//------------------------------//
// A Moment of Peace 
// Story: The Schools of Stalliongrad 
// by Nadir 
//------------------------------//

Twilight’s life settled into a routine. Classes in the morning, lunch with Trixie - every day - afternoon classes, dinner then a quick nap before time with Luna. Then do the whole thing over again. Of course, she got weekends too, because not having some time off from that schedule would probably be a literal crime. 

Trixie was the first real friend that she ever had. Make no mistake, she’d had friends before, but they were ancillary. They didn’t understand her, they didn’t know what she liked, they just hung out with her every now and then. That sort of thing is absolutely valuable, but it didn’t compare anything to the depth of friendship that Trixie and Twilight had. The two of them were practically inseparable, and the longer they stayed together, the tighter they became. Frankly, Twilight thought it’d be over before it started for a while, the idea of telling her about Luna something that worried her to the core.

But it had worked out.





The room itself really hadn’t changed much now that Twilight had settled in. There was an actual bookshelf, full of all kinds of things that Luna had given her - and things she’d bought with her stipend. The picture of her and Shiny had actually been framed and put by her bedside, and a small row of multi-colored succulents covered the sil of her window, something to add color to the room. Beyond that, a nice, colorful rug took up the most space, pretty and warming in the deadly winters of the north. She’d even gotten herself nicer sheets and a comforter, lilac just like her coat. Finally, her most expensive possession, a telescope pointed out her window and up to the stars. That had been a small fortune, but definitely worth it.

Today, Trixie half hung off the bed, looking up at the ceiling. She wore a standard brown skirt with a white blouse, the most recommended uniform for the school. Hardly required, but most students wore them, if only because the school also supplied it for students who didn’t have the money to afford clothes. Granted, going without could work but nobody did that in Stalliongrad because who exactly wanted to freeze their bits off?

Twilight wore the same, though she lay out on the floor, a book open in front of her and reading over the thing as her friend rambled on. Honestly, she only caught about half the words. “—and then we had to go back for—” another page or two of reading. “—with the most AWFUL of outfits—” Oh, something about the Mareintine wars, those were interesting and were on the test weren’t they? “You should have seen them, it was—” Okay yea, definitely taking some notes about that. A quill came out, and she looked to write in the borrowed notebook.

A wad of paper bounced off Twilight’s horn, disrupting her magic and sending the quill to the ground. “You are not listening to me, Twilight Sparkle!” Trixie accused, wiggling a hoof in Twilight’s direction as she spoke. She wriggled on the bed, setting herself upright once more to really look down at Twilight with all the condemnation in the world. 

Twilight knew better. Trixie wasn’t serious, and she answered the stare with a roll of her eyes and a smile. “Well, some of us have to make up for missed work. Not all of us can come to school and not miss a single day you know,” Twilight answered right back. In fact, she’d take the ball and toss it back over Trixie’s way, aiming for her head.

A squeaky yip escaped the pony as she ducked, trying to catch it with magic but only sending a book on the bed thudding to the ground. With a harumph, Trixie collapsed against the bed once more, shooting a dirty look over towards Twilight and crossing over forelegs against her barrel, not pouting at all, totally. “Honestly, Twilight, your grades since coming here have been practically perfect and you still spend all of your extra time studying. When do you sleep?” Trixie asked. “I came to your room once in the midst of the night to fetch you for a grand caper and you weren’t even here! Do you know how embarrassing it is to raid my father’s house alone?” 

Twilight didn’t have an answer to that immediately, mostly because she was thinking about her nightly duties, her times with Luna. “Yea, I definitely uh, study too much,” Twilight agreed, with no small amount of awkwardness in her voice. “Why do you have to raid your dad’s house? Can’t you just go over there and get whatever you need?” Twilight asked, lazily flipping through another page in the book. She’d gone over this part before, no reason to re-read it three times. 

Trixie stood from the bed and stretched herself out much like a cat, something that she did quite often and Twilight really never got it. There were so many different ways to stretch! She mostly just assumed that Trixie did it for the effect, like everything else she did. “Because,” Trixie went on, “it’s a lot more fun that way! I could totally come over there and just,” a hoof suddenly stepped on the book in front of Twilight, obscuring her view of everything, “take whatever I wanted but sneaking is fun! And we could do it together as friends, tonight even!” Trixie proposed, with a little giggle. Twilight recognized that giggle, Trixie giggled that way when she had a really bad idea.

