“So what’s up with the extra chair?” Zipp asked as she settled down in her spot. “And why is it so big?”
“I’m glad you asked!” Twilight clapped her forehooves together happily, smiling. “Today we have a very special guest.”
“I think we all know who it is,” Rainbow whispered to Applejack, causing both of them to start snickering.
“Ooo a special guest!” Izzy chirped happily. “I love new friends.”
“Me too!” Sunny cheered.
“Are they famous?” Pipp asked.
Twilight nodded her head. “In a sense they are. They’re a very important pony to me as well.”
“Well now we know for sure who it is,” Rarity giggled. “The guest is her idol.”
“I don’t idolize her!” Twilight tried to protest, earning her looks from her friends. “Okay, maybe I idolize her just a tiny bit.” She admitted smiling sheepishly.
“A tiny bit?” Rainbow cocked an eyebrow.
“Ok ok!” Twilight gave up, throwing her hooves up in the air. “I idolized her alot. Especially when I was a filly.”
“So when is this guest going to arrive?” Hitch looked at the still empty chair.
“She’ll be here soon,” Twilight answered. “Just finishing something up with her sister.”
“Will her sister be here too?” Izzy asked, smiling.
Twilight shook her head. “She’ll be here another day. Unfortunately she couldn’t come today. I think she had something planned with another friend.”
“Awww,” Izzy looked down, pouting.
“Don’t worry Izzy,” Sunny patted her back. “You’ll still get to meet her eventually.”
“I know I know,” Izzy giggled. “Just messing with ya!”
“Oh Izzy, always joking around,” Hitch shook his head, smiling.
“I’ve been meaning to ask, but why is there a giant cake in the middle of the table?” Zipp stared at the massive five story cake.
“Oh that’s for our guest of course!” Pinkie said very nonchalantly.
“All of it?” Zipp asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Not all of it silly,” Pinkie giggled. “Only half of it!”
“Only half?” Pipp tilted her head
Twilight awkwardly laughed. “She really likes cake.”
“No really,” Zipp chuckled, smirking. With that, they heard a knock at the door.
“Here she is!” Twilight trotted over to the door, opening it. Behind it stood a large, white alicorn. Her colorful mane was flowing majestically, a warm smile on her face. The large sun on her flank stood out to the New Generation.
“Woah! She’s huge!” Izzy examined the alicorn.
“Hello my little ponies,” the white alicorn greeted. “I’m Celestia, former ruler of Equestria. It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.”
“You’re Celestia?!” Sunny gasped. “Your highness,” she said, quickly bowing. Seeing this, the other New Generation ponies followed in suit.
“No need for such formalities,” Celestia laughed gracefully. “I’m no longer a ruler after all.”
Sunny and her friends rose from their bows. “Sorry,” Sunny apologized, smiling sheepishly.
“It is quite alright,” Celestia giggled.
“Question!” Izzy raised her hoof in the air.
“And what is it…” Celestia eyed the unicorn.
“I’m Izzy! Nice to meet you,” she introduced herself.
“Ah, Izzy. What a wonderful name,” Celestia nodded. “Now what is your question?”
“Why are you so much bigger compared to everypony else?” Izzy asked.
“Izzy! You can’t call Celestia fat!” Twilight panicked.
“Twilight, it’s alright,” Celestia calmed down the purple alicorn. “I’m asked this question quite a lot actually, especially if they’re foals. If I recall, you also asked me why when you were younger.”
“Ah, I did, didn’t I?” Twilight awkwardly laughed.
“Now to answer your question Izzy,” Celestia returned her attention to the unicorn. “I do not know exactly why alicorns grow larger than everypony else, but I assume it has to do with our power and our magical capabilities. Do keep in mind I am also thousands of years old, so that could have something to do with it,” Celestia finished, giggling.
“That’s another thing I’ll have to study,” Twilight mumbled to herself, jotting down something on a notepad.
“Why is your mane flowing like that as well? There’s no wind in here. Or is there?” Izzy tilted her head.
“There is indeed no wind in here.” Celestia giggled. “It comes with the immense power both my sister and I have,” she explained. “We do raise the sun and moon afterall.”
“Does that mean Twilight’s mane is going to be flowy as well?” Rarity asked, a sparkle in her eyes.
“There is a very high possibility that as she grows older and taps into her alicorn power more, her mane will be very similar to mine,” Celestia said, smiling at Twilight.
“Will she also grow as tall as you?” Rainbow snickered at the thought of a tall Twilight.
“We’ll just have to see for that,” Celestia laughed along with the wonderbolt. “Any other questions?”
