The Reunion

Chapters

2 Everypony or Nopony At All
3 Through the Mirror
4 First Impressions
5 When Worlds Collide
6 Rescue Party
7 The Party's Over
8 Night Guard to Arms
1 Should Auld Acquaintance be Forgot

2 Everypony or Nopony At All

Once he had left Solaris to finish the last of the cake, Dusk thought hard about how they could address the personal dynamic such that the much desired interdimensional journey could be made to happen without causing the downfall of both worlds. If they were to construct a story that the CMCs couldn’t travel because of some reason, such as age or size or something, then Silver Bell would have to stay in this world, and his filly counterpart on the other, so neither of the dressmakers would be likely to abscond. That part was easy, but what to do about Butterscotch; poor lovestruck Butterscotch? He was the friend who wanted to travel the most, but by the same token was the one who was most likely to suffer the most lasting distress in the pursuit of his love.

He decided that a heart to heart was the only way to get to the bottom of the problem, and trotted off to his cottage where he was as usual pampering the animals in his charge, especially one rather spoilt white bunny. Nopony got to become the Bearer of the Element of Kindness without good reason after all.

He knocked at the door and saw the large eyed stallion looking up at him.
“Oh, hello Dusk” he offered in greeting “Would you like to come in. I’m just finishing feeding time; you can feed the otters if you like.”
“Why thank you ‘Scotch, I’d be honoured to help out.”
He walked in to the chaotic sounds of many different types of animals enjoying their lunch and admired his friend’s planning abilities, something that he, Dusk Shine was well renowned for himself and could therefore appreciate fully.
“I don’t know how you manage to keep this so well organised ‘Scotch” he complimented.
Butterscotch blushed brightly and mumbled something obscure that Dusk didn’t quite catch.

“Could you go over to that bucket and pick out a clam? Then tap it a bit so it looks like it’s going to open and if it doesn’t then use the flat of a knife to start levering the two halves apart.”
The animal lover was in his element and Dusk obliged by doing as instructed, grateful to hear his friend feel strongly enough about what he was doing to issue orders.
“So, why do we do this?” the lilac pony asked.
“It’s to make them feel strong again while they’re recovering” came the matter-of-fact reply.
Dusk smiled; only Butterscotch could think up something so thoughtful.

Once they had prepared enough, the two friends went through to see the otters, who as last on the feeding list were quite animated, running backwards and forwards and swimming in the little bathtub that had been set up for them. Butterscotch gently passed a prepared clam to one of the otters and gestured to his friend to do the same. The otter took the treat timidly from the unfamiliar pony but soon broke it open and set about its lunch.

“He’s saying thank you, Dusk” said Butterscotch.
The magician was totally unable to decipher the sequence of high pitched squeaks, but accepted his friend’s translation and replied to the otter with a cheery “You’re welcome.”
“Yes, Mr Otter, he is a very nice pony. Now enjoy your lunch.”

Turning back to his friend, Butterscotch enquired “It’s very nice to see you again Dusk, but what did you want?”
“I came to ask you a question” he replied, a little warily.
“Oh dear, I do hope it’s nothing serious.”
“I have a difficult question and it would mean a lot to me if you could answer honestly.”
“Oh my …”

“If, and I’m only saying if you could meet Fluttershy again, I know you would get on really well, but how would you feel when it was time to leave her and come back home?”
“I don’t think I would want to leave her.”
Whilst Dusk admired his friend’s honesty, his heart sank; this was just what Solaris had warned him about.

“If, for example, it was possible for us to meet up with our six mare friends again, but on the strict understanding that we couldn’t stay, would you like to or would you rather not?”
“Oh, Dusk …” Butterscotch whimpered as his eyes began to brim with tears “That’s so unfair …”
“I’m sorry ‘Scotch” said the magician edging closer to give his friend a nuzzle, but the primrose stallion backed away, shaking his head and allowing his tears to fall freely.

***

Twilight was shaken by Fluttershy’s reaction and immediately regretted having misjudged the depth of feeling that she still harboured for her male self. It had been years after all, so she hadn’t expected the reaction to be as focused as it had been. She desperately wanted to comfort the primrose pony, but her retreat made it perfectly clear that a friendly nuzzle would not be enough this time.

“I’m so sorry Fluttershy” she soothed, desperately trying to regain control of the situation “I guess I was so keen to meet our male selves again that I hadn’t fully thought through what it could mean to you.”
“It’s OK Twilight” she replied, everything clearly not sounding OK “Just give me a few minutes, will you?”

With a heavy heart, the magician turned to allow her timid friend some privacy, in the full realisation that in her enthusiasm she had inadvertently overstepped the mark, and also began to face the prospect that any plans to meet up with their other selves would have to be shelved indefinitely, if not permanently.

With her head hung low, Twilight passed through the menagerie that was Fluttershy’s front room and showed herself out, Angel peering up from his carrot to watch her go, and making sure that she had closed the door behind her properly so that the critters didn’t get out. Happy that she had managed this process unaided and that the door did not require his help, he hopped through to see if his mistress was alright.

Fluttershy was sobbing quietly in the corner that she had sought for her refuge, her pink mane shielding her tear sodden face. Discarding his half-eaten carrot, he immediately hopped over to give her a hug.
“Thank you, Angel,” she whimpered, holding him close.

“Well, that could have gone better” said Twilight to herself, feeling the burden of guilt pressing unpleasantly down on her “Some Princess of Friendship I am. I was so keen to make this happen that I hurt one of my closest friends. Forget it – just forget it!It’s a stupid idea anyway!”
She angrily kicked a stone from her way and it catapulted into some innocent foliage at the side of the path, but it didn’t make her feel any better. The plan was off.

***

Twilight wanted to cheer up Fluttershy, but she realised that her judgement had already been off where her friend had been concerned, so instead arranged an urgent delivery of flowers from Lily Valley, Daisy and Rose. Having made amends, she then went back to her castle, sat in her chair and lay her face on the table, covering it with her forehooves. She knew it wouldn’t help and she knew she had more important things to do, but still found herself unable to resist wallowing in self-pity for an hour.

“Hey Twi” came the familiar rasping tones of a cyan mare. She really didn’t want to talk at the moment and kept her face hidden under her forehooves, acknowledging her guest with barely more than a grunt.
“Just come from Fluttershy” the voice continued.
“That was all my fault Rainbow” she said, still keeping her face on the table, but waving a single forehoof like a flag of surrender “I’m the worst Princess of Friendship ever.”
“Nah, I can imagine worse; Chrysalis or Nightmare Moon – hey how about Tirek? Can you imagine Tirek as a Princess in a dress?”
Twilight giggled a little at that last image and lifted her head to see Rainbow Dash “Well I still remember Discord dressed as a French maid.”
“Yeah! I had bad dreams for a week!” giggled Rainbow so loudly that she snorted.
That snort was so funny that it set Twilight off and both friends were soon engulfed in fits of uncontrollable laughter, Rainbow rolling around on the floor.

When the laughter subsided a more serious Rainbow emerged “’Shy told me what happened.”
“Great. Watch as the Princess of Friendship screws up somepony else’s life” said Twilight as the smile that had temporarily graced her face disappeared once more.
“Yeah, she was a bit uptight, but the flowers were nice.”
“I’m pleased they got there so quick.”
“Yeah …” began Rainbow awkwardly “I think they would have looked better before the squirrels tried to eat them as a snack.”
“Oh … I hadn’t thought of that” said Twilight, admonishing herself.
“Neither did the delivery pony. You should have seen the look on her face!”
“Oh no!I hope she’s alright.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Made Fluttershy laugh though”
“Really?”
“Priceless!Look Twi; the flowers were a really nice idea and they worked well, but not in the way you thought” Rainbow scratched her head with her forehoof before continuing “’Shy … she’s, well … sorry for how she reacted to you - you know? She’s in.”

“What?”
“You know, the whole meeting up with our male selves bit.”
“I don’t suppose her sudden change of heart had anything to do with you wanting to go back and set things straight with Blitz, by any chance?” said Twilight, her voice rising as her anger grew.
“I don’t think I said it in quite those terms, Twi” replied Rainbow apprehensively.
Twilight groaned, then stated pointedly “Well, I guess it’s going to be a bit more difficult trying to keep it a secret now, isn’t it?”
Rainbow just gave a nervous snicker and rubbed the back of her head with her forehoof, before rejoining with a rather weak “You should have seen the squirrels rip those flowers up though …”

***

The little bell rang cheerfully announcing the latest customer into Carousel Boutique and the door was carefully shut behind as the lilac pony made her way in to admire the latest haute couture on offer. The display was dazzling as was the voice that chimed out from the workshop.
“I’ll be right with you!”

