> The Student and the Sun
>  by Ponycletian
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> 1: A Day Off?
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        It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Canterlot as the immortal Princess of the Sun wandered aimlessly through the castle gardens. This was a day the likes of which she hadn't experienced in nearly 1200 years. It was a day off, the first of many.

        Since Nightmare Night two weeks ago, Princess Luna had been requesting, quite insistently, that she be allowed to assume at least a few royal duties, and Celestia had gratefully acceded to her requests. When Luna had suggested that she could handle the court on the weekends, which were usually lighter than during the week, she had thought it a wonderful idea, and had been as supportive and encouraging as she could be. It pleased her to no end to see Luna wanting to become an active member of Equestrian society once more, and she felt that this would be an excellent way for her to both acquaint herself with, and introduce herself to, their subjects. While she had been making preparations to turn over the reins of government to her sister, she had thought she had considered every last detail, but it appeared that she had forgotten one. She had made no plans for herself, and found herself without anything to do.

        She couldn’t even visit her School for Gifted Unicorns since they did not hold classes on the weekends and she had not made any previous arrangements for a visit. This sad thought made her wish, as she had been doing rather frequently of late, that Twilight Sparkle still resided in the castle. In the past, whenever she found herself with a block of sudden free time, like when appointments cancelled or meetings concluded early, she would visit Twilight and surprise her with some new book or spell. These unscheduled visits had always been a special treat, not just for Twilight, who never seemed capable of believing that Celestia would show her such attention, but for Celestia herself, who found the time spent with the lavender unicorn to be extremely precious.

        Each of her visits, with few exceptions, began the same way. Celestia would knock on the door, Twilight would say that she could enter, and Celestia would walk in to find a distracted Twilight Sparkle with her nose buried in a book, or sometimes several. But no matter how many times it had happened before, Twilight always responded in the same way. She would gasp loudly, spring from the bed or cushion she was lying on, and begin desperately trying to tidy up her room, apologizing profusely for the mess, even if there wasn't one to speak of. One of the things that Celestia found most endearing about her faithful student was her stubborn refusal to believe that there was anything special about her. No matter how high grades were, or how well she performed on evaluations, or how many new spells she mastered, she never seemed able to believe that she was worthy of Celestia’s time or attention. 

        This was both a blessing and a curse from her perspective. On one hoof, this insatiable desire for her approval meant that Twilight had pushed herself far harder, and therefore gone much further, than any other unicorn of her generation. On the other hoof, this meant that Twilight was almost incapable of relaxing around Celestia and seeing her for the living, feeling pony that she actually was. Her most faithful student was also her most ardent worshipper, and Celestia wished, at times, that it was possible for this to change. Suddenly, she had an idea. Since she found herself without any duties to perform, not only on this weekend, but for at least the next three weekends barring any Luna related disasters, she would invite Twilight Sparkle to Canterlot to catch up and talk with her favorite pupil. 

        Careful not to let her eagerness show--her subjects had definite expectations after all--she began the lengthy walk to her chambers. The gardens were one of the few places in the castle where she could be alone without her guards objecting, so when she entered the castle, two ponies in gilded armor began to follow her at a respectful distance.

        Despite her desire to write to Twilight Sparkle as soon as possible, she couldn't help but feel a spark of interest in just how well, or poorly, Luna was handling her court. She therefore took a route that would lead her past the throne room where, if all was going well, Luna would be receiving petitioners. She was happy to find that, although there appeared to be a line leading into the throne room, there was a distinct lack of shouting, panicking, and the Royal Canterlot Voice. This in mind, she considered herself, and the ponies before her, lucky, that the only repercussion of Luna’s taking over was a minor increase in waiting times. Satisfied that Equestria would indeed survive her absence for a day or two, she continued to her chambers with a clear conscience.

        Once inside her room, and alone once more, she summoned a quill, parchment, and ink to her familiar spot before the fire. She needed to be careful with the phrasing of this letter because unlike in letters past, this was not meant as an order, but as a request, even though she doubted anything she said would make Twilight see it that way.

To my most faithful student.

        Twilight, I am writing this letter to invite you to spend today and tomorrow as my personal guest in Canterlot. The reason for this invitation is nothing dire, so you may stop worrying. Thanks to your assistance on Nightmare Night, Princess Luna has decided that she would like to start taking a more active role in governing Equestria, and I find myself in the unusual situation of having no commitments for this weekend. Given the suddenness of this invitation, I understand if you are otherwise engaged, but if you are interested, please feel free to reply with the times that are most convenient, and I will make sure to arrange transportation.

                                                                                Sincerely,
                                                                                Princess Celestia

        She inspected the letter, and hoped that Twilight would actually believe that the invitation was not compulsory. Sealing the letter, she drew on her magic and watched as the scroll burst into emerald green flames. Knowing Twilight Sparkle, she would not have to wait long for a response, whatever her decision. She was not disappointed, for barely a minute later, she received a reply in Spike’s familiar writing.

Dear Princess Celestia.

        I would be honored to spend the weekend with you in Canterlot, and I can be ready within the hour. I would like to return by tomorrow evening if convenient, but I can extend my stay if need be. 

                                                                                Your Faithful Student,
                                                                                Twilight Sparkle

        Celestia smiled with a mixture of joy and sadness. Twilight had agreed to her invitation, but Celestia doubted that she had simply had both days completely free. She didn’t want Twilight to feel forced into accepting her invitation, and with any luck, she thought hopefully, she could explain that to her faithful student this weekend.

        Whatever her reasons for accepting, she thought, the decision had been made, so the least she could do was not keep Twilight waiting. She rang a bell summoning a serving pony who bowed respectfully as she entered.

        “You rang, your Highness?”

        “Yes, please rise.” She waited while the lime green earth pony rose. “I need for a chariot to be dispatched to Ponyville to pick up the unicorn Twilight Sparkle and bring her here, and for somepony to ensure that her chambers are fit for use.”

        “Of course, your Highness. Will that be all?”

        “Yes, that should be sufficient,” Celestia said with a smile. There were more preparations to make, but she wanted to handle those herself. It had been far too long since she had spent any personal time her student, and she wanted to enjoy their time together while she could. 

        The servant gave another polite bow before hurrying from the chamber, and Celestia started to create a checklist of things she wanted for this weekend. As she began her mental inventory, she decided to start heading for the Library, because if there was one thing that she knew for certain, it was that no visit from Twilight would be complete without books. 

> 2: The Ties That Bind
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        It was nearly 5:00 when the quiet stillness of the gardens was broken by the gentle sound of approaching hoofsteps. Celestia’s ears perked up at the sound, for it most likely heralded the arrival of her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. 

        She had finished her preparations nearly an hour ago, and had, since then, been contemplating exactly where her relationship with Twilight Sparkle had gone wrong. The conclusion that something had gone wrong was inescapable, the evidence overwhelming. All she had to do was consider the events of three weeks ago when Twilight had plunged all of Ponyville into chaos in a desperate effort to avoid missing a friendship report. There had been other incidents that had given her reason to worry, but until now, she had never truly had both the time and inclination to examine their relationship further.

        She didn’t like to think of herself as particularly manipulative. She preferred that her subjects obeyed her of their own free will, and she had never felt the need to be particularly harsh or demanding. One of the advantages of being immortal and almost unimaginably more powerful than both her friends and enemies alike was that she had never really needed to worry about threats to her rule. She allowed free press, opened the castle to visitors and held regular public audiences, and traveled frequently around Equestria to ensure that everypony was able to reach her, no matter their personal means. She did these things, not from a desire for self-aggrandizement, but because she wanted her subjects to be happy and to live happy lives, yet what she saw when she looked at her most faithful student, her protegee and her friend, frightened her.

        What she saw when she thought of Twilight Sparkle was both her greatest success, and greatest failure. She knew that there were psychological methods of manipulation that were based around making ponies feel dependent upon others, and that was what she saw in Twilight. She had, without conscious effort, tied Twilight’s happiness so thoroughly to herself that she could bring the lavender mare to tears with a disapproving glance. This had--of course--meant that Twilight had worked herself harder than anypony else, since for years, her sole source of happiness had been the Princess’ approval. The result had been that Twilight became the most powerful, intelligent, and obedient slave that Celestia had ever known. But she could not deny that her relationship with her faithful student seemed to have warped over the years into a form of emotional slavery, and this repulsed her.

        She had decided that she would not allow this state of affairs to persist now that she had both realized the problem and had the time to fix it. She actually felt that it would morally reprehensible if she were to devote anything less than her full attention to fixing their relationship since she owed so much to the mare in question. The only reason that she was able to sit comfortably in the gardens contemplating the nature of their friendship was because Twilight had both freed her sister from the nightmare of Night Mare Moon, and more recently, helped to reintroduce her to her subjects. Twilight, more than anypony she could remember, deserved the chance to be happy without having to cater to Celestia’s every whim.

        She rose quietly from the grassy clearing where she had been lying and went to meet Twilight. It was time for Twilight to see that not everything had to revolve around Celestia. She would be the one doing the greeting for a change.

        She walked, hoofsteps muffled by the grass, over to the cobblestone trail where she found her faithful student searching for her. “Twilight, I’m so happy to see you,” she said volubly. She noticed that there was a large, finely crafted, yet unadorned, storage chest resting atop her student’s back, held in place by magic. “Please, allow me to get that for you,” she volunteered cheerily.

        Twilight’s response was one of stunned inaction, which she found disappointing. Apparently the idea of the Princess coming to greet her, and offering to carry her things, was completely unanticipated, and seemed to be causing her physical discomfort. It took nearly five seconds for Twilight to react, which she eventually did by falling into a deep bow, causing the box, on which she had only had a light, now forgotten, hold, to fall. She stammered out a hasty, “Pri- Princess Celestia, I- I was just coming to find you,” even as Celestia was catching the dropping container. “I’m sorry if I disturbed you, but the guards said that you were expecting me, and that I should just come and find you.” Her voice was apologetic, and she was gradually prostrating herself even further as she continued to explain her actions. “But they didn’t know where you were in the gardens, so I just started looking, and I- oh my gosh.” She had apparently realized that the box was no longer on her back. “I’m sorry, I mean, thank you for catching it, but please let me to carry it. I promise I’ll be more careful.” Breathless from her rapid apologies and explanations, she tried to use her magic to grab the box, but seemed surprised when Celestia refused to loosen her hold.

