The Best Night Ever (Part Two)
Twilight had accompanied Princess Celestia into the throne room ere Celestia had sent out Twilight’s brother to fetch Lightning Dawn and bring him here, and now she stood at the base of the steps leading up to Celestia’s elevated throne and waited for her guest to arrive.
And for the first time since she had begun her tutelage with Princess Celestia, Twilight felt nervous.
She meant that quite literally: since the very first time. On that first day, when she had been dropped off at school by her parents, little filly Twilight had been shaking like a leaf, her whole body trembling, barely able to walk without collapsing in fear; but Celestia had put an end to all of that, and so quickly too.
“Twilight Sparkle, you are here to learn from me; which means that you need not be nervous or afraid. I don’t expect you to have all the answers, or even any answers at all. All I ask is that you work hard, and if you can do that then I promise to teach you anything you wish to know.”
“R-really?”
Celestia laughed, a laugh like warm sunshine melting the snow on a winter’s day, and melting Twilight’s fears besides. “Really,” she said. “If anything, I should be the one who is nervous.”
Twilight gaped a little. “Why should you be nervous, Princess Celestia?”
“Why, because you might ask me a question I cannot answer,” Celestia said, with a smile on her face and a gleam in her eye. “And what would you think of your teacher then?”
Princess Celestia had always been like that: warm, approachable, kind and caring. She had been a second mother to Twilight, and to Spike too for that matter. Although the cares of all the wide realm of Equestria were bounded in her golden crown and sat with golden weight upon her brow she had never let them make her short tempered or irritable with weariness. She always had time for Twilight, always had patience with her difficulties and always had praise for her successes. Twilight had been born with many talents, but she knew that she would not have made it as far as she had without the unfailing support and encouragement of Princess Celestia. She trusted the princess completely, and although she flattered herself that she had the princess’ trust in turn, that wasn’t so important as the faith that she, one pony amongst the multitudes, placed her faith upon Celestia’s shoulders.
And yet now, for the first time since that long ago day, Twilight felt nervous in Celestia’s presence. There was coldness in the throne room air, a chill that the unicorn guards who stood at the foot of the steps seemed to sense as well, judging by the extra care that they were taking to remain absolutely still and not attract any royal attention.
Twilight looked up at Princess Celestia, sat upon her throne as still as any of the statues that decorated the palace gardens. Her purple eyes were directed towards the door, but they did not see it; rather they were seeing much further than that, as if the princess was staring into the future of Equestria at herself and wondering at what she found there.
Her jaw was set firmer than normal, and her expression was stern, without the usual softness that could be found there.
What is it about Lightning Dawn being here that makes her this way? Twilight wondered. She had little doubt that it was connected to Lightning Dawn, after what Shining Armour had told her and after witnessing the way that Princess Celestia had dealt with him already. Did I do this? Am I the cause of Princess Celestia being like this?
Though her heart trembled a little, Twilight raised one hoof – still clad in an elegant slipper – to her mouth as she cleared her throat. “Princess Celestia?”
Princess Celestia turned her gaze – so much more baleful seeming than normal – upon Twilight, making her flinch before it. That seemed to shock Princess Celestia, or perhaps it might be better or more accurate to say it seemed to sadden her, for her expression softened at once and her voice, when she spoke, was filled with regret. “I’m sorry, Twilight, you have not given me cause to be angry with you, not now or ever before,” she smiled, briefly but Twilight was glad of it nevertheless. “Please, forgive me.”
Twilight returned the princess’ fleeting but fond smile with a longer lasting one of her own. “You don’t need my forgiveness, princess. I just wanted to ask… if there was anything that I could do. Anyway that I could help.”
Once more a smile teased at putting in an appearance upon Celestia’s face, only to fade away so quickly like a mole poking its head out of the ground to see if spring has come yet, only to retreat once more beneath the earth when it feels that winter still holds the world within its icy grip. Twilight could not help but wonder what had caused the winter, and what could be done to make it spring again.
“To see you happy helps me more than you know, Twilight,” she said. Princess Celestia sighed. “I know that you are happy with the life you are making for yourself in Ponyville, and my heart rejoices at the fact, but all the same I rejoice to see you once again.”
“It’s wonderful to see you too, princess,” Twilight said. “Although… I’m sorry we haven’t had as much of a chance to catch up as I would have liked. There’s so much that I’d like to tell you that I didn’t have room to put in my letters.”
