“Heavenly waltz of the sky, inspires the ones who see.
All the hearts beat as one in harmony.
Faithfully, side by side, the blood that bonds us deep
May we live and love in Unity.”
- Autumn Delight: Harmony.

CHAPTER ONE

The Arrival

The week had passed with stunning speed; it had been a calm and gentle summer week with no earth shattering disasters, no long lost deities returning from their imprisonment, all was normal for once. That is to say normal relative to the standards of Ponyville where every other day a particularly well liked pink and puffy haired girl hosted notoriously wild parties for the most insignificant of things; or where three seemingly innocent little girls caused chaos that would make Discord weep in pride, in their quest to earn their cutie marks.

It was a perfect summer's day, clear blue skies the birds chirping their delicate summer song giving the village a serene and delightful atmosphere. Dawn has just passed and Celestia's sun radiated gentle warmth making the promise of a perfect though hot summer day. The village was already bustling with activity, as every pony prepared for the day to come, fillies already crowded the streets playing their games promising a calm and perfect day.

A nervous yet happy grin crested Twilight's lips as she stood just outside of the tree library that was her home, her left hand softly gripping a small violet bag she had slung over her left shoulder. She took a moment to inspect her own reflection in one of the library's windows, her hair was neatly tied back in a ponytail and a pair of slim glasses rested on her nose. Her feathery lilac wings were settled in a resting position on her back, she gently patted down the simple navy blue top and the matching long pleated skirt that reached to her ankles, leaving just enough exposed to show off her simple black boots making her the clean image of a proper and diligent student, pleased, she gave a nod of approval at her own appearance.

Turning around she could already see the golden glimmer of a chariot far off in the distance. She had wanted to protest against being picked up with chariot, but had thought that such might seem like a rude gesture towards Princess Celestia. As the chariot approached being pulled by two white coated Pegasus guards, it was hard for Twilight to contain her excitement as her lilac wings were urging to flutter and flex. It would be a bold lie to say that Twilight Sparkle was not looking forwards to studying not just under Celestia, but under both elder Alicorns.

What would the lessons of being a Princess consist of? Would I be required to hold court... could I even do that? What if I messed it up? I could start a war! She thought to herself, the newly minted Princess lost herself in the endless ocean of what if scenarios. The next wilder scenario out doing the previous as they entered her mind leaving her stood there in front of the library lost in the proverbial sea that was her mind. That is to say until she was snapped back to reality by a soft gentle but firm proud voice, breaking her away from the cyclical thought pattern that threatened to spiral out of control.

"Princess Sparkle?" The sergeant asked in a slightly careful tone, a worried look in his eyes as he stood before the Princess with him were three other royal guards they bowed before her as they finally caught her attention.

How long was I lost in thought? I... should break that habit. She thought to herself, her cheeks growing a little hot as she noticed the four guards bowing and remaining lowered. "P-please, there is no need to bow!" she squeaked out in what sounded like panic still not used to anyone treating her like royalty. Twilight slowly approached the chariot, bowing her head in thanks to one of the guards that offered Twilight his hand to aid with climbing up.

Her lips still set in that nervous but happy smile as she settled herself comfortably on the pillows placing down her bag in the small rack. The Princess took in a sharp breath as she felt the chariot leaving the ground at a startling speed, being unused to travelling by royal chariot she grasped for the soft velvet cushions allowing herself to be carried towards Canterlot.

She slowly allowed herself to relax against the velvety pillows of the chariot that carried her high above the landscape. Flying was still new to her even though she was able to fly using her own wings now, but it still left Twilight awestruck being this high up in the air. Staring at the castle that loomed in the distance Twilight noted how deceptively close it looked while in fact it was a good two hour flight.

It'll be good to see Princess Celestia and Luna once more. It has been far too long since I have seen them. she thought to herself, closing her eyes to enjoy the wind blowing through her dark blue hair, allowing it to caress her pale skin and sweep past her glasses. "This is going to be the best weeke- No... Not that, this is going to be an interesting weekend." She said softly, correcting herself, noting at how calling something the best thing ever was still tarnished after the Grand Galloping Gala.

Twilight lay back onto the pillows in her chariot, letting out a small wishful sigh as took in the sight of the land passing by far below her. That is until her eyes fell on a particular rainbow maned Pegasus reclined on a cloud, panting slightly out of breath. "Dash, is that you?" Twilight called out.

