//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Luna's Daughter // by Baxter1984 //------------------------------// In the Dream Realm, Twilight opened her eyes and looked around to see that she was in the library in the castle in Canterlot. However, her surroundings changed before she could do anything else. Surprised, she looked around to see that she was standing next to a large bed. Curious, she used her magic to light a candle that was sitting on a table that stood next to the bed. She used the light it provided to take a closer look at her new surroundings. “I recognize this.” She said softly “According to the memory that Grandma showed me, this used to be Mom and Dad’s room.” She walked over to the cradle that stood on the other side of the bed. “I used to fit in this.” She jumped when she heard laughter. Her horn began to glow as she took a fighting stance. “Who’s there?!” I suppose I should have expected that. Luna materialized on the other side of the bed. “Calm down, Twilight. It’s me.” Twilight’s eyes widened as she allowed her magic to fade. “Mom?!” Nodding, Luna levitated her daughter onto the bed before settling next to her. Twilight took several deep breaths before shifting so she could face her mother. “I-I’m sorry. I just-” Luna smiled at her daughter. “It’s alright. You probably didn’t know that I have the ability to Dream Walk.” Twilight gasped “I’ve read about that ability, but I didn’t think anypony could actually do it.” Luna laughed softly “It’s an extremely rare ability. In fact, I’ve never met another pony with the ability to enter the dreams of others.” She tilted her head. “Perhaps it’s because of my ties to the Night.” Shrugging, she returned her attention to her daughter to see a thoughtful expression on her face. “If you have the ability to Dream Walk, then that means you’re in my dream right now.” Twilight said slowly Luna nodded again “Is there a reason that you’re in my dream?” Twilight asked Luna hesitated “Is that a problem?” Twilight quickly shook her head. “I was just wondering why you decided to enter my dream.” Luna sighed in relief. “I just wanted to spend time with you.” She smiled at her daughter. “We have a thousand years to catch up on.” Twilight laughed “I knew we’d get to that sooner or later. I just wasn’t expecting to do that in my dreams.” Luna laughed as well. “Don’t worry. We’ll spend time together in the Waking World as well.” Twilight shifted nervously “What do you want to talk about?” Luna thought for a moment before turning back to her daughter. “There are many things that I’d like to ask you, but I think I’ll start with that dragon.” “You mean Spike?” Twilight asked Luna nodded Twilight raised an eyebrow “What about him?” “How in Equestria did you manage to hatch a dragon egg?” Luna responded I knew she was going to ask about that sooner or later. Twilight giggled “I’ll show you what happened.” - - - Twilight’s Flashback - - - Thirteen Years Ago Twilight looked up at the clock on the wall. “I can’t believe it’s gotten so late already. It’s almost time for dinner.” She turned back to the massive pile of books on the table in front of her. “Fortunately, I’m at a good place to stop for the day. I’ll pick up where I left off tomorrow morning.” She stood and stretched before walking around the table and over to the door. Opening it, she walked into the main part of the library before closing and locking the door to her office. “Are you done for the day, princess?” Twilight turned towards the voice to see a unicorn mare walking towards her. “Yes, Crystal Rose. It’s time for dinner.” Crystal Rose laughed “I see. I don’t think King Midnight Armor and Queen Sundance would be too happy if you missed dinner.” Twilight laughed as well. “You’re probably right. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Crystal Rose bowed “Have a good night, princess.” “You too.” Twilight replied, turning towards the door that lead to the rest of the castle. Twilight walked down the hall towards the dining room. “I’d better hurry. Dessert tonight is supposed to be chocolate cake . . . I don’t want Aunt Celestia to eat all of it this time.” A loud thud shook the castle. Startled, Twilight paused and just looked around for a moment. “W-what was that?!” That was when she heard a loud roar. She immediately began running towards the sound. Roughly five minutes later, Twilight ran into the courtyard behind the castle. The first thing she noticed was that Sundance was standing nearby. She ran over to her grandmother. “What’s going on?!” Sundance glanced at her granddaughter. “It seems that we have an unexpected visitor.” Twilight stared at Sundance. What kind of visitor roars like that?! It shook the entire castle! She was pulled from her thoughts by a voice that she didn’t recognize. “Ah. This must be the one that you were telling me about, Sundance.” Twilight turned towards the voice to see that a massive dragon was sitting on the other side of the courtyard. W-well, that explains the roar. She tilted her head slightly. I’ve met several dragons over the years, but none of them were as large as this one. She’d never fit inside the castle! The dragon looked at Twilight for a moment before returning her attention to Sundance. Twilight took a closer look at the dragon. She’s beautiful. Her amber eyes are glowing softly . . . and her scales are emerald. Additionally, it looks like her wings are the same shade of emerald as her scales. Twilight was pulled from her thoughts by her grandmother’s voice. “That’s right.” Sundance smiled at Twilight before turning back to the dragon. “This is my granddaughter, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight, this is Solae.” Twilight gasped “T-the Dragon Queen?!” The pictures in the books don’t do her justice. "I don't blame you for being surprised." Sundance said softly "I haven't been able to introduce you to Solae because she rarely leaves the Dragon Lands." I guess that makes sense. Twilight thought for a moment. Grandma always travels to the Dragon Lands whenever she needs to meet with Solae. Grandpa, Aunt Celestia and I don't go with her because Solae prefers to deal with Grandma. I think it has something to do with the fact that both of them are queens. Sundance and Twilight looked up when they heard Solae laugh. “Yes, young one. However, there is no need to stand on ceremony. You may call me Solae.” Twilight resisted the urge to shake her head. I haven’t been called “young one” in a very long time. I mean, I am almost a thousand years old. She thought for a moment. If the books are correct, Solae is five thousand years old. That means everypony is a “young one” to her. “V-very well.” She bowed slightly “In that case, you can call me Twilight.” She glanced at her grandmother but, before she could say anything, Solae laughed again. “Very well. Please come closer, Twilight. There is something that I want you to see.” Curious, Twilight did as she was told. She stopped a couple of feet in front of Solae and looked up at her. W-wow. She looks even bigger up close. Solae gently set something on the ground in front of her. Twilight took a closer look at the object before gasping in shock. “It’s a dragon egg!” I’ve never seen one up close. Solae laughed again, softer this time. Twilight looked up at her. Why does she sound sad? “Is something wrong?” Solae gave her a sad smile. “I laid this egg a few years ago.” Twilight gasped again “Three years ago?!” Don’t dragon eggs usually take seven months to hatch?! Solae nodded “I’ve been told