        “Twilight, please rise and calm down,” she said reassuringly. “You did not disturb me, just the opposite in fact. I have been waiting anxiously for your arrival for more than an hour, and I wanted to come and greet you.” She wrapped a hoof around the slowly recovering mare, pulling her into a hug. Allowing a hint of humor into her voice, she joked self-deprecatingly, “and while I may have needed your help with Night Mare Moon and Discord, I do believe that I can still manage to carry a wooden chest, my faithful student.”

        Twilight blushed bright red at this, stammering, “o- o- of course, yo- your Highness. I didn’t mean to imply that you couldn’t carry it, it’s just that-”

        “-That you were trying to subtly hint that I am out of shape and that I am therefore unable to perform such strenuous physical labor,” she interrupted jokingly.

        “NOOOO!” Twilight shrieked, “I would never even think such a thing. You are the strongest, most powerful, and best looking pony I know. If anypony could carry it, then it would be you. I just didn’t want you to have to clean up my mistake, not again.” Celestia worried that she had gone too far, since Twilight was trembling with what Celestia thought was fear, and tears were welling in her violet eyes.

        “Twilight... ,” she began in her most soothing voice. “Twilight, please calm down.” She lightly stroked her student’s mane like she had when Twilight was a filly. “I was joking. I know that you would never think those things, my faithful student. You are far too good a friend to act that way, and I was wrong to imply that you would.”

        “No, Princess,” Twilight replied through a strangled sob. “You were joking, and I’m sorry that I couldn’t tell. I shouldn’t have-.”

        “-Shhh,” Celestia interrupted calmly. “Enough of that, Twilight,” she said, lifting her other hoof to Twilight’s lips. “How about we agree that we both went a little too far and move on.”

        It seemed as if Twilight would try to protest further, but eventually she nodded and began to calm down. For several minutes, They just stood there, with Celestia embracing the trembling, teary-eyed mare, and stroking her mane tenderly. It saddened her to know that she had inflicted such pain on her closest friend, but she knew that the process had to start somewhere. She could draw some small solace from the fact that Twilight had, albeit reluctantly, accepted that her Princess had made a mistake in carrying her joke too far. It wasn’t much, but it was something, and she found herself hoping that they could spend at least the rest of that night without any further unpleasantness. She knew that she needed to do something, but even this small lesson had nearly broken her heart.

        “Twilight? Would you mind telling me what’s in the box?” Her tone was quiet and benign. She didn’t want to make Twilight any more uncomfortable than she already was.

        Twilight barely nodded, and when she spoke, it was in a thin, quavering voice. “They’re my friendship reports. The ones you sent me when Discord got loose. I thought you might want them back, and since I was coming here... ,” her voice just trailed off.

        “Thank you Twilight,” she said, touched by her student’s thoughtfulness. “I must admit that I’ve missed having your lessons to reflect upon during long days in court.” In a lighter tone, “especially since your reports bear such a striking resemblance to official court documents, I can read them during petitions without anypony becoming suspicious.” This joke drew a startled gasp from Twilight, but also helped to pull her from her depression. 

        Once Twilight had stopped trembling, and no longer seemed in danger of crying, Celestia pulled Twilight into a tighter embrace for a moment before ending the hug altogether. “I’m glad that you brought these with you Twilight,” she said with a nod to the chest of reports, “because they have given me an excellent idea for what we can do next.” Twilight looked at her with an adorably confused expression on her face which warmed her heart. “As I recall, there were some things about your reports that you wished to discuss with me at the Grand Galloping Gala.” Twilight’s eyes brightened, her posture straightened, and all her despair from moments before seemed forgotten. “And since we have all of tonight, and as much of tomorrow as you want, I would love to hear as much about your time in Ponyville as you want to tell me. I can only hope that this will make up for that disaster ponies call the Grand Galloping Gala.”

        Twilight was positively beaming with delight as she bounced happily in pace. “Really Princess,” she asked in near disbelief. She gave an excited squeal when Celestia nodded, only to stop suddenly when Celestia cleared her throat.

        “On one condition,” she said sternly, causing the unicorn to wilt visibly. “Since I am not currently performing any royal duties, and this is the closest thing to a holiday I’ve had in ages, I would like for you to stop calling me Princess for the duration of your stay.”

        Twilight’s jaw fell open slightly, and Celestia struggled not to giggle at her student’s surprise. “Um... then what should I call you, your Highness.”

        Celestia pouted transparently, saying, “you know what I mean, Twilight. No, ‘your Highness,’ or ‘Princess,’ or ‘your majesty.’ Call me Celestia, or, since I know that it is rather long for an informal address, ‘Tia.”

        “I think I will stick with Celestia,” Twilight said after a moments hesitation. “Are we going to stay in the gardens,” she asked mildly, starting to act more like her normal, collected self.

        “That depends, Twilight, on what you want to do,” Celestia said kindly. “I took the liberty of having a number of snacks sent up to my parlor, including an order of fresh made doughnuts from Pony Joe’s, made especially for you. Believe it or not, but he actually bumped the order to the front of the line when he heard it was for you.” Twilight blushed at the suggestion that she would have received such special treatment.

        Now that she was calmer, it seemed that her more reasonable side was starting to assert itself. “Or, it seems more likely that he realized that an order from the castle made in preparation for the arrival of the Princess’ personal student most likely originated with said Princess. I think Joe would put two dozen and two dozen together and arrive at you, Celestia.” Twilight blushed furiously at the startled look that appeared on Celestia’s face. Celestia hadn’t expected Twilight to start making jokes. She definitely hadn’t expected Twilight to start making jokes about her weight. She may have started it, but she hadn’t expected Twilight to run with it like this. She must have taken too long to formulate a response, because the bashful smile turned into a concerned frown. “Princess,” she said hesitantly. “I’m sorry, I was just joking. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or to imply anything.”

        “Oh, I think you did, Twilight. And believe me, two can play at that game.” She grinned slyly which caused the unicorn to blanch. “And I asked you to please not call me Princess.”

        Twilight nodded nervously, and Celestia, still smiling said, “now, my incredibly witty student, I believe that there are some doughnuts waiting for us inside, and I can’t wait to hear all about your time in Ponyville.” With those words, she grabbed the chest with her magic and strode purposefully into the castle.
> 3: First Among Equals
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        Celestia sighed happily as she lowered herself into her usual spot before her fire. The parlor was a reasonably large room, but was well lit by the fire roaring in the fireplace, and by the light that filtered in through the stained glass window, which portrayed a stylized version of the night sky. The centerpiece of the room, which generally served as her primary reception room outside of the throne room, was a large table around which nearly a dozen ponies could comfortably sit. At the moment, however, this table was heavily laden with plates of fruits, vegetables, pastries, and other snacks. The walls were lined with bookshelves that held various legal reference volumes, official reports, scientific studies, and any other books that she might need in the course of a meeting. Her favorite bookshelf, however, was the one that rested nearest the fireplace, less than a meter from her current position.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

> 4: Much Ado...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Celestia was pacing nervously before the fire, anxiously awaiting the arrival of Princess Luna. It couldn’t be much longer, since they had to raise and lower the Moon and Sun respectively, but knowing that the event was inevitable only served to make her more nervous. Eager to shift her attention from the impending discussion, she focused instead on the almost ironic role reversal that had occurred between herself and her student.

        In the past, it had always been Twilight who had come to her for advice and assistance. Twilight had always had complete faith in Celestia’s judgement, and perhaps this had been the true explanation for their relationship. She called Twilight her faithful student, but maybe she had underestimated just how much faith Twilight had in her. She could feel it herself, she realized, at that moment. She worried about how Luna would react, about whether or not things would turn out alright, but she no longer doubted that it was the right thing to do. She had complete faith in her student’s decision, and she felt it would be foalish not to. Twilight had, with her friends and the Magic of Friendship, protected Equestria from greater threats than anything Celestia had faced in an extremely long time, and if anypony knew how to be a good friend, then it was Twilight Sparkle.

        This absolute certainty that Twilight’s decision was the right one was incredibly powerful, and she thought that it might be a better explanation for Twilight’s behavior around her. It wasn’t that Twilight was afraid of disappointing her,--although that was certainly part of it--but she had so much faith in Celestia’s wisdom and judgement, that from Twilight’s perspective, to disobey Celestia was to do something abjectly wrong. She considered some of the things that she had asked Twilight to do for her in the past. She had, over Twilight’s objections, sent her to Ponyville to make friends, which ultimately led to the defeat of Night Mare Moon and the return of Princess Luna. She had sent Twilight to convince a dragon who was threatening to blanket Equestria under a lethal cloud of smoke and ash that he needed to leave Equestria. Admittedly, this task was far less dangerous than it may have seemed to Twilight and her friends, since Celestia had been in the Dragon Kingdom reaffirming an alliance that had been in effect for centuries. When she had asked that her faithful student and her friends be the ones to approach the weary traveler, both she and the dragon himself had known that if any harm came to her subjects, there would be no escaping the Dragon King’s wrath. Twilight had again demonstrated her nearly complete faith in Celestia by agreeing, despite the apparent dangers that confronting a weary dragon in his home presented. Most impressively was her inspirational victory over the recently re-imprisoned Discord, who was one of the two greatest threats Equestria had ever known. 

        She was starting to believe that this was indeed the better explanation for Twilight’s behavior since it even helped to explain why she had been willing to stand up to her so recently. When she had said, at the beginning of their conversation, that she feared that she was making a mistake with Princess Luna, she had admitted that she was uncertain. By admitting that she did not have a definite answer, she had given Twilight tacit permission to disagree and to voice her views. She almost wished that she could repeat the conversation, but this time, not admit her doubts, and see if Twilight’s behavior changed. She almost hoped that this was the case, because it would be easier for her to demonstrate that she was no more infallible than anypony else than it would be to undo more than a decade of deep seated emotional damage. 