“Is it true you’re going to eat half of this massive cake?” Hitch asked bluntly.
“I could easily eat the whole cake,” Celestia said, gracefully smiling. “I’d love to, but I do restrain myself from overindulgence. I’ll have maybe a slice or two.”
Sunny’s eyes went wide. “You could eat this whole thing easily?!”
“I do enjoy cake quite a bit,” Celestia held her smile.
“Just a bit?” Zipp cocked an eyebrow.
Celestia nodded. “Indeed. I even had a vault made for special cakes.”
“What kind of special cakes?” Pinkie asked, grinning widely.
“Just some cakes I used for when other species visited,” Celestia answered, tapping her chin. “There are some of my favorites there as well.”
“Can I please see it?” Pinkie begged, falling on her knees. “Pleaseeeeee!!!”
Celestia giggled at the display. “Well it’s no longer my castle, so feel free to ask Twilight.” At this, Pinkie shot puppy eyes towards Twilight.
Twilight nodded her head. “Of course you can Pinkie.”
“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” The party pony chirped while bouncing towards Twilight, pulling her into a rib-crushing hug.
“No problem,” Twilight squeake. “Too. Hard. Let. Go.” she managed to get out.
“Sorry Twilight, I’m just so excited to see it,” Pinkie giggled, letting go of the purple alicorn.
“Pinkie sure likes desserts, huh,” Hitch said.
“Her name is Pinkie Pie after all,” Sunny teased.
“Point taken,” Hitch laughed awkwardly, nodding.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Zipp looked started,“what makes a great leader? Pipp and I are royalty, and I’m next in line for the throne, so any advice helps,” she finished, looking at the once great ruler.
“That is indeed a good question,” Celestia nodded. “When I first became ruler of Equestria with my sister, I did not pay attention to the little things.” Celestia’s expression darkened. “There were problems that went right under my nose, one being the pain my sister experienced. I believe that having a keen eye and being aware of what’s happening in both your kingdom and personal life is a good trait.”
“Do you blame yourself for what happened to your sister?” Sunny asked.
“While I don’t blame myself completely, I do bear a lot of it. If I had paid a little more attention to Luna and her problems, then things could’ve ended up differently.” Celestia answered truthfully. “Although I wish I didn’t make such a grave mistake, I am thankful for the lesson it has taught me.”
“Foresight huh…” Zipp whispered to herself. “Thank you Celestia,” Zipp nodded to the alicorn.
“It is something every great leader should have,” Twilight said, following up. “Being able to see how something will affect both you and your kingdom, not only short-term but also long-term, is an amazing feat.”
“Spoken like a true leader, Twilight,” Applejack tipped her hat.
“It’s only because I learned from the best,” Twilight smiled sheepishly, a small blush on her face.
“No need to be humble Twilight,” Celestia giggled. “You faced lots of challenges in the past and I’m sure you learned a lot from them.”
“I guess so…” Twilight rubbed the back of her neck.
“You don’t have to guess so. I know so,” Celestia wore a warm smile.
“She's right, you know,” Rainbow agreed.
“Can’t really disagree,” Pinkie added, the rest of the Elements nodding.
“Thanks girls,” Twilight said, wearing a more confident smile.
“Celestia, what was your fillyhood like?” Sunny asked, sipping on some tea.
“I remember it like it was yesterday,” Celestia smiled. “My fillyhood was very fun but also very stressful.”
“Why is that?” Izzy tilted her head. “If it was fun, how could it be stressful?”
“It was fun because I had my sister with me, but it was stressful because we had responsibilities that were greater than what a filly could handle,” Celestia explained. “Luna and I would constantly play pranks on our parents and the castle staff. Those were the good days. Then there were days where we would have to sit in a classroom for hours, being taught how to be great leaders. Our parents expected a lot from us.”
“That sounds like a lot of pressure,” Sunny frowned.
“It was,” Celestia said, nodding. “Being born an alicorn was something nopony had ever seen before. Of course they knew what alicorns were, but they were only said to be myths.”
“You’re telling me you were the first alicorns to be seen?” Twilight asked, mouth slightly agape.
“Indeed we were,” Celestia giggled. “I can’t imagine what my parent’s faces were like when they saw that their firstborn had both wings and a horn.”
“I can’t imagine how shocked they were when they saw their second had wings and a horn as well,” Hitch chuckled.
“Their reaction was probably similar to my brother’s when Flurry Heart was born,” Twilight said. “Cadence told me that he fainted in the hospital.”
“Sounds like something he’d do,” Rainbow snickered.
