Twilight Sparkle let out a long, drawn out sigh. It was a sigh that echoed through the many hallways of the castle in Canterlot, letting all know that it had come from the lips of the supreme princess herself.
Spike, being the official royal advisor, immediately saw fit to ask the princess. "What's the matter, Twilight?"
"It's nothing, Spike," Twilight insisted with a shrug. "Really."
Spike wasn't fooled for a second. "Come on, Twilight. I know you well enough to know when something's bothering you. You're the ruler of all of Equestria, for pony's sake. The least you can do is be honest with me, your royal advisor. So what's bugging you?"
The young alicorn sighed anew, hanging her head as she adopted a guilty look. "I don't want to seem ungrateful, Spike. There are so many ponies who'd give anything to have what I have now. I know I should be happy. And I am, mostly. It's just..." Her lips quivered, betraying her intended composure. "Well... I'm bored. I know, I know, I haven't even been on the throne for that long... but I can't help it. There's nothing exciting about having to do the daily responsibilities, hold meetings, or just check on castle staff."
Spike chuckled. "Oh, is that all? Why not just invite our friends over? I'm sure you can bump up the first official meeting of your friendship council. You're royalty now, who's gonna tell you no?"
Twilight only shook her head from side to side in protest. "I can't just uproot the lives of our friends whenever I feel like it, Spike. We're not meeting for friendship council for at least another week. We all agreed to it. It's on the calendar. And you know how busy they are with their own responsibilities, not to mention still serving as teachers at my school."
"Twilight, come on! They'll understand!" The little dragon snorted, rolling his eyes. "You don't have to do everything exactly by the book or exactly the way Celestia and Luna used to do it. Ponies will understand. You're still getting used to being away from your friends, so it's totally acceptable if you want them to come and visit with you. Who in their right mind would turn down an audience with a princess? Especially a princess they're good friends with?"
The supreme princess was not persuaded, her mind firmly made up. "I'm not gonna do it, Spike! If I just changed things around whenever I felt like it, Equestria would not survive. Ponies would start questioning my judgment and my authority. When I set a date and decree it to be for a specific time, it has to be for that specific time," Her frown deepened. "I just wish I had some way of passing the time until then. No wonder Celestia and Luna got bored of ruling. I can only imagine how hard it was for Celestia when she had to do it for a thousand years all by herself."
Fortunately, Spike quickly had an idea come to his mind that he was certain Twilight couldn't say no to. "Well then, if your Ponyville friends can't come, why not invite some of your other friends? You know: Your old ones from Canterlot?"
Twilight began to perk up as a smile crept onto her face. "Oh yeah: Moondancer, Minuette, Lyra, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkleshine! Why didn't I think of them before?! I'm sure they'd jump at the chance to see me and see the castle."
The little dragon smiled back. "Hey, that's what I'm here for, Twilight."
Yet just as the young alicorn began thinking about the idea of inviting her old Canterlot friends over, a sobering reality brought her anticipated jubilation to an abrupt halt. "But, how can I ever find time to make arrangements? Not only am I bored, I'm super busy," She let out a groan. "Oh, I'm starting to think agreeing to be ruler after Celestia and Luna was a bad idea."
Spike wasn't about to let Twilight give up so easily. He flew over to her and looked her square in the eyes. "Don't worry about that, Twilight. I can take care of some of your royal duties while you figure out how to invite your Canterlot friends over. It doesn't even have to be an official summons from the princess, just an invitation from an old friend."
"You mean, like a sleepover?" Twilight blinked as the idea suddenly came to her, causing her to gasp as a thousand thoughts flooded her mind in an instant! "Oh yes, that's perfect! After all, it's not every day a princess invites you to a slumber party at her castle. Who in their right mind would say no to that?!" She happily nuzzled the little dragon. "Spike, you're a genius!"
Spike couldn't help but blush ever so faintly. "I guess I kind of am. Guess that's another reason why you made me your royal advisor."
Spike was as good as his word about filling in for Twilight as needed. And compared to the last time he'd taken charge in her absence, to say he did a much better job would be an understatement. Even Twilight herself was amazed at how well he seemed to handle keeping things running smoothly and taking care of small details so she didn't have to. "Definitely made the right choice making him my royal advisor." She thought to herself.
But those thoughts were soon pushed to the back of her mind as the supreme princess quickly set to work on getting everything ready for her intended slumber party: Mud masks, cucumbers, a book of the best ghost stories known to pony kind, and of course sticks and s'mores. She even found a suitable place to have an artificial fireplace installed for the sake of roasting the marshmallows.