        This hopeful train of thought was suddenly derailed by a polite knocking on the door of the parlor. “Dearest Sister, ‘tis I, Luna, and I wish for a moment of thy time.” Celestia was pleased, since the use of old Equestrian indicated that Luna was either very excited, or very angry, and of the two, joy sounded more likely.

        Celestia turned from where she had been pacing, looking past Twilight, who was seated quietly on her cushion watching Celestia as she paced, to the door. “Of course, Luna,” she said, opening the door with her magic. “I take it from thine overly flow’ry speech that thou hath enjoyed thine self,” she continued jokingly.

        Luna, blushing slightly at her gentle prodding, entered the parlor and closed the door behind her. “Oh... and I had been doing so well, too,” she said regretfully. She finally seemed to take notice of the lavender cushion, and of the mare positioned atop it. “Greetings Twilight Sparkle, it is wonderful to see you again. I really must thank you for all that you have done.”

        It was Twilight’s turn to blush, and she spoke modestly, saying, “thank you, Princess, but I didn’t really do that much. All I did was give you a few pointers.”

        “Not true, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna replied insistently. “If it wasn’t for your willingness to believe that Night Mare Moon was indeed gone, and your willingness to help me despite my many blunders, then the ponies of Ponyville might never have accepted me, and I wouldn’t have asked ‘Tia to let me hold court.”

        Twilight was visibly uncomfortable at receiving such open praise, and Celestia found it adorable. Still eager to avoid the credit, Twilight said, “I think that you underestimate the ponies of Ponyville, your Highness. I think that they would have come around if you had just kept trying.”

        It was Celestia’s turn to join in piling praise on her faithful student, whether she desired it or not. “That is one of your most admirable traits, Twilight,” she said with a motherly smile. “But sometimes, I feel that perhaps you underestimate just how rare, and precious, friends such as yourself and the other Elements of Harmony are. You may be right that the ponies of Ponyville would have been convinced, but it might have taken a generation for them to forget the events of Night Mare Moon’s return.” Twilight’s blush grew even more pronounced, and she did not seem to have anything to say in rebuttal.

        Luna nodded, saying firmly, “I agree with our dear sister that your actions have helped to hasten my return to society by many years at the least. And for this reason, I would appreciate it if you would call me Luna, as you did on Nightmare Night.”

        Twilight nodded and continued to look uncomfortable. “Luna, are you ready to raise the Moon?” When Luna nodded, the two alicorns lit their horns in unison, and the night officially began. Once the Sun had descended below the horizon, and the Moon had begun its ascent, their auras faded, and the conversation resumed.

        Celestia was starting to feel more relaxed, and was no longer nearly so worried about Luna doing something rash. “Luna? Twilight and I were wondering if you would be able to stay for a while and talk.” She was careful to keep her voice relaxed and informal, so as to avoid making it sound like an order.

        “I suppose so, ‘Tia, but I was hoping to get something to eat first.” Luna sounded more apologetic than anything else.

        Celestia laughed lightly, saying, “Luna, I’m disappointed. In case you didn’t notice, there is enough food here to last for several days. And even with you helping, I suspect that it will last the night.” 

        Luna smiled brightly, saying, “thank you ‘Tia. I didn’t want to impose, and I suppose that it wouldn’t be too difficult to leave something for the two of you. I only request that you do me the same favor so far as the doughnuts are concerned, since it appears that somepony has been eating them rather rapidly.” There was only one box left, of the four that had been purchased, and Celestia knew that Luna’s comment was aimed at her.

        Jokingly, she used her wing to point at Twilight, who was smiling serenely, oblivious to Celestia’s antics. Luna just rolled her eyes at Celestia to indicate that she wouldn’t be fooled that easily. She returned her wing to her side, and as Luna began to place food on her plate, walked over to a door that led to a storage room. The room was mainly meant as a place to store extra quills, ink, parchment, and anything else that may be needed during a meeting, but for that night, it was also where the cushions that would normally be used by the visiting ponies had been stowed. One such cushion was dark blue, large enough to accommodate an alicorn, and was promptly summoned by Celestia’s magic, coming to join the others before the fire.

        There was a brief silence as Luna finished preparing her plate, and came to rest on the cushion Celestia had summoned for her. “So... what is it... that you wanted to talk about ‘Tia,” Luna said between taking bites from an apple.

        “Well, the first thing is that we wanted to hear how you enjoyed your first day of court.” Luna’s face lit up, and the apple was dropped unceremoniously onto the plate.

        “It was amazing, ‘Tia!” Luna was positively exuberant. So much so that she sprang to her hooves, despite having just lain down moments before. “Everypony was so polite and respectful, I mean everypony is always polite, but these ponies actually seemed to mean it! And even though some of them were frightened in the morning, they still listened to me, and they didn’t try to run away!” Luna actually took to hovering in the air in her excitement. “And I wish you could have seen it when I made my decisions ‘Tia. Some of them looked disappointed if I didn’t agree with them, but even then, they remained polite and understanding. But it felt amazing, ‘Tia, to see the way that the ponies who I did side with reacted. They didn’t care that I was the Princess of the Night, or that I had been controlled by Night Mare Moon, or even that I wasn’t you! They wanted my help ‘Tia, and I was able to give it!”

        Celestia had difficulty maintaining her smile when Luna said, “... or even that I wasn’t you!” She didn’t know what it was about that statement that hurt her so much, but it did, and she hated the feeling. Otherwise, she couldn’t have been any happier for Luna without joining her in flying idly around the room. This kind of response was exactly what she had both hoped for and expected, and she hoped that Luna wouldn’t choose to throw this away for the promise of greater political influence.

        “I’m glad to hear that you had such a wonderful time, Luna,” she said with a sincere smile. “I take it that you are still interested in holding tomorrow’s court as well?”

        “Of course,” Luna said joyfully as she returned to the ground. “Although I admit that I had kind of hoped that I would get to do something more important,” she said, face falling slightly. 

        Celestia felt a hint of uneasiness as Luna said that. It was exactly that sentiment that frightened her, but she hoped that Luna would be convinced to continue holding the weekend sessions, for at least a couple more weeks. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, actually,” she said with cautious neutrality. Luna’s ears perked up and she looked at Celestia curiously. “There is a good reason why none of the decisions you made today were very large.” She hurried to clarify her statement, “which isn’t to say that they weren’t important, because I am certain that your decisions had a large impact on those ponies you spoke to, but I meant on a national scale.”

        Luna nodded, still interested, but resumed eating her apple. “The weekends are when we hold what I usually think of as open court. The castle is opened to any and all ponies who have something to bring before me, or you in today’s case. This means that the problems that you were asked to deal with were those of individual ponies with very specific problems. Questions of national policy, however, aren’t decided during these sessions. I only make those decisions after hours, sometimes days, of meetings between the affected parties, and those meetings are scheduled, often weeks in advance, during the normal work week.”

        Luna kept looking at her inquisitively, which wasn’t what Celestia had expected. “I’m sorry that I didn’t explain this to you before, but I thought that it would be better for you to spend some more time getting to know our subjects, their needs and customs, and speech patterns, before assuming any larger responsibilities. I hope you can forgive me.”

        Luna suddenly seemed confused. “Forgive you, ‘Tia? Whatever for?”

        This was not the kind of response that Celestia anticipated at all. She knew that she failed to keep the surprise from her voice when she said, “for not explaining this earlier, and for failing to describe the process by which decisions are made.”

        Luna actually giggled at her, with completely stunned her. “Thank you for telling me, ‘Tia, but I had kind of put that together myself.”

        “Then why didn’t you say anything?”

        “Because I thought it was obvious,” Luna said with a smile. “I mean, I was shocked when you actually agreed to let me hold court. I had expected you to ask that I merely attend and watch, or do something else to prepare myself. ‘Tia, I can hardly speak with Blueblood without using the Royal Canterlot Voice, so I know I need more time to prepare for formal court duties.”

        “So you aren’t upset about my misleading you?” Celestia was still having difficulty accepting that Luna was this calm about it.

        “I was hardly mislead, sister. I suspect that the only pony you mislead is yourself,” she said, giggling again.

        Celestia colored slightly. “Yes, well then...” she trailed off, unsure how to proceed now that she realized that all her concerns had been baseless.

        Luna smiled reassuringly, saying “oh calm down ‘Tia. It isn’t like this is the first time you’ve made a mistake, and it certainly isn’t the worst.”

        “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Her tone was a mix of joviality and annoyance.

        “No, you messed up, but at least it isn’t as bad as some of your other mistakes.” Luna seemed to be having a hard time controlling her mirth.

        “Thank you, Luna, for your kind words,” she said sarcastically, eliciting an equally insincere bow from her sister. She turned to Twilight who was smiling at the sight of the two most powerful ponies in Equestria bickering like little fillies. “I think that I have spoken with my sister enough for one night,” she said, causing Luna to stick out her tongue mockingly. Celestia glared back, and Twilight began to giggle happily. “So perhaps you would be willing to share another one of your lessons with us, for I have to know whether or not they are all as unbelievable as that first.”

        Twilight nodded eagerly, levitating the scroll that she had picked earlier before her eyes. Celestia interrupted before she could begin, however, because she saw a look of confusion on Luna’s face. “You know that Twilight has been sending me reports on the lessons she has learned about the Magic of Friendship.” 

        “Yes, ‘Tia. You have let me read several, if you recall,” she said neutrally.

        “Well, earlier, she told me about the story behind her learning one of her lessons, the first one actually, about the Gala tickets, and I could hardly believe it. Luna, the entire town... I think that you will have to hear it from Twilight some time, but she was going to tell me about another of her lessons, and I hope that you will stay and listen.”

        Luna nodded happily, saying, “any story that ‘Tia says is unbelievable must be truly something, so I would love to stay and listen, if you don’t mind, of course.” 