“Indeed it does,” Celestia agreed, smiling. “He never took surprises too well.”
“You think he would,” Twilight giggled. “Him being the capital of the royal guard and all.”
“He was quite cute when he got flustered,” Celestia said. “Particularly when Cadence was around.”
“You’re telling me that the captain of the royal guard got shy around somepony he liked?” Rainbow grinned evilly. “I’m so going to tease him the next time he’s here.”
“Just don’t tell him I told you,” Celestia smiled.
Rainbow nodded. “My lips are sealed.”
“What was Equstria like back then?” Izzy asked.
“It was a lot smaller than it is today,” Celestia answered. “Ponies lived very close to one another, barely venturing out of Canterlot. Ponies thought it was too dangerous to leave the city, claiming that there were monsters and such lurking about.”
“Were there monsters?” Izzy tilted her head.
“There were of course some monsters, but not as many as ponies assumed. Once ponies started figuring out it was safe, they started settling all over.”
“And that’s how all the other cities were created?” Rainbow asked.
“Exactly,” Celestia nodded. “We all know how Ponyville came to be.”
“Well we don’t,” Sunny said.
“Guess it’s time for a little history lesson,” Celestia said, smiling. “Many moons ago, Applejack’s grandmother, Granny Smith, came to Canterlot with her family. So was just a filly back then,” Celestia giggled at the memory. “They were pilgrims who collected many seeds. Looking for a place to plant said seeds, I granted them the land which was right next to the Everfree Forest.”
“Ah shucks, and we’re eternally grateful for you because of that,” Applejack said, rubbing the back of her neck.
Celestia nodded to the farm pony. “I felt it was the right thing to do, and turns out, it was.”
“So they set up a farm there and the rest is history?” Sunny asked.
“There’s a small detail missing,” Celestia explained. “Although they were able to plant their seeds, they were running low on food due to them not being able to grow overnight. That’s when Granny Smith ventured into the Everfree Forest, where she found a special type of apple named the Zap apple. Collecting some of the apples, they planted their seeds and they grew.”
“What’s a Zap apple? Sounds cool,” Izzy asked, tilting her head.
“They’re magical, rainbow colored apples. They have a special time frame they grow in, and there are signs that they are comin’,'' Applejack explained. “They pop onto a tree fully grown. It’s quite the sight.”
“Woah… that sounds awesome!” Izzy chirped.
“What do magical apples have to do with founding Ponyville though?” Zipp said, a skeptical look on her face
“Well, after gathering some of the Zap apples, Granny Smith made some jam which became a huge sensation. Ponies started coming to the small town of Ponyville just to taste some of the delicious jam, myself included,” Celestia giggled. “Stinkin’ Rich really solidified the town by setting up a small market that sold the Zap Apple Jam.”
“You’re telling me that the town that all the Elements of Harmony lived in was created because of jam?” Sunny asked in disbelief, her mouth agape.
“Precisely!” Celestia said calmly, gracefully smiling. “Nature works in many different ways.”
“So Applejack’s family essentially founded Ponyville?” Hitch asked, looking at the farmer.
“Eeyup,” Applejack smiled proudly.
“That’s so cool! Do you guys still have any of that Zap Apple Jam?” Izzy said, licking her lips.
“Unfortunately not sugarcube,” Applejack chuckled.
Izzy frowned. “Aww man, it sounds so good though.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll save you a jar when the time does come around,” Applejack said with a wink.
“Thank you!” Izzy chirped, a large smile on her face.
“Anythin’ for a friend,” Applejack nodded.
“I believe I still haven’t been introduced to everypony,” Celestia said, looking at the New Generation.
“Oh right! We got too caught up in Izzy’s questions that we totally forgot,” Sunny giggled.
“I also meant to bring this up earlier but we got a little sidetracked,” Celestia started, looking at Sunny. “I noticed that you’re an alicorn…”
“Sunny. My name’s Sunny,” the newest alicorn replied.
“Sunny, what a wonderful name,” Celestia smiled. “Were you born an alicorn, or did you become an alicorn?”
“I actually became an alicorn!” Sunny chirped.
“And how did that happen, my little pony?” Celestia asked, tilting her head.
“Well after reuniting the three tribes, a surge of magic lifted me into the air and then I became an alicorn,” Sunny answered.
“That’s wonderful,” Celestia smiled weakly. “But what’s this about reuniting the three tribes again?”
“That’s right! You weren't here for our earlier discussions,” Twilight said.
“The three tribes were slowly split up, until they were basically strangers or even enemies to one another,” Sunny said, a small hint of sadness on her face.
