The next moon, the Council of Friendship does not convene.

The moon after that, Pinkie and Rainbow are both absent. In all honesty, Twilight prefers that to having to face her other friends, at least in those rare moments she can actually look them in the eye. Rarity and Applejack try not to show their discomfort, but every so often the smallest bit of judgy disapproval, or disappointment, or outright pity will slip out, and each time any warmth which might have been rekindled between them is snuffed just like that. Even Fluttershy gives her the cold shoulder.

The Council adjourns early. Twilight wishes Spike would at least try to hide his relief as he makes his escape.

The moon after that, Applejack drags Rainbow Dash to the meeting with her. At her wife's very firm insistence she grumbles out... something to Twilight; might have been a greeting, could have been a chain of very foul language, maybe even an apology, much as she doubts that to be the case.

The Princess smiles graciously, and says, "It's good to see you again, Rainbow."

The metaphorical stormcloud across her brow abates as the meeting goes by, and at the end she's almost down to only her usual levels of impatience and restless irritability. When the group says their goodbyes and heads off back to their own lives, Rainbow doubles back, leaving Applejack just outside the room to get up in Twilight's face.

"I'm still peeved at you," she tells her, as though the renewed scowl were not telling enough, "But I kinda maybe missed you too, so... hurry up and get it together, alright? I don't like being mad at my friends."

She rushes off before Twilight can respond. The Princess smiles after her.

The moon after that, Rainbow Dash cracks some stupid joke during the meeting, a raunchy thing she heard from a yak dignitary at her last show about size differences that makes Rarity sputter and scold. As the others laugh at her largely performative outrage - they can all see that little grin she's hiding under her hoof, on pretense of covering the admittedly very real blush gracing her cheeks - Dash meets The Princess' eyes across the table. Her charmingly obnoxious grin falters ever-so-subtly at the eye contact and she looks away quickly.

She doesn't say much for the rest of the meeting and leaves so quickly she's almost out the door before The Princess officially closes it out.

A small part of her debates chasing after her. The decision is made for her when Rarity and Fluttershy pull her into a group hug, reminding her in slightly pleading tones not to be such a stranger, that their doors are always open if she needs it, even when things are a bit rocky between them. The Princess smiles and nods along with all of it, watching over their shoulders while Applejack hesitates before leaving, turns and looks to them. Whatever she wanted to say, she decides instead to leave her to her moment with the others.

The moon after that, The Princess asks Rainbow Dash to arrive for the meeting a little earlier than usual.

"You're lucky the 'bolts were in Canterlot anyway," Dash huffs as she flaps lazily around the room, "Wouldn't'a come by if it weren't so convenient."

"Well, thank you regardless, Rainbow," The Princess says through a beatific smile, "I know you're not who I need to apologize to, but... I wanted to tell you I'm sorry anyway."

The pegasus stops her lap around the walls, instead merely hovering in place. She turns over, alights upon the low table in the center of the room so she can stare seriously into the other pony in the room's eyes for a long, tense moment.

Then she breaks out into a grin and, still standing on the table, pulls her into a hug. "It's good to have you back, Sparkles," she says.

"It's good to be back," lies The Princess as she returns the embrace.

The moon after that, Applejack does hang back.

"You're gonna have to talk to her eventually," Applejack tells her.

Like she doesn't already know.

"Eventually," The Princess agrees.

Applejack gives her a rough little sigh. "Twilight... I'm not sayin' you can't feel bad about this whole situation, or that you shouldn't, but this whole... self-flagellation routine... it's gettin' a mite old."

"I'm not punishing myself," lies The Princess, "I'm just doing what I should have from the start - giving her space."

"Sure," Applejack says doubtfully. With slow, heavy motions she sets her hat down on the table, goes over and butts her head up against the taller pony's neck, throwing her arms around her unresponsive shoulders, "It's gonna be okay, Twi. Sooner or later you two are gonna have to sort this out, and you'll be okay."

"Mmh," is all she says.

So Applejack leaves her alone with her mask.

Before the moon after that is through, The Princess receives a knock on the door to her study.

"Enter," she calls out, not bothering to turn from her desk as the door opens and somepony walks in. For a long moment the only sound in the room is the continuing scratch of quill against paper, and The Princess almost forgets about her visitor as the near-silence stretches on. Only once she finishes drafting her response to Mayor Tiara's request for additional rain funding and sets it on the pile of papers to her right does it strike her as odd for someone to seek audience with her and say nothing.

"Ah, apologies, it was rude of me to neglect you like-" The Princess faces her visitor, and her voice fails as her heart lodges itself in her throat.

"Hey, Twily," Pinkie Pie says.

After several seconds of floundering, she manages to get out, "Pinkie, I... I wasn't expecting you."

"I know. I was a little afraid you wouldn't want to see me if you did."

"I-" even though she's been thinking about this non-stop for months, she can't think of a thing to say.

"Applejack told me you've been kinda distant since the party," Pinkie says casually, far too casually, like she were discussing the weather schedule for tomorrow, "And I guess I kinda got tired of putting this off.

"You know me - always so impatient," she finishes with a forced chuckle.

"I see," comes The Princess' carefully neutral response.

Pinkie sighs, "I'm not gonna pretend like I'm not still upset with you, Twilight. What you did really hurt me... but I guess it's sorta my fault too."

"What? Pinkie, no, that's not-"

"No, let me say this Twilight," Pinkie holds up a hoof, and when the other mare goes to say something else she's quick to cut her off with, "Please."

"I loved Cheese. He made me so, so happy, and he was special to me in a way nopony else ever has been. I wanted to make the most of every moment we had together, because I knew it would only last so long, but... I shouldn't have used that as an excuse to ignore the way you looked at us. I guess I just thought... you know, one day you'd get over me. Move on, find somepony of your own, and that if I just pretended like there wasn't a problem until then...

"But if these past moons have taught me anything, it's that that doesn't really work for creatures like us. Our problems are here to stay for as long as we are, and that's a reaaaally long time. So, here I am."

"...I never wanted to hurt you, Pinkie."

"I know you didn't. And even though I wouldn't do anything differently, I'm sorry you've been hurting."

"It wasn't your fault," she says, voice numb, flat, "I... I knew better. I shouldn't have... you deserve better than somepony who's always going to hope you'll love her back."

"I do love you, ya know. So, so much," Pinkie takes a step toward her as she speaks. Then another, and another, until she can pull Twilight Sparkle into a hug, nuzzling into her coat just above her peytral, "Maybe someday I'll love you the way you want - or maybe I won't."

The Princess of Friendship sits down, hard, hindquarters giving out beneath her as her breath quickens.

"I don't know what things are gonna look like between us in the future, Twilight," Pinkie sniffles, voice heavy, "All I do know is that eternity is way too long to spend without my best friend."

"I'm-" The Princess' voice cracks, "I'm sorry, Pinkie Pie."

"I'm sorry," Twilight sobs, burying her face into the poofy pink mane and clinging desperately to the other mare, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she repeats, and she hopes Pinkie knows each apology is for a different wound, a hundred little needle-point hurts to both their hearts enacted through the painful haze of envy.

And she does. And she knows that Twilight means each and every one from the bottom of her heart.

Author's Note

This story was beta-read by my very good friend and comrade in pony insanity, codename Flutterlover, for which I am very grateful. Thanks, friend!

Also don't worry about the deleted comment from me I misclicked while trying to edit from my phone at work. Bad experience, don't recommend it.