Luckily, Twilight already had a pre-built excuse. Her horn lit up in the pretty purple color, lifting Trixie up - despite the other woman letting out a squeak - and deposited her back on the bed. “Don’t step on my books, Trixie, we’ve totally been over this,” Twilight reprimanded, though it was light and not actually meant to be anything bad, just a light teasing thing. “And I can’t come tonight, sorry. I have some plans,” Twilight answered, keeping it purposefully vague.

Which was not what a resurgent Trixie wanted to hear. In fact, Twilight suddenly found a pony laying over the top of her, pinning her to the ground as she let out an ‘oof’. “Why do you keep having plans in the middle of the night? It’s getting ridiculous!” Trixie accused, one hoof poking into Twilight’s side to emphasize her words.

Of course, Twilight had an answer for that too. She rolled her eyes and tried to look over her shoulder at the beast atop her. “It’s for my religion. I have to worship three nights a week at midnight and tonight is one of them,” Twilight reminded Trixie. A total lie, but one that Twilight had definitely started to get used to saying. And no one really questioned it.

Truth be told, Twilight didn’t know why she lied. Luna didn’t seem to want to keep it a secret. She’d told Raven and most of her other staff by now. But something about the situation tickled the back of Twilight’s mind. Perhaps it was jealousy - others might be jealous, others might try and tear her down for getting something that they hadn’t. Perhaps anxiety - maybe she wasn’t good enough and others would point that out. No matter what it was, Twilight didn’t tell people. Not yet, anyways. 

Trixie whined and poked at Twilight’s horn, lightly and carefully because you never disrespected another unicorn’s horn. “When are you going to tell me the truth about where you go at night? I know you aren’t. I followed you once, you know. You were headed towards the palace, and if you simply needed to worship you could do it at the church down the road. I’m your best friend, Twily, surely you can tell me, the Great and Powerful Trixie!” she proposed, with all the fanfare she normally had.

In fact, she’d sent glitter through the air, something that Twilight noticed because some of it landed directly on her nose. Oh bother. She stayed silent for several seconds, working through the thing in her head. She could bring up another lie, or she could say something so outlandish that it actually sounded like a lie. That might work. 

“Well, you know me, I go up and have tea with the Princess and she teaches me magic,” Twilight answered back, in that noncommittal non serious way that definitely showed you somepony joked around. She even started to leaf through her book once more after the words, because who would actually believe that? Luna hadn’t taken a student in decades. 

Trixie let out a gasp and quickly scampered off the creature below her, coming around and - once again putting her hooves on Twilight’s book - pressing her nose right into Twilight’s. “You’re the princess’s personal student? You were the one chosen? After all the others have tried!?” Trixie asked, boring her eyes into Twilight.

She couldn’t help it. The purple pony took a small step back, though it was more of a shuffle since she was mostly on the ground still. “You know I was totally joking right?” she asked, horn lighting up and making the book a single barrier between herself and Trixie.

It was slapped aside by a kick and followed by a flare of magic that cut off her own. “You are not! You are not that good of a liar, so you told the truth to try and trick Trixie! I mean me,” she added, only seeming a tiny bit flustered at the correction. “I know you, Twilight Sparkle, you lied to me about being right on the last Thaum exam, and I saw right through you. This isn’t a lie. So answer my questions!” Trixie finished with a huff, turning her nose up towards the thing on the floor.

Twilight considered it. She had to, because it was giving up a lot. Sure, Luna didn’t care, but Twilight had wanted to avoid things that were exactly like this! Eventually, she sighed, looked down and gave the smallest of nods. With a groan, she started to pull herself up, back into a sitting position as a glance finally met Trixie’s eyes. “Yes. My first night in Stalliongrad, I did something stupid, got arrested, and the Princess um, kinda took note of it.”

Trixie’s body quivered all the more at the news, and she leaned in, looking Twilight over like a hawk staring at a mouse. “You?” she started, in her snide whine. “You got arrested? Doing what? Stealing from the library?” she asked, with a scoff and a turn up of her nose. 