"What, Twilight?" Dash questioned leaping off the cloud flying herself closer to Twilight with her signature, cocky grin. "So where are you off to then?" Dash tilted her head just a little.

"Canterlot? You know Princess Celestia and Luna asked me over? I told you this three times Dash..." Twilight sighed.

"Oh right! Sorry I'd totally forgotten about that..." she said rubbing the back of her head with an awkward smile.

Dash opened her mouth to say something, though she found herself distracted by a streak of fire moving through the sky in the air. Approaching them at a rather alarming pace to be more accurate. "What the..." she managed to say, her eyes going wide with as realisation dawned on her, there was only one Pegasus she knew that could move at that kind of speeds.

Her suspicions were confirmed as the pony in question drew closer, allowing them to make out her signature blue aviator jacket and goggles. Her orange medium length orange hair pulled back from the resistance.

"Is that..." Twilight started, her gaze moving towards dash.

"S-Spitfire..." Dash replied, trying to suppress the squeal that she could just feel forming.

As she drew closer she finally slowed down, though unable to stop herself from showing off just a little with a free fall to get on the same height with Dash and the Princess. "Princess, Dash." She nodded in greeting, her smile wasn't as cocky as one would expect from the Wonderbolts Commander.

"Hello Commander," Twilight said, offering her a pillow on the chariot.

"Oh, no thank you Princess. I’m in a hurry. Dash Blaze and Fleetfoot had an accident, you're one of the reserves that has been picked to replace them." She said her voice was like honey, yet within her tone ran a vein of steel giving her a confident and strong presence. "Report to Sergeant Soarin in the barracks on the double."

Rainbow dash saluted her "yes ma'am." She said looking at Twilight with a small smile "I'll catch you later in Canterlot then?"

Twilight only nodded, gently motioning for her to go. "Yes Rainbow, you will."

***

There was a collective exasperated sigh from the guards that lined the walls in the room, although if anyone noticed they gave no outward appearance of that. The Canterlot castle throne room was a rather humble place, the walls white marble and the pillars had a spiralling pattern with golden paint. At both sides of the golden throne hung three banners the left one; from the viewer’s perspective would be Celestia's coat of arms, the cutie mark known by all of Equestria and beyond. To the right hung a banner of midnight blue, dominated by the cutie mark of the nocturnal Princess. The third and last banner that hung central behind, and slightly above the throne was the flag of Equestria it's self.

From the entrance to the throne ran a plush red carpet, covering the rather simple white stone floors, the windows were the awe inspiring, and breath-taking stained glass windows, showing the history of Equestria, up to the Ascension of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Currently a blond Unicorn with a white suit was giving a presentation to the Princess, using a fancy laser pointer to indicate things on the charts. The pointer was fancy in that it projected a solid beam rather than created a simple dot as most did.

"And so you see Princess Celestia, it would be both a profitable venture for the crown and a definite increase in Morale for the common folk." The blond maned unicorn said, a laser pointer in the grip of his pale blue magical aura, indicating various pie charts that were meant to illustrate the profit that could be made and to anyone who has not studied mathematics it would indeed look like a good venture. Although anypony who had their math degree could see it was all smoke and mirrors meant to confuse less intellectual ponies.

He offered the Solar Deity a hopeful smile as his presentation came to an end almost an hour after it had begun. "What do you think, your highness?" Blueblood finished tucking the laser pointer behind his ear with a cocky grin, patting down the white suit he wore, as if he just finished some intensive labour.

The Princess sat upon her throne, the perfect image of gentle motherly love and sweet caring kindness; although saying her exterior composure wasn't forced would be a gross exaggeration, if not an outright lie. Internally Celestia was seething at the preposterous thing her nephew was proposing to her, not to even start about the insult to every pony's intellect that were the charts.

So now he wants the funds to build a giant statue of himself... that could function as an apartment complex. She thought to herself, letting forth a small sigh before speaking "I will take it into consideration, Lord Blueblood. Thank you." She gave him a gentle, and what looked to be earnest smile. For wasting an hour of my life, she thought to herself.

The pompous noble bowed deeply, and sent a particularly annoyed look at his assistant that had the servant scrambling to carry the charts out of the room. Blueblood took his leave soon after in a rather timely manner, clearly finding it not fitting for someone of his status to waste more time than needed, though he burst into a full sprint as he drew near to the door as if able to feel the Princess' scorching glare threatening to burn holes into his new suit. As he burst into the hallway there was the tell-tale sound of armour clattering on the ground.

