Starswirl sat in the hall, trying to keep himself entertained while waiting for Luna. First he looked around the hallway, trying to ignore the rumbling in his stomach, but that only provided a moment's distraction as the corridor was as empty and lifeless as the rest of the place appeared to be.

Then he tried to distract himself by tapping his hooves on the marble floor in a simple rhythm, but the loud noise that caused made him quickly give that up. Instead he settled on opening his mouth slightly, then tapping his cheeks lightly to create soft popping noises, opening and closing his mouth slightly to change the pitch. This successfully kept his interest until the click of the door opening made him stop and sit back up at attention.

Luna walked out the door, head held high and her expression much clearer than it had been before. Motioning for Starswirl to follow her, she walked down the hall at a brisk pace. Starswirl stood and quickly tried to get a peek inside the room before the door closed all the way, but all he could see was some fancy furniture and some slight movement before the door closed with a click. He huffed in frustration, then turned and quickly darted to catch up to Luna. Luna looked down at him; smiling as he slowed his pace once he had caught up, and then turned her attention back to where she was going.

"So, is your sister going to join us?" Starswirl asked as he tried to keep up, hoping to get some information.

"Yes, she will be down shortly. It's so good to see her more like herself again." Luna did seem much happier than when she had gone into her sister's room.

"Why, was she sick or something?"

"No, she...well—," Luna stopped to consider her answer, her brow slightly creased. "She... failed a very important assignment she was given, and that upset her."

"An assignment? What kind of assignment?" They had reached the entryway again, and Luna turned to walk downstairs, Starswirl keeping close next to her. Luna did not answer for a minute, and just when Starswirl thought she wouldn't answer, she spoke. Slowly though, as if weighing each word before she said it.

"She was supposed to watch a friend of ours, but he went missing. We aren't sure where he
is now."

"If he's missing, then why aren't you out looking for him?” Starswirl asked in confusion. “What if he needs help?" Luna glanced down at him, her expression unreadable. Instead of answering, she changed the subject.

"We are almost at the kitchens now," she said. "You'll be fed soon enough." Starswirl's stomach growled loudly enough for her to hear it. "And not a moment too soon it sounds like," she said with a smile. She led him down a large corridor with doors on one side and large windows on the other. An idle ruffle of her wings drew his attention and his curiosity.

"If you don't mind me asking, Miss Luna, you're not a unicorn are you?"

"What gave it away?" Luna replied with a bit of dry sarcasm that he didn't pick up on.

"Your wings; I've never seen a pony with wings and a horn before." He hesitated a bit, then pressed forward. "Are you an alicorn?"

"Yes," came her simple reply, then she caught sight of his stunned face. "What?"

"That's incredible! I can't believe it, I met a real alicorn." Starswirl felt an excited grin spread over his face. Nopony is gonna believe this, he thought, unable to believe his luck.

"I'm glad you're happy," Luna said, then they came to a stop in front of an open doorway into one of the largest rooms he had ever seen. A giant hall stretched before his eyes as he entered what had clearly once been a great dining hall, but there was nothing inside. No great tables stretching to fill the great void, no chairs, no candles or torches, no works of art. Once more the lifelessness of the place began to bear down on him, and he continued to follow Luna closely.

At the end of the hall was set of double doors, which Luna opened into a large kitchen. There were large number of fire ovens along one wall as well as several stoves and big sink for cleaning as well. There was a large metal door on the far side of the kitchen, but he had no idea what could be behind there. One side of the kitchen was taken up by a small table, only big enough for three or four ponies. It was clearly not part of the original design, as there wasn't enough room on the side of the table closest to the wall; anyone sitting there would be quite cramped.

"What's this table doing in the kitchen?" Starswirl asked. Luna turned to face him before answering.

"My sister and I decided to move it in here. It used to be out in the hall but the emptiness got to us and we decided to take our meals in here. I prefer it this way honestly, means we spend more time together. Now go ahead and take a seat, I'll be back in a moment." Luna turned and walked to the big metal door in the back of the kitchen. She opened it with her magic and stood studying the contents.

Starswirl walked to the table, pulling out the chair and taking his seat. It was then he realized how tall the table was; his head barely cleared the edge of it. He was about to mention it to Luna as she walked towards the table, but the large amount of food she floated in front of her brushed any other concerns from his mind. Though he gagged a little inwardly at all the green she was carrying, he smiled a little at the bright red apples she carried as well. There were also some slightly smaller round orange things he had never seen before.
Luna set all the food on the table, and Starswirl reached for one of the orange spheres.