Perhaps it was time to tell the whole story. Twilight got up from her spot and worked her way over towards the bed before plopping herself down on it. “For stupid things, actually. I tried to visit the Princess’s court my first night coming here, after I heard the school had closed for new students. I noticed that I couldn’t hear her or the petitioner, but her horn wasn’t glowing and it didn’t feel like an enchantment. So I tried to prod her magic. Apparently, uh, that’s against the law to do in the royal chamber-” 

“Duh!”


“Well obviously I know now! I just didn’t know at the time and was curious. So I tried to check and three royal guards instantly dogpiled on top of me. But hey! I did a sort of good job of fighting them off and managed to break one of the Dragoon’s spells, so Luna said she’d visit me in prison.”

Twilight kept on with her explanation, though she looked towards the window, out towards the moon. “And she did and I saw her for the first time and…” she cut herself off, a placid smile spreading across her face. She stared off into space for a second, long enough apparently that Trixie had to wave a hoof in front of her face once more. “Oh right!” Twilight yipped, getting back to reality.

“Anyways, she saw me fight her guards half off and thought I was impressive enough that she had to teach me. Apparently, not many ponies can really deal with the dragoons like I did and that was enough for her to induct me in the school and take me on as a personal student. Isn’t that absolutely insane?” Twilight asked, finishing with a goofy smile to try and downplay her luck at least a bit.

Trixie, at the least, seemed to be taking it well. She stared at Twilight with a frown across her face, inspecting her with the closest and most intimate of looks. “I believe you,” Trixie started, beginning to pace across the room. “But that doesn’t make sense! I know plenty of ponies who could stand their own against a dragoon. My father Artemis is one of them!” Trixie bragged, in that lowkey way that she always did.

Trixie stopped, turning towards Twilight and poking a hoof in her general direction. “So there’s something else going on. You may not know it yet, but she totally picked you for a different reason,” Trixie said in the most triumphant voice that she might have heard. “You are lucky, Twilight Sparkle. Lucky to be chosen, and lucky because you do have a good excuse to not come on my heist tonight.”

Another humph as Trixie started to head towards the door. “Good luck with your lessons,” she added, face going softer, more friendly like Twilight knew. “I trust they will go well. I know they will, because it’s you. But good luck nonetheless.”

Twilight smiled, giving a small shake of her head. “You too, Trixie. Good luck with the heist.” With that, the door shut behind Trixie, leaving Twilight alone with her thoughts for a couple hours yet.

That had gone well, surprisingly well really. Then again, Trixie had become her best friend for a reason. With a smile on her face and a weight off her back, Twilight started to settle into bed. She cleaned up her books, dressed in her pajamas and fell asleep thinking about how lucky she was.





Twilight jumped. Well, it was less of a jump and more of throwing herself to the side, desperate to avoid the bolt of golden magic that flew through the air directly at her face. She managed it, though it sent her skittering across the grass, the duel circle’s edge right beside her. Can’t step out, one step out and it would be a loss.

Granted, she’d lost every single time she’d fought Sunset. Seventeen to zero or something like that. The heavy armor plate that she wore didn’t help. It’s not like she was unfit or out of shape, but running around with armor on was an entirely different story and-

Twilight eeped as she ducked, a bolt going right over her head. They were keeping it simple for now, simple spells and counter attacks, mostly because Sunset wiped the floor with her when they went all out.

“Don’t stand there, Twilight!” Sunset’s chipper, annoyingly happy voice rang out. “Keep walking, keep moving, what is it that I always say?”

This time, Twilight deflected the incoming spell, sending it wizzing up into the air. Okay right, keep moving. “Yes ma’am!” she chirped back, deciding maybe she should go on the offensive at some point.

She darted forward, as fast as her legs would carry her, though admittedly it wasn’t as fast as she could with all the armor weighing her down. She made things a bit more complex than what Sunset had done, a dual spell. A flurry of magical arrows flew towards Sunset, and at the same time, the ground underneath her hooves turned into mud.

Sunset tried to jump away, only for her hooves to get stuck. She smiled at Twilight, and gave her a bit of a wink. The arrows, instead of striking their target, caught on fire and melted, the mud hardening under the sudden fire. 

