What Twilight did not expect to hit her in the face today was letters.

Monday morning saw her seeing her father, Night Light, off on the train bright and early. The dawn was just barely peeking over the mountain. With both patents in his satchel and a duffel bag at his hooves, he bid his wife and daughter goodbye with a sad smile. Over the weekend it had been decided to get in contact with a few entrepreneurs.

His first stop was Manehattan, and then from there he would cross the Celestial Sea to Prance.

The first top would take less than a few hours before his ship departed for Cheval. Both he and Velvet had decided it wasn’t worth the effort to seek a backer in Paris as that often came at a price. One neither was willing to accept. That was why he was taking a marriage ring that was bound to his horn.

The marriage ring was a simple gold band with the etching of the two cutie marks of the couple. Woven into that band was a matrix of both the bearer of the ring, and the spouse’s magic. As long as even one individual magic flow was connected then the ring could not be unbound till both parties did it together.

Back in the days of the three tribes, and even some of early Equestria, unicorns would often do this. In today’s times it was not often employed, unless one was journeying outside of the nation, to such locations as the mare heavy population of Prance itself.

Besides Cheval was a nice city with a booming industrial sector, there was no doubt they could find a wealthy aristocrat willing to shell out the money on a sure thing. The plans were highly detailed and thorough, a smart pony would know what they were seeing. And Cheval had more than its fair share of engineers to work out the fine details of logistics.

Twilight didn’t understand why they wanted to go across the ocean to set up the offset printing press. She had even asked why not just do it in Baltimare, or even Seaddle as that city was recently going through their own rapid expansion of industry.

What she got were vague answers about how they wanted a sure thing, and Cheval was likely the best place for it. It wasn’t enough to really satisfy her questions, but she trusted her parents and believed they knew what they were doing better than she.

So Monday morning two hours before classes began she and her mother stood on the loading platform and waved goodbye to her father as the train pulled out of the station. Steam billowing and even hiding his passenger car as the engine picked up speed and power. Already the pair’s hearts feeling heavy at the loss of his presence.

“Okay Twilight, time for you to get ready for school.” The usual joking tone her mother often spoke with, replaced with one of melancholy.

Twilight just smiled in response, giving her mother a tight hug as she teleported them both home. She was getting quite good at that, though the effects still left her a little dizzy as she didn’t often have to transport anypony else with her.

With a slight list to her gait she quickly thundered up the steps to get ready for school, narrowly avoiding Spike coming out of the bathroom and just avoiding colliding with the wall.

“Oh hey Twilight, is dad ready to go on his trip?” She winced at that.

His sleeping habits were more than a little annoying. They had tried to wake the sleeping juvenile dragon, but other than a possible detonation or gem encrusted fresh baked donuts, it was almost impossible to ever wake him up on time, thus he was often sent to bed early.

On the other hand, if she was attempting to stay quiet and not disturb him in the wee hours of the morning during one of her more vigorous study sessions, he would snap awake as if he had been struck by a book.

Last night in all the excitement of packing and Night Light going on a tribe, he had gotten to sleep late. So this morning they decided to let him sleep in once it became clear that nothing short of Canterlot sliding off the mountain would wake him.

“I’m sorry Spike, we tried to wake you. But you didn’t even acknowledge we were in the room.” Her saddened expression was mirrored by his own. He and her father got along rather well despite the difference in species, they were definitely father and son. She was victim to more than one of their combined pranks, so was her mother.

“Yeah, I get it. Stupid brain not waking up for important things.” He grumbled staring at the floor.

Her heart broke at the sight. “Well dad did say he was coming back with some Malachite gems for you while he was away in Prance.” She sad in an offhand way, watching her little brother go from moross to excited in less than an eye blink, she carefully hid her smile.

“REALLY?! That would be awesome!” He hopped around in a little spin.

“Oh and he mentioned something about on his way back he would be picking up some comic books, not that you would be interested in that or anything.” It was all she could do not to giggle at the stunned expression on his face.

“But why?” She blinked, not expecting the question. “I didn’t wake up in time. He should be at least a little upset with me.” The fins on the side of his face drooped a little. “I’d be upset if somepony was late to see me off.”

Twilight smiled gently, and picked her little brother up in a hug. “ Dad loves you. He knows you sleep harder than most ponies. And while I am sure he would have loved to have you there, just knowing that you’ll be happy to see him come home is more than enough for him.” She swung him about before giving a peck on the cheek and setting him down.