“It got so bad that even magic seemed to have disappeared from Equestria,” Twilight added.
“No magic?” Celestia said.
“There was no magic at all. Pegasi couldn’t fly and unicorns couldn’t do any magic at all,” Izzy chirped.
Celestia sighed. “I can’t imagine what could’ve happened in the many moons between our times to have caused such an awful thing.”
“Twilight was blaming herself the other day,” Pinkie mentioned.
“Pinkie!” Twilight exclaimed, her face flushing.
Celestia cocked an eyebrow. “Now why would you blame yourself after all you’ve done?”
“It’s just that I thought I failed,” Twilight sighed. “It feels like everything I-” Twilight stopped, looking at her friends. “No, what we did was for nothing.”
“You can’t change the future Twilight,” Celestia wore a warm smile. “Regardless of what happened, you still did what you could”
“It’s thanks to you and your friends that I still believed in friendship between the tribes,” Sunny comforted Twilight. “You played your part for sure!”
“Uh-huh!” Izzy hummed, the rest of the New Generation nodding,
“So, I know Izzy and Sunny,” Celestia said, sipping on a cup of tea, her eyes focusing on Hitch. “Who’s the stallion?”
“I’m Hitch! Sunny’s foalhood friend, as well as the sheriff of our town,” Hitch introduced himself.
“Foalhood friend, huh,” Celestia smiled.
“Yup! We’ve been friends for our whole lives basically,” Sunny explained.
“Is there a chance you’re more than friends?” Celestia cocked an eyebrow.
“Not you too!” Sunny groaned, facehoofing.
“Sorry, sorry,” Celestia giggled. “Twilight wrote about you two in recent letters, so I thought I’d tease you a bit.”
“You didn't tell us you’d be writing about us to a princess!” Pipp pouted. “I wouldn’t have said anything about… wait, did you tell her everything?!”
“Pretty much everything, minus a few minor details like what your Equestria was like,” Twilight said, nodding.
“Those are minor details?” Hitch asked.
“I didn’t want to spoil it for her!” Twilight said, trying to defend herself.
“So you told her about our, ahem, experiences?” Pipp asked quietly, blushing a bit.
“Don’t worry Pipp, she isn’t one to judge,” Twilight reassured the pegasus.
“Ah, so you’re Pipp,” Celestia smiled, looking at Pipp. “Don’t be embarrassed, estrus is something that all mares have to deal with, me included.”
“I know, it’s just weird to think that another pony of royalty knows about it,” Pipp sighed.
“Ah yes, I do recall Twilight saying that you and your sister were royalty in your Equestria,” Celestia nodded. “If it makes you feel any better, I do what both you and Twilight do to deal with my heat,” she finished with a wink.
“I don’t even want to think about that,” Twilight groaned, the rest of the ponies laughing.
“I’m assuming the other pegasus who has some sort of a resemblance to your sister,” Celestia guessed, looking right at Zipp.
“Yup! She’s my sister and the heir to the throne,” Pipp said, motioning to Zipp.
“Nice to meet you,” Zipp nodded towards Celestia.
“Nice to meet you as well,” Celestia smiled warmly. “How do you two like being royalty?”
“You can say it's a royal pain,” Zipp smirked.
Pipp rolled her eyes. “That was cheesy, Zipp.”
“I know, that was the goal,” Zipp chuckled.
“Being royalty is most definitely a pain at times,” Celestia agreed. “Dealing with ponies trying to please you just for their benefit and boring meetings really wears a pony down.”
“I’m glad I haven't had to do that yet, but we’re in the room when our mom does hearings,” Zipp said.
“And it doesn’t sound like she’s having fun,” Pipp joined in. “She wears a smile but we both know it’s just a show.”
“She hides it pretty well though,” Zipp finished.
“Sounds like something a good ruler does,” Celestia said, sipping some tea. “I remember my early days of ruling. One has to learn how to hide their emotions, especially fear and sadness.”
“Why those two especially?” Pipp tilted her head.
“Because it will affect everypony around you, since they all look up to you,” Celestia explained. “Everypony views you as their leader, so when they see you’re worried, they’ll be worried as well.”
“That makes sense,” Zipp slowly said, nodding.
“You don’t want to make ponies nervous,” Twilight added on. “Whenever ponies are nervous, they become irrational depending on the situation.”
“I’m pretty sure we have a rough idea of what can happen,” Hitch laughed.
“Uh-huh,” Izzy nodded. “Sprout sure was a guy!”
Celestia giggled. “Ah yes, I remember hearing about Sprout. Something about fear mongering?”
