A Total Eclipse of Their Hearts

“A Total Eclipse of Their Hearts”

Chapter 5:
“The Reception – Part 1”

David and the two princesses departed the balcony and entered the throne room. They were on their way to the royal dining hall. The three had just entered the castle when they heard a royal guard shout, “Intruder! Halt!” The group came to an abrupt stop. The guard signaled for three additional guards to join him. The pegasus flew over and the unicorn and earth pony galloped to the aid of their fellow sentry. The four guards brandished their spears. They quickly moved the princesses to safety and surrounded what appeared to be a strange interloping creature. David looked at them filling with dread. Was Luna’s nightmare coming to pass?

Princess Celestia blinked at the peculiar actions of her royal guards. “What is the meaning of this?!” She bellowed sounding quite annoyed.

The lead guard looked over to his beloved ruler. “Don’t worry you majesty! You and…Princess Luna!” He gasped sounding half like he saw a ghost. The guard leered at the strange creature and nodded making a startling conclusion. “Aha, now it all makes sense. Well your highnesses have nothing to fear! This beast won’t harm you anymore! We have him neutralized,” remarked the guard.

The pegasus guard lightly waved his spear at the creature. “I’ll bet he kidnapped Luna and then brought her back to use as blackmail so he could take Celestia too!”

“The fiend!” Snarled the other guard.

Princess Luna began gritting her teeth together. She forcibly stomped her left hoof on the ground, reared her head up and unleashed a burst of luminescent magic from her horn. “SILENCE!” She yelled.

Princess Celestia placed a hoof over he face and sighed. “Just what do you guards think you are doing to our guest?” She asked.

The guards eyes widened and their mouths dropped open in shock. “Guest?” They all gasped in unison.

It was then that the main door of the throne room burst open. The sound of rapid hoof beats filled the air. Looking back Celestia saw the captain of her royal guards galloping to the scene of the disturbance. He came to halt amid the group. The white unicorn studied the guards and then looked at the rulers and the alleged intruder. “Guards! What is going on here? Why have you disturbed the peace of the castle?” Asked the captain.

“Shining Armor, sir, we saw this beast trying to take away our beloved princesses. He took Luna and appears to have come back for Celestia,” explained the lead guard.

Shining Armor looked at the “beast” as they so called him. He shook his head and sighed. “Does this creature really seem so menacing to you? Did you bother to ask the princesses what they were doing with him? Or did you jump to conclusions…again!?”

The guards hung their heads. The pegasus stepped forward. “Uh sir, we might have acted first. But you must admit this creature looks somewhat odd.”

The captain face hoofed. “How many times do I have to tell you. Always assess the situation and then act. Then act!” He shook his head again.

Princess Celestia cleared her throat. “Thank you Shining Armor,” she spoke. She frowned at the guards. “Remove you spears from him at once!”

The guards knew that tone. They knew the princess was none too happy with their actions. The guards immediately withdrew their weapons and moved away from the creature. The lead guard bowed before the princess accompanied by his companions. “My sincerest apologies princess. We had no idea…and we…we just wanted to make sure you and your sister were safe.”

Celestia’s face softened. She raised a hoof and responded, “You may rise. And while I appreciate your concern, next time I’d appreciate it if you ask questions before making any hasty decisions."

Shining Armor walked up to the white alicorn. “I wouldn’t go so easy on them princess,” he remarked. The unicorn gave his guards all an annoyed look. “I’ll deal with you four later. Now back to your posts! And before you go remember this, these are our mighty rulers. We are here to offer them and their subjects our protection, but we must also remember to respect their judgement. If you’d bothered to investigate you would have seen this creature isn’t even armed.” The four guards sheepishly went back to their posts, following their captain’s bold words.

Princess Celestia and Luna both smiled at the unicorn. Luna walked over to him and said, “My sister sure chose the right unicorn to be captain of the royal guards.”

Shining armor tried not to blush. “Thank you princess. If you will pardon me…duty calls,” he said, bowing politely to them. The captain took his leave and left the throne room.

Luna quickly saw to David. He was just standing their half with a dumbfounded look on his face. The alicorn waved a hoof in front of his face. He turned his head. “What just happened?” he asked.

Princess Celestia walked over to him. “I am so sorry about that. My guards tend to be a little over protective at times. Are you okay?” She inquired.

He blinked for a moment before replying, “Yeah I’ll be fine. Just a little shook up is all.”

Luna wanted to hug him, but was a little leery. The guards were still watching them closely. Instead she patted him on the shoulder. “David,” she spoke softly.

He smiled at her and lightly placed his hand on her hoof. “Luna,” he replied.

Celestia looked at then both and smiled thoughtfully. “Well I don’t know about you two but all that commotion made me hungry. Who’s ready for that breakfast?” Luna and David chuckled as the three left the throne room.

******

The sun had risen above the horizon casting its rays across a silent Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle was still resting in her bed. Sunlight began pouring in a nearby window. The light glared on the unicorn’s face. She grimaced and responded by pulling her covers over her head. In her haste the night before, she neglected to close the curtains.

