Twilight Sparkle: A Canterlot Day

Chapters

2: Good-Morning
3: Morning Rounds
4: Official Lunch
5: That Afternoon
6: Correspondence
7: The Evening
8: Time To Settle In
1: Breakfast
3.5: Morning Rounds Continues
Epilogue: Dreams

2: Good-Morning

Twilight stood atop the tallest tower of Canterlot Castle, taking in the cool, fresh morning air with a delighted breath. She felt so lucky on mornings like this. In the far, far distance she could just about make out a few tiny sparkles of light in the town of Ponyville, her old home.

She thought lovingly of that town and her friends who lived there. She was sure one of those lights was Mrs Cake, up early as usual baking buns and morning treats. Another would probably be Rarity; she had some kind of big designer's charity costume competition in Manehatten in a few days, so she had probably been up all night working.

And there, just to the east, one of those lights was almost certainly Applejack making pies, or preparing for harvest. Something of the like.

She turned her attention back to the matter at hoof.

Canterlot stood proudly in front of her, she could see over the whole city. She couldn't help but smile at how far she had come to get up here. Then she picked out a small round object from her satchel, the item Celestia and Luna had given her when she ascended to the throne. She hovered it up in front of her, observing the wondrously engraved sun and moon on the front of the dial, their design worked in harmony together.

The golden trim of the circular talisman sparkled under the clear summer moon.

She pulled a half turn on the dial, and felt a shock of magic influence her body. Then she let herself become weightless, floating up above the ground as her horn lit with the most powerful spell cast by any one pony. The darkness of the night sky started to retreat as Twilight prepared herself for what was to come.

She felt herself become one with the sun and moon, her body feeling tingly as she did so.

Gradually, slowly, peacefully, the moon sank beneath the horizon to the west of the sky. At the same time, on the eastern horizon, the sun, in its might and glory, rose to blanket Equestria in its light. The sky gradually became lighter, fading until it became a lovely light blue.

Somewhere a rooster crowed.

Twilight enjoyed fusing some of her own magic with the device. She hoped that one day, she might be able to lift the sun and moon without needing the talisman, but she was still young in relation to the princesses who had ruled before her, so there was still time to learn.

She turned from her post and headed downstairs to the office, where Spike was waiting for her, eager to start the day.

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"Perfect timing as always Spike." Twilight chirped as she made her way around her desk to the filing cabinet in the back corner of the room.

"Well you learn from the best not to be lazy or she'll have a freak-out and start calling the royal guards to wake you." Spike mocked.

Twilight sighed. "That was ONE TIME. And it was an important day, Pinkie and Discord had organised a custard festival and it was definitely getting off to a rocky start."

Spike laughed. "I know, hehe, I was teasing you." Twilight smirked and went back to her files. "Anyway what did you need me to do today?" he asked.

"Today I need you to go to Ponyville and get these official delivery notices to Applejack for the Two Sisters Celebration cupcakes. Pinkie left the order here with Lemon Hearts and can't remember now what she needed. Then take this note to Gabby please, it's an invitation for Grandpa Gruff. I would have sent it to him by royal post but I figured you would end up meeting Gabby anyway if I sent you to Ponyville, so here, you can take it."

She passed him the apple list and the nicely enveloped invitation.

"If you could also head to Starlight and tell her that I'll gladly be a guest lecturer at her school concerning the foundations of the element's of Harmony, but I'll be around to talk to her over dinner about it at eight-thirty."

"Consider it done." Spike gave a salute.

"Thanks Spike." She walked around the table and gave her dragon brother a hug. "I know I can count on you."

"Absolutely. Good luck with all your work today too. I'll see you for dinner at Starlight's then." She let go and Spike made his way towards the door.

"You're more than welcome to join us, of course. I'm sure Trixie and Sunburst will be there as well."

"Sounds like a blast. Anyway I had better get going if I'm to catch the first train to Ponyville. See you later!"

And with that, Spike ran down the corridor and jumped over the edge of the balcony. His wings caught him on the breeze and he soared through the air, over Canterlot to the station. The morning shops were just starting to open up, and the fruit and veg market place was bustling with farm ponies setting up their stalls of fresh vegetables.

What a great morning, Twilight thought.

She picked up her satchel and made her way to the staircase, ready to start the day.

3: Morning Rounds

So the first item on Twilight's list was as follows:
[ ] Confirm water pollution levels in the moat are safe with the waterworks and sign off

She took a look out of her office window and admired the moat, mostly hidden behind the city walls. It looked okay to her, but that was from a distance, there can be problems when you take a look at things below the surface.

Taking in the image of the waterfall flowing over the edge of the city gates, she smiled and turned back to her office door.

She trotted down the corridor to the stairs and then made her way to the ground floor where the Captain of the Royal Guard's office resided.

As she approached the door, the two guards stood to attention and opened the door in her path. As she passed through they closed it politely behind her.

The room was long, with two windows on one side looking out onto the courtyard. At the far end of the room stood an empowering mahogany desk, behind which hung a large portrait of General Firefly, the founder of the modern E.U.P. (Earth pony, Unicorn, Pegasi) guard system that operated today.

Between the portrait and the desk stood General Spitfire, she had been the best suitable candidate for the job once Shining Armour officially resigned his post in Canterlot to focus on the Crystal Empire. Next to her stood Captain Gallus, a griffon, one of Twilight's first students from her school of friendship, and an eternally loyal colleague. Gallus had proved himself more than once, earning promotion after promotion.

"Well Princess Twilight, good morning, busy day ahead by the sounds of it." Spitfire called from the other end of the hall.

"Indeed General, and an early start at that. Good morning Gallus, how are you today?"

"All's good here Twilight, how did you sleep?" asked Gallus, his raspy griffon voice not too dissimilar to the husky tones of General Spitfire's. He ruffled his long gray feathers, neatening himself up as he stood to attention.

"Like a dream," Twilight replied, "thank you." She turned her attention to General Spitfire behind the desk. She suited her leather bomber jacket. It was decorated with medals from her days flying in the field with the Wonderbolts, complimenting Spitfire's orange feathers, gave her a commanding gusto.
"So what's the plan for today then General?" Twilight inquired.

"Well I assume that, as always, you've seen the list, so I'm going to send you out with two guards-ponies today. We've had no signs of any kind of threats across the land, and the sky is supposed to be clear all day, so no clouds to hide in for ambushes. Never-the-less there are guards patrolling the wall section around the moat filtration plant, and there will be two more guards posted at the gates to the primary school,

"I'm sending Captain Gallus here to escort you for the day, as long as that is okay with you, along with Officer Cadet Mirror Blaze. The courts and palace are patrolled as normal, so once you return from your morning visit, Gallus and Mirror Blaze will take lunch in the mess hall."

"Thank you Spitfire, sounds absolutely perfect." Twilight thanked. Spitfire never lost her touch. She thought about mentioning her dinner in Ponyville later. But in the interest of the rebellious streak she had developed in more recent years, she decided to keep that part of her day private. Sometimes she just needed a cheeky escape or two from the relentlessly organised life of being a royal.

"I'm ready when you are Princess." Gallus said, still stood to attention. "Mirror Blaze is at the front door with the other sentries."

"Well I've got my bag ready, so let's get going then." Twilight gallantly commanded.

The two of them left the room and headed out to the front door of the palace.
Outside, they met up with Mirror Blaze, a white unicorn adorning the traditional night-guard armour. Gallus pointed her out and Twilight went up to greet her.

"Good morning, I'm Twilight Sparkle." She said with pride. Mirror Blaze turned around and was shocked by the Princess' presence. She immediately bowed. "Please, no need for that now, are you new here?"

"Mirror Blaze just moved up from the junior ranks. Here." Gallus offered a claw to help the bowing unicorn up. Mirror Blaze accepted it, a little confused on how to treat her social status around here. Twilight then realised that she recognised the unicorn from the school of magic only a few years ago. Mirror Blaze, if memory served Twilight well, as a very talented pony in counter-spells.

"Oh yes, Mirror, I remember you from the school of magic. I take it you used to be on a night patrol somewhere?"

"Y-yes, yes, I was stationed on the train track boarders, but they haven't issued me with my new armour yet, I was only promoted last week."

"Ah I wouldn't worry about that. The princess is awesome to work with." Twilight blushed, "I'll give you your palace induction this afternoon. Until then, stand to attention Cadet Blaze!" Gallus ordered, "You take the left side and I'll take the right. Keep your focus and remember your royal etiquette training."

Mirror Blaze stood to attention and scanned the surrounding area. Twilight gave a muffled chuckle and turned her attention to the task at hand.

"After you Princess." Gallus officially offered.

Off they went through the bustling morning streets of Canterlot, making their way to the water filtration plant, where, no doubt, there would be a team of press ponies waiting to hear what the princess had to say. Which were the main reason Twilight needed an escort. Interviews could be complicated to get out of without a royal escort.

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Twilight had been stood outside the small concrete building for fifteen minutes now.

There really was nothing to this particular task. The ponies in charge of keeping the waters around Canterlot knew what they were doing and never faulted, however there was always concern from the elite about the environmental impact of Canterlot's activities.

Concern was good, but it did mean that if there ever were concerns raised, Princess Twilight would have to make her way down to the small rectangular pumping station to ensure that it and the ponies who worked it were operating reliably.

Half an hour ago, Twilight had gone into the concrete bunker with cameras flashing and blazing behind her. Gallus and Mirror had kept the door behind her secure as she spoke to the ponies who worked here. Everything seemed in order and all the the water purification monitors showed clear, clean mountain water flowing through the tall glass monitoring tubes.

Satisfied with this information, she then made her way back out, thanking the ponies who worked there for their consistent work.

Then she faced the press.

She had no problem with the press, philosophically speaking. She knew all the major reporters in the area too, she had met them on multiple occasions.

But interviews like this made her sigh in desperation whenever she finally escaped. The questions were all very similar, and the answer was so simple that she never really understood why there was more than one question.

"In three months time will the water pollution levels rise Princess?" One rather noisy reporter yelled from behind a flashing camera.

"No, there is no natural rise in water pollution levels and the staff here are doing a wonderful job." Twilight replied, getting exhausted by the relentlessly pointless questions. She couldn't even see outside the ring of flashes surrounding her now. But luckily enough, Gallus gave her three discrete claw taps on the ground.

