> A Royal Problem
>  by Wearin Hat
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Pain in the Grass
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Why can’t you read books one at a time like a normal pony?”

“Forget about it Spike, just get back to helping me clean all of this up.”  The purple unicorn ran around the library levitating books as she spoke in an authoritative tone.  Normally she would be far more cordial with her assistant, but she had gone and overdone it with the research she did late last night and passed out half-way through a book.  Never one to be at a lack of a plan or schedule, the unicorn was working quickly to make up for the fact she had not been able to put away her books before falling asleep like she had planned.

Contrary to the rushed nature of the frenzied cleaning, this act was a common routine for Princess Celestia’s most beloved student.  Her current thoughts matched up perfectly with those of her assistant and close friend Spike.  The baby dragon busied himself with putting rather heavy books onto the top of the book shelves as he pondered whether or not his friend should take a break for all of the studying.

Things had been this way for almost a month in the library they called home.  The Princess had assigned her student with some sort of project to do some reading about.  No book was left unturned since that day.  As chaotic as things often turned out during these ‘study sprees’ as Spike had come to call them.  Ever studious and inquisitive, the act of heavy research for her mentor was always appealing.

Squinted eyes peered out from the baby dragon’s face as he eyed the spine of a particularly large book.  “Blades of Insignificant Beauty: The Structure and Growth Habits of Equestria’s Flora: Volume 1?”  Confused, the dragon turned his head carefully to stare down at the quickly moving form of his friend.  “What exactly did the Princess tell you to research?”

A pained sigh left the unicorn as she turned an aggravated glare to Spike.  “Stop goofing off Spike!  You know the Princess asked me specifically to look up information on several species of grass for her new garden!  Now finish up, I’ve got a relaxing walk through the park planned for this morning.”  Before even seconds could pass, a comical crash reverberated across the library as the giant book forced the purple dragon to collapse from atop the ladder.

Though offering a worried glance, the purple unicorn dismissed the incident as she continued to catalogue the rest of the large books she had used as reference guides.  Of course Spike would forget the Princess’ request; he never pays attention when it doesn’t have to do with Rarity.  A wince passed by her brow as the mean thought raced through her mind.  She’d never voice her opinion on that matter, she was painfully aware of how dejected Spike would feel if she accused him of letting his crush of getting in the way of important studies.  So, rather than risk hurting his feelings, she decided to simply re-explain the assignment.

“Alright, listen this time Spike I don’t want to have to repeat myself again.  The Princess is putting in a new garden in honor of Luna’s return and she wants this garden to be perfect.  What she wanted was plants and flowers that would look great at night.  So, disregarding the obvious choices of florescent flowers, I’ve been tasked with looking for the perfect additions to the garden.  All I have left to do is decide which breed of Equestrian grass will be best.”

Mumbling could be heard as a response as the baby dragon struggled to free himself of the massive book.  Sensing his distress, the unicorn used her magic to simply levitate the tome up to its original spot.  Finally freed of his burden, the dragon furrowed his brow in annoyance.  “You’ve spent two days straight reading these dusty old books for GRASS?!”

“It’s not that simple Spike.  Did you know that there are over forty different species of grass in Ponyville and Canterlot?  I have to choose the absolute most perfect breed.  That means the blades have to be soft, must grow at an acceptable speed, be easily visible in the moonlight so Luna can see it, and be easily maintained.”  The unicorn spoke matter-of-factly about the matter.  She hated having to lecture him about this.  What made it worse for her was that she had only just gone over this with him two days ago when she started looking into the grass situation.

Silence stretched on as Spike continued to sort books out and generally clean up the mess the unicorn was talented in leaving after a study session.  Tension casually built up within the air as the two made little progress in their efforts to neatly fit every book back to its home.  A smirk passed over the purple unicorn as she began to toy with thoughts of how to repay her faithful assistant for his continued tolerance of her study habits.  “I know it must be difficult to watch me be so preoccupied with things, but there’s only one more thing on my agenda for this project.  Once I sketch out the overlay of the garden I’ll take you over to Rarity’s to see if she has any extra gems lying around for you.  How does that sound?”  Silence once more occupied the library as the unicorn divided her attention between her friend and the titles of the texts.

Things had to be sorted to the best of her ability.  If ponies were to show up looking for books to read then she had to be able to instantly search the tome out for the customer.  This would allow her to maintain an aura of positivity with all of her friends.  Plus, the purple pony could never concentrate entirely on her work if the books weren’t catalogued properly.

Casually the violet eyes of the librarian read the spine of the next book to be put away.  Warm memories flooded into her busy mind as she observed the book that had contained the Elements of Harmony when Discord had escaped his statue form.  She always felt a sense of safety whenever she looked at it.  Though she had encountered it in less than optimal circumstances, the book reminded the unicorn of her dear friends that she so dearly loved.  Where would she be without them?  Probably up in the dusty Canterlot library with Spike begging her to make friends.  Aware that she couldn’t afford to waste time with fond memories with such an important task still looming, the studious pony put the volume into its proper place.

The sound of the book sliding into the shelf made her realize just how quiet the library had become.  Along with this realization came the knowledge that Spike had yet to respond to her offer.  Curious, the unicorn turned her gaze to her number one assistant.  He stood atop the ladder once more to put away another book, but his face betrayed his thoughts.  The baby dragon’s eyebrows were turned down in happiness with his jaw slightly bobbing up and down to match the dialogue of the fantasy that was assuredly about his not-so-secret crush on Rarity.

Giggling came forth from the purple unicorn as she decided to see if her friend was going to respond to her proposal.  “Spike,” more giggles fought their way out as his green eyes focused in surprise at being brought out of his thoughts, “should I take that as meaning you’re up to that idea?”

“As long as you promise not to get buried I your research again after this.  You know I can’t stand to see you like that.”

“You have my word, Spike.  I won’t get too carried away with my studies anymore.  Finish putting away these books and you can go.”

The baby dragon began to quickly sort the books out with a renewed vigor.  Sure, there were plenty of tasty gems here at the library, but by going to Rarity’s he’d get the added treat of being near his beloved.

Happy that her bribe worked to get the dragon in high gear, the unicorn returned the brunt of her attention to the books lying in a neat stack.  This would be an easy pile.  Each book had come from the very same shelf and thus would only require some sorting to get in the right order.  However, as the pony used her magic to carefully place the first of the texts back there was a mighty crash that was preceded by what sounded like a gasp of surprise.

Sighing in annoyance, the purple unicorn whipped her head to face the now floored dragon.  “How many times do I have to tell you to be more careful when you’re using the ladder?”  Anger prevailed through her voice until she noticed a scroll lying across the face of the baby dragon obscuring his pained expression.  “A letter from the Princess, but what would…”  Suddenly aware how long she had spent making sure everything was as perfect as possible; the purple unicorn came to quick conclusion that the message was one of anticipation or anger in regards to her incomplete plan for the garden.  “Oh no, How could I have been so careless?!  Oh Spike, she’s probably furious that I haven’t given her my ideas about the garden yet!”

Though overwhelmed with fear at what kind of punishment she should be expecting for taking too long, the purple pony levitated the letter in front of her and began to read it to get this over with as quickly as possible:

Dear Twilight Sparkle, 

Please forgive me for this intrusion as I am sure that you are in the middle of something of importance, but I feel I have no one else to turn to with my concerns.

As you are aware, my sister is having troubles with adjusting back into the swing of things after being gone for so long.  Only now do I realize just how deep her issues delved.  You see, I have recently scheduled some free time that should allow me to reconnect with my beloved sister.  The problem is that she still seems to harbor some form of resentment or hard feelings following everything that has happened between us.  She won’t even eat with me whenever I request she do so.  I am worried that a rift has formed between us that will only continue to drive us apart.

My expertise in this area is inadequate to safely deal with this issue and I’m deathly afraid that I could lose Luna forever should I make a mistake in handling any of this.  That is why I am turning to you, the greatest student I have ever had, to see if you could hopefully discover a solution to my problem.

I eagerly await your findings.  Please waste no time in getting started as time may only worsen the issue.
Love,
Your Mentor,
Princess Celestia

Thoughts ran through Twilight’s mind at a mile a minute.  How could she best approach this?  Is there even anything that can be done?  Knowing the seriousness of the issue, the unicorn decided to post-pone working on her garden project until things improved between the royal sisters.

“What did the Princess want?  Please tell me she’s abandoning this whole garden thing.”  The exasperated dragon walked slowly over to his friend as she stood in stupefied silence.  Curious, he looked to the letter for his answer.

“Oh no…this could be very bad Spike…”

Having only just finished making his way through the letter, the baby dragon eyed his friend suspiciously.  “Why is that?  It isn’t like you can’t solve this problem for her…is it?”

Worry creased Twilight’s brow as she set the letter down on her desk.  Though not stated outright by the Princess, the studious unicorn could feel the subtext explaining it to her plainly.  “This is really a big deal Spike.  If the princesses can’t reconcile then Luna could rebel again like she did one thousand years ago.  Spike, this could start a war!”

Understanding the severity of the issue, Spike put a consoling claw upon Twilight’s cheek.  “It’s ok Twi, if there’s anyone who knows about sibling issues it’s you.”  Hope lifted the words to the unicorn’s ears as she considered the dragon’s hopeful words.

“I would…if this was something less sizable.  Shining and I weren’t separated from each other for that long and we certainly never hated each other.  I wouldn’t know where to start with all of this.”

“Could the girls help?  Pinkie, AJ, and Rarity have siblings, so maybe one of them knows what to do.”  The fear in the baby dragon’s voice lifted as he began to see the situation from Twilight’s perspective.

“I don’t know.  Pinkie doesn’t have a negative relationship with anypony and you know how close knit the Apples are, so I doubt they would know how deal with a problem this huge.”  A moment of hesitation followed as she considered the final choice.  “Rarity!  She and Sweetie Belle are always having arguments!”  Excited that a possible avenue of success had presented itself, the purple unicorn jogged hurriedly to the door.  This had to be assessed as soon as possible.

“Are you sure Twi?  I mean, yeah, they have their spats sometimes, but do you really think that they might be able to relate to Celestia’s problem?”  Nervously the dragon waddled after his best friend and followed her as she led the way out of the still cluttered library.

“I hope they can Spike, for the sake of Equestria I hope they can.”	
> Crisis Averted?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Don’t panic, you can’t panic.  Stay calm.  The last thing Ponyville needs is another crisis.  We can handle this.  We.  Can.  Handle.  This.”  Unaware that her thoughts were being vocalized, Twilight kept as steady of a pace she could with her mind running over the possible outcomes of the situation she was suddenly finding herself in.

Not feeling reassured by his friend’s hushed words, Spike kept in line with her to find some form of relief.  Of course he was usually the more level headed one of the two when it came to reading too much into the Princess’ letters, but this time was different; this time Twilight was right.  At first he hadn’t wanted to believe her, no, he couldn’t believe her.  A war in Equestria, nonsense if had ever heard any.  However, as he considered it further the baby dragon came to understand a very basic truth.  Defeating Nightmare Moon had solved nothing.

Oh how he wished that wasn’t the case.  Why can’t defeat mean the end of the issue?  There shouldn’t be a reason for this very reasonable fear.  He thought that being put in her place by the Elements of Harmony was enough.  That, perhaps, just being overpowered was lesson enough.  Wishful thinking, that’s what that was.  Deep down Spike knew otherwise.  What did being defeated solve?  Sure, Nightmare Moon was stopped and reunited with Celestia in what Twilight had recounted as being genuine regret and love, but that didn’t solve the problem that created Nightmare Moon in the first place.

The problem between the two royal sisters was not something that could be simply wished away as the young dragon continued to hope against logic for.  Celestia and Luna had fought over something those thousand years ago, an issue that the younger princess obviously felt strongly about.  Why else would she up and challenge her sister?  The old tale told that Nightmare Moon had rebelled over jealousy.  Was it that simple?  Could it be?  No, not if it was still a problem.  If Luna no longer felt jealous then great, but what led to her envy?

“How does Princess Celestia think we can help?  I don’t get it, this is a thousand year old problem they are having.  Twi, how are we supposed to stop them from-“

A hoof silenced the younger of the two effectively.  It wasn’t that Twilight was afraid that somepony would overhear, the problem lay more with the fact that she didn’t think her nerves could handle hearing Spike freak out.  “Everything will be okay Spike.  I promise you that.  The Princess is the wisest being in all of Equestria, which means she wouldn’t tell us to do something without believing completely that we can handle it.  Just stay calm, that’s all we need to manage for now.”

Once again neither of the two felt any better with her reassuring words.  The weight of the situation was too real to shake off.

Though paying attention to where she was trotting to, the unicorn couldn’t help but sigh in exasperation.  Spike was right in a way.  There was only so much that she could do without detailed information as to what Luna was feeling and what she was doing that was upsetting the Sun Princess so much, understandable considering the category of the message being a cry of help.  Such things were rarely thought out ahead of being written.  So any lack of information could be easily excused.  However, Twilight knew her response must inquire as to those important details she would need to really help.

As if hope was put manifest upon the edge of their sight, the two travelers felt their fears begin to falter as the Carousel Boutique came into view down the road.  Never before had Twilight felt her hooves carry her with such a speed so as to surprise her.  It seemed like every other day she trekked for one reason or another past the home of their friend.  Despite the familiarity with how long it should take her to get there, the purple unicorn enjoyed the surprise she felt at seeing her destination so close so quickly.

“Don’t worry Spike; you know how Rarity and Sweetie Belle are!  There’s hardly something that doesn’t cause them to fight!  So she’s bound to know a thing or two about this kind of situation!”  Unaware of excited she was to finally feel her anxiety wane with her continued attempts to calm both of their hurried hearts.

Green eyes looked Twilight over carefully.  Though still matching her speed to the best of his ability, Spike couldn’t help but disagree mentally as he recalled the many times he observed the sisters whenever he helped out his not-so-secret crush with whatever she wanted.  Of course there were arguments rather frequently, most often stemming from the older unicorn becoming frustrated with her sister’s seeming inability to help with anything without causing a disaster.  These spats were really bad sometimes, including one where the younger of the two decided that she deserved a better sister.  However, none of these problems ever proceeded for long without being solved in some manner.  Spike liked to think of it as a rough kind of coexistence the sisters shared.

Hope stayed strong within his being as he scoured his thoughts for some remnant of a memory showing the sisters in some sort of squabble over ones jealously over the other.  Very few came to mind.  There was one, however, that stuck out in his mind.  Rarity had needed help in putting the finishing touches on some dresses and she required the assistance of the baby dragon as a pin cushion.  Whilst remaining mostly in the background that day, the dragon couldn’t help but overhear the duo go at it over Sweetie Belle’s envious disdain with which she often turned herself into some sort of unworthy filly in Rarity’s presence.  That was one issue that didn’t get settled, at least not in front of him, and it was surely one that would offer at least one piece of advice from his beloved crush.