“Now it’s time to get ready for school. Mom is making blueberry pancakes this morning!” His eyes lit up as he bolted down the stairs and around the corner. She grinned ruefully and set about getting ready for the day.

Coming into a school was uneventful. With a slightly overcast morning, some rain was scheduled today and the weather team planned to do it during the wane hours of the morning when there was hardly any hoof traffic. That caused most ponies to stay indoors unless they had something pressing to do in the city.

That made her walk to the campus pleasant. Upon opening her locker she was met with something unusual. Something far outside the norm for the young mare.

An entire armload of letters and cards poured out of her locker, some pelting her in the face as they pooled to an unruly heap at her hooves. It was still fairly early, considering most students didn’t arrive for another fifteen minutes or so. That meant that there was none around to see the stunned expression on her face.

Picking the pile up in her magic she began to sift through them, a theme started to emerge.

While many were well wishes and hoping she was okay, more than a few were heartfelt condolences about the loss of her coltfriend, Orion. Her face and ears burned and heated up, she was no doubt blushing rather fiercely. She quickly teleported the collection of letters home as she tried to compose herself as best she could.

“Hopefully this is peak for my embarrassment.” Though she did note the warm feeling she got with having him associated with her as a couple, even if her feelings about him had yet been decided. “Maybe that’s why he never got anything on Hearts and Hooves day. Everypony thought we were together.”

That would also explain why more than a few mares were being friendly toward her. More so than she would normally expect at least.

Twilight wasn’t exactly a social mare. As before she had a few friends but even then she was more standoff-ish than normal, often seeking the comfort of books rather than in the company of ponies. It wasn’t that she didn’t like anypony, it was just that books tended not to look at her weird when she began to expound upon that days' lectures in magical force lines.

Over the past couple of years, an increasing number of mares and fillies had sat down at her table, at first she believed they were just trying to be friendly. Now however, pieces of a puzzle she had not understood before were starting to fall into place.

That made her frown as she walked to her first class. She did not want to be seen as a means to an end, and the good feeling she had before at the overwhelming consideration was doused out with the stark reality that might have been all she was good for in her fellow ponies eyes.

It left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Lunch hour brought her a surprise, however.

Fancy Breeze, the often snooty sky blue and dark crimson maned mare was looking rather subdued when she sat down across from her. In her hands was a letter of her own. For once she was dressed conservatively, whereas before she would often bend the rules of the established dress code.

Twilight decided to wait on her to start the conversation, part of it was bitterness from the realization of earlier, the other part was her hoping she would take the hint and leave her to her studies. That other half might have been triggered from the same source.

A full three minutes passed before she spoke, she had counted in the back of her mind.

“Twilight….I…” She paused, clearly not knowing how to begin, however it did pull her full attention to the nervous mare across from her. “I’m sorry about Orion. I...uh… I can’t imagine how you must have felt losing your coltfriend like that.”

She felt her ears burn a little at the misconception she and many others had assumed of their relationship that never existed. “He wasn’t my coltfriend, we were just friends.” That came out stiffer than she wanted. This was really difficult. How did Orion make it look so easy?

“Oh!” Fancy’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, I t-thought you and he were, well you know, in one of those exclusive relationships. Like your parents.” So that's what ponies thought.

It was true, Velvet and Night Light’s relationship was not the norm. Both had agreed that there was only really room for the pair of them for a herd. So they became monogamous and refused to even see any other mares as potential partners in their relationship.

It bucked the normal trend in Canterlot, usually four or more mares would share a stallion, as the population in the city was particularly low for males as opposed to females. There was a similar problem in Manehattan as well from what she had heard, and no doubt other major cities were plagued with the same issues.

“No.” She paused, then decided to be honest. “I didn’t really know how I felt about him. Some days he frustrated me so badly I wanted to tear my mane out. Other days he would show the kindest of gestures. He was a very frustrating stallion. Still is more than likely.”

Fancy’s eyes narrowed. “You believe he is alive?”

“Oh yes, of that I have no doubt, and as far as Princess Celestia has said no body was recovered.” She smiled. “I think he had a plan the entire time and already somehow had an out.”

“Heh, you are likely right. I can imagine he would be rather stubborn about dying as much as he was about studying for anything other than magic. To this day I don’t know how he has bucking passed the common core classes.” They both laughed.

