Grimacing, Twilight levitated the quill and hurled it across the musty room into a mahogany bookshelf, where it stuck, bleeding ink. She smiled, but as she looked back at the ink-blotched letter, the latest in a long line of failures, she frowned. The rest were scattered around the room. Some were crumpled into airtight balls; others were shredded into fine confetti, but this one still stared defiantly back at her with its amorphous black eye. Her frown deepened, her horn erupting in magenta fire. The letter smoked before bursting into flames as if her glare was a magnifying glass focusing sunlight. Only after the letter had withered into flakes of ash did she remember that she'd never studied elemental magic. She took another sheet of parchment and tried casting the spell again. She failed. She'd been doing that a lot lately.
Before Twilight could find another quill to fling, the maid entered.
Twilight had requested that her food be brought to her old quarters in the castle library as she'd often done in the past to avoid the impossible choice between studying and eating. In truth, she could use a change of scenery, but she didn't want to risk running into Celestia. Realizing the air stunk of burnt parchment, Twilight said, "Sorry about the smoke. I got frustrated trying to write a letter and accidentally set it on fire."
The maid didn't respond. She was probably so used to dealing with Celestia's eccentric students that nothing short of a hairless ape wandering around the castle would phase her. She walked toward the long table where Twilight sat.
Twilight didn't turn around. "No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get the words right. These things always came naturally in the past, but now I feel like I'm tongue tied when I'm not even talking. Celestia forbid I run into her." Realizing what she'd just let slip, Twilight cringed. "You won't tell her I said that, will you?"
The maid curled her angelic wing around Twilight's withers, leaned in, and whispered, "Your secret is safe with me, my faithful student."
Twilight twisted in her chair.
Celestia stood beside her. In place of her usual gold and amethyst jewelry, Celestia wore a simple black dress and white apron. Both were tailored for a pony half her height, leaving the sun cutie mark on her white flank bare. She smirked. "My eyes are up here, Twilight."
Twilight blushed. She wanted to berate her for coming in unannounced, but curiosity won the day when Twilight saw the faint golden aura around Celestia's horn. "What are you carrying?"
Celestia set a tray on the table. "Your dinner, of course."
Twilight's stomach growled. The tray was piled high with cuts of fresh fruit, roasted vegetables, exotic flowers, and assorted pastries—easily enough food for two. Twilight licked her lips, but the food would have to wait. Celestia wouldn't pose as Twilight's room service without a reason. Twilight turned to her. "I suppose you want to know why I've been avoiding you."
"You'll tell me when you're ready. I just wanted to make sure you were all right. You haven't set hoof in the rest of the castle since the trial. You didn't even come out to see Spike and Aurelia off."
Twilight looked away and sighed. Her eyes fell on the tray, but her appetite was gone.
"If you still need time to think, I'll leave you be."
Twilight nodded.
Celestia retracted her wing, nuzzled Twilight's neck, and walked toward the door. "Good night, Twilight."
Twilight felt a draft. Shivering, she looked around the musty, lifeless library. Shadows danced in the lamplight. She blurted, "Wait!"
Celestia stopped in her tracks, turning her head. "Yes, Twilight?"
"Could you stay with me for awhile? It's kind of lonely here."
Celestia smiled, turned, and walked back toward the table.
Twilight got up. She wanted to say something, but no words came. They stood facing each other for an awkward moment.
Celestia didn't mind.
Words had been failing Twilight a lot lately. Letting her heart do the talking, she tackled Celestia and hugged her.
Celestia sat, wrapped her forelegs and wings around her, and held her close, chasing away the cold night air.
Twilight buried her face in Celestia's chest and cried.
Celestia had wanted nothing more than to set things right between them since that evening in the hospital, and now she had the chance. She waited for Twilight's tears to subside before letting go. "Do you remember what I told you that evening in the hospital?"
Twilight looked up to meet Celestia's eyes. "I remember. You said that doing the right thing isn't always possible. I didn't want to believe it. I still don't, but—"
"I was wrong."
"Huh?"