Compared to all of that, tracking down the contact information for her old Canterlot friends was a piece of cake as far as Twilight was concerned. Just a little bit of inquiring was all that was needed to obtain addresses. Twilight took the time to carefully compose each invitation. Despite her new status, she didn't want to come across as snobbish or arrogant, no reason to make her old friends think her brief time on the throne so far had already changed her. She was still the same old Twilight they'd gotten to know again just a few years prior. Had it really been that long already since she'd reconnected with them and made amends?
Well, those were thoughts for another time and place as Twilight Sparkle wrote and then sent invitations one by one to Moondancer, Minuette, Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, and of course Lyra. Lyra's reply was the one the young alicorn was most uncertain about. Not only did Lyra live in Ponyville whereas the other friends still dwelled in Canterlot, but it was common knowledge by now that Lyra was a married mare.
Fortunately, Lyra responded swiftly and with a simple "yes" to reassure Twilight that she could indeed come over for what the girls were already starting to call "The Royal Canterlot Sleepover".
A date was soon set, and the days leading up to it seemed to pass ever so quickly as far as Twilight was concerned. "Oh, please don't let this be a dream!" She was heard to say on more than one occasion, surprising everyone with how much of a spring in her step she now seemed to have.
Spike, for his part, just reassured Twilight that he could keep everything under control and hold down the fort while she and her old Canterlot friends enjoyed their sleepover. "I promise, if anything really serious comes up, I'll come get you and you let you deal with it," He told her. "But I'm almost one hundred percent sure that won't happen. Just be sure to say hi to the girls for me."
Twilight nodded. "I'll do that, Spike. And thanks again for everything," She nuzzled him and sincerely, sweetly told him. "I really don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you in my life: Not just as an assistant or an advisor, but also as a friend."
"I'm glad you think that way, Twilight," Spike replied with a smile. "Because I feel the same way."
"Ooh! I'm so excited! Even more excited than I was when Twilight came back to Canterlot just to hang out with us!" Minuette cheerfully and chipperly exclaimed as she and her fellow unicorns all assembled outside the castle courtyard. It was all she could manage not to start excitedly prancing. She paused briefly to wipe a lone tear from her eyes. "Gosh, it feels like only yesterday we were all in magic kindergarten together. If you had told me then that Twilight would grow up to become the supreme princess of Equestria, I'd have thought you were crazy."
"Why are we acting like this is such a big deal?" Moondancer questioned as she adjusted her glasses. "We all saw her at the coronation and the afterparty. I highly doubt she's changed in the time since then."
Lyra just commented. "I just hope she's okay living in that big castle with only Spike for company. It must get pretty lonely. It feels so weird not seeing her in Ponyville anymore. The town just isn't the same without her."
Twinkleshine smiled. "She's obviously doing alright if she was nice enough to invite us over for this sleepover. I can't remember the last time we did something like that."
And Lemon Hearts remarked. "Well, we're here now, and it's rude to keep anypony waiting: Royalty especially." And she followed her friends as they trotted up to the castle's front gate, surprised by the fact that there didn't seem to be any royal guards standing at attention there.
The surprises only continued to mount as the front gate was raised and none other than Twilight Sparkle herself came out to greet the unicorns. Compared to when they'd last seen her, she appeared to have undergone a startling (and rather sudden for that matter) transformation: She now towered over her friends, looking much more like Princess Celestia. Yet when she opened her mouth to speak, her voice carried the same tone it had carried from the last time she'd seen her old friends. "Hi, girls!" She greeted with a smile. "I'm so glad you could all make it! This is going to be the best sleepover ever!"
But the unicorns just stood there in stunned silence, all of them too speechless to say a word.
"What?" Twilight pondered, before realizing the obvious. "Oh... right," Hastily, she lit up her horn, and in a flash her appearance changed: She reverted back to how she had appeared upon taking the throne, as if her earlier size change hadn't happened at all. "Sorry about that," She apologized. "Just a little something I'm working on. I figured that since ponies are so used to seeing Princess Celestia, the least I could do is try to look more like her to make the transition feel more natural."
Lyra breathed a much needed sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. For a moment there, we were all worried we'd missed something, or that you might be an imposter. I think I speak for everypony when I say we like you better like this, not when you're looking like Princess Celestia's long lost doppelganger."
Moondancer, meanwhile, commented. "That was amazing how you pulled off that transformation spell so seamlessly, Twilight!" She quickly corrected herself. "Excuse me... your majesty." She proceeded to bow, as did the rest of her fellow unicorns.