Practically right on top of the establishment, the two skidded to a half and calmed each other with meaningless offerings of reassuring wishes.  Both knew them to be fruitless.  Though one could hardly blame them for wanting to retain some form of hope with such a crisis they had to prevent.

Being the first of the two to regain her composure, the purple unicorn attempted to enter the shop only to find the door locked.  Initially confused, Twilight quickly recalled that it was a Saturday morning and it was likely that few other residents in Ponyville were as awake as she and Spike were at the current moment. 

Hesitant at first, the pony knocked quickly in a quick succession of three rough rattles on the door.  Glorious noises were within as the purple unicorn felt assured her friend was not disturbed from her sleep by the knocking, unless, of course, the hard-working unicorn passed out at the sewing machine again.

The sounds of the lock being gently undone came forth from the door to the Boutique.  A flash of purple curls greeted Twilight as the door swung inwardly.  “Twilight Sparkle, to what do I owe such an early surprise today?”  Her voice sounded almost magical with how calm she sounded despite the hour and circumstance of their visit.  Though Twilight immediately tossed away the mental compliment as she reminded herself that not everypony was aware that they were on the brink of war.

“Hi Rarity, please forgive me for dropping by unannounced.  I just have to talk to you about something really important.  Mind if we come in?”  In her growing anxiety the unicorn managed to completely mangle her sentence in terms of tone.  All the wrong parts received emotional emphasis while the more important parts barely got above a whisper.

Curious as to the strange behavior, the white unicorn stepped out of the way to allow her friends to enter her home.  “Of course, make yourself at home.”  Looking for a bit of a decently normal greeting, Rarity turned her eyes happily upon the baby dragon as he strode in behind his friend.  “And good morning to you my little Spiky Wikey!”  The response she received was one of almost indifference as the dragon secretly continued to fight the battle against his nerves.  Suddenly aware of the severity of the issue Twilight wished to discuss, the white unicorn closed the door behind them.  “So, if I may be so bold, what is the problem?  I don’t believe I’ve ever seen either of you two looking so disheveled and frazzled.”

Not wasting a moment, Twilight spun immediately to face her friend.  “I got a letter from Princess Celestia this morning telling me that she is having some problems with Luna and that she needs our help in sorting out everything!”  Once again the unicorn’s inflection was all over the place as her voice cracked with nervousness.  The only saving grace was that the familiar scent of Rarity’s home helped to calm the nerves of the stricken purple pony.

“Oh my, well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint the Princesses.  What kind of problem are they having that Celestia is willing to entrust the solving to us?”

“Luna’s apparently still feeling sore about being locked up for a thousand years or something…I don’t know…I kind of think that it has something to do with the problem they had in the first place...”  Though his response managed to make the generous pony jump in surprise, the baby dragon wasted no time with focusing on the normal pleasantries he typically bothered himself with when addressing the object of his affection without being directly spoken to.

Nodding in confirmation, Twilight decided to expand upon her assistant’s explanation with a renewed confidence, “We were kind of thinking that it had to do with something about jealously or something like that.  You know how the legend goes, but what if that issue never got resolved?  Do you think, you being a sister, that being reunited after all that time didn’t solve anything?”

Understanding slowly why she was sought out so early in the day, Rarity sighed as she moved to a more comfortable position near her fainting couch.  Agitation seethed beneath her skin as both of her visitors were demonstrating very annoying character traits.  Spike was being uncharacteristically nonchalant with the way he just spoke up without ever responding to her greeting.  Twilight’s was worse, especially considering that the studious pony was rarely ever to allow her more unstable aspects of her personality to shine through in front of others.

It took a mental slap to the face for the white unicorn to return herself to the current issue as she decided to just ignore the, hopefully temporary, character flaws.  “Well, I can definitely attest to the fact that punishment is often the start of problems rather than the end of them.  It is understandable that Luna might still feel inadequate to her sister.  I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to go into further details, so please forgive me of that Twilight dear.”  It was rather unfortunate that she was unaware of how jealously could affect a relationship with a sibling.

“However,” the white pony cleared her throat as she caught onto an idea that could prove helpful to her friend, “I can think of two ponies who just might be of some help.  Sweetie Belle might have some insight that you could use in regards to her side of our relationship.  As for the other pony, he has a very rocky relationship with his brother that you could definitely learn from.”  Impressed at how quickly her own mind worked, the generous unicorn beamed as she saw the previously tense faces of Twilight and Spike relax a bit.  “And you’re in luck, Sweetie Belle and the other Crusaders had a sleepover at his studio last night.  So they’re both conveniently in the same location.  You can even come with me to pick Sweetie up in a moment.”

“Wait, are you talking about Big Macintosh or somepony?”  Confusion was evident in the nervous dragon’s face as he considered what Rarity had said.  Though he knew many ponies throughout Ponyville, Spike couldn’t place a name on the pony that she had spoken of.

Surprised once more to hear the dragon speak, though for vastly different reasons this time, the white unicorn looked to the her admirer with a sense of disappointment.  “Now you must be joking Spiky.”  A moment passed as a strange tension arose between Spike and Rarity while Twilight began to feel slightly uncomfortable to have to watch this little issue develop in front of her.  Feeling that the baby dragon was indeed not playing dumb, the white pony sighed angrily as she stomped away to gather her saddlebags.  “In that case, you can stay here and watch after my Boutique for me Spiky Wikey.  I know that Chrome would be less than pleased to know you have somehow forgotten about him.”  Not wasting another second, the generous pony trotted out before an argument to the contrary could be made.

Concerned over the sudden animosity that Rarity was displaying, the purple unicorn turned a worried eye over her shoulder to Spike as she followed her friend outside.  “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll get this all sorted out Spike.  All you need to do is just sit tight for now, okay?”  A pleased smile came over Twilight as her close friend nodded in response.

“Twilight dear, it would be rude to keep Sweetie Belle waiting.”  Hearing her cue, the purple unicorn departed with high hopes that the power of friendship would prevail once more.	
> A Friend to a Friend is a Friend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Not sure of how to continue after being witness to such an awkward moment between Spike and Rarity, Twilight did her very best to maintain a normal air about her so as to prevent her friend from being burdened with knowing how terribly uncomfortable the purple unicorn had been.

In attempt to return her mind to a semi-normal state, the studious unicorn went over the encounter in her head.  So what, Spike had forgotten a friend of Rarity’s, it really didn’t seem like that big of a deal.  Her brow furrowed slightly in thought as she recalled the look of what could easily have been mistaken for hurt feelings when the baby dragon revealed confusion over who this Chrome guy was.  Was he that important to Rarity?  Twilight couldn’t recall ever having heard the white unicorn bring up somepony by that name in common conversation.  Despite this unfamiliarity, she couldn’t help but feel as if the name Chrome should be ringing some sort of bell.

Shame crept into Twilight’s mind as she couldn’t place a face onto the name.  How would Rarity react if one of her best friends forgot about Chrome?  That could lead to an issue that the purple unicorn didn’t want to deal with right then and there.  Though she was claiming an inability to help directly, Twilight was already aware that it would be through her friend that she could talk to Sweetie Belle and whoever this Chrome guy was.

That raised another good question, how much could Sweetie Belle help out in this situation?  It was clear that the problems between the two sisters often featured them having separate issues of some sort.  Though absorbed into her thoughts, Twilight managed an inward smile as she considered some parallels between Rarity’s sister and Princess Luna.  Both probably deal with a great deal of jealousy over their older siblings and there was evidence to suggest that Sweetie had let her envy cloud her judgment in the past.  This could honestly be the breakthrough that would easily allow this issue to be solved quickly enough as to prevent any lasting problems.  Excitement secretly welled within the purple unicorn’s being as she considered that this path would also allow her to help advance in helping Rarity and her sister mend any wounds between them.  As a spur of the moment kind of luck, this was starting to look like a miracle.

The sound of the Boutique’s door closing snapped the purple unicorn back to reality.  Casting a quick glance over her shoulder, Twilight found herself to remain calm so as not to potentially frighten or alarm her friend with any sudden excitement.  However, as she watched the building slowly begin to shrink behind her, the purple pony became aware that the awkward silence from before was still painfully lingering in the air.

Sensing that things would only progressively get worse should the mood remain in its current state, Twilight turned her violet eyes to her friend’s face.  Unsure of what to say exactly, the studious unicorn decided to try and improvise –a tactic not known for being simple for her to pull off well, “Rarity…”  Again overpowered by the wealth of emotions within her, the purple pony forced herself to stare forward and focus on the sky to try and calm her nerves so as not to have the tone of her voice all over the place as it had been the last time she spoke in extended sentences with her friend.

“Oh good, I was beginning to fear that I’d lost you for a second dear.”  Having been fully aware that Twilight had been lost within her thoughts, the generous pony had taken the opportunity to task herself with going over some dress designs in her mind.  However, these thoughts were immediately interrupted by the giggling she couldn’t help but utter forth at her humorous statement.

Forcing a rough sounding laugh in response, the purple unicorn decided to take advantage of the slowly breaking tension.  “Listen, Rarity, about what happened between you and Spike back there…”  Once again the studious pony found herself at a loss for what to say about the situation.  She had wanted to reassure her friend that she wouldn’t mention of the dragon’s forgetfulness to this Chrome guy, but her words had been stifled by the fact that she felt as though she should know who this was.

“Don’t worry about it dear, I understand completely about forgetting ponies hen under stress.  The only reason I chastised poor Spiky Wikey was that Chrome is rather sensitive when it comes to…well…everything.”

“Yeah, about him, you wouldn’t happen to know if I’ve met him or anything like that, would you?  I mean, his name sounds vaguely familiar to me and I wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings by forgetting him like that…”

Twilight felt herself near the brink of relief when Rarity cast a reassuring smile to her.  Though not as noticeable as with Fluttershy, the purple unicorn had always found those smiles to be very calming.  “There’s no need to worry darling, I don’t believe I’ve ever had the chance to introduce you two.”  A moment of silence prevailed as the sound of their hooves hitting the dirt echoed quietly into the morning air of the still sleeping town.  “As for who he is,” Rarity cleared her throat a bit as she attempted to keep herself from yawning and thus revealing her fatigue, “Chrome is an old friend of mine from since I was relatively young.  We’ve been close ever since he moved to Ponyville as a foal.  In fact, he was my very first consistent customer when I opened my Boutique.”

Silently giggling as Rarity’s stifled yawn told her that the white unicorn had burnt the midnight oil again, Twilight sighed happily as the tension dissipated.  However, despite now knowing that there was nothing to fear in regards to having to worry about having forgotten a friend, something she’d never forgive herself for if it happened, the purple pony continued to feel a tingling confusion about why she felt as though the name sounded familiar.  “So, he’s a customer of yours?  Is he some sort of model or something like that?”  Her foalhood friend being a model would be almost stereotypical for the white unicorn to have had.

Yet again the fashionable pony began to giggle as she pictured her old friend as a model.  An odd second passed as the giggling continued only for the white mare to forcibly contain growing laughter.  “Oh forgive me dear, I’ve just never thought of Chrome in the light before.  He’d be quite unique model if he were to try a hoof at that profession.”

Her own chuckles now showing through her calm exterior, Twilight couldn’t help but share the humor with her friend at the thought.  The purple unicorn snorted once as she tried to muffle her laughter at the thought of Spike modeling.  Not that it wouldn’t be good if the baby dragon were to model some, but the purple unicorn could at least sympathize with the images of this Chrome guy modeling in Rarity’s mind.

“No, I’m afraid poor Chrome wouldn’t do too well as a model.”  A few more girlish giggles came forth as the white unicorn returned to her usual ladylike demeanor.  “Chrome is actually a playwright, a play manager, and a connoisseur of fine hats.  I never design a hat without consulting him about my idea.  He’s got quite the eye for detail when it comes to that particular article of fashion.”  Rarity sighed in happy memory of how she had been drawn into friendship with him over that very talent of his.  Of course she soon saw just who he really was and how great of a friend he was.

For the first time since she had read the Princess’ letter earlier that morning, Twilight felt the overwhelming weight of her hefty responsibility disappear under the shock of realization.  “Wait, is your friend the Chrome Prism?!”  A wave of nerdy joy exploded within the purple pony’s mind as her friend nodded in proud confirmation.  This was very exciting news for the book fanatic to hear.  She’d always loved the few of his scripts that she had gotten her hooves on.  Her interest had been perked when she noticed Chrome’s name as the author of the Hearth’s Warming Eve play she had been a part of.  Intrigued by the story that was told through the lines and his style of writing, she had sought out his works.  “I had no idea you knew the Chrome Prism!  He wrote the Hearth’s Warming Eve play, the one that Princess Celestia herself chose us to act out!  And to think he’s been here in Ponyville this whole time!”

Pride welled up within the white unicorn as Twilight let her inner nerd out.  “Actually dear, Chrome didn’t write that play.  He merely revised it by personal request of Princess Celestia.  Though I must say that his version was far superior to that dusty old thing they used to perform every year.”  Honestly, if you were to mention anything to do with Equestrian history, even those who revised an old tale about Equestria’s founding, then it would provoke the studious unicorn to rant on as if she was Dashie talking about the Wonderbolts.

Relief washed over Rarity as she spotted the home of her friend closing in quickly.  This would allow her to escape the inevitable lecture regarding the details of the old story or about the rest of Chrome’s work.  “Oh my, time sure does fly when I take my morning walks…”

Taking the hint brilliantly, the purple unicorn felt her oncoming rant subside upon seeing the building that she somehow knew to be their destination.  It was actually quite a disappointing sight when considering the amount of bits that the playwright should’ve made with the number of plays he’d written.  The building was far from the beauty she would’ve thought would belong to the home of somepony with an eye for fashion.  It didn’t even look like it had more than one floor.  In fact, the entire building was just one big cube that had obviously been built by somepony unfamiliar with architecture.

“I was expecting something more…”

“Work hasn’t been coming very steadily for poor Chrome lately.  I’m afraid his charitable nature hasn’t help anything at all considering his already tight budget.  So it would be wise not to bring such up with him.”  The warning sunk into both unicorns’ ears as Rarity finished.  She had indeed referenced his sensitive personality before, but the fashionable pony needed to make sure that Twilight understood that this was something to be handled carefully.  “Listen darling, I know you’re very eager to get Chrome’s opinion of Celestia’s problem, but do be careful when you bring it up.  He is very sensitive when it comes to anything to do with his brother.  In fact, you’d be better off just staying away from mentioning his brother.”

Understanding set in as the white unicorn knocked on the door politely three times.  At first Twilight had considered that Chrome was similar in personality to Fluttershy when Rarity had mentioned his sensitivity, however, these extra warnings gave her credence to believe that this was sensitivity of a different nature that she definitely didn’t want to incite upon first meeting him.