“I wanted to give you this personally. I know many have placed theirs in your locker but it seemed a hollow gesture to me.” She slowly slid over the folded letter. “If you ever want to talk or get together for anything, feel free to ask. I can see you're still busy, so I’ll get out of your mane. Later Twilight.” She arose with a nod and headed back to her usual table.

Twilight looked at the letter for a few seconds before opening it briefly.

For letters, it was rather brief. Expressing condolences for a misunderstanding but it was thoughtful and kind. At the bottom was Fancy Breeze’s address. She had never gotten a personal invitation before.

True she got invited by her small group of friends out quite often, but this was the first time she ever had a noble offer her a visit. She put the small letter away and went back to her personal studies. Her mind turning over the invitation as she solved Silver Turing’s often convoluted way of programming golems for simple jobs.

The weeks that followed were mostly a blur as she threw herself back into her studies. Before she even realized it, school was being let out for the holidays.

Sitting in her room she eyeballed the box she had yet to open from the safety deposit box in that bank some weeks ago. Her father had yet to return but did send a message that he would likely be out of the nation for another month. It was a shame he would not be home for Hearths Warming.

The good news was that he had managed to secure funding for both projects, but he was to remain on hand for planning. Those two factories would likely not produce anything viable for another three months. She could wait, she had already figured out how to refill the fountain pen she was using so she figured another few months was worth it.

But the mystery of what was in Orion’s gift to the Princess gnawed at her. She wanted to respect his privacy and not take a peek, but at the same time to know what it was was driving her a little mad.

“Okay Twilight it's just three days. Three days before you give this to the Princess. Just….three days…” She teleported the wrappings off the case. Too late now.

The pine box was beautifully hand crafted. A closer look at it showed that the sides had been lightly carved with a relief of the dawn. Rather thoughtful of him if she thought so herself. As she thought about it, she realized it matched the tea boxes he had purchased for the Princess on his trip to Neighbon.

The cover was on small hinges and opened easily. Inside was a fountain pen that took her breath away. It was so much better looking then the plain one she now used.

It was enamel white with golden scroll work traveling along the nine inches of the casing. Clearly meant for a larger hand. Inside the scroll work were suns and waves matching the exterior packaging. It was all beautifully done and it was easy to tell a lot of work went into it.

Surprisingly no gem work had gone into the crafting of this pen, but the cap was adorned with more of the same. The little window in the side was beautifully highlighted, and it was full of ink. A keeping spell had been cast over the object but the strength was already waning. Twilight reinforced it. Along with the case was ten of what she now knew as cartridges each set within the wood carved holding case. It was all so beautifully done.

Inside the lid was a message that made her laugh in mortification.

“Dear Sunbutt,

If you have gotten this gift, and reading this particular message, it means my ass is long gone and you can’t punish me for the aforementioned name. I’ll likely have it mailed, or at the very least, have Twilight be my method of delivery. So na nana boo boo go stick your head in doo doo.

Seriously have a great holiday and thanks for helping me with my math homework. Oh and yes, I did make everything myself. No one else saw this little gem, unless Twilight went ahead and peeked, which I wouldn’t put it past her.

Sincerely to the Eternal Ass,
Orion’

That was definitely him.

Once she calmed down from her fit of giggles, she had to wonder how far along did he actually plan out his departure. Was he going to leave immediately once school was over for them? Did he know she would be the one to deliver his gift?

The more she learned about him the more she realized she knew very little about what motivated him. What he was seeking. Princess Celestia had believed he was preparing to seek out the family that had abandoned him. But she wasn’t so sure that was the case.

She placed everything back into the box, teleporting the wrapping back around the case.

“What math homework?”

Snow finally fell over Canterlot. Before today the weather ponies had been hard at work keeping the temperature warm enough to allow for regular rainfall to occur.

The past summer had been unusually warm, which had brought on an unexpected mild drought that lingered. To combat this, the weather ponies had decided to keep the rainfall going for longer than normal, thus allowing lakes and reservoirs to fill back up to normal levels before the first official snows actually hit.

So stepping out of her family's home was a very pleasant experience first thing in the morning. The snow crunching a little wetly beneath her hooves.

The door shut a little harder than normal, and she turned to see Spike, bundled up for the weather, waddle his way up behind her. “Oh so you did decided to come with me.” She smirked.

