To say that Twilight had been through an eventful day would have been an understatement of the highest order. It was supposed to have been a simple trip. Get here, make sure everything for the celebration was in order, then just enjoy the party along with everypony else. Instead, she'd witnessed the returned of a literal legend, found new friendships, recovered long-lost magical artefacts, and then capped it all off by choosing this quiet little village as her new home. It was a lot, to be sure, but to Twilight's credit she had coped with all these monumental changes well. Now though, and to her eternal gratitude, she found herself able to finally relax after all the hullabaloo. Her friends had all gone to their own homes, the sun was setting one what had been another beautiful day, and now all that were here was herself and her number one assistant. And speaking of whom, it was right around now that she was tucking Spike into his new bed, just as the foot of her own. After seeing him finally fall asleep after the hectic day they'd just had, she gave him a tender kiss upon his cheek. "Sleep well, Spike."
"Mmmmm, g'night," the little drake mumbled back.
Smiling down to him, Twilight walked away, making sure to not only use her magic to close the bedroom curtains, but also made a point to blow out the candle that was on the table next to the door, all in the hopes of giving her old friend a speedy sleep. Closing the door carefully behind her, Twilight began to make her way downstairs, avoiding what she knew by now to be the creaky stairs just in case. Once downstairs, she again used her magic, levitating over a parchment and inkwell over to the table in the centre of the room. Grabbing a chair for herself she took a moment to get herself comfortable, letting out a sigh of contentment as she did so, and after reaching over for the quill in the inkwell, she smiled to herself. "I know I'll need to use Spike to send this, but there's no harm in waiting until morning for that." After making sure the quill was properly inked, she got to work in writing her words, falling into the habit of speaking the words aloud as she did so. "Dear Princess Celestia," she began.
"A fine way to start," a familiar voice remarked behind her.
Instantly, Twilight jumped from her seat, spinning around and finding, to both her shock and confusion, was Princess Celestia herself, looking to her with that same motherly affection she always did. "P...Princess Celestia?!"
The elder mare smiled to her. "And how is my favourite pupil doing this evening?"
Twilight's gaze shot from her mentor to the door and back again. "But...how did I not notice you come in?!"
Celestia chuckled briefly. "Let's just say there are few places in my kingdom where I cannot go if I wish to go there." She slowly walked around the table. "As for why I'm here, consider it the simple concern of a mentor." Once on the other side, she again regarded her student. "I wanted to see how you were settling in."
Twilight, now somewhat recovered from the surprise of having the pony she admired most suddenly turn up out of nowhere, composed herself and cleared her throat. "Oh, I'm...I'm fine. Thank you for asking. I mean, obviously it'll take a while to get used to living in this new place, but so far things seem to be working out alright."
"And Spike?" the princess asked.
"Just put him to bed," Twilight answered.
Celestia nodded, then glanced out of the nearest window. "Ponyville is a fine place to live, Twilight. I hope you're happy here."
Twilight felt more relaxed after hearing that, walking over to the aforementioned window and resting her forehooves on the edge of it as she looked to the sleeping Ponyville beyond. "I think I will be. Canterlot will always have a place in my heart...but there's something about this place that...it's hard to say. I feel comfortable here. At ease. Like it's a home I've just never known about until now."
Celestia took on a knowing smile while Twilight's focus was on the view outside, taking a few steps closer to her. "It can be that way sometimes. A place or person who is good for us just coming along one day and being the fit for us we never realise we needed." Her smile grew. "And speaking of people, I imagine you're been more than a little happy with the five you've met recently."
Twilight turned to her teacher, taking on a more excited look. "I am! I know you never really spoke to them all that much when you were last here, but Applejack, Rarity, all of them, they've been so good to me since the Summer Sun Celebration."
Looking down to her protégé with gladness, Celestia gave a slight nod to that. "I imagine they would be. Ponyville may not have the same prestige as Canterlot or the fame of Cloudsdale, but chances are you'll never find a friendlier, more welcoming place in all of Equestria. And I am truly happy that you've allowed friendship into your life, Twilight."
Hearing that, Twilight sighed. "I'm just sorry it took me as long as it did. All that time of focusing on my studies and my magic, I never even considered just how important and meaningful friends would have been to me." A moment or two passed, but then she regained her smile as she thought on her own words. "Well, aside from Spike of course." As before, she stared out of the window. "I'm sorry to have been such a disappointment to you in that, Princess. You tried time and again to get me to come out of my shell with friends, but I always had some reason, some excuse not to do so." She hung her head. "I should have listened to you. You've always known better at this sort of thing after all."
She didn't get an answer, at least not right away, and when she did, it was with a solemn tone. "No...not always."
Twilight turned to her swiftly, looking to her with confusion. "But...you're Princess Celestia! You've always known better when it comes to this sort of thing!