that you are very studious, so I’m certain that you already know this. Even so, I’d like explain it anyway.” Nodding, Twilight sat down. “Dragon eggs normally take roughly seven months to hatch . . . if the heat in their environment is properly monitored.” Solae looked down at her egg. “I’ve laid thousands of eggs in my life. This is the only one that hasn’t hatched.” She sighed “I’ve finally accepted the fact that my young has died. I brought the egg here so that you can study it for your records. When you’re done, I will see to it that it is destroyed.” Eyes wide, Twilight stared at the egg for a couple of minutes before something occurred to her. I hope this doesn’t anger her. She lifted her head so she could look Solae in the eye before hesitantly asking. “I-is it possible that the baby dragon inside this egg is simply dormant?” Sundance’s eyes widened “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. Twilight is correct, Solae. That is a possibility.” Stunned, Solae just stared at Twilight and Sundance for several minutes. Finally shaking herself out of her shock, she repeated the one word that had obviously caught her attention. “Dormant?” Nodding, Sundance walked forward until she was standing next to Twilight. “Dragon eggs are usually hatched using the method that you have just described. However, while it is rare, there are some eggs that don’t respond to that particular method. Those eggs can stay dormant for decades.” She tilted her head. “There is one other known method of hatching a dragon egg.” “A-and that is?” Solae asked “Magic” Sundance and Twilight answered together. “It takes an incredible amount of magic to accomplish this.” Twilight explained “Therefore, to my knowledge, it has only been done once in the history of Equestria.” Solae stared at Twilight in shock. “According to my research,” Twilight continued “the dragon was a male named Bern. It took thirty unicorns working together to hatch his egg. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything else about him because he supposedly journeyed to the Dragon Lands soon after he was hatched.” Solae began to laugh. “I know him very well.” Seeing Sundance and Twilight’s confusion, she explained “Bern is my mate.” Sundance and Twilight gasped. “He never talks about his family, so I simply assumed that they were dead.” Solae commented “Now I know that he can’t tell me about them because he has no idea who they are.” She took a closer look at Sundance and Twilight. “Is something wrong?” Sundance and Twilight glanced at each other before turning back to Solae. “I see.” Solae said softly “You must be thinking about Voth.” Sundance and Twilight nodded “It’s true that he was killed in battle two hundred and fifty years ago.” Solae said sadly “That was when I decided that there would never be another King of the Dragon Lands. However, I decided to take another mate roughly fifty years ago.” She smiled “Fortunately, Bern doesn’t want that title anyway.” Sundance laughed softly “I can’t imagine why.” Solae laughed as well. “Indeed, Queen of Equestria.” Sundance laughed harder. Solae looked at her egg again before returning her attention to Twilight and Sundance. “Do either of you know how to use magic to hatch a dragon egg?” Sundance nodded “I spoke to the ponies that hatched Bern shortly after he left Equestria. Unfortunately, I didn’t arrive in time to see them accomplish the feat. Therefore, I only know the theory.” “That’s alright.” Solae responded “Will you please try?” Nodding again, Sundance surrounded the egg with her magic. Twilight carefully watched her grandmother’s every move. I wonder what she’s going to do. Twenty minutes later, Sundance allowed her magic to fade. “I-I’m sorry.” She panted “After the kind of day I’ve had, I can’t keep the flow of magic strong, and steady, enough.” There is only one way to finish the spell that Grandma just tried. I’ve never cast it myself but, now that I’ve seen it in action, I’m sure that I can cast it as well. Twilight chewed her bottom lip for a moment before looking from Sundance to Solae and back again. “Is it alright if I try? I think I have enough available magic.” Solae gasped “Y-you’re willing to try?” Twilight nodded “If you’ll let me.” “Of course.” Solae immediately replied Sundance smiled I’d better make sure that the dragon inside this egg is still alive before I cast that spell. Twilight cast a magic scan on the egg. A few minutes later, she sighed in relief before looking up at Solae. “It’s really soft, and very slow, but there is a heartbeat.” Solae gasped softly “My baby is alive?” Twilight nodded again “Now that I’m sure that this dragon is alive, I’d like to get started.” “Please do.” Solae quickly responded Standing, Twilight spread her wings as her horn began to glow. Closing her eyes, she focused all of her magic on the egg. Then she cast the spell that Sundance had cast moments before. Sundance carefully watched her granddaughter. Solae watched Twilight as well. It was a couple of minutes before she remembered to breathe. Twenty Minutes Later Twilight wobbled slightly from the strain of maintaining the spell. It seems that I don’t have enough magic after all . . . No! I am not giving up after coming this far! Her eyes flew open, and turned white, as she poured more magic into the spell. Solae gasped “Is she alright?!” “Yes” Sundance replied, still carefully watching her granddaughter “This is what happens when an alicorn uses an extremely large amount of magic at once.” “I-I see.” Solae stammered Sundance and Solae gasped when the egg began to shake. They looked on as cracks began to appear in the shell. “It’s finally happening.” Solae whispered A bright flash of magenta magic later, the egg split in half as the baby dragon suddenly grew. It was as large as Solae within a couple of seconds. Solae gasped again “What’s going on?!” “I was afraid this might happen.” Sundance pulled her granddaughter into a tight hug. “Calm down, Twilight.” Startled, Twilight shook her head as her eyes returned to their normal violet. The dragon immediately shrank to the size of the egg. Panting, Twilight fell to the ground. “D-did it work?” Sundance leaned down to nuzzle her granddaughter. “See for yourself.” Twilight lifted her head to see that a purple baby dragon with emerald eyes was staring at her. “W-wow. His eyes are the same color as his mother’s scales.” Solae laughed “And his scales are the same color as the coat of the mare that hatched him.” “What about the scales on his stomach?” Twilight asked Curious, Solae gently picked up her son. She gasped when she looked at his stomach. “The scales on his underside are the same color as the ones that cover his father’s body.” Sundance and Twilight smiled “Your father and I decided what we were going to name you long before your egg was even laid.” Solae smiled at the baby dragon. “Your name is Spike.” Spike began to squirm and cry. Solae gently set him on the ground in front of Twilight. Spike calmed down as soon as he saw her. Solae laughed softly “I thought so.” Confused, Twilight looked up at her. “What do you mean?” “Dragon hatchlings imprint on the first creature that they see.” Solae explained “In this case, you were the first creature that Spike saw. Therefore, he has imprinted on you.” Twilight gasped in horror. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean for that to happen!” Smiling, Solae shook her head. “Don’t worry, Twilight. I’m not upset at all.” “B-but-!” Solae began to laugh. “This is simply how dragons are. It has been like that for as long as I’ve been alive.” Sighing in relief, Twilight sat up and folded her wings. Solae bowed her head. “I can’t thank you enough for what you have done, Twilight. Bern and I were certain that our son was dead.” She glanced at her son before turning back to Twilight. “I would like you to raise Spike.” Twilight gasped “Are you sure?!” Solae nodded “I would never separate him from the one that he has imprinted on.” Twilight stared at Spike for a couple of minutes before looking back up at Solae. “Very well. I will do as you have asked . . . but only on one condition.” “What is that?” Solae asked, clearly curious “I want you, and Bern, to come back to Equestria when Spike is a little older.” Twilight answered “I say this because I want to make sure that he meets his parents when he’s old enough to remember them.” Sundance gasped “Twilight . . .” Solae watched Sundance spread her wings before lifting into the air and flying closer. Confused, and slightly worried, she quietly asked “What’s going on?” Speaking softly, Sundance explained what had happened to Luna and Comet. Solae’s eyes widened “Those are Twilight’s parents?” Sundance nodded “I see.” Solae said softly “No wonder she made such a request.” She turned back to Twilight. “Very well. Bern and I will return to Equestria at a later date.” Twilight sighed in relief. “Thank you.” - - - End Flashback - - - “Incredible!” Luna said softly I’m not sure which surprises me more. The fact that Twilight was able to hatch Spike’s egg by herself, the fact that Spike is Dragon Royalty, or the request that Twilight made of the Dragon Queen. She thought for a moment before turning back to her daughter. “Mother used to be well-known for her abilities with magic.” “She still is.” Twilight replied “Then why wasn’t she able to hatch Spike’s egg?” Luna asked “Grandma spends a couple of days a week in the hospital wing.” Twilight responded Luna tilted her head. “What is a “hospital wing”?” Twilight thought for a moment. “It’s a place where ponies that are sick or injured are treated by ponies that used to be called “healers”. Those ponies are now called “doctors”.” Luna gasped “Is she alright?!” Twilight nodded “Grandma doesn’t go there because she’s hurt or sick. She goes there to treat those who need it.” Seeing her mother’s confusion, she continued “Grandma is really good with magic scans. She’s also one of the best at healing spells.” Luna nodded “That was true even before I was sent to the moon. What does that have to do with her spending time in the hospital wing?” “Grandma only takes the most difficult cases.” Twilight explained “She casts magic scans on those who need it. Additionally, she personally handles the most complicated medical procedures.” “That makes sense.” Luna said slowly “What does that have to do with the reason she wasn’t able to hatch Spike’s egg?” “That is the reason she wasn’t able to hatch Spike’s egg.” Twilight answered “She had spent that day in the hospital wing.” “I see.” Luna responded “Mother must have used a lot of magic healing other ponies that day. That would explain why she wasn’t able to keep the flow of magic strong enough to hatch the egg.” Twilight nodded “Why were you able to hatch Spike’s egg?” Luna asked Twilight shrugged “I’ve always been really good with magic. In fact, my specialty is magic.” Luna gasped “Just like Mother!” Twilight nodded again. “That’s one of the reasons that Grandma was the one to teach me. Aunt Celestia helped, but Grandma did most of it . . . especially when I was younger.” Luna thought for a moment. “Does Spike know about his lineage?” “Of course.” Twilight answered “He wasn’t surprised to find out that he is royalty because he grew up in Equestria’s Royal Family.” Luna laughed “He also knows that his parents have promised to return so that he can meet them.” Twilight added “That hasn’t happened yet, but it should be soon.” Luna smiled “Good.” She was about to say something else, but paused when she felt the pull of the moon. Twilight lifted her head. “I sense . . . something.” Luna laughed “That’s a good thing. You’re sensing the pull of the stars.” “Pull of the stars?” Twilight repeated “That’s right.” Luna responded “It’s time for me to lower the moon. Additionally, you need to lower the stars so that Celestia can raise the sun.” She nuzzled her daughter. “I’ll wake both of us.” In Ponyville, Celestia, Twilight and Luna opened their eyes at the same time. Luna pulled her daughter closer before lowering the moon. Closing her eyes, Twilight followed her new instincts and lowered the stars. Opening her eyes again, she glanced at her mother before following her gaze outside. They watched the sunrise together. Smiling, Luna nuzzled her daughter. Yawning, Twilight returned her mother’s nuzzle before laying her head on the bed. “I am not used to waking up this early.” Luna laughed “You’ll get used to it.” Closing her eyes again, Twilight mumbled “I may have to wake up at dawn, but there is nothing that says that I can’t go back to sleep after lowering the stars.” Luna laughed again as she watched her daughter return to the Dream Realm. She was about to do the same, but paused when she heard the door to the room quietly open. Surprised, she turned towards the door in time to see Celestia poke her head into the room. “May I come in?” Luna smiled “Of course, sister. However, I ask that you do so quietly because Twilight has gone back to sleep.” Celestia laughed softly “I’m not surprised.” She walked over to the bed before sitting next to it. “She does enjoy her sleep.” Luna raised an eyebrow when she saw the expression on her sister’s face. “I know that look. You want to discuss something that you know I won’t like.” Celestia reluctantly nodded I might as well get it over with. “What is it?” Luna asked Neither of them noticed that the door to the room had quietly opened again. They also didn’t notice that their parents were standing just inside the room. Sundance and Midnight Armor exchanged glances before turning back to their daughters. “It’s about the day that you were taken over by Nightmare Moon.” Celestia paused when her sister flinched. “We were able to figure out most of what happened, but there is one thing that has always bothered me.” Luna silently waited for her sister to continue. “Why did you raise the moon in the middle of the afternoon?” Celestia asked I knew she was going to ask about that sooner or later. “I didn’t have a choice.” Luna said softly What does she mean by that? Celestia raised an eyebrow. “What happened?” Luna sighed “Comet and I had gone on a walk while Twilight took her afternoon nap. We decided to walk through the small part of the forest in front of the castle. That was where we were approached by that group of ponies. They apologized for doing so on the weekend, but stated that they had an important petition to submit. Mother and Father hadn’t returned yet, and we didn’t know where you were, so we decided to take care of it ourselves.” Celestia gasped “Is that why you went to the throne room?” Luna nodded “What did they want?” Celestia slowly asked “They wanted me to agree to never raise the moon again.” Luna growled Sundance and Midnight Armor’s eyes widened. Celestia’s eyes widened as well. “What?” Luna looked up at her sister. “Nightmare Moon was correct when she told you that those ponies were part of a sun worshiping cult.” “I know.” Celestia quietly replied “What about their petition?” “Their petition was the first step in their plan to institute Eternal Day.” Luna