She had wanted to bring him along but he had been rather resistant. Preferring to read the comic books he had gotten last night. So it was a surprise to see him waddling up behind her after all the arguing the pair had done.

“Yeah. You deserve some company after all.” He smiled cheekily and nudged her hip with a cloth bound fist. “Besides, mom wouldn’t stop nagging me till I did.”

They both laughed.

“Oh I see how it is, it was because mom demanded you come, you don’t really love me.” She feigned hurtfulness, knowing it wasn’t true.

“NO no. I do love you! But...comics…” He made a grumbling whine.

“Yes, yes. The comics will be there when we get back. Besides I’m sure the Princess would love to see you. Might even have a treat for you there…”

His eyes lit up and he shuffled past her, the thick jacket and pants making it difficult for him to move with any speed. “Well what are we waiting for!? Come on!”

She laughed and followed after him. The trail he was making made her giggle with its uneven patterns.

It didn’t take them long to get to the castle, with hoof traffic being down for the holidays it made it rather easy to arrive within the hour from where they started.

The guards just smiled and politely stepped aside, both being normal visitors, Twilight being a near daily one.

Inside the castle grounds were quiet, the air still but not heavy, the castle itself shared the same atmosphere. The maids they passed by were polite and pleasant, though not frequent as many were home with their families.

No lines for petition, no nobles as they too were with their families. The castle was peaceful.

And all together, lonely feeling. Twilight could understand why Princess Celestia had visited them last year. She would have done the same, even if she preferred the company of books to ponies as she often did, she would have sought out company too on a day like this.

As a pair they proceeded past the halls and chambers that led to who knows where, and ascended the stairs to the private royal wing where they were stopped.

“Uhm, is everything okay?” She had of course encountered the elite Royal Guard before. They often accompanied the Princess on official business and generally guarded the more private locations throughout the castle. It was rumored that a select group from within the ranks was used to handle the more dangerous tasks that couldn’t be assigned to the royal guard, or soldiers in the field.

“Everything is fine Miss, we just need to verify that you are who you claim to be. It's a new procedure. I’m sorry Miss Sparkle.” That brought a grimace to the mare’s muzzle and a cart load of questions to her mind.

“Has something happened? Are we under threat?” She blurted out before she could stop herself.

“No, Miss. It is a ruling the generals had decided to pass down in response to some unsubstantiated rumors going around. Unfortunately I cannot go into explanations at this time.” As the mare spoke her horn had alighted and a teal green glow that passed over both Twilight and Spike. “You're both clear, sorry about the inconvenience.”

With that they stepped aside to allow the duo to pass by. A brief scan passed over the packages she was carrying with her that got a brief query from another. A stallion this time.

“Excuse me Miss Sparkle, but what is in that thin box?” His tone and stance brooked no argument. She chose to answer honestly but in a whisper.

“It’s a new type of quill that was made recently. One with the ink being inside the handle rather than having to constantly dip it into an ink pot.” That got several raised eyebrows and a considering nod from the questioner.

“Understood please proceed.”

She understood why they questioned it, it was an unusual item they had never seen before and would spark some intrigue. She was grateful they stopped at questions alone. She didn’t want to have to open the package up to show everypony.

They passed by with a nod and quickly approached her mentor’s private study door. During this time of day she was likely in there with no Day Court to preside over. It wasn’t often that the Princess got a day off, Twilight didn’t know how she did it. Raising and lowering the celestial bodies in the sky and dealing with the ponies of her nation seemed an insurmountable amount of work for one pony.

Yet Princess Celestia persevered. It was inspiring.

The guards let them through after a brief announcement, and they walked in.

Her teacher, as most times she had seen her, sat behind her desk looking over paperwork, but her head quickly looked up and she vanished what she had been checking over and placed her full attention on the pair. No sign of Raven, the mare was likely with her family today as well.

“TWILIGHT! And little Spike too! To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit.” As if she didn’t know. The cheeky smile gave away that. Though Spike seemed to have missed the notice.

“It’s Hearths Warming Day, Princess! Of course we would come and see you.” Wasn’t it an hour ago that he had to be nagged away from his new comic books? Twilight just shook her head, not holding back the giggles that claimed her tongue.