In response to that, Celestia afforded herself a chuckle, shaking her head as she did so. "Ah yes, the old perception about me. Celestia the wise. Celestia the flawless. Celestia who can do no wrong." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I assure you, Twilight. While I may appreciate all the love and respect that ponies feel towards me, I am not some infallible figure. I make mistakes just as much as anypony."
But Twilight was incredulous. "I find that hard to believe, Princess."
Celestia looked to her now with a raised eyebrow. "Twilight, my sister and I have spent an entire millennium apart from one another, and all because of a failure to be able to reconcile our differences with each other and the way others feel about us." She placed her hoof upon her apprentice's shoulder. "If I were truly some unfaltering master of friendship, would such a thing have happened?"
Twilight had no answer, and she hated that feeling. She kept searching her mind for some response, some retort that would have convinced her teacher that she was wrong on what she said. But as Celestia's example set in for her, she knew she could not. As her ears slowly drooped down, she finally shook her head. "No...I don't think it would."
But, far from looking unhappy, Celestia smiled to her, placing her hoof under her chin and raising her up so they were again looking to each other. "You needn't fear, Twilight. Friendship, as you will no doubt come to learn, is not something that will remain pristine and unblemished. Bumps in the road will happen, and maintaining them is something that must be worked at. There has never been a friendship that was perfect and without problems from start to finish, and chances are there never will be."
Twilight too smiled, though smaller than her teacher's. "I just hope none of my friends have as much of a falling out with me as you and your sister did a millennium ago."
Celestia's smile widened. "On that, Twilight, we can agree." The two shared a laugh, making sure not to let it get too loud just in case they woke up Spike upstairs. When the laughter faded though, Celestia again looked thoughtful, regarding her student for a long time before finally breaking the silence between them. "Twilight...I offer you my most sincere thanks for all that has happened." She saw Twilight look like she was taken aback by the remark, and so continued with her words. "I have spent the last ten centuries wishing that my sister would return to me one day. And now, thanks to you, that day is here. The two of us are reunited, and you did it while bringing life back to the most sacred artefacts of our nation. Few have ever accomplished what you and your friends have, and for that, I am in your debt."
Twilight saw, to her astonishment, that Celestia now bowed to her, in a manner not unlike all the times their position had been reversed. The young unicorn was, naturally, out of her depth when it came to thinking on what to say or do in this situation, and so she decided after a while that the only response she had was to simply return the bow. "Oh! You...you're most welcome, Princess!" As she did this however, a new thought came to her mind. It was a small thing at first, but as the seconds rolled on by and her mentor's words continued to echo in her head, she began to consider it more and more. She hesitated at first, fearing that such things would be seen as rude or insubordinate to say, but after a while she felt that she could remain silent no longer. So when the two of them finally stood tall again, Twilight eventually spoke. "Princess...did you always know?" She saw her idol give her that same famous poker face she was so good at, prompting her to continue. "All those years ago, when we first met. My burst of magic, your decision then and there to make me your student...did you know what was going to happen? How it was going to turn out? With me? Ponyville? Nightmare Moon? My friends and the Elements?"
Celestia, perhaps having expected such a question, gave a sly smile before she answered. "No. I didn't know it was going to end up as it did."
Twilight seemed surprised by that answer, but before she had the chance to say anything else, Celestia stepped forward with softness in her expression. "But I always hoped." She looked away. "In the long run, that's all any of us can do. Hope for the best, try to guide things where we can...and see where things turn out."
There it was, Twilight thought to herself. The old wisdom she'd come to expect from her teacher. It put her at ease, allowing her to smile to her elder. "Dare I ask if you had any other hopes for me?"
Looking back to her, Celestia bore a somewhat sly look. "Perhaps...but some things may best be kept as surprises."
Twilight chuckled. "After all I've been through, I doubt anything could surprise me."
Celestia too laughed a little. "Oh, give it some time." Twilight naturally looked like she wanted to enquire further, but her teacher, ever the clever one, looked away to the parchment that had been abandoned upon the table since her unexpected arrival. "Now then, I believe you were in the middle of writing to me?"
Twilight, suddenly remembering her task, sped over to the table to pick up the parchment in question, all the while blushing a little. "Oh, it...it's not really finished."
Celestia nodded. "Maybe not. But even so, I'd like to hear what your first report sounds like. It's an important thing, Twilight, and I wanted to be here to hear it."
Her student relaxed, looking to the thus-far bare paper, before again smiling to her icon. "Well, alright then." Clearing her throat, she began. "Dear Princess Celestia..."
Author's Note
Well, here it is. My 100th story on FimFiction. It's been an interesting few years here on the site. Having been part of the fandom since the earliest days of FiM but only getting involved here during its last couple of seasons. I've had fun writing these fics, and I hope you've all enjoyed reading them. With this milestone however I think I'll be taking a break from them for a bit. So until I return I wish you all the best 
