Flurry Heart had been looking forward to this particular day for months on end. She had seen fit to clear her schedule so that nothing and nopony could possibly interrupt her for any reason. Today was far too important, even more important than any of the other important days or milestones in her life. And that was because today was the day when she was going to receive a visit from her most powerful great aunts of all time: Celestia and Luna.
It amazed the young ruler of the Crystal Empire that these two great aunts had previously ruled Equestria together for longer than most ponies could remember. They'd been doing it since before she was born, yet had stepped down from the throne and passed the reins to Flurry's Aunt Twilight, back when the then young heir to the crystal throne was but a toddler.
Flurry had vague memories of those powerful great aunts before. They'd been on hoof for her crystalling (at least, she was pretty sure of that). And she'd seen them in Ponyville when that rescue group was being rewarded for their bravery.
Now, however, the alicorn was ready and waiting to receive the elder alicorns. Her aunts would be here any minute. And so, she was now pacing back and forth in the throne room of the Crystal Empire, waiting impatiently for the doors to open.
"Where could they be?" Flurry thought to herself. "They said they'd be here by now. Oh, I knew I should've asked them for a specific time! Auntie Twily always said it's important to get a date and time for things like these. Why didn't I listen to her? She's always right!"
The princess ceased in her frantic pacing as she suddenly realized how silly she must look. She took a moment to compose herself, running a hoof through that long, curly purple and light blue mane of hers. Flurry wanted to look her best for her visitors, even if this was just a formal visit and not an official meeting with royalty (or ex-royalty in this case). She even remembered that deep breathing exercise her mom had taught her years ago. It always served her well in situations like these.
Briefly, Flurry Heart thought about trotting back to her throne and sitting down to wait. Her hooves were starting to get just a little bit sore from standing around so much. How did her Auntie Twily manage to stand around all day while holding court? She made it look so easy.
Thankfully, it was at that very moment that the throne room doors finally opened. And in strolled the guests of honor: Two alicorns with unmistakable cutie marks depicting the sun and the moon. Both sported long, flowing manes and tails just like Flurry's Auntie Twily (not that Flurry was jealous of such manes and tails, mind you. She was quite content with her mane and tail as they were). And both had exceptionally bright smiles upon their faces.
Flurry knew these alicorns needed no introduction! She happily ran up to them and hugged them both as tightly as she could! "Great Aunt Celestia! Great Aunt Luna! I'm so glad you finally made it!" The crystal princess joyfully exclaimed!
"Indeed," Luna was the first of the two guests to speak up. "Apologies for being... fashionably late."
"Hey? Could I help it if a few foals visiting Silver Shoals today wanted our autographs?" Celestia playfully retorted. It was clear that despite her old age she hadn't lost her sense of humor.
Flurry just ushered the alicorns further into the throne room, using the soft yellow glow of her horn to shut the throne room doors behind them. "What matters is that you're here now," She happily proclaimed. "Oh! This is the greatest day of my life!"
Celestia and Luna quickly eyed their surroundings. It had been quite a while since they'd been to the Crystal Empire, let alone set hoof into the throne room of the crystal castle. Yet it looked exactly like they remembered it being on their last visit, all those years ago.
"I know what you're thinking," Flurry playfully said to her great aunts. "You thought I'd have the whole place redecorated from top to bottom after I took over. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I liked things just the way Mom and Dad left them. Heck, I still keep Dad on the payroll as captain of the guard. It's purely a ceremonial rule, but don't tell him I told you."
Luna looked across to Celestia. "Goodness, sister. It seems Flurry has inherited your sense of humor."
All Celestia could do in response was playfully wave a hoof and try to look innocent. "Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree sometimes. But I'm sure she's inherited a few personality traits from you too, Luna."
Flurry Heart happily nodded as she told her Great Aunt Luna. "Uh-huh. I still have that old telescope you gave me as a birthday present one year. Mom and I still stay up late on many nights just watching the stars, just like she says you used to do with her when she lived in Canterlot."
Luna nodded back. "I feel like most ponies don't truly appreciate the beauty of the night sky. It warms my heart to know that there are a few ponies who do."
The young crystal princess just smiled. "You two were so amazing! To think, you used to rule Equestria together! I can barely keep myself from getting frazzled after a day of ruling the Crystal Empire. I can't imagine what ruling all of Equestria must be like."
The alicorn with a majestic white coat could only reply. "We may have made it look easy, but it was far from a piece of cake for Luna and I to maintain harmony. It was a lot of paperwork and meetings with delegates, I can tell you that much. You should be thankful you don't have to deal with things like that more often."
"Don't forget that we also had to do things like raise the sun and the moon with our own magic, or do things like patrol the dream realm," The alicorn with a dark blue coat pointed out. "In fact, sometimes I still have to step in and help Twilight in that regard. Monitoring ponies' dreams isn't as easy as it may sound. One has to tread carefully if they don't want to cause more harm than good."
Flurry playfully chuckled. "I don't know. I think patrolling the dream realm sounds like a lot of fun. You should teach me how to do it sometime, Great Aunt Luna. I've tried asking Auntie Twily, but she keeps saying I'm not ready for that kind of responsibility."
Luna cautiously responded. "Perhaps if there's time, young mare, we can work in a lesson or two. I wouldn't wish to keep you from your royal duties."