Celestia's weary eyes fell onto Starsong with a perhaps slightly pleading look to them, taking a slowly breath she whispered, "Please, my little pony tell me that my buffoon of a cousin was the last for today?" Unable to hide the slight tone of desperation that seeped into her voice, though not really trying to hide it away from the Sergeant of her personal guard.

"Fortunately he was, Princess. If you would be so kind, may I speak freely?" Starsong looked at the Princess holding the day's schedule pressed to her chest, standing at attention besides the golden throne, her eyes meeting Celestia's, taking her small nod as permission. "Why do you entertain, or even tolerate his foolish ideas? Would it not be more productive to have someone inspect his ideas beforehand?"

The solar goddess took a moment before finally replying with a small grin on her slightly pink painted lips, she flexed her wings as she stood up with a small chuckle before finally offering her reply "Perhaps it would, my little pony, but what would be the fun in that? It is much more enjoyable to watch him run off." Celestia walked down the steps of her throne slowly, her heels making very soft dainty taps on the plush carpet as she approached the smaller side door that exited the throne room. "And... I couldn't put anyone else through his nonsense. That would be far too cruel."

The blond guardswoman nodded ever so slightly as she followed her Princess, clipboard under her arm, hand casually resting on the gilded pommel of her short sword. She walked one step to the Princess' left and two steps behind her while she pondered her Princess' words over in her mind. "I see your Majesty, and I can understand that choice. With his attitude we would need a new attendant every week... Regardless of 'prince' Blueblood the rest of your afternoon is clear," She said, with a gentle nod to her own words, unable to help but smile as she watched her Princess' smile grow.

"Good, or rather excellent Starsong; please ensure that I am not disturbed by anypony," she said with a tender smile glancing at the first sergeant with her signature, genuine motherly smile "it would mean the world to me; I wish to spend as much time with Twilight as possible today." Walking at a brisk pace towards the castle's observatory. Celestia carried her eternal gentle loving smile on her lips constantly as she walked with Starsong in tow. "If you wish Starsong, You may go take the afternoon off."

"Are you sure Pr-" she asked carefully.

"Please, just Celestia when in private, you have earned that right more than once in the past years my dear." Celestia interrupted her personal guard, though she carried a small coy smile as she glanced over her shoulder. Using her magic she gently pulled the woman ahead just a little so they walked side by side.

"Pri... Celestia, please not while in public, think of the rumours!" she protested, although it was quite weakly as she glanced around for a moment before finally meeting the solar goddess' with a shy smile of her own "Fine, you win." She whispered in a slightly pouty tone of voice.

Celestia chuckled ever so gently as she allowed the tip of her wing to brush past the blond haired woman's cheek, although rather convincingly making it appear as an accident. With a small wink at her "I know you dislike not being joined at the hip under the guise of protocol but... well I have some personal business with my dear sister."

The Princess offered Starsong a loving motherly smile while softly patting her on the back. Walking ahead without her guard Celestia looked over her shoulder "take an afternoon off Starsong, if any mare in my personal house guard has earned it is you." She said disappearing around the corner on her way to the observatory leaving the blond mare alone. "Oh, and I will be seeing you later, right?" she said, her head poking from around the corner winking at the blond guard.

***

The observatory had most ponies confused at first, considering that Canterlot castle would be, and infarct is the worst place for a traditional observatory. This one however was special, created in honour of the return of Princess Luna, commissioned by her sister as in part a welcome home present, and an apology present. The tower had been built ages ago in preparation for Luna's return, though the observatory at the top was a more recent renovation that had been completed a year after Luna's return.

The dome at the top did not house a telescope, nor did it have windows of any kind. Instead it was enchanted to emulate the night sky on the inside, allowing those few privileged enough to enter it the clearest view of the heavenly bodies that was possible without visiting them

The room itself was dark, pitch black actually, save for the tiny bit of illumination created by the stars, although it was barely enough to actually see where one was going. The floor, walls and dome shaped roof were all black as a result of the stargazing spell, created long ago by a great unicorn Conjurer. On the surfaces of the walls and domed ceiling were the constellations. The celestial patterns tracing across all of the surfaces, reflecting the night sky with impossible accuracy.

Papers lay scattered across the floor, along with large open tomes and several large pillows. In the middle of it all stood a short woman, midnight blue haired woman, dressed in rather simple clothing a thin loose fitting black top that fell just over her shoulders, revealing the razor cut, navy blue tank top she wore below it, she wore a pair of baggy shorts that fell to just below her thighs. Magenta white striped socks finished her look off.

