Cry for Eternity

by asylum1388


Chapter 14

A/N: One more chapter down, two to go.

That's right, two more chapters left in this story arc; after that it's back to the drawing board to plan out the last half of the fic. The more perceptive of you have probably noticed that I've been systematically wrapping up most of the outstanding plot points over the past couple chapters, and now you know why.

Editor: Pissfer
Pre-readers: Piquo+Pie, and f0xhole

Couldn't get ahold of Reignbow, he'll likely be returning for next chapter.


Thirty-four days since the coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Bye, Twilight. I’ll see you at the Gala. And don’t forget that you can write to me whenever you need to,” Fluttershy whispered as she returned Twilight’s hug.

“Don’t worry, I will. And apologize to Angel for me; I doubt he’s too happy with me for stealing you away from him for a week,” Twilight giggled as she released Fluttershy, allowing the pegasus to throw her hooves around Luna’s neck.

“Bye Luna. You can write to me too, when you need it. Or, just if you want to... if that’s alright...” Fluttershy mumbled before pulling away.

“Thank you Fluttershy, it would be my privilege to write to you,” Luna replied with a wide and sincere smile. Leaning closer as the train shook into motion, she whispered, “However, you may wish to cut your farewells short, lest your train leave without you.”

With a startled squeak, Fluttershy scrambled onto her ride, leaving the pair of snickering princesses waving to her until the train made it’s way around the bend and out of sight. They continued to chuckle at each other as they turned around to head back to the castle.

“I will miss her,” Luna pouted, as they trotted along the open street, the crowd parting around them. “I know that I’m not supposed to play favorites, but I think I will look forward to seeing her most at the Gala.”

“You never did tell me exactly how you got her to warm up to you so quickly,” Twilight stated, smiling a greeting at a bowing subject. “She was scared stiff of you when I left, but when Spike and I got back, she was treating you like you’ve been friends for years.”

“Funny story, that,” Luna replied mirthfully. “When you didn’t return that night, I began to get worried, and eventually, afraid. And, well, let us just say that Fluttershy’s innate need to comfort anypony in distress seems to far outweigh her fear of Nightmare Moon. Equestria would be much better off, if only 'twere that more ponies like her existed.”

“You were worried about me?” Twilight cackled. “Awww, that’s so adorable!”

“What? Of course I was worried! You left in a panic. Neither of us knew whether you—”

“Oh, relax, Luna. I was just teasing you,” Twilight groaned. “No need to get so flustered. Sheesh.”

“You were being cruel,” Luna pouted.

“I was not. Stop being overly dramatic,” Twilight sighed dismissively, allowing a smile to play across her face. She used her magic to pull a small daily planner out from where she had stashed it beneath her wing and let it hover in front of them. “Alright, we got Spike all set up, and we saw Fluttershy off. The next thing you have scheduled is Saturday Court, but that’s not for another few hours. Thanks for suggesting that, by the way. Just how I wanted to spend my weekend,” she grumbled sarcastically, eliciting a sheepish grin from Luna. “In the meantime I’m going to lunch with my parents. You’re still welcome to come if you want.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose...”

“I already said that it’s not imposing if I invited you,” Twilight retorted with a roll of her eyes. “That settles it, you’re coming.”

Luna turned to her defensively, but lacking any logical response, only nodded defeatedly. “Very well. You win again, Twilight.” She silently fell into step beside Twilight, following the younger Princess to their now mutual destination; leaving Twilight to find some way to remove the pall that had befallen their conversation.

“So Luna; have you had the chance to visit the Royal Library lately? There’s a few new books there that I think you’d like.”

“I have not.”

“Okay...” Twilight murmured, feeling slightly dejected. “Do you have any ideas for the night sky? Maybe new stars, or changing the positions of a few of the old ones?”

“You know as well as I do that there are now laws against making sudden changes to the sky. It would take months, maybe years, for anything I propose to be even considered.”

