//------------------------------//
// 3: First Among Equals 
// Story: The Student and the Sun 
// by Ponycletian 
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        Celestia sighed happily as she lowered herself into her usual spot before her fire. The parlor was a reasonably large room, but was well lit by the fire roaring in the fireplace, and by the light that filtered in through the stained glass window, which portrayed a stylized version of the night sky. The centerpiece of the room, which generally served as her primary reception room outside of the throne room, was a large table around which nearly a dozen ponies could comfortably sit. At the moment, however, this table was heavily laden with plates of fruits, vegetables, pastries, and other snacks. The walls were lined with bookshelves that held various legal reference volumes, official reports, scientific studies, and any other books that she might need in the course of a meeting. Her favorite bookshelf, however, was the one that rested nearest the fireplace, less than a meter from her current position.

        She lowered the large box of friendship reports to the carpet next to her and flipped open its lid. Inside were dozens of neatly rolled scrolls, each bound with a lavender string. She smiled to see the amount of care that Twilight had shown in preparing her reports for delivery, but felt a little sad when she noticed that they were not stacked as neatly as she would have expected. She knew that this internal disorder must have been the result of Twilight’s accidental dropping of the box, and her indelicate recapture of it. 

        Twilight was standing in front of the table, looking eagerly over the plethora of delicious choices being presented to her. “Twilight,” Celestia said lightly, “from the way you are staring at that food, I’d almost believe you hadn’t eaten at the castle before.”

        “It’s not that,” Twilight replied, shaken from her stupor, “but it’s just so much food for the two of us.” 

        “Perhaps I overdid it a little, but I know that exposure to new foods and new places can sometimes change a pony’s preferences, so I tried to get a little bit of everything, just in case.” She smiled brightly at her student as she used her magic to pluck a doughnut from a box at the center of the table, placed it on a tiny serving plate, and levitated it to her spot by the fire. “Go ahead, take whatever you like and come join me. I want to start sorting these friendship reports, but they appear to have gotten out of order.”

        “Okay Celestia,” she said as she started to levitate various foods onto a plate. “What do you mean by sort them, they should be in order from first to last, left to right, then top to bottom.”

        “I’m afraid they got a little jumbled, so I guess we'll just have to open them one at a time to determine which ones which. This way, you can tell me all about your adventures and how they helped you to learn about the magic of friendship.” She was happy to see Twilight with a plate of food that was mostly healthy--she had practically raised the mare, so Twilight’s health was very important to her--.

        Twilight lowered herself onto a large lavender cushion, facing both Celestia and the fire. “Would you like to pick the first scroll,” she asked mildly. Celestia smiled, and with a gentle golden glow, levitated a scroll from the case, untied the ribbon, and held it before her eyes.

        “Dear Celestia,” she read, choosing to omit the ‘Princess,’ which made Twilight frown a little. “I've learned that one of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings. But when there's not enough blessings to go around, having more than your friends can make you feel pretty awful. So, though I appreciate the invitation, I will be returning both tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala.”

        Twilight frowned and asked, “are you sure they aren’t in order, because this is my first friendship report?”

        “Well I took this one from the middle of the first row, but just to be sure... ,” she said with a mischievous smile. She used her magic to upend the contents of the box onto the carpet, eliciting a shocked gasp from Twilight. Before Twilight could react, however, she grabbed the scrolls in a random order and replaced them neatly in the box. “Now they are random,” she said, giggling at the mildly irritated look on her pupil’s face.

        The look faded quickly as she marshaled her thoughts in preparation. After a minute, she started to explain the events surrounding the learning of that letter. Her story began with her working in the apple orchards maintained by her friend Applejack’s family. Celestia, when the story began, wasn’t particularly interested in the story itself. The lesson was a valuable one, and it was well that Twilight had learned it, but she couldn’t imagine it having been all that eventful. Arguments between friends over something like gala tickets were understandable, especially given that neither Applejack nor Rainbow Dash seemed to understand exactly what the Grand Galloping Gala was. Celestia’s main interest was in the mare telling the story. The joy that talking about her time with her friends brought her was beautiful to behold, and it made Celestia happy to know that her faithful student was able to not just survive, but flourish, outside of Canterlot.