The unmistakeable elegant white form wafted into the showroom, looking immaculate as always.
“Twilight darling, what an unexpected treat. How may I help you today?”
“Well Rarity, it’s more what I may be able to do for you; well, all of us in fact.”
“Oh, I am intrigued; pray do tell me more” said the glamorous fashionista batting her eyelids seductively and bringing a slight blush to her friend’s face.
“Do you remember a certain white stallion of our mutual acquaintance?”
“I can think of a few I’ve known darling” she smiled raising one eyebrow cheekily “But, I don’t know how many of them you’ve known too.”

Taken aback, Twilight’s blush suddenly took on a life of its own and lit up her face bright red “Oh Rarity, this isn’t helping at all!”
“Very well then” she replied, “The answer is yes, I promise to behave.”
“What?I haven’t even asked you a question yet” said Twilight, confused.
“You were going to enquire how I would feel at the prospect of meeting Elusive again and determine whether I could be trusted not to run away with him.”
Twilight was dumbfounded.
“Am I close, dear?” she smiled mischievously.
“How did you know” asked her friend, stunned.
“Oh, a little bird told me …”

“Who else has your little bird told?” asked Twilight failing to contain her evident exasperation.
“Oh, I suggest, conservatively speaking; all of our closest friends, their younger siblings, and of course a little dragon. At a rough guess, that is.”
Twilight could see all of her carefully crafted plans unravelling in front of her eyes. She had intended to sound out her friends one at a time, to see if they were agreeable without having the peer pressure of all the others to sway their opinions, but it rather seemed that somepony had beaten her to it. She growled in annoyance while Rarity looked on inscrutably.
“Alright, I guess we’d better all meet up and I can explain it.”
“How about here darling, say 6 pm?”
“Yes, thank you Rarity, that would be fine.”
“Good, because that’s what I’ve already arranged.”
“What?” Twilight had been outsmarted again, and Rarity couldn’t help but allow a smirk to cross her lips as her friend stormed off.

***

During the day there was a flurry of activity as Twilight paced anxiously in circles talking to herself and occasionally firing off a scroll to Canterlot. She had been ambushed and wanted to talk the issues through with Celestia before agreeing to anything, but the secret was out and there wasn’t time to meet and talk it through. Instead, she would just have to make the best of it with only the occasional Royal scroll for guidance. She got progressively more stressed as the afternoon wore on, but a way forward was starting to become clear - it could still be made to work without ending life as she knew it.

Slowly, the hands on the town clock made their inexorable way round towards 6 pm and the five friends, CMCs and Spike all met up as arranged, Rarity, the consummate hostess passing out drinks and nibbles to put everypony at their ease.
At precisely the allotted hour, Twilight took to the stage and addressed all present.
“Mares, fillies and baby dragon …”
“Aw, why’d she have to call me baby?” moaned Spike quietly to himself.
“It seems to have become widely known that I may, and I repeat may, have found a way in which we could meet up with our other-gender selves again. I was hoping to discuss this possibility with each of you in turn, but somehow the word got out before I could do that.”
At this point, she looked around her assembled friends; the younger ones were gazing up at her in rapt attention, and one cyan mare was looking above her and off to one side, cheeks a tell-tale colour red.

“OK then, if we’re even going to try this, I must emphasise how important it is not to tip the delicate balance between our two worlds; whatever we do here, they do there, the only difference being that anything with a gender is reversed. Therefore, all of us who make the journey must come back without having disturbed anything material or set in train anything with anypony, or any dragon, else that could affect this equilibrium. There’s a couple of you in particular I’m thinking of here” she said, looking knowingly towards Rarity, whose face reflected back the picture of innocence.
“We have all got to be in full agreement with this or the idea stops here and now.”
There was nodding and the sound of positive murmuring all round.
“OK then, if anypony has any concerns, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem, come and talk to me over the next few days. Everything you say will be in confidence, but if anypony doesn’t feel they can go through with this for any reason, then we must all accept that decision without any recrimination, OK?”

She looked towards Fluttershy and was relieved to see that she looked to be in general agreement rather than the tearful reticence she had displayed before. Perhaps Rainbow really had found a way to reassure her after all?
“Well, that’s about it from me. Unless there are any questions, I propose we continue to enjoy the hospitality until Rarity throws us out!”
It was now Rarity’s turn to blush, but she gamely set about getting more snacks and drinks, ably assisted by the pink mistress of parties, Pinkie Pie who was determined to set up pin the tail on the pony as soon as she could.

3 Through the Mirror

One week after the party at Elusive’s, Dusk was as ready as he was ever going to be to see the Prince and tell him that all his friends were set to go. He had been disappointed that Blitz had made it his business to tell everypony about the prospect of meeting the mares and fillies, not least because he had been hoping to fabricate some story to keep Silver Bell in this world as a lever to ensure that Elusive could be trusted not to run off with his glamourous dressmaker friend.

At least Blitz had redeemed himself by settling poor Butterscotch whose intense reaction he hadn’t understood and whose recovery had likewise taken him by surprise. The two had been close friends since they were colts, so perhaps if anypony could talk to him it would have to be Blitz.

He allowed his mind to wander wistfully whether his ‘sister’ was having the same problems in her world, and felt a warm touch of togetherness that she was probably at the same point on the process right now, harbouring the same reservations. How he wanted to see her again!

All of the potential travellers had come to see Dusk at some time over the past week, some returning on a daily basis to ensure that they knew what to expect and what was expected of them in return. The fact that there had been so many well considered questions, especially from the younger members had raised his spirits into believing that everypony, and dragoness, was taking the endeavour seriously. They were as ready as they would ever be.

With his head spinning happily, Dusk set off for Canterlot. He would ordinarily have chosen to secure final approval from the Prince by dragon mail, but because Spines was scheduled to be one of those travelling, he couldn’t allow that conflict of interest and so boarded a train to make the journey instead. While he could have ordered a chariot from Solaris or Artemis, or even insisted upon a Royal Suite in the train, he was quite happy mingling with the other ponies and finding good company amongst his fellow passengers, passing the time and catching up with events which he may otherwise not have heard about.

After a journey filled with good conversation, not to mention some cheeky gossip, the train pulled into Canterlot station and he emerged onto the platform, not to a red carpet or any kind of formal fanfare, but as anypony else, eager to attend to whatever business they had in the capital. It was only now, as he got closer to his destination that the butterflies started and doubts that he had long dismissed all raised their heads in unison to sing a chorus of warning and self-doubt.

Upon reaching the castle, he beheld the first recognition of his status as the two guards by the main entrance snapped sharply to attention upon seeing his approach. Inwardly, he changed in an instant from regular unicorn to regal alicorn, the Prince of Friendship and set off smartly for the audience chamber where he knew Prince Solaris would be at this time of day.

The Prince had told him when he received his wings that they were all his students now, but somehow faced with the raw display of majesty that this castle represented, he did not feel this status, but instead felt dwarfed and utterly insignificant. How could he be on a par with the two Princes, let alone consider them to be his students? That would mean that his judgement would have to exceed theirs, and right now he doubted that he would be able to consider challenging them on anything. He had seen Artemis go off the rails with the whole Anarchy Apollo business, and this was an alicorn with well over a thousand years of experience; so what hope had he, the newcomer, of making the right judgement call?

His hoofsteps had become slower and less certain than when he had first entered the castle.

Maybe the whole idea of meeting up with their other gender selves once more was foalish; they had only just managed to avert a global disaster when the mares had reached them across the interdimensional void by chance, so surely it couldn’t be a good idea to jeopardise their two worlds by trying to repeat the exercise on purpose? The more he mulled it over, the more like utter madness it seemed; maybe he should just turn around, go away and just forget all about it? But somehow, he didn’t want to.

Suddenly he found himself in front of the audience chamber and one of the two guards on duty had knocked to alert the incumbent within. The door opened. He couldn’t back down now.

“Dusk Shine” greeted the Prince warmly “Do you fare well?”
The warm greeting.
The confident smile.
He shrank inwardly.
It was now or never.

***

“Princess Celestia, it’s lovely to see you again; how are you?”
“Very well, thank you Twilight. I was only just thinking about you. Would you care for a piece of cake?”
Twilight smiled inwardly – Celestia was well known for finding any opportunity to have another slice of cake.
“Only a small piece, if you’re having some then please.”
She saw her hostess’s lilac eyes sparkle in anticipation; only asking for a small piece would leave more to be finished later.

“How has your week been Celestia?”
“Oh, same old. I’ll let you into a little secret, shall I?” she shifted a little closer conspiratorially “If it gets really boring, I picture the more monotonous speakers wearing different styles of clothes, starting at “A” and then working through the alphabet!”
Both Princesses giggled at this clever trick before the question was fired back, “So what about you Twilight?”
“Well, it’s been a busy week trying to work out whether this interdimensional reunion is a good idea.”
“And what do you think?”