Her small delicate hands were raised on high as she moved and manipulated the newly formed stars, creating indicate patterns forming what looked to be new constellations. The pale girl smiled brightly as she adoringly eyes the shape of her current little project; it was something she had been working on for a long time now in her mind.

To say Luna was not overjoyed at being finally able to implement the new constellation would be a bold lie, the Princess illuminated her horn in the azure glow of her magic as she made the shape a permanent addition to the night sky, the winds of magic blowing through the room scattering the notes and flipping pages in the scattered books, illuminating strands of her hair as they blew in every which way on the whims of the magical winds.

Princess Luna hummed softly to herself; a happy smile crested her purple tinted lips. She'd taken the time to wake herself up after taking an afternoon nap. She was not used to being up during the day, as she was almost completely nocturnal. The nap has ensured she'd be well rested for this rather taxing spell, allowing the powerful magic to slowly ebb away, leaving her in the room to admire the shapes that were the elements of harmony's cutie marks, small and subtle just the way she liked it.

Luna grinned broadly, a flawless victory for the Princess of the Night, she thought to herself. Her body was surrounded by a dark deep blue aura, the remnant power of her spell radiating from her in a gentle graceful manner, unlike the force and scorching heat of her sisters Solar magic.

Moonlight magic was cool and gentle like the wind upon a warm summer's night. As the radiance finally faded it left behind an out of breath Alicorn Princess, who slumped down onto one of the pillows in the room with a gentle oomph as the sudden impact her rump made with the soft material knocked some of the wind out of her. She sat there admiring her own work with the most fond of smiles. "It is perfect" she said, to no one in particular.

The Lunar Princess allowed herself to curl up on the pillows, her eyes drifting closed as she lay there, breathing heavily in magical exhaustion. A small nap wouldn't hurt... she thought, excusing her for taking another nap so soon. She allowed herself to drift away to sleep, a peaceful smile creeping onto her lips as she lay there on the pillow.

Slowly Luna left her physical body behind in the waking world to recharge its magical energies. While her continuousness drifted away to her plane of existence, or rather the realm of dreams as most would likely call it. The plane itself was simple a dark space of nothingness except for a small pool of illuminating waters. She sat down, conjuring up a large blue pillow to recline on, which she rather eagerly did with an almost childlike giggle.

Luna had been coming here ever since she was a little filly, after her Father had taught her the art of Dream Walking, only she could access this place now though she'd spent time on this plane to amuse herself without the limitations of the material world. Unlike Equestria, her plane was connected to all dreams, and worked similarly to them she only needed to will something into existence. Along with the pillow a pot of ink and some blank sheets of paper appeared in front of Luna.

On the piece of paper she found the lesson plan that she had been drafting in her mind for the Princess of friendship. She had decided against keeping a physical copy of her lesson plan after Celestia's detailed and colourful recounting of how she had caught Twilight Sparkle red handed in attempting to get ahead of her schedule by stealing the lesson plan. Luna had to admit it surprised her greatly that Twilight of all ponies would do such a thing. Her eyes slowly moved over the written words as she sighed gently she is Twilight even ready for all this... I mean she is a gifted and studious woman but... having her hold court so early sister? Is that truly such a good planLuna thought to herself, worry written on her face.

Then again, it might be adorable to see her panicking, oh yes that'd be delightful watching her squirm and try her best as her cheeks turn that lovely rosy hue... Luna thought, feeling the heat building on her cheeks as she looked around instinctively to make sure she was alone. Luna giggled as she imagined the bookish Princess in a multitude of awkward situations, Twilight desperately trying to control her wings in the moment of panic.

Luna's cheeks burned slightly as her thoughts took a rather different and unexpected turn, she could feel the heat bailing between her legs. She firmly shook her head to drive those alluring thoughts away, though the attempt was in vain as moments later she could see it before her, Twilight sitting on the throne looking at her with those deep expressive eyes over the rim of her glasses; causing Luna's heart to flutter as she felt small before the young Alicorn. Luna whined softly as she noticed her wings were fluttering of their own accord, in a struggle to stand rigid, and return to a resting position.

Luna's eyes closed as she heard the sound of two oak double doors being opened and closed, with a small sigh she returned to her resting body, her eyes opened slowly as she looked into the direction of the door. Seeing her sister's pale skinned from, dressed in her rather elegant white robes.