“He was able to capitalize off of the nervousness and fear of everypony in Maretime Bay and almost led an army of earth ponies to the other tribes,” Sunny explained. “He kind of went on a power trip.”
“Ah yes, sounds like somepony would do if given the opportunity,” Celestia said with a nod.
“He’s a good guy for sure, just a little power hungry,” Hitch chuckled. “He’s my trusty deputy though, that’s for sure.”
“His sparkle was a bit off when I first met him, but it changed a lot!” Izzy said.
“His sparkle you say?” Celestia tilted her head.
“Yup! I can see ponies sparkle, or luminescence! It gives me an idea of what they’re like,” Izzy explained.
“That’s very interesting Izzy,” Celestia commented. “What is my sparkle looking like, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“You have a bright, whitish-pink sparkle!” Izzy said with a smile.
“And what does that mean exactly?” Celestia asked, smiling.
“It means that you’re very tender and affectionate! Sympathetic and loving in other words,” Izzy chirped.
“Huh, that does describe her pretty well,” Twilight said, a little shocked.
“Yeah, a little too well,” Rarity nodded.
“That’s a very interesting and useful ability, Izzy,” Celestia nodded at the unicorn.
“Thanks! Most of the other unicorns thought I was a wee bit odd because of it,” Izzy shrugged. “I didn't really mind though. I always thought it was cool.”
“As you should. I think it's a wonderful thing to have,” Celestia nodded, smiling warmly.
“So what do you do now that you’re retired?” Zipp asked.
“I do a lot of things,” Celestia answered. “I like to adventure to new cities, sightseeing and such. Try out some of the exciting things I missed out on since I became a princess. There’s a lot you miss when you’re busy ruling you know.”
“I can imagine,” Pipp sighed.
“You still had free time even when you were ruling, right?” Zipp frowned.
“Of course I did, but not often. I would often spend my free time just resting though, not doing much because you never know when something could pop up,” Celestia smiled weakly.
“If that’s the case, then I don’t know if I can be a good leader,” Zipp said.
“Don’t doubt yourself, Zipp,” Celestia said. “Even Twilight thought she wasn’t ready to rule Equestria. She was unbelievably stressed and didn’t believe she would make a good leader. She thought she wasn’t prepared.”
“Really?” Sunny asked, looking at Twilight. “I thought that you were always prepared for what came.”
“I try to be,” Twilight sighed. “But as Celestia said, you don’t know what’s going to pop up. You can only be prepared for so much,” Twilight sighed. “If you have reliable friends though, it makes those things a lot easier to handle.”
“Twilight is far from perfect,” Celestia giggled. “She’s made a lot of mistakes, but she made sure to learn from them. Humility is something all leaders should practice. If you make a mistake, own up to it.”
“It’s nice to hear that even the princesses of Equestria make mistakes,” Zipp smiled, a little more confident. “There’s still a lot for me to learn I guess.”
“Plus, you still have a lot of time to learn it!” Pipp said, cheering up her sister. “It’s not like mother is going anywhere anytime soon.”
“Thanks Pipp,” Zipp said, giving her a hug.
“You can always count on me,” Pipp hugged back, a smile on her face. Everypony watched the two, smiles on their faces.
“I had a wonderful time chatting with you all,” Celestia said as she levitated her saucer and teacup, sipping down the rest of her tea. “But it’s getting quite dark, and I don’t want to be late to dinner with Luna.”
“Awww, can’t you stay a little longer?” Izzy frowned. “It was so much fun talking to you!”
“I too regret having to leave, but Luna and I always have dinner together. Most of the time we’re out doing our own things, so this is our time to fill each other in,” Celestia smiled.
“We understand,” Sunny nodded.
“Thank you for the advice Celestia,” Zipp said.
“Thank you for the wonderful time,” Celestia said, getting out of her chair. “I hope we can talk again another time,” Celestia finished before exiting the room.
“Well, guess that means talk time is over!” Pinkie said.
“We barely even got a word in,” Rarity frowned.
“Eh, I don’t really care,” Rainbow shrugged.
“It was their first time meetin’ Celestia after all,” Applejack reasoned. “Anypony would be curious with her around.” Fluttershy nodded, agreeing with Applejack.
“Well be ready for tomorrow, we’re having another guest!” Twilight said, getting out of her seat, the rest of the ponies following suit.
“Ooo, who is it?” Izzy asked.
“You’ll find out tomorrow,” Twilight smiled.
“I’m so excited,” Izzy chirped. “See you tomorrow!” Izzy said before galloping out the door.
Slowly, the rest of the crew piled out of the door, bidding each other goodbye. Another day, another talk.