Twilight flung her sheets down and opened her eyes. Slowly she sat up. Then the pony remembered she had guests. Quickly she set her eyes over at the guest bed. To her dismay it was empty. Though it appeared to have been neatly made. Her eyes managed to spy a piece of parchment resting along the pillow. A puzzled look formed on her face. Twilight left her bed and trotted over to the other one. Her name was neatly written on the folded paper. Using her magic she lifted it to her eyes and opened it. The message read:

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Thank you for your wonderful hospitality. David and I are very grateful! I must apologize for not being here to greet you, but we decided to leave before first light. I wanted to surprise my sister and lower the moon for her. Hopefully everything will go okay. I’m still a little worried about how she’ll react to David…yet I remain hopeful.

If all goes well I will be stopping by Ponyville with David sometime late this morning. I recommend you make some simple preparations for our arrival. Though I doubt David would want you going to any major trouble. We’ll see you later!

Yours Truly,

Princess Luna

Twilight’s eyes widened with delight and she exclaimed, “The princess is going to bring David back to Ponyville!” She began bouncing around her loft with joy. There were still so many questions she had for the human. The unicorn could hardly believe this was actually happening. Though her joyful bounding quickly came to a halt. She bit her lower lip as reality came crashing back around her. There was much to do before her guests would arrive. She would need to inform her friends, but Twilight began wondering how they’d react to seeing a human. For that matter how would the rest of the town deal with it? As far as they knew, humans were mostly played down as an old pony’s tale. There was also another harsh fact. Unlike the book she had been reading, most history books didn’t speak too fondly of humans. Sadly their kind were mostly portrayed in a negative light following the events that led to their banishment. This certainly presented some possible problems. Aside from Lyra, she didn’t know any other ponies that shared her fondness for humans.

After giving the matter some more thought, Twilight did recall one helpful bit of information. She was usually the only pony in her class that actually paid attention to the brief lecture on humans. Most of her fellow classmates found the subject boring and several actually fell asleep in class. Placing a hoof on her chin she felt there was still a chance this could work. That’s when it hit her. Lyra would be the perfect pony to see. And she just knew this would be the thrill of a lifetime for her fellow unicorn. Lyra’s love of humans could be just the ticket. That and she’s friends with Bon-Bon and Colgate. The two in turn are friends of other ponies. Making use of the friendship ties between the ponies could be the perfect way to lessen the blow of a human coming to Ponyville.

Once again Twilight began playfully bouncing around her loft giggling like a little filly. That was when she heard an annoyed groan coming from downstairs. She looked down the steps and saw Spike looking up at her. “What’s with all the noise Twilight? Can’t a dragon get some sleep around here?” He let out a yawn and stretched his arms. Spike had slept so soundly through the night, he never knew Twilight had any guests over. Though he could have sworn he heard voices. He scratched his head. “Twilight did any ponies stop by late last night? I thought I heard voices at some point.”

The lavender unicorn descended the stairs. A big smile covered her face and she was humming a happy tune. “Why yes Spike. I have some wonderful news for you,” she replied.

“You do?” He asked.

“Of course. We no longer need to search for Princess Luna. She stopped by last night. It’s quite an interesting story too. I won’t bore you with the details. But she ended up on Earth and became injured,” Twilight began.

Spike’s eyes widened in shock. “Oh my goodness! Well what happened? How’d she get back?”

“That’s the best part. A human found her and took her to his home. He spent the last nine days nursing her back to health,” Twilight remarked.

“Wow. But how did she end up on Earth? It’s not like there are any gateways linking our worlds together,” he noted.

“Yes well somehow Luna found one…and best of all she’s back and brought David, the human, with her!” Twilight had nearly shouted her response. She was lightly dancing in place. For a moment she reminded Spike of Pinkie Pie. She sounded amazingly chipper considering it was still early morning.

“Boy this certainly has you hyper this morning. I’m glad the princess is safe and sound. But if you’ll excuse me…” Spike let out a loud yawn. “I’m going back to bed. This is my day to sleep in. And since we don’t have to search for Luna anymore, I’m hitting the hay.”

Twilight blinked at Spike. Her eyes spied the time on a nearby clock. She gave him a funny look and said, “You wanna go back to sleep now? But it’s nearly nine. I’m surprised you didn’t get up and make breakfast by now.”

“Please Twilight. It’s been a long week. This whole matter involving the princess has me beat,” whined Spike.

“But she’s going to be bringing David back here later this morning. Most likely in time for lunch,” she guessed.

“Well that’s fine. I’ll just take a little nap and be up in time for lunch,” said Spike yawning. “If you want something for breakfast, why not warm up a Pillsfilly Toaster Pastry.”

Twilight grimaced at his suggest. She shook her head replying, “Those things are way too greasy. But since you mentioned pastries…I think I’ll go over to Sugar Cube Corner. I can grab a light breakfast there. I know Pinkie will be up by now.”