"What are these called?" he asked Luna, turning the fruit around in his hooves, noting the roughness of its exterior. Luna had to work to hold back a smile before answering. "They're called oranges." Starswirl looked confused for a moment.

"Wait," he said, and the look on his face nearly caused Luna to burst out laughing. "You're telling me that this orange fruit is actually called an orange?"

This time, Luna did laugh. "It's just a name, now go ahead and eat it." Starswirl frowned, and then lifted the fruit to take a bite. Luna put her hoof out to stop him. "Wait," she said," you have to peel it first, like this." Luna took the orange with her magic and began to peel it, taking off the skin in efficient strips until it was all gone. She then split the orange into its slices and gave them to the young unicorn. "There you go, now finish eating that while I get breakfast ready."

Luna went back into the kitchen and started getting out the pots and pans necessary to make her sister's breakfast. Starswirl looked at the fruit tentatively, and then carefully bit into a piece. A surprising amount of juice squirted into his mouth, and a bit dripped down his chin and then onto his chest. Quickly, he grabbed a napkin off the table and wiped the juice off his coat, then popped the rest of the piece of fruit in his mouth and began to chew. His eyes lit up at the sweetness of the fruit, and he quickly downed two more slices.

"These oranges are amazing! I could eat these all day," he said, reaching for the rest of the slices.

"That's good," Luna replied. "We only have a few left though; they're not in season at the moment." Starswirl stopped just before he tossed the remaining slices in his mouth. Realizing he would not get to eat oranges all day, he decided to take his time.

"So...," he said as he took a small bite of one of the slices, "why are you and your sister alone? You said that everypony else left long ago, but why did they leave?"

"That's a bit of a long story. I'll tell it to you after breakfast." Starswirl gave a small moan of disappointment, but continued eating in silence.

Luna finished preparing her sister's breakfast of eggs and fresh vegetables, and placed the food at her place at the table. "Ok Starswirl, now what can I make you for breakfast?" Luna said, turning to her young guest. Starswirl licked the last of the orange off his lips, and then thought for a moment.

"I would really like some wheat cakes." he said. "Oh, I mean, can I please have some wheat cakes?"

Luna tilted her head at the unicorn. "I've never heard of those before. I'm afraid I have no idea how to make them." Starswirl's head slumped back onto the table in disappointment. "I do know of a way to get some for you though," Luna said, walking closer to the unicorn. Starswirl's head came back up, a huge grin on his face. He stood up on his back legs, placing his front hooves on the table.

"How?" he said.

"Get your hooves off the table," Luna scolded him. Starswirl sat back down, but could not keep himself from fidgeting restlessly with excitement. Luna took her place opposite him at the table. "Now, what I need you to do to make this work is to picture these wheat cakes clearly in your mind. It might help if you close your eyes." Starswirl shut his eyes tightly, trying to picture them. "Make sure they're spot on accurate; color, flavor, texture, temperature, size, shape, smell." Luna waited for a few moments for him to do this.

"Can you see them?" Luna asked. Starswirl pictured the delicious smell rousing him from his
sleep. He would wake up, running into the kitchen to see his mother place the small cakes on a plate, and then place them on the table. He remembered their soft brown color, and their softness and sweetness on his tongue. He nodded his readiness, not wanting to speak and break his concentration.

"Okay," he heard Luna say, then there was a bright flash of light from behind his closed eyes. "You can open your eyes now," she said. "How did I do?" He noticed the smell before he even opened his eyes. Just like I remember, he thought to himself, a small bit of sadness creeping over him. The small stack of cakes steamed on a small plate before him. Even the plate is just as I remember, he thought to himself with amazement. Then the reality of what had just happened hit him.

Jumping up again, he put his hooves back on the table without thinking. "How did you do that?!" he practically shouted at her. Luna responded with the same volume.

"Hooves, off!" Starswirl sat back down quickly, but refused to let her get out of this. "Every book I have ever read says that magic can only be used to change the world around us, but you didn't change something else into these cakes, you just made them appear out of nowhere. That's impossible."

"Impossible is a strong word for someone so young. Let's just say that the magic you have been taught is different." Luna returned with a much calmer voice. Starswirl started to stand up again, but held himself back in time.

"What does that mean?" he asked, trying to keep his voice as calm as hers.

"Alicorn magic works differently than unicorn magic," said a voice from the entryway. Starswirl turned around in his seat to see who had spoken, then sat dumbstruck.

She's beautiful, was all he could think. Luna's youth became suddenly much clearer, for this alicorn was much taller and clearly in adulthood, with none of the awkwardness in her movements that Luna had. Her multicolored mane flowed down her neck in a tempest of pink and green and blue. Her fur was pure white, but not blindingly so, and a golden sun shone on her flank. A set of three gems much like Luna's graced her neck upon a golden chain.