“Why I supposed it is, isn't it. I swear I would lose my head if it weren’t attached to me.” She smiled gleefully and came around her desk, packages suddenly popping into her two hands in a flash of golden light. “I suppose these are for you.”

Spike tore into his with passion. As she had suspected, the Princess went with a multitude of rare gems. No machalite though, that would make her father’s gift more meaningful when he brought them home. The little dragon had set to counting them out and ordering them in taste preferences almost immediately.

Twilight received hers but ended up giving her mentor her gifts as well, and waited for her to notice the unexpected gift at the bottom. Her own gift from the Princess was likely to be books anyways.

Her personal gift was handmade gloves, it was her first attempt. It might have been her thirtieth attempt, but the first time she ever gave something she made herself. Her mother had to help all too often for her taste but she was proud of her work nevertheless.

She had attempted to bake banana bread but she had been banned from the kitchen by her mother after she lit the sink on fire.

“Oh Twilight, these are gorgeous! Where did you get them?” She exclaimed while pulling them over her wiggling fingers. They fit rather well.

“I actually made them myself.” She blush at her praise.

“Mom helped her. A lot!” Spike offhandedly said, still counting and divvying up his small horde.

“Thank you little brother.” She said through clenched teeth as her teacher giggled at her.

“Still, it is a wonderful gift, one that you have put much time and effort into. That makes it all the more special to me.” The blushing returned.

“Thank you Princess.” She shyly spoke.

“Now what’s….this….”She had gotten to Orion's gift. Her hands drifted over to the card tied to the wrapping. No message from who it was from just his poorly written scrawl. She looked askance at her and Twilight only smiled and nodded her head toward the box in her hand and smiled.

Looking at the box again dubiously she pulled the wrapping off and traced her fingers over the carvings with a smile. “This is from your father isn’t it?”

“No it's from- mrmph!” She shot her little brother with a glare that silenced his protest, her magic sealing his lips closed.

“You’ll find out inside.” She smiled mischievously.

Peeling back the lid Princess Celestia blinked, not understanding what she was looking at at first glance. Then her eyes widened in surprise, and then she noticed the little message in the lid.

“Sunbutt!?” She fairly squawked. Which earned a giggle from the room's other two occupants. As she read further, it was all Twilight could do not to burst out laughing at the disgusted look on her teacher's face as she mouthed the words, ‘Na nana boo boo go stick your head in doo doo.’

“Well, this is certainly him to a ‘T’ that's for sure.” She ran her fingers over the pen. “Did you know I first saw something like this in his hand a few years ago? I had been having him come out as my, as he would call it, social beard to tea houses around Canterlot.” She chuckled.

“To be honest I was using him as a PR stunt. I had no idea the sharp tongue and wit he had and would often employ against me publicly. He had no respect for my station, and if I am being honest, it was likely the best time I’ve had in a very long time.” Smiled down at the pen.

“When I first saw, what I can now assume was the prototype, I was rather intrigued by it. I ended up seeing it put to use after he had asked me about thermodynamics. It was a remarkable device.” Picking the pen up she wrote her name smoothly on a scrap piece of paper. “He made one for me because I showed an interest in his creation.”

Twilight was quiet for a bit, her little brother having not paid attention was still counting his gems.

“She was trying to use him as a ‘social beard’? Why would the Princess do that?” She was unsure of whether to ask or not. But she did so anyway.

“Oh it’s as I said. I wanted a way to show the ponies that I wasn’t above them. That I was a mare just like any other. Orion seemed a great way to showcase that as he treated me more like anypony else, than well anypony else.” She shrugged sheepishly.

“It ended up working a little in the end, even if he resisted. But I do wonder, how did you get a hold of his gift to me?”

The explanation was brief, but the neutral look that adorned the monarch’s face as she spoke of the advanced printing press and where her father had taken the blueprints spoke volumes that she could not decipher.

Maybe she would have preferred the new industry to stay in the nation. She didn’t blame her if that was the case.

The rest of the visit went smoothly, though Twilight was still a little stunned at the fact that her mentor used somepony in an effort to have good PR.

But by the time she had gotten home, Spike rushing past her to hide away his gems, she figured that Princess Celestia was right. It did make her appear more sociable. The problem with being a millennia old ruler was that often, ponies would stop referring to her as a ruler, and more as a deity.

Though she rarely thought about it, she too treated her as a higher creature. She would have to try and fix that.

Again time marched on for her.