Spike climbed back into his basket bed there by the steps. He let out another yawn and covered up. “That sounds good. If you need me…I…I’ll…be just…here…zzzzz…”

Twilight lightly shook her head. She leaned over and kissed him softly on the head. The unicorn smiled. It saddened her that he wasn’t more enthused, but she didn’t blame him for going back to sleep. He was still just a baby dragon after all. And Spike hadn’t been getting a proper night’s rest. Twilight figured she’d just let him be. Besides she had so much to do. Thankfully it didn’t require a checklist, so this left Spike off the hook. The mare also concluded that she could always scribble one down if the need arose.

The unicorn secured her saddlebag and used her magic to place the copy of “The History of Humans in Equestria” inside. She deduced that Lyra might enjoy hearing about this book. Once she was all set, Twilight left the library and closed the front door. The pony trotted down the street. She decided she’d pay Lyra a visit first. This way they could go to Sugar Cube Corner together and discuss the human’s arrival over breakfast.

Following a short walk, Twilight arrived at the home of her fellow human enthusiast. Raising her right hoof, she lightly knocked on the door. The lavender unicorn heard the sound of hooves approaching the door. It slowly opened. Standing behind it was the mint green unicorn Lyra. Her amber eyes glanced at her visitor and a grin formed on the pony's face. “Oh, good morning Twilight! What are you doing here?” She asked politely.

Twilight smiled back at her friend. “Well Lyra, I was wondering if you’d like to join me for a light breakfast at the sweet shop. I’ve got some big news you are going to love!” Declared Twilight with a wink.

The other unicorn blinked for a moment. Just what big news could Twilight be talking about? Then Lyra’s grin grew. “It wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with humans would it?” She asked eagerly.

Closing her eyes, Twilight replied, “Why yes actually, it does.”

Lyra dashed into her home grabbed a few bits, shut the front door and said, “Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Twilight continued smiling as the two of them made their way to Sugar Cube Corner. Once they arrived, the ponies made their way to the counter. The lavender unicorn studied the pastries in the case and on display. There were just so many to choice from. The case was filled with big muffins, scones, assorted donuts, crullers, croissants, and cinnamon buns, just to name part of the wide selection.

As the two unicorns studied the case, a pink earth pony hopped up to the counter. “Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner!” Declared the pony ecstatically. She looked closer at her two customers and gasped loudly. “Twilight! Lyra! Good morning to you both!”

Twilight giggled softly at Pinkie’s boundless display of energy. “So how are you doing Pinkie Pie?”

“I’m doing A-O-K! But what about you my friend?” Inquired the hyper pony with a grin.

“I’m am well. In fact I have great news! Princess Luna is no longer missing,” she remarked joyfully.

Pinkie’s eyes widened and she gasped again. “She’s NOT?! When did you find out?”

Lyra joined Pinkie in sharing a shocked gasp. “Is this part of the big news you have Twilight?”

She nodded as she quickly gathered her thoughts. “Well late last night, Princess Luna stopped by my place. I won’t go into details right this minute, but I can assure you both that she is safe and sound. Right now she’s back in Canterlot visiting her sister,” answered Twilight. The unicorn placed a hoof on her chin and added, “Oh and she brought a friend back with her. Um, I think we’d better order. Once I tell you the details Lyra, you will most likely want to sit down. Oh and Pinkie, you can feel free to join us if you like.”

Lyra didn’t say anything. She just kept wondering when the human part would factor into Twilight’s news. Pinkie Pie on the other hand could hardly be contained. She nodded profusely. “That’d be great. All I have to do right now is take your order. Then I can spare a few minutes to chat. You know Mr. and Mrs. Cake don’t mind if I chat with my friends while I’m working.”

Again Twilight smiled. Looking at Lyra she asked, “So what would you like? My treat.”

The mint green unicorn placed a hoof over her mouth. She peered at the case and scrutinized her options. Then she merely grinned. “How about a big chocolate chip muffin!”

Her friend politely nodded. “That sounds great. Two big chocolate chip muffins please. Oh and what do you want to drink, milk or tea?” Twilight inquired thoughtfully.

“If it involves chocolate! Then it has to be milk!” Exclaimed Lyra, throwing her hooves up in the air.

“Ok you sold me. We’ll take two milks as well. Uh I think 1% will be fine,” uttered Twilight.

Pinkie Pie nodded. “Okay then 1% milk it is. That’ll be six bits all together,” announced the pink pony. Twilight handed Pinkie the money. “Give me a moment. I’ll lightly warm those for you and bring the muffins and your milks right over!”

“That sound great! Thanks Pinkie!” The earth pony closed her eyes and smiled grandly. The two unicorns walked over and selected a table. There, the two sat down making themselves comfortable.

Lyra looked at Twilight and grinned. She was eager to hear what her friend had to say. “So Twilight, what’s the big news! I’m dying of curiosity. Especially if it has anything to do with humans,” she declared.

The lavender unicorn used her magic and removed the book from her saddlebag. She gently set it on the table. “Well first I wanted to show you this book I found in my library. It does a great job explaining about the time humans lived in Equestria. It also tells a great deal about them in general,” explained Twilight.

