some time to get warmer. However, with them trying to keep their involvement with each other a secret for the time being, once they approached Canterlot, they separated a little bit to advert any suspicion to anypony who might see them passing by.

Descending, the two waited patiently for the guards to come to a stop. Once they did and began unstrapping themselves from the chariot, Sol hopped out and offered a claw as he helped Twilight down. Now on solid ground, the two made their way to the entrance to the castle with the two guards following behind them with their luggage. As they began traversing the halls, they soon met up with Celestia and Luna, both of whom appeared to be on their way to meet them.

"It's wonderful to see you two," Celestia said, wrapping a wing around each of them and pulling them into a hug. "You have no idea how much Luna and I are looking forward to this."

Sol watched as Luna instructed the guards on where to bring his and Twilight's luggage. Once they were out of sight and earshot, he nuzzled into his mother's chest.

"We're happy to help you and Aunt Luna, mother."

"As are we, Sol," Luna said, looking him over. "You appear to be rather calm, considering what you and Twilight are about to undertake."

Sol shook his head. "And you'd be right, we both are calm about this."

"Really?" Celestia asked with a small smirk. "Luna was actually half-expecting you two to be a bit nervous about it. After all, not anypony can handle the pressure of ruling a kingdom."

"To be fair, while we may not look it, we are a bit nervous," Twilight admitted. "But, we talked about it, and as long as we're together, we're confident that we can handle it."

Celestia beamed with pride. "And excellent answer, Twilight. But you shouldn't worry too much. Luna and I have taken care of most of the difficult tasks beforehoof, so it shouldn't be too hard for you and Sol. We wouldn't want to overwhelm you two on your first week of ruling, after all."

"We appreciate that, Princess. Thank you."

Though happy, Celestia couldn't help but chuckle at Twilight's chosen words.

"My dear Twilight, you know that you don't need to call me that, especially now." A mischievous smirk formed on Celestia's lips. "In fact, you can call me 'mother' if you wanted to."

Twilight's face lit up. "M-Mother?!"

"Or 'mom' if you'd prefer."

While Twilight did see Celestia as a sort of second mother thanks to her having been practically raised under her tutelage, with her now being in a relationship with Sol, Twilight couldn't help but blush at Celestia's words.

With a roll of her eyes, Luna walked up behind Celestia and lightly smacked her upside the back of the head.

"Tia, quit teasing Twilight like that. You're going to frighten her at this rate."

Celestia laughed at their reactions. "Alright, alright. I'll stop," she chuckled, calming herself as she looked down at the flustered Twilight. "Forgive me, Twilight, but I couldn't resist."

Twilight hid her face beneath her bangs. "I-Isn't it a bit early for that?"

"Hehehe. Yes, I suppose it is."

Celestia smiled softly at Twilight and nuzzled her head, before she turned to Sol and kissed his forehead. Once she was done with them, she stood back up and released the two.

"I know that the night is still young," Luna began, "but it would probably be for the best that you two get to sleep early. You may not start your rule tomorrow, but Tia and I would recommend that you two relax and get yourselves comfortable. I have little doubt that you'll need it for what's to come. But before that, have either of you had anything to eat yet?"

"We ate before we left," Sol replied, getting a nod from Luna.

"In that case, if you two would follow us."

Following after them, Twilight and Sol walked behind Celestia and Luna as they escorted them to the hallway that contained the royal bedrooms. Walking down the hall, they soon came to Sol's bedroom door and stopped.

"Twilight and I aren't sharing the same room, are we?" Sol asked, unaware of the mischievous glint in Celestia's eyes.

"My dear son, are you asking that we let you and Twilight sleep in the same room?" she asked in feint shock. "I though I raised you better than that."

Seeing through his mother teasing, Sol gave her a leveled look.

"You know what I meant, mother," he sighed, eliciting a giggle from Celestia and Luna, while Twilight blushed in embarrassment.

"I know, sweetheart, I know." Celestia turned around to Twilight and pointed at the next door over. "Twilight, your room is just over there. I hope you don't mind using this room instead of your old one in the tower, but Luna suggested that for the sake of security, it would better for your room and Sol's to be next to each other so the guards could all be nearby if something were to happen to either, or both, of you while we're away."

"Though we both highly doubt it," Luna added.

"N-No. It's alright. Thank you both," Twilight thanked.

"You're most welcome, Twilight. Now, you two have a restful sleep, and we shall see you in the morning."

"Luna is right," Celestia nodded. "Goodnight, Sol, Twilight."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Seeing their backs turned and walking away, Sol quickly walked up Twilight and hugged her.

"Sorry about mother. She was like this last time too."

"It's... alright," she sighed, leaning into his hug. She also made a mental note of Sol's mention of his ex, which he rarely ever spoke of. "I guess I'll just have to get used to it."

"Only if you want. Otherwise, I can talk to her about easing up on it, or stopping all together."

"... I'll think about it."

"Okay." Sol pulled back and gave Twilight a quick peck. "Goodnight, Twilight. See you in the morning."

Despite the recent embarrassment, thanks to the comfort she was feeling from him, Twilight smiled and kissed Sol back.

"Goodnight, Sol. Sweet dreams."

Sol chuckled and nuzzled her cheek. "Sweet dreams to you too."

Letting her go, Sol watched as Twilight disappeared into her room and closed the door, all the while maintaining her smile. Letting out a blissful sigh, Sol turned to go to his own room, but froze in mid-turn when he saw that Celesta and Luna had turned towards them while they weren't looking and, judging by the looks on their faces, had seen and heard everything. Not wanting to hang around for what was surely about to come, Sol bid them both a hasty goodnight and bolted into his room, slamming the door shut and diving into his bed in an attempt to ignore the giggling coming from the two mares.