New Mentors, New Lessons

Chapter 2

Inconceivable. This was the word that could best describe Twilight's present train of thought. In all of Equestrian history, it had been thought that it was impossible for a pony to actually become an alicorn, let alone royalty. Not even in her wildest dreams did she ever think that she'd become a princess. Why did she, of all ponies become a princess? She thought over everything that had happened to her over the past few years, starting with Nightmare Moon, going all the way to this day. Nothing about it seemed to point in the direction of her becoming one. Only one thing seemed to stick out in her mind right away and that was her brother's marriage of Princess Cadence, but aside from this, nothing else seemed to stick out. The more she thought about it though, the more she began to pick up on subtle clues that had been there. Normally she might not of noticed these clues, but her new form had invigorated her with energy that she hadn't ever felt before. It felt exhilarating to a certain degree. The first came to her in the form of her Object of Harmony. Why was it in the shape of a tiara? This made the events of today seem even more suspicious.

The next clue came in the form of Nightmare Moon, recalling what had transpired on that particular day as well. Why was it she was sent to Ponyville on that day? Could there really of been a deeper reason behind it all? It was possible, but it was also possible she was over-thinking her present situation, which wasn't really a situation. As she continued to trot by her mentor's side, Twilight let out a very soft sigh, letting it ease the thoughts still racing through her mind.

“Is something troubling you, Twilight?” Celestia's voice rang out, which seemed to snap her back to reality. Other thoughts, ones involving Discord and even the Crystal Empire seemed pointless now upon hearing her mentor's voice. Yet, it seemed to make her even more curious as she looked up at her.

“Princess...I...” Before she could speak further, and ask any questions whatsoever, the princess brought up her hoof, stopping dead in her own tracks.

“No more need for formal titles.” Celestia whispered, leaning down closer to her student. “We're both princesses now...so you can simply call me by name.” The thought of this made Twilight uncomfortable right away, she had become accustomed to formally addressing her mentor, yet, she seemed keen on dropping formal titles, it was particularly present especially with the look in her eyes.

“Celestia...I...I have to ask...Are you sure I really am meant to be a princess?” Twilight asked, the sun princess seemed relatively unfazed by the question. She simply smiled, placing her hoof on her student's shoulder for reassurance.

“Yes, Twilight, I'm sure you are.” her voice seemed to reassure the new alicorn a tiny bit, but not very much. It only worked to raise even more questions instead, which seemed to make her nervous. It was apparent by the look on her face.

“But...what if I'm not ready!?” Twilight's voice grew very shaky, a bit of doubt running through her mind.

“You've been ready for...quite a while.” Celestia replied, “I already told you this...you're ready to help both Luna and I lead the ponies of Equestria.”

“But...what if I....!?” Twilight seemed flustered, continuing to wonder how her mentor was so sure of everything.

“Calm down...everything will be answered once we get to the library.” The walk resumed as the two of them, followed closely behind by Spike continued on their trek to the library. All of them remained silent the entire way, even if Twilight seemed a bit jittery, still recalling all of her past achievements. Was this the reward for having saved Equestria the times she had? If so, why weren't her friends included, why was it that she was the only one truly receiving the benefits? Was it because she was Celestia's student? There had to be more to it than what was on the surface and she was determined to find her answers. One way or another.

The door opened slowly to the library and what the three came upon simply astonished them. Twilight's jaw was the first to drop when her eyes locked onto the sheer level of organization that had befallen the library. There hadn't been the smallest hint of a rearrangement, yet, something felt a bit different about it. The incredible organization aside, she had taken notice of a strange aroma that seemed to linger in the air. It was one she failed to recognize at first and one she could hardly notice unless she actually thought about it. It was a peaceful scent and one she seemed to enjoy almost right away. Before long it hit her, the scent, it was one similar to the smell of freshly fallen rain on a summer's day. It was then that she snapped back to her senses, locking right onto her desk near the window.