The mint green unicorn studied the cover of the book carefully. She closed her eyes and said, “Oh I’ve already read this from cover to cover twice! I read the copy in the Canterlot Royal Library.”

Somehow Twilight was less than surprised by Lyra’s answer. Giggling to herself she realized Lyra must be an even bigger human enthusiast than she was. “Well then I guess I won’t have to offer to lend this to you,” said Twilight chuckling.

“Nope. Now what’s the other news? This book can’t be the big news you have! It just can’t!” She asserted boldly.

A timer dinged. In a few moments, Pinkie Pie walked over to their table. She carefully placed their muffins and milks down. “Here you go girls. Will there be anything else?” Their host asked.

Twilight shook her head. “No Pinkie. We’re good. In fact you can join us now, if you like. I was just about to tell Lyra my big news,” replied Twilight.

Pinkie sat down her serving tray and joined them in one of the two remaining chairs. “Oh boy, this is gonna be good!” She exclaimed.

The lavender unicorn used her magic and raised her muffin. After peeling the paper off, she took a small elegant bite. She chewed and swallowed then took a sip of milk from her glass.

“Come on Twilight! Stop stalling!” Groaned Lyra lightly pounding her hooves on the table.

The unicorn giggled. “Sorry Lyra, but I was hungry. Okay then. You are not going to believe this. But the reason we couldn’t find Princess Luna was because she ended up going to Earth!” Declared Twilight full of excitement.

“EARTH?!” Shouted Lyra. “That’s the human home world!”

Nodding twice, Twilight remarked, “Yep it is. Anyway, Luna became injured while she was there. A human discovered her and nursed her back to health. And just last night, she came back and she brought her human friend with her!”

The mint green unicorn’s amber eyes widened fully. Her mouth dropped open and then quickly closed. She began whimpering softly as her jaw began to twitch. Finally Lyra blurted out, “NO WAY! There’s a human here in Equestria!?”

Her fellow unicorn placed a hoof over her mouth and said, “Shhh. No pony knows yet. I’m going to need your help to spread the word. Because you see Lyra, Princess Luna and the human are coming here later this morning.” Lyra gasped and popped out of her chair. She dropped back landing on the floor. Twilight looked down at her. “Are you okay?”

Lyra flew from the floor and got right up in Twilight’s face. “I’m better than okay? I’m outstanding! There’s a human coming to Ponyville!” She exclaimed.

Twilight felt a nervous sweat form on her forehead. The pony felt like she had just awakened a sleeping lion. “Well I knew you’d be excited,” she remarked.

The giddy unicorn moved back from Twilight, giving her some space. “Excited isn’t the word and neither is ecstatic! This is beyond even awesome!! Wait! You got to meet the human what were they like? Was it a male or female?” Lyra asked. While she awaited Twilight’s reply she had crossed her hooves and kept chanting to herself, “Please a male, please a male, please a male!”

“Why are you chanting like that?”

The mint green unicorn grinned. “No reason. Now go on.”

Twilight shook her head and answered, “The human is a male. His name is David. And before you ask, I can tell you he seemed very nice.”

Lyra placed her hooves on her cheeks and leaned on the table. She stared off into space thinking about the human. “Wow, I wonder what he looks like,” she thought aloud.

Twilight smiled. “Well that’s kind of tricky to explain. But I suppose as far as humans go, I’d say he was…uh…quite handsome. He did have intriguing brown eyes,” the unicorn explained. She seemed to be half entranced by her thoughts. Twilight quickly shook her head. Had she eaten more of her muffin she might have attributed the reaction to the sugar, but she had only taken a single bite.

Lyra nodded her head still grinning boldly. She looked over at her unicorn friend. “If I didn’t know better Twilight, I’d say you’ve come down with a case of human fever too!”

Twilight blinked for a moment and waved a hoof at her. “Nah, I just find humans fascinating is all. I hardly think I have any sort of fever or casual obsession. Not that there’s anything wrong with your love of humans Lyra,” rambled Twilight, digging herself into a verbal chasm.

Pinkie Pie studied Twilight’s face. She saw her friend appeared to be sweating somewhat nervously. “Are you okay Twilight?” She asked.

The unicorn shook her head in an effort to clear her mind. Turning to Pinkie Pie she replied, “Yes Pinky I’m fine. In fact I’m glad you were here when I told Lyra about this."

“You are?” Responded Pinkie. She blinked her eyes a Twilight.

Twilight decided to take another bite of her muffin and then drank a decent gulp of her milk. Using her magic she removed a napkin from the holder on the table. She lightly dabbed her mouth removing any smudged chocolate. Then acknowledging her friend, she said, “Yes Pinkie. Since you’re so great with parties, especially on the spur of the moment. I’d like to you put together a light reception for Princess Luna and David when they arrive. Oh, but do you think the Cakes will let you leave work early to do it?”

Before the pink earth pony could speak, Mr. Cake, the yellow earth pony, strolled out from behind the counter. He walked over to the only table in his establishment currently in use. The stallion smiled at his employee and two customers. “Did I hear somepony say something about a reception?” He asked cheerfully.