The young alicorn was quick to raise a hoof, motioning for her friends to rise. "Now now, there's no need for any of that. You don't have to address me as royalty. I'm not the supreme princess of Equestria. Not for tonight. Tonight, I'm just your old friend."
"Enough chit chat!" Minuette impatiently declared! "Are we gonna sit around here talking, or are we gonna have the most awesome slumber party in the history of slumber parties?!"
Twilight coughed into a hoof. "Quite right, Minuette. We have the whole night to catch up. Let's get inside and get this sleepover under way." And she led her friends inside the confines of the castle without another word.
The five unicorns were quite impressed at the lavishly decorated interior. Just trotting through the hallways with Twilight gave off a sense of wonder that filled every fiber of their being. Well, all except for Lemon Hearts, who was quite used to seeing it all due to her work planning lavish events throughout Canterlot. "If you ever feel like changing it up a little, Twilight, just let me know," She suggested. "Or, you can just get in touch with me the next time you have an important event you need help with."
"Thanks for the offer, Lemon Hearts, but I've got everything covered for now." Twilight commented as she ushered her friends through the halls and into one of the royal suites usually reserved for guests.
When the suite door was pushed open, the five unicorns were amazed and impressed! Twilight had gone all out to obtain all the things you might expect to see at a sleepover. There was even a large book resting on a small stand, with a very recognizable title: Slumber 101: All You Ever Wanted to Know About Slumber Parties But Were Afraid to Ask.
Moondancer couldn't help smirking. "Looks like you haven't changed a bit, Twilight. You're still a sucker for books."
The young alicorn nervously massaged the back of her neck with a hoof. "Guilty as charged. But I wanted to make sure our sleepover went off without a hitch. Besides, this is actually a newer edition of that classic. I used to have my own copy... until the library I was living in got destroyed," She was quick to add. "Long story. You had to be there." Thankfully, aside from a brief knowing glance from Lyra, nopony said a word about the aforementioned incident.
Twinkleshine then noticed a detail that was hard to overlook. "I see there's a startling lack of beds for our sleepover," She lit up her horn. "Luckily, we all agreed to come prepared."
"Oh, you really don't need to do that." Twilight insisted. But her plea fell on deaf ears as she witnessed all five of her friends produce their own sleeping bag: Each with a color matching the color of their coats, and each with toothbrushes, combs, and fluffy pillows. The bags were laid out around the room in a roughly circular fashion near the lone bed.
"It's okay, Twilight. You haven't hosted a sleepover in a long time," Twinkleshine reassured the princess. "You're still a bit of a greenhorn."
"Actually, I was going to give you all beds in connecting suites together," Twilight confessed. "I even got one for myself. Guess I should've told you girls that ahead of time."
Minuette just smiled. "Hey, that's alright. What matters most is that we have fun. And there's no way we're not going to have fun together on this sleepover. This is gonna be just like old times!" A slight snicker escaped her lips. "I remember all the sleepovers we had together as fillies. We were always coming over to your place, Twilight, so you could help us with our homework. Even Moondancer sometimes needed help."
Moondancer's cheeks flushed red. "Well... there's nothing wrong with that, right? Nopony's perfect."
Lyra nodded and flashed a knowing wink in Moondancer's direction. "Relax, Moondancer. I never told a soul, and neither did the others. Honestly, you and Twilight were so inseparable and so identical back in the day, it was like you two were twins."
Moondancer adjusted her glasses. "W-well," She sheepishly insisted. "That's no longer the case. I've been getting out and putting myself out there more. I even turned down a full time job offer from the Canterlot Historical Society so that I could still have time to spend with my friends."
"You're so lucky, Moondancer!" Minuette proclaimed. "You would not believe how much time off I've had to acquire just to be able to do things like this with you girls. But hey, being a dentist pays the bills. And if I'm being honest, my work doesn't feel like work with how much fun it tends to be."
Lyra smiled. "When you live in Ponyville for as long as I do, every day brings something fun and exciting. But I still have time for my own pursuits."
"I feel like you're all leaving me in the dust with how accomplished you all are!" Twinkleshine exclaimed in only slightly exaggerated fashion. "Meanwhile, I'm still trying to figure out what exactly I want to do for my dream job. Until then, I'm mostly doing odd jobs to make ends meet and acquire experience."
Lemon Hearts reassured her troubled friend. "Whatever you decide to do with your life, Twinkleshine, the girls and I will always have your back. Whenever you land that dream job, whatever it may be, make sure we're the first ponies to know about it."