        Quickly, however, her polite interest in her student’s tale grew into genuine interest as things spiraled rapidly out of control. She, who had attended more Galas than she cared to count, and who found them to be among the least interesting duties she was required to perform, would never have imagined the lengths to which Twilight’s friends would go to secure the tickets. She began to feel guilty about having provided the tickets in the first place, especially as she heard Twilight describing, with great emphasis, the ways in which she was prevented from eating throughout the day. By the time Twilight described being chased through the town by the inhabitants of Ponyville, each of whom was willing to give her favors for her tickets, Celestia was more stunned than anything else. It was touching, the way her friends had come together and realized the discomfort they had been inflicting upon Twilight, but she could hardly believe that all that chaos had been started because of two little tickets.

        “... and that’s when I had Spike send the letter returning the tickets.” Twilight was grinning happily at having finally shared the details of her ‘adventure,’ which Celestia couldn’t deny were interesting. “Celestia, may I ask a question.”

        “Of course you may, Twilight. For today and tomorrow, at least, you don’t have to ask me for permission to ask questions,” she responded somewhat absently, mind still reeling from the events that she had just heard described.

        Despite Celestia’s positive response, Twilight seemed nervous about the question she wanted to ask. Celestia focused on the hesitating Twilight, which seemed to prompt her into action. “Why did you only send two tickets when you knew I had just made five new friends.” She hurriedly added, “I mean, I understand if you were trying to help me learn that lesson, and if so, thank you, but if you were able to send seven tickets later that night, then why not that morning?”

        Celestia heard the anxiety in Twilight’s voice as she asked what could, had it come from anypony else, been mistaken for an accusation of wrongdoing. To alleviate this anxiety, she smiled comfortingly and said, “to be honest, Twilight, I didn’t mean to.” Twilight’s confusion showed on her face. “What I mean is that I didn’t even consider what sending those tickets would mean. I don’t actually write any of those letters, or prepare the guest list, or determine who gets how many tickets. All that is done by ponies here at the castle, and then they deliver the final list to me for approval, and I sign the letters before they are sent out.”

        She hesitated for a moment, trying to think back to the day when she had been presented with a stack of more than a thousand letters for her to sign. “Did I send the tickets through Spike?” Twilight nodded mildly. “Okay... yes, I remember now. I did notice the letter that had your name on it, and when I signed it, I simply put the two tickets that are normally sent, one for that pony, and another for their special somepony or spouse, and sent it. If I had realized that,” she gave an amused snort, “all that would happen, then I would have sent the seven in the first place. For that, I am sorry.”

        Twilight, rather than seeming upset or unhappy, actually seemed rather pleased by her response. “That’s okay, Celestia,” she said brightly. “It isn’t everyday that I get to learn a new lesson on friendship in such an exciting way.”

        “So am I to take it that your other lessons were, shall we say, less eventful,” she said with an amused grin.

        She was surprised when Twilight responded pensively, “well, I guess some of them were less eventful, but it really varies from letter to letter.”

        She was hoping that Twilight was making some sort of joke, but that didn’t seem likely. “In that case, I think we best move on, because if the stories are anything like that last one, I would be very interested to hear them.” This expression of interest had the desired effect of causing Twilight to beam happily as she jumped eagerly from her cushion and galloped to the box to pick another letter. 

        Celestia, meanwhile, carefully rolled the scroll, rebound it with the lavender ribbon, and turned to look at the nearest bookshelf. The reason why it was her favorite was because the center shelf was devoid of any books, bearing instead three tiers of intricately designed scroll cases. Each cylindrical case was the same shade of purple as Twilight’s coat, but stamped on the bottom was a tiny reproduction of Twilight’s cutie mark above a number and a date printed in gold. Along the side of each case, there were intricate patterns of gold filigree that spread delicately across the surface. Pulling the case from the upper left, which bore the gilded number one on its base, she delicately slid the scroll inside before resealing it and returning it to the shelf.

