"See ya Spike! We'll write you up another one of those 'official business' letters sometime next month."

"Thanks. Definitely need the time away from Twilight sometimes. For some odd reason, I usually get hit by a door or ran over by somepony while I do something for her."

As the chariot that held the young drake took it's flight to the town of Ponyville that morning, Azure, Longshot, Poindexter and Shining waved their honorary drinking buddy goodbye. As they made their way inside of the palace, they tried to recall the events of the night's past. Many of the antics that they partook in were typical guy stuff. They played cider pong, shots, darts, sang songs and played a game they made up called hide the mayonnaise. Why it was called that, nopony knows.

"AZURE SWORD!!! PLEASE REPORT TO PRINCESS CELESTIA IN THE GRAND HALL, UNDER HER ORDERS!!!" A stern voice called out from inside of the castle halls.

Azure shrank in size, or at least he wanted to when it came to dealing with the princess as of late. The three others oohed and snickered while Azure started his slow ascension to the halls above. His ears folded back as he walked up the stairs, feeling as if there was some sort of punishment awaiting him up the stairs.

As he arrived in the hall known to be called the Grand Room, he could already feel Celestia's presence burning him like the heat of her summer sun. He looked at the tall doors that reached as far up as the ceiling, took a deep breath and magically opened the door, entering into the room.

"Lieutenant Azure Sword, please step forward." A light grey unicorn mare with a brown mane called out from the side of the throne that Celestia sat on.

"Thank you Inkwell. You are dismissed." Azure heard the princess whisper from across the hall. He couldn't help but to overhear the exchange, thanks largely in part to the ever-present silence that seemed to roam the room.

As he made his way to the throne, Inkwell gave him a nudge before speaking.

"You've gone and done it now."

It was no rumor that she was known to mock many of the guards that entered the room with that statement. But when it came to those who were more than nervous entering in, that's where it starts to eat away at their minds. Azure was no different in this case as he stopped ten feet short of the large golden and red-velvet-cushioned throne.

Azure bowed his head and removed his helmet as a sign of respect. "Your highness."

"Sir Azure, I would like to ask you on the behalf of my little sister. Where were you at the time of nine thirty last night?" Celestia asked sternly.

"I was with the guys. We had guys night out last night." Azure confessed, knowing that a lie would only become trouble in the long run.

"I see. So why is it that you left my little sister alone?" The elder princess questioned.

"I... I was only doing what I would normally do on guys night out. I didn't think that Princess Luna would mind-"

"Yet she did." Celestia interrupted. "And Captain Shining Armor is no more excused than you are."

"So sorry princ-"

"Allow me to finish." The princess commanded as Azure became silent. "You and Shining are guards of a royal. That means should anything happen to them during the course of the night, you two are held responsible."

"But I thought that Shining and Cadance were... you know... your majesty." Azure rebutted.

"Yes they are dating. But Luna also desires your presence come the late evening. And as her guard, you are to stay with her at all times until you are told otherwise or unless she dismisses you from your duties."

"But shouldn't I be notified about these kinds of things, your majesty?" Azure asked before finding himself under a disapproving stare from the princess.

"Your duty comes first. That means that all things are to be held to a later time until the duties that you have been assigned are completed." Celestia said in a snarl.

Azure found himself backing away out of fear while Celestia stood from her seat. Before he could take another step backwards, Celestia leaped high into the air and landed right behind the fearful unicorn.

"I'm so sorry princess! Please forgive me!" Azure begged before he found himself curled into a ball.

Celestia softened her tone as she spoke. "I know... And I accept your apology."

Azure's eyes popped open and his shivering came to a complete stop as he looked back to the solar princess. "Y-you.. do?"

"Yes." She restated. "Now please hear me out. I feel that I should disclose this to you since you are protecting my little sister."

Azure nodded his head as the princess took her seat before him.

"A thousand years ago, as you may already know, was the rise and fall of Nightmare Moon. But before her emergence, there was a civil war that swept the lands."

Azure placed a hoof to his chin as the thought of a civil war in Equestria perplexed him greatly. "I... didn't think that there was such a war."