responded “Of course, I refused to accept it. I told them that an Eternal Day would kill every living thing in Equestria. That’s when the unicorns pooled their magic to before casting a spell that created a giant magic lens in the sky above the castle. This lens focused, and magnified, the sunlight.” Sundance and Midnight Armor each suppressed a gasp of shock. Celestia didn’t bother suppressing hers. “What?!” Luna nodded “They used this to start a fire in the part of the forest that stood between the castle and that small village. I managed to put it out by draining the lake in the garden.” “How did that help?” Celestia asked “I used the water to put out the fire.” Luna answered “Then I raised the moon so they wouldn’t be able to use sunlight to power their weapon. They tried to use moonlight for their next attack, but quickly realized that it wasn’t strong enough. The unicorns released their spell before focusing their attention on me.” “I-I see.” Celestia stammered “Is that when they attacked you?” “Yes.” Luna quietly replied “T-that’s also when C-comet . . .” She trailed off as tears began to stream down her face. Sundance and Midnight Armor were horrified. It took them a couple of minutes to shake themselves out of their shock enough to move. Then they walked over to the bed. Sundance stopped on Celestia’s right while Midnight Armor stood on her left. “Oh Luna” Sundance whispered, leaning down to nuzzle her youngest “I am so sorry.” If only Midnight and I had gotten home earlier. We should have been the ones to deal with that. Midnight Armor blinked away tears as he leaned down to nuzzle Luna as well. “I am as well.” Luna silently returned her parents’ nuzzles. “We were never able to figure out why you raised the moon because all of the ponies who could have answered that question were either dead or sealed in the moon.” Midnight Armor said softly “You saved the lives of countless ponies by raising the moon when you did.” Sundance quietly added Luna forced a smile. “That’s a small consolation.” Especially when I consider what we lost. Her smile faded as she turned to her sister. “What happened to the rest of the ponies who belonged to that cult?” “It took me a couple of months, but I was able to locate all of the members.” Celestia scowled “None of them were even remotely remorseful for what had happened.” Luna was shocked when she saw how angry her sister was. “W-what did you do to them?” “I gave them what they wanted.” Celestia answered Sundance and Midnight Armor winced Noticing this, Luna looked from one of her parents to the other. “What is she talking about?” “We gathered all of the members of the cult and brought them to the courtyard behind the castle.” Sundance responded “They demanded that your sister bring about Eternal Day . . . and replace your mother as Queen of Equestria.” Midnight Armor said slowly “Of course, Celestia immediately refused. Instead, she asked them why they wanted an Eternal Day.” “They stated that the sun was the bringer of life.” Celestia shook her head. “I told them that it was true that the sun was necessary for life, but that too much sun would kill every living thing in Equestria.” Midnight Armor shook his head as well. “They refused to believe that the sun could harm anypony and demanded that she prove it.” “I showed them an image of the desert to the south.” Celestia responded “I explained that there was no life there because it was so hot that there was no water.” She snorted “They accused me of making it up.” Sundance scowled “They even claimed that you had brainwashed your sister before you were taken over by the Nightmare and sent to the moon.” Eyes wide, Luna quickly sat up. “WHAT?!” None of them noticed that Twilight had opened her eyes. Clearly furious, Celestia nodded “They demanded that I “give them the sun”.” Midnight Armor glanced at his eldest before turning back to his youngest. “Your mother and I immediately told your sister not to do anything rash.” “That was the first time in centuries that your sister disobeyed us.” Sundance commented Luna’s eyes widened even further as she turned to her sister. “W-what did you do?” “I gave them the sun.” Celestia answered What does she mean by that? Luna was about to ask her question aloud, but paused when she heard her daughter’s voice. “I was too young to remember it, but Grandpa told me what happened.” Surprised, Midnight Armor, Sundance, Celestia and Luna turned to Twilight. Twilight nuzzled each of them before turning back to her mother. “Aunt Celestia used solar fire to burn all of them alive.” Luna gasped in shock. “What?!” Sighing, Celestia nodded. “I so angry that I wasn’t thinking clearly. As I said, this was only two months after I was forced to . . . well, you know.” Sundance nodded “As I’m sure you can imagine, it was an extremely sensitive subject for all three of us.” Nodding slowly, Luna glanced at Twilight before turning back to Sundance. “Twilight said that she was too young to remember it.” Sundance nodded again “This implies that she was there as well.” Luna commented “That’s right.” Midnight Armor replied “At the time, your mother kept Twilight with her at all times.” Luna tilted her head. “Why?” “I had two reasons for that.” Sundance answered “The first was that Twilight was still nursing.” Luna gasped “Of course! At that point, Twilight was only two and a half months old!” She paused when something occurred to her. “Who provided milk for her?” I hope she wasn’t nursing from some random stranger. Sundance blushed “I did. I created a Lactation Spell and cast it on myself.” She laughed softly. “She had quite the appetite. At the time, Twilight was nursing every six to eight hours.” Luna sighed in relief. Mother and Celestia are the only ponies that I would have trusted to nurse my daughter. “I’m glad you did that, Mother.” Sundance sighed in relief as well. I’m glad she isn’t angry about that. “What was the second reason?” Luna asked “The members of the cult were still threatening to kill Twilight.” Midnight Armor replied Luna gasped “What?” Midnight Armor nodded “They called her the “Spawn of the Moon” until the end.” He sighed “They thought that she was keeping them from getting the Eternal Day that they desired.” Luna gasped again “I had to be present for the punishment of the cult members, but refused to let Twilight out of my sight.” Sundance continued “Therefore, Midnight decided to place a bed in the courtyard. I nursed Twilight, and kept her safe, while your father and Celestia focused on the cult members.” “That makes sense.” Luna replied Twilight was about to say something, but paused when her stomach growled. “I think we should get some breakfast.” Surprised, Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Sundance and Midnight Armor turned to see that Spike was standing near the foot of the bed. “You’re right, Spike.” Sundance replied Celestia, Midnight Armor, Twilight and Luna nodded Celestia stood before moving over so that Twilight and Luna could get out of bed. Luna and Twilight stood, and stretched, before joining their family as they walked out of the room. After a quick inspection of the pantry, Sundance turned to her family. “There isn’t enough food here for me to make breakfast for all of us. “That’s alright, Grandma.” Twilight responded “Pinkie invited Spike and I to Sugarcube Corner for breakfast. Apparently, the rest of the girls are going to be there as well.” She smiled “I don’t think they’ll mind if the rest of you come as well.” Sundance returned her granddaughter’s smile. “Good idea, Twilight.” Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack looked up when the door opened. Pinkie grinned when she saw the Royal Family. “See?” She asked, turning back to her friends “I told you that all of them would be here soon!” Sundance, Midnight Armor, Celestia, Luna, Twilight and Spike laughed. Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack laughed as well. Luna looked around for a moment before noticing a long table against the left wall. Curious, she walked over to it. There are so many bottles . . . judging from the pictures on the labels, the contents have something to do with apples and oranges. As for the rest . . . She turned to her family. Sundance immediately noticed her daughter’s confusion. “Some of the bottles contain apple juice and others contain orange juice. You can tell which is which by looking at the labels.” “The rest of the items on the table are various breakfast dishes.” Midnight Armor added “If I were you, I’d start with this one.” He levitated a plate of French Toast with maple syrup and powdered sugar to his daughter. “Thank you, Father.” Luna took the plate that her father offered her in her magic. Applejack smiled when Luna grabbed a bottle of apple juice before sitting at the table. Ah like her already. Twilight, Celestia, Sundance, Midnight Armor and Spike chose their food and drink before joining everyone else. Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack waited for the members of the Royal Family to finish their food. “What should we do now?” Rarity asked Twilight sighed “Unfortunately, we need to head back to Canterlot.” Luna turned to her daughter. “Canterlot?” Midnight Armor nodded “Unfortunately, the damage done by Nightmare Moon was rather extensive. Your mother and I decided that it would be easier to build a new castle than try to repair the old one.” Luna lowered her head. “I-I’m sorry.” Sundance nuzzled her youngest. “Don’t apologize, Luna. It wasn’t your fault.” “Mother is right, Luna.” Celestia commented “To answer your question, Canterlot is the name of the city that surrounds the castle.” “I see.” Luna slowly replied “Aww” Pinkie pouted “That means we won’t see you for a long time.” Applejack nodded “It takes a few hours to get to Canterlot by train.” Twilight giggled “I can fly, remember? That means Ponyville is only half an hour away.” Sundance, Midnight Armor and Celestia laughed as well. Everyone else followed the Royal Family outside. Twilight turned to her family and friends. “I’ll be right back.” She teleported to the library before anyone could respond. She walked upstairs and into the room that she had shared with her mother and Spike. “They should be right over . . . here they are.” She levitated her saddlebags onto her back before pausing when she looked at the desk. “I can’t believe I almost forgot about this.” The crown with the Element of Magic set in it floated over to her side before she teleported back outside. Everyone looked up at a flash of magenta magic. Twilight immediately noticed that Sundance had the other Elements of Harmony suspended in her magic. She levitated the Element of Magic over to her grandmother. “Good. I was about to ask you what I should do with this.” Sundance took the crown from Twilight before levitating it onto her granddaughter’s head. “Why did you do that?” Twilight asked Midnight Armor laughed “That’s where it belongs.” “Father is right, Twilight.” Celestia commented, laughing as well “We’ll be keeping the Elements of Harmony in the vault unless they’re needed. However, until we get to Canterlot, the safest place for the Element of Magic is with you.” Sundance, Midnight Armor and Luna nodded. Twilight turned to her friends. “I’ll try to come visit you next weekend.” “In that case, you should keep the key to the library, Princess Twilight.” Surprised, everyone turned to see Mayor Mare standing not far from them. “That way, you can stay in the town’s library whenever you’re in Ponyville.” Mayor Mare explained “V-very well.” Twilight said slowly “Thank you.” Smiling, Celestia nuzzled her niece before looking at her sister and their parents. “We should get going.” Nodding, Spike jumped onto Twilight’s back. Sundance, Midnight Armor, Celestia, Luna and Twilight said their farewells before spreading their wings and taking to the air. Thirty Minutes Later “What is that?” Sundance asked Midnight Armor glanced at his wife. “What are you talking about?” She nodded at something ahead of them. “Look.” Midnight Armor, Celestia, Luna, Twilight and Spike followed her gaze in time to see a powerful beam of magic shoot from somewhere in the city. “That looks like one of Captain Shining Armor’s attacks.” Midnight Armor remarked, watching another one leave the city “I wonder what he’s attacking.” “I’m not sure.” Sundance replied “Regardless, we should hurry.” Nodding, everyone began to fly faster. Twilight’s eyes widened when she saw that two large dragons were trying to approach the castle. “Are those what I think they are?” Sundance nodded “Dragons” That’s strange. It doesn’t look like the dragons are attacking the city. If so, why is Captain Shining Armor attacking them? Twilight stared at the dragons. Something is familiar about one of them. Her eyes widened when she caught the glint off of the scales of the larger one. “Oh no! He better not hit her!” Confused, Sundance was about to ask Twilight what she was talking about when she saw the same thing. Her eyes widened as well. This is not good! If one of his attacks hits her . . . “We need to move faster!” All of them immediately sped up. They quickly approached the castle, with Sundance and Twilight in the lead. In Canterlot, Shining Armor cursed when the dragons dodged another of his attacks. “Why won’t they hold still?!” “Would you hold still if somepony was attacking you?” Shining Armor, the captain of the Canterlot branch of the Equestrian Army, turned towards the voice to see that a light pink pegasus mare was standing behind him. “I suppose you’re right, Cadance. Regardless, I have to protect the castle and ponies of Canterlot.” With a flick of her head, Cadance shoved her purple, pink and yellow mane out of her purple eyes. “Why don’t you just put up your shield? That would allow you to protect the castle and the citizens of Canterlot without attacking the dragons.” Shining Armor rolled his eyes. “Do you have any idea how much magic it takes to cast that?” He shook his head as he examined the dragons again. “The strangest part is that they’re not attacking.” They may not be attacking now, but there’s no guarantee that they won’t start at any moment. I have to make sure that Canterlot is safe until the Royal Family returns. He smiled when he realized that the larger of the two was in range. “I’ve got you now!” He launched another powerful beam of magic. Cadance and Shining Armor’s eyes widened when the dragon was suddenly surrounded with what looked like a giant magenta bubble. They gasped when it easily blocked his attack. Both dragons gasped as well. They stared at each other in confusion for a moment before looking up when a voice echoed around them. “Stand down, Captain Shining Armor!” Surprised, Shining Armor turned to see that the entire Royal Family was flying towards him. “Queen Sundance! These dragons are . . .” Thank goodness. I am very glad that Twilight was close enough to place her force field around Solae. Sundance raised an eyebrow. “Do I need to repeat myself?” Shining Armor shuddered “N-no, your majesty.” Midnight Armor