“You did, you did!” Shouted Pinkie Pie, excited as usual.

The lavender unicorn smiled at the shop owner. “Yes Mr. Cake. I’m not sure how much of our conversation you overheard, but Princess Luna is no longer missing. In fact once I’m done with my breakfast, I’m going to see the mayor. There won’t be a need to dispatch any more search parties today. Plus I’m sure she’ll want to know about the guests that we have coming,” divulged Twilight.

Mr. Cake smiled again. “Well then I have some good news for you. You won’t need to see the mayor. She should be here any minute to pick up an order of donuts for her office staff. Why don’t you tell her then,” he remarked.

Twilight smiled grandly. This certainly would make things easier for her. “Why thanks for the news. That makes things simple,” she responded.

“I was hoping it would,” replied the yellow stallion. He lightly gasped as he got a great idea. “Now getting back to your reception. The misses and I are working on some items for the shop right now. We only had the mayor’s order. It’s going to be a slow day for us. Anyway, why don’t we do the catering for you? We can have a nice spread ready to go by lunchtime.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up. This was most welcomed news indeed. But her face suddenly dropped. How would she pay for their service? “Oh but there’s one tiny problem. I doubt I have the money to afford your catering,” she sighed.

Mr. Cake shook his head. “Not to worry. This is a momentous occasion! We’re celebrating the return of our missing princess! The tab will be on us, besides, it’ll be a great way to show-off our services to the rest of the town. It could help us drum up more business. Isn’t that right honey bun?” He called back to his wife. Mrs. Cake was just lurking behind the saloon-style doors leading to the kitchen. Mr. Cake knew she was back there innocently eavesdropping.

Mrs. Cake popped out from behind the doors and walked up to the counter. The blue earth pony smiled at her guests and husband. “You’re right there my dear. And we could really use the free advertising,” she admitted.

“So we’ll get to work and give you our very best,” said Mr. Cake.

Twilight giggled happily. “I’m sure you will,” she replied.

“Hey what about me?” Asked Pinkie Pie. “I’ll help!”

Mr. Cake looked at Pinkie and then at his wife and winked. “Why of course you can help. You can keep an eye on our little foals while we prepare the food,” he stated.

Pinkie Pie raised a hoof and saluted. “You can count on me…Pinkamena Diane “Responsibility” Pie!”

“We knew we could count on you,” said Mr. Cake. He and his wife returned to the kitchen to begin work on the reception catering.

Lyra jumped up from her chair and smiled at Twilight. “Well, thanks for breakfast and the wonderful news Twilight! I’d better go home and wash up and brush my mane. I want to look my best when the human gets here.” She grinned as she darted out of the shop.

Twilight looked over and saw that Lyra hadn’t even touched her food. “But you didn’t eat your muffin!” She called after her. It was too late. Lyra was already long gone. Even the dust she had stirred up had begun to settle. The lavender unicorn looked back at the table just as Pinkie Pie ate Lyra’s muffin in a single bite and then chugged her glass of milk as well. “PINKIE!” Shouted Twilight.

“What?! She didn’t want it. And I hate to see food go to waste,” replied Pinkie, grinning with glee.

The unicorn face hoofed and shook her head. “You could have at least taken off the paper wrapper.”

Pinkie’s eyes widened and she gasped. “Are you crazy? The paper gives it the perfect flavor!” She remarked. Pinkie glared at Twilight like she was speaking crazy talk.

Twilight sighed. “I should have known. That remark came from the pony who likes hot sauce on her cupcakes.”

Pinkie Pie seemed to ignore the unicorn’s remark. “Well Twilight, enjoy the rest of your breakfast. I’d better go bring out the mayor’s order. Then it’s off to check on little Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake. Can’t leave foals unattended for too long,” she remarked.

Twilight sat there and just rolled her eyes. She finished eating her muffin and drank the remainder of her milk. Carefully she cleaned her face with a napkin. The mare took her empty glass and plate over to the counter. There she set them down. Her ear twitched as the bell to the shop door rang. Glancing back she saw the mayor of Ponyville had entered.

The town leader walked up to the counter and saw Twilight standing there. She managed a smile for the unicorn. “Good morning Twilight, well I wish I could say that and mean it. It’s such a shame we still haven’t found the princess,” remarked the mayor.

The lavender unicorn smiled. “Oh but it is a very good morning mayor. I have great news! Princess Luna is no longer missing!” She exclaimed.

The mayor’s eyes widened briefly. “What do you mean she’s no longer missing?”

Twilight went on to explain the whole story to the mayor. She divulged what had happened to Princess Luna, where she had been and when she returned. The unicorn also mentioned David, the human, and that he and the princess would be visiting Ponyville later that morning.