“To start with, my enthusiasm clouded my judgement and I was allowing my self-interest to drive the agenda. Then I hurt Fluttershy in my excitement and I had to stop and think whether I was doing it for my friends or just myself and whether I should even continue with it.”
“How is dear Fluttershy?”
“Rainbow Dash managed to calm her down after my making up gift of flowers got eaten by her squirrels.”
Celestia giggled at the image forming in her mind, then added “Those two have always been very close, you know. There was a time when they were each other’s only friends.”
“Rainbow can come over as being a bit brash sometimes” Twilight observed “But she has a heart of gold, if that wouldn’t make her too heavy to fly, that is; but there’s no doubting how much she cares.”

“So, what have you decided?”
“Initially, I didn’t want to stretch the invite to anypony beyond the six of us who made the journey last time, but as you know, somehow word spread to the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike too. Frankly, I was a bit worried about Rarity and thought it may be a good idea to keep Sweetie Belle anchored in our world, so she wasn’t tempted to abscond.”

“But wasn’t it you who painted the three fillies and their colt counterparts playing in the snow together?”
“Yes” said Twilight “But that was a romantic notion rather than a practical proposition.”

“And now?”
“Now; I actually think it could work. Everypony has promised to be on their best behaviour. If it’s ever going to work, then we’re all as ready as we’re going to be.”

“Very well, Princess Twilight Sparkle” said Celestia formally, taking her former protégé off guard “Follow me.”

Twilight was stunned at the change in her former mentor’s demeanour, but followed as she was led into the throne room. The guards held the doors open and were about to follow in, but Celestia bade them stay outside to ensure that the two Princesses would not be disturbed. They saluted smartly and returned to their posts outside, leaving the two alicorns alone in the large room.

“What you are going to see is something very special, something that only four ponies currently know about. Your absolute secrecy is required Twilight” said Celestia turning to look her sternly in the eye.
“Yes, of course Princess” she stammered out, like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
“Thank you, Twilight,” she rejoined with a warm smile wiping the sternness off her face.
“Just out of interest, who are the four ponies who know?” asked Twilight.
“Me, Luna, Solaris and Artemis.”

Twilight felt a shudder run down her spine as she fought for a response, but none came. There had to be a portal into the other dimension and it had to be somewhere in this room!All the times she had been in here and never known …

Celestia walked over to a full-length mirror hanging on the wall and touched her horn to it, focusing her mind on the frequency of magic. Twilight watched in barely contained excitement as the mirror’s surface began to ripple, progressively distorting the crystal-clear image of the familiar white pony she had grown to love. When Celestia pulled back, the image had settled once again, but this time she saw a more obviously masculine form with a mane comprising all the rich red, orange and yellow hues of the sun.

“Princess Celestia, what a delight to see you again!” he greeted warmly.
“Prince Solaris, it is a pleasure as always” she replied, “But I suspect that you, as I, have somepony else with you today.”
“Yes, indeed I do.Permission to enter your realm, Celly?”
“You are most welcome, Solly” she replied, pulling back to allow space for her two guests to step through the mirror.
Twilight gasped as the handsome white stallion placed one forehoof, then the other onto the stone tiles of the throne room floor.

“Prince Solaris” blurted Twilight, bowing respectfully “How wonderful to meet you, Sir!”
The stallion cleared the mirror and turned to face the younger Princess.
“You would be Princess Twilight Sparkle, if I am not mistaken?” he said with a warm and re-assuring smile “How nice to meet you at long last!”

As the regal white stallion pulled away from the mirror, they both heard a familiar younger male voice say “Princes Celestia, your Majesty, I am most honoured.”
“Dusk Shine” she replied, “I have heard many fine things about you and am delighted to meet you in person.”

The two leaders moved to one side and exchanged a gentle nuzzle, while the two lilac magicians closed the distance between them in a flash, each giving the other a deep and loving embrace, tears running down both of their muzzles.

“Sis …” he choked.

“Bro …” was all she could reply, and in the absence of any further words, drew him even closer and held him tightly.

4 First Impressions

“So Celly” said Solaris “Do you think this planned reunion is a good idea?”
“I confess I had my doubts to begin with, but when you see how much it means to our prized students, how can I say no?”
“I share your views. Did Twilight show you a lovely snow scene she had painted with the young colts and fillies playing together?”
“Yes, I am guessing that Dusk did one too?”
“Indeed. That sold it for me; an opportunity for them to experience another side to themselves and enjoy each other’s company.”

“There are a couple of individuals I remain a little concerned about, however” commented Celestia sounding a warning tone.
“Ah yes, the dressmakers” he concurred “I still remember them calling for my blessing in love. Ordinarily that would have been quite sweet, but under the circumstances it was somewhat disturbing.”
They found that they had drawn in to each other and stopped their discussion to watch their prized students finally pull back from each other, both wiping the remaining tears from their eyes, still holding hooves.

“I think that is a friendship that will last” said Solaris with evident pride in his voice.
“Oh, I agree Solly, and I wouldn’t ever want to cut them off from each other, although I confess I’m not so sure how some of the others will react.”
“No, but we must give them the benefit of the doubt, wouldn’t you say?”
Instead of an answer, he felt another tender nuzzle from the mare by his side.

Too soon, it would all have to come to an end and Celestia, recognising that time could easily run away with them, got down to business by outlining her aspirations and concerns for the forthcoming visit. The two leaders quickly reached an accord and agreed on a party, firming up the protocols to be observed, along with the events and additional activities that could be offered to the two groups of friends.

With outline agreement secured on every aspect of the visit, Solaris walked slowly over to retrieve the other stallion in the room and direct him to say his goodbyes, Dusk reluctantly agreeing although it was clear he was very happy in the company of his female counterpart. The preliminary visit had gone well, and all could part secure in the knowledge that there was no reason why the much awaited party shouldn’t go ahead, provided everypony behaved, of course.

Dusk gave a gracious farewell to his hostess and was the first to set hoof back in his own world, casting a fond eye back to Twilight as he entered the portal and passed through. Finally, Solaris acknowledged regretfully that he too must go and followed the lilac Prince back to the world where he ruled the day.

Twilight watched as Celestia and Solaris closed down the magic portal and the image shimmered once more, settling to present the true reflection of a white mare with her mane of serene blues, greens and purples.

“Well Twilight?” she asked.

“That was incredible! Prince Solaris is amazing and it was so nice to see my brother again too!”
Celestia listened with a smile on her face as her fellow Princess gushed a stream of superlatives in trying to do justice to what she had just experienced. Once her momentum had died down enough for Celestia to get a word in, she reminded Twilight of the promise she had made to keep the magical properties of the mirror secret. Soon enough, if all went to plan, a number of ponies would be travelling through this magic portal, but its actual operation would have to remain a closely guarded secret between six of them on each side of the interdimensional void.

Celestia then went on to explain the arrangements that the two leaders had made. They had agreed that because Solaris had accommodated the mares during their first unintended visit, the female orientated world would host the reunion and lay on a large spread in this castle. This was to be considered the first of many visits to each other and both leaders thought it best to see how the dynamic between the opposite gender selves evolved.

Whilst future visits could perhaps be expanded give the individual ponies an opportunity to show their other selves round their respective areas of interest, there was nothing to be gained by running straight into personality issues that could see ponies in fights or eloping together, either option of which would see the privilege of further meetings being revoked permanently. There were to be two exceptions however, firstly the two cyan pegasi would be allowed to perform together over an unpopulated area as flying was what they both lived for, and secondly, the colts and fillies would be allowed to play together outside the castle in the snow, just as the two prized students had painted.

Further, both leaders had agreed to stay with the mixed party to keep a watchful eye over their male and female subjects respectively and each leave their siblings in charge in their own worlds to handle any issues that may come up.
Twilight nodded vigorously at everything she was told.
It was really going to go ahead!

***

Dusk returned to Ponyville in a flurry of excitement and rapidly convened a meeting with the nine other friends who were hoping to make the journey.
“So guys, and for the sake of this exercise that includes you too Spines” he smiled at his loyal assistant who blushed and looked up at him coyly “I have great news, but you have to keep this among ourselves, OK?”
All nodded their agreement, expectant as to what their librarian friend was going to say next.

“I have had a meeting this morning with some pretty important ponies and I can confirm that our visit is on!”
There was cheering all round and the younger members sat in rapt attention with their eyes as wide as saucers.
“OK, the plan is we go to their world for an afternoon, but we stay in their castle where there’s going to be a big party with a banquet for us. For obvious reasons, they don’t want us being seen, but the colts may be able to go outside and play in the snow with the fillies …”
There was a squeal of excitement from the CMCs.
“… under supervision, and, get this, Blitz, you and Rainbow can go do some flying together!”
Blitz shouted his enthusiasm and punched the air with excitement “Oh yeah!Oh yeah!Oh yeah!”

