Celestia scraped her hooves against the floor all the way to her chambers, where Twilight was curled in bed, reading an overly large book.
The purple mare looked up from her book as marefriend walked in. “What's wrong?” she asked, noticing how the solar alicorn held her head low.
Celestia met her lover's gaze and sighed. “It's Luna…”
“What's with Luna?” Twilight placed a marker in the book and set it on her bedside table. “Is she not feeling well? Did she catch that cold that's been going around? I warned her to not get so close to that one mare.”
Celestia lifted the covers and crawled into bed alongside Twilight. “She's not sick, she's just… lonely.”
“How? I mean, she has plenty of friends, doesn't she?” Twilight shifted into a sitting position and placed her hooves on Celestia's back, starting to gently knead into her.
“Well, that's sort of the problem.” Turning her head around, she noted the puzzled expression Twilight held, and Celestia decided to further elaborate. “She’s feeling distraught that all of her friends are also my friends.”
Twilight's quizzical look only grew more so.
“Luna wants to make friends with a pony that isn't already my friend.”
Twilight took a moment to analyze the sentence before it finally dawned on her. “Ooh. She wants a friend that isn't already a friend of a friend.”
Twilight moved her hooves further down her marefriend’s back, beginning work on her wing muscles. “Wow, you are tense. What happened in there to bring this on?”
Celestia decided to keep some of the truth to herself; it was Luna’s past to share, not hers. “I suggested she make friends with Queen Chrysalis.”
Twilight faltered, slipping with her grip and stabbing her hoof into Celestia's spine, prompting a short cry of pain. “Sorry!” Twilight’s face went red. “That was an accident. But did you say ‘Queen Chrysalis’?” She returned to her ministrations.
“Yes, I did.” Twilight slipped again, but she was caught in a golden glow of magic, before being moved back into a sitting position. “Twilight, let me explain. Luna wants a friend that she can call her own; Chrysalis was the first name that came to mind on the small list of individuals I can say are not my friend.
“And yes, I know it sounds bad, but it got me thinking. Making a friend of the Changeling Queen could bring an end to these open hostilities, while also helping Luna.”
Twilight mulled the information over. She could see that the idea had merit, but it wouldn’t be an easy task, even if it got off the ground. “I’m guessing from the tension I felt that Luna said no?”
“Correct as always, Twilight. I had hoped with their shared past that she would at least consider it.”
“What do you mean ‘shared past’?”
Realising she had divulged too much, Celestia was quick to stem that line of questioning. “I’ve already said more than I should. Luna’s past is hers to share, and I won’t betray her privacy. Sorry, my little light.”
Twilight huffed. She hated being starved of information, but she couldn’t argue against the logic. With nothing else to say, Twilight moved again and went back to giving Celestia a massage.
Ten minutes later, Celestia was almost asleep, the hooves of her marefriend more powerful than the strongest sleeping powder. “I’ll do it.” Twilight spoke up.
Celestia jumped, both at the suddenness of the declaration, and at the words themselves. “Twilight, no, I couldn’t ask that of you!”
“You don’t have to. I know this won’t solve Luna’s problem, but I am the ‘Princess of Friendship’. If there is a chance that we can resolve the Changeling issue with friendship, I would be remiss if I didn’t try.”
“But what about your brother’s wedding, what she did to Shining and Cadence?”
Twilight let out a deep sigh. “In all honesty, that is something I’ve thought about on many occasions.” Celestia tilted her head, looking back over her withers. “I’ve deconstructed that day over and over, looking at possible motivations and outcomes. From what Chrysalis said, the whole affair seems to be based upon the idea of securing a food source for her subjects.
“In the end, she was looking after her subjects in the way she saw best. The last few years of ruling have taught me to appreciate that fact, making me ask myself what I would do to protect our ponies. In that light, I can’t hold it against her. I also can’t hate those who were just following orders.
“And the fear that spreads from the fact they see us as prey? That is the way of nature, something they can’t control, and it would be unfair of me to hold that against them, either.”
She turned her head to look Celestia in the eyes. “And yes, I can certainly hold a grudge for the fact they imprisoned me and ruined my brother's wedding, but what kind of ruler would I be if I let personal feelings get in the way of peace?”
Blinking for a moment, Celestia darted in and stole a kiss. “My, my, you have grown up, haven’t you?” Twilight pulled back, flustered, her muzzle turning a darker shade of purple. She loved seeing Twilight flustered. “But I can’t deny anything you just said, and I may have had similar thoughts myself.” She sighed deeply. “You are right. Not that you need it, but you have my blessing to go.”
Twilight smiled, before dropping bodily down on to Celestia’s back. “But enough of this. I’m only in Canterlot for the weekend, and I haven’t had my fill of ‘Sunshine hugs’.” She wrapped her forelegs around Celestia’s barrel.
Happy to oblige, Celestia rolled the pair of them over, so that she played the role of little spoon. Pulling the covers up, Celestia began to funnel the power of the sun through her magic leylines. Twilight squeed behind her head as Celestia’s body literally started to glow, and she radiated heat like a hot water bottle.
Twilight predictably succumbed to sleep within minutes, but Celestia was far from it. An idea had formed again. Twilight was being selfless as always, but maybe she herself could be selfish. Maybe there was a way to use this to her advantage. In the morning, Luna wouldn’t know what hit her.