"Very impressive Lulu, I knew you were working on a gift for the elements of Harmony for a long time now but this is absolutely breath-taking." Celestia smiled gently as she approached her sister, arching her eyebrow for a moment "Were you... sleeping?"

"We were most certainly not Tia!" she snapped defensively.

Celestia smiled at her little sister and bridged the gap between them with a mighty flap of her wings, assaulting the Princess of the night in a sisterly tackle hug, making sure they both landed on the pillows. "There is no shame in having to rest oneself after a spell as such Lulu." She giggled softly ruffling the smaller Princess' hair.

Luna let out a small sigh as she poked her finger against her sister's nose, offering her a small sheepish smile as she lay besides Celestia. "She's going to be arriving soon." Luna mumbled, "I can't wait."

"Do you mean you can't wait to hold her in your arms?" Celestia said, offering Luna a teasing wink.

"Sister, hast thou been reading our diary again!?" Luna demanded, though her words kept a playfully edge to them, which did little to hide the faintest hint of actual offence at the idea.

"Lulu, I did not read your diary, I swear by mother's grace I did not. You were mumbling her name in your meditative state. Quite amorously I might add, sister dearest. It's not hard putting one and one together from there on." Celestia said, running her hand through her silky mane, offering Luna a loving sisterly smile, watching as a blush slowly started creeping along Luna's pale cheeks.

Luna let out a small little sigh as she looked up at her elder sister, a small smile playing on the solar Princess' lips. A sigh of resignation passing her lips upon realising she could not hide it from her elder sister any longer, or perhaps it was a sigh of relief at the fact she did not have to go through the effort anymore "Very well, we- that is to say I, have strong feelings for her yes." She admitted with a small out. "But do not say or do anything, I wish to handle this my way."

Luna looked down at her feet in embarrassment. "Ever since the first nightmare night after my return if I am to be completely honest about it all."

Celestia offered her a fond smile as she gently pulled her close to herself, eyes narrowing just a little as soft white wings wrapped around her; just as she used to all those years ago when Luna was still a child. "I am so happy for you Sister, that you have found someone you have feelings for I was getting worried to be quite honest."

"T-thank you Tia" Luna said, nuzzling herself against Celestia's form arms wrapped around her shoulders in the tight sisterly embrace. The embrace was short lived though as one of Luna's night guards entered the room, bowing down to one knee besides the two Princesses.

"Mistress Luna, Your Radiance, Twilight Sparkle's arrival to the palace is imminent." He said in a stoic tone, his eyes cast down not daring to look up at the Princesses.

"Thank you Stormreaver. You may leave us." Luna replied a small smile on her lips as she slowly drew back from Celestia's embrace, giving her big sister a small nod. "Come we should get ready to greet Twilight, And I still need to change I feel this might be a bit too casual to trot around the castle in." She chuckled lightly at her own comment, though a genuine concern audible in her soft voice. "Not to mention... what would she think of me dressed as this!?"

"Yes... and to be honest, I doubt she would mind your outfit Lulu, though I should change too, we cannot welcome our student looking like this I will meet you there." Celestia said with a gentle smile as she slowly stood up, taking Luna's hand to help her stand with a gentle pull. Casting a last glance at the stars she smirked at her little sister. "Are you going to reveal this tonight?" she asked with a wink.

"Perhaps, we shall see if the mood is right." She nodded gently, turning away to dash for her room coaxing a giggle from Celestia.

***

The sun had reached its zenith signalling midday in the land of Equestria, its gentle warmth flooding the streets of Canterlot showering its inhabitants in gentle loving warmth. As her chariot landed on the small landing pad that protruded from the castle's southernmost tower. Twilight could already make out the shapes of Luna and Celestia awaiting her arrival, the former was jumping up and down waving in excitement which coaxed a small giggle from the Princess of Friendship.

Celestia offered a gentle motherly smile as she carried herself in a more mature and dignified manner than her younger sibling was, though it took her some effort to bite back the chuckle as she watched Luna's antics from the corner of her eye. A small sigh escaped the Solar Alicorns lips as Luna was displaying enough glee for the both of them. In truth Celestia felt about the same amount of happiness to see her former pupil once more.