"Thank you so much for your interest, but I assure you, this plant is still as efficient as it has ever been. I have to leave now, but you can leave any further questions with Heavy Splash here. Thank You." And with that Gallus took the lead and parted a corridor through the crowd in front of Twilight. Mirror followed behind her. And two thirds of the press conference dispersed too.

'Shows who was only interested in me, and who was actually concerned with the water' Twilight thought. It upset her still that many of the press ponies never cared about the stories they reported on, only the ponies they were about. She had grown used to it. It wasn't her place to meddle in ponies affairs like that, but it was a shame.

However that was the end of her brief thought. There was no time to reflect in this job. Make good decisions and move on was about all she had to do. So she turned her mind to the next item on her list as she followed Gallus through the streets of Canterlot:
[ ] Meet head of Canterlot Primary to discuss next year's School of Magic intake students

This was one of her favourite tasks to do. It only came about once per year, but she loved it. Learning about the new students who might be coming to her school that year, or helping the school to find suitable placements for other students to give them the best future was exciting. The young foals were Equestria's future.

As they reached the outskirts of Canterlot, the tall wooden gates appeared before them. The school was a lovely place. A quaint, two story building with a large courtyard and plenty of grassy areas for playtimes. Outside the gate stood two royal guards in golden dawn-guard amour and the head of the EEA - Equestria Education Association - which this particular school was still regulated by.

The bronze EEA medallion fiercely adorned the official black overcoat of the unicorn. As she approached, Twilight adopted a formal stature to prepare for her greeting. Gallus moved to her right as Mirror processioned to Twilight's left side. Then, merely a few feet away, Twilight swung down and gave the unicorn a big hug.

"Oh Moondancer it's so good to see you again!" Twilight cheered, embracing her old friend. Moondancer reciprocated the affection.

"You too Twilight, preparing for exam season has been an absolute nightmare this year. How have you been?" Moondancer exited the embrace to face Twilight, who was slightly taller than her nowadays. She pushed her glasses back up her face and moved her hoof back to check the ponytail holding her red mane in place.

"Oh busy as always. If you ever want to have a catch up just give me or Spike a call and we'll make time to go out some evening."

"Oh thank you, I would like that once I've finished the organisation for the new specs of next year's syllabus. How did the Friendship Regulatory Body cope with the new changes?"

"Well Governor Sandbar had a bit of a breakdown in January but eventually between him, Ocellus and some of the school of friendship professors, they managed to get it sorted. I'm looking forward to your specifications for ancient magical artefacts next year, really exciting."

"Oh thank you, it took a lot of research to get that syllabus right, there are some really great discoveries from the last ten years that aren't evening being taught in universities. I'm even going on a holiday to see the Kirinlands next year to see some of the ancient sites that had been hidden away. There are some really interesting connections between them and us that I can't believe have only been discovered in the last few years."

"Such as the Hearthlight of Tempus?" Twilight chuckled. It was great to see her friend so enthusiastic about her job.

"Yes.. aha." Moondancer half-heartedly laughed as she realised how enthusiastic she had been and got embarrassed about it. "Yes, just like that."

Mirror had been observing the scene. She had been shocked at how close Twilight had been to the EEA chancellor. Trying to stay neutral and alert was becoming difficult, she was taking in a lot of new information.
Gallus was used to it and looked over to Mirror, giving her a simple nod and returning to observe the surroundings of the school, checking constantly for signs of danger, and leaving the princess to her official duties.

Moondancer glanced over to Twilight's escort, noticing the contrast in the shimmering golden armour of the dawn-guard pegasus and the deep blue armour of the night-guard unicorn. "Travelling with a night-guard today Twilight?" Moondancer inquired. Mirror felt herself get a little embarrassed about being singled out.

"Ah, This is Officer Cadet Mirror Blaze. She's new to my dawn-guard and hasn't been issued her armour yet. But I remember teaching her at my school and she was an absolutely brilliant student and will make a fantastic member of the day-staff I'm sure. Hopefully you'll get a chance to work with her at some point." Twilight chirped in and Mirror Blaze felt warmed and calmed by the compliments.

"Well, I look forward to working with you then Cadet." Moondancer assured her.

"Thank you Chancellor." Mirror replied.

"Shall we go in then Princess?" Moondancer offered.

"Indeed Chancellor." Twilight amused. With that Moondancer raised a hoof to her EEA medallion which sent a thin sliver of magic energy to Moondancer's horn. Then she fired a bolt of energy into the air which opened a deep black portal in front of her.

"After you Princess." Moondancer offered. Twilight nodded and with Gallus and Mirror she entered through to appear in the teacher's staff room of the school. Eight soft chairs, a coffee table and a sink and kettle surrounded her. Moondancer then appeared in the room with her and closed the portal behind her.

"This way to the headmare's office Princess." She said with a more formal approach and lead Twilight out of the staff room and down the hall.

4: Official Lunch

By now, Twilight's list looked like this:

A.M.
[✔] Confirm water pollution levels in the moat are safe with the Waterworks and sign off
[✔] Meet head of Canterlot Primary to discuss next year's School of Magic intake students
[✔] Court Action: Expansion of Saffron Masala's storefront to match the beginning of the building's steps
P.M.
[ ] Meet Fancy Pants and party committee to discuss proposals for TSC day
[ ] Lecture at School of Magic: Cutie Mark synchronicity 109
[ ] Arrange a new croquet layout with the gardener for Two sisters celebration day
[ ] Respond to diplomatic correspondence - See latest post.

She sat at a large table in a lovely Canterlot Cafe, checking the rest of the day's activities in question.

It was a lovely spacious room with large gaps between tables to allow for quaint conversation to take place, and round wooden tables of all different sizes. In front of her, she had a glass of succulent Sweet Apple Acres Cider. This was the only place you could get it in Canterlot this time of year.

Applejack still kept her word to Granny Smith that cider would be only be sold at Sweet Apple Acres, but a few businesses sent ponies directly to pick up a barrel of cider during cider season.

As long as they didn't specifically use Sweet Apple Acres as promotion, Applejack didn't mind them doing this. They had a lot more cider now with Apple Bloom and Sugar Bell helping out. But she always found out if somewhere did promote Sweet Apple Acres one way or another.

Seeing as Twilight was slightly early due to court finishing unexpectedly quickly, she spent a few moments reading the manuscript she had received from Moondancer. She admired Moondancer's enthusiasm to learn from other creature's magic and the integration of friendship lessons was a perfect touch to a rounded syllabus.

She felt the breeze fall on her face and she looked up to check the doorway. She put the manuscript away in her satchel.

Heading towards her from across the cafe was the best dressed stallion in all of Canterlot. The tall white unicorn walked with pure prowess across the way. His greying hair and moustache giving him an exceptionally wise and respectable aurora.

Fancy Pants bowed gently before taking the opposite seat at the table.

"Princess." He greeted formally.

"Fancy Pants, how lovely to see you." She quaintly respected.

"And how lovely to see you too." He replied happily. Despite his age, he still seemed as youthful as always. "I take it, by the fact you are here, that you received my list this morning?"

"I did, haha." She chuckled. "What in Celestia were you doing up at three in the morning?"

"I had to check that the silent firework display wasn't too noisy and that their brightness levels matched those as stated by our legal charters." He explained. "How come you are here so early?"

"Court was dismissed. Time wasters." She replied bluntly.

"Oh hoho. I do say, you can't go a week without one these days." He chuckled. "I supposed the rest of the party will be along any minute. I did intend to get here and prepare everything for you, but I might as well run through it all as I set up."

Fancy Pants floated his black briefcase onto the chair next to him, and opened the lock. Inside were all kinds of papers or blueprints for the Two Sisters Celebration Festival. He took them out of the box, separating them into two piles and organised the papers neatly. Then he pulled out the headers for each plan until he had six small stacks of papers on the round table.

Shortly after he finished his induction into the original plans for the Two Sisters Celebration the front door opened again. In with the breeze bounded the delightful pink frizz that was Pinkie Pie. Closely followed by the yellow coat and cerulean mane of Lemon Hearts.

"TWIIILIIIGHT!!!" The pink blur bellowed.

Twilight chuckled the chuckle that only seeing one of her friends could muster. "Pinkie aha! There you are!" She shot up from her place, jogging the table lightly to give Pinkie Pie a massive hug. A huge grin beamed across both friends faces.

Fancy Pants reached for the table to save any papers from floating away.

Pinkie and Twilight loosened their embrace. "I would have gotten here sooner but I got all the way to Canterlot and realised I had forgotten my Friendship Council pass, so I tried Canterlot Boutique but Sassy Saddles said Rarity was in Las Pegasus this week so I couldn't borrow her pass. So I came straight here, but the royal guards on the door wouldn't let me in, so I was going to knock on the window, but then Lemon Hearts turned up and they let me in under her pass which was nice of them, but anyway, so yeah, how's it goooiiiin?"

Twilight chuckled. "It's fine Pinkie, bit of a busy day, but I'm good. Hiya Lemon Hearts, how are you?"

"Oh I'm fine, thank you Twilight. Got some real exciting ideas to share with you for the celebration." She said in her calmer, more quaint tone.

"I don't even get why we need passes anymore, I mean, I'm the only Pinkie, there aren't any other Pinkie's around." Pinkie continued.

"There is still a plethora of magic out there which could mimic you or your friends, not to mention the changelings can still copy ponies." Fancy Pants halted the rather hyper monologue, taking control of the conversation.

"I would hope that the changelings have reformed enough to know when to use their powers for good." Twilight butted in, defending her students and friends.

"Yes, well. They still change. I'm sure they're all fine creatures, but say somepony evil got hold of that power. It's always a possibility. Anyway, please, we have a party to plan, and Princess Twilight only has an hour before her next appointment." Not meaning to seem rude, Fancy Pants gestured to the two seats either side of the table.

Twilight nodded and took her seat between Lemon Hearts and Pinkie Pie. She did understand Fancy Pants' insistence on security, it definitely was appreciated.

"Yes, I'm sorry, shall we begin?" She offered.

"Indeedydoodly." Pinkie replied in only a way a Pinkie Pie could.

For the next forty minutes they discussed everything for the celebration in rough; from the type of fireworks they would use, to just HOW Celestia and Luna would get to appear on stage for the first time in five years. From sonic-rainbooms to magic eclipses of the sun and plays acted by small furry critters, they discussed all possibilities. Finally they managed to form a basic plan.