“I, too, am sorry that our time together has been as constrained as it has been brief,” Princess Celestia said. “I would have loved to hear all your stories.”
“Maybe later?” Twilight suggested.
“Yes,” Celestia replied softly. “Perhaps later there will be time.”
“Um, Princess Celestia-“ Twilight began.
“Twilight,” Princess Celestia replied, softly but firmly too. “I would prefer that you do not ask me any questions touching upon our visitor.”
Twilight, who had been about to ask if it was alright to ask, with the intention of bringing up the historical inconsistencies between Lightning’s account and what she knew of Princess Luna’s fall, stared up at her mentor for a moment. “Princess?”
“I…” Princess Celestia hesitated for a moment. A pained look crossed her alabaster features. “I would prefer not to speak of these things.”
“I… I see,” Twilight said softly. “I’m sorry.”
“There is nothing to apologise for,” Princess Celestia replied immediately. “I know that you have questions; you would not be the bright and curious little filly that it was my privilege to teach so much for so many years if you had not thought through the implications of all that you know and wondered at the contradictions. But I cannot explain them for you. Some things I must keep to myself. Some things are too difficult to speak of.”
Twilight bowed her head. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“Of course not,” Celestia said. She was silent for a moment. “What do you think of him, young Prince Lightning Dawn?”
“He…” Twilight hesitated for a moment. “He can be a little… it’s quite obvious that he doesn’t come from Equestria,” she said. “He doesn’t think the way we do, behave the way we do, see things the way we do.”
“Do you think him dangerous?” Princess Celestia said.
“No,” Twilight said quickly. “With all due respect, princess, may I finish?”
Princess Celestia nodded in acknowledgement of the mild rebuke. “Of course. I apologise. Please, Twilight, go on.”
“Although he is a stranger to this land, and although that made him seem strange to me at first, the more I realise that, although he is the product of a different world, a different culture, his soul is the same as mine,” Twilight said. “Wherever he comes from he is still a pony, and although his manners and habits and attitudes differ his feelings do not. By which I mean that he seemed – he was – a little stiff at first, but the more time that we’ve spent together the more I think… if he had been born in Equestria he would be just like us.”
“Perhaps,” Celestia murmured. “But he was not born in Equestria.”
“No,” Twilight said. “But he is a gentlecolt nevertheless; I… I’ve started to find him… quite charming.”
Celestia’s eyebrows rose, and Twilight felt her cheeks begin to heat up just a little. She would begun to explain, or try to extricate herself from the hole that she had dug, when the doors to the throne room began to open.
Princess Celestia fixed her eyes upon those opening doors, and once more her features became as hard as marble.
The doors into the throne room were large and imposing, and made all the more seeming so by what Lightning knew waited on the other side of them.
The great doors swung open at the approach of Captain Armour, and Lightning saw no sign of visible magic to swing them open; that was not exactly knew to him: the doors of his father’s throne room were enchanted to hide the magic, so that they seemed to open of their own will and volition, as a way of putting those who passed the doors in awe.
Sunset mocked the notion, but it worked on Lightning every single time, not so much – at least, not entirely – because of the awe-inspiring nature of the magic itself but because the majesty of him who waited behind those doors demanded awe. And so it was here as well: he was about to pass into the presence of Princess Celestia, and not just the presence but into the very heart of her royal state and stand before her seat of majesty. How could he not be in awe? How could he not tremble a little in the knees? Who would be so base, so dull, so heedless of who and what Princess Celestia was and all that she meant to the world and to Lightning’s lord father and not feel a tingling of the spine, feel the hairs of his mane crackle with nervousness, feel a kind of terror crawling in his gut as Lightning Dawn did now?
And that was before he came to his purpose in coming before her. He was not merely walking into the presence of Princess Celestia, but he was doing so with all his hopes for the success of his mission and – perhaps – the salvation of his people riding upon his success in treating with this great and noble sovereign. And she did not appear to like him very much.
I can only hope that her sense of justice overrides her personal distaste for me, however I have incurred it.
If the tales are true – and how can the tales not be true – then how can it be otherwise?
The doors opened fully, and Shining Armour led the way into the throne room. Lightning Dawn followed in his hoofs-steps, moving at a slow and careful pace befitting the stateliness of the occasion and the care which he would need to take to achieve all that he would out of this audience.