Twilight flinched at Luna’s tone, but resisted hanging her head. Well I tried doing things the nice way, but desperate times call for desperate measures. “Hey, why don’t we stop at Donut Joe’s after lunch on our way back to the castle? I’ve heard that the special this week is on Moon Pies.” Though Twilight caught the slight twitch of Luna’s eye, there’s no way she could’ve overlooked the Princess stopping mid-stride. Got ya.

Luna glared at Twilight for a few seconds before speaking. “How dare you use confections against me, Twilight Sparkle. That is hardly a fair tactic,” Luna proclaimed, full of faux indignation.

“It put you in a better mood, didn’t it?” Twilight chuckled over her shoulder as she continued on their way, slowly at first to allow Luna to catch up.

“Yes, I suppose it did. Heavens forbid I be allowed to enjoy a good mope,” Luna replied grudgingly. “Though truth be told, we probably shouldn’t. As I’ve explained before, the palace rules limiting the amount of sweets the reigning princesses are allowed to be served were put into place for very good reasons.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. They couldn’t have little Lulu spoiling her dinner by demanding cake every hour of every day,” Twilight snickered, nudging Luna’s side.

“And I told you, Celestia could be just as bad as I was when she was having a bad year,” Luna grumbled back.

“I still have a hard time believing that the two of you used to gamble with your desserts,” Twilight replied, stifling her laughter.

“‘Tis true! And Tia almost always won,” Luna groaned. “More often than not I owed her at least a week’s worth.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Well how else would you account for my flank becoming a little rounder these past few weeks? Or have you not noticed?” Luna laughed, wiggling the mentioned body part at Twilight.

“I figured it was just due to stress eating,” Twilight giggled before noticing the horrified and hurt expression on Luna’s face. “Oh, come on, I was kidding!”

“You are being mean today. What is wrong with you?”

“You left that one wide open, I had to say it,” Twilight replied apologetically. “So have you actually put on weight, or were you just joking?”

“A little, though I hadn’t noticed it becoming visible at all,” Luna responded with gruff annoyance. “Regardless, you didn’t need to prod fun at me so mercilessly.”

“I couldn’t help it. You set yourself up so perfectly that it just came out,” Twilight moaned. “I’m sorry for saying it, but it was sorta your own fault.”

“I cannot argue that, I suppose. Celestia never let me off easily either, so I don’t know why I expected you to,” Luna grumbled.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re saying that I act like Celestia?” Twilight asked skeptically.

“Errr, yes and no,” Luna murmured, her cheeks flushing as she realized the implications of what she had just said. “All I was saying is that you have very similar senses of humor. Truth be told, the Celestia you knew was a far different pony than the one I grew up with.”

Twilight turned to her, ready to inquire further, but paused when she glimpsed familiar shades of white and blue at the edge of her vision. Grinning broadly, she trotted over to the restaurant to give her mom and dad a hug.

“Twilight, honey, you said that you invited a ‘special guest’, but didn’t say that it was Princess Luna!” her mom stated nervously.

“Inviting Luna was a last-minute thing,” Twilight replied reassuringly. “She didn’t have anything else to do, so I invited her along. Luna’s special, but she’s not who I was talking about.”

“So who were you talking about? You know how much your mother just loves surprises,” her dad chuckled sarcastically, earning himself a swat from his wife.

“She’s always late to these types of things, but she’ll be here,” Twilight asserted. “Is our table ready?”

“It’s been ready. Shall we go sit down?”

“Sure, dad. That’d be nice.” Twilight motioned for him to lead the way and the three mares followed him into the establishment.

They made their way to the table and sat down, where Twilight’s mother wasted no time in grilling the two alicorns. “So, how are things up at the castle?”

“Not bad. Maybe not ideal — okay, definitely not ideal — but not bad,” Twilight mumbled, admiring her mother's restraint to wait until they'd reached the table. “My first week was far worse than this past one.”

