Lumena giggled as she exited their room. In hindsight, she wondered if this arrangement had been a good idea after all. She'd had far more headaches out of it than she'd had good times. It might have helped had Twilight stayed awake during them.

But the mare had slept through all of them for over a century and a half now, and that did not appear to be changing anytime soon. And it was not as simple as normally waking up either, trying to get her up. No matter what she tried.

The only thing that Lumena had found that worked, as she passed various members of the staff along the way and nodded politely to each of them, was that either Twilight woke up on her own. Or something shocked Lumena so much that it woke her mate up in the process.

Very little had been able to do that, no matter what Lumena tried. So she had long ago resigned herself to just having to deal with it, no matter how bad it got.

"This had better be important. We had plans today," she grumbled as she headed for the main door.

"You are what?!"

Celestia and Luna let the ringing in their ears stop before they replied. The smile on Luna's face said that she had expected this reaction and smirked at her sister, who only rolled her eyes.

"As I said you two. I am retiring. I have been in this position long enough," Celestia said calmly. "Too long if I am, to be honest."

Twilight was not buying it, however, having been shocked into wakefulness. "But you can't retire. Can you?"

Luna nodded. "In fact, Tia can. There was never anything said that we had to rule Equestria forever. Cadance did the same with Flurry Heart if you remember correctly."

Lumena nodded. "But she had somepony to pass it on to. Princess Celestia does not." She and Twilight shared a confused look. "Does she?"

Celestia nodded, her smile growing. "In fact, I do have somepony in mind. Two of them in fact. I am looking at them right now."

That was all Twilight could take, as she forcefully switched places with Lumena, getting a groan from her mate in the process. She made a note to make it up to her later. "But we are so not ready. I am so not ready. Who would take over raising the sun?"

Celestia shook her head. "The magic that governs the sun can be given away. As it was to me all those centuries ago. The two of you handled the sun and moon together during the fight with Tirek." Her smile softened as she stood and placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "And you give yourself far too little credit, Twilight, when you say you are not ready. From the day you ascended, I have known you have been ready."

Twilight blushed. "Thank you, princess. But I don't know. What about Luna? We had all of the alicorn magic when we fought Tirek."

Lumena nodded. "And it was a miracle we could even control it as much as we did. And even then, we fought each other to a standstill."

Celestia and Luna nodded. "While that is true, Lumena. The fact remains that ponies still look up to both of you. All of Equestria looks up to the two of you." She shrugged. "As for me? I have no plans to retire now. I still have eight hundred and some odd years to make up for," Luna replied.

That was some small relief for the two. But Celestia could still see that they were unsure about this. "I am not forcing either of you into this. Given time, I could possibly find someone else. I am not stepping down right this instant. This would be a gradual process."

Twiight bit her lip, earning a worried look from Lumena. This was all too much. She needed time to think about this. "Do you need an answer now?" Lumena asked.

Celestia shook her head. "No. Give it several days of thought. I know neither of you will rush into something like this. I plan to announce my retirement at the next Summer Sun Celebration. It is only right I feel."

Twilight sighed. "Thank you, Princess Celestia. Was this all you needed of us?" Celestia nodded. "Then we will take our leave. Maybe we will stay in Canterlot tonight. I need the fresh air."

Celestia's smile grew. "Your old room is always ready for you, Twilight. I will see you in the morning then?"

Twilight nodded, before allowing Lumena to regain control before the two took their leave, the door closing silently behind them.

Luna sighed as the door closed. "Well, that could have gone better. I told you they would react like this, sister."

Celestia rolled her eyes as she sat back down. "I know, Luna. But I know that this is still the right choice. I can only hope that Twilight and Lumena see it as well."

"You know that you cannot run from this forever, Twilight," Lumena said as she closed the door to their Guest Room. "Celestia is serious about all of this."

Twilight shot her a dirty look as her head slumped. "You know, Lumena? Sometimes I hate that I am stuck with you. I know she is serious, but I am not ready. Maybe you are, but I am not. I don't know if I ever will be."

Lumena's smile softened as they sat down on their bed. "Do you think that they were ready when Starswirl crowned them Princesses of Equestria? I doubt they were any more than we are. I know that you would be a wonderful Princess of Equestria. Anypony who says otherwise is too stupid for their own good."

That got a snort out of the younger mare.

Lumena used a hoof to lift her mate's head gently. "Do you remember the Fall Formal? What you did then?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "How can I forget? And don't say it like you didn't do anything, Lumey. You did as much as I did. Maybe even more so."

Lumena blushed at the use of the nickname Twilight had given her. Her mind returned to that time for a moment. Their first true adventure together.

Author's Note

Slight change in the chapter schedule. Equestria Girls 1 starts in the next chapter. I'm still trying to work out how Twilight and Lumena look in their human form at Canterlot High. To answer a question from LoveandEdify, this will be a series. Only one story. But this is a series nonetheless.