        Twilight looked almost as happy as she had been on the day she had gotten her cutie mark. Apparently, getting to tell not just Celestia, but Luna as well, about her time in Ponyville was very special to the lavender mare.

        Celestia felt happier than she could ever remember being as she relaxed comfortably by her fire, surrounded by her sister and her faithful student. Content to just enjoy this moment, she settled comfortably on her cushion as Twilight began to read in an excited voice, “Dear Princess Celestia... .”

> 5.1: A Rather Merry Morning(take 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Note: given the mixed response to, and my own misgivings about, my first fifth chapter, this is meant to take place instead of "Lonely at the Top". Be sure to read the actual author's note for more information. 

        When Princess Celestia woke the next morning to raise the Sun, she found herself feeling far more refreshed than she had any right to be. She, Luna, and Twilight had been up until nearly one in the morning, and it had taken her longer than usual to fall asleep afterwards. Even though she had gotten less sleep than she was accustomed to, it felt like half the weight of the Kingdom had been lifted from her back, and she was amazed at the difference it made.

        She used her magic to raise the Sun over the horizon, and marveled at the unfamiliar sensation of happiness that the familiar act brought her. It wasn’t often that she actually looked forward to beginning her day, since it usually consisted exclusively of work, and such things as she did look forward to tended to be small islands of pleasure in a sea of monotony, but not today. Despite her earlier commitment to remain in Canterlot, she was determined to leave the dreary confines of the castle, feeling that it would be a tremendous waste to spend what little time she had off hovering over Luna’s shoulder. If she was going to trust Luna to be her equal, then she didn’t need to remain behind, ready to intercede at a moments notice. Luna could contact her magically, so she felt that she was risking little by physically removing herself from Canterlot.

        She walked happily down the stairs from her bedchamber into her solar where she started to make preparations to travel. She saw that Philomena was awake and looking at her with interest. Celestia smiled brightly as the phoenix flew over to her and landed on the wing that she extended to receive her. “Good morning Philomena.” The phoenix leant in and nuzzled her cheek kindly, crooning gently. “I’m happy to see you too,” she assured with a giggle. 

        Philomena, who was one of the few living things to have seen her at ease, seemed surprised by her present, almost carefree, behavior. “I know you’re curious, but I would appreciate it if you would do me a favor.” Philomena looked back with cautious interest. “It’s nothing that you need worry about, Philomena,” she said reassuringly. “I was just hoping that I could convince you to check and see if Twilight is awake. I don’t expect her to be up yet, given the late hour at which we separated, yet it is possible.” She thought she saw a mischievous gleam in Philomena’s eye, but it was quickly suppressed, if she hadn’t simply imagined it. It was early, she hadn’t slept as much as she was used to, and she couldn’t think of any reason why Philomena would want to mess with Twilight, so she just ignored it.

        Philomena jumped to her back, and using her wings, wrapped her in a warm embrace before flying towards the door, which Celestia opened for her. Smiling brightly, she walked over to her desk and pulled out the necessary materials to write several letters. If she was going to leave Canterlot for a day off, then she didn’t want to be accompanied by guards. However, Shining Armor would have a fit if she tried to convince him to simply allow her to fly off unescorted, unannounced, and without having given the guard time to at least ensure that her destination was secure. Outside of an emergency, like the one that had threatened Ponyville when Twilight had gone slightly crazy, she wouldn’t normally consider simply leaving without informing her Guard Captain, yet that was what she was preparing to do.

        The first letter she prepared was one to Luna, informing her that she would be spending the day outside Canterlot with Twilight. It was vague, since she had no definite plans other than that she wanted to leave, and assured Luna that she had confidence in her judgement, and said that Luna could contact her if she needed help. She signed it informally, sealed it, and placed it on the desk from which she had removed the writing materials. The next letter was a more formal letter to Shining Armor, informing him that she was leaving Canterlot, did not require an escort, and would return before the start of court the next day. She would have ordered that he not attempt to pursue her, yet she knew that to do so would likely push him to insubordination, so she didn’t bother. When she was finished, she signed it, using her full title, sealed it, and set it aside next to the first. Having prepared the letters which she would send immediately before leaving to avoid any reprisals, she looked to a stack of newspapers which she had delivered daily. 

        Levitating the entire stack, most of which were saturday’s issues, she relocated herself to a spot before this room’s fireplace. She lay down on the soft carpet and began to scan the papers for any announcements of events or other attractions that she thought might be fun to attend. She hadn’t been reading long before she heard the sound of wings in the hall outside, followed quickly by the sound of her door opening. She turned to look, and was surprised to see Philomena alighting proudly upon a disheveled looking Twilight’s back. Wings fanning upwards, framing her student’s head with her brilliant plumage, with her head held high, and eyes that were positively brimming with delight. Celestia felt a hint of annoyance, because whenever Philomena looked this pleased with herself, it usually signified that she had pulled some kind of prank on somepony, and given Twilight’s completely bedraggled appearance, it seemed that Twilight was the unlucky somepony.

        “Good morning Twilight,” she said warmly. “I hope that Philomena here didn’t wake you. I thought that it was clear that I only wanted her to check if you were awake, not actually wake you,” she said, casting a mildly chiding look at her pet. Philomena reacted to her rebuke by furling her wings, and acting hurt, as if she hadn’t done anything wrong.

        Celestia was surprised when Twilight next spoke, saying, “it’s okay, Celestia. I wasn’t awake, but I’m glad that Philomena woke me.” she hesitated before continuing in a nervous voice, eyes averted. “And... I might have been partly responsible for this.” Philomena nodded her agreement, looking at her with a look of exaggerated innocence.

        “Very well, my faithful student,” she said with a sigh. “Normally I might inquire further, but since it appears that the two of you have settled your differences, I don’t think that I need to involve myself.” She grew slightly serious for a moment, asking, “you have settled things, haven’t you?” When each of them nodded, her face brightened. “Good.”

        “Now that you are here, Twilight, maybe you can help me with something.”

        Twilight smiled brightly, saying enthusiastically, “I’d be happy to help in any way I can.”

        Still smiling, Celestia said, “I thought as much.” She gestured for Twilight to come nearer, levitating several of the newspapers into her line of vision. “I was just looking for anything going on outside of Canterlot that might be a fun way to spend the day, and I thought that you might know of something.”

        Both Philomena and Twilight looked surprised to learn that she wished to leave Canterlot. Philomena knew that such acts of spontaneity rarely ever occurred, and Twilight had been led to expect that the weekend would be spent at the castle. “You see, Twilight, that after our conversation last night with Princess Luna, I started to examine my behavior where Luna was concerned, and I discovered several things. One such discovery was that, when I examined my motives for staying in Canterlot, although there were some legitimate concerns, I was mainly unwilling to leave Luna alone. If I am going to truly accept her as my equal, then I am going to have to trust her and her judgement, which was something I wasn’t willing to do.” 

        Twilight smiled and nodded, saying, “I bet this will make Princess Luna very happy. Have you told her yet?” 

        “No, and I won’t until it is time to leave, else there will be no escaping the royal guards. Besides,” she said with a playful smile, “she is still adjusting to her new diurnal schedule, and needs the rest.” Twilight tilted her head in confusion at her statement, causing Celestia to laugh at her student’s perplexed expression. “I’m sure that you, of all ponies, Twilight, know just how protective your brother can be, and if he knew that I was planning to leave Canterlot unescorted, he might try to arrest me for endangering the life of the Princess.” She laughed again at the thought, but Twilight only chuckled half-heartedly, likely because she knew that despite Celestia’s jovial demeanor, she was only half joking about her brother. Celestia knew that she was lucky to have such devoted, capable, and selfless guards who would gladly sacrifice both their lives, and their jobs, to ensure her safety. She decided to also explain her statement about Luna, since she thought that Twilight might find the historical information interesting.

        And,” she said, sobering slightly. “So far as Luna’s schedule is concerned, she used to be nocturnal, and would host a night court similar to my own day court.”

        Twilight started to brighten up, the final vestiges of sleep falling away. “Is she going to start doing that again once she is more familiar with holding court?”

        “No,” Celestia responded calmly. “It was something that we discussed when she asked to handle court on the weekends. We both agreed that the practice had become antiquated, and was partly responsible for the rise of Night Mare Moon.” She knew that Twilight was unaware of the nature of the transformation undergone by Luna, and Celestia had no intention of telling her, for it was up to Luna to decide how much to tell others, and who those others were. Ignoring the look of confusion Twilight gave her, she continued, “the practice had only started because, during the war with Discord, it had been important that one of us be ready to respond to any of his antics at any time, and it had seemed reasonable that I guard the day, and she the night.” She remained carefully neutral. “However, after Discord’s defeat, we maintained the practice, but ponies, who are diurnal by nature, slowly stopped attending night court, preferring to work during the day.”

        Twilight, never one to give up on acquiring new information, asked, “what does the dwindling attendance at night court have to do with Night Mare Moon?” 

        Celestia frowned, not with anger, but to indicate that this line of inquiry was not to be pursued. “If you want to know about Night Mare Moon, then you shall have to speak with Luna, for such details are not mine to divulge, not even to you, my faithful student.”

        Twilight looked dejected at her answer, but recovered quickly. “Okay Celestia,” she said before pausing briefly. “I think I might have an idea of what we can do today, if you’re interested.”

        Celestia smiled, glad to change the topic. She looked at Twilight expectantly. “Well, in Ponyville, there is the Sisterhooves Social being held today at Sweet Apple Acres.” Celestia felt that the event sounded familiar, but she couldn’t recall any specific details.

        “That sounds interesting, but, from the name, it sounds like it is meant for sisters, of which you have none, and mine is otherwise occupied.”

        Twilight sounded slightly discouraged by her comment, so Celestia reassured her, saying, “I’m not saying no, Twilight. I should have to hear more before making any decision, but it just sounded like something that you need to have a sister at hoof for.”