Minuette then clapped her hooves together. "Enough chit chat, ladies!" She excitedly proclaimed! "We've got a whole night to spend together, so let's not waste anymore time just sitting around and talking to each other. Let's have some fun!" And without waiting for a reply, she used her magic to pick up the pillow that had previously been tucked into her sleeping bag, hurling it through the air!
"A pillow fight, Minuette?" Lyra questioned as she rushed to retrieve her own pillow. "Oh, it is so on! You won't win this time!"
It wasn't long at all before pillows were flying back and forth across the room, accompanied by the sound of laughter from six full grown mares. This was already bringing back memories of years long since passed, of what seemed like hours spent as youths chasing each other around without a care in the world.
Eventually, the great pillow fight came to an end with an official truce. The girls all agreed that they didn't want to burn up all of their energy on pillow fights and thus spend the rest of the night resting. That would mean all the other fun activities would go to waste.
With the aid of her magic, Twilight effortlessly lit a crackling fire in the artificial fireplace, then presented her friends with sticks for roasting marshmallows. "You can't have a sleepover without s'mores." She told them, before taking possession of her own stick in order to join the roast.
Soon, melted, gooey marshmallows were ready to be squished between bars of chocolate, themselves sandwiched on graham crackers.
"Those have to be the best s'mores I've ever tasted!" Minuette exclaimed afterwards, licking her lips to get traces of chocolate and marshmallow off her face. Then she added. "Make sure you all brush your teeth really well before you go to bed tonight, girls. After all, I'd hate for any of you to end up in my office with cavities."
"Minuette, we're not five!" Twinkleshine grumbled. "And that was only the one time I got a cavity. One time!"
Now it was Lemon Hearts' turn to giggle and grin. "It really is like old times, isn't it?"
"I sure hope it feels that way," Twilight commented. "I really want this sleepover between us to be as good as it can be. I don't know if I'll get to do things like this with you girls very often from now," A sigh of regret escaped her lips. "Don't get me wrong, being the supreme ruler of Equestria is great and everything. But there are times when I feel guilty for not having spent more time with you all."
Lyra was the first to turn her gaze to the alicorn, reassuring her. "Twilight, it's okay. You've been busy. You've even traveled outside of Equestria. That's something I only just got to experience for myself recently."
Moondancer added. "And we've all forgiven you already for being absent from our social gatherings in the past. We know you didn't mean anything by it. Even if it did, it's in the past," Her tone of voice briefly became regretful as she added. "We all know what happens when we dwell too long on the past." Nopony said a word, and nopony needed to. Even Lyra, who had only heard of what had transpired from when Twilight had formally patched things up with her old friends, knew the experience was one nopony liked to dwell upon.
Minuette flashed a toothy smile at Twilight. "That's why we're making the most out of the time we have now, isn't it? If we did this all the time, it would stop being fun. Sometimes, the best experiences are those we don't have too often. Besides, I'm sure we'll find ways to get together again more often. But we all have our own lives, and sometimes they'll keep us busy. As long as we try to make time for each other in a while, I'm sure our friendship will continue to thrive."
"Well spoken, Minuette," Twilight commented as she blinked slowly. "It feels almost like you should be a princess with how smart you just sounded."
But Minuette waved a hoof and dismissed the idea. "Me? A princess? Nah. Unless maybe you made me the princess of dental hygiene. Then I'd make sure everypony brushes and flosses every day. Anypony who didn't would be thrown in the dungeon." And that prompted a chorus of laughter from everypony in the room.
For Twilight, this sleepover had more than lived up to her expectations. She was delighted to know that her old friends still wanted to be friends with her, and that they all agreed to do their best to maintain their bonds of friendship forever.
Now, the princess was wondering how she might go about introducing her Canterlot friends to her friends in Ponyville. She knew Pinkie Pie and Minuette were friends with each other, but did that mean all of her Canterlot friends would get along with her Ponyville friends, and vice versa?
Well, those were thoughts for another time and place.
Author's Note
I got the inspiration for this fic from a piece of fanart showing Twilight as she appears in "The Last Problem" with Minuette, Lyra, Moondancer, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkle Shine. I couldn't find that image, though, even though I wanted to use it for coverart.
I figured Spike wouldn't want to get in the way of Twilight's old friends, seeing as he probably doesn't know them all that well compared to their Ponyville friends.
And I couldn't resist a bit of a dig at Twilight's design in "The Last Problem" after the time skip. I'm sure the animators did it just to save time, but it just looks so lazy and so distracting when her voice hasn't at all changed.