The throne room was as empty as ever a throne room was; rarely had Lightning come before his father in his seat of state to find the chamber so bereft of life. Of course, the King of Kings did not conduct all of his business in the gaze of all the court, his nobles and his courtiers and his chiefest knights, his councillors or the ambassadors of all the many allies of the light; nor for that matter did he carry out all his more private business in a more private setting; sometimes he wished, as it seemed Princess Celestia did now, to impress upon someone the majesty of his exalted place while at the same time having private conference with them. Yet in New Olympia a private conference was never truly private: the knights of the Celestial Cohort, the elite of the Star Legion, stood ever vigilant, hedging the throne about with sharp spears and stout hearts whenever the sovereign sat upon it, lining the porphyr columns like so many graven statues that any supplicant must pass between on their approach. Yet here, in Equestria, upon this night Lightning found that the throne room was truly bare; besides Shining Armour and himself only a pair of guards and Miss Twilight Sparkle peopled it.
And Princess Celestia herself, sitting atop her throne which itself sat at the top of a raised platform reachable only by a flight of steps, looming over all, casting a shadow across the room. Her face was stern, her eyes seemed to glare at Lightning as he approached, and under her fierce gaze he felt a fear more terrible than he had felt on any battlefield.
He did not meet her eyes; he might be a prince, but Princess Celestia was of a different order by far, not merely an anointed sovereign but something close to the divine. She had seen old Olympia in the flower of its pomp and greatness; alone of any living creature in Equestria she had seen and heard and spoken with His Majesty, the King of Kings, even before he ascended to that lofty rank; she was… it was not meet that he should meet her eyes or seek to match his stare against hers. He looked away, and as he looked Lightning could not help but spy upon the wall a stained glass window set between the towering columns, a window upon which was represented Miss Twilight Sparkle and her companions, and what Lightning guessed – from what Miss Twilight had told him – to be the defeat of Nightmare Moon.
Lightning's eyes found Miss Twilight; it was clear that this monument to her triumph did not elate her, nor in any way fill her with pride in her accomplishment; rather she seemed embarrassed that he had seen that, or at least that was how he took the awkward smile that she gave him as he drew near.
He did not return the smile at first; not out of any desire to appear discourteous but simply because he found neither his mood nor the occasion meet for smiles; and yet the sight of her lifted his mood somewhat; even nervous and awkward and embarrassed as she looked now Miss Twilight filled his heart, with courage and with more besides.
She really was quite lovely, in soul and body both alike.
Shining Armour stopped, and Lightning following stopped also. Shining Armour bowed, and Lightning Dawn bowed too, pressing his snout against the soft carpet and waiting.
"Guards," Princess Celestia declared. "Please give us leave. I must have some private conference with my visitor and my student. Shining Armour, will you guard the door and see that we are not disturbed?"
"Of course, princess," Shining Armour said, and from his supplicatory position on the ground Lightning was treated to the sight of Shining Armour's hooves as he walked past him, accompanied by his guards, and departed from the chamber.
The doors swung shut with a final-sounding thump.
Silence reigned within the throne room as much as did Celestia herself. Lightning waited, feeling every thread of carpet brushing against his face.
"Rise, Prince Lightning Dawn," Princess Celestia said; her tone was soft and even and betrayed nothing.
Lightning straightened up, and raised his head, but still he did not look upon her face, still less meet her eye.
"You may look upon me."
"I fear, highness, I would be blinded by your radiance."
Princess Celestia made a sound that seemed to lie somewhere between sigh and snort. "Please, let us have none of that. Look on me, Lightning Dawn, Prince of New Olympia."
Lightning did look on her, albeit slowly and with trepidation quickening the beating of his heart as to what he might see in her face when he did look on her; but to his surprise he found that her expression had softened towards him, if only a little, as though she had been touched to pity by his reverence for her.
"How fares the noble Jupiter?" Princess Celestia asked. "I was… surprised to hear that he yet lived."
"He lives, and lives well, Princess," Lightning replied. "He is a prince of power, and lord of a fell people; long is his reach, great is his wealth, and many are his triumphs. The rich treasures with which he wooed you long ago would seem mere baubles and trinkets to him now, and the great feats of which – so he has told me – he boasted to you then seem as but children's squabbles in the yard compared to the victories that he has won since then." He paused a moment. "And yet, if he had known ere I set out that I would have the honour of speaking with you I am sure that he would have bid me tell you that his affections towards you are not changed; many are the stories he has told that prove the truth of it."