“I’m going to order the party platter. It feeds six, so there should be plenty for all of us,” Twilight’s father interjected, knowing that nopony was listening to him.

“Are you sure, honey? You look exhausted. Are you eating enough?”

“I’m fine, mom. Really,” Twilight started, hoping, in vain, that her reassurances might pacify her mother. “I’m actually better than usual, I’ve made up with Spike, and Fluttershy was here all week to keep my spirits up. Things are just hectic.”

“I’m sorry for hovering, Twilight,” the older mare replied sheepishly. “You were just so miserable the last time we talked, and that was almost two weeks ago.”

“You may blame me for that,” Luna mumbled, the color in her cheeks deepening.

“But Princess, I would never dream—”

“Whether you want to blame me or not, the truth is that Twilight has spent the past week-and-a-half cleaning up a mess of my own making,” Luna interrupted, hanging her head slightly. “Twilight has been working tirelessly to save myself and my reputation, and she has completed both her own workload as well as part of mine, all while finding the time to socialize with the friends who came to visit her.”

“Speaking of Spike, where is he?” her father asked. “It’s been a while, I’d have thought he’d want to come see us.”

“He’s been acting really grown-up lately, and I figured he deserves to be treated as such, so I gave him the bedroom Celestia had me stay in. His stuff arrived from Ponyville this morning, so he’s currently setting everything up for the hundredth time. He’s never had his own room before,” Twilight giggled. “Don’t take it personally, he’s been trying to act more mature than ever since we got back to Canterlot. I’m sure he’d love to see you if you came to the palace for a visit.” A movement on the other side of the restaurant caught her eye and she motioned for her guest to come over. “In the meantime, I’d like to introduce you to—”

“The Deputy Prime Minister?” her mother gasped. “Both her and Princess Luna, Twilight are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“And here I thought that I was going to be the center of attention today,” Edifying Scroll proclaimed in her deep voice with a mix of haughtiness and mischievousness. She sauntered up to the table and nudged Luna gently before sitting down. “So much for that.”

“I am sorry. Upstaging you was not my intention,” Luna replied apologetically. “Twilight decided that I must be dragged along.”

“Eh, don’t worry so much about it,” Edifying Scroll snickered. “If I had wanted all eyes on me all the time, I would’ve became a singer instead of a politician.”

“Back on topic,” Twilight interjected, “Edifying Scroll, these are my parents. Mom, Dad, this is the Deputy Prime Minister.”

“A pleasure...” Edifying Scroll purred. She then pulled a folded sheet of paper from her saddlebag and slid it across the table towards Twilight. “I have something you’ve been wanting, Princess. A list of every single pony who usually purchases a VIP ticket to the Gala, but was unable to this year.”

Luna frowned at the document before turning to Twilight, a glimmer of comprehension in her eyes. “You are trying to find out who may be angered by your giving those tickets to your — or rather, our — friends. Thus you will be prepared to stave off any retaliation from them or their families. Clever, you’re learning the game quite quickly.”

Twilight reached for the paper, but Edifying Scroll slammed her hoof down on the parchment. “Clever indeed, but this isn’t free, Princess.”

Twilight leaned back in her chair, suppressing a smirk. “Alright, I’ll play your game. What’re your terms?”

“There’s a new professor at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. He’s cute, and I want to meet him.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the demand. “Why can’t you just go talk to him yourself? You’re the second most powerful pony in the country! Not counting Luna and myself, of course.”

“Nah, if I do that I’ll look desperate and I’ll scare him off. You’ve gotta introduce us. That’s my offer.”

“Begging your pardon, ma’am,” Twilight’s mother replied carefully. “But aren’t you married?”

“Yeah, but things aren’t going so well,” Edifying Scroll murmured sadly. “I mean it’s been shaky for years, but it’s gotten really bad lately. Honestly, I don’t think we’ll make it through another month.”