The chariot began its descent rather slowly, and at first Twilight was already shifting towards the side, though as it landed upon the stone platform Twilight grabbed on for dear life as their landing was quite a bit bumpier than she had anticipated. She slowly started to climb out of the chariot her bag sling over her shoulder.

Luna in her excitement charged at Twilight barely allowing her a moment to set a foot on the grey stone surface of the before enveloping the youngest of the four Princesses in a tight embrace "Twilight! Goodness I have missed thee so much." Luna exclaimed in her excitement.

"I have missed you too Princess." Twilight replied a little surprised by the sudden embrace, but melting into it with a fond smile, her arms gently folding around the small of Luna's back in a friendly embrace. Her eyes moved to her mentor and surrogate mother with a fond smile as she slowly tried to draw away from Luna's embrace.

"Twilight Sparkle! It hath been far too long since we hast seen one another! I desire to know, hast thou hadst a pleasant journey?" The Lunar Princess asked, her eyes glowing with joy at seeing her friend again.

Twilight arched her eyebrow a notch as she looked down at the lunar Princess who walked besides her as she approached Celestia for a briefer embrace, smiling warmly at her former mentor. Twilight noted to herself that Luna and Celestia were both wearing a very similar dress, though Luna's was shades of blue and silver while Celestia's was shades of alabaster and gold.

The garments were rather simple airy dresses with a side-slit showing off the Princesses legs as they walked, the top ended in a halter neck leaving their shoulders exposed offering a modest amount of skin, though not a scandalous amount of it. The sleeves of the dresses were held in place by a rather simple spell that was woven into the enchanted cloth. The outfit was finished off by incorporating the Sister's royal regalia.

They both looked ever as regal as Twilight had remembered, though as she took in their outfits, Luna's in particular a thought crossed her mind which caused her to blush faintly She... looks so beautiful. It took a moment to notice that she'd been gawking at them both and brought herself back to reality with a shake of her head. "Y-yes Luna, the Trip over was lovely!” She replied with a small smile on her lips.

Celestia offered one of her radiant motherly smiles to Twilight, embracing both her and Luna as she nuzzled her cheek fondly; much like a mother would to a daughter she had not seen in months. "Twilight, it is good to see you again, my faithful student." She nodded ever so gently after taking a step backwards.

"Come Twilight, you must be hungry after your flight. I've had the staff prepare tea and some sandwiches for us to enjoy as we talk." Celestia said with a sweet smile as she turned on her heels to head back inside.

"That sounds Lovely Princess." Twilight said as she followed Celestia with Luna to her left who was smiling quite eagerly, a small rumble of her stomach apparent to the younger Alicorn; apparently Twilight wasn't the only one that was hungry right now.

"Please Twilight, Just Celestia is fine" Celestia said, glancing over her shoulder at Twilight with a gentle smile.

"I must admit, I was so eager to see you both that I forgot breakfast this morning..." Twilight blushed faintly as she looked down at her feet, speaking with a slightly embarrassed smile on her lips. The statement earned her a small tsk from the Princess that walked besides her, Luna didn't make a comment though the look in her eyes told Twilight all she needed to know. It was the kind of look that conveyed the message you should take care of yourself better young lady, the kind of look her mother had given her many a time after a night's worth of studying without sleep.

They walked through the maze like castle in relative silence, although occasionally Luna would ask a question, about what Twilight had been doing the past few months or how one her friends were doing and Twilight would answer the question in perhaps her typical amount detail and enthusiasm for the Princess of friendship that is.

It was quite a walk through the castle, and along the way they encountered various members of the staff or guard who would either bow or salute them, to Celestia's eternal annoyance, not that anyone but Twilight of Luna could notice said annoyance, one needed to know what to look for in the Solar Princess to view past her usual facade.

Finally though they arrived at the smaller of the dining rooms, the private one Luna and Celestia used, when not having to entertain guest that weren't as close as Twilight. Pushing open the large double doors the Celestia revealed a room Twilight was unfamiliar with; it was tastefully decorated with a small oaken table in the centre with six pillows placed around it. In the back was an unlit fireplace, the walls were decorated with scrolls of poetry and there were even some plants placed around the room. The room was lit by the sunlight flooding in through the large stained glass window, by the position of the window the room would likely always be lit by the sun or the moon. The table housed an ancient looking tea set, along with a plate filled with various kinds of sandwiches for them to enjoy.

"Welcome to our private meeting room, Twilight. This is a part of the castle not many get to see." Celestia said, taking off her high heels before entering the room to take a seat on one of the large fluffy pillows.