It left Sunset able to surge forward, cracking the mud under her hooves and dashing towards Twilight. Twilight’s eyes went wide, letting out a yelp as she started to retreat, blasting back with raw magic, nothing shaped or curated, just a beam of energy.

Of course, it was off target by quite a bit, and Sunset laughed out loud. “Why are you looking at me? Look in front of you!” Sunset warned, just in time for Twilight to thud into a big old yellow wall. 

It didn’t knock her senseless, but it did force the air out of her. She fell in a clamber, bubble shield surrounding her to try and get some space. But Sunset wouldn’t give it to her - the thing about bubbles is that they did good with general attacks, but with something sharp and specific?

A hoof tip struck against her shield hard, a warrior’s strike, shattering the thing and sending the feedback right back into Twilight’s horn. She yelped, looking to force something else up and-

Finding a horn leveled right at her, Sunset’s easy going smile almost taunted her with her failure. Twilight looked back with a pout on her face, but sighed. 

“You know, for only a few weeks of practice, you’re doing really good, Twilight!” Sunset chirped, stepping back and offering a hoof for Twilight to get up with.

She’d take it, and pull herself up with a groan. Twilight's body ached from the exercise, but it was the good kind of sore. It would burn tomorrow, but Twilight had started to pack on some muscle - good food and good exercise would do that. “I’m trying to be more creative. I mean, blasting at each other is good and all, but I watched the Dragoons fight. They don’t just do that, they trap their opponents, force them off balance. I really hoped the mud would do something at least,” Twilight groaned, huffing out her discontent.

But Sunset simply patted her on the back, trying to cheer her right back on up. “Hey, it was a good thought! You have to remember that I’m like, really good at this Twily! If you were battling somepony your own level, you probably would have beaten them! Which once more brings up that we don’t have to do these every time. I mean, we already go over our allotted time by like an hour every session, I don’t need to beat you up a bit too!”

They were intense. Reflex tests, horn strength training, target practice, shielding versus stronger and stronger forces, and finally, environmental quizzes. They could range from a wide open field like this, to a pseudo city set up, to a mountain environment, anything that Sunset could think of - and make with her horn too, of course. She ran Twilight through the gamut every other weekday, the duels were just a cherry on the top.

Twilight shook herself out, getting the last of the kinks out. “No, no, I’m really glad that we do these,” she answered back. “They give me something to compare myself against. I’m trying to get better, and if I don’t see any progress, what’s the point?”


Really, it was true too. The first time they’d ever dueled, it ended in seven seconds. Sunset shot a bolt at her and then another as she dodged, it landed and that was it, simple as could be. Now, she could last like a full minute in the ring!

Sunset gave a small cheer and a laugh. “That’s the spirit! You really are getting better too!” she assured me. The golden mare started to take her time going around the ring, idly cleaning up after their fight, fixing the field as it were. The burnt patches were solved, the mud fully solidified, and the scorches from their horn blasts were patched over. “Seriously, you’re improving super duper fast! I don’t know what it is, but you’re taking to this like a fish to water!”

Twilight blushed, belatedly realizing that she should have probably been helping clean things up. By now, Sunset had pretty much cleared it all up, darn her speed! “Thanks,” Twilight answered, feeling the blush sting at the edges of her face. “It’s because I have such a great teacher, there’s no way I would have learned all this on my own, you know.” Twilight threw some of the attention back, trying her best to be polite. 

Sunset laughed and came over again, throwing a foreleg around Twilight and holding her close. “Now let’s not hear any of that! I’ve taught hundreds of fillies before and you’re the first one that’s pushed yourself this hard! If you were in the military, you’d be an officer faster than you could blink!” she snickered, giving Twilight another tight squeeze before letting her go. 

The blush didn’t exactly go away from the compliments, Twilight brushing her tail against the ground back and forth ever so slowly. “I appreciate that, you know Sunset?” she asked, in a quiet voice. “You’re always so relentlessly positive and happy and I’m not. It always makes me feel better to come out here and just be around you. You’re just so infectious,” Twilight finished, with a nervous little giggle. Maybe she was being dumb.