“I am sorry to hear that,” Luna replied. “Mayhaps you might return to speaking terms with your family?”

“Not likely. I’d have to return begging on my knees, but that’s not going to happen,” Edifying Scroll snarled. “If they’re going to disown me just for marrying a pony from a family they hate, I’m going to leave them behind.”

“Yet you’re about to divorce the same pony they were angry at you for marrying,” Twilight stated sarcastically.

“It’s the principle of the matter! If they’re that petty, then I don’t need them,” Edifying Scroll retorted. “So do we have a deal or not?”

“...Alright. Deal,” Twilight grinned, pulling the sheet out from underneath Edifying Scroll’s hoof and tucking it under her wing. “If worst comes to worst and he kicks you out, you can always stay in the palace apartments until you get a place of your own.”

“I’d rather sleep on the street,” Edifying Scroll chuckled. “...Okay, that was more negative than I thought it would be. It was meant to be a joke. A rather insulting joke, come to think of it. Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. Twilight’s got thick skin as is. You could probably jab her with a needle and she wouldn’t feel it,” Twilight’s father laughed, earning himself a glare from his daughter and another swat from his wife. “Anyway, food’s coming. Tuck in.”

“Ah... Citrus orzo, good choice,” Edifying Scroll whistled, helping herself to a large portion.

“So, Miss Scroll, I heard something interesting yesterday,” Luna stated, suspiciously eying the food she held on her fork.

“Oh yeah? What’s that, Princess?” she asked, watching Luna gently sniff at the morsel and nibble it tepidly.

“Hmmm, better than I thought it would be,” Luna muttered to herself, slipping the entire bite into her mouth. “Anyway, I was informed that the mayor of Stalliongrad would be attending my Court this afternoon. Something about ‘a grievous insult to his family’.”

“Oh not this again,” Edifying Scroll groaned, angrily tossing her fork onto her plate. “His daughter came to my office and tried to bribe me into getting her a position in the Ministry of the Interior, so I had her thrown out of the palace.”

“That’s all?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. “That doesn’t seem like ‘a grievous insult’.”

“...I may have had her thrown out during a downpour without her coat,” Edifying Scroll muttered sheepishly. “The guards may also have dropped her into a mud puddle...”

“I see,” Luna snickered. “You don’t think that your actions were a little extreme?”

“Well I could’ve had her arrested. Bribing a public official is illegal, after all. I’ll take care of it myself, though. I’ve dealt with him before...” she trailed off as a pegasus approached her, slipped her a sealed envelope, and hurriedly whispered into her ear. “You— How much?

“What’s the matter?” Twilight asked worriedly. “Is there a problem at the castle?”

“No, not at all! Just something I wasn’t quite expecting,” Edifying Scroll snickered. She held up the envelope and grinned at Twilight mischievously. “I’ve got another present for you, and this one’s free. Actually, it’s the whole reason I wanted to meet with you.”

“Okay... Well what is it?” Twilight inquired as she reached across the table and snatched the envelope from the Deputy Minister’s hoof.

“Princess Celestia had a lot of holdings. A lot,” she began to explain. “Countless artefacts — both magical and mundane — books, treasures, properties all over Equestria... you get the picture. Before she passed away, she outlined whom she wished to get what in dozens of legal documents, but that, naturally, didn’t stop everypony and their mothers from laying claim to everything and anything that she possessed.

“Sound Mind and I have spent the past month going through all the paperwork to make sure that everything goes to its proper place. This is what she left you.”

“Having me take her place and leaving me her personal library wasn’t enough?” Twilight muttered, opening the envelope and pulling a single sheet of paper out. “So what exactly— woah, that’s a lot of money...”

“What do you mean, honey?” her mother cooed as she took the paper for herself. “What’s a lot of— Oh, my...”

“I knew that Celestia was wealthy, it sort of comes with being a Princess, but I never realized she had that much,” Twilight gasped.