The studious Alicorn flexed her wings a little before she followed Celestia's example, taking off her shoes before entering to sit across from her mentor, smiling warmly, her eyes scanning the room in particular the poetry that hung from the wall.

"It is, tranquil here Prince- Celestia" she said quickly correcting herself this time. This... is going to be difficult you get used to, she thought to herself, pulling her legs to one side sitting on her pillow in a relaxed position. "May I ask who wrote the poetry?" She nodded towards the scrolls on the wall with a gentle smile, a curious glint in her amethyst eyes.

Luna chuckled softly, trying to hold herself back taking a seat beside Twilight, subtly pushing her pillow a little closer before speaking up, "You're sitting across from the bard in question, Twilight Sparkle." The comment coaxed a blush from the solar Princess who gave an awkward smile in response to Luna's words. "She was quite the poet in her youth!" Luna added, grinning over at her sister a mischievous glint in her eyes.

The Lunar Princess leaned in close to Twilight and started to whisper softly "She's sensitive about it... poor thing thinks she's not skilled at it." The whisper was just audible enough for Celestia to overhear it causing her to blush even deepen even further.

"Lulu! Stop that, it is not appropriate." Celestia objected to her sister's teasing antics, her eyes narrowed into what was supposed to be an intimidating glare, though All the response that she got was a set of giggles by her student and Sister, Luna fell back onto the soft pillow, unable to form any sentences at all she mumbled about Celestia's look being priceless though other than that there was not much being said that made any semblance of sense.

In the middle of it sat Twilight, a stunned look on her face at the informality the two Alicorn sisters displayed towards one another in that moment; realisation dawned upon Twilight that the two Alicorns weren't untouchable goddesses as the general public made them out to be. They are plain, normal sisters she thought to herself, a large smile forming her lips looking between the two.

Twilight had to admit it wasn't unwelcome at all; it made her feel quite humbled and special that she was allowed to see Luna and Celestia be actual sisters with their own sibling banter going on. It made her feel closer to the two of them. The thought of being this close to them caused her to chuckle gently, her cheeks flushing ever so slightly as she managed to retain her balance unlike the Princess of the Night, although it did not last long as she noticed the two Princesses looking at her entirely baffled by her response to their actions. "S-sorry P- Celestia, Luna I was not laughing at you... it is just adorable to watch you both behave like actual sisters."

This time it was the Luna and Celestia's turn to laugh, realising just how silly and childish they must have looked to Twilight. The three Princesses shared the laughter this time, all formalities seemingly having been left at the door.

"The credit can't all be handed to me though; some of the poetry here was done by Lulu here." Celestia admitted with a small wink at her Sister. "And some of it was done by my Bard as a gift."

"You have a bard?" Twilight asked arching her eyebrow for a moment, surprised she had not heard about this pony before.

"Oh yes, a recent addition to the staff, a charming girl I have to admit and very talented." Celestia said nodding ever so gently, thinking back to the competition she had hosted a week or two back now.

Luna nodded gently "Indeed Twilight you should meet her later, She earned her position as royal bard by being the best in a competition Sister dearest set up." Luna explained.

A few hours of casual talking passed, as the sun travelled through the sky, showing the end of the day drawing ever closer with each passing minute. The three Princesses had many laughs and giggles as they discussed their personal lives for the past few months. Eventually though Celestia spoke up with a gentle ring to her voice.

"Pleasantries aside though, Twilight there is something I want to give you. Something a Princess should not be without even in the safety of peaceful Equestria." Celestia smiled warmly as she conjured up a package in her hands it was wrapped in a matte black paper and it was cylindrical in shape.

Twilight tried to take the present into her telekinetic grip, but her amethyst aura seemed to rebound off of the package causing her to not pick it up, although as she did so she knocked the over one of the empty fine earthen tea cups to her great shock. She sighed in relief witnessing Luna catch it just before it was about to roll off the table and hit the ground "W-what is it Princess?" she asked, shaken by her magic misfiring.

Luna chuckled softly nudging Twilight in her side, earning herself a cute little yelp from the girl. "Take it with thy hands and open it Twilight, thee will be shocked, I have no doubt." The Lunar Princess said, nodding at Twilight encouragingly.

Twilight did as she was told, taking the package in her hands, she started ripping away the wrapping paper. The first thing she saw was an amethyst inlaid in gold, then a deep almost black purple shaft of wood with a constellation pattern on its entire length. She gasped loudly as the last piece of paper tore away to reveal the simple six pointed magic star that represented her cutie mark.