She wasn’t being dumb. Sunset looked back with an absolutely heartfelt look on her face, tears in her eyes and everything. It was probably just because Sunset was overly dramatic about everything, but it absolutely made Twilight’s heart throb in her chest. “You are such a sweet little filly!” Sunset’s words came out with a hint of emotion to them. A sudden hug enveloped Twilight, tight enough that it was just the smallest bit hard to breathe, though she managed it after a second. “You are so sweet and so nice and I am so grateful that you’re my student instead of some of those bitches down at your school!”

Twilight had never heard her curse before, definitely a first. But the overall message definitely felt nice and warmed Twilight’s heart up right back. “Can’t breathe,” she choked out, the constant pressure against her throat building up more and more. “Thank you too,” she added again, in the same raspy, choked up voice. 

Sunset finally released her - thank the Goddesses - and beamed right into her face. “This has truly been a great experience! You’re a great student and a great pony and I know you’re going to make us all proud! Why, just last night Luna and I were talking about you and your progress and don’t tell her I said this, but she seemed super impressed!” Sunset went on, something that instantly caught Twilight’s attention.

“I know that may not seem like much, I’m sure she praises you all the time when you two are on your own, but gosh, she really did love hearing my reports about your fighting. I think she wanted to give you a shot someday!” Sunset proposed, waggling her eyebrows over at the petrified mare.

Twilight was petrified for two reasons really. One, because Luna had been talking about her. Though she really should have expected that. She was her student and apparently Sunset and Luna talked a lot and they had her in common. Two, because Luna wanted to actually spar against her. Sunset wiped the floor with Twilight, how in the world would she deal against an actual alicorn? The thought of it made her go pale, the absolute ridiculous gap in power impossible to ignore.

A boop to her snoot broke her out of that reverie quite quickly. “Calm down, silly! It’s all good things, and she was hardly serious! She does duel the dragoons sometimes, but it’s like, ten or twenty against just her. She says it’s to keep herself in fighting shape.” Sunset leaned in conspiratorially. “I think it’s just because she likes to beat us up every now and then.” A giggle as she pulled back showed that she wasn’t serious there, not serious at all. 

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and let out a light, relieved chuckle. “Yea. You’re totally right. I’m overreacting, it’s just so incredible to me now that a Princess talks about me on a daily basis. That should be incredible for anyone, shouldn’t it?” she asked, with a small tilt of her head. “It just blows my mind that I’m talked about at all, so uh, my first thoughts automatically go to the negative.”

Before Sunset could speak and dispel that rumor, Twilight kept on. “I know it’s not true!” she clarified, especially because she could see Sunset already starting to speak. “It’s just how my mind works! A little pessimistic, no big deal. Really, I’m thrilled!” she promised, though Twilight had started to pace back and forth in a small circle. “Flattered. Even if the Princess would absolutely wipe the floor with me. You two talking about me is definitely not something-”

And she got stopped in her tracks by golden magic rooting her to the place and Sunset looking at her with the most serious expression Twilight had ever seen on her face. “Twily. Twilight. Twi. You gotta stop thinking like that,” she spoke, words coming out in a soft, caring voice. The serious expression melted away as she looked on with sympathy and affection - ears back, eyes full of care, body relaxed and open, receptive. Her smile started to come back, though it was a little thing, encouraging. “You’re an amazing pony. Don’t let anypony ever tell you otherwise.” 

Twilight couldn’t help it. A little tear teased at the edge of her eyes, the very things stinging from the amount of emotion flooding through her. She tried her best to push it back down into herself but it was hard. “Thank you,” she mumbled again, quietly and heavy, voice filled with tears that she’d never shed.

Twilight hadn’t had the easiest life back in the village, not with her skillset. But it was hardly time to talk about that, if it ever would be. “But you should be going,” she tried to note, looking to slowly pull herself away from Sunset.

The other pony would allow it, giving them space though the smile never left her face. Her ears had, however, perked back up atop her head and she gave a big, goofy nod. “I really should, and so should you, missy, or you might go and miss dinner if you aren’t careful!” And there came back the chipper Sunset that everyone knew. So happy and bright.

“You’re right, Sunny,” Twilight agreed, the first time she’d ever used a nickname, letting herself get back into her good mood.

Strangely, Sunset’s face twisted up at that, and she started to loom over Twilight. “Don’t you mean Lieuti-” The mare only got that far before collapsing in laughter, rocking her body and sending her crashing down to the ground.