Lemon Hearts spoke up, having taken notes on all the official ideas.

She gave a small cough before she started.

"So, I have down, that we will set up a big street banquet in the centre of Canterlot, with loud fireworks to wake everypony up at five A.M. for the start of the festivities. Then, once the crowds have gathered, a parade of costumed actors will perform a scene depicting our joy for nightmare night, and the old Summer Sun Celebration." She said in a rather measured manner.

"At which point," Pinkie took over, "Celestia and Luna will soar into the sky from behind the stage!" She burst out excitedly.

"If they then take their places atop of Canterlot Tower, they will raise the sun and lower the moon together. I'm so glad they came back to do that this year. They're really excited about it." Twilight continued.

"Then the formalities can commence." Announced Fancy Pants. "Twilight, you can give your royal speech, and we will present the morning buffet in the street. After which we will have lawn and party games throughout the day, and a disco in the evening, followed by Princess Celestia and Luna Raising the moon to end the day!" He exclaimed a little excited. "Splendid!"

They took a moment, satisfied with the results of their labour. Twilight took the final bite of her daisy and buttercup sandwich and wiped her mouth off with a napkin.

"When is our next meeting?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Pinkie exclaimed before Fancy Pants could even think of the answer, "it's in five moons time. We need to have all the preparations ready by then because then us three can go over in detail all the official preparations." She gestured to Lemon Hearts and Fancy Pants.

"I can handle the banquet and royal preparations if you can do the disco and party games Pinkie." Lemon Hearts offered.

"Psssh, of course I can, that'll be a breeze." She replied.

"And I will talk to the croquet ponies and Canterlot repertory theatre about those preparations for the celebration. I will also speak to the Princess' and ensure they are accommodating of the plans. Princess, when you speak to the palace gardener later, I need you to show him these orders."

Fancy Pants rifled through his stack of papers until he came to the one he needed and slid it out from the pile. He floated it over the coffee table to Twilight.

The title of the paper read; "Croquet Plans: for next thirty moons." and contained all kinds of information such as flower selections, grass cut height and tree pruning for optimal shadow size.

"Of course Fancy Pants. Now if you'll please excuse me, I must be at the School of Magic to give a lecture." Twilight agreed, slipping the paper into her satchel. She gave Lemon Hearts a hug goodbye, and received a rather big hug from Pinkie as well.

"Go get 'em Princess supreme." Pinkie whispered in her ear, sad to leave her best friend. Or one of them anyway.

"I'll see you in five moons." Twilight consoled.

She broke the tight grasp and turned to Fancy Pants. She gave him a strong and formal hoofshake goodbye.

[✔] Meet Fancy Pants and party committee to discuss proposals for TSC day
Check.

5: That Afternoon

Come the afternoon, Twilight was glad to be back inside the inner walls of Canterlot.

Here, she needn't be followed around constantly by royal guards.

She didn't mind the escorts. As she had said to Fancy Pants, they were necessary but sometimes it was just nice to be able to walk around freely without a patrol. And here in the uppermost part of Canterlot, she was allowed that privilege.

Minutes down the street from her castle, she found Celestia's School of Magic. The place she had tutored magic, friendship and cutie-mark knowledge for the past thirty years as a primary member of staff. And this week was one of her most exciting lectures; Cutie Mark Synchronicity 1.0.9.

Over the years, she had been able to expand this course, with the help of the Cutie-Mark-Crusaders back in Ponyville who had made strides in the field of cutie mark knowledge.

She opened the staff door and made her way down the long, stretching corridors of the school. A board of previous staff photos passed her on her left, hanging pictures Celestia, Luna and Cranky Doodle (Who, Twilight was assured, was a great geography professor and had travelled most of Equestria by himself.)

She passed door after door, each with a square window in the upper half allowing you to see into each classroom. Eventually she reached a T-junction at the end of the corridor. Directly in front of her, stood the grand purple, double doors to the biggest lecture hall in the school.

She took a breath and made her way into the centre of the hall. Hundreds of eyes trained on her from the surrounding seats of the arena style hall. Each, a student with a note pad in front of them, ready to learn from her.

She made her way to the podium in the centre which had been set up for her, and nodded to the hall's technical operator.

The light's lowered, focusing everypony's attention on the stage.

You could hear a pin drop amidst the anticipation of the ponies in the audience waiting for the lecture to start.

Twilight's opening slide was flicked onto the screen. A collection of groups of cutie marks that had been attained by ponies in each group at the same time. Her friends and the CMC's cutie-marks up there with the groups.

She cast a spell to amplify her voice throughout the arena without having to shout, which made lecturing a lot easier.
Her horn glowed and a small purple orb floated from the tip to her throat, which is was absorbed by her larynx.

"As we have discussed in the past, cutie mark magic is not something to be meddled with. We have talked about the effects of premature cutie-marks and the problems with changing cutie marks. We have even been over the complications of simultaneous cutie-mark development." (Which students loved because she got to tell the story of how she and Starlight had time travelled.)

"Today, however, before we go onto the reasons why and how cutie-marks appear simultaneously, we have to go back and look at the link between a cutie-mark, and the purpose they link to within each pony's life." Her lecture was strong and confident. She owned the stage with a commanding presence.

Sure she had done this a few hundred times now, but it was the grandeur of this topic that was so fascinating.

"SO." She started, "As we know, the cutie-mark of a pony indicates the kinds of special skills they might be best honed for. As an example, I take my friend applejack again, and her cutie-mark: three apples." Onto the screen behind her flickered a picture of Applejack, with her cutie mark obviously displayed.

"This cutie-mark obviously indicated that her skills would be linked to that field. However, what is hidden from view is the 'purpose' of the cutie-mark. If this doesn't make sense, let me explain it another way."

The slide behind her changed to a slide with Pinkie Pie bouncing lively into the air. Again, her cutie mark was obviously indicated.

"Take my good friend Pinkie Pie, whom I have mentioned many times now. As you all know, she's a party planning pony and very good at baking. Neither of these skills indicate her 'purpose', but without them she would have struggled to find her purpose. Here's why.

"Pinkie is a party pony. She uses her skills to make others around her smile, and to bring joy to situations, diffusing the scary and helping you smile when you need to get through the serious. She's a friend you can rely on.

"But if you take Applejack's cutie-mark. Her skill-set, and gave it to Pinkie." The next slide flickered up, a picture of Pinkie with an apple as a cutie-mark and Applejack with a balloon. "Her skill-set suddenly wouldn't match with her purpose."

"Now, as we know, we get our cutie-marks from the bond we share with an activity, skill or interest. But once you have it, there's still a wide variety of possible activities you can do and perfect. But here's the catch with a 'purpose'. It doesn't matter what your skills are, your purpose will always find you somehow.

"However if your skill-set, your cutie-mark, is erased, nullified or changed for whatever reason, you might find yourself in a situation you need to make the right decision for, but can't." She flicked up a photo of Apple Bloom from when she got the cutie-pox trying to hula-hoop and plate balance at the same time.

"So why are we going over this? Well today we study a piece of magic, I think you will all find fascinating. If you turn to page one-hundred and fifty-seven in your Friendship textbooks, you will find this spell." Another slide flicked up behind her, this time it contained the back page of an old book, with a long two page spell written on it.

"This is Starswirl the Bearded's great unfinished masterpiece. To earn my wings as an alicorn, I completed this spell using a new kind of magic that Starswirl had never discovered before. The magic of friendship.

"This spell was originally intended to allow the user to harness their full skill-set and apply it to their purpose. Notice the wording, see: From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled." She pointed at the page on the screen behind her with a long wooden pointer kept under the pedestal at the front of the stage.

"The problem was, Starswirl didn't understand two things: friendship magic, or cutie-mark synchronicity magic. Cutie marks earned together, tend to work together. I discovered this when I cast this spell by accident. Where my cutie-mark, my purpose, was intertwined with my friends, casting this spell actually forced each of them to temporarily live separate lives where their cutie-marks did not match their purpose.

"In Rarity's case, she tried to control the weather using unicorn magic. But her purpose was guiding her to make beautiful couture. So the result became this:" another slide flicked up of a unicorn made weather pattern with snow, sun, rain and hail. From a pegasus perspective, it was an abomination.

A few chuckles came from the crowd.

"From this point, it is evident to see that a purpose and a cutie-mark MUST link together. But what effect does this have on ponies with synchronised cutie-marks? For that, let's think back to synchronicity one-O-two. Cutie-marks earned together, boost each other. If one pony falters of falls, another in the group will always be there to help catch her with the magic of friendship.

"Luckily in the case of this particular event, I was unaffected by the spell, and I was able to save my friends by reminding them of their true purpose, and syncing them to the element of harmony they represented. Out of which I learned the true way to re-write Starswirl's spell, which looks like this:"

Again the slide changed, this time to a picture of the same book containing her amended spell. "From all of us together, together we are friends, with the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end." She read from the screen even though she already knew it by heart. But the book reminded her of how strong their friendships were. She lingered, reminiscing, just for a moment.

She turned back to the audience.

"This spell defines just how strong our bond of friendship is, and that together we are always better than when we're apart. If we had not stayed together, I would not be where I am today, because my friends and I would not have worked through all the tough times we faced to spread the magic of friendship across Equestria, making it a better place."

She took a moment to let that sink in.

"As I started by saying; nopony can every 'truly' know their purpose, because it will change all the time. But when those friends with synchronous cutie-marks work together, their talents combined help solve all kinds of problems. From saving Equestria, to helping your local town with day-to-day chores.

"Me and my friends are lucky to have the Elements of Harmony, which made it slightly easier for us to understand the idea of our 'purposes', but even we get surprised. As was proved by the Legends of Equestria; each element can be interpreted multiple different ways. As such, Applejack's honesty was always crucial to the rest of us who relied on her. But that isn't necessarily the whole story behind her purpose, and I'm not sure we can ever really know."

She took a break, flicking back to the first picture of Applejack above her.

"But if a group of ponies or just one pony, mismatches their purpose to their cutie-mark it can become a disaster. Just as you will learn when you study Trouble Shoes with the CMC's later this week." She finished up, nodding to the technical operator to raise the lights. The screen behind her turned off as well.