"I would have interrogated the changeling myself, but I followed you to the emergency room. Modern medical magic is advanced enough that you were in no danger of bleeding out, but the wound was the least of your worries. Changeling venom is paralytic. You were barely breathing when the guards brought you in. A minute later and your heart would have stopped.
"Hours ticked by; I counted the seconds. I wanted to stay by your side until you awoke, but Shining had finished, so I met with him once you'd stabilized. Knowing I'd almost lost you because of my own shortsighted plan to involve you in a conflict I should have known you'd want no part in, I was in no condition to make political decisions, so when Shining proposed an assassination, I gave the order without considering the consequences. I could have done several things differently, any one of which would have averted disaster."
"When you said that doing the right thing isn't always possible, what you meant to say is that you don't always make the right decision. In other words, everypony makes mistakes. Even you."
"Yes, even me. Despite being as old as Equestria itself, I'm just another pony at heart. You've been having trouble coming up with a lesson, have you not?"
Twilight lowered her gaze and pulled away. "I have."
Celestia put her hoof under Twilight's chin. "You're not the one who needed to learn one."
"What do you mean?"
Celestia cleared her throat. "Dear Twilight Sparkle: The past week has taught me that I can't always make the right decision, but I can always do something to make the wrong decision better. Your fallible mentor, Princess Celestia."
Twilight hugged her again. "I see you're already putting your lesson into practice."
Celestia smiled. "More than you know."
"Is that so?"
"I wrote Legate Cassius a letter portraying Aurelia's unharmed return as a show of good faith in the interest of reopening negotiations."
Twilight pulled away to see Celestia's face. "What did he say?"
Celestia's smile faded. "The spell failed, unfortunately, but I didn't detect any warding magic."
Twilight's brow furrowed. "Do you think something happened to him?"
"I couldn't say for certain, but when Luna escorted Spike and Aurelia across the border, a group of changelings came out to meet them. Legate Cassius disappeared the day before, leaving a letter for Aurelia in case she returned. Upon reading the letter, she incinerated it and said she refused to lead in his stead. Chrysalis had hoped the changelings, upon gaining free will, would want to govern themselves. Hearing that, the changelings requested that Luna stay behind for awhile so they could arrange a peace summit. Part of the reason I came here today was to invite you to attend as an Equestrian representative with the other Elements of Harmony, Luna, Cadence, Shining, and myself."
"I thought Shining resigned."
"Technically, yes, but I told him I'd leave the position open to him should he choose to return before I find a suitable replacement. He's taking the opportunity to spend some quality time with Cadence for the first time since the wedding reception. As per her request, I haven't been looking too hard."
"I'm glad. After all they've been through, they deserve a happy ending."
Several minutes passed. Twilight and Celestia were content to enjoy each other's company in silence, for all the nagging doubts and worries that had plagued them had been resolved. All except one.
"What about Spike?" Twilight asked.
"You shouldn't worry," Celestia said. "Most dragons who aren't involved in the migration leave the nest at his age anyway. The incident in Ponyville is an example of what often happens—a dragon's size is actually a poor indicator of his age after his hoarding instinct surfaces."
Twilight giggled. "I can see why the dragon who tried to nap in the mountains outside Ponyville was so opposed to letting Rarity near his treasure."
"From the description in your report, I doubt he was older than a century. His natural form wouldn't be much bigger than the teenage dragons who pestered Spike at the migration, whereas their natural forms wouldn't be much bigger than Spike's. Though the instinct exists to help dragons protect themselves, Spike has shown himself to be cunning enough to take care of himself even in his natural form. That he has a beautiful changeling to accompany him can only be a plus."
Twilight walked toward the clear window that covered the far wall and observed the moonlit cityscape. She knew Celestia's words were meant to be reassuring, but she couldn't help feeling another pang of jealousy. Ever since she'd first seen her perform at the Summer Sun Celebration, Twilight had had a schoolfilly crush on Celestia. As she got older, Twilight had realized it wasn't worth getting worked up over, but something changed last time they saw each other. Twilight shook her head. Celestia had the right to be interested in whomever she pleased, and so did Spike. "What about Aurelia? You said some original signers of the Draconian-Equestrian Treaty are still alive. Won't she die long before him?"
