Retiring to the small dining room — more of a break room for those who needed a quick snack — had not gone quite the way Twilight had anticipated. Lunch had been ready on time — at Celestia’s request, a collection of sandwich fixings including cured meats usually reserved for visitors that indulged — and was probably at least adequate, if not delicious. However, upon arriving, only Caroline sat with Twilight — there were no chairs, but the tables were low enough that she was comfortable sitting on a cushion on the floor — while Sebastian had made a sandwich and then sat away from them. Worse, when Twilight had asked if he’d like to join them, he replied with an emphatic “No,” and then moved even further away.

Twilight dejectedly returned to the table she was sharing with Caroline. “Was it something I said?” she asked, more of herself than of Caroline.

“He does not mean it as an insult, Princess. They never do,” Caroline said. Her sandwich had been cut into four triangles, and she popped the reminder of one of them into her mouth.

“Never —” Twilight looked at Sebastian again, and then back to Caroline — “Wait, this is normal?”

Caroline swallowed her bite of sandwich. “It’s hardly a surprise, where the Crows are concerned. They are the hunters of hunters. Their prey are humans and ponies, rather than beasts or nightmares. I suspect their unfriendliness is as much a defense as their masks are,” she replied.

Twilight could not help but frown a bit sadly as she looked in Sebastian’s direction.

“If I’m to be honest though, I suspect that Mister Vale’s unfriendliness is a quirk of his personality,” Caroline added. “Even as a boy, he was very disagreeable whenever I saw him.”

“Oh!” Twilight turned back to Caroline. “You two grew up together then?”

Caroline looked at Twilight silently for several seconds. “Princess —”

“No.”

Caroline startled slightly, caught by the suddenness and force of Twilight’s response. Twilight, in return, recoiled slightly, and then slumped just a bit, ears drooping. “I’m sorry, it’s just… I don’t want to be a Princess right now. I want to be a friend, and my friends just call me Twilight.”

Caroline was silent for a few seconds more. “Twilight,” she began, pausing for a moment before she continued. “I can see that making friends comes easily to you, but it’s a struggle for me, no matter friendly another party might be. The stigma of Cainhurst does not leave readily. I need time. Often more than others are willing to give me.”

Twilight smiled warmly and reached out, laying her hand in front of her, halfway across the table. “Days, months, or even years. Take as long as you need, and when you’re ready, I’ll be here,” she said.

Haltingly, Caroline lifted her own hand and, taking several seconds to do so, laid it on top of Twilight’s hoof. She watched both for another second, and then squeezed very lightly before adopting — before allowing herself — an almost imperceptible smile. “Thank you,” she said almost too low to be heard.

“Even now, you’re busy working.”

Two heads spun towards the doors connecting to the outside corridor, not needing to look even that far to see a second alicorn, taller than Twilight and dark blue with a mane that resembled nothing less than a field of stars, smiling as she looked back.

“Luna!” Twilight remarked with a start. Both she and Caroline hurried to stand from the table. “I didn’t hear you. How long have you been there?”

“Long enough to see that I should let the Princess of Friendship work uninterrupted, naturally. And also long enough to see the exact moment to announce myself to catch you off your guard,” Luna replied, smile becoming a smirk.

Twilight blinked, looked to Caroline, and then back to Luna. “Oh! You sneak,” she said, allowing herself a grin before she turned to Caroline again. “Lady Aune, I’d like you to meet Princess Luna, of Equestria. Luna, this is Lady Caroline Aune, of Cainhurst.”

Caroline flinched slightly, but Luna simply nodded. “A pleasure to meet you, Lady Aune,” she said.

Caroline bowed in kind, arm crossed over her chest. “A pleasure for us both, I’m happy to say,” she replied.

Luna cast her gaze across the dining room. “And that one, who seems perfectly content to ignore all of us?” she asked.

“Sebastian Vale, your Majesty. Please don’t look too harshly on his behavior. It is personal, but nothing against you,” Caroline replied. She stood up from her bow, but still kept her head lowered and gaze averted from Luna’s. “Miss de Búrca is the only one he’s ever shown any deference or real interest to that I know of, and I don’t imagine that will ever change.”

“Miss de Búrca?” Luna repeated, frowning slightly. “I see that my sister still has that vexing habit of omitting a great many details from her missives. She mentioned that some… somebody, I suppose, was coming to help, but not a trio.”

“A quartet, actually,” Twilight said. “Well —” She furrowed her brow for a moment — “A quintet, counting Candle Wick.”

Luna hummed briefly. “Lady Aune, I noticed your reaction when Twilight Sparkle introduced you. I do hope she has not inadvertently offended you,” she said.

“Oh, no, not at all, your Majesty,” Caroline a bit too hastily. She drew in a slow breath. “I am from Cainhurst, as she said, it’s just that stating so almost invariably provokes a… an extreme reaction.”

“I see,” Luna replied, watching Caroline for a moment before offering a casual shrug. “In any case, I know nothing of Cainhurst, and while dearest Twilight is not always right in her judgements of character, she is rarely wrong. She believed in my own goodness when she had no reason to, so if she believes in you, then unless she is proven wrong, so shall I.”

Caroline startled again, looking at Luna with bewilderment. “I — thank you, Princess,” she said, bowing once more.

“My word, Lady Aune! Please forgive me if I sound presumptive, but are you ill?” Luna asked.

“No, your Majesty.” Caroline stood up again, head lowered. “I am simply from Cainhurst. One of the older lineages.”

“Ah. I believe that I understand now. Well then, Caroline, if I may call you that, I still know nothing of Cainhurst, and you need not fear meeting my gaze. I do believe, in fact, that I should like to get to know you better.”

Caroline was spared the need to respond when the doors to the dining room opened. “Everyone’s here, perfect,” said Candle Wick as he came walking in, approaching the three ladies. Sometime after Twilight had last seen him, he’d slipped on a cream-colored waistcoat.

“Well, you’ve almost met all of them now,” Twilight said to Luna before she stepped forward and nodded to the earth pony. “Mister Wick, I’d like to introduce you to Princess Luna —” She stepped slightly to the side and gestured back with one one hoof — “Luna, this is Candle Wick, Esquire.”

“A pleasure, Mister Wick,” Luna said, standing tall but nodding nonetheless.

Candle Wick bowed his head and bent one elbow to bow further, sweeping his other arm backwards as he did. “I’m happy to hear the pleasure is not solely mine, your Majesty,” he said.

“Goodness, barely ten words and already I like him very much,” Luna remarked as Candle Wick stood up. Twilight giggled, and even Caroline showed a little mirth.

“Were you looking for us, Mister Wick?” Twilight asked.

“In fact, I was. I’m here to collect all of you,” Candle Wick replied.

“Doctor von Kessel has concluded his examination and prepared his diagnosis.”

Author's Note

One aspect of the show that I don't really like is how hard Twilight pushes to befriend others right now. I understand that this is a necessity, given the format they've got to work with, but what made sense with Twilight Sparkle, in this case, doesn't really make sense with Princess Twilight Sparkle.

As an alicorn, she has all the time in the world, and I think she would recognize that as a powerful asset as the Princess of Friendship: Everyone makes friends at their own pace, and Twilight's greatest advantage is that she can match that pace no matter what it is: If it ends up taking years, she can wait years.