The mayor was thrilled to hear the princess was no longer missing. Thankfully she hadn’t dispatched any groups to go searching for Luna. Following the lengthy week of fruitless searching, the mayor began starting the searches later and later. This was mostly to give the exhausted ponies some time to recover. In fact that was partly why she was at Sugar Cube Corner. Normally she’d treat her staff to donuts in the morning. Today she had ordered twice as many. Her plan was to share the extra donuts with the ponies in the various search parties. Though it seemed moot having so many donuts now.

In light of Twilight’s news about the impending visit, the town leader decided to keep the extra donuts and serve them at the reception. After paying for her order, the mayor gathered the boxes of donuts, but there was no way she could carry them all by herself. That was when the kind unicorn stepped in. Twilight offered to help her carry them to town hall. Being helpful to other ponies was one of the many lessons Princess Celestia had taught Twilight. This seemed the perfect opportunity to put that education to work.

Using her magic, Twilight carried the lion’s share of the cases. The mayor followed close by her holding the remainder of the donuts. As the two made their way to town hall, they chatted.

The mayor sighed happily. “Well this is shaping up to be a very good day. You know Twilight, I always love it when the town has cause to celebrate,” she admitted with a smile.

Her words pleased Twilight, but she was puzzled by the mayor’s lack of response to a human coming to town. Perhaps it was just as she concluded in her room. Maybe most ponies don’t really know how to react to humans. After all it had been over 2,000 years since David’s kind last set foot in Equestria.

“Can I ask you something?” Twilight inquired.

“And what would that be?”

“Aren’t you concerned about having a human come to our town?” Twilight asked not expecting a positive reply.

The mayor looked at her quizzically. “I don’t know. Should I be worried?” She answered. “Honestly Twilight, I know little about humans. I do recall reading about them in some old textbooks back in school…but personally I never put too much stock into those old books. True they did contain useful information, but let’s face it, a pony must learn to form her own opinions. And that means keeping an open mind,” explicated the mayor.

It was quite a response to Twilight’s seemingly simple question. Though it left her feeling very positive about the prospect of a human in Ponyville. She knew Lyra was definitely on board. This meant she could easily convince Bon-Bon and Colgate. Still Twilight prayed the other ponies would be just as open to David’s visit. Suddenly the unicorn turned her glance toward Canterlot. She wondered how things were going for the human. Unlike Ponyville, Canterlot played host to some rather fussy ponies. They might not accept David so easily. The ponies in the castle would be no exception. However, she did find solace in the fact that her mentor was most likely open to having him there. There was also the fact that Princess Luna was with him too. She certainly had his back if anypony wanted to make trouble for him.

Twilight let out a sigh as the two of them arrived at their destination. Once the unicorn had completed her task, she took her leave and departed. Now she had to visit her friends and break the news to them. Thankfully she had already taken care of dealing with Pinkie Pie. That just left Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash to see. Her friends always seemed very supportive of Twilight so she didn’t foresee any problems. The pony smiled and began humming a joyful tune happily making her way to see her friends.

******

Meanwhile Princess Luna and Princess Celestia were enjoying their breakfast with David. On their way to the royal dining hall, the group kept getting strange puzzled looks from the various guards and servants in the castle. Taking decisive action, Princess Celestia spread the word that there was a human in the castle and that he was a special guest of Princess Luna’s. She also explained where her sister had been and what happened while she was away. The guards and servants were thrilled to learn that their missing princess had returned. It was quite load off their minds. Plus this also meant no more searches needed to be conducted.

The head table, where the princesses normally dined, only had three occupants. The royal dinning hall was surprisingly empty. Only a few servants and guards were around. There were also a few stray visiting ponies eating at some of the smaller tables. Many had been participating in the search for Princess Luna. Now that she was no longer absent, Celestia benevolently offered some time-off for her guards, servants and helpers to rest. Thankfully she still had more than enough personnel to properly staff the castle.

The kitchen crew had done a splendid job preparing breakfast, as they usually did. There were plates and trays filled with various items such as: donuts, other assorted pastries, freshly prepared eggs, hash browned potatoes, fruit, toast, juices, and just about anything one would typically find at such a sumptuous meal, especially in the castle.

Luna and David had loaded their plates, while Celestia was using her magic to place items on her own plate. The human reached for a slice of toast. Turing to Luna he asked, “Would you like butter on your toast?” She nodded. Taking his knife, he carefully spread a coating of butter along the slice. His eyes returned to her gazing thoughtfully. “Care for any jelly my dear?”

She smiled at him and replied, “Of course. You know I have a taste for sweets.” Luna playfully winked at him. She giggled as his cheeks softly broke out in a rosy glow. The princess pointed a hoof at the strawberry jelly. “This will do,” she added.

He smiled at her and let out a contented sigh. David added some jelly to the toast. Then he presented it to her. “Here you are my lady.”

The alicorn turned and moved her mouth to intercept the toast. Opening up she took a small bite from it. Delicately she chewed the morsel of food. After swallowing it, Luna slowly licked the excess jelly from her lips. She made sure her eyes remained focused on David the entire time. He gulped nervously from her suggestive action hoping his cheeks hadn’t turned any redder than they already were.