“A few thousand years of collecting stipends will do that,” Edifying Scroll chuckled. “You’ll see.”

“Stipend? We get a stipend?” Twilight asked bewilderedly, raising an eyebrow at Luna. “I didn’t think that this was a salaried position.”

“Errr, well, yes. The rulers of Equestria always have,” Luna explained. “I suggested it myself. It exists so that the Princess — or Princesses, as the case may be —would be able to purchase items they desired while limiting their ability to do so as to not drain the treasury. It’s less of a ‘salary’ and more of an ‘allowance’, if you wish to oversimplify it.”

“And why am I just hearing about this now?” Twilight grumbled irritably.

“It’s dispensed semi-annually at the beginning of the summer and winter, so you just haven’t gotten yours yet,” Edifying Scroll explained. “I would’ve told you myself, but I figured that somepony else did. I guess everypony thought that somepony else did.”

“I see... Well, it’s nice to know that I’ll at least be compensated for running myself ragged day in and day out.”

“Yeah, but it’s not that much,” Edifying Scroll chuckled. “Princess Celestia was saving that up for a while.”

“Indeed? That is odd. Tia was always a big spender. She always went on a spending spree whenever we received our stipend, and usually ran out of bits a month or two before our next one came. Let me see that,” Luna murmured, using her magic to pull the document over to her. “Huh. I guess she really did learn to be frugal. Assuming she placed her entire stipend into a bank account with a standard amount of interest, she had been saving this money for twelve point five years.”

The sound of Twilight’s head hitting the table echoed throughout the restaurant, causing the other four ponies at the table to jump in their seats. “She started saving when I became her apprentice. Great, this is just the pick-me-up I needed today,” Twilight whined.

“What do you mean, honey? I’d have thought you would be happy about this.”

“I just can’t get a break,” Twilight sighed. “Every time something good happens, every time I start to feel good about my life, something else comes to remind me exactly why I’m here. I was having a great week, then I get a reminder of just how much I took Celestia’s presence for granted.”

“Took her for granted...? Twilight, if anything this should serve as a reminder of how much she loved you,” Luna said with a frown.

“Yes it does, but I never sat down and appreciated that,” Twilight grumbled. “When I was her student, I assumed that she’d always be there. I never had a chance to tell her just how much she meant to me, and now that I want to, I can’t. I’ll never get the chance to thank her for everything she did for me...”

“She knew, Twilight. I promise you that. Even if you never told her, she knew that you loved her,” Luna replied softly, laying a wing over Twilight’s shoulder. “And besides, I’ve already told you that you’ve done more for she and I than we could ever repay.”

“But—”

“Stop it, Twilight,” her mother scolded. “Princess Luna is right, and you know it. I know that you miss Princess Celestia, but you can’t keep letting that control you.” She wrapped a hoof around her daughter, pulling her close. “Please? It hurts me to see you hurting like this.”

Twilight slowly lifted her head off the table to look her mother in the eyes. “I... I’m sorry mom. It’s just hard, you know? So much has happened over the past month, and it gets difficult to handle at times.”

“Well that’s why you’ve got your friends and family to back you up,” Edifying Scroll interjected tenderly, scooping a second portion of orzo onto her plate. “And to be honest, you’ve done a lot better than I expected you to. Sure, there’ve been some problems along the way, but Equestria’s citizens are happy and its government is running relatively smoothly.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Twilight replied, offering Edifying Scroll a grateful smile. “The gryphons erupt into civil war almost every time their emperor dies, and that happens every couple decades. Equestria just lost the pony who ruled it for several thousand years and it’s still about as peaceful as ever.”

“Exactly! You should be proud,” her mother squealed, playfully shaking her daughter. “I know we all are.”

“I know. I suppose that adage about being your own biggest critic is true,” Twilight giggled half-heartedly. “Sorry for ruining the mood, everypony.”

“Oh, you didn’t ruin the mood, honey,” her mother cooed. “We love spending time with you.”