"It was a history that I preferred to be erased." Celestia whispered in a quiet tone. "But nonetheless, there was a war. Many stallions lost their lives in the most uncivilized manner. Families were torn from the seams, foals turned against their parents, homes were destroyed in the blink of an eye. And it was all for the cause of whether the night was to last longer of if the day should remain the same."

"Night and day?" Azure asked, finally understanding where the princess was getting to. "So that means that the civil war was actually..."

"Yes... It was a war that my sister and I fought... against each other."

Azure felt his throat dry out as the princess continued her explanation.

"My sister desired that there would be a longer night so that ponies would appreciate her night. And I denied her, foolishly saying that ponies felt endangered in the night, that they feared the night. And so my little sister took that thought into the account of her heart. And that darkness overtook her heart in due time. Eventually she stood before me, saying that there could be only one princess of Equestria: her. So she allowed her darkness to take her and transform her into the being that was no longer my little sister, but my own arch nemesis... Nightmare Moon."

Azure took shock to her testimony as he thought about the young princess, the princess that smiled and laughed with him, was the entity of darkness that he feared when he was a foal. He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"So in time... the battle was decided. I used the Elements of Harmony to disarm my younger sister, but instead it only sealed her away to the very object of her control. For days after her defeat I waited for her return, not realizing that power of the Elements held her there for a long period of time. With more research, I came to realize the ultimate cost of using the Elements that we shared against her. So... for a thousand years I waited. And waited. And waited until just two days ago."

"..." Azure remained silent. He finally understood why she was so gun-ho about making sure that she would experience the best night of her life.

"Now that you know this, you can understand why I am so overbearing when it comes to my little sister. She is the only thing that I have left in this world that I can truly call my own. I cannot bear foals, for I am barren. But Luna... she is the only blood that I can call kin. And I don't want to see anything bad happen to her... because I won't be strong enough to see her... perish."

Azure watched as the powerful mare sulked and sank her head down. Tears fell from her cheeks and dripped onto the floor. Her mane had even began to change from it's four colors to a rose pink. His jaw dropped in awe as he finally saw the princess in her vulnerable state. It was a stark contrast to the powerful ruler that he respected, admired and feared. Instead, she was just a mare, no more equine than anypony else.

"She is in danger, Azure. Many nobles who seek power will do what they can to take it. And they will seek to use Luna as their primary bargaining chip. And you are the only thing that would be close enough to her in her duties to protect her. She watches over the night, but she is still unaware of the technological advances that the nobles now have to combat her. She is powerful, but she will be powerless if she's alone. Please..."

Azure could not believe what he was seeing. The princess slammed her body to the ground below the hooves of the blue unicorn guard and begged him, abandoning all the poise and grace that she would carry on a daily basis.

"Stand by my little sister. Protect her from all harm. Love her as you would yourself. Make her smile."

Azure knew that there were protocols in place that prevented random outbursts of guards hugging the princess. But in this case, it would seem like those protocols were doing more hindrance than assistance. He lowered his head to hers and nuzzled the pleading princess and gave her all the affection she needed.

"You don't need to worry about that. I am a stallion of my word, princess. She shall be protected under my care. I swear to it."

Celestia lunged at the guard and crushed him with the affectionate embrace of her hooves while she cried happily that she could entrust the life of her sister to a stallion who was so openhearted. It also gave her a sense of relief.

"Azure, you don't realize how much this makes me happy."

"As...phyx.....ia.....ting." Azure struggled to get out, tapping on the giant alacorn mare's forelegs.

"Sorry. It has been a while since I have passionately hugged a stallion." Celestia said as she released the guard from her deadly embrace, allowing him to breathe once more.

"It's okay. We all need a hug every now and then." Azure said as he brushed himself off while blushing.

"Yes. It is a shame that there all of these protocols are in place. Sometimes my guards see that I am upset and notice that I am in need of compassion. And the only thing they are allowed to do is say 'it will be okay'. Sometimes... I just want to be held and told those words."

Azure rubbed his head as he finally had the courage to ask what no other stallion dared to ask. "With all due respect, princess... why haven't you found a mate?"

Celestia felt her cheeks become as pink as her mane and looked elsewhere as she avoided eye contact with the guard that asked her the embarrassing question. "I... I am barren. I told you this."

