Spike hadn't seen Twilight this nervous and excited since she first took her throne, yet here she was, trying desperately not to just giggle happily at the thought of what was coming. It brought a smile to his face to see that, even with a role with as much responsibility as hers, she could still find joy in life. She looked down to him, placing her hoof upon his shoulder, whispering to him in that way one did when they were definitely looking forward to something. "Can you believe it, Spike? It's been so long!"
The young dragon chuckled. "Not that long, Twilight."
She gave him a quick nudge. "We spent years seeing her every day, Spike. Having been apart from her this long definitely feels like an age has passed."
Thinking on that, Spike gave a shrug. "Meh, can't argue with that." His smile resumed. "And yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing her too."
Twilight brought him in close, and the two shared a quick hug, just in time to hear the doors of her throne room open, which of course prompted them both to assume more official stances. One of the guards entered, ready to announce the arrival. Though it was not Flash in that particular role today, as he and his wife had taken some vacation time recently. Even so, the guard cleared his throat and spoke aloud all the same. "Announcing the arrival of Rainbow Dash, squadron leader of the Wonderbolts, and her escorted companion, Miss Daring Do!"
Twilight grinned happily, but Spike looked unimpressed. "Meh, Flash had a better voice for it. This guy's not bad, but still, I'd say about seven-out-of-ten at best."
Twilight wasn't paying attention, and was naturally focused on the new arrivals to the room. Daring Do was here, carrying a satchel over her back. She gave a tip of her hat to the Princess, which Twilight naturally returned, but what the latter was truly focusing on right now was the one accompanying her. Sure enough, Rainbow Dash, decked out in her Wonderbolt uniform, approached, looking as confident as ever. It was a sight for sore eyes as far as Twilight was concerned, and barely had the newcomers reached the base of her throne-stairs when the Princess, in a very un-Princess-like move, leapt forward, embracing Rainbow in a tight hug. Rainbow, perhaps having expected this from her, simply chuckled, patting her on the back. "Yeah, I know. I missed you too, Twi." As they parted, Rainbow then noticed Spike walking behind his older friend, and the cyan Wonderbolt afforded him a smirk before patting him on the head. "And good to see you too, Spike."
Spike smirked right back. "You too, Rainbow." After only the barest of pauses, the small drake too rushed forward to hug her, which Rainbow was glad to return.
Twilight clapped her hooves excitedly, but then noticed and remembered that Rainbow had not come here alone today, and so blushed as she turned to face Daring. "Oh! Of course! Welcome to the Palace once more, Miss Do," she said as regally as possible.
The adventurous author gave a quick bow of her head, but then cast a glance in Rainbow's direction. "It's alright, Princess. You go ahead and catch up with Rainbow. I can wait."
Twilight silently mouthed the words "thank you" to her guest, then looked over to Rainbow. Specifically to her uniform. "So, a squad leader now? What's that like?"
Rainbow grinned widely. "It...is...awesome! Actually having ponies under my command? Oh, can you believe I'd ever actually get to this point?!"
Twilight moved forward, placing her hoof upon Rainbow's shoulder. "Rainbow...I never doubted you for a second."
Rainbow maintained her happy look, but looked down to Spike as the latter cleared his throat. "So, who are the lucky ponies you get to boss around?"
Rainbow frowned, in a good-natured way of course, before answering. "Oh, just a pair of ex-students of Twilight and me."
Instantly, Twilight's eyes widened. "Wait...Sky Signer and Vapor Trail?!"
Rainbow nodded, returning to her earlier prideful look. "Yep. They're my new wingponies. And let me tell ya, they've come a long way since we last saw therm."
Twilight thought back nostalgically to her time at the Academy when she and Rainbow were helping those two with both their flying and their friendship. "I'm glad things worked out for them." A sly look came to her. "I imagine you've been pushing them a fair bit on your missions?"
Rainbow chuckled. "Kinda have to, Twi. Especially since your new command is for us Wonderbolts to go further afield these days."
Twilight briefly looked guilty after hearing that. "Yes...I hope that's not too bad for you?"
Rainbow waved her off. "Are you kidding? It's great to go out that far! So many sights to see and new skies to fly! I tell ya, Twilight, your plan for us has really brought in a new chapter for the Wonderbolts, and I bet everycreature who comes into it now is really gonna appreciate you for it."
Twilight giggled. "I really hope so." Finally, the Princess turned to Daring. "And of course you two met up on one of those far-flung scouting missions?"
Daring nodded as she stepped forward. "Yep. Me and Caballeron was just coming back from our last artefact-hunt. Got caught up with a pretty nasty manticore on the way back." She nudged Rainbow in the side, giving her a knowing smile as she did so. "Luckily these guys were around to lend a helping hoof to us on that one."
Rainbow chuckled. "Well, hey, it's no problem. We're pretty good at fighting monsters these days." The group all shared a laugh together, after which Rainbow looked to Daring again. "Though I will say it was pretty sweet seeing Caballeron scream like a little filly when that manticore got close to him."
Daring sighed. "Oh yeah, I'll treasure that memory for the rest of my life."
Spike stepped forward, looking to Daring with intense curiosity. "So...what did you find? Some big evil magical jewel or something?"
Daring smirked to him, taking off the satchel from her back and holding it in front of everycreature. "Here it is. The artefact we wrote to you about."
Twilight stared at the bag. "The one with the unpronounceable name?"
Daring nodded. "Yep, that'd be the one." She looked to Spike again. "Wanna see it, kid?"
Spike stepped forward, then stopped, thinking hard on that choice, before taking another step backwards, all while holding his claws up. "Er...no, thank you. I've kinda had my fill of magical artefacts over the years."
Daring shrugged. "Suit yourself." Her attention then turned to the Princess. "I hear you've got someplace for me to put all this?"
Twilight too nodded. "Yes. I've been preparing a special place, right here at the palace, for the storage of potentially dangerous magical items. By the time we're finished with it, it should be the most secure place in all Equestria."
Rainbow whistled. "Sweet. Good to know you're not taking any chances with these things, Twi."
Twilight sighed. "Given our history with these sorts of things falling into the wrong hooves, there's too much risk letting them just be out there in the world for anycreature to pick up." Frustration came to her. "It's just a shame we don't know more than we do. This one wasn't even known to us until you and Caballeron messaged us about it," she remarked to Daring.
The other mare herself looked to her satchel with some level of concern. "You're not wrong to be worried. It was hard to get to, and those who put it there centuries ago probably weren't too keen on it, given all the terrifying sculptures and wall paintings around it." Noticing all the worried looks she was getting, Daring chuckled nervously. "Oh, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Not once we get some sort of experts on it."
A knowing smile came to Twilight. "Which brings me onto the next thing that needs to be done. With so many unknown magical powers being unearthed and brought here, we'll need somepony brought in to try to study and catalogue it all. Somepony who is utterly devoted to knowledge and who can make sure we do what we can to keep these artefacts under the proper precautions."
Rainbow matched her look as she turned to face her once more. "I know that face, Twilight. You've already got somepony lined up, right?"
Twilight giggled. "Oh, I might. But she still has some things to do before she gets here. Until then..." The Princess moved forward, embracing Rainbow once more. "It's been wonderful to see you again, Rainbow."
As before, Rainbow hugged her back. "You too, egghead. Here's hoping we won't always have to wait a whole month to see each other."
As they parted, Twilight's smile grew. "Well, if you're interested, I got a letter from Rarity yesterday. Apparently she's very interested in the idea of us and our friends having special 'friendship committee uniforms' for our meetings."
Naturally, Rainbow's face was overtaken with a look of horror. "...Why did you have to tell me that?"