From a small box a bit of smoke rose up, circulating around the room. 'Incense!' she screamed in her head. Question was though, how could she of smelled it out from this distance? Better yet, who even brought it in here! In a mental quest to figure out who had left it, her gaze shifted around the room. Everything seemed to be in its appropriate place which had been strange, even stranger was the fact that, the scorch mark that should've been on the floor where Twilight had been zapped by the other Elements of Harmony had vanished too. It was almost as if somepony had cleaned it up, as well as all the mess in the library. What astonished her more was, as far as her eyes could tell, there wasn't even a single speck of dust on any surface. Whoever had cleaned the library, had gone the extra mile. Today, the questions seemed to stack up very quickly, leaving her in a state of confusion. To the point where she was just scratching her head.

That was, until a deep blue alicorn stallion with a long silver mane entered from the kitchen. Twilight, Spike and Celestia knew immediately who it was, what caught them off guard however was what he wore. Never in Twilight's life had she seen a pony wear that before, Spike immediately doubled over laughing at it. Celestia soon joined him, only laughing softer as she had seen him wear something like it before. Even the lavender alicorn couldn't help but laugh at the sight. It was almost too perfect when they saw it, a french maid's outfit, on a stallion no less. It was a sight to behold indeed, especially considering he was carrying around a feather duster while humming a tune. His ears perked up immediately when he heard the laughter, which only made his entire face glow a very bright red, so bright that even his dark coat couldn't hide it. The sun princess wanted to make a remark here about it right away, considering how cute he looked, but she refrained from it. Not wanting to cause any further embarrassment on the poor stallion than he already had.

“Oh damn....” he muttered, before he dove right back into the kitchen to hide his shame. Only to return once the laughter had died down and he had removed the maid's outfit. The question Twilight had though was, why was he even in that outfit to begin with? What purpose did it serve for him? Celestia seemed to know however, it was apparent by the look in her eyes. Even after he had returned without it.

“Silver...what're you doing here?” was the first question Twilight asked, above all the others she had assumed he had gone off on another job for the princess, even stranger, he was here in the library, almost like he had known everything was going to happen. It was suspicious to her and judging by how clean and organized the place had been when she entered, he had been here for at least a few hours working diligently. The stallion in question only smirked before he trotted over to the two others, first placing his hoof on her shoulder, only sending a brief glance to Celestia as if asking for something with his eyes.

She simply nodded before he turned back to Twilight. “Let me be the first...to welcome you to the fold, Twilight.” the tone of his voice was elated, she could sense this right away. “I congratulate you for passing your final test.” These words seemed to strike something in her, enough so for her to pull away from him. She took a step back from both of the alicorns, she felt as though something had been off from the beginning especially with the stallion here, but with what he had said, she was positive now.

“F-final...test...?” she inquired, bewildered by the two. Shifting glances between them only made her more uncomfortable, given that she couldn't even bring herself to make eye contact with either of them. “W-what...do you mean?”

The solar princess looked as though she was about to speak up here, however, when the stallion raised his hoof she froze for the first time. Almost as if she knew what he was going to say. The expression in Silver's eyes began to morph, going from a calm and peaceful gaze, to one of seriousness. “That spell...it wouldn't of been sent to you, had you not been ready.” he spoke up, this response failed to answer any questions for Twilight, instead it only raised more. “Starswirl's final spell...his magic journal...my entire family has guarded it for generations....” her pupils dilated a tiny bit when these words reached her ears, she knew a pony aside from the princesses, who had a connection to Starswirl!

“R-really!?” she asked, “Then that means you've...!”

Silver only nodded, as if he had anticipated what she was going to say. “Our ancestor...his most prized apprentice...was given this journal while he was on his deathbed...not to complete the spell, but to watch over it until the time was right.” He slowly closed his eyes, taking a step back from the new princess. “Which brings on my next point...” Here is when Celestia stepped in, clearing her throat as if to call attention to herself.