“I’ve really got to emphasise, guys, that we have to be on our best behaviour; that means no fighting, no running away, and definitely no more blessings for relationships, or worse ...”
Elusive flushed bright red at the last statement retorting “Oh Dusk, I do resent that …”
“Because” continued the librarian “this has the potential to be the first of many more visits; but only if we all behave, got it?”
More cheers and whoops from the audience erupted and only began to subside when Dusk spotted a forehoof raised.

“Yes, Silver Bell?”
“Who were the important ponies you met with today?”
The room fell silent.
“Prince Solaris, Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
There were gasps all round.

“You mean to say they’ve come to visit us already?” asked Elusive, incredulous.
“No. Prince Solaris and I went to their world instead.”
The matter-of-factness of such a mind blowing statement caught everypony present off guard.
“Sorry Dusk, did you just say you’d been to their world this morning? asked AJ, struggling to get to grips with what had been said.
“Yes, yes I have; but only as a preparatory visit.”

“Is Princess Celestia as beautiful as I think she is?” asked Silver.
“More so; much more so. She is at least as beautiful as Solaris is handsome, and she is really nice too, you’ll love her.”
Silver let out a decidedly unmasculine squee and immediately went bright red, clapping his forehooves over his muzzle, but he need not have worried about his outburst; nopony minded, as they were all blown away with what Dusk had just told them. He had actually been there, and back!

“Oh, and one more thing; Twilight sends her love to all of you and says she’s looking forward to meeting up.”
“When is this all going to happen?” asked AJ.
“Can you do tomorrow morning?”
The room went silent.
Then there was another loud cheer.

Tomorrow!

Elusive put a forehoof up to his eyes and fell backwards to be caught by Butterscotch.
After all these years, it was finally happening.

5 When Worlds Collide

Early next morning, the ten assembled at Dusk’s castle to see three chariots drawn by the Royal Guard waiting for them. None of them had slept particularly well, such was the excitement they all felt at the prospect of the day’s events, but all wore big happy smiles as they stepped into their chariots; Silver Bell and Applebuck with their big brothers, Scooteroll with Rainbow Blitz and Butterscotch, Berry Bubble and Dusk with Spines.

They flew through the beautiful early sunshine, watching as the last refuges of the morning mist were burned away at the prospect of another fine day in store. The younger ones who hadn’t been in chariots before stared out at the unfolding map beneath them and soon picked up on the fact that they were following the path cut by the railway line far below them. Soon Canterlot came into sight and they descended towards the Royal Castle, landing in perfect formation in the courtyard. The two regal figures who awaited their guests strode forward and extended a their welcome, Prince Solaris and Prince Artemis.

The three Princes led the party across the courtyard, exchanging small talk about recent events and then entered a stone doorway leading them from one passage to another until they arrived at the throne room. As he approached, Dusk noticed that the guard had been doubled for today and guessed that this arrangement mirrored exactly the one in Twilight’s world. He and Solaris filed in to the throne room, while Artemis led the others past the grand doors and into an ante room to await being summoned.

“Well, Prince Dusk Shine, are you ready?”
“Yes, Sir” he replied “I won’t let you down.
Solaris gave his protégé a big smile and approached the mirror, touching his horn to it once more. The image wobbled then cleared to reveal the beautiful white mare he knew would be waiting on the other side.

“Princess Celestia, thank you for hosting us today, you are most generous.”
“Prince Solaris, I am delighted that you are able to join us in person as well.”
“Thank you Celly. Would you allow your prized student to set hoof into our world to greet her friends?”
“Why of course Solly; that is an excellent idea.”

“Good morning Prince Solaris” sounded a lighter voice “It’s a great pleasure to see you again.”
“Princess Twilight Sparkle, I would be honoured if you should care to step into my world.”
“Thank you, your Majesty” she replied and with that, Dusk stared with even greater expectancy towards the mirror to watch Twilight’s head, then neck and forehoof emerge from the mirror and into their throne room. She looked around briefly before her eyes fixed on his and gave him a wide happy smile.

“Good, everything appears to be in order” confirmed Solaris “Princess Twilight, if it is acceptable to you, I shall summon my brother and our fellow travellers?”
Twilight was taken aback that he should even bother to ask her, but was grateful for the courtesy.
“Yes, your Majesty, I am so looking forward to meeting them all.”

The two lilac ponies exchanged nuzzles while Solaris walked over to a drape running down the wall and pulled a cord hidden behind; the cord being attached via a system of pulleys to a bell in the ante room where Prince Artemis was waiting to hear it.

A few short minutes later, there was a knocking sound on the door and a solid metal latch lifted as one of the doors hinged open revealing a regal looking blue face, like Princess Luna, but unmistakably male. He acknowledged his elder brother with a brief nod of the head and then stood aside to allow a procession of eager equines to enter. They filed in, the first three stallions being accompanied by their respective younger colts, Blitz with Scooteroll, Elusive carrying Spines on his back and accompanying Silver, AJ with Applebuck, and behind these seven, Butterscotch and finally the ever-enthusiastic Berry Bubble bringing in the tail end of the party.

The door was closed once more, and all turned to face Prince Solaris and the two lilac ponies standing to one side of him.

“Greetings all of you” he welcomed cheerily “I believe most of you have met Princess Twilight Sparkle before. She has very kindly come to welcome us all as emissary of Princess Celestia who waits for us in her world currently. Before we go, I must emphasise the importance of good behaviour. We will all be guests in a very special friend’s world and I expect the highest standards from you all. Indeed, I shall be there myself keeping an eye on proceedings and will not hesitate to return anypony who does not abide by my expectations. Other than that, please enjoy yourselves.”

With the expected speech out of the way, the ponies all broke ranks and ran over to surround Twilight, bombarding her with kisses and hugs in a boisterous celebration of renewed kinship. She cracked the happiest of smiles and closed her eyes, basking once more in the love of friends she hadn’t seen in far too long. Once the initial euphoria had passed, she opened her eyes and found herself looking straight into a pair of green reptilian eyes.
“And hello to you too young Lady” she greeted warmly.
“Hey Twilight” replied Spines sheepishly, starting to colour pink around her cheeks “Am I going to meet Spike today?”
“Yes, yes, of course you are!” bubbled Twilight “He’s so looking forward to meeting you!”

As the reunion continued, Artemis moved forward and shared a few words with his brother who nodded in agreement; the formal handover of power to the Prince of the Night for the duration of the visit, including the responsibility for lowering the sun in addition to raising the moon, just as it would be in the female world. They shared a brief nuzzle, then Solaris turned and strode over towards the mirror with a commanding “Follow me!”

“Twilight, it is altogether lovely to see you again” said Elusive “I do trust my Lady Rarity is well?”
“Trust me” she replied “She’s been looking forward to this moment for a long time.”
Spines groaned, not only at this last comment, but also at the palpable excitement she could feel running through Elusive once she had said it.
“Would it perhaps be appropriate if you were to carry Spines into your world?” he asked “A seat of honour, so to speak.”
“Yes, of course” replied Twilight “If it’s what you would like, young Lady?”
Spines simply nodded, fearing that she may get thrown off as Elusive galloped off at breakneck speed to meet Rarity at the first opportunity. Accordingly, she felt a soft blue aura surround her as she was levitated gently off his back and onto the lilac Princess.

The eager ponies all fell in behind their leader who approached the white mare stood expectantly on the other side of the mirror.
“Princess Celestia, we are ready on our side. Please may we enter your kingdom?” he asked.
“Of course, Prince Solaris, please step this way.”

The white stallion peered into the familiar yet strangely different realm and beheld the promised magnificent party laid out for them, with a host of unfamiliar faces all lined up and staring back at him. He thanked his hostess and gave her a nuzzle, then moved to the next pony in line, a blue mare with whom he also shared a few words of greeting and a brief nuzzle, before moving along the line to shake hooves with this world’s Mane Six, CMCs and a baby dragon. The whole process of introduction was delightfully informal and instantly broke down any reservations either side may have felt.

Reactions between the other ponies varied significantly; AJ simply tipped his hat with an understated “Howdy, cousin AJ”, while Butterscotch threw his forehooves around the eagerly receptive Fluttershy and shared the most passionate embrace either had experienced since they had last met years ago. If that wasn’t enough to melt the ice in any drinks within a 20-yard radius, the glasses they were in almost melted by the intensity of the welcome shared between the elegant white dressmakers while their younger siblings simply shrugged off the theatrical display as nothing new.

As expected, the two pink equines bounced around in circles for the sheer joy of it, but a certain degree of tension could be felt on both sides as the two display flyers closed up on each other, everypony present being aware of the love hate relationship the had exhibited when last they met. They each stood back, tilted their head to one side and shot the other a lopsided judgemental grin, then unexpectedly both drew close for a hug before realising that they were the centre of attention and pulled away hurriedly to hoofbump instead.