"Now, I'm here for half an hour more to talk about this topic if any of you have any questions."

Of course there were questions.

They wanted to know exactly what she had to do to fix the spell.
How she got wings from just fixing a spell.
Why a purpose is so important if you already have the correct skill-set for your cutie-mark.
And so on.

It was rare she ever got to answer everypony's questions. That's what studying and private tutorials allowed for.

So after her half an hour, she waved gracefully goodbye to her students and left the building, heading straight for the gardening shed behind the grand gala ballroom back at the palace.

She knocked on the door to the rickety old shed, but nopony answered.

She studied the garden that surrounded her. Then she heard a whistling coming from behind some bushes.

She followed the sound around a couple more trees before noticing the old gardening pony.

"Green Bark, excuse me!" She called cheerily through the foliage of the garden.

"Watch yall step!" He called with a whisper, "There's a family of hedgehogs out hun'ing for bait somewhere round 'ere."

"Oh yes, of course, I'm sorry." She replied. He was probably one of the few ponies who treated her like a normal pony and almost always forgot to add the title 'princess', which Twilight didn't mind. He was always friendly, helpful and hard at work. If anypony could ignore custom, it was him. Green Bark probably lived at the palace more than Twilight did anyway.

Twilight lifted up her wings and hovered herself over to the clearing Green Bark stood in.

"What can ah do fo' yall?" He asked.

"Well, I have some specifications here from Fancy Pants for the next lawn layout. I hope they work for you." She pulled the paper out her satchel and handed it over. He unfurled it, and read it aloud.

"Dear Princess Twilight, ah have been anticipating college fee bursary." Twilight interrupted him there.

"Oh! No, sorry. That's royal correspondence. It's this one you need." She grabbed the letter from the earth pony's hooves and replaced it with the specifications Fancy Pants really had given her. Checking it this time to ensure its correctness.

"Ah yea, that makes more sense. Sure ah can get this done in six days time ah reckon." He replied confidently.

Twilight thanked the old pony before returning to her office in the palace on the top floor to answer some rather important letters.

6: Correspondence

Twilight kept an eye on the sun. Luckily enough she never needed to aid it across the sky with magic, but she did need to keep an eye on it to know when it was ready to set.

She entered the Grand Gala Ballroom and found a table laid out by the door. Now she was able to tick off three more items. She used a magic spell to engrave a tick next to each completed task.

A.M.
[✔] Confirm water pollution levels in the moat are safe with the Waterworks and sign off
[✔] Meet head of Canterlot Primary to discuss next year's School of Magic intake students
[✔] Court Action: Expansion of Saffron Masala's storefront to match the beginning of the building's steps
P.M.
[✔] Meet Fancy Pants and party committee to discuss proposals for TSC day
[✔] Lecture at School of Magic: Cutie Mark synchronicity 109
[✔] Arrange a new croquet layout with the gardener for Two sisters celebration day
[ ] Respond to diplomatic correspondence - See latest post.

Twilight just had one more official princess duty for the day.

She rolled the scroll parchment back up and slotted it into her satchel. She made her way through the large hall to the grand double doors at the far end. She passed the stage and the eighty-seven tables folded away in the corner. She knew there was eighty-seven, she was reminded about it by Fancy Pants exactly three times a year.

Once when the invitations were drawn up, once when they were double checked, and once when they were sent off. For all eight-hundred and sixty guests she was constantly reminded about. She shook her head, amused and made her way down the stairs to the ground floor corridor.

As she trotted to the north tower staircase she heard a set of hoofsteps approaching from behind.

"Princess!" They called in a raspy tone just at the same time as Twilight turned to engage her follower.

"General Spitfire, is everything okay?" She inquired, happy to see Spitfire again.

"I'm glad I caught you, everything's fine. Are you just off to reply to your correspondence?" She asked.

"I am, would you care to join me?" She offered the place next to her.

Spitfire nodded. "Thank you. I need to check with you about your patrol this morning." She mentioned, strolling with Twilight down the long corridor. A long carpet blanketed the floor beneath their hooves, and tall violet drapes hung between every window, tied up with crimson ropes.

It was cool in the castle. Spitfire was glad for the escape from the battling mid-day heat outside. A trickle of sweat evaporated from her forehead to the cool castle air.

"Well, Captain Gallus was very accommodating and everything seemed to go smoothly. Has Officer Cadet Mirror Blaze received her armour yet?" Twilight asked.

"She's being fitted now. It was actually her I wanted to speak to you about." They reached the spiral staircase and Spitfire hesitated to allow Twilight to walk up in front of her. "Did you get a chance to observe her this morning?"

"I did, she's a very capable guard, a little nervous but that will pass with experience. I actually used to tutor her at the School of Magic. She's a very talented defence artist." She called behind her as she ascended the stairs. "Why are you observing her?"

"Well, Major Ward Blocker of the Unicorn Counter Defence has expressed interest in following Shining Armour to the Crystal Empire guards. I've had my eye on Cadet Blaze for a while, her understanding of counter-spells is unmatched in our ranks." She explained as Twilight reached the third floor.

Twilight rolled her eyes. It wasn't the first member to leave and follow her brother to the Crystal Empire. "It'll be a shame to lose Ward Blocker, he's been so valuable throughout the years. But is Cadet Blaze really ready for a promotion so soon? That's a big leap." Twilight asked concerned.

"Major Ward Blocker is giving us six months notice Ma'am. We'll see how things go, but I'm putting Cadet Blaze onto an intensive training programme once she has settled into the castle routine." Spitfire explained joining Twilight on the third floor. The tall golden doors of Twilight's office stood proudly a few meters away.

"I will keep an eye on her. You're right, she's extremely talented. I'm sure she'll make an excellent addition for the castle."

"Thank you Princess. That's all for now."

"Thanks for keeping me updated Spitfire. I look forward to seeing her around. I'll catch you tomorrow morning?"

"As always." Spitfire gave a salute and then a bow. Twilight nodded and Spitfire went on her way back to her office on the ground floor.

She turned back to her own office and opened the door. The grand golden door swung inwards. Upon her desk sat a pyramid of scrolls. Each tied up by a red ribbon and stamped with the Royal seal. She rolled her eyes at this too. Ponies never cease to need royal advice or avocation in one way or another.

She dropped her satchel off at the side of her desk and took a seat, rolling her shoulders and rolling her neck to settle into the correspondence routine. She deliberately chose to leave the door open in-case anypony fancied to drop by for an important conversation... or, you know, pretty much anything else.

Leaving the door open also opened up the confines of the room too, giving it a lighter feel.

She opened the satchel and pulled out the three important documents of the day: Fancy Pant's list, Moondancer's Syllabus, and The scroll that landed on her head in the courtroom. She knew exactly what this was.

Softly, she peeled the roughly printed and slightly melted wax. The ribbon gracefully unfurled onto her desk. She gently unrolled the scroll and held it up. The parchment was scribbled with scrawny blue ink, as per usual.

Dear Princess Twilight of Equestria,

Princess Ember of the Dragon Lands would be
happy to accommodate you and your friends to
attend this year's Great Dragon Gauntlet.

You will be in attendance with Minister Thorax,
Prince Rutherford, Princess Skystar, representative
Greta and their associates.

Although you may not be permitted to partake in
the events of the Gauntlet, we would like to
share our traditions with you once again.

The inferno banquette will take place in the
usual manner, with non-dragon guests attending
after the traditional blazing ceremony.

Reply soon,
Princess Ember.

It read. Twilight smiled; this was exciting.
She pulled open the bottom draw in the nearest filing cabinet and slid a fresh piece of scroll parchment off the top of the pile. She led it out on her desk. gently picking up her gold tipped feather quill, she dipped the end lightly into the gold pot of ink on her desk.

She thought for a moment, hovering the inked quill over the ink pot. Then she lightly pressed the end against her parchment, letting the ink slide gracefully from the nib to the paper.

Dear Princess Ember of the Dragon Lands,

We would be delighted to attend the Great Dragon
Gauntlet. I will be in attendance with the six members
of my council: Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy,
Commander Rainbow Dash, and Advisor Spike.

Spike was extremely excited about the Great
Dragon Gauntlet and was hoping he would be
able to attend the inferno banquette and partake
in the lava flume events again.

If possible, we would like to be in attendance for
the whole week.

Reply soon,
Princess Twilight Sparkle.

The brief sign off was traditional for dragon correspondence. They were just very direct in their mannerisms. She appreciated that about dragons.

Rolling the parchment up, she tied it with a red ribbon and picked up the stamp with her hoof at the side of her desk. She floated a block of wax over the two ends of the ribbon, heating it with magic, and gently melting it onto the ribbon, before quickly stamping it with her hoof stamp.

Then she placed it into her satchel. She could give that to Spike later.

She pulled the other letter from her bag, the bursary application, and added it to the pile in front of her. Then she proceeded to work her way through the rest of the letters.

There were letters concerned with the preparations for the Two Sisters Celebration, letters concerned with the water... again, letters about the School of Friendship applications, letters about taxes and letters asking advice.

She replied to each one by one, making sure she did take the time for each. She never received these letters unless they really were important. They took a day to be filtered through by the post section of the castle, and she knew that today, that department would be replying to all the other letters, while sorting through the next batch for tomorrow.

She finished up, sealing the final scroll of parchment, placing it into a sack in front of her desk. One of the guards ponies would be along shortly to pick up the bag and take it back down to the mail department for distribution.

She took a deep breath and let the task settle. She made a move for the window and once again looked over the grand city before her. Then she inked her quill one last time, dipping it in the ink pot gently. She pulled her list to the centre of the desk, and in one swift movement, she swept the ink upon the paper.

[✔] Respond to diplomatic correspondence - See latest post.
Check.

She let out sigh of relief. A smile crossed her face.
Now it was time for her to go grab some dinner... in perhaps a controversial sense.

A knock came from the door.

"Come in." She called, "Good timing, I just finished today's..." She looked up and suddenly realised she was speaking to the wrong pony. "Oh, Gallus, hi. Please come in, what can I do for you?"

The grey griffon in golden armour made his way into the room and stood to attention.

"Ma'am I was wanting to talk to you about applying for a promotion." He said straight up.

"I see Gallus, but isn't this something you should take to General Spitfire?"