Her father returned late spring looking harried but otherwise in good health. The factories were both up in running, deciding at the last minute to keep both in Prance. As the nation was central in the known world for distribution.

Though on his arrival, both Twilight and Spike were kicked out of the house, something about relieving stress. Though she easily guessed what it was and made herself scarce at the library, taking a protesting little dragon along.

The only real change at school was Fancy Breeze. The mare seemed to make it her mission to visit her every chance she got during lunch or on the walk home. She never took up her invitation to visit her at her home as it didn’t feel like she belonged in a place like that. But the conversations were pleasant, and touched only briefly on what Orion might be up to. If he ever did come up at all.

On her seventeenth birthday, Princess Celestia gifted her an observatory tower for her own use. A Surprise that caught the whole family off.

Just outside the castle grounds it sat, though it was much older than most observatories as it was first built just after the castle was completed. However, the main chamber sported a rather impressive brand new brass telescope, one that took up a great deal of the room. It was everything she could ever want.

Simply put, she was in love. Before long she had new bookshelves put in, a project that her parents more than happily financed with the increased bankroll from royalties they had been receiving for the past year. Though at the mention, her mother and father had gotten a frown from the Princess.

Soon she had her dream home. There was even a small kitchen and washroom, and she ended up spending more time there than at her family’s home, much to her shame when her mother would often bring up how little they saw of her. But every time she stepped into the halls of her personal sanctuary, she would become absorbed into studying anything and everything that came across her mind.

It was getting bad enough that she was losing sleep and had to be ordered by the Princess to get the full eight hours, otherwise be banned from the tower for a month. She adhered tightly to that. For a little while at least.

Eventually in concern, Spike moved into the tower with her. Making sure she was fed and properly cleaned. She had been sent home twice due to her own personal negligence of her hygiene.

But in the end she established a schedule with her new found freedom, and learned to take care of herself to a passable extent. Though her mother still complained that she was not home enough, her father however, said it had been a great time and that she could come home less often. The smell in the house when she did visit spoke of what he meant.

She graduated, with little fanfare, as she preferred, from Celestia’s School of Gifted Unicorns.

There was of course a party that the Princess herself hosted. Her family was also, of course, there. Even her brother had been able to attend. He had been back and forth on deployment over the last couple years. Going as far as Zegypt, of which he complained long and loudly about how hot it was there.

He never discussed specifics of his mission to those far off locations, only what is like and a few obviously watered down stories he felt comfortable sharing with her. She decided then and there that books were the best way to travel the world. Let other ponies experience the ever changing landscapes. What pony ever heard of clouds moving on their own after all?

Another surprise that day was her old babysitter, Cadance, was there. Being an alicorn and a Princess herself had never really registered with Twilight the way Princess Celestia’s position had. But she loved her no less. Besides their childish greeting, which they often did with even more childish glee, not much was said between the pair.

She was happy to have her there, but noticed with increasing regularity how often she found Shining and her standing near each other, conversing quietly with one another. Something was up with those two.

Her friends also had their graduation party with hers. Princess Celestia figured that it would be a great way to solidify their friendships as they moved forward for their own pursuits. Twilight for once only moderately paid attention to what was being said. Her eyes drifted to the books she had received. Their seductive siren calls, calling to her and her alone.

With graduation, she finally was given free reign for study. The assignments she now received from the Princess were more subjective, obviously designed for her to come to her own conclusions rather than any set curriculum.

Upon receiving her chemistry set from her parents, she began to set up a portion of the lower room in the tower that was quickly becoming the ‘lab’ for chemical study. It was then she realized that she had not thought about Orion in over a year. The vials and swirly glass reminded her of him.

When was it that she stopped wondering about where he was? Or where he had gone to. In fact, when was the last time he had actually crossed her mind?

She sat down amongst the recently open boxes to ponder those questions.

That was where Spike had found her some two hours later. Sitting amongst the chaos of her still unassembled chemistry set.

“Yo Twilight. Everything alright?” Placing the bags of groceries he had gone out to get that day aside, he gingerly made his way over to her. He almost broke a beaker.

“Yeah, I...Spike. Am I a bad pony?” Clearly her question had caught him by surprise.

“I don’t think so. Why? Did something happen?” He sat down on a stool and looked at her, concern etched on his features.

