Cosmos sat on her throne, watching her exarchs return to their duties in their respective locations around Equestria. Lifting a hoof she rubbed the bridge of her nose before letting out a long sigh. She loved seeing all of her friends and long-time companions, but these meetings, especially recently, had been causing her no end of headaches. The reborn Everfree Forest was picking up the most annoying habits of the original forest, and the ponies of Equestria were not happy. Queen Skystar was even more stubborn than her mother had been at her age, there was talk of yet another Sombra cult in the Crystal Kingdom, and the list kept growing.

Cosmos could not even hope for Twilight or Pearl to drop in unexpectedly anymore. The two and their daughters had been on one of the first ships to colonize Equis’ solar system. Pearl did occasionally return to tend to the Everfree, for she and the forest were connected in some way, and gods help you if you hurt Pearl’s baby. Dream Tree did an admirable job when Pearl was away. But the Everfree and Pearl were connected in a way that Luna’s son was not.

And that voice in her head was growing louder and louder.

With a groan, she closed her eyes and leaned back. Expecting the warmth of the plush cushion only to find herself pressed against cool carved wood. Her eyes swiftly opened and found she was now seated on a cushioned bar stool, just large enough for a pony. Looking around confusion entered her mind as what was once her throne room, was now a very busy bar. Filled with various ponies.

Not unusual, but what was, was the fact that every pony was a variation of Pearl and Twilight. Some sitting together, some sitting apart. One Twilight looked to be a large hydra with five heads snuggled up against an equally large five-headed dragon. Each of Twilight’s heads was resting against one of Pearl’s, whose own head was atop the red dragon’s forehead.

“What the hell…” she muttered quietly.

“Not really. That dimension is a good way south. Well, southeast.” A soothing melodic voice entered her ears, along with the tink of something hitting crystal glass. Turning around her eyes widened. “And it’s not the kind of place to get a refreshing drink..” the voice chuckled.

Behind the bar was a near ten hoof high fox. The markings along its body glowed a light amber gold. Nine tails flipping pouring various bottles. He looked to be dressed in a dark green Shinto robe decorated with leaves that swayed back and forth along the fabric. “Galaxy Starbreeze,” he said squeezing a lime into the glass. “With a lime nebula accent.” placing a small umbrella in the drink he placed it before Cosmos.

Looking at the drink she saw it was as black as night, swirling with various galaxies and nebulas all moving with the liquid. Looking up the empress gazed into those amber eyes. “Who…” her voice cut off by him raising a paw.

“Give it a moment. Your memories should return shortly. The drawback of a mortal body.”

Cosmos looked around. Her eyebrow quirked up a bit and turned to the drink. Lifting it she sniffed it and took a soft sip. The flavor exploded on her tongue. She could have died right there and felt complete by how wonderful this drink was. Her eyes then shot open and looked down.

“Kohaku! What the hell? When, where… what?” Cosmos shifted a bit and looked around.

“That just leaves out Who and Why.” Kohaku chuckled which earned him a sideways eye shot from the mortal goddess. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist.”

“Where is Pinkie? And what happened to the inn?” Staring into Kohaku’s eyes, the goddess watched as a ghostly Pearl floated up.

“Haku dear. Tables seven and twenty-two need their drinks yet.” Pearl giggled, floating there holding the silver tray between her front hooves. Her wings comfortably rested on either side of her.

Kohaku swiftly placed the drinks on her tray and kissed her softly. “There you go, love.” Pearl nodded and floated off, before he turned back to the goddess. “All these eternities and she just keeps getting more beautiful. And I guess not all your memories are back if you forgot about Pinkie.”

Cosmos smirked and leaned back as Kohaku went on making more drinks. “She retired a few eon’s back. Since then Pearl and I took over ownership.”

“Didn’t you two die?” Cosmos swirled her drink for a moment as he nodded.

“Yeah, but it was ever so dull. And Pinkie didn’t want to leave this place to just anyone so I chose to become a minor Shinto god. Raised my wife as a ghost and we’ve been working here ever since.” Setting his bar tools down, Kohaku leaned into the bar and looked at Cosmos.

“But this isn’t about me. I didn’t pull you here to recount MY life. I pulled you here because you looked like you were ready to explode at the seams. And you might need an ear who might understand. And as talented as your exarchs are, they are just mortals.”