Celestia walked up beside her. "Were she a pony, yes, but changeling biology is different from what one might expect, or perhaps it's exactly what one might expect, given that love is the core of a changeling's being."
Twilight tore her eyes away from the shooting star streaking across the sky and looked up at her. "What do you mean? I haven't found much information on changeling biology."
"None of our scholars have studied the matter in any depth. If things go well at the summit, you could be the first."
Twilight smiled.
"In any case, I happen to know from experience that Aurelia will live to be as old as Spike, but once she goes beyond her normal lifespan, the only thing keeping her alive will be his love. When he dies, or the connection is otherwise severed, withdrawal will kill her."
"I guess that's not so bad. When one partner dies in an old pony couple, the other often follows. With luck, Spike and Aurelia will steal a few centuries before that happens."
Celestia sighed. "I almost envy them. As you may have guessed, my love made Chrysalis immortal even when we weren't together anymore. Had I taken the chance, we could have been together for all eternity, or at least until someone more competent than Legate Cassius planned my assassination."
Twilight wasn't sure how to feel. On one hoof, she felt sorry for her. Eternity was an awfully long time to spend alone, assuming Celestia lived that long. Then again, she had Luna, so it could be worse. On the other hoof, Twilight felt jealous of Chrysalis. Eternity with Celestia would be heaven, assuming heaven existed. Twilight was as secular as a magical talking pony with a magenta star on her flank could be while standing next to a physical goddess. She realized she'd been quiet for awhile. "I was inconsiderate when I found out about you and Chrysalis. The circumstances could have been better, but that's no excuse. You loved her, and I ought to respect that."
Celestia nuzzled Twilight's neck. Pulling away, she saw the scar where the changeling's fangs had punctured, barely distinguishable as two shallow depressions under Twilight's fur. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You're the one who suggested I speak with Luna even though you didn't know what was bothering me at the time. Thanks to you, I got closure for which I've been long overdue."
Twilight smiled. "I'm glad."
"I may even be ready to open my heart to another." Celestia winked.
Twilight blushed. Unable to stop herself, she said in her sultriest voice, "If I didn't know better, Princess, I'd think you were trying to seduce me."
Celestia rolled her eyes. "Twilight, if I were trying to seduce you, would I be wearing a skimpy maid outfit?"
Twilight blushed deeper.
"You naughty, naughty filly." Celestia grinned. "I'll have to file that knowledge away for later."
Twilight laughed nervously and stepped back. "I was joking. You know, because I joke about that sort of thing. Not because you look incredibly sexy and I've always wanted to—I'm going to stop talking now."
"Please, finish. I'm curious about what you've always wanted to do."
"Besides, even if we were interested in each other like that, we could only be together as long as my short, mortal lifespan permits. I wouldn't want to put you through that."
Celestia's grin softened into a smile. "I thought about that, but the finiteness of life makes the time I'd share with a mortal lover all the more precious, so if an attractive young mare should decide to make known the crush she's tried to keep secret from me for all the years we've known each other, I might be inclined to take the chance."
Of course she knew. She had had millenniums of experience reading ponies, and Twilight was as open a book as they came. Heart pounding, horn glowing, and body moving of its own accord, Twilight stood on her hind legs and wrapped her forelegs around the base of Celestia's neck. With all the warmth and passion of two star-crossed lovers reuniting after centuries apart, Twilight brought her lips to meet Celestia's.
The maid outfit fell to the floor in an afterglow of purple magic as Celestia melted into the kiss. Nothing ever felt so right.
Twilight pulled away long enough to express a breathy sentiment, "Let's not waste any time, then."
"Such boldness is unusual for you, but I'm inclined to agree."
"I think I got it from Aurelia."
Celestia sat on her haunches, spread her wings, and laid her back against the floor, pulling Twilight on top of her.
Twilight yelped as their bare coats brushed together.
Celestia wrapped her wings around her, holding her tight as they shared a longer, deeper kiss.
Twilight felt Celestia's heartbeat.
Meanwhile, their dinner sat alone and forgotten on the table, where it would remain for quite some time.