Finally, Prince Artemis came through and exchanged nuzzles with Celestia and then embraced Luna while a stream of tears ran down his muzzle, a display reciprocated my his female self.

“Your Majesties, mares, stallions, fillies, colts and of course dragons” began Celestia as all disengaged from each other and paid full attention “You are all welcome here today to partake in a celebration; a long overdue reunion dating back to a time when Princess Twilight mistook two spells and ended up crossing over into a foreign, yet fortunately very friendly and accommodating world. I think we have all learned something about magic from that, haven’t we Twilight?”

Twilight blushed fiercely at the reference, as did Dusk.

“With magicians of the calibre of Twilight and Dusk it is inevitable that these things will happen, and I’m sure we can all look forward to some more interesting adventures in the future, but for now, welcome everypony and please enjoy yourselves. We have a spread of food, games and events to suit all tastes and a couple of special activities scheduled. Firstly, there is a large expanse of fresh snow that is ideal for making snowponies away from prying eyes, should the younger ones and any others want to participate. Secondly, there is an area of airspace where our display flyers can show each other their skills.”

Leading the applause was Solaris who stepped forward to address the crowd in his turn.
“Princess Celestia, we are most grateful that you have seen fit to show us such kind accommodation and lay on such an exemplary spread. I am sure that I speak for us all when I say that I hope this will be the first of many reunions.”
Then he stood down and the party broke out in earnest.

Artemis bade his farewells to take up his duties in his own world and was wished well by the three other ruling diarchs present. He turned and walked back through the portal, leaving behind the warmth and convivial atmosphere where the party was just starting, to enter the barren and deserted throne room of his own world. Looking around he spied something out of the ordinary and went to investigate. On a table was a card propped up against a strangely shaped device covered with oddly shaped and brightly coloured buttons. He looked at the gift and read the note:

Dear Artemis,
Thank you for agreeing to hold the fort today. While we are all enjoying ourselves, I wanted to ensure that you did not feel forgotten, so have procured for you the latest in entertainment phenomena. It is called a games console – I do hope you will enjoy it.
Your grateful brother,
Solly

6 Rescue Party

Everypony involved had been nervous about the meeting and none had eaten well last night or that morning, so they all set about attacking the feast that lay before them, all joyfully catching up on gossip. First to leave were the cyan pegasi, their previous animosity reduced to the status of friendly rivalry. Celestia had issued Rainbow with a flight plan that would see the them clear of observers on the ground, so reducing their chances of being seen to a significantly lower level than had been witnessed in Blitz’s world when their joint display had brought Ponyville to a halt.

Twilight and Dusk agreed to supervise the fillies and colts outside as they had foreseen in their paintings and the two reptiles had decided to come along too. This left the particularly handsome couple of white alicorns looking over the eight remaining ponies in their care, all of whom were evidently having a thoroughly enjoyable time in each other’s company; the farmers talking family, the party planners bouncing around excitedly playing a variety of games, while the two other couples were engaged in their own private worlds into which nopony else was invited.

“You know, Solly” said Celestia with a romantic lilt in her voice “This is all very cosy. It’s like we are the parents of a large family, watching our children leave behind their cares and simply have fun.”
“You’re so right” replied Solaris, feeling the white mare nuzzling closely into him “That is what the spirit of the season is all about after all.”
Celestia merely whispered a soft “Uh huh” and nudged her male counterpart’s chin gently, focusing his gaze upwards to notice the mistletoe suspended above them. He needed no further prompting and turned to give his hostess a gentle kiss on the cheek, but at the last second, she turned her head and met his kiss full on, giving them both an opportunity to shut the world out, however briefly.

The magicians had returned with their young charges and an impressive display of snowponies outside bore testament to their crafting skills as well as some conveniently rehearsed spells from the young unicorns. With more ponies to play with, the party ponies kicked it up a gear and the party developed a life of its own.

However, where were Rainbow and Blitz?

One at a time, everypony started to have the same thought. They had been gone for hours and it was now starting to get close to the time when it had been agreed that the party should be looking to wind up. Initial thoughts ranged from them being outright disobedient to their having been injured, but increasingly more towards the latter as time went by.

Eventually Celestia spoke up “Your Majesty, mares, stallions, fillies, colts and dragons, it would appear that two of our subjects have not returned .I do not believe that they would intentionally flaunt the rules on punctuality that we specified, so I am forced to conclude that they may need our help. As it will be dark soon, I consider that a search party should be mounted soonest, but owing to the sensitive nature of one of those lost, we can only draw upon those of us within this room. Twilight and Dusk, would you please accompany Prince Solaris and myself while one of you tell Princess Luna what has happened and request her communicate the same to Prince Artemis? Thank you.”

At this, the four alicorns formed up behind their hostess as they made their way down the same secret passageway as had been used by the snowpony making party earlier and filed out through a magically concealed entrance into the grounds outside the castle walls. They briefly admired the army of lifelike snowponies arrayed before them before springing into the air and setting course along the route laid out in the flight plan that Celestia had devised for the cyan pegasi, and prayed that they had followed it when they had gone out earlier. If not, it was going to be a long night ending in a lot of awkward questions.

They flew the cross-country route, making turns in all the designated places and raced to where they expected their friends to be, but there was no sign. They split up into pairs; the two males and the two females expanding the search pattern wider while the sun seemed to accelerate in its downward trajectory to the horizon – and darkness. Just when it looked like all hope was lost, Solaris caught a glimpse of something that looked like waving tentacles silhouetted against the dying rays of the sun and took Dusk with him to investigate. To his horror he saw just in time that they were hydra; an army of hydra and shouted a warning to Dusk as they both immediately climbed to ensure that they were beyond the reach of their extended necks.

“There!” shouted Dusk “I think we may have found them!”
Solaris looked too, and sure enough there were two cyan shapes almost totally concealed by the long shadows marching across the landscape. They both flew down to attack the hydras that were nearest to securing their evening meal, Solaris firing his magic and taking out the nearest monster, the bolt of his power splitting its body in two as its necks overbalanced and the heads hit the stony ground, still making biting motions with their mouths. They both attacked with everything they had, despatching the advancing crowd of hydras as quickly as they could.

The last of the sun’s rays had passed below the horizon and Solaris knew that they had to land now before darkness deprived them of that option and made such an action suicidal. He ordered Dusk to circle overhead and warn of any more approaching monsters while he made a tricky descent and flared just short of the cowering figures.

“How bad are your injuries?” he asked quickly.
“Blitz has got a broken leg and a sprained wing – he can’t fly and he keeps losing consciousness!” called back Rainbow “I’ve fought them off as best I can, but I was fresh outta luck till you arrived Sir!”
“Get him onto my back quickly and sit with him so he doesn’t fall!”
“Prince Solaris, there’s more coming, and coming fast!” called out Dusk.
“As soon as you can please, Rainbow” said the Prince with quiet determination.
“You won’t get off the ground with both of us Sir!” called Rainbow.
“Well, I would rather give it a try than risk losing Blitz. Are we clear to go?”
“Yes Sir!” cried Rainbow as Dusk shouted a really urgent warning.

Rainbow turned to see a hydra head bearing down on them just as Solaris sprang into the air, his big powerful wingbeats working the hardest they had in years. He put every last ounce of effort into lifting the two ponies and launched into the air as the lunging hydra head smashed into the stones where they had been a moment before.

Dusk formed up with his former mentor as he climbed as best he could aiming back the way he had come, back to the rendezvous point where he and Celestia had parted ways earlier. He did not complain, but everypony could tell the toll it was taking on the brave alicorn to keep going and protect the ponies in his care. With his breathing getting more laboured, he recognised the rendezvous point with its wide open spaces and could just about make out a safe place to land but tasked Dusk with going to investigate while he circled overhead. On hearing it was safe, he made a fast descent and landed more heavily than he had intended, Rainbow catching Blitz as her unconscious friend lurched and threatened to fall.

“Thank you Dusk and thank you Rainbow” he said between gasps then cautioned “Be careful I’m about to light a flare.”
The ponies closed their eyes as he sent a big yellow flash high into the sky and levitated it in place as he then directed his magic to a spot ten yards distant and in another bright flash, a fire appeared.
“Well, I have to say that was a little too close for comfort!” he joked “Now, I think it’s probably safe to dismount and spare my old bones briefly while we wait for Celestia and Twilight to find us.”
“Thank you, Sir” said Rainbow “Another minute and we were gone.”

“Can you still fly Rainbow?”
“Yes Sir, I think I can, but not too well; we were both injured in a hydra attack.”
“Then why did you not leave Blitz and fly for help?” he enquired genially, without any hint of judgement in his voice.
“We were already too close to the hydras. They would have had him before I could have returned.”
“Yet you chose not to escape yourself?”
“I represent the Element of Loyalty, Sir.”
“You are brave Rainbow Dash, and I consider myself very fortunate that Blitz had you as his flying partner today. It could have ended very differently.”
“He would have done the same for me” said Rainbow matter-of-factly.