Cosmos bit back a truly annoyed retort at that. “You are lucky they didn’t hear you say that. The last individual who called them mortal? They are still cleaning off his remains from the throne room.”

She paused a moment as she remembered something. “You know seeing you two again. Brings back some fond memories. And as fun as it would be to bring the four of you back together, I do not think it will happen.”

“You mean Twi and Sis? Why not?” Pearl asked as she joined the two. “I’d love to see them again. It’s been forever. Literally.” She giggled. “They’re not dead are they?”

Cosmos smiled. “No. They are very much alive and well. But after Kohaku’s death, and learning you had been dead for five thousand years by that point, they stopped coming here entirely. They are still able to of course. But the grief is still quite strong even now.”

Kohaku nodded and folded his arms, leaning back into his tails. “Just as well. I gave up playing Ping Pong a long time ago. So there’s little reason Pearl would have to visit even if she knew we were still around.” Smiling he lifted his head a bit. “But they have been doing well. I check in on them occasionally. They never see me of course. But they’ve been doing well. And Pearl seems to be one hell of a forest guardian.”

Cosmos nodded. “Oh yes. I doubt Pearl knew what she was getting into when she replanted the Everfree. But gods help you if you mess with it. Her brother also does a good job when she isn’t around, and he can be even worse if possible when angry.”

Both Kohaku and Pearl nodded together. “Well, Night dragons are known for their ferocity. And miss Night Mare herself and that’s one potent mix.” Pearl smirked.

Cosmos smiled sadly. “One his mother would be proud of if she stopped being so stubborn and visited more.”

Pearl giggled. “Oh, she visits him plenty. You’d know that if you pass through the dream world once and a while.”

Cosmos shook her head. “I swore off on doing so in Luna’s honor. She had lost too much already. Let the dream world be hers, and whatever bits Dream Tree inherited from her. I just wish he would stop keeping the damn moon up past ten in the morning, well after I raise the sun. How he wrenched its control from me I’ll never know. He inherited the ability to irritate me to no end from you I swear. Which should be impossible, for my Kohaku existed before we ever met!”

Shaking his head the fox smiled. “That wasn’t me. My name certainly. But not me.” Closing his eyes, Kohaku folded his arms as Pearl rested her head on his shoulder. “But I may have slipped a few things to the boy over the years. Just little whispers here and there.”

“I helped on occasion. Just to keep you on your hooves.” Pearl giggled.

Cosmos groaned. This explained so much. How he got so good at getting under her skin when he wanted to, and his ability to drive his sister even madder than usual when he felt like it. “Pinkie was a lot less annoying when she ran the inn. Even on her most Pinkie Pie days,” she grumbled. “Please tell me this hasn’t become exclusive to only Twilight, Pearl, and me?”

Shaking his head side to side, Kohaku just chuckled louder. “No. But it’s the anniversary of every Twilight and Pearl’s marriage. So during the week, we cater to just them for an exclusive honeymoon. Things will be back to normal in a few days.” Kohaku shifted and turned to fix up a few bottles as he watched the last Twilight and Pearl head up to their rooms, waving as they passed by.

Cosmos smirked as she closed her eyes. Their anniversary was this week, wasn’t it? No matter what else may be different, the date was always in the same time frame in every universe. She should know. She had presided over the ceremony herself. “Well then. I think you can find room for another pair.”

Pearl chuckled as she wiped down the bar. “We have an infinite number of rooms available. What you saw tonight wasn’t even a fraction of the number of Pearls and Twilights we have housed here this week.”

Cosmos only smiled wider as her horn began to glow. “Indeed. But these two haven’t been here in a long time, and it is not fair to leave them out.

“We haven't. Their room is just as they left it. Freshly cleaned and with their favorite chocolates on the pillows.” Kohaku looked over his shoulder at Cosmos with a smirk.

Cosmos nodded, as another pair of Twilight Sparkle and Pearl Rose appeared in the room, their eyes spinning from the unplanned teleport. “Twilight. I thought we agreed to never use that spell again?” The new Pearl grumbled, rubbing her forehead.

Twilight shook her head. “Don’t take that tone with me, Pearl Alabaster Rose. I didn’t do anything!”

Cosmos chuckled, getting the pair’s attention. “That would be me, you two.”