landed in front of Shining Armor. “I appreciate your dedication to protect the citizens of Canterlot and the castle, Captain. Regardless, my wife is correct. There is no need to take offensive action.” Sundance nodded “These dragons are our guests.” Shining Armor bowed “Yes, your majesties.” Sundance landed next to her husband before looking up at the visiting dragons. “I’m sorry, Solae. My family and I had to travel to Ponyville. I assure you that we would have returned sooner if we had known that you were coming.” Shining Armor gasped in shock. “D-did she say Solae?! Does this mean that the larger dragon is the Queen of the Dragon Lands?!” “Yes, Captain.” Midnight Armor replied “That is exactly who she is.” “I-I see.” Shining Armor stammered I’m suddenly very glad that Princess Twilight blocked my attack. Solae sighed in relief as she landed in front Sundance and folded her wings. “There was no harm done, Sundance.” She glanced at Shining Armor before returning her attention to Sundance. “I must say, I wish the defenders of the Dragon Lands were as dedicated as your captain.” The second dragon nodded as he landed next to Solae. “Solae is correct. This unicorn is obviously very powerful and extremely loyal.” He glanced at Twilight. This must be the mare that hatched my son’s egg. He was pulled from his thoughts by Midnight Armor’s voice. Midnight Armor laughed “Indeed. We are lucky to have him.” Solae noticed that Twilight was still in the air. Smiling, she turned to the younger alicorn. “Thank you, Twilight.” That was an interesting, unique and very powerful defense. Twilight returned the smile. “You’re welcome.” Solae smiled wider as she turned to the alicorn next to Twilight. “You must be Princess Luna. Welcome back.” Luna stared at Solae in shock for a moment before bowing slightly. “Thank you.” Celestia glanced at the crowd that had gathered around them. “I think we should move this meeting to the courtyard behind the castle.” Sundance nodded “You’re right, Celestia.” She turned to Twilight. “You should take a moment to speak with your friend.” Hopefully things have gone well for her in our absence. Twilight nodded Solae, the unknown dragon, Sundance, Midnight Armor, Celestia and Luna flew around the castle. Twilight landed next to Cadance. “Are you alright, Cadance?” Cadance nodded “I knew that Shining Armor would keep me safe.” Shining Armor nodded as well. “That’s not what I meant.” Twilight replied “Oh.” Cadance’s ears drooped. “You’re talking about them.” Twilight nodded but, before she could say anything, all of them turned when they heard a few voices. “Over there!” “There’s the freak.” “Yeah. Let’s have some fun.” Cadance sighed “Here we go again.” Why can’t they just leave me alone? It’s not my fault that I don’t have a Cutie Mark! Twilight moved in front of Cadance. All three of the pegasus stallions gasped. As one, they stammered “P-princess Twilight?!” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Is there a problem, gentlecolts?” The leader of the group hurriedly shook his head. “No, princess. We just wanted to speak to the little . . .” Another nudged him with a wing. “Cadance” The first one finished lamely. “I bet.” Spike remarked “Can I burn them this time, Twi? I promise I’ll stop before I really hurt them.” All three of the stallions immediately backed up a couple of feet. “Don’t worry.” Twilight told them “I’m not going to let Spike burn you.” She smirked “This time. However, if I catch you harassing her again . . . well, I might change my mind.” All three of them bowed. “Y-yes, princess.” The leader lifted his head. “W-we should get going.” I don’t want them to try this again after I leave. Twilight waited until they were out of earshot before turning to Shining Armor. “Please inform the orphanage that Cadance will be spending the rest of the week at the castle.” Smiling, Shining Armor bowed. “Yes, princess.” He began to walk in the direction of the Canterlot Orphanage. Cadance sighed in relief. “T-thanks, Twilight.” Twilight smiled “No problem, Cadance. You should head inside. I’m sure you would like to relax for a while. Just ask any member of the castle staff to show you to your usual room. If you’d rather read, you can go to the library.” She nuzzled her friend. “I’ll see you at dinner.” Cadance returned her nuzzle before turning towards the castle. Twilight waited until her friend had entered the castle before spreading her wings and taking flight. She flew over to castle towards the courtyard. Sundance looked up when she sensed her granddaughter’s presence. “Here she comes.” Midnight Armor, Luna and Celestia followed her gaze to see that Twilight was flying towards them. “What happened?” Celestia asked Frowning, Twilight showed them what had happened. Midnight Armor shook his head. “Well done, Twilight.” All of them looked up when they heard two sets of heavy footsteps. They smiled when they saw Solae and the unknown dragon walking towards them. Spike tapped the back of Twilight’s neck. “The one with the emerald scales . . . Is that who I think it is?” Surprised, Solae looked around for the owner of the voice. Her eyes widened when Twilight turned so that she could see who was sitting on her back. She gasped softly before echoing her son. “I-is that who I think it is?” Sundance, Midnight Armor, Celestia and Luna smiled. Laughing softly, Twilight nodded to Solae before reaching back to nuzzle Spike. “Yes, Spike. This is your mother.” I’m fairly certain that the other dragon is Bern, but I’ll wait until someone introduces him before I say anything. Solae gasped again The other dragon stared at Spike as well. T-this is my son. Eyes wide, Spike just stared at Solae for a couple of minutes. Solae slowly lay down where she stood. “Hello, Spike.” She said softly I-I can’t believe it. This is the one that I thought would never hatch. She gestured to her companion as he lay down next to her. “I’m sure you’ve figured this out already, but this is Bern.” Spike’s eyes widened T-that means this is . . . Bern smiled at his son. “Hello, Spike.” By the looks of things, he’ll be experiencing his first molt very soon. W-wait a minute . . . Solae turned back to Twilight. “Y-you told Spike that I’m . . .” “His mother?” Twilight finished Solae slowly nodded “Why did you do that?” Twilight smiled at her. “I promised you that I would raise Spike, but I never said that I would take your place.” Solae stared at Twilight in stunned silence for a couple of minutes before lowering her head. “T-thank you.” “Of course.” Twilight replied Spike jumped off of Twilight’s back before looking up at his parents. W-wow. They’re both so big. Will I get that big as well? He glanced at Twilight before turning back to his parents. “H-hello” What am I supposed to do now? Twilight lay down next to Spike before leaning over so she could whisper in his ear. “Do you remember the book that we read about dragons and dragon greetings?” Spike nodded “I think you should use that greeting for your father.” Twilight said softly “As for your mother, why don’t you show her what you’ve been practicing?” That’s a good idea. Nodding again, Spike turned back to his father before opening his mouth. Bern tilted his head. Is he going to do what I think he is? His eyes widened when his son released a green flame that was almost twice as large as he was. Impressive . . . especially for one so young. He smiled “Well done, Spike.” Spike sighed in relief. “Thanks . . . Dad.” Bern gasped I-I never thought I’d get to hear him call me that. I hope she