“Yeah. Besides, everypony ruins the mood at times,” her father chuckled.

“Dear, that’s not exactly the message I was trying to convey,” his wife growled, shooting him a stern glare.

“Well, it’s true! You yell at me all the time for it. And besides, it got her laughing,” he snickered, ignoring the frustrated sigh from his spouse. “So... anypony up for dessert?”


“I truly regret the idea of Saturday Court,” Luna moaned loudly as she ambled slowly over to Twilight several hours later. “It seems like our ponies get even less amiable over the weekend than they are during the week.”

“I can’t blame them; I hate spending my weekend here too,” Twilight muttered aside to her. “And at least you’re done. I’ve still got four more appointments.”

Luna dragged herself up the stairs to the shared throne before plopping down next to Twilight. “That is true. I’d still prefer the Throne Room; sitting in the War Room for too long grates on one’s nerves.”

“Why not switch over to the Reception Hall? It’s not like we’re holding a wedding there every day,” Twilight snickered. “More often than not it just sits there empty for weeks on end.”

“That is an excellent idea, I’ll implement the change immediately. In the meantime, would you mind if I sat with you? I’d rather not go to supper by myself.”

“Sure, I’d like some company,” Twilight replied with a smile before turning to Quill-Pen. “What’s next?”

“Baron Slimtail is here about something,” the seneschal muttered. “I don’t know exactly what.”

“Oh. He’s here to complain, yet again, about my denying his request to allow him to fill in Froggy Bottom Bog and build over it,” Twilight grumbled, gently massaging one of her temples. “He’s going to give me an aneurysm if he keeps this up... Alright, let him in.” The Throne Room doors opened, allowing a haughty earth pony to stride in, and Twilight faked a smile. “Welcome, Baron. What can I do for you today?”

“I am not happy, Princess. You are standing in the way of economic prosperity, and I will not stand for it,” the noble snarled, emphasising his point with a stomp of his hoof.

“I’d say that that’s a bit of an exaggeration,” Twilight sighed, “but I suppose I owe you an explanation. Froggy Bottom Bog is an important part of Equestria’s ecosystem, thus I would be skeptical about turning it into a farm, or factory, or... something else that actually benefits a lot of ponies. Turning it into a shopping mall only benefits you, and I will not permit the destruction of something so vital to our nation just so you can turn a profit.”

“Princess, you cannot seriously—” he began, but was cut off as the room’s double doors slammed open once again and a fluffy pink pony bounced through, closely followed by a very nervous Royal Guard.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but she refused to wait.”

“It’s okay, you can go back to your post,” Twilight said to the guard, giving him a comforting smile. “Actually, why don’t you take the rest of the night off? You look tired.” She watched the grateful guard trot away before enveloping her friend in a hug. “I didn’t expect you to get here for another half hour, Pinkie! How are you?”

“Great! There was a lot of traffic in the city but I snuck around it by—”

“Princess, I—”

“My word is final, Baron,” Twilight growled, interrupting his interruption as Pinkie bounded over to Luna. “Froggy Bottom Bog will stay as it is, and with that, our business is concluded. Please leave.” Without waiting to see if he complied with her order, she turned towards Quill-Pen and asked, “Tell me, among the rest of the petitioners, is there anypony who actually works for a living?”

A smirk playing on her lips, Quill-Pen glanced over her clipboard before replying. “Two nobles and an investment banker. So no.”

“Good. Move all three of them to Monday morning,” Twilight chirped. “I’ve got plans tonight that are a little more important than whatever they want.”

“Already done,” Quill-Pen remarked wryly. “Alright, you all heard the Princess. Clear out. Court’s over!”

Twilight giggled to herself as everypony save for Luna, Pinkie Pie, and herself quickly made their way out, leaving the three ponies alone. Pinkie released Luna from a hug and sprung to Twilight. “Plans? We’ve got plans already? Cool! So what are we gonna do first? Make a pillow fort? Go camping in the Royal Gardens? Eat every cookie in the kitchens?”