Luna smiled at him and giggled softly. She turned to her plate and picked up an éclair using her hooves. Celestia caught her sister’s movement out of the side of her eye and thought it odd that she didn’t use her magic. The elder alicorn merely shook her head and went about eating her breakfast. Her sister held up the éclair. “Here David. You said you enjoy decadent pastries. Well then you must try a Canterlot éclair. I just know someone as sweet as you has a taste for sweets,” she remarked with a delighted smile.

His smiled grew as he leaned over and took a bite of the pastry. David gazed back at Luna while he savored the enjoyable flavor invigorating his taste buds. He gradually licked the chocolate frosting from his mouth. “That was delicious. Thank you Luna,” he expressed, staring deep into her eyes. It was her turn to lightly blush.

Princess Celestia couldn’t help but partially observe their actions. Her eyes were suddenly pulled to the servants standing only a few tables away. They were shamelessly staring at the couple as they ate. The expressions on their faces ranged from intrigued to somewhat offended. The elder princess turned and lightly tapped her hoof on Luna’s shoulder. “Little sister,” she said softly. Luna turned and looked back. “There are ponies watching you two. You might want to save the affectionate display for a more private setting.”

Princess Luna turned her head and glanced out at the other ponies. She felt a nervous sweat form on the back of her head when she saw their faces. Celestia in turned looked out at the others and gave them a disapproving stare. They quickly turned away and went about their business. Luna sighed and said, “Sorry about this big sister. We may have gotta little carried away.”

Celestia enjoyed a good chuckle. “It’s all right Luna. No harm done.”

“Thank you princess,” David called over to Celestia.

She smiled at him and replied, “You’re welcome.” The three continued eating their breakfast. Celestia smiled as she thought of a way to lessen the tension at the table. “So Luna, are you going to show David around Canterlot after breakfast?”

The younger princess shook her head. “No. I was planning on taking him to visit Ponyville. I left a letter with Twilight Sparkle asking her to prepare for our arrival.”

“I see,” responded Celestia. She took a sip of tea from her mug and then placed it back on the table. “Well I know Equestria will breath a much needed sigh of relief now that you are safe and sound.”

Luna finished the toast David had prepared for her. Then she looked over at her sister. “Oh yeah. I was meaning to ask you something Celestia.”

“And what might that be?”

“Well I was wondering if David can stay with us here in the castle?” Inquired Luna giving her sister pleading eyes.

Celestia closed her eyes and smiled. Then she replied, “I don’t see why not. I’ll have one of the maids prepare a guest room for him.”

Luna turned to David and placed a hoof along his back. “Did you hear that David? You’re going to be staying with us here in the castle!” She happily declared.

He turned and smiled grandly at her. “That’s great Luna! This means we can keep seeing each other,” David replied with delight.

“I know,” replied the alicorn. “I do have my royal duties to tend to. But I will certainly do my best to make time for us.” Luna winked at David. He smiled back at her.

The three finished their meal and rose from the table. Princess Celestia called for one of her maids. “Merry Way, would you come here?”

A pure white earth pony dressed in a maid’s dress trotted over to them. Her purple mane was tied back in a ponytale, and she wore a maid’s headband. She met them all with her smiling face. “Yes your highness. What can I do for you?” asked Merry Way.

“Would you please take our guest David’s belongs to one of our finest guest rooms? Oh and make sure it’s ready for him later today,” requested the princess.

The maid pony bowed politely. Then she looked over at the human. He saw her staring at him with her sapphire blue eyes. David looked back at her and she turned away bashfully. Like most of the ponies she was curious about this rare creature. They had never truly laid eyes upon a human before. It was only natural that they would find him a little intriguing. Merry Way took his backpack and looked at Celestia. “I’ll get right on it your majesty!” She bowed one more time and then took her leave of them.

The two princesses walked with David along the main hall of the castle. “Well I guess you two will be leaving for Ponyville soon,” said Celestia.

Luna looked at her sister funny and responded, “Aren’t you going with us?”

The elder alicorn smiled. “You know I would love to dear sister. Alas I must stay here and see to my royal duties. But you two go and have a good time. Oh and say hello to Twilight for me,” she replied.

“We will princess,” said David smiling. He walked over and took a hold of Celestia’s right hoof. She blushed lightly from surprise wondering what he was doing.

The human looked into her magenta eyes and smiled. “Thank you for your kind hospitality princess,” he expressed. Then he bowed and lightly kissed her hoof. After he released it, the alicorn pulled her appendage close and looked at it and then at him. She smiled grandly at his respectful display. For some reason however his action had taken Celestia slightly by surprise. She hadn’t expected such a gesture from a human.

The princess fought her cheeks as they tried to blush while she continued smiling at him. “You are quite welcome David. Well I shall take my leave of you two. And I look forward to your safe return,” declared Celestia. The princess left them in the hall as she softly trotted away.

Luna and David continued walking down the corridor. The sound of Celestia’s departing hoof beats slowly began fading out. They appeared to be alone. He looked over at Luna and she gazed back at him happily. The alicorn moved closer to him as the couple continued their trek. He heard her lightly sigh. “Luna are you okay?” David asked wondering if there was something bothering her.