        Some of Twilight’s eagerness returned at this, and she continued. “It is more like a fair, or that’s how Applejack described it to me. There are games, events, and freshly made apple products for sale, but the main event is a race in which pairs of sisters try to overcome obstacles before each other, and the first pair to complete them all and cross the finish line wins.”

        Celestia smiled slyly, having thought of a small joke she could play. “This does sound interesting, but I have a few questions.” Twilight simply nodded. “First, do you have to register in advance to participate in the race?” she asked seriously.

        Twilight seemed surprised by this question, and responded uncertainly, saying, “I’m not sure, Celestia. I think you might because I know that some of the obstacles require preparation in advance, but they might have prepared extra for a last minute entry. It’s what I would do,” she added almost as an afterthought.

        Pleased that Twilight didn’t appear to have noticed the set up, she asked, “and, my faithful and most trusted student, how would you feel about managing court today?” The panicked look on Twilight’s face was worth more to her than all the gold in the coffers.

        “WHAT?” Twilight shouted. “Oh, no, no, no. I couldn’t Princess, I mean... I’d have no idea what to do.” She looked around frantically. “I’m not certain of the reception protocols, and I haven’t even finished my studies of Equestrian contract law.” She ran to a bookshelf and started hastily scanning titles. “I’d need to go to the library and study, but I’m not sure that there would be enough time.” Celestia could hardly keep from crying with laughter. She knew she shouldn’t have sprung this on Twilight, but the opportunity was just too perfect to pass up.

        “No, Twilight, that’s okay,” she said in a voice full of barely restrained mirth. “I was hoping that you could cover for Luna, but if you don’t feel you are ready, then we shall just have to wait until next year.” This stopped Twilight in her tracks.

        “Next Year?” she asked, clearly lost.

        “Well, it is an annual event, isn’t it?” she asked the oblivious Twilight.

        “Yes,” she offered hesitantly, “but what happens next year?”

        “Next year, I think that Luna and I shall have to enter, for it sounds like fun.” She tried not to laugh too loudly at the stunned look on Twilight’s face as she most likely considered what the race would be like if everypony had to compete against both Princesses of Equestria. Celestia knew that it was little more than a whimsical wish, since many ponies would consider it to be almost sacrilegious to even attempt to beat them, but that didn’t prevent Twilight from imagining the admittedly amusing scenario.

        Apparently, this proposition was so ludicrous that Twilight finally began to realize that this entire exchange had basically been a big joke at her expense. She smiled sheepishly, asking, “you didn’t really want me to hold court, did you?” Celestia’s smile was warm and comforting, and she shook her head lightly, to Twilight’s clear relief.

        “Especially not with your mane like that. I don’t suppose that Philomena gave you time to brush it.”

        Twilight blushed and shook her head, which made Celestia laugh lightly. “Then come with me,” she said, rising from the carpet. “I have brushes that you can use upstairs, and it wouldn’t do for you to return to Ponyville looking like that, now would it.”

        “No, I suppose not,” Twilight responded in a calmer voice. “It might just kill Rarity if she saw my mane like this.” She heard Twilight chuckle quietly as she started to follow Celestia up the stairs that led to her bedroom, through which the bathroom was accessed. 

        “Speaking of your friends,” she said politely, “will any of them be participating in today’s activities?” 

        “Yep. Applejack and her younger sister, Applebloom, who compete every year. And there is a chance that Rarity and her younger sister Sweetie Belle, who is staying with Rarity this week, will compete, but I don’t think it’s very likely.”

        “Really?” she asked. “It sounds like a wonderful way to spend time with one’s sister.”

        “Yes, but Rarity prefers that her activities be a little less messy, and they weren’t getting along too well before I left.”

        “That’s a pity,” she said with genuine sorrow. “From personal experience, I can attest to just how unpleasant conflicts between sisters can be.”

        Twilight had been distracted enough, talking about her friends, not to notice when they walked through her bedroom, but upon entering the bathroom, Twilight’s jaw dropped, forcing Celestia to stifle another round of giggles at her student’s expense. “Here we are, Twilight. Feel free to use anything you need to get ready.” Celestia smiled kindly and spread a wing for Philomena to land on. Phoenix in tow, she left the room and closed the door behind her.

> 6: FOR SCIENCE!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Celestia was standing patiently in her bedroom, waiting for Twilight to get ready. She didn’t know how long it would take Twilight, but she didn’t expect it to be very long. She doubted that Twilight would be willing to fully accept her invitation to use anything in the well supplied bathroom, which held enough grooming supplies and devices to make any professional stylist jealous. She knew that her faithful student would rush to finish so that she didn’t keep Celestia waiting, even though Celestia felt that waiting would be a small price to pay if it meant that Twilight would relax and enjoy herself. This thought made her think of the phoenix resting peaceably on her wing.

        She turned to look at her longtime friend and companion, and addressed her sternly. “You and I need to talk, young lady.” Philomena must have realized that she was in trouble because her talons began to tighten uncomfortably on Celestia’s wing. Philomena quickly relaxed her grip, and took to the air, but rather than trying to flee, she landed on the carpet in front of Celestia, eyes downcast. Still maintaining her serious demeanor, she continued, “I know that you are perfectly aware that whatever it is you did to wake Twilight, who is our guest, was inappropriate, and I trust that you will refrain from doing so in the future. Although I am curious as to why she seemed so reluctant to discuss the matter, I told Twilight that I wouldn’t pry, so I won’t, but knowing both of you as I do, I think I understand the situation.”

        “Most likely, while you were busy terrifying poor Fluttershy, Twilight somehow got involved in the mess you were making, and began to overreact. I seem to recall Twilight attempting to take responsibility for your ‘death’, and Fluttershy saying that she would accept banishment, and imprisonment in the place she was banished to, for her perceived transgression. That is the sort of wild exaggeration that I might expect from Twilight when she was panicked about something, which means that something had caused her to panic, and I think I may assert without any doubt that that something was you. Twilight probably overreacted in such a way that, upon later reflection, she realized was excessive, and you used her guilt about her behavior to convince her that whatever you did to wake her was justified. Am I close?” she asked in a cold tone.

        Philomena looked her in the eye before nodding slowly and looking dejectedly to the floor. Celestia usually didn’t mind Philomena’s pranks, jokes, and other distractions, especially since they had helped to liven up her otherwise monotonous days, but there were some things that Celestia wanted to be off-limits, and she needed for Philomena to understand that. She softened her tone slightly, saying, “Twilight said, and you agreed, that you two had come to terms with one another, and I don’t think that it would be right for me, who wasn’t affected, to impose punishment.” Philomena looked up from the floor with a look that was both grateful and apologetic. “But,” she said, voice completely serious, “from now on, I expect you to refrain from involving Twilight or her friends in any more of your games. Do you understand?” Philomena nodded her head quickly, and Celestia began to smile warmly.

        “Good,” she said, leaning down to nuzzle Philomena affectionately. “Then let us move on, and forget about this little affair.” Philomena warbled happily in her ear, which must have been what prevented her from hearing the door to the bathroom opening.

        In a slightly anxious voice, Twilight said, “I’m sorry, Celestia, if I’m interrupting, but I think I am ready now.” Celestia lifted her head and looked at her student, and adopted a kind smile. 

        “Not at all Twilight. I was just telling Philomena how impressed I was at her entrance this morning. You both looked quite regal.” Twilight blushed faintly, but otherwise, she took the compliment well. It hadn’t been long enough for Twilight to do much more than brush her mane, which it appeared that she had done with meticulous attention, for not a single strand of hair was out of place. She considered suggesting that Twilight take this opportunity to make use of some of the nicer amenities available, but knew that any such recommendation would be taken as a criticism. If she proposed that Twilight take a shower before they left, she doubted that Twilight would believe her protestations that she merely wanted Twilight to enjoy herself, but that she would likely feel bad for having offended Celestia with poor hygiene. This in mind, she settled on simply saying, “If you’re ready, then all that’s left to do is send my letters, and we can be off.” 

        Twilight nodded complacently, content now to simply follow Celestia’s lead, it seemed. Soon after she began to descend the stairs to her solar, she heard a quiet gasp of surprise from Twilight. She looked over her shoulder to see Twilight giggling as Philomena, who had flown onto Twilight’s back, started to nuzzle her neck. She wasn’t sure just how much of Philomena’s behavior was aimed at her, and how much of it was genuine affection for Twilight, but either way, the sight warmed her. She liked to see her little ponies happy, and Twilight more than most.

        Once in her solar, she grabbed the letters in her magic, sending them both to Luna. Luna would read her letter, and know to give the other to Shining Armor when possible. That last detail having been dealt with, she turned to Twilight who was regarding Philomena with awe. Philomena was flying in a circle around Twilight, demonstrating how, during flight, her plumage seemed to transform into brilliant jets of fire, giving her the appearance of a creature of pure flame. Then, to further amaze Twilight, she ceased her flying, regaining her normal avian appearance, landed before Twilight, and brushed her with neck with a wing to demonstrate that they were no hotter than before. Twilight gasped in amazement, raising her hoof to stroke the incredibly cool to the touch feathers.

        Celestia imagined that she could see the gears turning in Twilight’s mind, struggling to explain the strange phenomena that she had just witnessed. Phoenixes were rare outside the Everfree Forest, and most phoenixes were fiercely independent creatures. Philomena was an exception, in that she was willing to live within the castle and obey Celestia, most of the time, but she remained a mostly free spirit. This meant that Philomena was one of the only specimens available to study, but because Celestia had always been mindful of Philomena’s desire to remain free of the kind of monitoring and experiments that researchers would seek to perform, very little had come of it.

        “Philomena,” she said calmly to get the phoenix’s attention. “I just had a wonderful idea, and I hoped that you might agree with me.” Philomena looked at her warily, since their respective definitions of ‘wonderful’ tended to differ. “Since you and Twilight are getting along so well, perhaps you might be willing to, in the future, allow Twilight the opportunity to study some of your less understood abilities.” She smiled warmly at her pet, who likely realized that she had overplayed her friendship with Twilight. 