"Okay... What of it?" Azure asked confused as to why that would be an issue.

"I cannot... bear foals. My body has disallowed me to do so. Though I have tried many times, all have failed. The last time I've attempted to consummate my previous marriage was sometime over eight-hundred years ago."

"You were..." Azure bit his tongue as he realized that asking her on the subject of her martial status would be rude. "I'm sorry. You don-"

"It's alright." Celestia said before taking a deep breath. "We tried many, many times. But as he started to age past his prime, he abandoned what we had in favor of obtaining what he longed for; a foal."

"Wow..." Azure said in disbelief.

"I didn't want him to be angry with me for something that wasn't his fault, so I allowed him to divorce me and carry on with his life. After all, why waste twenty years of bedding me and stay around when I can offer nothing in return?"

"What a dick."

Celestia's expression perked up to bewilderment as she tried to process what the guard had just said. Azure stood before her with a disgusted look.

"The guy just decided that since you can't have a kid, you were unfit to be a wife?"

"Please... you don't know how it feels to have tried for decades with one and three years with others... only to find out that you are unable to carry life."

"I'm going to say this quickly because I have to get back on duty. You should never allow your past relationships to interfere with what you have in the present. If that guy truly loved you, then he would've ripped up those divorce papers the moment he saw them. I may not know how marriage practices worked in those times, but I will say that love is unconditional and should be held to that standard. It doesn't matter whether you are fertile as an estuary or as barren as brine water, he should still anchor himself where he made his promises. Crappy analogy, but you get what I'm trying to say."

Celestia immediately regained the color of her mane and raised her head in hearing the words of her guard. She wiped away the tears that she once shed for all of her past shortcomings. It seemed as if everything he said was the very thing she needed to hear in order for her to move on. Finding her voice, she turned her attention to the guard.

"You are the first one to stand up and talk to me on a personal level like this."

Azure backed away as he thought about the princess' confession. "I... am?"

"Yes. Well, the first of my guards. I still have Cadance and Twilight who talks to me like that every now and then. Even Blueblood used to comfort me with his words of encouragement a long time ago."

Azure almost took a draw of breath to release a laughing fit as soon as he heard Blueblood's name come into the mix. That was one thing that he didn't think was possible. To hear that Blueblood was offering words of wisdom was to say that every unicorn in existence could resurrect the dead. But he held his composure and remained quiet.

"Now, I have a guard who can show me the same kind of compassion that I can only expect from my own student and my niece. Thank you for this conversation. It's great to be seen as equine rather than some sort of god." Celestia said as she extended a hoof to Azure.

"I suppose that a hoofshake wouldn't break protocols." Azure joked, gaining a giggle from the princess.

"This isn't an invitation for a hoofshake." She snickered as she magically drew in the stallion for a warm and gentle hug. "This is what I was inviting you for."

Azure once feared the embrace of the princess ever since her 'sunlight kiss' managed to leave a light mark on him, followed by a slight burning sensation. But this time, he allowed the princess to hold him close. Azure even took a mental note that all royalty wished to be seen as equals... Most of them anyways.

"I'll keep this to myself, princess."

"I would greatly appreciate it. Now let's go see how Luna's doing."

The two started to make their way out of the Grand Hall as Azure started to ask more questions. "So how as she been doing?"

Celestia sucked in some air through her teeth as she cringed at the thought of her sister's reaction this morning. "Well, she hasn't been on her best behavior. I'll just put it like that."

"Siblings. What can you do about them?"

"Not me. You. Also, you may want to brace yourself as soon as you enter her room. She has a habit of tackle hugging that hasn't disappeared much since she was a foal."

Azure gulped in response of having an alacorn princess that had the strength fueled from what was thought to be dark matter coursing throughout her body, squeezing him like a tube of toothpaste on it's last reserves. Innards aren't meant to withstand that kind of pressure.

"Uh oh."

Later that evening, Princess Celestia was sitting on her throne as she awaited for the Captain of the Guard to enter into the area. As she sat, her assistant read to her another scroll depicting official business.

"And furthermore we, the Order of the Northern Light, would like to thank you for your assistance in the preservation of the crystal artifacts. Thus in conclusion, we shall be sending one of the brilliant artifacts that we have managed to uncover during the past three months. Our days of research have been most fruitful with our combined efforts. Thus concludes our weekly report."