"I see," Princess Celestia said, her tone recovering a little of its initial chilliness. "And Saturn, too, still lives."
"I fear he does, highness, though I have not set eyes upon him," Lightning said. Saturn, like Lord Jupiter, rarely ventured forth upon the battlefield, rarely stirred from the heart of his power save only to triumph over his foes once all was lost. For once, that was not a mark of his depravity, but a sign of his wisdom as a great lord, all of whom did as he did; else why did Jupiter send forth his sons and daughters to bear his banner in his name, and why did Princess Celestia entrust her faithful student with the defeat of Nightmare Moon?
Princess Celestia nodded. "You are the son of Jupiter, is that correct?"
"Adopted son, highness, aye."
Princess Celestia shook her head. "Say only that you are his son, and let it not be qualified; for well do I know how it is possible to love one who is not of your blood as dear as if she were." It was her turn to pause awhile as she gazed into Lightning's eyes; in spite of his formal attire he felt naked before her gaze – and not in the trivial sense of not wearing any clothes either. It was not that she could see his marbled coat or battle scars that troubled him, rather it was the fact that she could – or at least he felt she could – see into his soul, that was the nakedness he felt and did not like. He would have torn his gaze away from her if he could, but the very force of her gaze held him in place and left him quite incapable of such a thing. "You did not expect to find us here? You did not know Equestria awaited you?"
"No, princess," Lightning said. "As I told Miss Twilight herself."
"You took a leap into the dark?" Princess Celestia asked. "With no idea what waited for you at road's end?"
"I would – I have – run risks more perilous for my father and my… and a good cause," Lightning said. "And, with great respect and al due reverence, I would thank your highness not to call me a liar."
"Forgive me," Princess Celestia said. "It was never my intent to impugn your honour in my astonishment. Tell me, then, if not for Equestria why have you come?"
"As I-"
"I do not doubt that you have told Twilight all, and told her honest truth," Princess Celestia said. "But I would hear it from your lips, unto my ears."
"As you wish, Princess Celestia: I came for a Prism Stone, an artefact-"
"Of rare magical power," Princess Celestia said. "One of seven stones, fashioned long ago and left behind by… who can say? Legend says that when all seven stones are brought together great power will be the reward for him who wields them."
"You know of what I speak?"
"And what you seek," Princess Celestia said. "One such stone I have in my possession-" Twilight gasped in surprise, which brought a fond but fleeting smile to Celestia's face. "The yellow stone, which some call Sun-at-Noon."
"A more fitting of the seven you could not possess," Lightning murmured. "I am sure you know, highness, what my next request must be."
"You would have me give the stone to you," Princess Celestia replied. "And to what end? What would you do with it once it was given to you?"
"I would send it home to my father, to be combined with the two stones he already has possession of; and soon, if fate is kind, he shall have all seven stones and with them power to guard the realm and all who shelter 'neath his power against all enemies."
"Send it home?" Celestia repeated. "You would not take it there?"
Now they were come to it. Lightning had not been certain, when he entered the throne room; he had not been certain when Princess Celestia bid him rise; but now, he looked away from Princess Celestia for a moment and his eyes found Twilight, and in that moment he found that, without him ever really becoming aware of it, his choice was made.
"No," he said. "No, I would send it back to New Olympia but I would not go with it. I… with your highness' leave I and my sister would remain here, in Equestria."
He did not know if he had taken Princess Celestia by surprise – if he had she hid the fact very well – but he had certainly surprised Twilight because she gaped in astonishment. "You… you never said anything about that to me!"
"For which I cry your pardon, Miss Twilight," Lightning said. "I can only plead in mitigation that I did not know myself until a moment ago; when I stood outside the royal doors I had not yet made up my mind."
Twilight chuckled. "You… you really mean it?" she asked. "You really want to stay?"
Lightning ventured upon a smile. "I would not lie before a princess… or a most generous and gentle lady either, for that matter."
"To what end?" Princess Celestia asked. "To prepare the way for the return of your people to Equestria, as you desire?"