        Twilight, on the other hoof, was clearly thrilled at the idea of being allowed to study the phoenix, no matter what restrictions were placed on her methods. This would be one of the only times that anypony had been able to perform anything more than a cursory examination of phoenixes and their abilities, and the idea that she would be the one to do it was making her giddy. “Oh, Philomena,” she said hopefully, “that would be amazing.” She used her hoof to stroke the phoenix’s feathers gently once more. “I know that phoenixes don’t like to be studied, but I promise that I will be very careful, and that I won’t do anything to make you uncomfortable.” Twilight’s earnest desire to both learn about phoenixes, and respect Philomena’s desires, appeared to have at least some effect on the reluctant firebird. She looked plaintively at Celestia for just a moment longer, pleading to be rescued from the indignity of scientific research.

        Celestia was, however, smiling encouragingly at Twilight, showing Philomena where her loyalties lay, so with a reluctant, resigned cry, Philomena turned back to Twilight and nodded solemnly. As unhappy as the phoenix appeared to be at this decision, the effect it had on the lavender unicorn was impressive. “Thank you, Philomena. I promise you won’t regret this. If there is anything I can do to repay you for this incredible opportunity...” her voice trailed off, and unable to finish her statement, she settled for embracing the phoenix wholeheartedly. Philomena still looked unhappy, but Twilight’s cheer was infectious, and Philomena’s dourness gradually diminished.

        Celestia allowed the happy moment to continue for nearly a minute, until it became clear that Twilight would need a little coaxing to pull her back to the present. Also, as a way of showing her gratitude to Philomena for agreeing, however reluctantly, to give Twilight this signal honor, she would intercede to free her from Twilight’s crushing grip. “Twilight,” she said kindly, “I know that you are eager to begin your... research, but I think it might be a good idea to plan your inquiries before beginning.” Twilight was pulled from her euphoria by this open appeal to the scientific method.

        She drew away from Philomena, looking slightly abashed by her exuberant display. “Of course, Celestia. I need to plan, and make preparations.” Her tone was becoming more serious with each passing word. “I want to make sure that I don’t perform any unnecessary tests, and I don’t even have the proper materials for documentation with me.” Philomena looked faintly relieved to learn that she wouldn’t be being investigated that day, but to hear Twilight talk about necessary preparation seemed to unsettle her. 

        Celestia spread a wing, and nodded gently to Philomena, who flew to the proffered appendage. “Thank you, my dear,” she whispered into Philomena’s ear. “And if it isn’t too much to ask, I think that a feather from you would help to make her that much more appreciative of the gift you are giving her.” Philomena looked at her exasperatedly, but did, after only a few seconds, pluck a feather and offer it to Twilight. The effect was exactly what Celestia had expected, which was that Twilight gasped again as she levitated the feather from Philomena’s talons and inspected it carefully. “Thank you Philomena,” she said again, voice rife with emotion. This time, however, it was Philomena who instigated the hug, which Twilight received with apparent disbelief. Philomena quickly ended the hug and flew for the stairs. As she passed Celestia, she gave her an almost reproachful look which Celestia took to mean that she was leaving before she could be volunteered for anything else she didn’t want to do.

        Celestia was happy with the way things had transpired, but realized that there was one final hurdle to jump before they could leave. The hurdle was that she needed to find some way to convince Twilight to climb on her back so she could teleport them to Ponyville. While it wasn’t uncommon for ponies to carry foals or pets on their backs, for grown ponies, to ride on another pony’s back was completely different. Although Twilight was, both by size and age, a foal when compared to Celestia, she doubted that Twilight would accept this rationale when being asked to do something that society frowned upon, especially when the pony asking was Celestia herself.

        She needed some way to both prevent Twilight from panicking at the suggestion, and to convince her to actually do what she asked. She thought that she knew something that would get Twilight to cooperate, but it depended on her love of knowledge being greater than her fear of societal disapproval or her fear of embarrassing Celestia. 

        “Twilight?” she asked. “How would you like for me to teach you a lesson on the theory and practice of long distance teleportation?”

        Twilight, who had probably been focused on the prospect of doing research on Philomena’s feather, which was still clutched firmly before her eyes, looked at her with dull surprise. “What was that Princess... Celestia? Did you say teleportation?”

        Celestia giggled at Twilight’s distracted comments, reaffirming gently, “yes, Twilight, I did. I asked if you would like a lesson on the theory and practice of long distance teleportation.”

        For the second time that hour, Twilight’s face lit up joyfully. “Really Celestia? There’s hardly any material on teleportation on distances greater than half a kilometer.”

        “The reason for that, my diligent student, is that very few ponies are both mentally disciplined and powerful enough to manage it. There are several principles of teleportation that are poorly understood by most because of this.”

        “Like what? The few researchers who have managed to research the subject have concluded that after a certain distance, which varies by text, the principles change. They usually treat teleportation over short distances and over long distances as different abilities.”

        “I know, Twilight, and I can tell you now that they are wrong.” She chuckled at the dumbstruck look that forced its way onto Twilight’s face. “I will be happy to both demonstrate, and explain where they make their mistakes, if you will let me.”

        Twilight was beaming and nodding her head eagerly. “Of course, just tell me what I need to do.”

        “I need for you to climb on my back so that you don’t fall in transit,” she said lightly, trying not to make it sound that important.

        Twilight’s eagerness disappeared as she considered Celestia’s request. Celestia was happy to see that Twilight had remained in control of her senses. Torn between her two conflicting desires, she was currently considering them reasonably, or so it seemed. It took her awhile to respond, and when she did so, it was in a controlled, yet hesitant voice. “You are going to be teleporting us to Ponyville, correct?” Celestia nodded simply. “But I need to be... be on your... back, so that I don’t fall?” Celestia nodded again. “But how can I fall if we are going from one place on the ground to another?”

        “You can fall,” Celestia began patiently, “because we will not be teleporting there in one jump.” Twilight looked at her with evident confusion. “I will explain the exact reason upon arrival, but I will have to teleport into the sky, and although I can keep myself aloft with wings, in the moments that we are airborne, I can’t afford to let you fall.”

        “So for you to teleport us to Ponyville, I have to be carried by you,” she said trying to avoid using the word ‘ride’.

        “Yes, Twilight. And you need not worry about what others might think, for if they see anything at all, it will be nothing but a bright flash of light. You have nothing to fear.” Celestia smiled reassuringly, and lay down gently on the carpet. Twilight exhaled deeply and took several hesitant steps towards Celestia.

        Twilight walked to Celestia’s flank, and seemed to consider climbing on in front of her wing joint, but then began to walk cautiously around behind her. Celestia waited patiently for Twilight to make up her mind how best to get on her back, but Twilight seemed incapable of choosing. She made two circuits of Celestia, failing each time to find an acceptable means of getting in position, so Celestia decided to intervene at last. “Please, Twilight, allow me.” Without waiting for permission, she used her magic to pick up the lavender mare, and placed her down so her hind legs were just just in front her wings, and her forelegs were wrapped around her neck. She heard Twilight exhale loudly, and could feel just how tense her student was.

        “Just relax a little, Twilight. Strangling me will not make this trip any faster,” she said jokingly, but Twilight seemed to think she was being serious, for her hooves immediately fell away from Celestia’s neck. “You do need to hold on, Twilight, but it wouldn’t hurt to simply loosen your grip a little.” Carefully, Twilight resumed her hold, and Celestia was ready to go. She rose to her hooves, causing Twilight to gasp anxiously. She realized that this was probably the first time Twilight had ever been flying outside of her hot air balloon, which might explain some of her nervousness. She spread her wings in preparation for the short time between jumps, and began to focus her magic. 

        It felt wonderful to call upon the Sun’s magic in such quantities. Earth ponies liked to exercise their muscles, pegasi liked to fly, and unicorns liked to use their magic. Unfortunately for Celestia, to use very much of her magic would be to invite catastrophe, so she enjoyed the rare instances where she was able to unleash more magic than normal. She felt a surge of exhilaration as a bright golden aura began to form around her horn, and a roiling golden bubble of power formed around her and her increasingly frightened passenger. When she released the building magic, there was a burst of light, and they were in the air hundreds of meters above Canterlot.

        The first spell had taken them outside of the building. Her wings, caught by the wind that was suddenly blowing around her, struggled momentarily to keep them steady, but a moment was all it took. With another burst of power, several times larger than the first, the pair disappeared, reappearing more than a third of the way to Ponyville with a flash of light that rivalled the Sun in intensity. Again, there was a pause as she steadied herself, and then another flash, of the same magnitude as before. The process repeated itself one last time, and as the light from the final teleportation died away, Celestia saw that they were hovering high above the edge of the Everfree Forest.

        She decided to fly to the ground to give Twilight a bit of time to recover from having witnessed such a tremendous use of magic. She knew that Twilight needed this time since Twilight’s grasp was almost nonexistent, and she could feel that Twilight was no longer tense, but seemed almost numb. She listened to the sounds of hundreds of frightened birds winging their way up from the Forest below them, and looked around to see if there was anypony from Ponyville who might see her arriving. Canterlot, she knew, was relatively used to her making sudden sunbursts in the sky overhead, since there were times when she needed to travel quickly, but she doubted Ponyville would be nearly so calm about what they had witnessed. 

        When she reached the ground, she gave a contented sigh, happy to be out of Canterlot, and relieved that nothing had gone wrong. She almost jumped, therefore, when she heard a quiet, almost inaudible, voice addressing her.

        “Uhm... Princess Celestia?” came a familiar voice. She looked around her, searching the field for any sign of the speaker, but to no avail. 

        “Pr- Princess, I’m over here,” the voice said from her side, and this time, its owner made herself visible by hovering slightly above the ground. Celestia was relieved to find that Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, was the speaker, and adopted a pleasant expression.

        “Good morning, Fluttershy. I hope that I have not caused too much of a problem by teleporting here,” she said kindly.

        Fluttershy looked nervous as she said, “a problem? Of course not, Princess. I just wasn’t expecting any visitors... or explosions.”