Celestia nodded with approval as she heard the news of the uncovering of the crystal artifacts that showed hints of the fabled Crystal Empire reemergence.

"Very good. I trust that we will have a prince and princess for those lands."

"Any reason why Blueblood isn't a viable choice, m'lady?"

Celestia shook her head. "He is not ready. I still need to see to it that most of his selfishness will leave him before he ascends to any throne of any sort. As much as I do love him and herald him as my own, I cannot allow him a position of power for the moment being."

"Understood, your regalness. Then I am to assume that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza will take that position."

"Her destiny has already been decided. She shall become their new princess."

Inkwell hummed as she scribbled the details on the arrangement on an empty scroll. As she scribbled, she asked more on the subject of her younger sister.

"Your majesty, why not Princess Luna? I would only ask because her powers are far beyond that of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

Celestia closed her eyes as she unfolded her wings, signifying that her words would stand uncontested, even against the masses of the nobles. "Luna shall rule beside me at all times. She shall only take her leave when I see fit to allow it. Her safety is priority, because if something was to happen to me, then she would become the ruler. Shortly after her will be Cadance, followed by Shining Armor, then Blueblood, and if something should happen to us all, then it will be Twilight Sparkle who will take head of establishment."

Finishing with the last word, Inkwell bowed before her. "Noted. Your word is law, my liege."

A guard approaches from the far end of the hall as he removes his helmet and speaks to the princess.

"Your majesty, I understand that you are busy. But Shining Armor wishes to seek an audience with you."

"Very well. As he enters, I would like for all of you to be dismissed." Celestia spoke softly as the other guards heard her words and bowed before her.

"Yes, your highness." The small ensemble of guards shout as they make their exit, notifying their captain that the princess awaited him.

As the hall of stained glass emptied with the exception of the ivory-colored mare and the snow-white stallion, Celestia made her welcoming statements.

"Captain, I have summoned you here to notify you of a leave that I shall soon be taking."

Shining bowed before her as he spoke. "To where, your highness?"

"Ponyville."

"Shall I accompany you?"

"That won't be necessary, Captain."

"But princess, I-"

"That won't be necessary, Captain." She repeated, enforcing her order.

Shining swallowed hard as he took the rejection to heart. "Yes your majesty."

"I will be sending a letter to Twilight come later tonight, notifying her that I will be able to make my arrival to see the town tomorrow."

Shining questioned the princess on the abrupt visit. "Princess... don't you think that scheduling a visit so suddenly at this point in time would be rather inconvenient to not only her, but to the nobles as well?"

"Off the record captain... to hell with the nobles."

Shining grinned at the words she spoke. As much as she was royalty, he enjoyed seeing her unhinge herself from 'the royal image' and speak what's really on her mind. It reminded him that the mare he served was no different from him. It made him feel comfortable.

"Keep talking, let it all out princess."

"These nobles are the very thing that corrupted Blueblood from the start. I could care less what they think. If anything, I wouldn't mind having them wait an entire month to have an audience with me. They are rude, disrespectful and condescending. They are so focused on making sure that the citizens grovel at their hooves that they get off solely on the fact that they can manipulate a pony's mind to do whatever they so desire. It's disgusting!" Celestia finished, leaving her panting out of exhaustion and indignation.

"Should I prepare an escort for a spa day sometime later this week?" Shining asked, concerned that the princess may indeed be stressed out.

Celestia recovered from her rant by clearing her throat. Finally she regained her regality, taking a deep breath and finally answering Shining's question. "Doing that would make me no better than they are. Instead, I will be heading out to Ponyville. Their lifestyle is so relaxed in comparison to that of the lifestyle here."

"Oh... Bad day in the parliament?"

"When was there ever a good day, Captain?"

"The day after you sent Blue to Trottingham for community service."

Celestia chuckled at the reminder of the day where every noble that stood against her peed on themselves, literally. "Oh yes. That was a humorous day."

"Yeah, I can only imagine..." Shining agreed.