“We can do all of that, but first you have a job to do,” Twilight chuckled, deflating Pinkie’s exuberance mid-bounce.

“Awww, that’s no fun,” Pinkie whined. “I thought we were supposed to hang out!”

“I know, but the sooner you get to work, the sooner we can play,” Twilight replied encouragingly.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Pinkie sighed. “So what’s the mission, Sergeant Sparkle?” she asked, snapping to a sharp salute.

Twilight heard Luna snort as she suppressed her laughter and couldn’t help but grin herself. “Alright, Private Pinkie, here’s the situation. Lieutenant Luna and I are doing something a little different for the Grand Galloping Gala this year. The two of us are not going to be greeting a long line of guests, and there will be more ponies than usual mingling about because of that. You mission is to come up with ways to entertain the excess guests!”

“Is that all? I can do that with one hoof tied behind my back!”

“Not so fast, Private! Remember, most of the guests will be stuffy nobleponies” Twilight said, faking seriousness. You need to think of things that they’d enjoy. That means no loud music, no pin-the-tail-on-the-pony, and no pranks.”

“Ohh... That’s a tough one,” Pinkie muttered, scratching her chin. “I’ll have to dig really, really far into my party cannon for this one...”

“I know that it’ll be hard, but I wouldn’t think to ask anypony else,” Twilight proclaimed loudly. “So, do you think you’re up for it?”

“Ma’am, yes, ma’am!” Pinkie shouted, snapping to a second salute. “I’ll get on it right away, ma’am!” At that, she was off; rocketing through the door to accomplish her mission.

Smiling cheerfully to herself, Twilight turned to Luna. “Ready for dinner?”

Without replying, the darker Princess stood up and started making her way towards the Royal Dining Room, grumbling to herself, “My friends are weird...”


Alright, what’s your angle?

...

You’re being nice to me today. You’re never nice! You always act like a brat, then you zap my flank when I leave.

...

Exactly! So, what do you want this time?

...

A break? I guess we can do that... I’ll let the weather teams know that it’ll be a little cooler than usual tomorrow. Don’t overdo it though, the last thing anypony needs is a mid-spring freeze.

...

You’re welcome. I’ll see you in the morning.

Twilight slipped back into her body with a content sigh. Laying down on her balcony, she breathed deeply, savoring the scent of the night air. Overall, it had been a pleasant day. Everything from raising the sun to Pinkie’s arrival had gone smoothly. She couldn’t exactly say that it was a perfect day, but it was far better than most she had had recently. She hadn’t seen Pinkie all evening, but that was fine. The party pony was just doing whatever Pinkie Pie does when she’s planning something big.

She stretched out, half-heartedly trying to choose whether she’d rather spend the last hour or two before bed reading, or just laying where she was. Before she could make a decision, the soft sound of flapping wings broke through her daze.

She turned to see who was approaching and smiled. “Hey, Luna.”

Luna landed next to her with a large goofy grin on her face, eyes alight with excitement. “Twilight, come with me!” she squealed before taking flight.

“...What?”

“Come on!”

Twilight frowned before standing back up, and took off after Luna. She followed the mare higher and higher until the older Princess landed atop the highest tower. Luna trotted to the center of the platform, turned to face east, and sat on her haunches. When Twilight raised a questioning eyebrow at her, she responded by giggling and patting the floor next to her.

Twilight sauntered over and sat down beside Luna. “Okay... what now?”

“Just follow me,” Luna cooed as she closed her eyes. Twilight felt the subtle buzz of magic fill the air as Luna’s horn lit up, and lit her own horn in turn, feeling out the intricacies of Luna’s spell. Feeling a familiar pull on her consciousness, Twilight let go of her body and found herself floating in the void. If she had had a body at that point, what she saw would have taken her breath away.