“I just realized, I….I haven’t thought about Orion Falls in over a year, and I can’t seem to figure out when I had last thought about him specifically.” She wiped away the budding tears in her eyes.

“Oh yeah, I haven’t heard about him in awhile. It's been a couple years since he vanished.” He looked at her and smiled. “But that doesn’t make you a bad pony, Twilight. It just means you're moving on and growing. From what I can remember of him I doubt he would be very hurt by you forgetting about him.”

Surprising wisdom from the dragon that still read comics like the end of the world was coming. He was likely right. Orion wasn’t one of those ponies to get hurt over being forgotten. She smiled.

“No your right, he would likely say something along the lines of, ‘buck you too buddy.’” They both giggled. Standing up she levitated the pieces of her kit and set to work as he went to put the groceries away.

“Oh Twilight! This was in the mail this morning, sorry I forgot to give it to you. I was busy, heh.” By busy he likely meant that his nose was buried in a comic book. She shook her head and took the surprisingly heavy package from him.

Setting it down she quickly removed the package paper without tearing, that could be used for later after all. On top of the book, was a little note from the Princess:

‘My Faithful Student,

It has been a few years since I have seen you with this book. When I found it in your old room I was a bit surprised that you had forgotten to take it with you. So I am sending it along with my best wishes. Maybe you can understand the messages Starswhirl left us. Just remember, he was an old pony when he wrote this.

Good Luck,
Princess Celestia’

Setting the note aside she was shocked to see ‘Predictions and Prophecies By Starswirl the Bearded’. Like she had with Orion, she had forgotten about the book as well. A fact that stunned her upon realization.

Picking up the familiar tome, she opened the pages to the last thing she had ever looked at, the return of the dread mare, Nightmare Moon. She shuddered and put the book on a pedestal, but in the back of her mind questions were raised.

Why did the Princess send her a book that she so readily dismissed when she was younger?

The next few years, like school, was a blur for Twilight.

With the new assignments she was receiving, answers to those assignments were harder to find. For one she found it difficult to think laterally. Up until graduation, most if not all problems could be found and solved through research and study of needed materials.

But now the assignments were vague in origin and when she thought she had discovered a solution, she found that she only raised more questions. It forced her to consider other perspectives, which she was not good at, and ended up taking far longer to solve issues that would arise while seeking answers.

Her private study sessions were better for her. There she found that she could still answer the linear problems with relative ease and enough study.

Most were simple problems and easily picked apart in an afternoon. But the one that really drew her back again and again, was the Nightmare Moon conundrum. This was something that continued to intrude on her thoughts often.

So often in fact she would often pause in her work for the Princess to only frustratingly run into the proverbial brick wall.

It wasn’t until she read further into Starswirl’s book that she found a star chart and even that only gave her more questions, until she started tracking the heaven’s themselves.

It was accepted fact that after Princess Luna’s disappearance that duty fell to Princess Celestia to paint the night sky in her remembrance. That she would keep to a system of schedules that only she herself knew of.

But what Starswirl suggested was bordering on heresy. He never said it outright, but she could not help but think that he was telling the reader that the Princesses never controlled the sun and night sky at all.

It flew in the face of all teaching she had ever received. Until the day she began to study the stars herself.

SLAM!

“Why won’t she believe me Spike?!”

Twilight was near spitting in frustration, something she only got at the worst of problems presented to her.

Last night she had finally found proof of the correlation between Nightmare Moon and the current stars' alignment in the sky. If what she feared was true, then the evil creature would soon return to Equis, and nopony was taking her seriously!

Why did Princess Celestia even bother giving the book back to her if she was never going to take her seriously with her research into it!?

The Princess just politely laughed, and suggested she leave the tower to spend time with friends instead. That research was no good without downtime. That she needed a break.

“Hah! As if! I know I’m right!” She didn’t mean to be so disparaging of Princess Celestia’s remarks, but she felt like a rat in a maze with no way out, and her mentor was controlling it all for some strange purpose.

“Well Twilight, you were ranting an awful lot. Maybe you're spending too much time looking through that musty old book. I’m sure Starswirl was amazing and all that but it has been almost a thousand years when it was written. Odds are what he wrote was just, I don’t want to sound harsh…”

He was about to say the stallion who pioneered magic, who catapulted all of ponykind years if not centuries ahead of accepted research at the time, was wrong. Her glare made him gulp and step back.

