//------------------------------//
// Epilogue: A Chat Between Two Sisters 
// Story: Stuck In The Middle With You 
// by Vargras 
//------------------------------//

"Come in, Luna. Yes, I know it's you."

Luna simply sighed in return and nudged the door to her sister's room open, a letter in her mouth as she trotted in. It had been a week or so since the end of Luna's summer camp, and both sisters had been busy since then - the younger sibling had since returned to holding court at night, and surprisingly enough, both of them had been seemingly swamped in requests from the citizens of Equestria. Even the night court, which was typically a slow and boring affair, had been quite busy. 

There was a silver lining to all of this, of course. The Bearers and Pip had already begun to send letters in, and simply receiving one was often enough to brighten their day. When the first letter had arrived, Celestia had been absolutely giddy, and the white alicorn had hastily torn open the envelope and yanked the letter out. Since then, the two sisters had made it a habit of getting together whenever one of them received a letter, and they would simply read them out-loud. Some of the letters had even come with a little something extra - Pinkie Pie had the tendency to include cookies with her letters, and Pip would often include a doodle or two of his own creation. Celestia often joked that Pip had picked up such a habit from Luna, but the younger sibling never denied it.

Luna walked over in front of her elder sibling and placed the letter down in front of her. "This one's a little more special than the others."

"Special? Special how?" Celestia had already levitated the envelope up and began to inspect it, and she quickly raised an eyebrow upon spotting something. "...it's got your wax seal. This is from you."

"Mhm. Open it."

The white alicorn did as told, breaking the wax seal and pulling out the letter within it. Not long after, she unfolded it and began to read.

To my dearest sister,

I'll admit, I was skeptical when you first told me your idea about opening a summer camp. All I could think was how it was going to end in disaster, and how it would further tarnish my reputation. I'm glad you won out in the end, because I ended up making six new friends. Six!

Sure, some of the activities didn't really go as planned, but I'm okay with that. If everything had gone perfectly, I think the camp actually would have been rather boring. I learned a great deal from my guests, though I'm still slowly figuring out just what I've learned - all I know is that I've come out as a better pony in the end.

To finish up this letter, I'd like to do three things: First, I'd like to thank you. You were simply trying to help when you first proposed the idea of a summer camp, and you ended up doing just that when I went along with it. Thanks for being the best sister a pony could ever hope for.

The last two things are actually two requests. For the first request, I'd like you to come with me to Ponyville for this year's Night Mare Night. I don't think many of the citizens of Equestria have ever seen both Princesses at the same time. Besides, I think it'd be quite fun! You spend too much time holed up in this stuffy castle, and that's saying a lot when it's coming from me.

For the second request, I'd like to formally ask to make Pip my apprentice. Now, I know what you're thinking - Pip isn't a unicorn, and so he's completely incapable of practicing magic. While that may be the kind of apprentice you have, that's not the kind of apprentice I want. Little Pip has a very unique and special gift, and if you'll excuse the pun, he seems to be quite bright in regards to astronomy. I'd like to help him hone his talents. For all we know, he may very well end up making some very big discoveries.

With love,
Luna

"Well?"

Celestia looked up from the letter, only to find herself staring at a grinning Luna. "Well what?"

"The requests."

"Oh! Well... you drive a hard bargain, Luna..."

"...Celestia."

"In regards to both requests, little sister? Permission granted."

The dusky alicorn let out a squeal and threw her forelegs around her sister's neck, giving her a hug. "Thank you, 'Tia! Thank you so much!"

Celestia snickered and slowly shook her head as she hugged back. "You know you didn't have to ask for my permission, right? You're a Princess, after all."

"Oh, I know. I just wanted to do it anyways. Makes me happier when I know you approve of something." Luna grinned and broke away from the hug, standing back and looking down at her elder sibling. "I suppose I'll go to Ponyville tomorrow to break the news to Pip and his parents. And... I suppose you'll be coming with me on Night Mare Night too?"

The white alicorn briefly looked away to peer at the calendar that hung upon her wall, and as she turned back towards Luna, she grinned.

"You can count on it."