        Celestia felt a twinge of regret at having disrupted Fluttershy’s morning. “I understand, and if there is anything I can do to help, do not hesitate to ask. I had hoped to arrive without creating too big a disturbance, but I wasn’t aware that anypony lived this close to the Everfree Forest.”

        “No thank you Princess. I mean,” she started hurriedly, “I don’t think that there is anything really to do. It will be a little while before the critters are ready to come back out. All they need is a little time.”

        “I believe that you are the expert when it comes to caring for animals, Fluttershy, so I shall trust in your judgement,” Celestia said, trying to bolster the nervous pegasus’ spirits. It appeared to work, for Fluttershy slowly returned to the ground and looked at her curiously. “Is something the matter, Fluttershy?” she asked upon noticing this strange look.

        “Um, well, I don’t mean to pry, but... ,“ Celestia followed Fluttershy’s gaze to the pair of hooves wrapped limply around her neck. She gave an amused chuckle and furled her wings, revealing a stunned Twilight. “Oh, Princess, is she alright?” Fluttershy asked with pronounced concern. She took to the air and hovered over next to Twilight, inspecting her carefully.

        “Yes,” Celestia said brightly. “She is fine, or at least, there is nothing physically wrong with her. I don’t think she was expecting the teleportation to be so... explosive.”

        “Do you think it would help if she were to lie down? My cottage is just over this hill, she can rest there.” Fluttershy started move in the direction of her home.

        “Thank you for your kind offer, Fluttershy,” Celestia said as she started to follow. “I’m sorry for pulling you away from your work.”

        “My job is to care for everypony, and that includes my friends. This is no problem at all, and I’m happy to do what I can for Twilight.”

        Not knowing what to say in the face of such determined kindness, Celestia merely smiled, and followed Fluttershy in silence until they reached her cottage.

> 7: The Marvelous Magic of Mathematics
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Celestia found herself encountering no little resistance in her efforts to dislodge her faithful student from her back. Twilight’s eyes were clamped firmly shut, and her grip, while relaxed, tightened rapidly at the slightest hint of movement. Despite her present, admittedly unusual, circumstances, finding herself in Fluttershy’s cottage rather early in the morning with an insensate Twilight latched around her neck, she was enjoying enjoying herself. 

        She wore a bemused grin as she considered ways to bring Twilight from her stupor. Considering how well it had worked before, she decided to appeal to Twilight’s appetite for knowledge once more. “Twilight, my faithful student,” she said professorially. “I’m afraid that if you do not wake up now, then the lesson shall have to continue without you.” 

        She was rewarded with a quiet murmur of, “no Princess, I promise I’m awake.” Twilight, apparently believing herself to have been asleep, loosened her grip and tried to roll over. This she managed to do, and she had fortunately chosen to roll in the direction of the couch onto which Celestia had been trying to transfer her. She landed with a dull thud, which seemed to return her to her senses. She jumped shakily to her hooves and looked around quickly. “Are we in... Fluttershy’s house?” Her voice rose in surprise as she recognized her surroundings.

        “Yes Twilight, we are.” Her voice was pleasant and carefree as she started to explain what had happened since they had arrived above the Everfree Forest roughly fifteen minutes before. To Celestia’s immense satisfaction, Twilight did not seem to be worried that Fluttershy had seen her being carried by Celestia. Instead, her focus was devoted solely to the magic that she had seen.

        Celestia was delighted when Twilight began to ask questions about the trip. “Why did you have to make three jumps? Why did you have to teleport from the open sky? Why was the flash so large? Will you teach me how to teleport like that?”

        Celestia assumed her familiar role of teacher, politely interrupting Twilight when she paused for breath. “Please, Twilight, slow down and allow me to answer.” Twilight was almost bouncing with excitement at the prospect of having her questions answered, and she nodded eagerly. “I’m afraid there are a few things that I need to explain for my answers to have any meaning.”

        “The first thing you must understand is that the relation between distance traveled and the magic expended increases at a rate proportional to the distance traveled. To transport an region of some volume a distance of one meter will require one unit of magic. To go two meters requires two units. Three meters requires three units, and so on.” She could see Twilight struggling to suppress her impulse to take notes. “This is all theoretical, since the only time that this is actually true is, well... under very specific and hard to reproduce circumstances. What this means, however, is that there is something else that causes the amount of magic required to teleport long distances to begin to increase exponentially, despite this linear relation between distance and magic expended.”

        She was interrupted in her explanation by the return of Fluttershy, who had been in the kitchen preparing tea. She placed down a lovely tea tray, and deftly poured three cups with her mouth. “I’m so sorry for interrupting,” she said quietly when Celestia stopped talking. 

        Twilight looked flustered by the interruption, but after a moment, she regained her composure. “Good morning Fluttershy,” she said cheerily. “Princess Celestia was just about to explain the cause for the exponential growth rate of magic use as a function of distance.” Twilight’s voice was brimming with enthusiasm, and she looked hurt when Fluttershy failed to demonstrate the same level of interest.

        Quick to notice the effect her lackluster response had evoked in her friend, Fluttershy said in a supportive voice, “really? That sounds fascinating, Twilight.” 

        Celestia, by way of reminding Twilight that not everypony necessarily shared her interest in magical theory, flared her wings slightly. Twilight seemed to understand the meaning of her gesture, for she looked momentarily abashed for having made Fluttershy uncomfortable. She gave an apologetic, nervous chuckle, saying, “right... no magic.”

        Neither pony seemed to know what to say, so an awkward silence hung over the group for several seconds before Celestia stepped in. “Fluttershy,” she started in a curious tone. “I can’t help but notice the number of animal homes that you have.” Fluttershy nodded meekly, as if being criticized. “Do you have them in case of an emergency where you need to take care of an animal, or are they regularly occupied?”

        Still sounding unsure, Fluttershy replied, “a little bit of both, Princess.” Celestia looked at her questioningly, so Fluttershy started to explain. “Some critters do live here with me, like my friend Hummingway,” she said with a small smile. “This,” she said gesturing to a large, blanket lined basket, “is where Angel Bunny stays. And my home is always open to any critter who needs or wants a place to stay.”

        Twilight decided to chip in here, saying, “Fluttershy is amazing with all types of animals, Princess. She managed to convince the dragon to leave Equestria, and she also freed me from a cokcatrice.” 

        “SHE DID WHAT?” Celestia almost gagged on a sip of tea. Both Fluttershy and Twilight recoiled from her sudden outburst. “When did you encounter a cokcatrice, and what do you mean when you say that she freed you?”

        Celestia wasn’t relaxed anymore. Cockatrices had been created by Discord during their war specifically to kill magical ponies. They would petrify their victims, and then slowly leech off their magic until there was nothing left. She had herself been petrified once before, and it had nearly been the end of her. To hear that Twilight, her protégé, the Element of Magic, and her friend, had encountered, and possibly been imprisoned by, such a creature, both frightened and infuriated her. She knew that some danger was inescapable, since the Elements of Harmony were vital to the protection of Equestria against foes such as Discord, but it shook her to think that she might have lost Twilight through such random chance.

        Fluttershy seemed to have lost her voice altogether and appeared to be trying to disappear into the floorboards. Twilight looked completely stunned by the Princess’ sudden fury.

        “I- I- I had been... ,” she took a deep breath to steady herself. “... On my way home from Zecora’s house. She’s a zebra who lives just inside the Everfree Forest,” Twilight explained hastily. “And as I was returning, I saw what I mistook for a chicken, and thought it must have gotten lost. I went to check if there was anything to indicate where it came from, but it turned me to stone when I got close.” 

        Celestia’s heart was racing. This was the type of thing that she dreaded. She could personally control the Sun, and could, through her subjects, manipulate the weather, control the seasons, and direct the entire lifecycle of almost every living being within her Kingdom. Despite her immense influence, the pony closest to her was nearly taken from her while walking home from a casual visit with a friend. This thought made her feel something that she hadn’t felt since before Luna’s banishment. 

        For just a moment, she seriously considered the idea of incinerating the Everfree Forest. She didn’t intend to evacuate it, or relocate the creatures. She wanted, in that moment, to burn the entire forest to ash for nearly taking Twilight from her. She heard a squeak from Fluttershy which snapped her from her foalish fantasy. She took a deep breath, calming herself. She forced her ethereal mane and tail back into their regular, multi colored forms, since they had turned bright gold, like the noonday Sun. “I’m sorry, Twilight... Fluttershy.” She hesitated briefly, formulating a plausible explanation for her reaction. “It just worries me that such a creature is loose in the Everfree Forest, and that it would venture close enough to the edge for you to encounter it.” She looked down to find that the cup from which she had been drinking had been reduced to fine powder, crushed by her magic.

        She frowned as she realized the degree to which she had overreacted. She restored the teacup to its normal, non-powder, state, and magically cleaned the tea that had poured onto the floor. Fluttershy recovered enough to stammer quietly, “o- of cou- course, your Hi- Highness. I wou- would have written t- to inform yo- you i- if I had known it was so important.”

        Celestia felt extremely guilty for having allowed her temper to carry her away. In a gentle, reassuring voice, she said, “thank you Fluttershy. Loathe though I am to admit it, however, I don’t really believe that there is anything that your letter would have changed. The Everfree Forest has always been a dangerous place. It is one of the last refuges for Discord’s chaotic creations, and although they are dangerous, so long as they remain in the Everfree Forest, it isn’t worth spending pony lives to clear them out.” Fluttershy looked slightly relieved, rising to her full height again. 

        Celestia smiled at her warmly. “I think that you and I shall have to get together and talk at some later time. I would love to hear how you managed to defeat a cockatrice, especially since it sounds like I have you to thank for ensuring that I still have a faithful student.” Fluttershy didn’t look comfortable with the invitation, so Celestia considered a way to make it more appealing. “I believe that on the night of the Gala, you had a little difficulty introducing yourself to the creatures in my gardens.” Fluttershy blushed deeply and looked as if she would rather be anywhere else but there. “I hope that you didn’t take it too personally. The critters hate the Grand Galloping Gala because of the number of ponies who aren’t always very respectful of their homes. I’m sure that they would be delighted to meet you under different circumstances.”