Which was good, really, because Twilight had already started to shirk backwards, the relief and mirth flooding through her earning giggles of her own. “Gosh, you uh, you really had me going!” she admitted, with another giggle. A shake of her head and an offered hoof helped Sunset back up once more. “I figured since you had a nickname for me, I should have one for you,” Twilight reasoned, with a nod of her head.

Sunset managed to stand once more, somehow, despite the laughing and beamed over at Twilight. “You’re fine, you’re fine. I love nicknames!” she chirped, with an eager nod of her head. “I’m so glad we’re starting to become like, friends! I normally try to be with my trainees, it just adds something special to the whole thing. And-” she leaned in to whisper with another giggle, “-some of them send me gifts from the field. They’re all so special. Or delicious.” Another giggle and she moved right back.

Well, that was a relief certainly. “You know, maybe I’ll grab you something whenever I go out on a journey!” Twilight proposed, letting the levity infect her too. Sunset always had a way of doing that. It’s what she was meant to do in life. 

“But for now, you should really get back, Twi. It’s late, dinner is soon, don’t miss it! And go eat a whole bunch for Sunny, okay?” she asked, with another little giggle.

Another nod and Twilight started to ever so slightly step away. “I will. Have a good night, Sunny! See you next time!” With that, she’d be off. Another successful day of training.





Twilight had rarely been as nervous as she was now. Surely in her younger days she had, but for the first time in a while, she’d actually started to tremble from the built up anxiety inside of her. She rested herself against a cushion on the floor in Luna’s tower. 

Today, it’d been done differently. All of the furniture had been removed, and vanished away for a time. Instead, two cushions sat on the floor, one for Twilight and one for Luna. Even the book cases had somehow been taken away, along with all of the books. In fact, the only normal thing was the food platter set up against the ground, the normal different fruits and cheese for Twilight to snack on, along with a mulled wine.

She’d busy herself with crackers and cheese because you could never go wrong with it. Luna, for some reason, hadn’t arrived on time. Raven had let her in regardless and even showed her to the room, but Luna not being there felt wrong. It wasn’t the truth, but oddly, she felt as if she were intruding amongst the space. Without Luna, it simply felt that she didn’t belong.

Added to the fact that the duel earlier had left her with bruises and aches, Twilight felt downright uncomfortable. Mentally, she reminded herself that Luna was her teacher, that Twilight received instruction from the Goddess herself. And, in true form, Wednesday night meant that she had a lesson. A lesson that she had no idea about, but a lesson nonetheless. They’d gone over the basics of fortune telling so many times Twilight’s head had started to hurt, and Luna had brought her through so many different fates and portents, some fake, some real.

At the least, she’d started to get good at spotting the fake ones. They were always a little too coherent, too orderly. And the others, the real ones started to come into more and more focus. Something about a wall? A city on fire? Twilight thought she’d recognized it as Stalliongrad by now, but it couldn’t possibly be the truth.

Regardless, all this time alone in the middle of the Princess’s chambers didn’t sit well with her head. She squirmed on the cushion, closing her eyes and working on her breathing exercises that she’d been taught long, long ago. Meditation, basically, helped her clear her mind and get back on track, because she desperately needed to relax. 

From behind the door to the entrance, Twilight finally heard noises. It sounded like Luna and somepony else, somepony that she didn’t recognize. A super feminine voice at that, maybe one of Luna’s servants? But Luna sounded angry, and as she opened the door and Twilight heard the words, she could tell what about.

“You are getting absolutely nothing from the crown with the way the nobles have been acting. I implore you to leave me to my student before you actually see me angry!” Yep, that was Luna. And she was shouting, like actually shouting. It was enough to shake the tower the two of them stood in, enough to rumble the stones around her, and enough for her to want to bury herself underground and pretend she didn’t hear it.

The feminine voice started back up, trying to say something before Luna interrupted it with her ridiculous volume once more. “I will have nothing more to do with you today! Come to my court and we shall talk then. Good day!” With that, the door slammed shut as the alicorn came in in a hizzy. The door didn’t just shut either, it was locked tight due to chains wrapping around it that shouldn’t exist, no doubt magical in nature. On top of that a great big bubble surrounded the room, locking them away from everything in the world. Even the sounds of the city didn’t permeate through it.