"Well, that's what I was doing in her office this morning. The training programme I'm looking at requires royal permission. So she said I need to speak to you." Gallus replied. He was clearly nervous about how this conversation was going to go.

"Please, at ease Gallus." She insisted. Gallus let his posture slacken a little. "What are you looking to do then?"

"I'm looking for a promotion to Commandant of Defence Ma'am." He replied, covering his nerves with the confidence of a soldier. Twilight was surprised. Gallus had once wanted to join the Royal Guards for the action and adventure that came with being posted. He had once aimed for the role of Squadron Leader because the Flyers flew around Equestria the most, seeing the sights of the land.

"Are you sure Gallus? If you take a position of Commandant in the guards, you won't be able to switch and become Squadron Leader in the Flyers."

"Ma'am, I'm sure. I want to keep helping out around the palace. I'm close enough to see my friends in Ponyville, I've been here long enough that I can run day-to-day chores. I'm older than I used to be I'm ready for more responsibility. And anyway, professor Rainbow Dash once taught us all the importance of loyalty, and this is my way of being loyal to the friends I've made here, as well as my old friends. If I join the flyers, I'll visit Canterlot and Ponyville a lot less."

Gallus seemed sincerely reflective. He'd evidently given this a lot of thought. Twilight looked at him from behind her desk with a renewed perspective on her old student. She was proud of him, it was a big decision to make, to settle down in one place rather than adventure Equestria.

"Captain Gallus, if this is what you wish, I will speak to Spitfire about it in the morning to make it official." She took a pause to allow her words to sink in for Gallus. She could see a sense of relief from behind his well kept poise. "If you need, come straight to me, you can still apply for the Squadron Leader post until you are officially promoted."

"Thank you Ma'am. I won't." He bowed to Princess Twilight before making his exit.

Twilight took a moment to reflect upon their conversation.

Gallus really had come a long way, and even now, he was continuing to surprise her.

She started to well up, but she shook it off and smiled. She checked for her mailbag and satchel. Picking them both up with her magic, she allowed the satchel to rest over the dip of her back. Then she trotted back down the same corridor she had earlier, towards Canterlot tower. Closing her office door sweetly behind her.

7: The Evening

Twilight passed under the arch of the central corridor doorway.

She stopped at the guard post, resting the postal sack on the ground with the guards. "These are my responses to today's correspondence, have them taken down to the postal department please." She said to one of the two guards on duty. They had exchanged shifts since the morning.

"Certainly Princess." He replied, obediently picking up the sack and slinging it over his back. He gave a quick bow before trotting off to the staircase.

"Any news from the castle today?" Twilight pried.

"Nothing unusual to report Princess...." The second guard hesitated, "Although I did see Corporal Edge get chased from her post earlier by a goose." She shook her head with a smirk. "That was pretty funny."

Twilight gave chortle. "Yes they are very strict on their regimen. Anyway, I'm just heading to my room. I'll head down for dinner later."

"I can get the night shift to ready your dinner for you if you like?" The guard offered.

"No, no. I'd like to try a new recipe I learnt today. I'll head down to the kitchens once they have finished serving the rest of the castle staff." Twilight replied humbly, kindly... slyly. "I'll catch you later." She said walking away.

"Have a good evening Princess." The guard called behind her.

'I'm sure I will.' Twilight thought as she made her way around the corner. She checked behind her, nopony was watching. Then she slipped up the staircase that lead to the very top of Canterlot tower.

Reaching the top of the tallest tower, she didn't wait around. She unfurled her wings, stretching them to their grand length. She took a deep breath of the light, evening air that surrounded her. Then she looked around for the location of the sun. The bright warm orange ball was slowly slipping towards the west now, behind the mountain that overlooked Canterlot.

She allowed the light breeze to float under her spread wings. Her horn glowed it's purple glow, and she allowed the breeze to lift her up into the sky. Her body became weightless as she gently rose towards the sun, fading from her current place, getting higher and higher, lighter and lighter, until her body disappeared in a gentle cascade of particles.

Slowly, peacefully, she rematerialised within the Sun's gaze. Beams of bright sunlight shone over the town of Ponyville. Golden shimmers flew towards the Castle and School of Friendship.

Particle by particle, she appeared within the bright beams of light, eclipsing the sun. Her wings regally outstretched, feathers floating over the gentle touch of the breeze. She held her head high as her spell bought her down to the ground with a light drop. She felt the gravel path beneath her hooves appear and support her.

Her graceful appearance had left a young Griffon and Kirin open mouthed.

Principle Starlight stood with them in her long blue principle gown. She had been handing them sports forms outside the school when Princess Twilight had decided to make her grand entrance to the group. The young kirin was stunned by the appearance.

"Princess Twilight! Can I have an autograph, you're amazing." The young griffon asked, awed by the entrance.

"Now now Freida, remember friendship lesson seven-fourteen..." Starlight muttered to her student, who consequently blushed and calmed down.

Twilight chuckled. "That's okay Starlight. Just one, no more." She signed the young Griffon's friendship notebook on the inside page.

"Now run along you two. Take those forms to professor Vapour Trail or Smoulder when they return in two days time." She sent the two young students off back towards the school and then turned back to her friend. "Quite a flashy entrance you have there princess." She mocked.

Twilight beamed a smug grin she didn't get to share very often. Celestia had taught her that trick once she had started to feel a manifestable connection between herself and the sun. It was far more prestigious than the standard teleportation spells.

"Well, it's always good to make a royal impression." Twilight retorted. Starlight rolled her eyes.

"Shall we?" Starlight gestured to the Friendship Castle and Twilight's old home.

"Indeed." Twilight beamed. Starlight lead the way up the steps, towards the dining hall. "Where are Smoulder and Vapour?" Twilight asked, following her through the crystal castle corridors.

"They were called by the friendship map. It was very exciting. They're headed to the changeling kingdom, for whatever reason. I guess we'll know in a few days." Starlight explained, opening the doors to the grand circular dining hall.

"I'm still amazed you managed to get it to work after the Tree of Harmony was destroyed." Twilight motioned, following her into the circular dining room. The large circular table had been set with tablecloth and exquisite silverware placement.

"Well Sandbar and Ocellus figured a lot of it out. I just added in a touch of the magic we used the other times we had to reset the map's magic." Starlight indicated a seat to Twilight and then went over to a serving trolley to pour out two glasses of water. There's a lot of magic in that Everfree Tree House of theirs that we still haven't figured out."

"I bet there is. This is wonderful silverware placement Starlight." She complimented, taking a seat at the table.

"Thanks Twilight," Starlight chirped in response, "I did a bit of research on it." She bought the two glasses of water over from the serving trolley, taking a seat next to Twilight and offering her a glass.

"Now you want me to guest lecture at the School." Twilight started. Starlight stopped her there.

"Twilight stop. We both know that's not why you're here. Anyway you already have our lecture timetables."

"Yes I know. But at least if I'm asked about it at the palace I'm not lying now." She chuckled in response.

At that moment a bright orange light manifested behind the pair. A bang swiftly followed the bright light. Twilight turned around to see Sunburst and Trixie, both in their usual star-coated dinner-capes. Sunburst looked a little worn out, while Trixie seemed ecstatic.

"There you go, I told you it was easy!" Trixie exclaimed in her loud, brash manner. Sunburst's deep breathing seemed to convey the latter to Twilight.

"Phew... Aha.. Wow, I did it...hooooo." Sunburst retorted through victorious breaths.

"AH, Twilight you're already here." She called across spotting the pair sat at the table, "I was just teaching Sunburst teleportation with multiple ponies, he's never done it before." Trixie exclaimed proudly, trotting over and taking a seat.

"I've just never needed to." Sunburst said, pouring himself a glass of water. "What do you think of my silverware placement Twilight?" Sunburst asked as he trotted frivolously to the table.

Starlight looked away sheepishly. Twilight rolled her eyes, grimacing a laugh towards Starlight. "It's wonderful Sunburst, thank you."

"I ordered some deep fried, sweet and sour daisy's from the castle canteen. It's been a busy day in the office and I didn't get ANY time to cook, as Starlight had asked, but I remember you like daisy sandwiches and so I figured you might like this." Trixie explained with glamour and showmanship. Only Trixie could turn dinner into a theatre piece.

"That's a new recipe for the canteen isn't it?" Twilight inquired. Sunburst was the one to answer her.

"Well we implemented it last year actually. It's been very popular. Me and Starlight were talking about the canteen, and turns out we had both tried sweet and sour vegetables in the human world, you know, behind the mirror." Sunburst indicated roughly towards the door and floor with his hoof. Twilight nodded and hummed to indicate she was listening to the story.

"Anyway, I know sweet and sour isn't an original recipe to this world, but it got us thinking it would be a nice addition to the canteen." He finished telling his story. In a muttered tone next to him, Trixie started singing.

"Starlight and Sunburst sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S....."

"Trixie that was a long time ago!" Sunburst said sternly, interrupting Trixie's song.

"Still funny though." Trixie muttered under hear breath.

"So Twilight," Starlight distracted, altering the topic of conversation, as swiftly as possible. "How are things up in Canterlot?"

Before Twilight could start her conversation, the door behind them opened. Twilight turned around to see who was entering the room this time, fluffing her wings from their place allowing her to turn further.

"Hey Spike!" Sunburst called across the table.

"Spike you made it!" Twilight called happily after him.

"Hiya guys, how's it goin?" Spike called with his usual self confidence. He sauntered his way over to the one remaining seat in between Twilight and Sunburst. Just behind him came a catering trolley, pushed by a now grown-up Twist.

"Guidance Councillor Trixie, I have your..." She stopped in the middle of her sentence. "Oh my, Princess Twilight, your highness." She halted just past the doorway and bowed, awaiting instruction.

"Oh, please, continue." Twilight allowed. Twist got up and nervously approached the table, pushing the serving trolley up closer.

"Don't worry about it Twist, Twilight's here for dinner with us this evening. Have the student's all eaten?" Starlight checked.

"Oh wow we're very privileged to have you this evening Princess. I hope you enjoy it." Twist replied, slightly amazed at Twilight's unexpected presence. "Yes all the students are fed Starlight." Twist answered. She knew, of course that the Princess came around sometimes, but it was mostly for organised formal events.

She served up the five plates around the table, each pony and the dragon thanking her as she did so. Twist felt slightly embarrassed, but gratified all the same.