        Fluttershy’s shyness diminished greatly as jumped into the air, speaking hopefully. “Really Princess? I felt just awful for scaring them, but I just couldn’t understand why they were so afraid of me. Do you really think they will give me a second chance?” 

        Confidently, Celestia said, “I do, dear Fluttershy. I am certain that they will be happy to meet a pony who is as kind, and considerate of animals, as you are.”

        Fluttershy was beaming as she said gratefully, “thank you Princess Celestia.”

        Celestia smiled politely, saying, “you’re welcome, Fluttershy. My schedule is somewhat uncertain at the moment, but I think that we should be able to get together sometime soon. Once I return to Canterlot and have had an opportunity to speak with Princess Luna, I will send a letter with possible times for us to meet. Does that sound okay?”

        “Yes Princess,” Fluttershy said happily. 

        Celestia nodded her understanding and turned to face Twilight. Twilight was regarding her curiously, confusion etched on her face. Twilight’s expression rapidly changed once she realized that Celestia was looking at her. Her curious look changed to one of polite interest, and she watched Celestia expectantly for directions.

        “Are you feeling recovered enough to go to the library?” she asked politely.

        Twilight nodded and rose from the couch. “Thank you Fluttershy for the tea, and for letting me use your couch,” she said gratefully.

        Fluttershy smiled and said, “you’re very welcome, and it was my pleasure to help.”

        “Farewell Fluttershy. I shall be in touch,” Celestia said mildly as she focused her magic and teleported herself and Twilight to the library.

        They arrived with a small flash of golden light. Twilight looked disoriented for a moment, but quickly regained her bearings. “Spike,” she called loudly. When there was no response, she turned to Celestia and said, “I’m sorry Princess, but I should go check and see if Spike is still asleep.” Celestia smiled when Twilight blushed, and Twilight hurried off up the stairs towards her bedroom. 

        Celestia expected that Twilight blushed because she worried that Celestia might disapprove of Spike’s behavior, which she would--doubtless--blame herself for. Celestia wondered what Spike thought about his living arrangements, but since he had never complained to her, and his living with Twilight was extremely useful, she didn’t think that she would be the one to bring up the subject. She slowly made a circuit of the main room, investigating the carefully organized shelves of books. She noticed that there was almost no visible dust accumulation on any of the shelves, which made her suspect that Twilight, or Spike at Twilights behest, made a point to dust and reshelve every book. She chuckled at the notion, and briefly reconsidered her decision not to ask Spike how he felt about staying with Twilight.

        It took Twilight a little while to make her way back downstairs, carrying a piece of parchment with her magic. Celestia cast a curious glance to the parchment before returning to her inspection of the shelves. “It’s from Spike,” she explained. “He left it to tell me, in case I came back early, that he is helping Rarity with some preparations for the Sisterhooves Social.”

        Celestia looked back with a hint of surprise. “From the sound of it, that means that Rarity will be participating in the Social.”

        “It doesn’t say that explicitly, but that was what I thought too,” Twilight said with a nod.

        Celestia smiled, saying, “then let us hope that this means that her disagreement with Sweetie Belle has ended.” 

        Twilight nodded again, but hesitated before saying anything else. Celestia grinned, suspecting that she knew what Twilight wanted. “Very well,” she said with an overly dramatic sigh. “Fetch a quill and parchment, and I will continue explaining teleportation. Actually,” she said brightly, “I think it would be best if you brought several pieces of parchment. There are some graphs that might be helpful.” Twilight almost flew up the stairs in her eagerness.

        Twilight returned with a enough parchment to write a book, half a dozen quills, and as many bottles of ink. She placed them on desk that occupied the center of the room and waited for Celestia to begin.

        Celestia reprised her professorial role, and resumed her explanation. She explained that the reason for the observed exponential growth of used magic was that as distance increases, ponies have a harder time conceptualizing, and focusing on, the transition. The less focused they are, the greater the waste, and this wasted magic was what caused the ‘explosions’ around the points of arrival and departure.

        Twilight was following with rapt attention, taking down everything she said with practised ease. When Celestia began to draw graphs demonstrating the interplay between distance and excess magic, Twilight was careful to reproduce her charts in exact detail. She watched as her student eagerly absorbed every piece of information that Celestia gave her, and tried to analyze every implication of what she was hearing. She asked questions as they occurred to her, and they were always thoughtful and incisive. Celestia found herself forgetting about the reason for her visit to Ponyville. She was simply having too much fun teaching Twilight.

        Twilight, also, seemed to be completely engrossed in their discussion. Celestia smiled at the way she would scrunch up her face when she considered some of the more abstract implications of the lesson. She smiled when Twilight would clap her hooves together after having some new insight. She smiled when Twilight stuck out her tongue distractedly while formulating the relationships between the different factors that influenced teleportation. She smiled at the frustrated frown that would appear when Twilight found herself stymied by some detail, and she smiled when that frown was banished by an excited giggle that indicated that a solution had been found. In all, Celestia realized distantly, she was smiling far more than usual.

        She was slightly disappointed, therefore, when there was a knocking on the library’s door. “Spike, Twilight, is anypony there?” Without waiting for a reply, the door swung open to reveal Rainbow Dash, whose gaze settled on Twilight, apparently missing Celestia who was partly obscured by the horse head bust at the center of the table. She stopped just after entering, visibly surprised. 

        “Heya Twilight. Aren’t you supposed to be in Canterlot until tonight or something?” Without giving Twilight time to reply, she continued, “anyway, I was just stopping by to pick up the next Daring Do novel, if you don’t mind.” 

        Twilight looked surprised by her request, and asked, “Have you already finished the second and third books? I only gave them to you last week.”

        “Rainbow Dash’s smile held a hint of bitterness. “Yeah, and they were totally awesome, but I’m still not supposed to stress my wing too much, so I’ve had lots of time for reading.”

        Celestia decided to reveal herself, not that she was exactly hiding. “I’m sorry to hear that, Rainbow Dash. I hope that nothing serious has happened to the most promising flyer in Equestria.” It pleased her to see the effect her words had on the young mare. 

        Rainbow Dash gasped in surprise and made a hasty bow. “Princess Celestia. I’m sorry I didn’t see you, but what are you doing here?”

        Celestia liked the way that Rainbow Dash didn’t hesitate to speak her mind. “Twilight and I were planning on observing the Sisterhooves Social, since I happen to have today off, so to speak.”

        “That’s cool,” Rainbow Dash replied casually. “I didn’t know that Princesses got days off, or at least, I’ve never heard of you having one.”

        Celestia found Dash’s bluntness refreshing, and she chuckled lightly at her remark. “They didn’t when there was only one, but thanks to you, Twilight, and your friends, that is no longer the case.”

        Dash nodded. “So does that mean that Princess Luna has learned not to yell at everypony all the time, and has stopped causing lightning whenever she speaks?”

        “RAINBOW DASH!” Twilight shouted, mortified at her friend’s tactless comments. “It’s impolite to talk about Princess Luna like that, especially since it wasn’t even her fault that she thought that those were the right things to do.” Celestia was careful not to let the guilt that she felt at those words show.

        Celestia chuckled again, nodding cheerfully. “Indeed it does, and speaking of my dear sister, there is something else that I wish to thank you for. You may not have intended it as a compliment, but your decision to dress as a Shadowbolt on Nightmare Night made a lasting impression. She was quite proud of the fact that somepony had chosen the Shadowbolts over the Wonderbolts for their costume.” Rainbow Dash looked vaguely uncomfortable, and Celestia smiled knowingly. “So if you are ever discussing it with her, I urge you to remember just how important it was to her that somepony chose to honor the Shadowbolts by dressing like one, since I am absolutely positive that such was your intent. I am certain that you would not have chosen the Shadowbolts because of their frightening association with Night Mare Moon, and would never think of even implying that possibility to my dearest sister.”

        She decided to carry her joke just a little bit farther, saying in an unconvincingly non-threatening tone, “after all, it isn’t like she only knows how to conjure lightning to emphasize her speeches.”

        Rainbow Dash looked at hesitantly at Twilight, and swallowed nervously. “Of course not Princess,” she said to the still grinning Celestia. “I wouldn’t even dream of doing any of that.”

        Again, the setup was just too perfect to pass up. Celestia’s smile grew even wider as she said, “I’d hope not, my little pony. Princess Luna can see those too.”

        Rainbow Dash looked thoroughly spooked now, and seemed on the verge on fleeing. Twilight also looked unnerved by Celestia’s joke. “Gotcha,” Celestia finally said jokingly. Both Rainbow Dash and Twilight gave sighs of relief, and laughed nervously as the tension broke.

        Twilight took the opportunity afforded by this break in the conversation to retrieve the next two books in the Daring Do series. She levitated them to Rainbow Dash who tucked them carefully under her wing. “Hey, if you two are planning on attending the Sisterhooves Social, then don’t you think that you should maybe consider leaving?”

        Twilight looked around in confusion before her eyes settled on a clock. “Oh my gosh, is it that late already!” It was nearly three in the afternoon, which meant that they had spent almost six hours studying. “If we leave now, then we should be able to get there at least fifteen minutes before the race. That should give us enough time to get something to eat.” Twilight made that last point sound no less important than not missing the race. Celestia smiled at Twilight’s priorities, although she was feeling slightly peckish herself.

        “If you are hungry, Twilight, I could simply teleport us there. That would leave ample time to eat and socialize, should you so wish.,” Celestia suggested politely.

        She was mildly surprised, however, when Rainbow Dash demurred. “Um... I’d really rather keep my hooves, not necessarily on the ground, but in their current condition, if you know what I mean.” She supposed it was natural for the exceptionally gifted flyer to mistrust magical transportation.

        Rainbow Dash’s reluctance all but made Twilight’s decision for her. Without so much as a moment’s hesitation, Twilight levitated her saddlebags onto her back, deposited a bag of bits inside them, and headed for the door. “Of course, Rainbow Dash. And besides, we have plenty of time.”