"I would not know where to begin in such an endeavour, princess," Lightning replied. "As I have told you, I came seeking the Prism Stone, not Equestria; I arrived here by following the magical resonance of the stone, once it is sent to New Olympia such means of travel will be impossible. I am convinced that my father's dream will one day be fulfilled and the two of you will reunited; but I am not the stallion to make the happen, nor know I how the ambition shall be realised. I do not ask your leave to stay upon my father's will, or my people's aims, indeed in staying I think that I shall forfeit any right to call him my father or them my people… I ask only that I may live here, in Equestria."
"As a prince?"
"As a pony," Lightning said. "As others are."
"You would renounce your title, and all princely privilege?" Princess Celestia asked. "Why?"
Lightning hesitated a moment while he collected his thoughts. "Princess… I have a sister, Krysta, a fae I met upon the road when neither of us had home to return to or kin to shelter us. Many years ago I promised us that I would find us a home where we could be happy, safe and comfortable all. Being here has reminded me that… at some point along the way I forgot that promise, forgot Krysta, shunted her aside in favour of other concerns… my concerns. Yet being here has also reminded me that there was a time when she was the most important thing in my life. And here, in Equestria… I think that here is a world where I could keep my promise, if you will allow me to. Because what is a crown or a title or a pampered existence when set against the sister whom I love?"
Princess Celestia stared down at him from atop her lofty seat, and once again Lightning had the sensation of being weighed in the balance. But then she smiled at him, truly and genuinely, and when she spoke again her voice had a warmth in it he had not heard before. "Congratulations, Lightning Dawn."
Lightning frowned. "Congratulation, highness?"
"You have learned a lesson that many of my little ponies could stand to learn," Princess Celestia declared. "And you have passed the test." Her horn flared with a golden light, and out of the shadows behind the throne she levitated a blue box, which she opened to reveal, tucked within, a stone about the size of a duck's egg, of a brilliant yellow, that burned like the sun at noon upon a cloudless day.
Lightning's eyes widened. His words came in whispered tones of reverent awe. "The Prism Stone."
"Take it," Celestia said, levitating it out of the box and into the breast pocket of his white suit. "Send it home to your people, with your farewell."
Lightning closed his eyes and bowed his head. "On behalf of my… on behalf of noble Jupiter, King of Kings, and all of New Olympia and its allies, I thank you for this gift," he said. "On behalf of my sister and myself, I give you thanks for granting us your leave to make a home here."
The smile remained upon Celestia's face. "Welcome to Equestria, Lightning Dawn."
Princess Celestia watched as Twilight and Lightning departed from the throne room. They seemed quite happy now, in stark contrast to how nervous they had both been when the meeting began. She couldn’t quite hear what they were talking about, but if she had to guess she would surmise that they were discussing Lightning’s surprise announcement.
A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. It would have been less welcome if he had possessed some means of sending a signal to his friends beyond the stars, but he said – and she believed him – that he did not. She believed him when he said that once the Prism Stone was safely off this world there would be no way to find it again.
So you see, it had cost her nothing to give up what had been, to her, a worthless trinket of no value. Yes, the stones had great power, but that power paled before the power of the Elements of Harmony that had been unlocked by Twilight and her friends. Equestria had all the magical protection it required. Princess Celestia had no need of ancient baubles to augment the defence that friendship and harmony provided.
Rather, she had need to make it as difficult as she could for any more envoys of Jupiter – or Saturn, for that matter – to make their way to her land and trouble the peace of her domain. She could not guarantee that they would all be so obliging as this prince of New Olympia had been.
So fortunate, we have been. More fortunate, perhaps, than I deserve. When she had gotten Twilight’s letter she hadn’t known what to think; fear – fear for Equestria, fear for Twilight, fear for herself – had nearly overwhelmed her. Even Shining Armour’s report had not entirely calmed her nerves, especially when her captain brought back news that this ambassador was a warrior and a taker of lives. But now that she had met the stallion… now she felt more at ease. He might be a warrior, but he was no bloodthirsty barbarian at the least; Twilight was right, he conducted himself with the manners of a gentlecolt, he spoke courteously and, in the end, from the heart. When he had explained himself and his reasons for wishing to remain here with them Celestia had found that she could begin to understand why Twilight liked him.
Although she could not deny that the fact that Twilight liked him was the major source of her continued misgivings as Twilight and Lightning left the throne room and Celestia’s presence.