Just then there was a fluttering of wings as Celestia and Twilight landed next to them by the light of the fire.
“Solly, what happened here?” asked Celestia, deadly serious.
“Hydra attack, Celly. They have massed across the border and are advancing into Equestria. Blitz and Rainbow found them and it appears they went to investigate but were injured. Young Rainbow here fought them off as Blitz was unconscious and we only just found the pair of them in the nick of time. She is very brave Celly. She could have left him to his fate and got away herself, but stayed to protect him and very nearly died in the process.”

“Well done Rainbow” she acknowledged “We must get the pegasi back for medical attention as soon as we can and inform the guards of an imminent attack. It looks like you’ve done your share of carrying tonight Solly, let me take my turn.”
“No Celly, I can manage another stretch, but would be most grateful if you would help me out when we get a bit nearer. Too much cake and not enough exercise, I’m afraid!”

Solaris launched himself into the air once the two pegasi were safely aboard and set course for Canterlot, followed by the two lilac ponies, then Celestia as the last to take off, dousing the fire once she was airborne and then joining the formation of alicorns.

7 The Party's Over

Navigation by night is never easy, and doubly difficult when flying, but with the flare behind them showing them where the rendezvous was, Celestia was able to calculate a rough bearing to Canterlot, checking over her shoulder periodically to make sure they hadn’t drifted. It was the toughest piece of navigation she had ever had to do and was grateful for Luna’s moon. Solaris was keeping going, digging deep into reserves of energy he never knew he had, never once complaining, but truly wishing he was safely back on the ground and Blitz could get his urgently required medical attention. Inspired by Rainbow’s courage, he wasn’t going to give up either and was determined to see this through without burdening Celestia further.

Celestia kept a picture of the flight plan in her mind and focused on constantly recalculating their position from basics, using different points as a cross reference to double check her assumptions as she knew there was no margin for error. She hadn’t had to work her maths this hard since her school days, and it was another feat of mathematics to work out when they had been.

They had been flying their rescue mission for hours, and based on what she believed, Celestia expected they had reached the outskirts of Canterlot. She felt for Solaris who was gamely carrying the heavy load without complaint, a feat that she doubted she would have been able to do herself, and redoubled her dead reckoning navigation calculations – surely they were there by now!

For his part, Solaris marvelled at the confidence Celestia was showing in her unwavering direction and doubted whether he could have provided such a solid course for them to steer by, especially as she had taken a direct route rather than the dog legs of the original flight plan and was determined to keep going for her as well as the two brave pegasi.

Just then, lights appeared below them and they all recognised at once one of the familiar Canterlot landmarks and made a slight correction to get them to their landing point by the castle wall. They all knew that circling round the castle would attract the attention of the guards and had to make the approach straight in and just hope not to be seen.

The compacted snow of the snowponies’ coats had hardened on the surface to a thin veneer of ice and sparkled in the moonlight making them look like a party of Crystal Ponies, waiting expectantly for the music to start again in a game of musical statues. Their unseeing eyes suddenly turned to see four ponies flying towards them as if coming to join in the game.

Having been caught out by the weight of his load before, Solaris made a magnificent flare right up close to the admiring snowponies, beating his tortured wings strongly just before impact so that his landing was as soft as if he had stepped off an escalator. He gratefully squatted down to allow his passengers to get off, and did not flinch as the muscles in his haunches tightened after the prolonged and unfamiliar exercise in the cold night air, screaming at him as the unconscious Blitz was assisted down by Dusk and Twilight.

Celestia’s horn lit briefly, opening the magic secret door and all six ponies filed in, Blitz continuing to be supported by the magicians. Solaris had barely a chance to catch his breath as they filed along the passageway and spilled out into the throne room to gasps from everypony present. The assembled guests stared at the apparitions that had burst in, all looking utterly exhausted.

“Male AJ!” called Celestia picking on the strong farm pony “Come and carry Blitz through the portal please!”
The exhausted magicians gratefully allowed the orange pony to take his unconscious friend from them and carry him to the portal. Celestia quickly addressed all those present, including AJ who was still walking towards the portal;
“Sorry everypony but the party is over. An attack is massed on our borders and Blitz has been injured. You must leave now and let Prince Solaris and Prince Artemis handle the situation in their world as Luna and I will on this side. I hope we may meet again shortly under better circumstances, but for now goodbye and farewell!”

The ponies barely said goodbye to each other before filing through the portal as the immediacy of the situation dictated, even Elusive and Butterscotch pulled themselves away from the embrace of their female partners with no fuss and complied. While Dusk went ahead to brief Artemis, Solaris stayed with Celestia until all his ponies were safely through the portal.

“Celly, you were magnificent” he said with respect evident in his deep voice.
“Solly, how you carried the pegasi all that way I will never know” she reciprocated.
“But now I must go. Blitz needs help and I must rouse the guards” he said, then softened his voice to continue “I had rather hoped for a different ending to this evening. Another time, Celly.”
“Another time, Solly” she replied, giving him a brief kiss as he entered the portal behind the last of the ponies and turned to place his horn on hers as they summoned the frequency of magic and their images distorted, melting away in ripples as the mirror returned to its rightful duty once more.

“Rainbow Dash, I think you could benefit from medical attention too” said Celestia, her voice a mixture of authority tempered with maternal concern. The injured pegasus did not complain and went with AJ to find the duty medical orderly.
Luna, who had been hanging back while her sister had rattled off her series of commands now stepped forward.
“I am glad you are safe Sister” she said “Pray, what happened out there tonight?”
“Hydras have crossed our borders in large numbers. It would appear that Rainbow and Blitz tried to take them on by themselves.”
Luna gave a surprised look and then concurred.
“That sounds about right if I know Rainbow Dash” then added in a more serious tone “It sounds like we must summon the guards, Sister.”

“My little ponies” said Celestia “It has been a long day and events are now in hand that must be addressed without delay. I hope you enjoyed yourselves and I look forward to arranging another such opportunity in the near future, one which we can hopefully all enjoy under more relaxed circumstances. But for now, I propose you all stay overnight as our honoured guests in the Royal Castle. Goodnight and fare thee well.”

Luna tilted her head at her Sister’s unexpected use of the olden tongue, but could tell it was purely out of tiredness rather than any attempt at sibling humour, so kept her council. The remaining guests all offered their thanks and departed, leaving the Royal Sisters and Twilight to determine their next steps.
“You too Twilight” smiled Celestia “Thank you for all your help today, but I think your dragon needs you.”
Twilight smiled and bade the sisters goodnight, but before she turned to leave, she rushed forward and gave Celestia and big hug and a kiss.

“I love you, Princess” she whispered, then turned back to follow the others out of the door.

***

With the Royal Guard and Night Guard Generals in the throne room, Celestia outlined the situation on their border based on ‘reliable high quality intelligence from an undisclosed source’. The hydras had earned a fearsome reputation as pony-eaters, but were not generally regarded as being very clever; it was the fact that every monster had four hungry mouths, each on a long neck that that could strike out in any direction that made them so dangerous. The Bat Ponies would muster en masse and tool up to face a known enemy, the hydras’ element of surprise having been lost. The General was secretly glad of an opportunity to show his mettle and claim some honour in the friendly rivalry with his opposite number from the Royal Guard and formulated a plan of attack. Fortunately, for everypony concerned, Canterlot as the nation’s capital held the largest military contingent of any city in Equestria, and numbers were on hoof ready to respond at a moment’s notice.

Plans agreed, the Generals were dismissed to convene with the lower levels of command and formulate the tactical response to the strategic directive, although the rank and file members of the Royal Guard were allowed to remain asleep for the time being as they would be required to be fresh if called upon for any possible daytime assault. However, if they were to be called to arms, it would mean that the Night Guard would have been unable to contain the problem by themselves, a frightening prospect considering the respect they had earned for their fighting prowess.

Half an hour later, Celestia and Luna walked out onto the rampart of the castle wall and shared a moment together under the deceptively peaceful glow of the moonlight.
“Luna, you bring the sky to life with your artistry. It is truly a thing of wonder.”
“Thank you, Sister; it gives me pleasure and provides a friendly backdrop to those who may be out at night.”
“Why do you think the hydras have chosen to attack us now?”
Luna laughed cynically “They are not clever enough to mass and execute a coordinated attack, so it could be that they have succumbed to some misguided herd mentality or possibly that they have been driven this way because of a more fearsome predator.”
“Good point Luna” agreed Celestia “We should increase patrols along that area of our border until further notice.”
“An admirable suggestion, Sister. Either way, they are not going to be supplementing their diet with any of our ponies” Luna concurred.