Seconds began to pass by as no response to the knocking could be heard.  That weird tension from Spike and Rarity’s argument began to rise up once more as Twilight could see the beginnings of annoyance appear on the white unicorn’s face.  Not wanting to give the fashionable pony any more reason to be angry, the purple pony kept her mouth shut as they both kept their ears trained towards the house before them.

Using this time to finally look the building over, the studious pony felt a little off put by how plain everything was.  There appeared to be no shrubbery, no vegetation, and very little detail outside of seemingly ancient paint that was showing signs of peeling.  It was understandable that a pony would be forced into spending little to nothing on the appearance of their house when bits were scarce, but this was extreme even by that standard.  The house looked as though it had never been decked out in any sort of decorations or anything that would improve its appearance.  An odd detail that Twilight could only make out being this close was that every window had some form of dull curtain drawn over it.  To put it bluntly, this place was creepy looking.

The eeriness that the house gave off brought forth thoughts regarding just how close Chrome and Rarity really were.  Twilight could recall hearing that her friend’s Boutique was restocked with hats by a hat salespony once every month.  Now knowing what Chrome’s line of work was and what his connection with the white unicorn was lead to the obvious conclusion that this salespony was none other than the pony that lived in the rundown-looking building before them.  That meant that they were close to some degree, but were they close enough that the normally protective Rarity would allow him to watch over Sweetie Belle alone?  Even worse was the thought of how Applejack would react if she knew that some weird stranger was the sole chaperone of the sleepover?  Her thoughts would have continued along that disturbing path had a sound not caught her attention.

This noise was soft, almost a whisper and it was emanating from within the house.  It sounded almost like a pony’s voice.  Another noise could hardly be heard in response to the first utterance.  This one, obviously more feminine in nature, was loud enough that Twilight could barely understand the word being spoken.  Her eyes opened wide when she finally sorted it out in her mind.  From what she could hear, the purple unicorn could swear that the voice had said either sea or tree.  Confused, the purple unicorn decided to inquire as to whether or not her friend had heard it too.

Her mouth open to speak, Twilight found herself surprised to see Rarity holding a hoof to her face as she giggled to herself.  “How did I not see this coming?  I’m here to pick Sweetie up and they’re both engrossed in another word war.  Typical, I bet she's forgotten to pack her things again thanks to their silly game.” 
> Egg Shells
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A white brow furrowed in thought as she considered her few options, it was only a matter of time now, “Pea.”

“Knee.”  Smirking in eagerness, the determined green eyes of the larger pony bore into his opponent’s as he saw her resolve fading.

“Flea.”  Quick to respond, she could feel the end coming quickly as her eyes began to twitch heavily under thought.

“Free.”

“Key.”

His smirk widened as he noticed her weakness.  This would surely be the killing blow, “Plea.”

Seconds began to pass as a white hoof came to the filly’s chin in thought.  Nervousness crept along her back as she felt a loss coming her way.  There was no way she could keep up for too long at this pace.  The two of them had already been at it for almost thirty minutes now and no headway had been made.  Sure, the score was currently tied, but she couldn’t let him win this time.  Imagine how proud Rarity would be if she knew that her own little sister had finally managed to best their friend in a Word War!  It would be unforgettable for the little filly if she were to pull an upset here today.

With the inspiration that impressing her sister caused, the white filly’s eyes went wide with hope as she finally blurted out the absolute last thing she could think to try in this particular game, “Flee.”

Lighting struck her opponent’s ears as she defied him a victory.  He had been so sure that she would be lost after that last word that he’d already prepared a celebration and some helpful hints that would aid the filly whenever they would play again.  However, this dream was proven fruitless as the shock of her perseverance took its toll on him.

There was no way she should’ve been able to continue.  Her eyes had been drooping throughout the game in show of her mental fatigue.  The first two games had been very stressing on them both.  His opponent had only managed to win the first game because he’d relented and allowed her the early victory; of course he made her fight for it though, he allowed the first battle to go on for twenty minutes so as to wear down his very worthy rival.  In the second game he had padded it out as long as possible before kicking it into overdrive and using his big, fancy words.  However, he couldn’t have known that the third game would be such a struggle.  She was refusing defeat and now he was tired of the affair and, to make matters worse, was backed into a corner.

Terror dripped over his features as he saw the joy well up within the filly as time slowly went by.  He had to act.  Ok, so, he knew that his years as a writer would provide the answer.  Now all he had to do was account for what she had said.  Wait, what was it she had said?  Mark?  Rock?  Spectacular?  Knowing he was only seconds from surpassing the time limit, the stallion decided to wing it despite having forgotten just what word she had used last.  “Cake…”  The air froze between them as he observed her face.  Ears began to perk slowly as her eyes widened in similar speed with her jaw falling into disbelief.  Every strand of fur on his body stiffened as the moment hit him hard.  He had made a mistake.  “Wait, no…I meant to say…”

“I WON!”  Very aware of her victory, the white filly hopped up in down in impersonation of a certain pink mare that eternally smelt of cupcakes and cotton candy.  This was happiness that she had been reserving for the day she would receive her Cutie Mark, but this situation definitely called for jubilee.

Sighing in defeat, the tall stallion looked proudly down upon his younger friend and raised a hoof in respect.  “Well played Sweetie, I didn’t think you’d pull a fast one on me like that.”  Expecting to feel his outstretched be taken in graciousness, he was taken aback by the sudden impact of the filly hugging him excitedly.  Feeling the joy practically explode from her tiny body, the stallion returned the embrace as he let her continue to voice the celebration occurring within her mind.

“Ohmygosh!  I can’t believe I won!  This is so super-spectacularly-amazing!”  It seemed like a distant memory when they had first played this little game of his.  She had been much younger then and defeating an already seasoned writer seemed like an utter impossibility.  This made the win mean more than she had ever thought possible.  “Wait until Rarity hears about this!  She’ll be so proud of me!”

“I must say that I am very proud of you, Sweetie Belle.”

Both of the war-torn ponies turned to the source of the voice to be met by the sight of the beautiful mare that was the filly’s older sibling.  With speed that forced the tall stallion to flinch, the victor of their game sped quickly into an embrace with her waiting sister.

“Did you see me?  Did you see me win?”

The generous unicorn took a moment to enjoy the feeling of her little sister hugging her.  It wasn’t very often that 
anything could force the filly to react in such a way.  “Not only did I see you, but we have a witness here who can confirm that you did in fact best that silly playwright.”

Seconds passed by as the younger unicorn took in her sister’s words.  Sweetie Belle had never been the quickest to catch onto things and this was no different.  It was only the sound of hooves against Chrome’s floor behind Rarity that the filly peered around to see the form of Ponyville’s resident egghead.  The smile returned to her face as she realized one of the smartest ponies in all of Equestria had been witness to her win.  “You saw me win too?”

Directly assaulted by the cuteness that was Sweetie Belle’s bliss, the purple unicorn had been pushed into silence.  Her earlier qualms in regards to Rarity’s trust of Chrome had been snuffed out by some quick explanations.  According to the white unicorn, the playwright was like a brother to them.  This had relieved a ton of stress from her shoulders as the thought of leaving three little fillies with a stranger had made her skin creep.

“I did.  Congratulations on the accomplishment Sweetie.”  The look of pride in the filly’s face was unmistakable.  Twilight recognized it immediately as the face she adorned whenever she managed to impress Celestia in some manner, which only solidified the importance of this event to the young pony.

The purple pony turned to see her friend looking around for something.  Though preoccupied with whatever it was -Twilight could recall she mentioned something about Sweetie being distracted from packing up while they were outside- she could easily tell that the generous pony was overwhelmed by stymied emotions.  Feelings the librarian was sure would be witnessed soon enough.

“Sweetie, where are your things?  I thought I told you to be ready for me this time?”

Before the filly could respond in proper, a huff from across the room caught everypony’s attention.  “Sorry about that Rarity.  We got a little carried away with another Word War after Big Macintosh picked up Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.  All of her things are up in the guest room though.”  The aquamarine unicorn looked down to meet the eyes of Sweetie Belle.  “As you know, I owe you a trip to Sugarcube Corner.  I’ll come by and get you later today to reward you.  Now, if you’d be so kind, would you take your sister to go help you pack?  I’ve got some things I need prepared.”  Not a second had passed before the white filly burst across the room in excitement and charged up a set of stairs that led to the second story of the plain building.

Rarity watched the little one go with an air of adoration that touched both of the unicorns witnessing it.  Twilight felt a pang of memory as she thought of Shining looking after her in the same manner.  Though he felt the warmth of the genuine love between the sisters, the aquamarine unicorn grimaced inwardly as he recalled receiving the look in his youth.

“Chrome,” the sultry voice piped up from the generous pony as she began to trot over to the stallion.  “I really do appreciate you watching after the Crusaders last night.  You know I would’ve gladly have done so, but there were too many orders for me to fill in order to focus on both my work and the darling foals.”  The generous pony lit her horn up as she retrieved a cushion from the floor and levitated it to float beside her as she wrapped the stallion in an appreciative hug.

“You know it’s not a problem.  My door is always open for you two.”  Though he focused entirely on returning the hug warmly, Chrome’s vibrant jade eyes met Twilight’s own violet orbs for the first time.  Though his stare was gentle, the purple unicorn couldn’t help but feel a shiver run up her back as one of her favorite authors shared a moment with her.  “Do tell me though, who is this you’ve brought with you?”

Recognizing her rudeness, Rarity released the embrace and began to trot after Sweetie Belle at last while keeping her face turned to her friends.  “Ah yes, how rude of me, Twilight darling, this is Chrome Prism.”  Hearing the name Twilight made the stallion flinch slightly as he fought to recall the source of his familiarity with it.  “And Chrome, this is Twilight Sparkle.  She’s a big fan of yours and asked me to introduce you two.”  Giggling as her male friend gawked at the name, the white unicorn made her way swiftly up the stairs with the cushion in tow.  “Now if you two don’t mind, I must make sure Sweetie Belle doesn’t destroy your guest room.”

Disregarding his manners, the stallion continued to stare awkwardly at his visitor.  Rarity had told of her exploits with the other Elements of Harmony and she had spoken very highly about the Element of Magic.  In fact, the stallion had been so impressed by the stories that he felt compelled to write a play honoring the group’s achievements.  The only thing that stopped him was that he knew exactly who he would have to speak to in order to do the necessary character research and he wasn’t willing to invite such a problem upon him.  However, that didn’t change the awe with which he regarded the unicorn before him.

“It is absolutely splendid to meet you Miss Sparkle!  Rarity has told me everything about how you vanquished the Ursa Minor, the hydra, Nightmare Moon, Discord, and especially those nasty changelings up in Canterlot, very impressive!”  The last bit of the praise came out slightly muffled as the playwright dramatically bowed in respect to the sizable importance of the pony in his very home.  He felt as if there was no limit to how lightheaded he could feel at the current moment.  A very powerful, wise, and respected unicorn stood in his own bucking house and, according to Rarity, she was a fan of his!  “How may I help you this fine day?”

“Oh my,” Twilight’s cheeks flushed scarlet as she felt wholly put on the spot by all of his praises.  Of course she had partaken in several great things before, but they were nothing to get overexcited about.  She did those things with her friends and she would not have been able to do any of it without the help of her friends.

Recognizing the silence as being one too awkward to continue, the purple unicorn decided to get straight to the point so as to prevent any more unwanted praise.  “Well,” it suddenly struck the mare as the situation returned to her.  This was not something to be talked about lightly and it was definitely not something to alert the public of.  She had to go about this as smooth as possible.  “Two of my friends are having problems and I heard you might be able to help me solve their problem.  You don’t have to help, but I’d appreciate it as I’m kind of running low on options.”

The ears of the stallion perked as he returned to a standing pose.  He was always happy to help absolutely anypony with any problem to the best of his ability, so it wasn’t even a question whether or not he would try.  It was a question of whether or not he could fit it into his schedule.  “I’ll do what I can for you.  Just follow me into my kitchen-area and we can talk while I get some stuff ready for an appointment of mine.”  Chrome finished speaking and quickly moved to a tiled corner of the room that was lined with the usual kitchen appliances and a single table with four cushions on the ground to seat guests.

Finally granted a chance to actually see the inside of the simple building, the studious unicorn felt sympathy well within her as she saw that there was practically no furniture or anything of that nature.  Sitting at the back of the huge room was a small stage with the curtains drawn.  To the left of it was a cluttered desk that made the lavender pony more at home as it reminded her of the lovely feel of having a workplace absolutely amok with papers and books.  The kitchen-area was no better than the rest of the room.  Though it had the appliances everypony else had, the ones Chrome owned looked positively ancient.  Piled up in the sink were three bowls that Twilight had taken as evidence of the Crusader’s presence the previous night.

“So, your friends, what kind of issue are they being plagued by that I can help with?”  Torn from her analysis of the barren room, the purple unicorn turned to see the stallion preparing tea.

Aware that now she could finally begin to get to the bottom of this whole issue and get life back to normal, Twilight sat upon what she quickly realized was a dusty cushion.  “You see, they’re sisters and they haven’t seen each other for a very long time.  I haven’t got too many details as of yet, but from what I’ve been told, the younger of the two of them seems to still be harboring some of the jealous feelings that separated them in the first place.  Do you think you might be able to help me out?”  Though hopeful that such an imaginative pony would be of great help, Twilight became quickly aware of an icy silence that prevailed over the kitchen-area.  She could even make out the muffled hooves of Sweetie Belle and Rarity upstairs.

“What makes you think I’d be able to help?”  His voice was grave, almost threateningly devoid of the perkiness that had been dominant before.  Whatever underlying excitement and helpfulness that Twilight had sensed before was now a distant memory as she felt as though she had misspoken in some way.

Deciding to choose her words more carefully or incite some form of anger, the purple unicorn continued hesitantly.  “I’ve heard that playwrights can offer insights that many common pony may pass up.  Plus, I was told that you have experience with sibling issues.”  Though she had been referring to Rarity and Sweetie Belle, Twilight could feel the vague sentence hit a sour note.

Fierce jade eyes peered out from behind the silky silver bangs pouring around his horn, Chrome growled within his throat with an anger that seemed as though it should be alien to a pony with a heart for a Cutie Mark.  “You came to talk about my brother?”

Twilight felt herself freeze into the cushion under his glare.  Fear began to come over her being as she realized that she hadn’t even gotten into a discussion with this pony before crossing the line accidentally.  Her hopes continued to remain high that he could overlook whatever the insult may have been and help her out with the major problem she was supposed to be solving.
> Why Can't Things Be Easy?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Your brother?”  Twilight’s ears twitched nervously as she let his words sink in.  An obvious misunderstanding had just occurred and she was determined not to let it progress any further than the initial mistake.