Now that she’d actually come in, Twilight opened her eyes, looking over towards the resident Goddess with something akin to awe in her face. She wore a wonderful gown of the deepest purple, the trail of it changing into the blackest of night with sparkling stars dotting across it. The bottom of it even had brilliant greens and blues, a manifestation of the aurora above that occasionally graced Stalliongrad - a shame Twilight hadn’t seen it yet.

But beyond the gown, Luna looked furious, face twisted up, pacing back and forth and speaking in a language that Twilight couldn’t even begin to understand. It sounded ancient, ancient and furious and full of magic. She didn’t even seem to notice Twilight.

At least not until Twilight cleared her throat. A few weeks ago, the noise and fury would have cowed her, but now? She knew Luna well enough that she could at least draw attention to herself. It probably seemed minor to outsiders, but again, it was a huge step for her. “Luna?” she asked. Despite her newfound bravery, she absolutely kept her head down. 

The mare turned towards her with fire and fury in her eyes, a snarl on her face and- 

It disappeared just as quickly as it came, replaced with a frown that etched deep into the corners of her mouth. “Forgive me, my student,” she started, with a light sigh. “It’s been a trying day. A long, ridiculous, stupid day,” she clarified, with a shake of her head and a toss of her mane. Luna did her best to smile before going on. “But now you’re here and we can begin our lessons, and things will get better.” A nod that seemed to assure herself more than Twilight, and the princess took her seat across from Twilight.

Already, her magic wrapped around the tea, starting to pour herself a glass that still seemed to be hot somehow, despite it sitting there for at least thirty minutes. “So what happened?” Twilight asked, with a tilt of her head. Damn her curiosity, but she’d barely ever seen the Princess perturbed, and that had been downright fury. Something bad had to have happened, right? Luna would get all of her attention too, Twilight studying the facial expression like it held the keys to the universe - sometimes it did. 

Another sigh from the Princess, something that Twilight really should have expected. “It’s not something that you should concern yourself about. More trouble from the nobles when I already expect it of them. The nobles in the city have a new leader and they’ve been… pushy to say the least,” Luna complained. She’d lift the glass of tea up to her lips, taking a sip before resting it back down against the tray of snacks.

“Usually, I can deal with it. But they’ve been so insistent on taking special privilege, on seeing me during my off hours that it’s reached a boiling point. I’m afraid, at some point, I may have to do something about it, something that the rest of the nobles won’t like. But-” she went on, with a wave of her hoof to dismiss the whole affair, “-that’s still thoroughly a future problem and you and I have a lesson,” Luna reminded Twilight, with a wiggle of her hoof. 

Oh right, the reason why they were here. “Yes Luna,” Twilight answered, dutifully enough. “I’ve been going over those notes you left for me, and I think I’ve finally started to understand what you’re getting at. I mean, it makes sense at least. But um, there was something else I wanted to mention before we begin. Do you and Sunset really talk about me?” she blurted out, before she could stop the urge. How could you not want to know? It wasn’t gossip, mind, but she still had to know.

Luna just chuckled in answer, taking some of the snacks for herself. Come to think of it, this was the first time that she’d ever seen Luna actually eat before. Usually, it was just her. It did mean that she found herself a little taken aback by the other mare’s movements, seeing her be a regular pony was… strange, oddly enough.

The Princess finally answered after letting some of the chocolate melt against her tongue. “Yes, we talk about you. Not often, mind you. But we talk about your progress, how you’re doing in school, and what we think of you. It’s all positive,” Luna assured. “But it’s the best way for me to understand how your training is going. I, no matter what powers I possess, cannot be everywhere at once, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t see everything. It’s important for me to have ponies I can trust that can teach you and report back to me how you’re doing.”

Luna smiled all the more, the anger from before now completely melted away. “And you’re doing wonderfully. You continue to impress us every day and I can’t wait to see what you do next. With your mind assuaged, perhaps we could begin our lesson for tonight?” she asked, gesturing towards the circle. “I’m going to show you a different way of getting to where we’ve been. It’s easier for some and may possibly be easier for you.”

With a renewed smile on her face, Twilight eagerly nodded. All was well within her world.