Celestia let out a sigh that she hadn’t even known she had been holding back as the doors swung shut.
Stay safe, Twilight; keep your head about you.
“You should have told her the truth,” Luna said, appearing suddenly at Celestia’s side.
Celestia gazed at her younger sister out of the corner of one eye. The Princess of the Moon had almost completely recovered her strength now; from having been barely larger than Twilight upon her return she was now only a head shorter than Celestia herself. She would probably never match her elder sister for height, but at least she was no longer dwarfed by Cadance – speaking of whom, it was a pity that that business in Fillydelphia had kept her away from the gala, it would have been nice to know what she thought of Lightning Dawn; not to mention she and Twilight would probably have been overjoyed to be able to catch up with one another.
“Sister,” Celestia said softly, but with a trace of amusement in her voice. “I think that you must be trying to scare me when you suddenly teleport in like that.”
Luna was in no mood for jokes. “You should have told her the truth,” she repeated, her voice solemn.
Celestia pursed her lips together for a moment. “I had no need to,” she said. “Everything has worked out well without the need for such revelations.”
“You hope.”
“I hope with cause,” Celestia said. “We cannot be found once the Prism Stone is away.”
“That the young stallion knows of,” Luna pointed out.
Celestia was silent for a moment. “Yes,” she admitted. “There is always the possibility of the unexpected. But that was always a possibility. For a while it seemed that the discovery of Equestria was becoming more likely; now that fear recedes.”
“All the same,” Luna muttered. “You should have told her.”
“Why?” Celestia asked. “To what purpose?”
“Is not honesty a virtue in and of itself?” Luna replied. She paused. “Why did you not tell all to her? Twilight is no fool, she is wise enough and learned enough and hath been taught well enough by you that she may spot the holes in the tale Prince Lightning Dawn hath had from great and mighty Jupiter. She made to ask you of these things, but you turned her aside.”
“I told her no lie,” Celestia said. “It is painful to speak of the truth, and I am loath to do so.”
“Then it was pain that stilled your tongue?”
“No,” Celestia confessed. “It was fear that stuck my words within my throat.”
“What doth Celestia fear?”
“What fear I not?” Celestia responded. “When all the cares of state and the futures of my little ponies bear down like mighty boulders on my shoulders how should I not fear? If I were not oppressed by fears then I would be a careless princess indeed, unworthy of the crown or throne or all the love in which I am rich beyond measure. But, in this case… I fear to lose her.”
“In this, at least, your fear is groundless,” Luna said. “Twilight is loyal, and loves thee well.”
“You loved me once,” Celestia said.
Luna flinched as if she had had a bucket of water thrown in her face. “I love thee presently, sister.”
Celestia closed her eyes. “Forgive me,” she said. “I meant-“
“I take thy meaning, and very clearly too,” Luna whispered. “But Twilight is not Luna; she hath not Luna’s faults.” She was silent a moment. “That young stallion is not Saturn either, if that is thine other fear.”
Celestia smiled sadly. “One thousand years gone and you still know me so well. I should be embarrassed by how little I have changed.”
“Why change what has served thee and Equestria so well?” Luna asked. “Take heart: he hath not the cunning to turn her from thee, and she is too noble in the spirit to be so turned. It may be that ten thousand awful fates hedge all around us, many perils and ills and evils we should beware, but put those two small cares at least aside. They are not phantoms plausible enough to be troubled by.”
“I would dearly like to believe that,” Celestia said. “So you think I did the right thing, in allowing him to stay?”
“If you had not you would not be Celestia,” Luna said.
Celestia chuckled at that. “He seems… a little lost, don’t you think?”
“Twilight will help him find his way.”
“Indeed,” Celestia said. “And what will she find along the way?”
Luna was prevented from answering – whether or not she actually had an answer, which Celestia did not know – by the sounds of great calamity occurring outside, crashes and thumps and screams of startled panic.
“What in the world?” Luna cried. “What could be happening out there?”
Celestia covered her mouth with one hoof as she laughed. “Oh, that? I expect that’s the reason I invited Twilight’s friends to the gala in the first place.”
Luna’s eyes narrowed. “You invited Twilight’s friends to start a riot?”
“I confess I wasn’t expecting them to be quite that loud,” Celestia said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go and see what the best night ever looks like.”