"Thank you Twist," Starlight finished up, "You can take an early finish tonight if you like."

"Oh thank you Starlight... I, I'll see you in the morning.." Twist replied. "Um, Princess." She bowed one more time before leaving the room.

"Ugh, do you get that eeeverywheere you go?" Trixie groaned across the table.

Twilight chuckled. "It happens yeah."

"Trixie..." Starlight asided her a stern look.

"Once we were visiting Rainbow Dash at the Wonderbolt's academy, and one of the new students literally fell out of the sky!" Spike exclaimed.

"I don't like it particularly. It makes it hard to make new friends. They have to get past the fact I'm royalty before I can actually talk to them like a normal pony. But it's part of the job, and we've tried to dismiss the veil of fame before, but it never makes much of a difference." She explained, gesturing to Starlight.

"I know, remember the first time we tried after that diary incident. Took five days to dismiss that crowd of angry fans from the castle grounds." Starlight responded.

"Ponies will always look up to you, so you have to set a good example for them." Twilight said honestly.

"I knooowww the feeling. Like being a councillor. Students just want soooo much advice from you aaaall the time." Trixie whined comically. The table laughed and started to dig in to their steaming hot plates of sweet and sour fried daisies.

"I know you're joking, but councillor and princess titles do share a lot of similar responsibilities." Sunburst stated through a mouthful of scrumptious food.

"Mmmmm Starlight, you're right, this is a good choice." Spike called across the table.

"I know right!" Starlight exclaimed, shovelling another bite into her mouth with a levitating fork. "Twist is a brilliant chef, but you should try her deserts. Every Thursday, the students are lining the corridors to the cafeteria to make sure they don't miss out. That's the shift Twist works deserts, see." She swallowed her mouthful, and immediately went to take another one.

They finished up dinner, the jokes and jests and stories could go on for years, they'd known each other long enough. Twilight loved these evenings.

"So Twilight, did you get a chance to read Moondancer's latest paper on ancient kirin artefacts?" Sunburst inquired, dabbing a napkin to his mouth.

"I did, she's done some amazing work in her research." Twilight replied. "She's got something big coming out soon." She teased.

A cough came from next to her. Spike was staring out the window behind them, the sun was nearing it's time to set. Long orange streaks passed their way through the purple tinted castle windows, reflecting off the hard crystal floor, penetrating the room's atmosphere.

Starlight nodded to Twilight. She absolutely understood. "Don't worry Twilight. I hope we can have another catch up some point soon." She said, regretting the short hour they were limited to. They got up, Twilight and Spike sharing a hug with Starlight, Sunburst and even Trixie.

"I promise I'll make plans as soon as I can." Twilight said sincerely. "You ready Spike?"

"I still don't see why I can't go with you through the sun teleportation." He murmured.

"I told you, it's dangerous Spike." Twilight chuckled. "Bye guys." She called.

"See you later Twilight." Starlight responded.

And with that, they disappeared in a bright flash of brilliant purple light. For a second the room glowed with a purple splash. The purple filled both Twilight and Spike's vision before the thick swirling noise died down. The sensation of falling safely onto a concrete floor filled their bodies as they returned to normality from the nauseous purple ride they had become so accustomed with over the years.

Twilight fluffed her wings and once again looked over the towering heights of the buildings that made up Canterlot. The golden roofs glimmering in the orange glow of sunset.

It was time once again.

8: Time To Settle In

There was a cool breeze passing over the rooftops of Canterlot. The city still bustling with evening commotion. Ponies sat outside at bars and restaurants, being served by lovely waiters at lovely round tables. Twilight admired the scene.

Spike followed Twilight's gaze, then studied his life-long friend and sister. He looked upon her with a sense of pride, they had come a long way to get here. Twilight had grown in the past thirty years. Not much, but just enough to make a reasonably noticeable difference. He looked down at his own claws, That said, he had grown too.

The wind blew Twilight's mane over her right. As it flowed in the breeze, Spike noticed the slight glimmer, a sort of sparkle that seemed to have been developing over the last fifteen years or so. Her mane also seemed to develop a sort of natural wavy effect.

He watched as she spread her wings high and gently levitated off the ground, only a few inches before slowly returning again. As she did so, the orange glow of sunset disappeared below the horizon, shortly joined by the deep navy night-time backdrop.

"I think that's everything for today Spike." She chirped, turning round from her spot on the over-watch.

"Yeah, like that ever happens." He mocked in reply, waiting only for a lone guard to run up to the over-watch with yet another task for them to complete before going to bed.

"We don't get extra work that often." She retorted. "Anyway, it's part of the job. Come on, let's go settle in." They made their way down the spiral staircase of the tower, finding themselves on the third floor of the castle once again.

Just across the corridor from them stood the tall door to the princess' private lounge. Twilight pushed the door open with her magic and they made their way in.

The room had a lovely, cosy feel. The three long couches surrounding the prepared fireplace. Long red-velvet drapes, closed, lined the far wall, shielding the windows. Opposite the fireplace stood a wall lined with bookshelves. Some shelves had memorabilia, artefacts from Twilight's life in Ponyville, at her school, and since she moved to Canterlot.

"What do you want tonight Spike?" Twilight asked, taking a seat on one of the long sofas.

"How about this one? We never finished it." Spike grabbed a book from the wall of shelves and took a seat on another sofa. Twilight levitated the book out of Spike's claws to examine it. The title read 'Time of the Great Cataclysm'.

"Alright then. What chapter did we get to?" She asked, dropping the book onto the cushion next to her.

"Chapter thirteen." Spike said definitively.

"Gotcha." Twilight replied, charging up a spell. She and Spike both became shrouded in purple auras. Then they started to disintegrate into individual particles. Each particle made it's way towards the book on the sofa. Within a few seconds the two had vanished from the world around them.

Twilight found herself stood on a street in an alien world. The buildings were fantastical, built from emerald. Spike stood next to her. In front of Twilight, he saw two sparkling silver alicorns. They were average height, with long, flowing white manes that shone in the sunlight. Spike took in the scene around him, other alicorns were sat at tables eating dinner or heading out for evening entertainment.

Some were silver, others gold, emerald green, sapphire, bronze, white and black alicorns lined the streets in one capacity or another. However, these two were the focus of the story.

"Are you sure this plan will work?" The first silver alicorn asked.

"It has to, or else this world will collide with Equestria." The second silver alicorn replied.

They cast a teleportation spell, and Twilight and Spike were taken with them to a new place. A palace of marble and sapphire, the throne room stretching out before them in a grand manner. The tall green alicorn, Queen Rootia, stood proud upon her throne, expecting the intruders.

"Guards!" She called, her grand voice echoing throughout the chamber. "We summon thee to handle intruders!"

The doors burst open and two golden alicorns ran in, retaining both silver intruders in a cage created from a magic golden lattice. Two more guards teleported either side of the Queen's throne.

"What did you expect to accomplish, two lone alicorns against the Queen's Companions?" She half laughed, making her way down the steps of her throne. She had a maniacal movement to her walk, a non-royal composure.

"You and Orbos will never get away with this, you'll destroy us all!"

"Oh Diaphanous, you were always one for exaggeration. I'm going to save us!"

Spike and Twilight watched on from the side of the room. The scene unfolding before them, but they were undetectable. They felt the presence of the Queen dominating the room. Spike was glad Twilight had never turned to this style of leadership. Suddenly the roof was ripped off the castle, revealing the purple skies above them. Spike and Twilight diverted their attention upwards, as did the characters of the story.

A flaming red alicorn flapped her wings above the scene, her horn glowing a golden aura, the same aura that shrouded the floating ceiling.

BANG! In shot a bright beam of red magic, forming a circle around the alicorn Queen.

Spike felt his heart racing as he ran into the centre of the room to observe the battle above. Yet another alicorn, a golden one, was the culprit to the bright red beam of magic.

"SOLACE! TEMPORA! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS!" Queen Rootia roared from behind the red barrier.

A knocking sound came from the sky, then a male voice echoed over the city. Spike and Twilight looked around for the source of the voice. The other ponies in the castle did not seem to notice it.

"PRINCESS."

Knock.... knock.... knock...

"PRINCESS TWILIGHT!"

Spike looked to Twilight and rolled his eyes. She gave him a sigh and lit up her horn once more. Suddenly the battle around them disappeared particle by particle, leaving the emerald city behind to reveal the lounge once more. Twilight felt herself softly land on the sofa.

The knocking started up, but a lot quieter this time. "Princess Twilight. Are you in there your majesty?" The guard's voice came politely from behind the door. Twilight took one second to re-orientate herself.

"Come in!" She called.

The door opened. A deep blue royal-guard wearing navy blue night-guard armour took two paces into the room standing to attention ready to deliver his message.

"Princess, Fancy Pants is downstairs with the firework parade troop. They are requesting permission to rehearse tomorrow; outside Canterlot's walls, instead of tonight." He rattled off the story he had been told.

"Why can't they do the rehearsal tonight?" She asked in reply.

"The Pegasi have started the rain earlier than anticipated, your highness." The guards pony explained. Twilight wore a confused expression on her face and looked towards the curtains shrouding the windows. Spike got up off the sofa and pulled one of the blinds back to reveal a window that looked more like a river.

Twilight sighed and turned back to the guard. "Tell him I'll be down in just two minutes please."

The guard nodded and bowed out to the door. Twilight looked over to Spike apologetically but Spike had anticipated the look and wore a big smile on his face. A smile that smirked 'I told you so'.

"Go on, I'll just read it like a normal book." He encouraged disappointed.

Twilight flashed him a sorrowful smile. "We will get through a chapter at some point." She replied promisingly. With that, she got up and headed downstairs for the entrance hall. Spike walked over and picked the book up, flicking to chapter they had been experiencing and took a seat on the sofa.

He took a deep breath and let himself settle into his book, reflecting on his lunch with Gabby as he did so. That made him smile. Before long he was lost within the adventure, the soothing sound coming of rain pattering on the windows. He realised the low pressure in the room which sent a chill through him, so he looked over to the fireplace and directed an outwards breath towards the unlit logs.

Within a few seconds a lit fire crackled against the pitter patter of rain. Spike turned his attention back to his book and settled in before bed.

Twilight opened the door to her bedroom, the same bedroom she had started the day in.