        Celestia saw Twilight staring at, disbelief written across her face. “Is that where you kept my reports,” she asked quietly.

        Celestia smiled at her student’s amazed expression. “Yes, Twilight. I did say that I liked to keep them nearby in case I wanted something to read or reflect upon during long meetings.”

        “No, I understand why they are here,” she said, voice still quiet. “I meant, the cases. They’re beautiful, but to use them for my reports seems... excessive.”

        “I don’t think so, Twilight. Not only do they look so impressive, so important, that nopony wonders why I would refer to them during meetings, but their subject is one that is worth more than all the gold in Equestria. If it weren’t for you, your friends, and these reports, there might not be an Equestria. If you hadn’t stopped Night Mare Moon, and more recently, Discord, then I can’t say for certain where we would be now.” She spread her wing and used it to pull her student into a hug. “If anything, I believe that the cases but poorly reflect the true value of the letters they hold.” She squeezed Twilight a little tighter before releasing her with a gentle nudge towards her cushion. “So, Ms. Sparkle,” she said with mock seriousness, “which lesson am I going to learn about next?”

        “Actually, can I take a short break and eat?” Twilight looked at her untouched plate of food longingly, and after hearing about just how hard it was for her to think on an empty stomach, Celestia was more than willing to allow it.

        “Okay Twilight, we still have plenty of time.” She wondered how Luna was doing, and whether or not she had finished with the audiences yet. She preferred to be finished by about 6:30 at the latest, but she remembered the line that she had seen earlier and knew that Luna might be at it for a while longer.

        She hoped that her sister was enjoying her new duties. Celestia had been happy when Luna suggested that she take the weekends, but there were some things that she worried about. One thing that worried her was that Luna might realize that the weekends were the easier days because of the nature of the visits. On the weekends, the castle doors were opened to anypony with a reason to address the Princess. It was a way for her to stay connected with her subjects, and she enjoyed them immensely, preferring those sessions to the routine weekly ones. The problem was that, despite the value of remaining in touch with their subjects, the matters addressed on the weekends were rarely of national significance. While she felt it was actually better that Luna spend more time acclimating herself to modern pony society before plunging into the often byzantine intrigues of court, she worried that Luna might not see the benefits of this course. She feared that Luna might see her decision to pass on these duties, without informing her of their true nature, as an attempt to keep her marginalized on the fringe of Equestrian politics. Nothing was farther from the truth, but Celestia wasn’t sure that Luna would simply take her word for it. The conflict that had ended in her sister being banished to the Moon had begun largely because she had tried to do this more than 1000 years ago.

        Her thoughts were pulled back to the present when Twilight, who had apparently finished her first plate and had just returned from getting seconds, spoke to her. “Princess, er, Celestia,” she corrected upon receiving a stern glare from Celestia. “Is everything alright?”

        She didn’t know just how much she wanted to tell Twilight about her concerns, but eventually was won over by the look of genuine concern on her student’s face. “Not exactly,” she said with a tired sigh. “I’m afraid that I may be making a mistake with Princess Luna.” Twilight didn’t say anything, but looked at her expectantly. “You know that the weekends aren’t meant for national policy,” she said matter-of-factly. “You know that those types of decisions are made during the week, usually after long policy meetings with advisers and specialists. The problem is that Luna didn’t know these things, and when she asked to hold court on the weekends, I didn’t tell her.”

        She was shocked when Twilight’s response was an amused giggle. “This is an easy one, Pri- Celestia,” she said brightly. “All you have to do is tell her tonight, and tell her that you are sorry for misleading her, and I’m positive everything will be fine.”

        While Twilight’s advice sounded reasonable enough, Celestia didn’t think Twilight understood the entire situation. “I appreciate your advice, but there are some things that you may not know about that complicate the issue,” she said solemnly. “The first of which is that this is a good thing for Luna, and I don’t want it to end just because she thinks I am being unfair.”

        “What do you mean by it being a good thing? If it really is a good thing, then surely she will agree.”

