Princess Amore and five of the six ponies who freed her were sitting at a table in the large dining room a little while later, a few other ponies showing up to serve them food, mainly tea and sandwiches. Amore was silent as she was led through the castle she remembered, noting that while the ponies were different, the layout and artwork was largely the same after a thousand years. It gave her a sense of comfort as she sat down for her first meal in what felt like several hours but was in reality a millennium.
“You must have so many questions,” Twilight Sparkle started as she sat opposite her at the head of the table, “but if it’s okay, I’d like to start with a few questions of my own.”
“It’s absolutely no trouble" she assured her. "Go right- Hope? Is that you? Radiant Hope?”
“Princess Amore?” the mare called as she turned to lay eyes on her, doing her best to seem more surprised and less nervous than she actually was. “Is that really you, princess?” she asked, feigning ignorance. “That can’t truly be you, can it?”
“It truly is,” she answered. “It’s nice to see you again. It seemed as though you headed for Canterlot as the princesses asked you. Have you taken their place then? I see you’re not an alicorn, but then again, neither am I.”
“I am, but what are you doing here after all these years? I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”
“Why am I pretending to act surprised?” Hope asked herself. “I only need to make sure she tells the truth. Although it’d probably be easier to get her to admit the truth if she lies by acting surprised to see her. Make her think that Sombra's innocence... or rather, justification, something I came up with myself, but that I’m still on her side. Would that even work? Hmmm…”
“I told you my friends and I would find her pieces,” Twilight explained. “Although I understand what a shock it must be to see somepony who you haven’t seen in such a long time.”
“Yes, it’s…” She didn’t know what it was. She couldn’t say exciting or happy, but it wasn't exactly awful. Perhaps confusing was the best word? Or maybe conflicting. Conflicting because she did truly believe what her friend told her. She didn’t see why he would lie to her. In fact, she knew about Amore and what was truly going on well before Sombra actually told her, given her time spent with the shadow ponies. She pieced together what was going on with them, although she didn’t fully realize it until he told her what happened. But now seeing her in the flesh…
Amore hadn’t even said anything to her and yet she wanted to believe she had only the best intentions in mind. It made absolutely no sense, and yet it was the feeling she got from her. Hope knew she would have to be careful in speaking with the princess- no, pony- because of that. She would try her best to make sure Amore didn’t spin this in her own favor somehow.
“I know how you feel, Hope,” Amore responded kindly with a smile. “It must have been so long if what this mare, Twilight Sparkle, tells me is true. We’ll have much time to catch up. But it’s better to get everypony’s questions out of the way first. You had things to ask me, correct?”
“Yes I did! Um…” Twilight looked down at the notes she wrote before looking back up and asking, “The first question I have is, while it’s been a thousand years, how long does it feel like it’s been to you?”
“How long? From my perspective, as far as I can gather, it’s only been a few minutes. I remember hearing a scream from Hope, and then a second later, you all speaking around me. How could a thousand years have passed?”
“Hmmm, that’s a good question…” Twilight hummed to herself, writing something down before continuing, “You’ll have to give me some time to work out what’s going on there. As far as I know, when you were trapped in stone, you should have been able to feel every day that passed, so the fact that you only felt a few minutes is strange. But can I ask what you remember before you heard my friends and I a little while ago?”
Hope stood farther away from the group but close enough to hear the conversation as Amore said, “I remember being frozen into stone as I was speaking to somepony I used to know, and remember seeing you, Hope, come up to them and panic as you tried to help me.”
That was good, Hope figured. Not good that Sombra was obviously implicated, but good that she was being vouched for by Amore. That would give her more sway in defending her friend should it come to that.
“Do you remember that, Hope?” the princess asked. “It certainly looks like you do. Anyway, from there, there was a blast of magic from the stallion, and then… well, a second later, I was standing in your presence and now I’m sitting here. Actually, before we continue, I must ask, Hope, do you know where he is? If this mare is truthful in time’s passage, then you’ve survived over a millennium, remarkably. Do you know what’s happened to him? Is he still around?”
Hope wasn’t prepared for the question, and gave herself away with just her facial expression. That, combined with the awkward glances Twilight and her friends gave to each other, gave Amore more information than could be said in words.
“I see,” she said simply as she stood up, being told everything she needed to know without them speaking. “So he’s here in the castle then. If you all could direct me his way, it’d be much appreciated. I have some words I’d like to say to him.”