A sigh of aggression came forth as the aquamarine unicorn returned his gaze away from his guest.  It wasn’t very often that ponies would come by to talk about his brother; they normally either knew better or didn’t know about his brother at all.  “You mentioned my experience with siblings, were you not referencing my brother?”  Though his words came through gritted teeth, the stallion acknowledged the possibility that this was just some form of misunderstanding.  If such were true then there still existed a chance that he could forge a friendship with such an important pony.

Relief swept over the purple unicorn as his question assured her that this was a problem that was fixable.  “Of course I wasn’t!  I was talking about Rarity and Sweetie Belle.  Rarity told me that you two have been friends since you were both foals and that Sweetie sees you as a big brother of sorts.  I was just thinking that your opinion could be invaluable as you’ve witnessed their sisterhood from the beginning.”  The tension in the air began to lift as she saw his brow begin to slowly move into a less aggravated position.  Twilight couldn’t have been more thankful that this was a matter that was easily solvable.  All that was left to do was to steer the conversation back to Luna and Celestia and hopefully get some ideas of what to do.

Before she could speak, a strange feeling came over Twilight as she observed the side of his face.  The poor stallion was now standing with his bangs completely covering his face as his attention seemed to remain on the counter before him.  Sympathy came over her as she got her first look at Chrome in full.  He stood only a head taller than her, about the same height as Big Macintosh if she was recalling his appearance correctly.  This was completely off-set by the fact that this stallion was practically a twig in comparison to the farm pony.  She could only imagine that meant that either Chrome was on a diet or, more concerning, he had to eat sparingly.  The purple pony cringed at the thought of his satisfying the hunger of three voracious fillies as well as his own serving.  Twilight’s pity for the stallion before only grew as she took notice of the cutie mark of a heart on his flank.  This only made her recall Rarity’s earlier warning of his sensitivity.  She wanted to help him with whatever the problem was between him and his brother.  However, the princesses had to come first.

Twilight approached the stallion carefully so as not to startle him and make things worse.  The look on his face was worse than she would’ve thought.  His anger was still very easy to see boiling beneath the surface, but his eyes carried a look of regret.  “Chrome,” the aquamarine unicorn’s eyes moved to stare into hers as she addressed him with the most soothing tone she could manage, “even if you don’t want to talk about whatever the problem is with your brother, know that you aren’t alone.  You’ve got Rarity and I if you need to talk about it with somepony.”  Her eyes pleaded with his that she seek this avenue, letting a problem fester wasn’t healthy by any means.

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer not to speak about him…ever.  Thank you for the offer though.”  Swiftly the male pony whipped his mane back to reveal his face that now wore a look of forced interest.  It pained the purple unicorn to be shunned in such a way, but it was his decision and she would respect it.  “Now, about those friends of yours, you said they haven’t seen each other in a long time?”

Happy that he was willing to help even after the misunderstanding, Twilight accepted the rejection with a knowing smile that told that she would be willing to talk should he ever feel the need.  “Yes, several years to be exact.”

“What was the reason they separated to begin with?”  Chrome gestured towards the table as he trotted over to check on the tea that the purple unicorn could tell was nearly done.

Done with being frightened by the possibilities of a war, Twilight quickly took her seat once more.  “Well, as I said, the younger of the two was very jealous of her older sister and all the attention she got.  So she was thrown out and only came back after a long time away.”

Taking this in, the stallion turned to face his guest with a thoughtful look on his face.  Confused about how quickly the tea had been made, the purple pony took a quick look at the counter and saw that it was indeed done.  She decided to take a look into magically making tea later; it would be useful to not have to wait so long for something refreshing.  “And what is it she is doing that is causing a problem for the older sister?”  Broken away from her thoughts, Twilight blinked a few times before converting what Celestia had said into something that wouldn’t provoke Chrome to think that the friends she spoke of were the two rulers of their country.

“I’ve been told that she has refused to eat with her sister when invited.  Plus, there was mention in the note that she’s been giving off the vibe that she is still angry about before.”

A thoughtful look became one of uncertainty as the stallion used his magic to retrieve two cups from a cupboard.  “To be honest, if that’s all you know then I don’t see how anypony can be of any help.  All I can gather from all of that is that whatever was the problem still is the problem.  I’d need to know more to give a better opinion about the matter.”  Sighing in frustration, Twilight sat upright in appreciation as she took it all in.  This was something she knew ahead of time but hadn’t thought of until having already parted ways with the library.  No issue, she’d just have to wait until she got home and send the Princess a letter.

“Well that’s quite alright, I can just send my friend a letter when I get home.  I’ll let you know when she responds.”  Happy that she now had somepony who could offer their opinion on the matter, Twilight finally allowed herself to relax to the fullest she could manage without falling asleep.  “Thank you for offering to help.  I know my friends would appreciate it dearly if they knew.”  No longer capable of suppressing it, the purple unicorn followed up her thank you with a long overdue yawn.

Twilight blushed as she held a hoof to her cheek in embarrassment.  She would definitely re-work her schedule when she got home.  This day was practically ruined thanks to this whole issue with the princesses.  At first everything was to be put on hold for the research needed for the garden, now the purple mare had to wait for Celestia to respond to the ever important reply that Twilight was currently cooking up in her mind.  The only thing she had in mind for the rest of the day was sleep.  Sure, it was more like Rainbow Dash to waste a day away with sleep, but the purple unicorn felt that she and Spike had definitely earned some good rest.

“So, you’re a fan of mine?”

The sudden question shook the tired mare from her thoughts with a small yelp.  His question went through her mind slowly so as to process it completely.  However, whatever fatigue was evident on her face was chased away by the sudden appearance of the kind of excitement that Chrome recognized as a nerdgasm.  “Of course I am!  I’ve never met a pony who has read any of your works and not liked it!”  Shame hid behind Twilight’s words as she added mentally that she had never actually met many ponies who openly admitted to having read any of his works.

Hanging just under the stallion’s left eye was the remnant of the anger he had felt before at Twilight’s vague comment.  It had stayed there despite his change in demeanor and thought and Chrome was well aware that it sat in waiting for her to make another mistake.  However, at the mentioning of his having fans, the aquamarine unicorn beamed with pride.  It was a rare occurrence for him to run into a fan of his and he was still incredibly inept with handling their attention.

Awkward silence reappeared with a vengeance as both unicorns shared quiet excitement.  Unaware of how weird this scene would look to somepony watching the encounter, the two of them sat smiling before the stallion’s smile faded away into a blush.  “Well…do you have a favorite play of mine?”

Accepting the challenge with fervor, the purple pony held a hoof to her chin as her mind went over everything of his she had read.  In the end the choice was obvious, though she spent a second longer on the matter as she knew it might be disappointing for him to hear.  “I can’t say I really have a favorite.  I really liked Filly Fanatics and I try to read The Fleeting Shadows once a month.”  Though she was not much for the fiction genre, Twilight really liked Chrome’s plays.  Whether it’s the romantic comedies like Filly Fanatics or the thought provoking tragedies like The Fleeting Shadows, the purple unicorn found an escape of sorts in the worlds he portrayed.  Sure, the real world was great and all, but nothing like his plays ever happens in her life.  It’s just so interesting to read about the strange stories he thinks up.

Once more charmed by his guest’s words, the stallion almost didn’t hear the sound of hooves coming down the stairs.  Figuring that Rarity had a full day ahead of her, that Sweetie Belle probably had a lot of crusading to do, and that Twilight was clearly looking forward to getting some sleep, the stallion predicted that his company would not last much longer.  “I am truly flattered and I thank you for being a fan.  Would you like an autograph or something like that?”  Once again his voice cracked in evidence of how much of a novice he was in dealing with fans.

Twilight nodded excitedly before turning to look upon the humorously disheveled looking sisters, both carrying the large amount of luggage that Sweetie had apparently brought for the sleepover.  “Did you miss anything?”  Giggles proceeded forth from Twilight as Rarity turned a humored glance to her now shying away sister.  The purple unicorn knew very well that it probably was the filly’s intention to bring so much stuff; it was just something she and her sister shared in habit.

Sharing a few giggles with her studious friend, the generous unicorn’s eyes narrowed slightly in faux frustration with her younger sibling, “Of course not.  We won’t be leaving anything behind this time, will we?”

“No ma’am.”  Sweetie’s reply had been very quick and gave Twilight evidence to believe that they had indeed left behind her belongings before.

The look of guilt on the filly’s face was priceless and if not for the piece of paper shrouded in a teal aura of magic, the purple mare would’ve continued to watch for Sweetie’s next action.   “Please do come back and visit whenever.  I love having visitors.”  Chrome’s words managed to be the final factor needed to pry the purple unicorn’s attention from the cute scene in front of her.

Her heart skipped a beat as she glanced over the autographed piece of paper floating before her.  She had seen his signature before, but this was different.  This was one that he had scrawled out just for her.  Despite Twilight’s typical habit of hiding the nerd inside of her, she couldn’t help but sound like an overexcited filly meeting a celebrity when she found the resolve to respond, “I’d love to visit some more.  Once I get this whole situation smoothed over with my friends that is.”  Using her magic, the purple pony took the autograph and levitated to her side where she would have to keep it until getting back to the library.

Seeing that Twilight was deep in nerd-mode, the white unicorn decided to take the lead here, otherwise she’d never get home and get back to work.  “We’ll be seeing you Chrome; we have to do tea soon.  That way I can properly repay you for watching my sister and her friends again.”  To Rarity’s pleasant surprise, the purple unicorn took the hint wonderfully and hurried to the front door to get home.  Never one to miss the subtle cues a pony’s face could give as a clue to their thoughts, the generous pony understood the rush as she finally got a good look at the bags under Twilight’s eyes.  It seemed so obvious that Rarity felt betrayed by her own senses at having missed it.  The princesses were having a crisis and had contacted Twilight to help them settle the matter; of course the poor dear was deprived of sleep.  Rarity was surprised she was still standing.

The white unicorn’s thoughts stopped dead in her tracks as Twilight opened the door to leave.  Before any of the three unicorns in the house could react, the librarian was suddenly floored by an unexpected hoof slapping her cheek in a swift manner.  Initially confused, the white unicorn rushed to her friend’s side before looking up and understanding completely how somepony could do something so rude.

“Ditzy darling, you really must be more careful.”  Though her tone was as chastising as it was with Sweetie Belle whenever she managed to mess anything up, Rarity had already come to terms with the fact that nothing seemed capable of correcting the clumsy mailmare’s coordination.	
> *FACEHOOF*
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“It’s not that bad, Twilight.  You can hardly tell anything happened thanks to your fur.”  The white unicorn assured her friend to the best of her ability.

An aggravated grunt came as the immediate response to the comment.  Twilight was hardly amused by this turn of events.  Today was quickly turning out to be one of the worst she had ever experienced.  At every turn something went wrong and tried its absolute best to ruin her mood.  The only positive Twilight could assign to the day was that having Pinkie Pie as a friend allowed her to take the brunt of the day’s annoyances in stride.  What was quickly wearing her thin was the frequency with which the issues continued to appear.  First she has to halt her research to solve a significant problem, then she has to search for assistance due to her lack of knowledge regarding sibling issues, particularly annoying was that Rarity proved to be of very little help, worst of all had to be nearly blowing it with Chrome thanks to his sensitivity, and, to top it all off, she had been clubbed hard in the face by her constant tormentor Ditzy Doo.

“Wonderful, maybe we can invite her to drop another piano on me?  I’m sure my fur will cover up those scars too!”  The tone of her voice carried the very noticeable trademarks of anger and fatigue.  She had been definitely looking forward to sleeping the day away before, but now she would have to postpone her sleep to make sure the clumsy mailmare hadn’t broken anything important in the purple unicorn’s cheek.

Taken aback by the sudden rudeness of her voice, Rarity scoffed inwardly as she continued to trot alongside the tormented librarian.  “Really Twilight, there is absolutely no reason to talk in such a manner.  Nopony is at fault here and I’d think that you of all ponies would recognize that.”  Though she felt bad that her friend was in pain and grieving over her situation, the white unicorn couldn’t help but turn a sour eye to the behavior the studious pony was displaying.  If anything, then the generous pony had thought that with the presence of a young foal would be enough to inspire maturity of some sort.

“Yeah, Twilight, how could Miss Doo have known you’d be trying to leave when she was knocking?  She always comes by to see Chrome in the mornings and it isn’t a normal thing for anypony to go barging out of his door like you did.”  Speaking up from the other side of Rarity, Sweetie Belle trudged along with a look of concern on her face.  She knew that it was easier to simply embrace the anger such a situation would cause, but she had learned well from her sister that the high road was always the better path.

Not used to being the one to be lectured, Twilight sighed as she kept pace with the older of the two siblings to her left.  She knew she shouldn’t hold the accident against the mailmare.  If anything she should be the one apologizing for trying to leave so suddenly.  Immediately regretting the curses she had let slip during and since the incident, the purple unicorn settled on the fact that she’d try to make amends with her accidental attacker at some point.  Such a task was an easy one to accomplish.  Ditzy was well known for her love of muffins, so all Twilight would have to do is apologize and buy the clumsy pegasus a treat to smooth things over.

That’s when it occurred to the studious unicorn the details of the encounter.  She had hurriedly opened Chrome’s front door and tried to rush outside to get home quicker and get some much needed sleep.  Instead of being met with the cool breeze of the morning air, Twilight had been clocked in the face by the waiting mare.  Though she hadn’t bothered to stay and strike up a conversation in her aggravated and tired state, the purple unicorn managed to recall the sorrow plastered across the wall eyed pony’s face.  She could easily see how bad it hurt the mailmare to make such a mistake and Twilight remembered hearing a muffled attempt at an apology after the fact.  This was the detail that stuck out to the studious mare.

Normally when ponies had to carry anything they used saddlebags or, in the case of unicorns, their magic, but no, Ditzy had been carrying something in her mouth when she had introduced her hoof to the purple pony’s face.  This stood out to Twilight due to the sweet smell that emanated from the package and only now could she regret hurrying away in anger before inquiring about the odd thing.  Using her intellectual prowess, the studious mare was quick to connect the smell to that of the muffins the mailmare was so very fond of.  Having identified the object of confusion, she moved on to the confusing circumstance of the vent.

Why had Ditzy shown up that early?  Twilight was aware that the mailmare’s route had to start about this time in the morning due to the large area she had to cover in one day.  Furthermore, why had she brought muffins to a customer?  Surely ordering muffins from the mail couldn’t be the answer.  That’d be too silly, something that almost forced the smart pony to conclude that Pinkie was somehow behind the delivery.  However, she held her tongue as Twilight picked out the last odd detail from Sweetie Belle’s mini-lecture.  She comes to see him in the mornings?  What does that mean?

Her eyes suddenly went wide with shocked thought that managed to push the pain in her cheek to the back of her mind.  “I wasn’t aware that Ditzy had a special somepony…”  Was that it?  Twilight hadn’t made it a point of hers to become well acquainted with the mailmare beyond the typical banter shared between friendly ponies.  More convincing was that she knew next to nothing about Chrome at the same time.  She hadn’t even known that the playwright lived in Ponyville, so it was of no difficulty that she could not know such a detail.