The two stood in a long pause of silence as the halls shined brightly with the setting of the sun. Shining noticed that it was close to the time of her final duty of the day was steadily approaching. Celestia broke the silence between the two as she looked at the stained glass window before her.

"Tell me something, Shining Armor. Do you think my sister would take joy in this age?"

Shining took a moment to think about it and shortly came to his conclusion. If he enjoyed the nights as they were, then surely Luna would find joy that there was an active night life in the city. "I would believe so. Why do you ask?"

Celestia remained facing the stained glass, avoiding all eye contact with Shining. "...Just asking."

"Do you remember the night of the banquet? She seemed pretty happy then."

It was then that Celestia was reminded of the colt who helped made that night so special to her little sister. He was also the same colt who made her feel a little better about her own circumstances. And in all honesty, she did want to know more about him. So she figured that there was no better time to ask than the present. "...Tell me about Azure."

Shining tilted his head to the princess as he didn't know what to think of the princess' request. "Uh..."

"He and I spoke briefly earlier today before I sent him to Luna."

Shining started to laugh, remembering that he was spending the night with the guys. "So how did that go?"

"Luna was a little upset at his absence. As for now, she's only angry at the fact that he spent his night drinking with you and the guys over her."

"So you heard about our little... Guys-Night-Outing?"

"I won't tell Cadance, though this will be the last time I'll cover for you."

"Princess, you're awesome."

Celestia's lips formed a smile at his response. It's been a while since she was called that by his younger sister. But she still couldn't help that he had yet to say anything that pertained to the blue unicorn stallion that was assigned to her younger sister. "Now about Azure... Do you think he would take an interest in Luna?"

"I... uh-I don't know for certain. He doesn't speak about her very much." Shining said with uncertainty laced in his voice.

"I see... Then... do you think he would take an interest in another mare I know of? She's very well spoken, strong minded, kindhearted and dedicated."

Shining was completely thrown for a loop by the princess' request to pair him with another mare, completely oblivious as to whom she was referring to. "O-kay... Is there anything else?"

The solar princess turned her head to the setting sun as she wanted to prevent Shining from seeing her facial expressions. "The only drawback is... she has a bit of a disability of... not being able to reproduce."

Shining felt his heart sank at the recommendation. He knew that Azure was interested in having foals of his own, but he also knew that Azure was committed to his relationships (no matter how short they were in high school). If there was an instance that he would truly fall in love with a mare, then he would go all out. He would even die for her. It was a hard choice, and it was one that Shining could never come up with an answer to. If there was anypony who had an answer for that request, it would only be Azure himself.

"Um... I don't know about that. You might want to ask him about it."

"Oh... I understand. It's just that she had kinda grown an interest in him." Celestia said in a painful tone as she tried to swallow back her tears before she spoke. "But I'll be sure to tell her to keep her chin up."

"Great idea. After all, you never know what these kinds of things can do. Relationships I mean." Shining reassured the princess, trying to sound optimistic about the situation.

"Right." She said before she glanced back to her captain. "So I will be leaving for Ponyville tomorrow."

"Understood, princess. I'll ready your chariot for your leave come dawn. In the meantime, it looks as if the sun has grown tired of it's shift."

Celestia looked at the sun and felt the energy of it dwindling. It was far past the time to lower the sun. Spreading her wings, she sent Shining off. "Agreed. You are dismissed captain."

"Princess."

As Shining Armor took his leave from the stained glass hall in one direction, Celestia quickly trotted off in the other. She soon found herself in the open aired halls of the castle, the bridge that she would normally watch the festivities in Canterlot take place. The corridor was often sealed with a variety of barrier spells that prevented a multitude of things, such as rain and projectiles, from entering. But it held no quarrel for the things and ponies that were held within. With a mighty flap of her wings, Celestia leapt from the bridge to the ground below.

She allowed herself to gain as much momentum as possible while she made her rapid descent. And just as the ground was rapidly approaching, she spread her wings and allowed herself to rise to the sky. Her eyes saw the spinning of the world around her as she barrel rolled towards the object she controlled. As her eyes closed, she found visions of the night forming in her head. Every star that she tried to place, every constellation she pieced together in mimic of her sisters work, the stallion who adored them.