A few moments was all it took to bring some clarity, and a fair bit of sorrow at what she was doing.

Her face softened and she looked at the floor in misery.

“I’m sorry Spike, it’s just what if he is right? What if the Princess is...actually wrong? I don’t want something terrible to happen that could have been avoided.” Her little brother came over and wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her fiercely. He had grown again without her noticing, his fin just passing her breasts.

“Hey it’s okay Twilight. It’s the Princess! She likely knows better than anypony, and if she’s not worried. Then I’m not worried, and neither should you be. Besides, isn’t Moon Dancer’s birthday party today?”

She inwardly cringed. It was her friend’s birthday today, and Princess Celestia rented out the western courtyard of the castle to her and her family. She had gotten the invitation a month ago but had been avoiding it, though she did have Spike pick something up to give as a gift anyways.

With her proposal rejected, and her drive for anything study related relatively shattered, today was as good any day to take a break. Spike was likely correct and the Princess was more than aware of any trouble that might befall the nation.

Stepping away from her little brother she opened her mouth, and with a bright flash of green was pelted in the face with a scroll.

It was too much for Spike who ended up cracking up and rolling on the floor in mirth.

Deadpanned, she picked up the scroll, cracking it open to read the contents.

‘My Faithful Student,

When you came to me with your fears, I am saddened to say I was unkind to you by laughing at your expense. I understand that you care and have worries like anypony. In all the years you have been my student you have never once let me down.

But work must be balanced with leisure, and I fear you have devoted far too much of your time to being stuck in that tower of yours. You simply must stop reading those old tomes. Much of what is in there has been disproven, and while Starswirl was the pinnacle of researchers in his time, today's ponies have discovered far more than he could ever dream.

‘A pony in constant motion will break down.’

With this in mind I have an assignment for you. In one month’s time is the Summer Sun Festival. As you know every year I host one in smaller towns around Equestria. This year the town that had been selected is Ponyville.

My charge to you, is to travel to Ponyville, and make sure all proceedings leading up to the festival are done in a timely manner. I do know how you enjoy your check lists. It should be easy, and give you plenty of leisure time to enjoy that small town feel.

And Twilight, remember to make some friends.

Your Loving Mentor,
Princess Celestia’

Inside was a checklist, the location of their living arrangements, and two tickets for the train that afternoon. With that her heart deflated.

“Spike, please send Moon Dancer her gifts with my apologies. It looks like we are heading to Ponyville today.” She shuffled to her room to pack her essentials. Ears and tail hanging limply.

“And look who turned out to be right after all! Hah take that Sunbutt!” Orion practically crowed, enjoying the look of discomfort on the faces of the two mares across from him. He took a sip from his tea and grinned, his canines flashing in the afternoon light.

“She still hasn’t forgiven you for that remark by the way.” Twilight responded tersely.

“Yeah yeah I don’t give a shit.” His grin never wavered as he fixed Rarity with his gaze. “Your turn Marshmallow. Regale me with tales of Ponyville and what the hap has been.”

“I’m sorry Darling, but was that even Equish?” He laughed. He was having more fun at these two’s expense then they realized.

“What has been happening down in sleepy old Ponyville, Rares?”

Nodding like a schoolmarm that got the right answer out of a student, she leaned back and began to tell of what he had missed while he had been away. His fingers traced his left pocket on his pants.

Author's Note

Wooo another chapter completed, mostly on time.

Some of you may have noticed that this differs from the events of the show. I have taken liberties in creativity as I wanted Twilight to be different from the usual manic mare you all know in the show.

With this comes the end of Twilight's tale. Rarity's story will likely be a little longer as it will encompass not just her life up to Nightmare Moon, but the other lives of the elements that will soon call Ponyville home.

Then it will be onto his story, you know, the juicy bits, and what he got up to before the events that changed Equis.

I want to thank you all for your patience. As some of you know I recently found employment. I am placing updates to a two week period till I know more about how schedule will effect writing.

Finally I want to give a HUGE shout out to Omegacannon. They have helped keep my spirits up with some fan art that I am unable to set as a link so I will give their profile. Thank you so much! I truly appreciate your work my dude!

You can find them here.

Go give 'em some love.

Please leave a comment to remind me that y'all are here and watching for my eventual fall into madness. I love to hear from you guys.

I thank you for your continued support.

Thanks as always for reading.

Peace.