It’s so... so...

She’s beautiful, is she not? Luna’s voice floated through her being.

The moon floated before her, a massive luminescent pearl in the sky. Beautiful? Luna, beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe her. In fact, I don’t think a word to accurately describe her even exists!

It’s time for the moon to rise. Would you like to do the honors, Twilight?, Luna’s mirthful giggle rang out from all directions. Smiling inwardly, Twilight expanded her consciousness and reached out towards the moon, only for the great celestial body to shrink away from her touch.

Oh, Twilight, I’m sorry about that! She’s a bit skittish. Try approaching her a bit slower.

Feeling a little flustered, Twilight reached out again, more carefully this time. It’s okay... I’m a friend, she cooed. She felt the moon shudder under her touch, but it didn’t retreat this time. Instead, a soft warmth spread over her. A gentle serenity, as if the moon was nuzzling her, embracing her. Cautiously, she applied a bit of pressure and felt the moon begin to rise.

She watched for a moment before sliding back into her body for the second time that night. She quickly turned to her side and locked eyes with her companion. “Luna... Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure, Twilight,” Luna giggled, standing up with a stretch and a groan. “And again I apologize for her initial behavior. The Moon has always been shy, that’s partially why I became the Princess of the Night. When Celestia and I were first given control over the Sun and Moon, Celestia was much more brazen than she was more recently, and the Moon responded much better to my softer touch.” Twilight stood and followed Luna to the edge of the platform, where Luna lay down and Twilight followed suit.

“Luna, it’s lovely up here, but I think we should head back down,” Twilight murmured hesitantly. “Pinkie won’t be able to get up here if she wants to talk to us.”

“Oh, I don’t think she’ll be joining us tonight,” Luna snickered mischievously.

“And why is that?” Twilight replied skeptically.

“I... may have let it slip to her that we have a cocoa tree in the Royal Gardens,” Luna said innocently.

“But, Luna, we don’t have a cocoa tree in the gardens.”

“I know.”

“Oh, that’s just evil.”

“You were the one who told me that she always enjoyed a good prank,” Luna retorted with a knowing smirk. “I was just partaking.”

“Okay, you’ve got me there,” Twilight chuckled before turning her head skyward. “So, which one is next?”

“Ummm, which one did we go over last time?” Luna asked, following Twilight’s gaze.

Crustulum Magnum. And I still think that you’re pulling my leg when you say that you made a star to commemorate the invention of the cookie.”

“I was still a filly! And you cannot deny that it was a glorious day in Equestrian history,” Luna moaned defensively. “Regardless, the next one is Frater Bonus, the Good Brother. Celestia and I crafted it together after Equestria first made contact with the zebra.”

“Now that is what I call a good reason to make a star,” Twilight grinned.

“Yes, yes it was,” Luna murmured thoughtfully. “But before I tell you the whole story, there’s something else... Something I need to get off my chest before my courage fails me.”

“I hate to cut you off, Luna, but I can see Pinkie Pie from here,” Twilight muttered, squinting at the pony far below her.

“So?’

“It looks like she’s talking to the Royal Gardener.”

Luna simply stared at Twilight, waiting for an elaboration. When none came, she cleared her throat. “Yes, well I still fail to see the problem.”

It was then that an angry squawk echoed its way up the mountainside. “NO CHOCOLATE?! THIS MEANS WAR!”

“Oh... Yes I see the problem now,” Luna muttered, leaning over the edge to get a better view. “I’m assuming that she’ll be getting me— Twilight, where are you going?”

“I’m going to bed,” Twilight snickered, spreading her wings.

“What? Why? We were having such a pleasant night.”

“I’ve seen what happens to ponies who prank Pinkie Pie, and unless your name is Rainbow Dash, it’s not pretty,” Twilight replied with a wry smirk. “You started this, so you’re on your own this time.”

And with that she leapt from the roof, gliding into the night.