likes this. Spike turned to his mother. “I-is it alright if I try something?” Curious, Solae nodded “Of course.” Spike glanced at Twilight. Nodding, Twilight levitated him onto his mother’s back. Solae held very still. What does he have planned? Her eyes widened when she felt the warmth of a carefully controlled flame in between her wings. Closing her eyes, she let out a soft sigh of pleasure. It is impossible for a dragon of my size to reach that spot. There are several dragons of the right size in the Dragon Lands, but I don’t trust any of them enough to allow them on my back. Therefore, it has been a couple of decades since the last time that I felt this. She opened her eyes. “Thank you, Spike.” Spike let out one last blast of flame before jumping off of his mother’s back and smiling up at her. “You’re welcome, Mom.” Solae’s breath caught as she stared at her son. Sundance and Midnight Armor lay down across from Solae and Bern. Celestia lay down next to her mother while Luna lay down next to her father. Twilight lay down next to her mother. Spike nervously looked between Twilight and Solae a couple of times. Solae was about to suggest that her son lay down next to the one who had hatched him, but paused when Twilight made a sudden move. Twilight smiled at Spike before gently nudging him towards his parents. Thank goodness. That’s what I wanted to do, but I didn’t want to offend Twi. Sighing in relief, Spike walked over to his parents. Before anyone could ask, he curled up in between his father’s left hand and his mother’s right. Sundance, Midnight Armor, Celestia, Luna and Twilight smiled. Solae and Bern stared at their son in shock for a moment before looking at each other. After a couple of minutes, they turned back to the alicorns. “I apologize for not informing you that Bern and I were going to be visiting.” Solae began “We initially planned to wait until Spike was twenty years old before coming to Equestria.” Bern continued “However, recent events changed our minds.” “What do you mean?” Midnight Armor asked “Bern and I decided to learn as much as we could about Equestrian culture.” Solae responded “Somewhere along the way, our attention was drawn to a story that was considered a myth.” Luna winced I think I know what they’re going to say next. Instantly noticing this, Bern quickly shook his head. “You misunderstand, Princess Luna. Solae is referring to the prediction at the end of the story.” Solae nodded “We knew that Nightmare Moon would return soon. Unfortunately, we didn’t know exactly when that would happen.” “You said that you didn’t know exactly when Nightmare Moon was going to return.” Sundance said slowly “If so, why did you chose now to travel to Equestria?” “We noticed that the sun failed to rise on time yesterday morning.” Bern answered Solae glanced at Celestia before turning back to Sundance. “There is only one being with the power to control the sun. Therefore, we knew that something had happened in Equestria.” “I see.” Celestia said slowly “Is that why the two of you have journeyed to Equestria?” Solae nodded “We quickly made the necessary preparations to be out of the Dragon Lands for a couple of weeks and left as soon as we could.” “The sun rose roughly an hour and a half into our journey.” Bern continued “We decided to head to Canterlot in hopes of getting an explanation.” He smiled at his son. “Getting to meet Spike seven years early was a pleasant surprise.” Nodding, Solae smiled at her son as well before turning back to the alicorns. “Will one of you please explain what happened?” Midnight Armor showed them his memory of Nightmare Moon’s arrival. Solae and Bern gasped in shock. “W-what happened next?” Solae slowly asked Celestia smiled at her niece. “You should show them that part.” Blushing, Twilight did as she was told. Bern and Solae laughed as they watched Twilight’s arrival in Ponyville. They laughed harder as they watched her meet each of her new friends. The two of them had finally stopped laughing by the time that she got to Nightmare Moon’s arrival. Solae sighed in relief. I’m glad that Twilight decided to leave Spike somewhere safe. Bern tilted his head I wonder Princess Twilight did after that. Was she the one who stopped Nightmare Moon? I wonder how Solae and Bern will react when they see my battle with Nightmare Moon. Twilight looked up when she heard laughter. “Grandpa?” “Don’t stop there.” Midnight Armor replied “I’m sure they would like to see your battle with Nightmare Moon.” Gasping in shock, Solae turned to Twilight. “Y-you fought Nightmare Moon?!” Nodding, Twilight showed everyone what happened in the castle in the Everfree Forest. Bern waited until the memory had ended before turning to stare at Twilight. “I-incredible!” She is even more powerful than I thought. Solae turned to Twilight as well. She was about to say something, but paused when something caught her attention. W-wait a minute. “Twilight.” She said slowly “Is that what I think it is?” Confused, Twilight looked up at her. “What are you talking about?” Solae pointed at the crown on her head. Blushing again, Twilight responded “This is the Element of Magic.” “I-I see” Solae replied Everyone’s attention was drawn by the sound of hoofsteps. They looked up to see that Blueberry was walking up with a large cart that was loaded down with food. The alicorns were given individual servings of Eggplant Parmesan and glasses of milk. Spike sat up as a serving of Eggplant Parmesan was placed in front of him as well. He licked his lips when he noticed that there were chunks of rubies scattered throughout his meal. He also had a glass of milk. Solae and Bern were each served a large bowl of sapphires. They were about to start eating, but paused when they saw what their son eating. Confused, Solae turned to Twilight. “I am aware of the fact that ponies don’t eat meat. Therefore, it stands to reason that Spike doesn’t eat meat either. However, I would like to know why you don’t give him gems.” Twilight laughed “Take a closer look at what he’s eating.” Bern and Solae looked down in time to see Spike pop a chuck of ruby into his mouth. They were even more confused when they looked back at Twilight to see that she was smiling at Spike. Twilight looked up at Solae. “He eats gems as a part of every meal.” Spike ate a piece of eggplant before popping another piece of ruby into his mouth. He swallowed his food before looking up at his parents. “There are times when I just eat a bowl of gems. However, most of the time, I like to have gem pieces added to other food.” “What do you mean?” Solae asked Sundance laughed as well. “We break gems into smaller pieces before either cooking them with his food or simply adding them to the finished dish.” Twilight nodded “Gems are incredibly heat resistant. This means that they can also be baked into Spike’s favorite desserts.” “I see.” Solae commented “I never would have thought of doing that.” “Agreed” Bern replied “However, it’s clear that this provides enough nutrition for him.” Bern and Solae watched their son eat while they worked their way through their gems. Everyone looked up when Blueberry returned to gather their empty plates. Smiling, Twilight stood before walking over to the unicorn. She spent a couple of minutes talking to him before returning to lay down in the spot that she had left. “What was that about?” Luna asked “I have a surprise planned.” Twilight answered, snuggling closer to her mother Sundance turned to Spike, Solae and Bern. “What would you like to do now?” Solae opened her mouth but, before she could say anything, everyone looked up when they heard a voice. “Twilight?” Cadance paused when she noticed that everyone was looking at her. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll come back later.” Sundance smiled “It’s alright, Cadance. You may join us if you want.” Cadance hesitated “A-are you sure?” “Of course.” Midnight Armor replied, smiling as well “Alright” Cadance replied, slowly walking towards the group Solae and Bern stared at Cadance for a moment before turning to each other. “There is something special about this one.” Solae said softly And I’m not referring to the fact that she hasn’t earned her mark yet. “You’re right, Solae.” Bern quietly replied “I can sense her power. She just hasn’t realized her full potential yet.” Solae nodded “It will be interesting to see what happens when she does.” Confused, Spike looked from one of his parents to the other. What are they talking about? Solae noticed her son’s confusion. Laughing softly, she leaned down before whispering “I doubt she realizes this, but this mare has a great deal of magic locked inside her.” “I know.” Spike replied “She can sense something that nopony else can.” Surprised, Bern looked down at his son. “Really?” Spike nodded “It would be understandable if she was a unicorn, but she’s a pegasus. That’s what makes it weird.” “What is she able to sense?” Solae quietly asked “I’m not sure.” Spike said slowly “She keeps talking about “connections”.” “Connections?” Bern repeated Spike nodded again Cadance lay down next to Twilight before turning to the visiting dragons. She resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow when she focused her senses on Solae and Bern. There is a strong connection between them, but she has a second connection . . . actually, I think it’s the first one. Anyway, the strange part is that the first connection has been broken. I’ve never sensed that before, so I’m not sure what it means. She was pulled from her thoughts by a gentle nuzzle. Surprised, she turned to see that Twilight was looking at her. “Are you feeling better?” Cadance nodded “Thank you.” She leaned closer so she could whisper into Twilight’s ear. “I need to speak with you . . . privately.” “Alright.” Twilight replied “We should be able to talk after dinner.” She paused “Can it wait until then?” Cadance nodded again Midnight Armor drew everyone’s attention by clearing his throat. Sundance raised an eyebrow. “Midnight?” Midnight Armor glanced at his wife before returning his gaze to Cadance. “Have you given any more thought to our offer?” Cadance glanced at Solae and Bern. Should we be discussing this around their guests? She returned her attention to Midnight Armor before nodding. “Have you come to a conclusion?” Sundance asked Cadance nervously looked from Midnight Armor to Sundance and back again. I hope this doesn’t offend them. “I appreciate the offer . . .” She said slowly “but I don’t want to be adopted.” Thoroughly confused, Solae stared at Cadence for a moment before turning to Bern. “What pony wouldn’t want to be adopted by the King and Queen of Equestria?” Equally confused, Bern nodded to Solae before both of them turned to Cadance. Cadance winced “It’s not that I don’t want to be adopted by them.” She explained “It’s just that I don’t want to be adopted by anypony.” I hope they don’t ask me to explain that. “That’s what I thought she was going to say.” Midnight Armor whispered to Sundance. Nodding, Sundance quietly replied “Same here.” She turned to Cadance. “It’s alright, we understand. To be honest, we didn’t expect you to accept that offer.” W-what?! Shocked, Cadance stared at Sundance for a moment before stammering. “I-if you expected me to refuse . . . why did you make the offer in the first place?” Midnight Armor laughed softly “The legal team for the orphanage informed us that we could only offer you the next option if you refused to be adopted by a qualified pair of interested ponies. Sundance and I knew that you would probably refuse, but offered to adopt you in order to move the process along.” “I-I see.” Cadance slowly responded “An orphan is only allowed to move out of the orphanage under one of four conditions.” Celestia began “The first is that an adult member of their family comes to claim them.” Already aware of this, Cadance simply nodded and waited for her to continue. “The second is that they can leave when they reach the legal age of eighteen.” Celestia continued “Unfortunately, that option isn’t available to you at the moment because you are fifteen years old.” Cadance nodded again Midnight Armor turned to Cadance. “As you know, the third option is adoption. You had to be offered this opportunity before we could move onto the fourth option.” “A-and that is?” Cadance asked “If you find someone to teach you, they can offer you lodging in a location of their choice.” Sundance explained Eyes wide, Cadance turned to Twilight. “T-that means . . .” “I became your teacher when you asked me to teach you about your sensory abilities.” Twilight smiled at her friend. “As your teacher, I have the authority to move you out of the orphanage and into any lodging that I deem suitable.” Her smile faded as she shook her head. “Unfortunately, that authority comes with a catch.” “W-what is the catch?” Cadance hesitantly asked Midnight Armor sighed “Twilight couldn’t move you out of the orphanage simply because she wanted to. This is because the orphanage is fairly close to the castle. This means that you can easily make it to your lessons and still make it back to the orphanage before dark.” Sundance nodded “That means she had to find proof that your current living situation is harmful to either your physical or psychological health.” “My first step was to visit the orphanage myself.” Twilight explained “Unfortunately, those visits were seen as “Royal Inspections”. As such, everypony made sure that everything was perfect during each of my visits.” Cadance gasped “Y-you mean that’s why . . .” Twilight nodded “I asked Shining Armor to escort you to and from your lessons for a few reasons. The first was simply that it was for your protection.” “Protection?” Cadance repeated Twilight nodded again. “The student of Royalty is a tempting target. I had to make sure that you would be safe.” “T-thank you” Cadance said softly “You’re welcome.” Twilight nuzzled her friend. “The second reason was that I could tell that you liked him.” She giggled when Cadance blushed. “That actually leads to the third reason. Eventually, Shining Armor was no longer seen as your escort. Those at the orphanage simply treated him as your friend.” “This means that he got to see how they really treat you.” Midnight Armor smiled “Of course, he was reporting this back to Twilight.” Cadance gasped “T-that means you . . .” “Finally have the evidence that I need.” Twilight finished “I will be going to the orphanage tomorrow and filling out the necessary paperwork. This means that you will be living at the castle until you turn eighteen.” “Twilight insisted that you stay at the castle for the rest of the week for two reasons.” Sundance commented “The first is that she wanted to get you out of that situation as soon as possible. The second is that the paperwork usually takes between three and four days to process.” I’m sure that Midnight and I can convince them to make that process go a little faster. “T-that means I won’t have to go back to the orphanage.” Cadance said softly Midnight Armor’s smile widened “That’s right. You’re home now.”