Just then they heard the incredible sound of massed beating wings as wave upon wave of Bat Ponies flew over them, all bearing variety of lethal looking weapons.

“It begins” said Celestia solemnly.
“Let us hope they all return safely with news of victory and stories of bravery to recount” said Luna, almost as a prayer.

“Amen to that Sister, amen to that.”

8 Night Guard to Arms

The Bat Ponies thundered over the nocturnal landscape completely in their element, able to see with ease the features flashing by underneath them as they raced towards the location identified by Celestia. Aside from a few skirmishes typically handled by the Royal Guard, they hadn’t had much opportunity for proper combat against a massed army and were looking forward to a good fight to bolster their esprit de corps. They also allowed themselves a feeling of confident self-satisfaction in that they had a secret weapon specially to take on the hydras and were aching to test it in anger.

The idea had come from a chance comment by a Captain of the Guard who upon learning that their enemy was to be an army of hydra suggested using long ropes. Slightly surprised, his General had asked him to elaborate further.
“It’s easy Sir” he said, “One Bat Pony at each end – they fly round the hydra’s heads – draw the rope tight and they can’t get you.”
“That’s a promotion for you, my boy!” chortled the General “That’s brilliant, well done!”

As the aerial armada neared its destination, two lightly armed reconnaissance ponies picked up the pace and flew off ahead. Sure enough, right where they had been expected was a herd of hydras doing a passable imitation of a migration or even an exodus. The number of necks swaying around was a frightening sight and the ponies knew that each neck had a head on the end; a head that would like nothing more than to enjoy a meal of fresh pony to sate its appetite given half a chance. Consequently, each reconnaissance flyer kept a respectful distance as they flew a wide circle around them and made an assessment of how many monsters the necks were attached to.

“I make it 200, you?”
“More like 300. Let’s split the difference – 250?”
“Agreed.”

The reconnaissance flyers rejoined their more heavily armed counterparts and briefed the Captains leading the different wings. Plans had already been made according to the strength of the enemy, so now each recalled their role for this size of hostile force and formed up with pairs of rope bearers at the front followed by those carrying swords and other weapons behind to finish the job.

Three wings of Night Guard dived from different bearings onto their targets who had seen the approach and waved their necks like fronds in an ocean current, weaving and bobbing their heads to get a bite at their attackers.

A pair of Bat Ponies raced ahead, eager to claim the honour of the first attack, each checking to confirm a strong hold on their end of the rope, each knowing that if either they or their partner lost their grip before the monster’s necks were tied together, then they could both end up as a tasty snack.

Following behind them were two more Bat Ponies, each armed with gleaming swords, the moonlight glinting sharply off the finely polished steel being brandished by the skilled swordsponies.

The closer they got, the more intimidating became the waving necks, some tensing to strike while others lunged prematurely, thrusting their ugly heads forward, eager jaws snapping in a display that would have made lesser ponies cower.

The Bat Ponies focused intently, every ounce of their concentration maintaining their situational awareness and focusing on their specific roles, the rope bearers tensing for the shock they knew they were bound to feel any second and the armed ponies behind already evaluating their primary and secondary aim points.

The Captains of each wing, from their strategic viewpoints could see wave after wave of fearless Night Guard thrusting undaunted in past the deadly heads to perform their dangerous tasks, and each felt a surge of pride in the courage and determination being displayed by everypony right across their attacking force.

The first two arrived at their target with their rope held wide and split to fly clockwise and counter-clockwise paths respectively, ducking to avoid the odd lunge of a fearsome looking head and then entering a violent turn as the rope made contact and they each span sharply round, determined not to let go.

Once each judged that they had made two complete circuits, they pulled the rope tight and the four hydra necks snapped together as one, some of the heads displaying surprise, while others were still intently focused on their first pony meal. With four heads each doing their own thing at the same time, they all ended up effectively frozen in space just long enough for the two swordsponies to flash in and slash at their adversary with a few well-placed swipes of their blades.

The aggressive leviathan lurched backwards and forwards, and then overbalanced, falling over sideways and striking the ground hard, its necks flailing powerlessly.

The plan was a success!

The Captains watched while the might of the Night Guard was unleashed as a synchronised machine, the same image of lassoed monsters falling to the ground being repeated time after time. A few ropes slipped through the hooves of those carrying them, where either an attack had been misjudged or the hydra simply pulled all its necks violently in different directions as they were being bound, but with each failed attack, another wave followed close behind.

There was no doubting the success of the tactics and in less than an hour, the sea of weaving necks and hungry mouths had been reduced to a few isolated individuals, outnumbered by their fallen colleagues who were either not moving or making their last few lunges into empty space. In the end, it had been less of a battle and more of a one-sided rout; the once feared pony-eaters thrown into abject disarray as the long necks that had once given their ferocious heads such a feared long reach were now seen to have become the harbinger of their very downfall.

Eager for more action, the Bat Ponies all rounded on the last few monsters until the operation was complete and no more were left standing. Even then, the victorious Night Guard continued to maintain their professionalism, and circled overhead in case any of the fallen hydra had any energy remaining and was brave or stupid enough to raise its ugly heads for another fight, but it was soon clear that there was to be no more resistance.

The battle won, they all landed on a nearby promontory so that their Captains could check for losses and allow some recuperation after the long flight and celebration following their combat. Following roll-call, the Captains confirmed that aside from plentiful rope burns among the rope bearers, none had suffered more than minor injuries. With no losses to dampen proceedings, the joyful Bat Ponies soon broke out into full blooded renditions of their traditional victory songs, some even in tune.

It was in high spirits then that the Night Guard mustered to fly back to Canterlot as the sky began to brighten in the east and by the time they had reached the capital the first early risers were already about their business. At a command from the Captain of the lead wing, all closed up into tight formation and made a slow flypast over the city, then came back for another pass with the two reconnaissance flyers peeling off to perform synchronised victory rolls over the top. Ponies below had no idea what this was about but cheered enthusiastically at the display.

Meanwhile from the castle ramparts two ponies were watching who knew all too well what it was about and smiled with pride at the undisputed success the Night Guard had won for them. Hundreds of pony lives could have been lost if the hydra invasion had gone unchecked, but thanks to a chance discovery by two brave display flyers, disaster had been averted.

The Bat Ponies landed back in the castle courtyard as the Royal Guard were only just becoming aware of what had happened and many good natured comments were batted back and forth between the two groups. While this was going on, the Captains reported back to their senior officers and the Royal Sisters to announce their victory.

Celestia and Luna who by now had gone a very long time without sleep, came out to greet the returning forces who were still engaged in friendly banter below them.

“Brave members of our most respected Night Guard!” began Luna, using the full benefit of her Royal Canterlot Voice “You have secured a victory against a sneak attack by the hydra and we salute your courage. Had you been unsuccessful, villages and towns in their path would have been overrun and many ponies lost. But thanks to you, Equestria is safe once more!”
There were loud cheers from everypony present and both Princesses gave royal waves to the guards before returning.

“Luna, you must to bed. Thank you for all that you have done.”
“Thank you too Sister. Without you playing your part, this could not have happened.”
They shared a tender sisterly nuzzle before Luna gratefully departed for her bed chamber.

***

Later that evening, a fully refreshed Princess Luna came to meet with her sister as was customary to discuss the day’s events. Once the formalities had been handled, Celestia concluded with a few words that made Luna raise her eyebrows in quiet surprise. Then she arose and instead of going to her bed chamber, headed for the throne room with her sister.

Celestia entered the throne room and Luna gave the order that she was not to be disturbed, even though by rights the seat of power was her domain during the realm of the night. If the guards felt anything unusual about the request they displayed no emotion and went about their duty as true professionals.

Finally alone, Celestia strode over to the mirror and placed her horn to it once more. After the wavering image had settled she saw Prince Solaris looking back at her, loving smile in place but obviously equally tired. Neither said anything, but they kissed with more passion than anypony had ever seen them do, and then he stood back to allow the white mare through into his realm.

After another kiss, he led her down a corridor cleared of guards and any other casual observers by Artemis only a minute beforehand and held the door of his bedchamber open for her, shutting it behind them once they were both inside. A sign saying ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ swayed briefly on the handle with the leftover momentum and came to rest at a slightly crooked angle. It was time for a grateful Princess to treat her courageous Prince with a massage for his aching wings, and maybe some cake afterwards.

1 Should Auld Acquaintance be Forgot

The lilac alicorn stood looking past the easel upon which a snowscape was beginning to emerge. Beyond was a scene matching that on the canvas in most important respects, excepting the six colts and fillies making snowponies who had only been thusfar downloaded from the artist’s imagination.

Some more paint was squeezed gently from a tube of blue and mixed with deft swishes of a paint brush with some white and a hint of grey to continue developing the benign moodiness of the winter sky.