Giggling from the purple pony’s side managed to stay her thoughts before the idea became cemented in her head.  This was mostly due to the genuine look of repressed laughter between the two sisters to her side.  “Twilight, darling, you should really stop trying to look into things like that.  Chrome and Ditzy aren’t special someponies.  Trust me, all of Ponyville would know if the two were betrothed.”  The way the generous pony smiled following her statement assured Twilight that if Rarity had known about such a relationship, one between an old friend of hers and a single mother, then the very gossip-prone mare would’ve let everypony know quickly.

Incapable of keeping her two bits to herself, Sweetie couldn’t help but mimic her sister’s tone of voice as she spoke, “Yeah, Chrome and Miss Doo are just really good friends.”  Once more following her sister’s example, the filly’s actions following her exclamation betrayed her thoughts on the matter.  Rather than some reminder of her being gossipy, Sweetie Belle began to giggle cutely and bounce around as her mind became clouded with an undoubtedly cute image making it clear to Twilight that the small unicorn would love for her friend to find a special somepony and be happy.

“Sweetums is right.  Chrome and Ditzy’s meetings are just further evidence of his generosity.  He’s been eating breakfast with her every morning since that nasty incident with Dinky’s father.  True to his nature, Chrome defends and supports Ditzy and her family in any way he can.”  Rarity spoke matter-of-factly to the purple unicorn to her side.  She hoped that Twilight would catch onto the details of the story without her needing to go into detail about Dinky’s sire in front of Sweetie Belle.  “What else would you expect from somepony whose special talent is empathy?”

Finally finding an avenue of discussion that would lead away from the pegasus and thus allow the purple unicorn to focus back onto the notably more important matter of Princess Celestia’s troubles.  Twilight was glad to have Chrome’s support in the matter, but she had to know for herself what had happened between him and his brother.  Such knowledge would be key in her understanding of the position the stallion’s observations would be coming from.  Plus, it would help her to solve whatever issue was plaguing her newest friend.

Crafting her words carefully, as much as she could manage in her current state of fatigue and pain, Twilight wanted to make sure this conversation went in the direction she needed it to.  “I’ve never heard of a pony with a cutie mark like that.  Such emotional sensitivity would definitely explain why he was so touchy about talking about his brother.”  Wincing at the clumsiness of her comment, the purple unicorn decided that she was in no condition to be plotting out convoluted discussions that would go just as she planned them to.  “You wouldn’t happen to know what happened between the two of them, would you girls?  I know it is certainly a personal issue, but it would help me understand what do about Luna and Celestia if I knew more about it.”

Both white unicorns stopped in their tracks as they eyed the studious pony carefully.  Their expressions shared a sense of disappointment towards Twilight’s question.  “You want to know about Chrome’s brother?  No wonder he looked all sullen and hurt when we got downstairs.”  The purple unicorn could only blink in surprise at Sweetie Belle’s use of words.  She hadn’t thought that it would be that obvious that she had brought it up in front of him.

“I must agree with Sweetie.  It would’ve been most unwise to mention Chrome’s brother in front of him.”  Taking a moment to compose herself from the shock, Rarity ushered her little sister forward as the two trotted back into pace with the purple pony.  “As for what happened, the matter is quite tragic.  You see darling, Chrome and his brother moved to Ponyville together back when they were both frightfully young.  They shared a house over near Sugarcube Corner for almost a year before they had a very public falling out.  I really don’t know much more about that situation, however.  Chrome has refused to ever speak about it with me.  If you’re seeking information about that then I’d have to suggest you seek out his older brother or drop the matter completely.”

Frustration once again creased Twilight’s brow as she took Rarity’s words in piece by piece.  She really didn’t want to have to go to such lengths for this whole issue.  In her eyes this assignment had to proceed smoothly and contain very little deviation.  If war was a possible consequence then she couldn’t afford to waste any time she would normally use to get a well rounded vision of the situation like she normally would.  However, such an end game called for her to do this carefully.  There existed one huge problem with this issue; who was Chrome’s brother and where was he?  It wasn’t like she could ask the playwright about it and she doubted that many pony’s knew the particulars of the issue.

“And I suppose you don’t have any clue as to where his brother is, do you Rarity?”  As though it was planned out as some cruel storyline, the white unicorn sorrowfully shook her head in confirmation.  This practically solidified it for the purple pony, there would never be an easy task for her to complete.  It was always something of monumental importance or something where pony’s lives were at stake.  It could never be anything as simple as helping a squirrel store his stash of nuts for winter, help somepony stand up against a bully, or something involving a self-solving conflict.

“It isn’t like he’s that hard to find or anything like that.  He never goes far from Sweet Apple Acres.  Especially when there are ponies there he can show off to.”  Sweetie Belle spoke with surprising malice as she spoke more to herself than to either of the two unicorns standing to her right.

Not expecting the filly to know anything about the issue, both Rarity and Twilight eyed her with 
confusion.  “Sweetums, how do you know where he is?  Did Chrome tell you?”  The hints of jealously in the generous unicorn’s voice were evident as she pried for information.  Normally Twilight would giggle towards the way the sisters acted around each other, but this time she had invested interest in the filly’s knowledge.

Shaken from her mind, the young unicorn turned her eyes to the ground in shyness towards the sudden attention.  She hadn’t meant anypony to hear her.  Rarity always spoke about how rude it was to talk mean about other ponies behind their backs.  However, Sweetie could hardly care about being gentle with this information.  All she cared about was that Chrome not getting hurt again by his brother and she could see no negative to telling her sister and Twilight about the whereabouts of this stallion.  “No, I see him all the time when we’re crusading over near the orchards.  He lives somewhere over there or something like that.  All I know is that he’s an annoying show off who likes to race Miss Dash over at the farm rather than work like he is supposed to.”

An explosion of joy occurred within the studious pony as she turned to look towards the quickly approaching front door of Carousel Boutique.  She now had a firmly planted plan that would allow her to handle this matter as efficiently as possible.  In fact, a check list of things to do had already begun to take shape within her mind.  First she had to collect Spike, second she had to go home, third she had to write Princess Celestia with her findings and requests, fourth she had to get some sleep, and lastly she had to wake up and go meet this mysterious brother she needed to know about.  It was all Twilight could do to keep from blowing up in excitement that things were going so smoothly.  In fact, at this point the purple pony was sure she could solve this whole issue and keep anypony in town from knowing about Celestia and Luna’s problem.

“Wait, what do Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have to do with Chrome and his brother?”

The question slapped Twilight in the mouth harder than when Ditzy had floored her earlier.  Tired from lack of sleep and stress, the purple unicorn could only assume a visage of frustration towards the situation’s difficulty and mutter curses under her breath.  “Buck.”	
> Of Sweets and Bells
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight decided to maintain silence following the filly’s question.  Could she be trusted with the knowledge of the situation?  Was it safe?  Moreover, the older mare centered her thoughts on whether or not Sweetie Belle could correctly handle this information without rushing around Ponyville in some misguided attempt to solve the problem as the purple unicorn was sure the filly would attempt to do.  Unsure of what to do, the librarian turned a hopeful glance to the generous pony who was similarly casting a wondering stare at the studious purple unicorn.

An unspoken conversation then proceeded to take place as the three unicorns stood before the Boutique in mystery of what the next action to be taken was to be.  Rarity’s eyes agreed wholeheartedly with Twilight’s in regards to the danger present in revealing such information to somepony so young.  However, the two friends understood that leaving the filly in the dark would be far worse as a pony’s imagination was far crueler than reality could ever be.

Reassured by the calm expression of submission in the white unicorn’s eyes, the purple mare looked down into the confused eyes of Sweetie Belle with a comforting smile.  “Well, you see,” though sure of what course of action was now best, Twilight couldn’t quite find the words to correctly spell this out to the filly without somehow laying it on too thick.  Biting her lip, the purple unicorn had to force herself to continue so as to make it seem as though this issue was not one that was as serious as it really was, “Sweetie Belle…do you know how you and Rarity argue and fight a lot?”

Twilight felt the tension in her mind falter as the filly before her nodded in affirmation.  “It’s not always my fault when we fight.  All I try to do is help and all she does is yell at me when I break stuff.”  Her mind heavy with the events of the busy morning, the purple unicorn felt immense relief in letting out an unrestrained chuckle at Rarity’s expense.  The white unicorn in question was about to start in on her sister as she normally would, but she quickly held her tongue as the studious pony’s plan became clear to her.  “So Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are having a fight?  Did Luna try and help only to make things worse?  I always thought Celestia would understand that she was only trying to help out in some way.”  A few painful seconds dragged on as both older unicorns looked on in humored silence to the foalish way Sweetie was envisioning such a problem.  “Did they become ex-sisters like Rarity and I did that one time?”  That was the straw that finally broke both of the older mares.

Confused as to why the other two ponies were now fighting to hold back tears of laughter, Sweetie Belle trotted forward intent on just getting home so she could take a nap and rest up before heading out to crusade later.  What stopped her from rushing inside was the feeling of the Twilight’s hoof on her small shoulder.  Not feeling capable of putting up with their silly behavior at the moment, the filly looked to the librarian’s smiling face with a look of faux anticipation.  “No, they didn’t become ex-sisters…yet.”  Though still fighting to contain her giggles, Twilight’s tone turned somber as she admitted to herself that such a foalish thought was an actual possibility in this situation.  “Princess Celestia doesn’t want that to happen though, so she’s tasked me with helping settle the problem they are having.  However, I wasn’t able to do this on my own and Rarity suggested that Chrome would be able to help.”

Her discovery was easily visible to Rarity and Twilight as they looked on with soft eyes so as to keep the filly calm in the face of such realization.  “And you want to know about what happened between Chrome and his brother as a reference?”  Pride exploded forth from the filly’s sister as the younger pony caught onto what Twilight was talking about quickly.  Normally Sweetie Belle was slow to take things in and understand them; something that Rarity was sure had to do with a confidence issue of some sort.  Seeing her sister overcome the mental barrier -if only temporarily- was something the older unicorn would forever remember.

“That’s right, but you can’t tell anypony about this.”  Nodding as she spoke, Twilight focused her expression into one of authority so as to hopefully assure that Sweetie understood the severity of this new secret.  “It is of great importance that nopony know about the princesses problem.  Do you understand?”

Taking a moment to consider Twilight’s words, Sweetie Belle averted her eyes in obvious show that she was in deep thought.  Understanding the situation was the easy part for the filly.  Her brow furrowed as inner conflict began to rise over the thoughts pouring throughout her mind.  Not wanting to disappoint anypony with her response, Sweetie continued her thoughtful gaze towards the ground for what seemed to be an eternity for the two unicorns watching.

Confused, the purple unicorn looked to the filly’s sister who stood with a similar expression of surprise and concern.  The last thing Twilight wanted was for the young unicorn to become frightened for the welfare of Equestria.  Sure, a divide in the relationship between the princesses could cause a war, but that was something that only the adults should bother themselves with thinking about.  Foals had no reason to be burdened with such thoughts and yet here the studious pony had pretty much revealed that the world was pretty much on the brink of war to a filly.  In short, Twilight felt as though she had made a mistake in believing the truth was the best thing in this situation.

“You’re gonna help Chrome though, right?  You aren’t just gonna use him to fix the princesses problem and then never talk to him again, are you?”  Surprised by the sudden voice laced with concern, the purple pony returned a wide eyed stare to the worried face of the filly before her.

In truth, she didn’t know how quite to answer that.  Of course Twilight had every intention to assist the stallion with his conflict, but she couldn’t help but feel insulted by the malice Sweetie laced within her question.  However, as the purple pony locked eyes with the younger pony before her, she began to take notice of the concern that was marked across the foal’s face.  Seeing this, Twilight came to quickly understand that this wasn’t really a matter of whether or not the filly believed the older unicorn would help; this was a matter of protecting somepony she cared about from harm, a sentiment that the studious pony could sympathize with.

“Of course I will.  We’ll all help him.  It’s just that the problem with the princesses must take priority.”  Taking a gentle tone, Twilight spoke her mind freely.  She was never going to just abandon the stallion with his problem and the studious unicorn was confident that with her friends his problem would be solved in no time at all.

Though bristling with pride over the maturity the filly was displaying, the white unicorn felt a sense of urgency come over her at the mention of their friends helping.  Rarity couldn’t help but inwardly scoff that this misunderstanding could easily be avoided if her friend were to take her head out of the books long enough to actually have an active social life.  Such would prevent the generous pony from being forced to explain away any of the complications inherent with her friend’s plan.

Before either of them could react, Sweetie Belle smiled happily and rushed through the front door of the Boutique muttering under her breath as she went.  Twilight would’ve stopped to make sure she was alright, but the white unicorn had stopped the attempt with a glance.  Sometimes you just had to accept the actions a pony was taking; such was a lesson Twilight recalled learning from dealing with Pinkie Pie.

Resisting the urge to call after the filly with questions as to her sudden departure, the purple pony turned to speak to the white unicorn only to be cut off by the slightly odd expression gracing her friend’s features.  “Darling, there is something you must understand before I let you get ahead of yourself with planning your actions out.  Though I believe he would welcome the assistance of the majority of our friends with his problem, it would be beyond foolish to as everypony to assist in the matter.”  Not wishing to stand about in front of her abode, Rarity led the way into the Boutique and waited for her friend to follow suit.

Once more confused, Twilight trotted nervously into the building before using her magic to shut the door behind her.  “I’m guessing there’s something else I should know about his sensitivity, right?”

Nodding gently, the white unicorn moved away from the door to pick up some papers that had fallen from a nearby table when Sweetie had burst into the establishment.  “While his relationships with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are quite positive, I’m afraid that I must warn against involving Applejack and Rainbow Dash.  Such a mistake could be quite disastrous.”  Not wishing to explain any further in fear of speaking of something that was not her place to discuss freely, Rarity turned a searching eye to her Boutique and smiled warmly when she spotted Spike curled up on her fainting couch.

Before she could utilize the distraction to change the subject, the purple unicorn’s typical question tone broke the silence, “I can understand why Dash could cause an issue, but AJ?  She’s one of the nicest ponies in all of Equestria.  In fact, I was going to go to her for advice on the subject first.  Should I reconsider that?”

Annoyed slightly at the unknown interruption, Rarity forced a smile as she tried to impart that this was an area of conversation that was safest to be had with Chrome’s permission.  He wasn’t fond of ponies prodding into his personal life without his consent.  “I’m afraid so, dear.  I would rather leave it for him to explain, but Chrome’s relationship with the Apple family is very negative.  And before you raise a hoof in question, he understands that Apple Bloom is too young to understand what he believes her family has done to wrong him.”  Knowing full well that such a simple explanation would never placate the studious unicorn, Rarity raised her voice in successful attempt to rouse the baby dragon from his slumber.