“Oh I’m fine. It’s just this will probably be the last time we’re alone together…well at least until we return tonight,” she answered.

David spied the area around them. There didn’t appear to be any guards, servants or any ponies for that matter nearby. He spied a vacant alcove. Then placing his hand affectionately on her back, he said, “This way Luna.”

She looked at him with eyes mounting with intrigue. Luna accompanied him to the alcove. There they were truly alone. The puzzled princess blinked at him. “What are we doing here?” She inquired.

The human looked around one more time to make sure there was no pony around. Then he smiled at her. “Well you said we might not be alone again for a while,” he replied. Luna nodded. David faced her and began tenderly caressing her beautiful mane. Her smiled grew as she craned her head upward gazing into his eyes. She started to realize why he led them there. Slowly he began to lean toward her. Luna rose to her hind legs and placed her hooves affectionately around him. He responded by placing his arms tenderly around her. The pony looked at him half-eyed. Softly he whispered, “I just wanted to do this…” They moved in and pressed their lips together for a passionate kiss. David moved his left hand and began running his fingers through her mane. Luna ran her right hoof along his short black hair. Their breath lightly caressed their faces making them savor the kiss a little longer.

After several moments passed their lips broke apart. Luna sighed contently at him. “Oh David,” she spoke softly.

“My dear Luna,” he whispered. They gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment and then pulled apart after sharing a tender hug. Finally they emerged from the alcove. The couple resumed their trek down the hallway. As they neared the exit to the main courtyard, David looked at Luna. “So how are we going to travel to Ponyville? Are you going to fly us or have you got another method in mind?”

Still smiling, Luna turned her head and responded, “We will be taking one of the royal chariots. I’d like to give my wing a little time to rest. Though it is doing amazingly well.”

Returning her smile he said, “I’m glad to hear that.”

Celestia had arrived at her room. There she closed and secured her door. The princess informed her guards she was not to be disturbed. She was thrilled that her sister was back safely. It also did her heart well to see how happy she was with David. Things had not been going so well for her Luna following her cleaning by the Elements of Harmony. It was only thanks to Twilight Sparkle that her little sister was finally beginning to make new friends. Yet Celestia knew there was still something gnawing at her sibling. Sadly even after numerous heart-to-heart talks, Luna had yet to reveal anything of consequence.

The princess shook her head. Then she lightly trotted over to her desk. There she used her magic to open a specific book resting on the wooden surface. She flipped the pages till she reached the desired section. David’s arrival had filled her with wonder. The book was open to a very old and ancient prophecy, which read:

Three sinister agents will make their vie for power. Each will fail in their endeavors, but their actions will stir the shadow of an even greater evil. The catalyst will arrive in the form of a visitor form another world. Then minions loyal to the darkness will bring about a terrible resurrection. The sky will darken under the veiling shadow. When hope begins to fade…a champion of harmony will arise and join the forces of light in driving back the great evil. Only when the true power of love is fully harnessed can the darkness be drawn out from the land. Then peace will once again be restored.

“I wonder,” murmured Celestia to herself. It was a very old prophecy. Though in more than 5,000 years, only a few of the signs had ever come true. The past rulers had thought the reign of Ghastaloom marked the arrival of the first sinister agent. But now there had been three other villains that each made a grasp for dominance in addition to the original. Thus bringing the total to four. However, Nightmare Moon, Discord and Queen Chrysalis had all made their bids for power in a relatively short time. Could they be the three agents?

The alicorn began to ponder this more and more as she moved about her chambers. Still the catalyst made no sense. Several individuals from other worlds had visited Equestria over the many centuries since the foretelling of the prophecy. Just which one was the true catalyst? She was curious if David’s arrival had any bearing on the prophecy. Though after the more than 2,000 years Celestia had been alive, she started to think the whole thing was just some old pony’s tale. Yet it did give her pause to wonder.

She flailed a dismissing hoof and said aloud, “Oh come on Celestia. You’re just being silly. That prophecy is just a bunch of random babbling from some old self-proclaimed visionary. Nothing has come from it before…why should now be any cause for alarm.” The pearl white alicorn glanced at the book again and shook her head.

It was all probably nothing. There was however the matter of her sister. Luna finally seemed to be genuinely happy, but would it last? The alicorn walked out of her room onto a small adjacent balcony. There she looked over the side and saw the main courtyard below. The princess happened to catch sight of Luna and David as they walked over to a waiting chariot. After boarding their ride, it took to the air. The chariot passed by Celestia and the passengers waved at her. She happily waved back with a solitary hoof.

Then she watched it sail off slowly flying out of sight. As it continued to grow smaller, the princess said aloud, “Oh David…please watch over my littler sister and continue to make her happy! If you truly love her…be there for her when the pain she flees from finally catches up with her.” The princess stood there gazing in the direction the chariot had flown. Her hair fluttered elegantly in the gentle breeze as she prayed her fears were just the wiles of an overactive imagination.