She remembered the night that Azure was assigned to be Luna's personal guard. She remembered what he had said. He enjoyed the night just as it was. He enjoyed her night, far longer than he did her little sister's. A trace of envy fell upon her heart as she asked herself the questioned that plagued her as the sun fell below the horizon.

"...Azure... do you really like her nights... or mine?"

The halls are quiet as the guards remain at their posts. The once lively sound of guards talking to each other about trivial pursuits have grown into nothing more than a whimper. And deep inside of the hall of the princesses private chambers, Celestia sat inside of her room, staring at the fireplace.

Her mind wandered on what Azure said to her earlier. It sparked emotions that she ultimately didn't experience for a very long time. And she ultimately didn't see herself crying before one of her guards so openly, but with him... it was different. In short, she felt as if she had learned something valuable that day. Not just about somepony who served under her, but also something of herself.

As she though about lessons learned, she thought more on her own student. Twilight's previous letter stood on the adjacent nightstand, unsealed and read by her eyes only. The lesson she learned was one based on differences.

Dear Princess Celestia,

It's hard to believe that two ponies who seem to have so little in common could ever get along. But I found out that if you embrace each other's differences, you'd just might be surprised to discover a way to be friends after all.

Your Faithful Student,

~Twilight Sparkle

P.S.: Is there any reason why Spike came home smelling like a bar?

Celestia often thought about how much her student would improve on her magical abilities, if she had the opportunity to understand how relationships with others can drastically improve your casting. Even the most powerful unicorns could never prove themselves in a test of their might based off of their individual might alone. To succeed, Twilight had to learn how to work well with others. She had to learn how to depend on others as they would depend on her. Though the only problem that would prove to be an issue would be those who weren't considered as a true friend, the ones who would leave her hanging.

*Plop*

And just like that, another one of Twilight's letters appeared out of thin air. This time it appeared with a small vial of ink. As she lit her horn to open the letter, she began to read aloud.

"Dearest Princess Celestia,

Today I learned that it's hard to accept when somepony you like wants to spend time with somepony who's not so nice. Though it's impossible to control who your friends hang out with, it is possible to control your own behavior. Just continue to be a good friend. In the end, the difference between a false friend and the one who is true will surely come to light.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle"

Celestia took pride in knowing that Twilight was taking her lessons seriously. She also took comfort in the fact that she did indeed find the company of good friends who were more than willing to show her the way. She took a quill off of her nightstand and dipped it into the vial of ink and began to write.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

My most faithful stude-

Before she could finish her first sentence, she noticed that the words she started to write down had started to disappear. She turned her head back to the vial and tried to gently peel back the label. Much to her amusement, it was actually a vial of vanishing ink.

"Oops. Wrong ink." She notified to herself as she picked up the vial of ink on her nightstand and brought it next to the letter. As she hummed and giggled at her student's sense of humor, she jotted down her words once more.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

My most faithful student, it would seem that you have taken a liking to your new studies. Although there are some times where your friendship will be tested, I would think that those trials would prove to be but a testament of how far your friendships have come along. And also it would seem that I too, am learning more on the magic of friendship.

Just earlier today, I talked with a guard that managed to make a small mistake. As we started to talk, I told him the importance of his mistake and how I ended up making a mistake that caused a great deal of pain. I even went as far as disclosing something of my past, that was quite painful to recall. But what I did learn today was that no matter what position you hold in society, you will always have others around you who will ultimately become a friend to you. Furthermore, it is of great importance that I would remain true to who I am despite my rank, because princesses needs companionship and camaraderie as much as you do.

I do believe that it will be much easier to discuss our findings with each other in person. So I would like to take the time off of my duties tomorrow and come to Ponyville for a visit. Please take the time to ready only yourself, because my time is with you for the moment. I will look forward to seeing you very soon.

Your loving mentor,

~Celeste Delanise Valkyrie

P.S.: Spike is called for royal business when I say so. If my seal is not on the letter, then he is prohibited from leaving your company.

Celestia looked at the letter before sending it off for any errors that she may have made. As she placed her seal upon the letter, she muttered to herself.

"Well that at least takes care of the drinking problem."

Author's Note

A Celestia-centered chapter, but a chapter that will help build up to a little something that will happen a little later. Leave your comments below.