“Wuh-huh?”  Initially unaware of his whereabouts, the young dragon quickly gained composure as he shot up off of Rarity’s fainting couch.  Pausing briefly to allow his body to wake up further, Spike began to waddle sluggishly over to the two unicorns.  “Hey, how’d it go with Chrome?”

Much to Rarity’s relief, the distraction proved to be a successful one as her purple companion’s attention turned fully to her assistant.  Similar relief came over Twilight as the dragon spoke the stallion’s name.  It seemed that during his time alone at the Boutique the baby dragon had figured out who it was the white unicorn had been talking about earlier.  Thus the purple pony felt greatly reassured that there would not be an awkward silence this time.  “Less than optimal I must say, but some good did come out of it.”  Pain surged through Twilight’s face as she felt her cheek throb at the statement.  She had almost forgotten it had happened at all.

Seeing his friend’s expression tense for a moment, Spike decided the take the high road and not mention that he could clearly tell that the purple pony’s cheek was slightly swollen from what he was sure had been a hoof impact of some sort.  Such an observation confused him slightly as he obviously knew that Chrome was sensitive about stuff, but had Twi really crossed the line in such a way to warrant an attack?  He decided to leave that question for later, that is, if he could remain awake long enough.

“So, did he have anything to say about the princesses?”  Groggy as he was, the baby dragon felt his sense sharpen as the fear reentered his mind over the situation before them.  He always disliked conflict and this was one that could spawn countless other conflicts from acts of war.

“He could only come to the same conclusion that you did earlier.  We need to know more about what Luna’s doing to worry Celestia.  Chrome said he would assist us in any way that he can, but there’s pretty much nothing we can do without knowing anything more.”  Speaking as though this was an obvious observation, the purple unicorn turned her eyes to a window and sighed silently.  She could really use a nice day of sleep.

As much as she loved studying and learning, Twilight was no fool to the practice of pacing herself.  She had to do things in stride if they were to have their full effect, which meant that she would need sleep before heading out to Sweet Apple Acres to meet Chrome’s brother.  If she was to believe the way Sweetie spoke of the stallion, then the studious unicorn was sure she’d need to be at the top of her game to be patient enough to deal with him.

Taking the initiative, the purple unicorn trotted back to the door of the Boutique before returning a grateful smile to Rarity.  “Thanks for everything.  I’ll keep you in the loop as this whole thing develops further.”

Waving a hoof in dismissal of the comment, the white unicorn patted the baby dragon on the head before addressing the studious pony.  “Think nothing of it darling.  I’ll do what I can to help in any way.”  Feeling the grip of hunger on her mood, the white unicorn turned her smile to the dragon standing beside her.  “And thank you for watching after my Boutique.  I’ll be sure to find you a nice gemstone of some sort to repay you for your kindness.”  Ignoring the fact that she had forced him to stay behind, Rarity trotted off into her kitchen to satisfy her hunger.  Skipping breakfast had been a mistake.

“Alright Spike, let’s go.  We’ve got a letter to write.”  As she spoke the mare rubbed her hurting cheek with a hoof before thinking aloud in what she would later recognize as a mistake to make in front of the joke-prone dragon she lived with, “and I’ve got to make sure Ditzy didn’t break anything this time.”	
> One Side of the Coin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Having become accustomed to a life of peace, the ponies of Equestria had become very used to starting their mornings later than their ancestors would’ve dared.  The vast majority of the population was still snuggly asleep and running playfully through their lovely dreams; a group that included the Element of Loyalty, a mare well known for her sleeping habits.  Many others were enjoying a sizable breakfast that would hold their hunger at bay until noon had come to pass; including Ponyville’s very own party planner extraordinaire who casually satisfied her hunger every morning only to continue snacking for the rest of the day regardless of the early feast.  Few were active and in the process of getting through the morning’s chores; a daily habit of the Apple family.  However, there only existed one pony in the entirety of the world who, by this point of the early morning, had set the Sun on its course for the day, settled five different territory disputes, indulged herself in a delicious meal that did nothing to help the diet she tried to stay faithful to, and worried herself ill over the state of her relationship with her sister.

Absentmindedly watching the morning progress further and further from her balcony that looked over the valley in which Ponyville was nestled safely, Princess Celestia mulled over the plan for the day.  There were at least nine or so territory issues to dispel, trade talks to be had with those few ponies living outside the reach of her country, her typical morning flight, and many other mundane tasks that she busied herself with every day.  Though genuinely interested in the affairs of the ponies she ruled over, the Princess was far from attentive on even her thoughts of the matters.  The only thoughts that managed to captivate her attention for long periods of time were those of her dear sister.

Sitting in a tower adjacent to her own, one that bad long been uninhabited until recently, was the very sister that the ruler was worried for.  She still loved Luna, no matter what the silly mare was fussing over that causing this pain.  Never had Celestia abandoned her best friend.  There was never a day that passed by that she didn’t regret what had to be done and there will never be a day where the ruler can become comfortable with the choice she made.

The chirping of birds from the gardens below brought the Sun Princess out of her thoughts as a robin hit a particularly high note.  A happy smile forced its way onto her face as the Princess thought over how the garden had stood since her youth.  She and Luna had both had gardens planted in their honor.  The only problem was that the Moon Princess’ plants died once the gardeners refused to tend to them for fear of being seen as traitors by the citizens of Canterlot.  Eventually vandals forced the Sun Princess to close the once beautiful land and thus doom it to becoming an eyesore.

Never having been skilled in the arts of gardening, the royal sisters had taken great pride in the shrines planted for them.  Which added onto the heartbreak that the Sun Princess felt as she couldn’t imagine how much her dear sister must’ve felt seeing the empty land that had once been dedicated to her glory.  Then again, Celestia had been having trouble thinking about which part of this was supposed to be easy in any way.  One thousand years is a long time for any pony, even longer when it is spent in banishment into the moon.

Luna had spoken at length with her sister about this whole situation on the night of her return and subsequent defeat at the hooves of the Elements of Harmony.  Not wanting to dampen the return of the only pony that the she could confidently say she truly loved like no other, Celestia had wanted to focus on enjoying their time together.  The Princess of the Night, however, rejected her sister in favor of the discussion.  It had been a very emotional night for the two as Luna apologized for several hours on end.  No progress was really made that night as Celestia had been overwhelmed by her sister’s words.  It never occurred to the Sun Princess that would be the only chance she would have to talk this over in truth.

Sighing sadly, Princess Celestia watched a bird flutter away into the horizon as she contemplated the whole situation carefully.  As could be expected, Luna had not made any friends and the only connections she had managed to make on her own had been with her loyal guards.  Sure, eventually the Lunar Princess ventured into Ponyville and managed to make some shaky friendships, but it wasn’t at all what Celestia knew her sister wanted.  Before the nightmares had corrupted her sister with envy, the younger alicorn had collected a circle of friends that she loved dearly.  This group of ponies had been subjects that did not sleep the precious night away and instead marveled at its beauty and cherished its creator’s personality.  These ponies had regrettably died during the absence of the Lunar Princess and Celestia was sure that her sister’s heart ached for them every second of every day.  Oddly, this heartache didn’t seem to be the source of the problem plaguing their relationship.

The few times Celestia had gotten a true conversation out of her sister, the younger alicorn had admitted that she held no hard feelings for being banished away from the life she loved.  Most surprisingly, Luna had claimed that she didn’t blame anypony but herself for being sent away.  This confused the Solar Princess as she could sense the resentment and hidden hatred boiling within her sibling’s heart.  Worst yet was that she could tell that Luna spoke the truth in regards to her feelings.

If not rage over her punishment, then what was hurting the Lunar Princess so much that she refused to even join her sister for a nice dinner for the two of them?  Luna had always been the more romantic and poetic of the two royal sisters and such only served to feed the storm of confusion that Celestia felt.  What was taking her sister from her?

Luna’s initial rejection of dinner invites had been expected by the Solar Princess, but the cold rebuttals she received whenever she greeted her younger sister had begun to seriously worry the older alicorn.  Though nothing mean spirited was ever spoken and no insult was ever muttered, it was the absolute lack of love in her sister’s tone of voice that had thrown the ruler into restless sleep.  Had they not spent every day and night together in foalhood?  Was it not their love that fueled the Elements of Harmony during the battle with Discord?  If indeed something had stolen the love in her sister’s heart, then the Sun Princess was determined to determine the culprit.

A light breeze picked up and carried the scent of the morning dew adorning the ground to the face of the royal mare.  Quietly the alicorn allowed a quivering moan to escape her lips at the delightful feeling of the shiver running down her back and across her sensitive flight muscles.

Knowing she could not put off her duties for much longer, Celestia turned to reenter her bedroom with a forlorn look in her eyes.  It wasn’t exactly her idea of fun to deal with many annoyances of her position whilst constantly worrying over her sister’s well being.  She would much rather assign her duties to several different ponies of varying specialties in order to see to the matter herself.  That had been what Luna and Celestia used to do in their youth.  Give their specialists the orders of taking care of royal business so that the royal sisters could frolic across Equestria in bliss.  However, mortals proved themselves far too dangerous to trust with the fate of the empire.  That’s why she had assigned the task of soling this mystery to her star pupil Twilight Sparkle.

Before she could venture through her quarters, Celestia caught a glimpse of something out of place.  Lying on the pillow of her bed was a scroll that had not been there when the Princess had last been in her room.  A knowing smile stretched across her visage as she levitated the parchment before her.  Taking care to calm her nerves so as not to accidentally rip the message to pieces before reading it, the Sun Princess carefully unrolled the much awaited response to her call for help.

Dear Princess Celestia,

It is unfortunate that I must confirm that I have received your letter about Luna.  Please accept my condolences for the pain you two must be going through.  I can assure you that we’ll do everything within our abilities to help in any way possible.

On that note, I’m afraid that your initial letter did not include details that would be most helpful in discerning what problem is weighing on Luna’s mind.  If you wouldn’t mind, could you please include detailed descriptions of the actions or inactions that she has partaken of that have worried you?  Without that information the help we can offer is minimal at best.

As for who will be assisting me in my work on this issue, I’m saddened that few of my friends will be of any real use.  Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash will be of little help as they do not have experience in sibling problems.  At first I thought that Applejack would be ideal to offer some insight into this situation, but her relationships with Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom have never been on the negative side and thus she would have very little knowledge of what problem could be causing a rift between two sisters.  It was obvious to me from the start that Pinkie would be incapable of offering useful insight here as she has never had a lasting issue with anypony.  In fact, I don’t know if it is even possible for her to have conflict of any sort not related to parties or baking.  Rarity was supposed to be my ace in the hole.  She and Sweetie Belle, her younger sister if you recall correctly, are always having an issue of some sort and even temporarily denounced their sisterhood over their quarrels.  However, much to my disappointment, Rarity claims that she and her sister’s problems have never been anything relatable to the scale of the cataclysm plaguing you and Luna.  And, as you surely know, Shining Armor and I have never really had a real fight before so I have little experience in sibling squabbles personally.

There is hope though!  Rarity introduced to me to a friend of hers that you might remember meeting at some point.  His name is Chrome Prism and he was the playwright that you hired to do revisions on the Hearth’s Warming Eve play.  According to Rarity, he has a brother with whom he has an incredibly negative relationship with.  I met with Chrome this morning and I can personally attest that even mistakenly hinting towards his brother caused a…disturbance for him.  So I really think he’ll be the key to your problem.  He even agreed to assist in any way he could!  Best yet he doesn’t know that is you and Luna that are having the problem.  So far only Spike, Rarity, and Sweetie Belle are aware of the struggle you two are going through.

From what I’ve discussed so far with Spike and Chrome with the limited details you provided me with originally, I’ve surmised that whatever is troubling Luna is the same conflict that turned her into Nightmare Moon.  I can’t be sure of that, but it seems as likely as anything at this point.  Though I know the legend in and out, could you please tell me what happened to cause her to change?  None of the books I have detail anything specific.  Of the things we’ll (Spike, Rarity, Chrome, and myself) need to know to help, that’s the most important.

Later today I plan on confronting Chrome’s older brother to get his take on the situation.  Who knows, I might just be able to settle this whole issue before days end if he can be of true help!

You’ll have to exscuse me for not taking care of this now rather than later as I am planning; your letter arrived when Spike and I were flank-deep in putting books back on the shelves from all my studying last night.  I’ve decided to get some much needed sleep so that I’ll be at my peak when I go looking for Chrome’s brother.

OH!  About the garden, I believe that the Lunar Nova grass species would be most fitting for Luna’s new garden.  I can send you more details about that tomorrow though.

Don’t worry Princess; I won’t let you and Luna drift apart.  As Faust as my witness there will not be another civil war!  Not while I’m here to stop it!

Love, 

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

Taking a moment to allow the letter to soak in, Celestia’s first reaction was to sigh in good humor towards her student’s trademark tendency to over think things.  Though allowing a questionable glare to focus on the mention of a civil war, the Sun Princess couldn’t help but smile.  If there was one pony in the entirety of Equestria that the ruler could rely on it was Twilight.	
> If Windows Could Talk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Why does anypony fret so much over such pitiful things?”  Grunted through gritted teeth, the words split through the silence of the empty hall as their speaker trotted along deliberately stepping heavily so as to help her passively vent some frustration.

Another bust, that’s what this prior meeting had been for the Sun Princess.  The discussion had been one meant to solve what Celestia had been informed was a legitimate territory dispute.  As a princess it was her duty to see to it that her land was shared happily by her subjects.  Normally ponies can handle themselves perfectly fine without involving royalty, but sometimes two sides of an argument refused settlement and would demand that their government handle it for them.  That had happened today.

The Maple clan and the Log clan had come into disagreements in regards to a stretch of forest that lay between their homes.  For years they have fought over the right to this land.  Celestia had been aware of their fighting as it had actually gotten so fierce that Fillydelphia was endangered by the large families fighting.  She had ordered the land be split into two equal halves in order to end the issue.  This solution, as it seems, did not take and was discarded after a year.  Celestia had already made her mind up when her guard announced that their issue was the next on the docket.

Rather than behave civilly, both families had shown up and simply used this new venue as a battleground for their argument.  This was not only an insult to Equestria’s government as a whole, but to Celestia herself who had spared precious time of her day to oversee the matter.  What angered the Sun Princess the most was that neither side seemed to care about the blatant disrespect they were showing.  Using that anger, Celestia had finally decided to once more split the territory into two equal halves.  This time, however, she had settled on placing a magical wall where the border now lay.   Both heads of the clans were to spend the rest of the day and night in the rarely used dungeons within the Sun Princess’ castle.