The regular crunch of hoofsteps through the crisp coating of snow from behind announced the arrival of a primrose pegasus with pink mane.
“Hello Dusk” said the new arrival meekly.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming ‘Scotch!” greeted the prized student of Prince Solaris.
“That’s really nice Dusk. You’re getting very good at painting” he said with genuine respect in his voice “I like the detail on the young ones, all wearing their different coloured winter wrap-up vests.”
I would so like to see that happen” replied Dusk “It was quite an adventure we had with those mares when they burst through into our world. It’s been years now, and I just wish we could all meet up again.”

Butterscotch made a little whimpering sound, barely perceptible to anypony who didn’t know about how he had met the mare of his dreams only to have to see her disappear back to her own timeline once more.

Dusk put down his palate and brush offering a shoulder for his friend to lean on, an unspoken invitation which the timid pegasus gratefully accepted, leaning in to find comfort; the comfort he wished he could find once more in that beautiful sweet sounding pegasus mare, worlds away from him. More than any of them, Butterscotch had his caring heart broken by the chance encounter and necessary departure after only a few meetings, but how he played every moment over and over in his head, longing to relive the tenderness they had shared one more time. Even though it had been years ago, he still couldn’t help his eyes welling up with tears at the thought. Dusk spread a protective wing over him and gave him a hug, allowing a few gentle tears of loss to be shed where nopony could see.

Butterscotch wasn’t alone in his feelings; Elusive too felt equally strongly, albeit in his case from less of a perspective of unsullied innocence as he remained the focus of many mares’ attentions as such a handsome and eligible bachelor. Fluttershy on the other hoof had been Butterscotch’s first awakening into the possibilities of romance, and he couldn’t shake off the allure she still held in his heart, a draw all the more cruel with every passing day that they had not met up again.

Far away across the ether, a lilac mare comforted a primrose pegasus in just the same way, looking at the snowscape she had painted and the six fillies and colts playing in the snow; three pairs of juvenile ponies, sharing some remarkable familial similarities, save half were male and the other half female.

As both lilac ponies felt the same damp tears on their neck, both started to crystallise the same plan at about the same time; it was time to meet up again, and what better opportunity than Hearth’s Warming?

***

All the Princesses met with each other to catch up on issues of importance or interest from within their own realms, but none more so than those regularly coordinated by Celestia. It wasn’t so much born of her desire to micromanage, but moreover a longing to make a breathing space during a busy day where she could slow the pace a little and catch up with anecdotes from the close-knit ruling community. It was also a very good opportunity for a one-to-one over an unhurried cup of tea and inevitably some cake; Celestia’s one true weakness.

Twilight entered the reception room at the allotted hour, leaving her formality behind at the door and greeting her former mentor with a nuzzle and a kiss.
“Thank you for inviting me today Celestia” she said as she was ushered in carrying a rectangular package in her pink magic aura.
“You’re most welcome Twilight” she replied, her smile giving her voice a relaxing and reassuring timbre “What do you have for me today?”
“Well, Celestia; you remember that visit we made to Prince Solaris’ kingdom a few years back? Dusk and I happened to let slip at we both wanted to try a hoof at painting, so I wanted to show you how my technique is evolving.”

Taking care to hold it the right way up and the right way round, assisted by a big black arrow on the back saying 'THIS WAY UP' that she had stencilled on the wrapping earlier, she proceeded to divest the canvas of its wrapping and display her latest work to a delighted audience.
“That is most impressive” admired Celestia, taking in the subtlety of the tones and the textures of the brush strokes.Tell me more about the foals with their snowponies; did they pose for you?”
Twilight went a little red and hesitated slightly giving Celestia the best clue that she was on to whatever it was that Twilight wanted to discuss.
“Actually, you know three of them; Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, the other three are their colt counterparts from Dusk’s world.”
“Are they still called ‘The Cutie Mark Crusaders’ over there too?”
“Yes, yes they are, and we were very grateful to them for helping us while we were there.”

There was a brief interlude as Celestia served the tea and cake from a silver serving platter, a pause that only served to heighten Twilight’s tension, a cue that she was very bad at disguising, but one which the consummate politician could spot a mile off as if it were ringed with bright neon signs.
“Interesting why you should choose to include them as you haven’t seen them for so long” commented Celestia, observing her fellow Princess’s reaction like a hawk as she passed over the refreshments in her magic.
“It’s just that …” she stalled “Well, when we left, we said we would meet up again, and it’s been quite a long time now. Not to put too fine a point on it, but we miss them. Some of us more than others. Not only that, but the fillies have heard all about their colt selves and really want to meet them – we could consider it a friendship exercise!”
“And you are the Princess of Friendship, are you not?” interjected Celestia as Twilight’s words spilled out ever faster.
“Well, yes” she giggled nervously, rubbing the back of her reddening neck with her forehoof.

Celestia gave a genial snicker and looked Twilight in the eye.
“I trust you’re not going to attempt to travel by the same means as last time?”
“No, definitely not. There are so many different threads within each and every leyline that all point to different alternate universes within the ether, that I think we were really lucky to find our way safely back last time, so I definitely don’t want to take that risk again. It’s just … it’s just that you must have a better way of doing it or the friendship letter would never have got through last time.”

“If such a route into another world were to exist, it would be extremely sensitive and very carefully hidden or heavily guarded as a matter of necessity. Would you just expect me to simply give unfettered access to you and your friends, even if such a thing exists?”
“Well, when you put it like that, it does sound kind of a big ask …” Twilight tailed off.
“If, hypothetically speaking, there were such a route, then who would you choose to take with you?”
“Just five friends, the CMCs and Spike; ten in all …” she said grinning sheepishly.

“Twilight, you haven’t touched your cake yet” said Celestia, changing the subject.
“Oh, er, right …” said Twilight, thrown by the change in direction and suddenly noticing that her hostess had finished hers already.
“To make you feel more at your ease, I will just have to help myself to another slice” said Celestia eyeing the remains of the sumptuous gateau on the serving platter hungrily.
Twilight had seen her former mentor drool over cake before, and the sight of her expectation was a comic parody of the highest order; the accompanying facial expressions being something that Twilight enjoyed exploiting mercilessly during games of charades, but only when Celestia was not around.

With another especially large slice of cake before her, Celestia turned her attention back to her former student.
“A friendship exercise?” she repeated.
“Yes, that’s right; an opportunity to renew acquaintances and enrich each other’s personal development …” Twilight started off again, before being interrupted once more.
Celestia looked her straight in the eye, as if dissecting her very soul.
“Given that the two worlds exist to synchronise with and yet oppose each other, everything in one world has to have its equal and opposite double present in the other, the only difference being male and female. It is therefore impossible for one pony to go live in the other’s world without fundamentally disturbing that delicate balance in an act that would see the two worlds diverge until they pulled each other apart.”

“Fluttershy has been melancholy ever since she and Butterscotch parted, and that was only after they met a couple of times. If we allow them to meet more often given the understanding that they can never stay together, how much more heartbroken would she become then? Do you want to build up her hope by extending the tantalising prospect of further meetings, only to have to rip away from her the even closer relationship that would inevitably follow? And thinking about relationships, what about Rarity? She only came back because of a sense of duty to her little sister, as I recall.”

This outburst of condensed logic struck Twilight hard. She couldn’t very well allow all of her friends to meet up and exclude Fluttershy; that would be cruel. And what if Fluttershy and Butterscotch did rekindle their love for each other – did she have what it took to prise them apart again and possibly lose a friend? That would not play well for the Princess of Friendship, let alone the collective power of the Elements of Harmony. Whilst Rarity could be relied upon to be the first to get into a passionate clinch with her stallion counterpart, at least she had shown that when it was time to go, she did, however reluctantly, bow to the inevitable. But as Celestia had rightly pointed out, that was only to get back to her sister.

“Fluttershy is the major concern” said Twilight pensively.
“I agree, but Rarity should not be underestimated either; I am told by a very reliable source that she even prayed with Elusive to Prince Solaris for his blessing in union. Before going any further down this path, you must find out how these two would feel if they were to meet their male selves once more on the understanding that their relationship could never be allowed to become permanent.”
“So, there is a route between our two worlds then?” whispered Twilight, eyes widening.
Celestia chose not to respond, but instead launched into anecdotes from her Court, followed by further stories from the Realm of the Night and the Crystal Empire.

Entertaining was hard work, so Celestia cut the remaining cake in half and took one piece on her plate with another cup of tea, relaxing into the rest of the time she had with her former student. While she did offer the remaining piece to Twilight, it was politely declined, her guest fully aware that such an offer was never made with the intention of it ever being accepted; they both knew it was destined to be on the serving platter as Twilight left, but to have miraculously disappeared before the serving staff came to take it away.

When Twilight left, she accepted the problems that interdimensional travel could cause, but what made her buzz with excitement more than anything was the prospect that a route actually existed.