She sighed, having finally finished arranging Fancy Pants' firework rehearsal for tomorrow, and filled in all the necessary paperwork.

She made her way over to the bed, the soft, blanketed, lovely warming bed. She put a hoof onto the soft material, then stopped herself. Just like always, there was one more task before she achieved her objective. She lit up her horn and a door swung open. The door to her en-suit.

She traipsed over to the bathroom, placing herself in front of the mirror. She didn't care about her askew mane, or rugged looks anymore. These were the final and most peaceful moments of the day. With her magic, she picked up her toothbrush from the pot on the sink side, and lay a strip of toothpaste onto the bristles, letting it set there for a moment.

Rinsing it briefly under the running tap, she then brushed away, the sharp minty taste filling her mouth and clearing away the aftertastes from the day.

She spat, finishing up and cleaning her toothbrush off under the tap.

Then she returned to her chambers and jumped onto the bed sheets, nuzzling into the cold blanket, hiding her body away under the duvet, letting it warm with her body heat.

Slowly, she turned over, and let herself drift away. To the realm of dreams.

1: Breakfast

A smell of freshly cooked pancakes wafted through the halls of Canterlot Castle. The steaming plate, piled high with gorgeously topped breakfast desert made its way through the dark halls of the morning. They were aided on their ascent from the kitchen to the chambers of Princess Twilight Sparkle by her Royal Advisor, Spike - The Brave and Glorious dragon.

As Spike made his way from the kitchen to the Royal bedroom he passed security personnel a plenty, from geese to guards-ponies. The halls were lit with a lovely golden hugh from the lavender scented torches on the walls. He took in the fragrant smell, but most of what he actually smelt was the sugary scent of the golden syrup and freshly cut apple topping on the pancakes.

He sighed a sigh that only a Monday could bring and knocked on the door to Princess Twilight's bedroom.

Inside, Princess Twilight awoke. She slowly came around to her room, still not entirely accustomed to being awoken while the moon was still arisen. She let her eyes adjust to the low lighting in the room, feeling the warm, cosy blankets of her bed, and the soft mattress, perfectly supporting her weight beneath her.

Then she took a deep breath. Closed her eyes for just a few more moments, and then let herself come around to the agenda for the day. She took another deep breath; the lavender scents of the corridor filled the air in her room. It was luxurious.

"Come in Spike!" She called.

Just then the door opened and her faithful friend came into the room, holding his rather large stack of pancakes.

"One order of breakfast coming up!" He exclaimed, proudly jesting with Twilight.

"They look perfect, thank you!" Twilight beamed as she sat up in bed. Spike exhaled a thin sliver of flame up to the chandelier in the centre of the bedroom while simultaneously placing the pancakes carefully on Twilight's bedside table.
Then, before she could ask, Spike pulled her list from out of his satchel; all in one smooth motion.

"Fancy Pants delivered it this morning, the Gatekeeper Guard said he was around before three A.M. today!"

Twilight chuckled. "Well he does like to keep me informed. It's so useful having him around. He knows just about everything that needs to be done, Canterlot won't be the same when he eventually retires."

"Yeah he keeps saying he'll do that but the he never does!" Spike chuckled, "Anyway, I'm don't think he'll be leaving before you're ready to train up his replacement."

"No Spike, I KNOW he won't" The two of them laughed joyfully at this. He really was the pony to know around here, Rarity was right about that. Good at what he does, and humble about it too. That's what made him so easy to work with, as long as you don't just disregard his help, you'd be okay in Canterlot.

At this break, Twilight gathered the list Spike held up and rolled it out in front of her on the duvet. Then she grabbed a fork from the silver platter and cut a slice out the pile of pancakes. She would eat the sickly sweet mixture as she read the list in front of her.

The list read like this:
A.M.
[ ] Confirm water pollution levels in the moat are safe with the Waterworks and sign off
[ ] Meet head of Canterlot Primary to discuss next year's School of Magic intake students
[ ] Court Action: Expansion of Saffron Masala's storefront to match the beginning of the building's steps
P.M.
[ ] Meet Fancy Pants and party committee to discuss proposals for TSC day
[ ] Lecture at School of Magic: Cutie Mark synchronicity 109
[ ] Arrange a new croquet layout with the gardener for Two sisters celebration day
[ ] Respond to diplomatic correspondence - See latest post.

"Well Spike, the work is never done here." She retorted taking another bite of pancake from the pile.

"Anything for me to do today?"

"Not from Fancy Pants, but I would like you to travel to Ponyville and sort some things for me there."

"Just give me the word and I'll be on my way."

"Thanks Spike, I know I can count on you. Now let me finish this breakfast and have a shower and I'll give you my list. I have one more task to complete before I get on with this particular list."

"Aye Captain!" Spike exclaimed, "I'll meet you in the office or the throne room?"

"The office this morning please." Twilight replied, taking a final bite of pancake. And with that, Spike gathered up her plate and headed back to the kitchen. Twilight rolled the list up and floated it over to her satchel by the door, dropping it in with ease.

She made her way to the shower and cleaned herself up, then dried off and headed up to the overwatch tower at the end of the corridor, taking her satchel with her.

As she went, she stopped by the guards at the door.

"Any news from overnight?"

"Nothing dangerous to report princess." The guardspony saluted back. "Fancy Pants arrived at three A.M. to deliver your to do list. The day's post is delayed at the post-office. Apparently they're still waiting for a very important letter for today's correspondance. The midnight Wonderbolt patrol found nothing to report of significance."

"Well, sounds like this will be a fairly straight forward day then. As long as Gallus doesn't try to steal a second doughnut from the mess hall again." she jested.

The guard tried not to laugh at that, but his colleague next to him started to snigger, and instantly he lost it, nearly bursting into tears of laughter. "Oh your highness, If only he'd known he was ALLOWED to take two rather than trying to smuggle it in."

Twilight had a comfortable relationship with her close colleagues in the palace and liked having a laugh with them occasionally. It helped break the ice and keep the palace a lovely place to work and socialise. As long as on important occasions and visits they were regimented, everything worked like clockwork.

"Indeed! Anyway, lesson learnt. Time for dawn I make it."

The Royal Guard looked at the watch on his armour. "Yes, I make it five minutes to."

"Well I had better get up there then. See you later on!" Twilight chriped back hapily.

3.5: Morning Rounds Continues

Twilight Followed her escort down the school corridor a short way to the headmare's office. Chancellor Moondancer knocked on the door as Gallus and Mirror took post either side of the entrance. A tall mare about the same height as Twilight answered the door. She was daughter of Twilight and Moondancer's old fiend - Minuette - which showed in her cutie mark being a flowing stream of magic sand. She also shared her mother's blue coat, but her height and turquoise mane was from her father.

"Chancellor, Princess..." She greeted them both with a cheery welcome, shaking Moondancer's hoof before bowing to the Princess. "Please come on in."

Twilight and Moondancer followed Sandy Mane through to her quaint office. She had pulled two chairs out for them with two teacups set on her desk.

"Please take a seat. Would you like any tea? I just brewed it."

"That sounds lovely, thank you." Twilight replied. She liked Sandy. Being a good friend of Minuette since moving to Canterlot, Twilight had seen her grow up to be a very successful tutor and lovely pony. She always treated Twilight and Moondancer as superiors rather than equals, keen to learn from them.

Sandy poured the cup of tea as Twilight sat down. "Would you like any Chancellor?" She offered to Moondancer as she sat.

"Please. Thank you Sandy."

"You're both very welcome. It's lovely to see you again. My mother has been reminding me to serve tea since she found out I was going to have a meeting with you both." Sandy joked, taking her seat on the other side of the desk. Twilight and Moondancer both looked at each other and chuckled.

"Trust Minuette." Moondancer jested to Twilight.

"I know she was partly joking, but I figured I better brew it just in case."

"Well having been staring at a water filtration plant for the last half an hour, a hot cup of tea is very welcome, thank you." Twilight replied. Then she moved on to the main topic of conversation. "So, the school of magic intake for next year I understand there is an issue of some kind?"

"Well," Moondancer chirped up, pushing her glasses back up her nose again. She trod carefully in her approach. "There's something exciting that I would like to propose to you, based off of information I was given by Sandy here."

"Go on." Twilight Inquired.

"Well, our students this year have been very bright and studious, and would have all easily fit in at the School of Magic I'm sure. But I felt some could benefit from some parts of the FRB syllabus. So I spoke to Chancellor Moondancer about the possibility of allowing them to apply to FRB regulated schools." Sandy Explained. Twilight listened carefully.

"So I had a look at their scores, and the scores of other schools around Equestria and there are a lot of students who could benefit from going to other schools to get a more fitting education, If they wanted to." She explained, well informed of her findings.

"Sandy came to me and I performed a bit of research and found that some parents were concerned about the fact that the EEA and FRB hold completely opposing stances on how to teach their students." Moondancer backed up, concerned by her findings.
"There are some students who could greatly benefit from attending the School of Magic, but needed to learn more about friendship. On the other side some dragons, changelings and hippogriffs have said that they don't study enough magic bases in a School of Friendship." Moondancer continued. "So I have a proposal Princess."

"Okay." Twilight accepted, waiting to hear the results of Moondancer's latest work.

"We could set up central academies in every land. They won't teach just friendship, and they won't just teach pony magic. They will be a hub for creatures in every land to learn about ALL of our neighbours." She explained.

Sandy then pulled a copy of Moondancer's syllabus from her desk and floated it over to Twilight.

"This is Moondancer's new syllabus for her academy system. It provides a base of education for creatures to learn a fair amount of friendship, magic and other creature's histories." She paused. She was slightly nervous about finding out the answer to her next question. "So what do you think?"

Twilight took this new proposal into careful consideration. She had tried to allow other creatures into Celestia's School of Magic before but the EEA had denied her appeal on the grounds that Equestria shouldn't be spending its own bits on students from other lands. Even with Chancellor Moondancer in charge.

She also considered the implications from an education point of view. The EEA syllabus followed by most schools in Equestria was very specific in targeting Equestrian knowledge and history. The EEA had a much better structure for aiding unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies hone their skills and understand their cutie mark.

As much as Twilight had tried, integrating cutie-mark and pony specific skills into the FRB syllabus just didn't work. Not all creatures needed that in their education and there was a lot of history to cover from other cultures. Not to mention teaching the magic of friendship and covering the basics of pony education.