Inspecting the object she took it in one hand, "Celestia is this... a magic focus?" She asked softly, her emotions quite mixed as she held the object in her hand, allowing it to attune to her magical resonance by allowing a small bit of her magenta magical aura to seep into the focus. "It... this much have cost a small fortune Princess..." she whispered softly.

"It's not any focus, Twilight," Celestia stated as she noticed her student's ponderous look. "It's shaft was... created by Starswirl the bearded himself during his prime; he had meant it to be for my daughter..." she started looking at the youngest Princess for a moment before continuing with a glimmer of pride in her voice, "You're the closest thing I have as a Daughter Twilight and I want you to have it."

"C-Celestia, it... it is too much I... I couldn't" Twilight stammered in disbelief as she looked up at the Princess of the sun, before fading out of existence only to reappear besides Celestia throwing herself at the solar Deity, pulling her in a thought embrace. "I... have not words Celestia, thank you this... this means allot..."

Celestia curled her lips into a loving smile as she gently embraced the girl she saw as her daughter close to herself, very gently kissing her on the crown of her head. "It is my pleasure Twilight."

"It has taken one year and four months to create the focusing crystals alone. That includes the enhancements that have been put upon it to. As to why, well it is Traditions my dear Twilight. Our mother had one and so do we each have one... although ours are shaped like bladed weapons, as it was a different time" Luna said, smiling warmly at Twilight.

"Yes, and we did not want to deprive you of a new form of magic that is associated with a focus, a thing only Alicorns are able to wield, although I think you could have as well when you were still a Unicorn." Celestia said with a gentle smile slowly pulling away from her surrogate daughter. Allowing Twilight to teleport back to her pillow.

"Add to that that was a guilty pleasure for Starswirl." Luna chimed in to the conversation, once more nudging Twilight's sides to earn just another cute squeak from the mesmerised Princess of Friendship, resisting the urges to play her fellow Princess like an instrument by tickling her. "He was rather well known for it in his time, although historians seemed to have not done his prowess justice, my dear Twilight."

Twilight's eyes went wide as she leaned in a little closer to Luna. Her look left no doubt that she was buying the story hook, line and sinker, not seeming to care if it was truth or a fabrication of the Night Princess. "Teach me! Please please please!" She eagerly pleaded, her free hand grabbing one of the Lunar Deities, coaxing a chuckle from Celestia's side of the table.

"Yes, really my faithful student. He was on par with me; he gave Luna a thorough spanking in her day! Although she needed to learn some humility" She said, giving a slow nod as she recited the fact about her little sister in a rather carefree manner, ignoring the foul look she was receiving from her younger sibling.

"He did not!" Luna protested with a look of mock offence in her eyes.

"Lulu, you know I meant no offence by my statement. It was a jest and you know there is no need to... get angry but he did beat you..." Celestia said, trying to explain herself.

Celestia's words though fell on deaf ears as her younger sister stood up and walked out of the room with a frustrated huff saying "Sister we demand a duel with thee! This offence wilt not go unpunished! I will see you in the courtyard tomorrow morning, Sister." Before slamming the doors behind herself.

Twilight on the other hand flinched back opening and closing her mouth repeatedly though not uttering a word to stop the two sisters, stunned to silence by the sudden talk of duelling.

Celestia sighed, looking to a still stunned Twilight, whose eyes had widened to the diameter of the small tea cup saucers that stood on the table. "Twilight... I am sorry for Luna's behaviour she can be a little temperamental when it comes to this."

"I know Pri- Celestia. Luna has a strong sense of honour." The smaller Alicorn said with a sweet smile at her mentor, "I am sure she will be back to normal after cooling down... right?

Celestia shook her head and stood up with a surprisingly serene smile on her lips for a woman who was challenged to a duel by her younger sibling. "No Twilight, this is a thing that must happen for her to calm down, worry not though we have never harmed one another."

"But..."

"No buts my dear, now come it is getting late, and I need to lower the sun plus we could both use some rest."

"A-alright Celestia, if you are sure." Twilight nodded, standing up to follow Celestia out of the room, she looked at Celestia unable to help but worry for her mentor’s safety.

<<<< To be continued. >>>>

Author's Note

As a reference for what kind of dresses Luna and Celestia are wearing this would be it:
* Inspiration for the Dresses