Disappointed in the way the encounter had gone, Celestia had decided to take the safe path and retire for the day.  She couldn’t entirely blame the greedy ponies for the deterioration of the meeting as she wasn’t thinking about the territory as she knew she should’ve been.  Luna’s problem dominated her thoughts, so much so that the Solar Princess had her guards hang behind in the throne room so she could be alone.  Her proxies could handle the important tasks she had, if only for the rest of the day.

Hoping to put her mind at ease, Celestia walked solemnly through one of the huge halls of the palace.  Despite the size of these massive passageways, they had always seemed somewhat small after she had grown into her full height.  She and Luna used to play in them with all the fervor energetic fillies could muster.  To this day the Sun Princess was uncertain of just how many windows they had broken in their jubilee.  Their favorite game back then had been to play hide and seek in the halls.  It would often take each of them hours to get through one game.

Celestia’s mood brightened as she caught a glimpse of one of her favorite hiding places; a barely visible hole in the back of a column.  There was never a game in which she used the spot and lost.  However, Luna wasn’t without her own tricks.  Somewhere in the palace was a spot that the Moon Princess favored and Celestia had still yet to find it.

Those times were simple and happy for the two sisters.  The politics weren’t their problems and all they ever had to worry about was raising the sun and moon every day and night.  All of their free time was spent with each other.  Celestia used to take her sister flying to gaze at the beauty of the world illuminated by the sun while Luna would sit and point out the constellations and different star formations.  Unfortunately, life has a way of turning sour when at its sweetest.

Discord’s rule had been eternal up until that point and he’d never been much more than a nuisance.  He, along with the other spiritual manifestations, shared dominion over the world.  Each of them acted on their own and only socialized when they were bored.  There were two spirits that frequented their attention to the denizens of the world; Discord and Harmony.  Evil as he would always be, the mischievous spirit existed in equality with the other spirit.  This all changed when he personally visited Canterlot.

Celestia and Luna had never met the beast before and were taken aback by his appearance and humor.  That’s what had drawn the fillies in, his laughter.  He would play pranks on citizens and guards that would leave the sisters in stitches for minutes and his spontaneity provided a beautiful escape from the mundane politics that occurred all around them.  However, despite their friendship, something changed in the spirit.  He wanted something different from them, something that even he couldn’t quite name.

He only ever made one attempt to attain whatever it was he desired and it left the Sun Princess with a broken leg.  It was an accident in all truth.  She and Luna had been flitting about in the sky as usual when Discord morphed a cloud into cotton candy that collided with the older alicorn.  Her wings now sticking to her body and her mind awash with panic and surprise, Celestia fell quickly whilst both the younger alicorn and the chaotic spirit watched on in stunned silence.

Luna blamed her sister for the stunt and even tried to claim that the Sun Princess had intended the trick to hurt her instead.  Discord never said a word, he only watched from afar with an intrigued smirk on his face.  Celestia could vaguely recall an odd feeling in the air.  The few weeks following that encounter were very rough for the two sisters.  Many fights were had for practically no reason at all.  However, the chaos didn’t last as Luna eventually reconciled with her sister and admitted her foalishness.

The next day was one that would live forever in Celestia’s mind.  It had started out innocently enough, a particular highlight being a well placed bucket of water on the Sun Princess’ door courtesy of the Princess of the Night.  Ignorant of the events the day would hold, the humored alicorn went to her balcony to raise the sun only to be met with the light of day.  Exactly twenty seconds passed as Celestia observed the view of the valley in utter confusion.  She would forever remember those horrible moments as they were the prelude to every nightmare she would ever have.

Stretching out across what one day would become Ponyville were pink clouds raining a brown sludge onto a checkerboard-like land of screams and terror.  Those seconds passed by slowly as the scene sank into the ruler’s memory for eternity.  Her first thoughts were of rage as the night was the time of her sister’s rule.  How could she let this happen to their beloved land?  Even worse, the alicorn honestly felt as though she could scream if not for the myriad of broken trains of thought.  Surely she couldn’t blame her sister for this transgression, Luna cared about the land as much as she, but if not the Lunar Princess then who would -or could for that matter- throw the land into such disorder.

What finally broke the young alicorn out of her trance was the voice she had become to associate with friendship and laughter, a cackling cacophony of self-righteous praise.  The spirit gloated on and on about how he had been so pleasantly surprised by the chaos that existed between the two sisters.  His voice dropped into a terrifying deadpan as he mentioned that Harmony had ruined the beautiful mess he had created.  Ever one to gloat, Discord spoke highly of how he’d defeated and destroyed his fellow spirit.  As he spoke the sun rose and fell along with the moon in some sick perversion of nature.

“Finally, Chaos will run free.  And I have you and Lulu to thank for the idea.  So please, sit back and enjoy the show my dear Tia.”  Those words, those sing-a-long words he dared to string together, they would haunt the Sun Princess for as long as she lived.

A vase to the left of the ruler shattered as she struggled to get her temper under control.  Discord had ruined everything that day.  He bent the world into his own sick image and corrupted the minds of her subjects as if it were a joke.  The worst damage he dealt was the destruction of the spirit of Harmony.  Though she and Luna had been able to manifest the very essence of Harmony’s power into the elements, the disappearance of the manifestation deprived the world of natural order.  Without that natural order, the world would continually fall into chaos without constant supervision.  This directly led to Luna’s corruption.

“Wretched monster, I hope your stony prison is one fit for your suffering.”  Her words true as they had ever been, the princess squinted her eyes shut in frustration as she let the feelings pass by her.  It was unhealthy to remain in such an emotional state and the last thing she wanted was for her emotions to get the better of her.

Luna’s transformation into Nightmare Moon had been a slow one that had occurred over the course of many decades.  Though she could feel the mounting feelings of envy and rage within her sister, the Sun Princess had foolishly attributed the rise in emotion to the Princess of the Night being in touch with her feelings.  If anything, she had believed that her little sister was at a very peaceful point in life.

Light shone through a large window as the Sun Princess turned her eyes to the beautiful art on the glass.  The scene depicted was the very first meeting of the very first Council of Magic that had founded the complicated school system that had become so expanded throughout Canterlot.  Celestia remembered that encounter fondly.  A star studded affair, the first Council was made up of the greatest magical minds in history: Star Swirl the Bearded, Storm Crow the Grey, Marelyn the Wise, Albus the Caring, Monty the Fiery, King Boing Loing the Cold, Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia.  However, these other ponies were more than just colleges with whom the sisters worked with; they were their friends.

Though few of the ponies in group had even met before that first meeting, they all became great friends afterwards.  Celestia attributed the continued sanity of her and Luna during the trying times after Discord’s defeat mostly to this Council.  These ponies were all very precious to the sisters.  Luna in particular was particularly fond of her newest friends.  After all, few other Equestrian’s had the courage to become personally close with the Princess of the Night.

Out of the group, Celestia had always felt the closest to Storm Crow the Grey.  Being very old -only surpassed in age by the Sun Princess herself- gave the stallion a humorously philosophic view on the issues brought up in meetings.  In fact, there was rarely a time where Celestia could be around the stallion for more than ten minutes without bursting out into laughter with him over the most insignificant things.  Though he preferred to relax and have a good time, there were few ponies gifted in magic such as him.  Anypony with an academic background would label his greatest achievements as being his many breakthroughs in the field of terrestrial manipulation, Storm Crow himself believed his greatest success being his discovery of new strains of smoking plants.  Never a smoker, Celestia had actually considered trying some of the weeds he had been experimenting with that he described as having a soothing effect on the mind.  In time the act of casually smoking the plants he found passed into the taboo, however, doctors still advice patients under heavy amounts of stress to give this type of smoking a chance.

Luna’s closest friend -besides Celestia- had always been Monty the Fiery.  Putting the word hyperactive to shame, this mare was legendary for her absolute love of showing off her powers when presented with the opportunity.  What made her so appealing to the Lunar Princess was that she was always more than happy to teach any unicorns interested in learning the spells she put on display.  Unfortunately, this generosity often led to some issues due to Monty’s specialty being the manipulation of fire.  Never one to let something damper her mood for long, the fiery mare always managed to set right any problem she caused.  Though Celestia was never overly fond of the mare, the Sun Princess held her in extremely high regards due to her groundbreaking achievements in the field of flame magic.

Star Swirl had always been an intriguing pony to both royal sisters.  While not shy by any means and definitely not the softest spoken pony of the Council, the famously bearded stallion was the strangest.  At some point the silly unicorn had gotten it into his head that ghost ponies not only existed but yearned hungrily for clothing.  Ever fearful that the ghosts would thieve from him his robes and hat, he had taken to sewing bells into his belongings so that he would hear if some invisible force tried to steal the fabric right off his flank.  This did not translate well into social skills which led to Star Swirl being infamously paranoid which saw him develop several isolationist tendencies.  While not very productive in creating friendships and lasting relationships, the stallion completely made up for this short coming with his astounding discoveries in the most difficult of magic fields; temporal manipulation.  That reason alone earned the powerful unicorn a place on the Council.  However, Celestia often had to berate herself for increasing the fame of a pony with such negative personality traits.  She was lucky that her star pupil had only picked up on a miniscule piece of Star Swirl’s study habits.  Though she had quickly managed to qualm her fears over her student, the Sun Princess still had to remind herself to stay calm whenever she remembered just how close the younger mare was to stumbling into the hoofsteps.  Celestia had been particularly startled when she received word from a guard that Twilight had ventured into the branch of the Canterlot Archives where Star Swirl’s findings could be found and that a scroll about time travel had been disturbed that same night.  Since then the Sun Princess had made sure to initiate a closing time for the archives and thus limit access to that vast knowledge.

Beyond the princesses themselves, the most respected member of the Council was a pony that Celestia trusted above all other mortals; Marelyn the Wise.  Old and powerful, though nowhere near the age of Storm Crow or the power of Star Swirl, Marelyn’s fame rested upon her legendary wisdom that nopony in history had ever managed to comprehend the scope of.  Sometimes it even seemed as though she knew things were going to happen before they would ever begin to occur.  In fact, Celestia couldn’t recall a single time where the mare had been incorrect on an observation.  This knowledge truly shone through in her studies regarding ethereal magic, better known by modern ponies as being the study of the supernatural.  If not for Marelyn’s research, nopony would know anything about the world beyond what Luna and Celestia knew.  It was she who discovered the existence of other spirits of nature like Discord, the hell that was Tartarus, and the Changeling menace that had been lurking directly under Celestia’s muzzle.  However, Marelyn’s most important discovery came in the form of seemingly inconsequential magic threads moving throughout the world.  These tendrils, as she would go on to describe them, subtly manipulated the entirety of the world -with Marelyn suggesting that they could even be doing so to existence itself.  Her findings laid to rest a substantial mystery that Celestia had been plagued by since foalhood; whether or not there was truly a grand creator, known as Faust in the ancient myths.  Along with her amazing finds, Marelyn provided a service similar to therapy for anypony interested.  Never once did Celestia have to be worried that her confidant would reveal her esteem issues, such trust forged a deep bond between the two.

Whilst the royal sisters found Marelyn to be the most comforting pony to know due to her loyalty, the rest of pony-kind favored the softest spoken member of the Council; Albus the Caring.  True to his title, the stallion was there to help rebuild all of Equestria in the wake of Discord’s defeat.  He was actually already deep in the process of mending wounds and clearing debris when the princesses amassed a group to be officially dispatched to take care of the destruction.  Of all ponies that Celestia had ever met, Albus was the only one to never have a negative word spoken about him.  There was good reason for that beyond his constant assistance around Equestria, the stallion had practically founded the art of mental and emotional magic.  His work allowed ponies to finally have a vast understanding of how the mind worked and how pivotal emotions were.  Albus became so skilled in the art of emotions that he had a strange ability to instantly read a ponies mind and understand their feelings by simply seeing their face.  Celestia had to bite down on her lower lip to stifle a whimper as she desperately wished that the humble unicorn was still among the living.  The world was truly a brighter place when he was alive.

Celestia shuddered as her eyes came to rest on the final figure immortalized on the window; Boing Loing the Cold.  He stood on the furthest left side of the table with his typical vacant smile on his lips with his unclean beard twisting to the floor from his chin.  Of all ponies to have ever existed, it was safe to say that none were as disliked as this light blue unicorn was.  Despite the few positive traits he displayed, the Sun Princess still regarded him as being one of Equestria’s most vile threats.  Boing Loing was a very unpleasant pony to be around, mostly stemming from his complete lack of manners and bad hygiene.  What made it worse was that he had a strange fascination with princesses, an interest he seemed to indulge by staring at Luna and Celestia for hours without ever saying a word.  The only reason he had made it onto the Council was that he was the king of a far away land frozen in permanent winter, which seemed to fit perfectly with his specialty in magic; manipulation of ice.  His acceptance into the group proved to be of great use as his knowledge of ice allowed for a new understanding of how winter worked and the complex effects the cold had on the land.  Perhaps his greatest contribution was in the knowledge of windigos.  This information proved crucial as the whole of Equestria was alerted of how to deal with the windigo threat.

A sudden urge to smash the historic window before the Sun Princess became practically irresistible.  She hated Boing Loing, more than any other pony to have ever lived.  His early interactions with the ponies of Equestria proved disastrous as he foalnapped many poor fillies before Luna and Celestia personally confronted him.  The vile stallion’s explained his actions as being his longing for a bride, but he didn’t want a mare that wouldn’t listen to him, no, Boing Loing was determined to raise a filly into the ideal wife.  Not standing for such actions, the demented unicorn was locked away for many years until his time was served in full.  Knowing that his mind was one of the greatest in the world, Celestia freed the stallion under the pretense that he would behave and do as told.  Though he was invaluable for the Council, the Sun Princess regretted ever letting him out of his prison.  With Harmony no longer naturally flowing through the land, Luna’s emotions became unstable as her worries went along without closure.  This process was only worsened by the antics of Boing Loing.  He tormented the Lunar Princess day in and day out over what he called inferiority to the Sun Princess.  All he ever spoke to her about was that she was lesser than her older sister and thus more suitable in his eyes.  In the end his prodding produced the seeds from which Nightmare Moon would grow.

Of the original Council, besides Luna and Celestia, Boing Loing was the last to pass away.  Death visited the unicorns each in due time and each during Luna’s one thousand year banishment.

Storm Crow, Marelyn, and Albus each passed away from old age.  Tragically, Albus was the third youngest member of the Council and looked as though he could’ve gone on for at least another one hundred years.  It was so sudden that the whole of Equestria froze in silence in honor of his passing.  Celestia had never inquired as to what had ended his life so early; she simply did not want that knowledge in her mind.  Shortly afterwards Marelyn slipped away on her way back from an expedition into draconic territory.  The only passenger with her, a blind colt she had adopted, said that she had magically received a letter detailing the death of Albus.  Once more Celestia did not seek an answer as to exactly why her friend had died, but she knew very well that learning of Albus’ death would be more than heartbreaking.  Storm Crow’s death had been an odd one.  Being so old, a pony would’ve expected him to be long dead as he was nearly three thousand years old when he finally passed.  It had been quite peaceful.  He had retired to his quarters after a peaceful dinner with Celestia to smoke his favorite pipe.  His body was found the next morning sitting in his favorite smoking chair with his pipe still hanging from his lips as he used to let it do as he slept.  Needless to say, the Sun Princess was traumatized by his passing.