This however... She floated the manuscript up to her eye height and started to flick through briefly. This could possibly create an educational institution which solved both of those problems. She carefully considered it.

Then she noticed Moondancer taking a sip of tea out the corner of her eye. Her cup rattled as Moondancer floated it back down to her saucer on the desk. She seemed nervous.

"I think this is a fantastic idea." She said, having finally weighed up the options. "You're absolutely right Moondancer, the EEA and FRB don't offer this kind of education in their syllabus, and the closer we become to our neighbours, the more important it is to learn about their history and cultures so that everycreature can respect every other creature's way of life."

"Oh Twilight thank you!" Moondancer said, elated by Twilight's decision. It had been a lot of work for her to get this plan together and she was relieved that Twilight had approved of it.

"Your idea in here to teach the magic specialism's of other creatures is a wonderful idea." Twilight said, flicking to the particular page that had briefly caught her eye.

"It's what the whole system is based on. With all the new discoveries of late, we need to start relaying the knowledge to new students." Moondancer beamed, delighted.

"Of course, there's no way a primary facility like this school could handle the waves of constantly updated knowledge. Especially considering we have to teach young foals all about pony magic and its implications, there's no room for it." Sandy added.

"Indeed. I will have to take this away and have a proper look at it. Setting up academies in every land will be a big diplomatic undertaking. Of course a new syllabus will require a new governing body." Twilight hinted to Moondancer.

"Yes, yes of course, I would look to take on role of head chancellor in the new organisation." She hastily replied.

"But then who would take over as chancellor of the EEA?" Twilight inquired.

"Well Princess, we don't expect this venture to get traction for another year or so. So there will be plenty of time for a new chancellor to be selected." Sandy replied hopefully.

"You're right Sandy. Maybe that is a question for another time." Thinking of time, Twilight looked up to check the clock on the wall to her left. "I'm afraid I must be in attendance in court shortly for adjudication. But let us set up a meeting in around three weeks time. Let Fancy Pants know that it is official EEA business." She mentioned to Moondancer.

"Yes of course. Once the EEA syllabus is finished, I can concentrate on the next phase of this new system."

"And I will have a look through it, and start thinking about how to approach this diplomatically. I'm sure this will be heard with great interest by others. but obviously the board will have to be made up of a balanced mix of all creatures."

Two knocks came from the door.
Twilight nodded to Sandy.

"Come in please." She said in her official head teacher voice, rather than her excited 'I just helped found a new institution' voice.

Gallus calmly opened the door. "Excuse me. The Princess has some official business she must attend to and if we don't get moving soon she will be tardy."

"Of course. Thank you for coming Princess." Sandy said, holding out a hoof. Twilight took it and the two of them shook hooves.

"It's been a pleasure Sandy."

"I'll escort you out." Moondancer offered.

She then proceeded to open another black portal in the corner of the office using her EEA medallion once more.
Twilight thanked her and followed Captain Gallus through the deep black void onto the street outside. The Breeze was up and she felt it cooling on her face underneath the warming sun.

She gave Moondancer a hug goodbye on the other side of the portal and they went their separate ways. Greatly excited about the prospects presented in the wad of paper that she now had in her satchel. This was going to be one exciting year for diplomacy.

She, Captain Gallus and Cadet Mirror - or Cadet Blaze, Twilight hadn't asked her yet - processioned through the streets of Canterlot from the primary school to the courthouse.

Amidst the backdrop of the grand building stood forty royal guards all dressed in the official dawn-guard gold, holding positions with sincerity. At least ten guards lined the columned porticoes of the entrance way. The architecture of the building felt monolithic against some of the smaller buildings surrounding it.

They made their way to the steps of the courthouse.

"Thank you Captain, Officer Cadet. You are dismissed." Twilight ordered politely. "Go take lunch and I'm sure I will catch up with you later at some point."

Gallus saluted the Princess and then took an 'at ease' position, ruffling up his griffon feathers away fromm his armour, giving them a well needed stretch.

"This way Cadet." He ordered, also politely from beneath his helmet. "The best lunch is a trip to Doughnut Joe's. Follow me."

"Sir!" Mirror Blaze nodded and followed Gallus up the road. Once they were a sufficient distance from the Princess, Twilight saw them drop the formal march they had been keeping out of respect for her command and take a more slouched approach to Doughnut Joe's.

That made her smile a little. She looked forward to working with Mirror Blaze, something told her there was more to that pony than just an Officer Cadet.

She turned her attention back to the monolith of a courthouse and made her way up the stairs to the front doors. There she was met by the royal guard who, as always, processioned her to the correct courtroom for adjudication.

As the two grand mahogany doors were opened for her, Princess Twilight Sparkle entered the courtroom.

The spectators rose.
The jury rose.
The legal representatives rose.

And the Judge finally rose.

Twilight made her way through the central column of the room, and took her official position in the box on the opposite side of the room to the jury. Then, and she sometimes enjoyed this bit a little too much, she waited. She eyed up the crowd, waited a bit longer, eyed up the representatives, and then very quickly took her seat.

As she did so, everypony else sat at the same time as her, as was custom. Only sometimes she would catch somepony out. It amused her during what was normally a rather boring procedure.

Then session was started by the judge with a hit of his gavel. An older pony with rather plain features. A large grey wig which covered the grey ears on his grey head and framed his blue eyes.

Twilight noticed the frizzy brown mane of Saffron Masala sat behind the right hand desk. She remembered the task on her list: [ ] Court Action: Expansion of Saffron Masala's storefront to match the beginning of the building's steps.

The whole fiasco turned out to simply be about Saffron's neighbour wanting to expand their storefront too, and so when Saffron had posted planning permission, her neighbour appealed it on the grounds that they wanted to expand also.

"So did you apply for planning permission?" The old judge asked directly to Saffron's neighbour, Pate Fry.

"Well uh..." His deep gravely voice wandered dumbly.

'Here it comes.' Thought Twilight. She had seen this situation one too many times.

"Not exactly your honour." Pate Fry stumbled.

"Answer yes or no Mr Fry." The judge forced.

"No, your honour I haven't."

"So why would you take me to court over planning permission you never asked for?" Saffron accused, very annoyed at the waste of time this hearing had become. Both Twilight and the judge could see it too. "Me and my father spent years crafting the reputation of the Tasty Treat. We have never inconvenienced any of our neighbours and now you threaten us for nothing?

"Please Mrs Masala, calm down." The judge said, calmly. "I'm throwing this case out of this court for lack of a substantial accusation. If Mr Fry needs to expand his store he must submit the correct paperwork to the..."

At that moment, a pop came from above Twilight's head. A purple flame appeared and disappeared. Then a neatly rolled up scroll unsubtly dropped onto the Princess' head. The whole courtroom turned to face the Princess either concerned or worried.

"Oh, haha." Twilight chuckled nervously. "My apologies, that is a letter I was expecting to receive earlier." She hid the scroll in her satchel. She would have to look at it later. "Please continue." She smiled.

The judge nodded to her "To the proper authorities. Do you agree Princess?"

"I formally concur." Twilight ordered.

"Dismissed." The judge yelled from his stand, touching the gavel down for one last bang. Twilight nodded to him, and the room started to clear out. She had to wait for the room to clear before the royal guard would procession her out, as was custom when a case was dismissed.

Saffron stayed behind for just a minute longer than anypony else and Twilight approached the left table where she stood.

"Thank you so much Princess, this means a lot to me." She said thankfully.

"It's not a problem Saffron, it was the right choice to make, he was a time waster." She confided.

"Please, as thanks, won't you come and have lunch at my restaurant today?"

"I'm afraid I can't today, I have other official plans. And if I did, it might look suspicious to offer a royal adjudicator lunch. But I will be around at some point in the near future. That's a promise." She replied sincerely. The royal escort appeared in the doorway and Twilight spotted them out the corner of her eye.

"Now if you'll excuse me, my escort has arrived." She finished politely.

"Oh of course Princess." She knew the courtroom procedure. "I hope you have a lovely rest of your day."

"You too." Twilight replied. Saffron bowed to her before exiting the room. Then the royal guards entered and took position either side of Twilight.

They made their way out of the grand building and towards Twilight's next point of call.

Food.
It had been a busy morning.

Epilogue: Dreams

A flood of flashes and bangs attacked Twilight on all sides. She felt herself rattled about in the black void.

Twilight fell, and fell. She was battered constantly by the attacks. Sparks caught her coat, flashes of burning on contact with each one. Her wings couldn't move, more to the fact, she turned her head to look behind her, they didn't exist. She felt like screaming, she nearly tried to but then she slowed, even stopped.

The sensation was as if she had landed upon a large trampoline bed. A bed that never stopped sinking until she softly sank to a stop.

Suddenly she was catapulted upwards, through the attacking fireworks, landing gently on a hard rock floor.

She was surrounded by a beautiful mountain view overlooking Canterlot and Ponyville. Behind her stood tall pine trees, green grass, and a lovely little stream trickling down the mountain side. The only thing that made this view unusual, was the fact that the sun was set at dusk, and the moon was partially risen, the sky split in half between night and day.

She turned back around to the overlook. From the rays of the sun and moon, two shadowy figures emerged. They slowly morphed, changing shape to become two alicorns, one white and one deep blue.

Upon the over watch in front of her, Celestia and Luna landed with ease.

"How is thou Twilight Sparkle?" Luna asked, joking a royal remark.

"Having trouble in Canterlot?" Celestia smiled her reassuring smile.

"What a lovely surprise!" Twilight called back. She cantered over and the three alicorns entered a loving embrace. "It's been a while since I've seen you."

"It's been a while since you came to visit us." Celestia retorted.

"I'm sorry, I've been so busy preparing for the Two Sister's Celebration, and ponies never stop needing royal help. As I'm sure you know." Twilight replied. Celestia chuckled and Luna rolled her eyes. They all knew too well. "I have to warn you, Fancy Pants will be over in a couple of days to talk about the preparations for your arrival to the festival."

"Oh how fun sister!" Luna mocked sarcastically, "You'll have to host the tea-party. Twilight has asked me to aid in the dream realm that night, so I shall have to sleep through the day." She nodded a wink towards Twilight.

Twilight chuckled. She looked over the beautiful view of the valley and smiled.

Tomorrow would be time for another day.