The newcomer walked to Luna, embracing her closely for a moment before moving to the food set at the table. This must be Luna's sister, he thought. Luna started to make the introductions.

"Celestia, this is Starswirl, and Starswirl, this is my older sister, Celestia."

"It's good to meet you Starswirl," Celestia said as she took her seat. Celestia at the table, munching on a stick of celery for a moment while watching him. "Aren't you hungry," she asked him with an amused look on her face. To his surprise, he found he wasn't at the moment.

"So then you could create something from nothing because you're an alicorn?" Luna nodded at him, but Celestia made a small noise of contradiction. She finished chewing, swallowed, and then spoke.

"Well, to say we create from nothing is to misunderstand the principles of magic." Luna sighed and rolled her eyes, knowing how hard it was to stop her sister when she started lecturing. " And while it's called alicorn magic, that's only because alicorns discovered it. Given enough time and training, you could do much the same thing. Magic is powered by our thoughts; Luna didn't create this food from nothing, she made it from your own memories, so they should be exactly as you remember. Speaking of which, you should probably eat those before they get cold." Celestia waved a hoof at the steaming wheat cakes.

"Oh, yeah." Starswirl turned back to his food, taking another sniff, and then his face fell slightly. "Oh right, I forgot about that." Luna looked around worried.

"What's wrong?" she asked with concern.

"Nothing, nothing," Starswirl was quick to respond, "it's just, well... mother could never get the wheat cakes right, she would always burn them a little." He turned slightly red, but Celestia just smiled at him.

"Then they will taste a little burned I'm afraid," Celestia said. Luna still looked a little worried.

"I can make you something else if you want," she said.

Starswirl shook his head, then used his magic to pick up the knife and fork lying next to his plate. He cut a small piece off one of the cakes and moved it into his mouth, chewing slowly. The sweet flavor, slightly burnt, hit him and all the memories of the last few months disappeared. He was back in his home with his mother and father, eating breakfast and laughing. He was safe and happy and nothing would take that away from them.

He couldn't hold in the sadness anymore, and with a choked sob, a tear streamed down his face. Luna stared at him, confused by his reaction. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" she stood up and tried to move over next to him, but Celestia placed a hoof on her chest, stopping her. Starswirl tried to wipe away the tears with a hoof, but they just wouldn't stop.

"It's, uh... it's nothing, I'm okay," he said, but he felt his voice waver with restrained emotion. He kept his gaze fixed on the cakes in front of him, too ashamed to look at the sisters. I can't believe I'm crying like a foal, now they're going to treat me like a little kid.

"Starswirl," he heard Celestia say, and he glanced up, ready to meet her sympathetic eyes. To his surprise, she was focusing on her food, not even looking at him. "You don't need to be ashamed of your tears Starswirl," she said. "Trust me; we have all shed our fair share. Sit down Luna, here, you can share my breakfast."

Luna sat down and accepted the carrot her sister gave her, but didn't eat it. Instead she just sat there, upset that she had made Starswirl cry. I just wanted to make him something special, she thought despondently.

Starswirl took another bite of his food, feeling a little bit better. It was just as good as the first bite, so he kept eating. Every few bites, another memory would cause a tear to spill down his cheek, but he didn't try to hide them. Celestia tried to make small talk, but stopped when she realized no one else felt like talking. Luna was wondering what she could do to cheer up Starswirl when she felt something poke her leg. Looking down, she saw Starswirl standing next to her with a sad smile on his face.

"Um, thanks for the breakfast, Miss Luna, it was really good." Luna looked up to see the plate of wheat cakes was empty.

"Your welcome, Starswirl," Luna gave him a small smile of her own. "I'm glad you liked them. And I'm sorry if they made you sad."

"It's okay, I feel better now," he replied, wiping the dried tears off his face.

"I'm glad to hear that," Celestia said as she stood up from her finished meal, and walked around to stand next to Starswirl. "Now why don't we go somewhere we can talk for a bit." she placed a comforting hoof on his back. "You can tell us a little bit more about yourself, and we can answer any questions you have." Starswirl just nodded, and then followed Celestia back into the hall. Luna used her magic to whisk the dishes into the sink, then hurried to catch up.

Author's Note

OK, this chapter was the hardest one to revise, and not because it needed a lot of editing, that only took about an hour. The thing that took me so long with this chapter is that it's boring. I couldn't just get rid of it though, so I tried to change a few things to make it more interesting. I hope it's at least readable.

As always thanks for reading, comments and insults are appreciated.