"Nah, they're boring," Flurry retorted in a cheeky tone and stuck out her tongue in playful fashion. "I wanna do all the cool things Auntie Twily says you and Great Aunt Celestia used to do!"
Celestia was quick to calm the rambunctious young mare down. "Now now, Flurry. You have your own powers and your own responsibilities, just as Luna and I did and still do to some extent. We may no longer rule Equestria, but our powers are not something to be taken lightly. And yours shouldn't be taken lightly either. Your role as princess of the Crystal Empire is just as important as Twilight's role as ruler of Equestria."
"I know, I know," Flurry Heart declared with a slight huff as her strong opal eyes briefly seemed to reflect a look of impatience. "I understand that being princess is a big responsibility, Mom and Dad told me that all the time when I was growing up and so did Auntie Twily. But I can't help but feel bored all the same. Auntie Twily's always talking about the things she's done as ruler, and what she did when she was just the princess of friendship."
Celestia replied. "You know you shouldn't compare yourself to others, Flurry. You're helpful in your own way, and you know it."
Luna saw fit to chime in with her own advice. "If anypony knows what it's like to feel inadequate compared to somepony else, it's me. I'm sure you're familiar with the story about how I became Nightmare Moon, how I was banished to and into the moon for a thousand years. If you always compare yourself to somepony else, you're inevitably going to feel lesser by comparison. And that can lead to trouble. It's fine to look up to others and admire them, but you'll never be just like them no matter how hard you try. You'll always be you, which is not always a bad thing."
Celestia then trotted up to her great niece, locking eyes with her. "You're a fine young mare in your own right, Flurry. Luna and I are proud of the pony you've become. It's hard for us to believe you're the same pony who once loved nothing more than to cause trouble."
"You mean, like when I was a foal and accidentally broke the crystal heart?" Flurry's face flushed bright red with embarrassment. "Apparently, that's how I got my name. It took ages before I could make friends without ponies making fun of me for that."
Luna reassured her niece. "Everypony knows you didn't mean to do it, Flurry. My sister was referring to all the other instances growing up when you seemed to care only about mischief. Your mom and dad would write to us often to tell us what you'd gotten yourself into, and they were always worried that you would grow up to be a brat," She then recalled. "Yet you surprised everypony with how well you paid attention once your royal lessons started. It was like you became an entirely different pony."
The young alicorn's earlier embarrassment left her completely as she soon replied. "Well, how could I not when everypony was expecting so much out of me? I didn't wanna disappoint them," She then huffed and swished her tail. "It didn't make those lessons any less boring, though."
"Never said they weren't," Luna replied. "And they were just as difficult for my sister and I to sit through when we were fillies."
Celestia nodded. "If Starswirl the Bearded were here now, I'm sure he'd have plenty of stories to tell about how we drove him crazy whenever he tried to teach us." Briefly, her voice seemed to take on a more mournful tone. And without saying a word she looked across to her sister, who seemed to nod back in silent agreement.
"Guess I never imagined what you two were like as little ponies," Flurry Heart commented as the thought struck her mind. "I just sort of always imagined you being these ponies that were so admired and appreciated. It never occurred to me that you two weren't born as rulers."
Now it was Luna's turn to trot close as she said to her great niece. "Obviously, everypony's who ever existed has had to have been young at least once in their life. That's why it's important to cherish your youth while you have it. Once it's gone, it's gone. Even age spells can't bring back what you had."
After that conversation, Celestia and Luna stood next to each other and briefly exchanged glances before Celestia declared. "Well, Flurry Heart, you seem to be doing very well for yourself. I only wish Luna and I could've visited you sooner to see your progress first hoof."
Luna couldn't help but giggle. "It's mind boggling to think that the last time we saw you, you were still in diapers."
"Great Aunt Luna!" Flurry whined as her blush returned with a vengeance.
Celestia snickered. "It's what great aunts do to their favorite great nieces, Flurry. Embarrassing you comes with the territory."
The young crystal princess flapped her wings as she tried to hide her face behind her mane. "Stop it!" She insisted in a high pitched tone, though the way she said it betrayed her intentions about how she really felt.
Fortunately, the teasing died down pretty quickly. "All the same, it's great to finally see you again face to face," Luna told her great niece. "Celestia and I couldn't be prouder of who you are. And we know you'll continue to rule the Crystal Empire well. Your reign will be long and glorious, we're certain of that."
"If you ever find the time, we'd love to see you come and visit us at Silver Shoals," Celestia told the young alicorn. "It can get kind of lonely when nopony visits, even if there's lots of activities to take our mind off that fact."
"Well, I'll have to check my schedule," Flurry told her great aunts. "After all, I'm very busy these days. And considering how much of a stir my decision to clear my entire royal schedule for today caused, I doubt I'll be able to arrange a visit to Silver Shoals for quite some time."
Celestia only smiled. "Whenever you can get around to it, no rush. But don't feel ashamed about taking time off every now and then. You may be royalty, but you're still a pony like the rest of us. Never forget that."
"I won't, Great Aunt Celestia," Flurry Heart smiled as she hugged both of her great aunts once again. "You and Great Aunt Luna are two of the best ponies I've ever known! I mean it!"