Monty and Star Swirl’s deaths were both shockers for the whole of Equestria as they had been accidents that nopony had intended to be fatal.  In Monty’s case, a few foals had decided that they wanted to prank their hero and had set up fireworks all along the top of Ghastly Gorge.  The foolish youths then waited for her to arrive with a group of unicorns wishing to be taught some magic.  Unaware of what they were doing, the foals lit the fireworks which then proceeded to cause a massive rockslide that rained down upon the group.  Though the group managed to make it out relatively unscathed, it took Monty’s sacrifice to assure that most of the ponies she brought were saved from the crushing rocks.  Star Swirl’s death, however, was not heroic and was more of a statement towards his lifestyle than anything else.  Ever being one to neglect everything in favor of studying, the unicorn became extremely malnourished and his body suffered greatly from the strain his habits put on his form.  Then, one foggy morning, a servant brought the stallion breakfast.  The poor pony’s hoofsteps went unheard by Star Swirl and when he turned around to get another book he immediately collapse to the floor in panic.  Minutes later he was declared deceased from a massive heart attack brought on by his poor health and by the paranoia he carried with him everywhere.

Though still tragic in a way, Boing Loing’s death was anything but an accident or one that was mourned.  In fact, Celestia remembered the moment well when a courier brought news that the young princess Mi Amore Cadenza had been foalnapped by somepony.  This was just the latest in a long string of foalnappings targeting fillies of royal blood.  Immediately the Sun Princess knew who the culprit was and took a group of her most highly trained guards to confront the demented king.  Sure enough, Celestia found Cadance and the other fillies in Boing Loing’s lair.  Once more he claimed his desire for the perfect bride to be to blame.  Having had enough with this sorry exscuse for a stallion, Celestia ordered that he be put to death for his crimes.  Not since has she had to use such a harsh punishment and not a single night passed by where she didn’t think that perhaps enough therapy could’ve cured him.

“Such a sorry fate…if only Luna were still around to talk me down from my decision at the time…”  Death was the one thing that Celestia hate with all her being.  It was never pleasant and she felt that nopony’s passing should be celebrated as Boing Loing’s was.  The way she saw it, the Magic of Friendship had failed after Luna’s transformation.  Celestia wasn’t legitimately happy until Twilight and her friends defeated Nightmare Moon and returned her sister to her.

Once more the Sun Princess looked to the figures on the window with a sad sigh.  Their deaths had been difficult for her to take, especially Storm Crow’s.  In a way, she became incapable of using an element of harmony each time she received word one of them died.  Albus’ death took from her the ability to be truly kind to anypony beyond those already close to her, Marelyn’s death took from her the ability remain loyal or consistent with an idea or thought, Storm Crow’s death took from her the precious ability to laugh and smile in earnest, Monty’s death turned the Sun Princess into a being who gave nothing but inexpensive knowledge so that she could retain objects to remember her past by, Star Swirl’s death limited the amount of magic she could use without losing control of her powers, and Boing Loing’s death took her ability to be honest with herself and admit the truth of her decision.

That’s why she needed Luna to come back to her.  The pain of losing her sister could not be endured twice and the Sun Princess was deathly afraid that losing her sister’s love would do to her what losing Albus did to Marelyn.  That’s why she needed Twilight to succeed.
> A Fire Long Dead
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“And then I told her that the surprise was one that would blow her mind!”

“Surely thou jest, art thou not?”

“Oh come on Lulu, you know I love jokes just as much as old Storm Crow, but I would never lie about something like this.”

Taking a moment to consider her friend’s position, the Lunar Princess quickly decided that this was not a matter worth arguing over and she would much rather hear the conclusion to her friend’s already humorous story than proceed with some royal fury over the comment.  “Very well then, we are to assume her response was one of interest?”

“Well yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a griffin more intrigued by something.  You could definitely say that I had her full and complete attention.”

Despite knowing exactly where the story would end up, no doubt in the exact same predicament her other stories often concluded, Luna couldn’t help but feel on the edge of her seat.  “We hope that thou were gentle this time…”

“Of course I was!  I mean yeah, it’ll take some time before the fur on her tail grows back, but it wasn’t like I tried to blow her up on purpose or anything.”  Never one to stay in a flat tone, the red unicorn suddenly began to burst into a fit of laughter over the fond memory she had of playing a significantly funny prank on a griffin ambassador.

Not making any effort to hide the amusement she found in the tale, the Princess of the Night giggled merrily alongside her friend.  Despite the reverence she held for tradition and the importance that came with maintaining appearances with foreign dignitaries, Luna was far from one to stop somepony from livening up bland atmosphere of the Canterlot social crowd.  However, that didn’t mean that the red unicorn was going to get away unpunished.

“Monty, thou know that we appreciate thy uplifting mood, but we can hardly overlook the fact that thou endangered the life of another.  Understand that the punishment we bestow upon thee is one of requirement rather than choice.  We hope thou can grasp that the friendship thou dost provide us with is one we would rather die than lose.”

“Lulu, you do remember who you’re talking to, right?  This isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last where you’re bound by duty to punish me.  It’ll take more than some form of extreme time-out to make me not want to be friends with you.”  Not a hint of doubt evident in her expression, the red unicorn smiled reassuringly at the alicorn.  Coupled with her words, the smile managed to completely erase the fear within Luna’s mind.  “That being said,” not expecting the change in tone of her friend, the apprehension within the ruler’s thoughts began to quickly return as doubt slowly clouded the unicorn’s features, “just how extreme of a time-out are we talking about?”

Unable to hold back the relief-charged laughter, the royal alicorn had to hold a hoof to her muzzle in attempt to retain her regality.  Sharing in the giggles, Monty hid nothing and fell over in a fit of laughter.  This happened more often than not with the two best friends as the unicorn often found it difficult to remain serious in any situation.  The unusual mirth that she typically shared with the Lunar Princess in those tense situations existed merely as a charity from the fiery pony’s heart so as to prevent any awkwardness.

Being the introvert of the two, Luna was quick to reign in her humor and return to a semi-serious expression.  However funny her friend could make any moment seem, this was one that needed to be seen through with utmost diligence before the fun could be had once more.  “Put thy fears to rest dear friend as a time-out will not suffice.  No, we have decided that thou shalt relieve Albus of his oversight of the construction of the royal archives and stay at that post until otherwise order by us or our sister.”

An odd silence prevailed between the two mares as the alicorn’s orders sank into the unicorn’s mind.  The look on Monty’s face was something that Luna would treasure for all time as no other pony could pull off an expression of mock hurt quite like the fiery unicorn could.

Realizing her to be serious, the red unicorn glared sourly towards her best friend.  Though capable of understanding and accepting her fate, the unicorn was in no way happy with the decision.  “Lulu, don’t be that way.  It was just a silly prank, I mean; even you thought it was funny!  There’s got to be something else I can do instead of watching a bunch of stallions build a library, right?”

“Nothing comes to mind at the moment.”

“That’s just not fair!  It’s so boring!  Do you even know how miserable I’ll be just sitting there like that?”

Pride welling from deep within her heart, Luna smirked in victory as her friend continued to gape in surprise, “Is that not the point?”

Defeated, the unicorn hung her head solemnly so as to allow her friend the joy of victory for a few seconds.  It wouldn’t be very generous of her to remind the alicorn of what lay ahead tomorrow…well…at least not yet.  She’d let the ruler have her moment.

“Perhaps thou shalt learn something this time?”  Enjoying the feeling of riding high over Monty, Luna relaxed heavily as she enjoyed the brisk night air.  This had been the first time she had been granted a moment to take it easy for almost a week and it was much desired.  The griffons had been less than happy with the amount of social progressions Equestria was making under the guidance of the Council of Magic and they had raised quite the ruckus over their belief that they somehow deserved some prosperity as well.

Luna had never cared for the winged-beasts much, carnivores often left her feeling very weary, which led to Celestia being the pony to lead negotiations.  Despite the natural aversion some ponies held towards the griffons, the Sun Princess had high hopes that the two species could become friendly as the pegasus ponies were finding it difficult not to encounter the beasts on a daily basis.  Individual opinions weren’t helping either.  The Princess of the Night already disliked the griffons for their carnivorous nature and Monty’s pranks had done little to further the peace talks.  The whole thing had become quite tasking for the princesses to shoulder without letting personal feelings slip and Luna was just happy that she was finally getting a moment to goof off with her best friend.

Her charity given, the red mare smirked playfully as she silently cleared her throat before striking, “You know, I think I may have actually gotten something out of this whole situation.  Pranks are fine and good, but they need to be enjoyed by everypony.”  Monty looked up with thankful eyes to her regal friend.  She almost blew her cover right there as she noticed how genuinely touched the alicorn seemed by her words.  “I can’t thank you enough that you took time out of your busy schedule just to set me right.  To think, you’ve got that meeting regarding spice trades tomorrow and yet you still chose to spend time with me.  Lulu, you have no idea how much that means to me.”

The Princess’ mood immediately darkened as she recalled her impending duties, a change met with giggles by the other mare.  Tia had decided to take a personal day and left her little sister in charge of royal affairs, something that the Lunar Princess normally didn’t have a problem with.  She could handle simple meetings wonderfully, she could run the courts dutifully, and all other normal activities that her sister usually dealt with were nothing too difficult for the younger alicorn.  Trade meetings, on the other hoof, were the most agonizing part of the job.  They were painfully boring and usually not needed beyond the simple requirement that royalty approve of the trades.

“We thank thou for reminding us of our duties.”  Attempting to retain some semblance of regality, Luna breathed slowly as her thoughts ran wild.  She was never any good when it came to dealing with the trades.  These were affairs of the sun as the dealings never took place during the night.  Sure, Celestia had more than earned some time off, but that didn’t mean she could shirk all of her duties.  There were simply some things meant to be deal with by one princess and not the other.  Knowing how futile it would be to argue with her sibling, Luna decided to use all tools at her disposal to make this as painless as possible for her.

“Dost thou have any ideas for how we might conduct the trades tomorrow?”

A sobering silence penetrated the previously lighthearted air as Luna’s words echoed off into the dark of the night.  The distant hum of insects played soundtrack to the scene now taking place.  Every few seconds an owl would hoot into the darkened sky from one of the many trees in the Lunar Garden that the two mares were sharing the experience of.  However, whatever mirth had been present before was now gone as a cold chill burst through the previously warm foliage.

“Stop,” the word took the Princess by surprise as she hadn’t predicted the sudden change in tone from her friend.  Slowly the Princess of the Night opened her mouth to speak only to be silenced by the red mare’s dead tone, “Luna, just stop.”

“Whatever dost thou mean?”

“Is this really how you intend to spend every dream for the rest of your life?”  A frightening shiver ran down Luna’s body as Monty spoke her mind.  She didn’t want it to go this way, but things rarely went according to plan with the fiery mare.  “If it is, then you know how I’d react.  You need to dream about something pleasant, Lulu.  Don’t bother yourself with these boring memories of spice trades and other stuff like that.  You’ve earned the right to be happy in your sleep.”

“Have we, Monty?  As we recall, we attempted to bring eternal night to the world out of sheer jealousy and-“

“You were banished for one thousand years and you served your punishment dutifully.  You can’t keep doing this to yourself.  Sure, you made some mistakes, but you’ve earned the right to have happy dreams.”

Sighing in exasperation, the Lunar Princess looked to her friend and began to tear up as she considered her friend’s demand.  Ever since she had been defeated by Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony she had burdened herself with these dreams.  They were, in effect, her continued punishment made worse by the constant reminder of the friend she would never see again.

“Lulu, why don’t you talk to Celi?  You know she’s worried about you and it isn’t fair to her to keep ignoring the world.”

Aware of where this was headed, the alicorn stomped her hoof heavily as she looked away from the phantom that was a constant in her dreams.  “Thou know not about what thou speak.”  She couldn’t just talk to her sister about this issue.  It simply wasn’t that simple.

“Are you sure about that Lulu?  Cause, you know, I’m just figment of your imagination.  Granted, I’m a very accurate portrayal of the mare you once knew, there is nothing I know that you don’t know.  So, in closing, if there something that I do not know about then that is something you are either not allowing me to know or don’t know yourself.”  Despite being merely a representation of the mare portrayed by the image, the true Monty’s personality shined through as though she and Luna were sitting in the Lunar Gardens in real life having this conversation.

“She forgave us, Monty; Tia absolved us of all guilt.  How can we…”  A tear fell down the alicorn’s muzzle as she considered her words.  These observations were not news to her and this was not the first time she had encountered this particular situation in her dreams.  However, that didn’t change the truth the words held.  Celestia, the very mare that had been slighted by the Lunar Princess’ rebellion, no longer cared about what the younger princess had done.  That just didn’t sit right with Luna; it hadn’t since her first night back where the sisters had cried with each other until exhaustion.  It was during those tears that the Lunar Princess realized the gravity of her decisions and it was during them that she had decided on her course of actions.

“She loves you, Lulu, she always has.  There’s nothing you can do to change that.  So why fight it?  Why not-“

“BECAUSE WE DO NOT DESERVE HER LOVE!”  The echoes of the royal Canterlot voice penetrated into the expanses of the dream.  Every ambient noise that had been prodding along unnoticed stopped at once as the Princess’ emotions poured through her yelled words.  However, as true as her statement was, the Lunar Princess didn’t want this dream to end on such a sour note.  “C-Can,” quickly Luna restrained her emotions so as to use her normal speaking voice with her friend; Monty had never liked the royal Canterlot voice to be used on her.  “Can we just hold thou?  Please?  We have missed thee more than we will ever be comfortable with and we promise to experience more lively dreams on the marrow, but, for now, can we just hold thou like we used to when we weren’t so foalish?”

Though she had requested it as though the world was not hers to control, the dream bent to Luna’s demands as Monty hugged the Princess affectionately to help ease away the pain that the alicorn was feeling.


***


The sounds of a waking Canterlot were accompanied by those of busy birds doing their daily chores for the new morning.  Every few moments a colt could be heard announcing the morning’s headline for the Canterlot Courier news and in response the town seemed to usher forth a wave of noise indicating the presence of the busy pony-folk trying to get to whatever fancy breakfast they had planned with whatever friends had planned them.

Though the world was starting its day as it did every morning, two sisters shivered in memory of a world one thousand years in the past.  For one sister, the shiver was merely a side-effect of the memory that the times of the past had been happy, a feeling she hoped the time of the future would experience.  For the other sister, it was the fact that life had moved on without her and that the world demanded change from an alicorn who desperately yearned for the happier times of the past.