Both Pearl and Twilight blinked as a ghostly Pearl swept between them, removing their saddlebags and cloaks before moving in front of them. “Wonderful to see you both again. We have to catch up sis.” Pearl smiled before floating over to a wardrobe and slipped the bags and clocks into it before returning to her sweeping. “Don’t worry, they’ll be returned when you leave. And happy Anniversary.”

Pearl found herself unable to speak, or even think clearly. “Please tell me I’m not dead? I can’t be seeing the ghost of my sister. Here of all places. Pinkie cannot be that crazy!”

“Come on, you know Pinkie. Of course, she can be that crazy.” A familiar voice caught the new Pearl’s ears making her shiver and slowly turn around. Standing there behind the bar was the last being in the universe she thought to see. “But in this case, it’s not her that did this.”

“Okay, it’s official. I’m dead and in hell.”

“No such luck Pearl. It’s me. And her.” Kohaku smiled as he produced two drinks both this particular Pearl and Twilight loved to drink. “I won’t bore you with the details but we’re the new proprietors of this establishment. She’s a living ghost and I’m a minor god now.”

Pearl’s eyes twitched, a feeling only one being in the omniverse had ever been able to provoke in her returned with a vengeance. “Good. Now I can send you right back, you pain! I never got a chance to get you back for that stunt in our last ping-pong match!”

Twilight sighed as she held her wife back. Not this again. “Pearl. You won that match. Do you really want to ruin it by doing something dumb now?”

“Besides I don’t play anymore. Much like my stint in acting, it was a passing phase in my life.” Kohaku just shook his head at his oldest friend’s antics. “I’m a bartender now.”

Pearl’s annoyance abated a bit at that. Everything about this screamed at her that this was real and not a sick joke. “Of course you are. Only Pinkie would give the inn to you.”

“Well not just me, but to my mate as well. She wasn’t that stupid.” Kohaku chuckled at himself. “Pearl runs the front of the place. She’s the one everyone deals with on a day-to-day basis. And I run the bar and all the cosmic details and listen to just about every complaint and woe every customer has.” Pearl blinked as she saw Kohaku’s eye twitch at the mere thought of dealing with it. “And for the last week, I’ve had to listen to about a hundred thousand versions of you complaining about Twilight and her neurotic desire to plan every single moment of the honeymoon down to the last second.” His claws lightly scraped along the cosmic marble table, forming new nebulas as he did so.

Pearl smirked, for she could somehow feel every version of herself in the inn at the moment, and probably spoke for all of them. “You’re welcome.”

Twilight harumphed and crossed her hooves. She was not that bad. Was she? She too could feel every version of herself in the inn at the moment. Strange. This had never happened before, even when there had been several different versions of herself present.

The ghostly Pearl, as if reading Twilight’s mind, just slid up next to her sister’s Twilight and produced a thick stack of sheets she had confiscated. Every one identical in nearly every way and showed it to Twilight. Who’s eyes widened. It was the same list she wrote a week before their anniversary. Then patted the purple mare’s shoulder before moving up to her mate who was now downing his second bottle of sake.

Twilight’s Pearl had one last thing to ask before she could be satisfied this wasn’t a joke. “If this is you, for your five thousandth anniversary, I gave you…” a soft ghost hoof touched Pearl’s lips

“It was a special one-of-a-kind kit-bashed Gunpla model that you yourself created.” the Ghost Pearl smiled. “And it was for our four thousandth anniversary.”

Pearl smiled widely, finally able to not hold back. “Okay. Four thousandth. Hopefully, you haven’t lost it. I know how absent-minded I am. Any version of me.”

“Honestly Pearl. It’s in the same place it always has been. Our bedchambers.” Kohaku shook his head slowly folding up his bartender’s apron. “She makes sure not a spec of dust covers it daily. Not that it would with the spells I put in place.”

The Ghost Pearl just huffed and crossed her front legs. “I’m just being cautious. It’s precious to me.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. Some things never changed it seemed. And if she was being honest, she really needed the break. Being the Princess of Friendship for just Equestria and then the whole of Equis had been taxing enough. But now she was serving as Princess of Friendship for a small but burgeoning galactic power. So much so that Summer and Winter had been insisting that she bestow her title on the two of them, and to take on a new title befitting her increased role.

But that could wait for now, as Pearl seemed to read her mind and pulled her close. Right now? She just wanted to relax for a few years.

Author's Note

Okay. Now the story is finished. Unplanned as this chapter was, it felt too good to leave alone. So here it is .