        “Twilight, you saw her on Nightmare Night. I’ve spoken with her, and she herself has described some of the ways in which her unfamiliarity with modern customs caused problems. One good thing about this arrangement is that she gets to spend time with normal, working ponies, which will help her learn more about life in Equestria. Another thing is that, while I trust her judgement completely, I don’t necessarily believe that she is ready to handle the stress of court intrigue. Try to imagine the ramifications of Princess Luna using the Royal Canterlot Voice when speaking with the griffon ambassador, or even worse, the dragons. There are too many things that can go wrong. And Twilight, even with the Royal Canterlot Voice having gone out of style nearly 500 years ago, I still find myself tempted to use it in some of those meetings.”

        Twilight still didn’t seem convinced. “None of those are reasons why you shouldn’t tell her. Those are reasons why your current arrangement is best, and unless Princess Luna has some very good reasons why what you said is wrong, then I don’t see why she should disagree.”

        She was starting to regret having told Twilight her concerns. She didn’t want to tell Twilight any more about her and Luna’s history than she had to, but she also didn’t see any other way to convince her. “Twilight,” she started hesitantly. “The reason why she might disagree has nothing to do with my reasons, or with the merits of the argument.”

        Twilight looked confused, asking, “if the reasons don’t matter, then what does?”

        “I’m worried that Luna will think that I am simply trying to keep her from being my equal. I don’t know whether or not she will accept that my intentions are what I said they are.” Celestia was growing increasingly uncomfortable with this conversation. She rose from her cushion, wings fluttering nervously as she did, and looked away from Twilight and into the fire.

        Twilight must have noticed her discomfort, because she sounded anxious as she asked her next question. “But I don’t understand. Why would Princess Luna just assume something like that?”

        “Because it has happened before,” she said regretfully.

        “You mean, you actually did try to keep her weaker than you,” Twilight asked weakly.

        “Yes,” Celestia snapped bitterly. “And because this is almost exactly how it began last time, I doubt that she will believe me when I say that I only want what’s best for both herself and Equestria!” Her tone was such that she thought it would discourage comment, but Twilight’s resolve surprised her.

        “That makes it even more important that you tell her,” Twilight said with unexpected force. “If Princess Luna comes to suspect that you are keeping her in less meaningful jobs, but worries about how you might react, like you are doing now, then nothing will get better. Things can only get worse until some pony gets hurt and we have to use the Elements of Harmony again.” Celestia turned to look at her faithful student, and was amazed to find her on her hooves, uncowed by her angry remark. “I think that Princess Luna is willing to trust you, and only wants to be trusted and respected in return. If you want her to believe you, then the first thing you have to do is quit keeping secrets.”

        “And what happens if she refuses, and demands that I give her more important jobs, even though she isn’t ready,” she demanded defiantly.

        “Then you talk with her, and try to convince her that it isn’t a good idea. Or you offer to let her attend the meetings with you as a non-speaking partner for a short while so she can see what to expect.” Twilight’s voice was just as intense as her own. “But what you just said proves her point. If the two of you are equals, then why does she have to demand anything from you?” She paused before providing the answer. “Because it doesn’t sound like you do consider her your equal, else you would be willing to actually discuss decisions with her rather than trying to manipulate her covertly!”

        This thought froze Celestia in her tracks. What Twilight said worried her. --Had she been treating Luna like a subordinate--The more she thought about it, the more it seemed that she had. Luna asked her for permission to travel, permission to attend court, permission to attend her own holiday. She had only requested that Celestia allow her to take over court on the weekends, and Celestia had managed every aspect of the preparation. Luna had, in all things since her return, acted submissively in accordance with Celestia’s wishes, and Celestia had done nothing to change this.

        She felt her anger fade quickly, only to be replaced by a gnawing sense of guilt and shame. She had been treating her sister like a lesser pony, but she had been unable to see it. If it wasn’t for Twilight Sparkle, then she may have proceeded down a nearly identical path to the one that put her sister on the Moon for a thousand years. She was surprised when she felt a gentle pressure on her shoulder, and looked down to see Twilight nuzzling her affectionately. She smiled at the gesture, and lowered her head to return it. And as her head moved past Twilight’s ear, she said kindly, “thank you, Twilight, for this most excellent lesson in friendship.”