“About...three months ago, his mother came to me with two journals. One was Starswirl's journal and the other was a dream journal.” With more confusion added, Twilight took a step forward. Some of her fears and questions seemed to be answered, but only more questions seemed to rise. A dream journal was a way ponies recorded and interpreted their dreams, so she couldn't help but feel a tiny bit confused as to why a dream journal would've been mentioned. Yet, her curiosity seemed to burn as she listened on. “Not just any dream journal either...the dream journal of...Silver's great-grandfather...the Archmage from over a hundred years ago.”

“You mean...?” Silver nodded to Twilight's now shaky question.

“Yes...THAT Archmage.” their response was simultaneous. “And when Ivy actually pointed out one prediction in particular, I had the same look on my face as you do right now.” Twilight's expression was not just one of shock, but also one of astonishment and even greater curiosity. She had read about this Archmage in Canterlot's history. He hadn't been a very strong unicorn in terms of his magic, but he had a gift, the gift of foresight. Which even by pony standards was a very rare gift, one that hadn't been seen for generations. It had been said that every single thing he foresaw, had indeed come true at one point or another. While she was iffy on the details of each prediction, legend claimed he had left two predictions behind before his death, these predictions of which he claimed 'would shape Equestria for years to come'.

“And...what did the prediction say?” she gulped, to be truthful she feared the response, although it was predictable as to what it could say.

“It said...that a student of mine would become an alicorn on the eve of the summer solstice.” Her mentor seemed to hesitate at this moment, bringing her hoof up to her chin to think. “The better way to put it is...he predicted that YOU would be an alicorn...one unlike any other....the translation however wasn't very clear...” The lavender alicorn's eyes grew as wide as saucer plates and her jaw dropped. “But, to be clear, it WASN'T a prophecy, it was merely a prediction...which meant to me that...I had the final say in whether it happens or not.”

“And...you believe I'm truly deserving of it?” Celestia only snickered at her student's question.

“No...not me in this case...” Was her only response, this proved to confuse Twilight even further than she had been previously. That was, until Silver raised a hoof with his signature smirk plastered over his face.

“I am actually the one that made the final decision in this situation.” he explained, “You remember when I came to Ponyville back in March on one of my 'jobs' for Celestia? Well, that job...wasn't actually to gather a bit more information on the Elements of Harmony, but...to test you, to evaluate you and see if you're truly ready for your destiny.” This came as even more of a shock to the new princess, it was almost enough to cause her to faint, however with some deep breathing exercises that she had picked up on just recently she was able to calm herself.

“Y-you mean...you LIED TO ME!?” Twilight snapped here, even with the deep breathing she was upset. Anger began to surface a tiny bit, however, both of the other alicorns simply shook their heads.

“I didn't lie Twilight. I had two jobs here.” he continued, “My prime task was to evaluate you and see if you're ready to become both an alicorn AND a princess. To see if you were mature enough to handle it, in both magic and mind...I was also given an optional objective that I still did in my free time...gather information on the other Elements of Harmony.” Right by his side stood Celestia, only nodding in reassurance. Upon hearing this explanation, Twilight relaxed a bit finally. Put at ease by the fact that one of her newest friends that she had made over the past couple of months had just explained everything. With the information that he had indeed been evaluating her, it explained everything, not just how he was there, but how Celestia had known she was ready and even though she was unsure of this, she knew she could trust the judgement of both of the alicorns.

“I think...I'll be taking my leave now.” Celestia uttered, taking both Twilight and Silver by surprise.

“But what about...?” Silver questioned.

“I trust you'll help her gather all of her belongings...her coronation will be in a few days.” He was stopped dead in his tracks, only to chuckle softly.

“Understood, Celestia, I'll handle all the arrangements from here.”

“Huzzah!” came Luna's shout as her final horseshoe twirled around the stake. That was the third time in a row that she had beaten somepony too. The green orbs of the mare in question had watched as the horseshoe was flung from the princess' hoof, before twirling gracefully around the stake, only to land very softly in the grass around it. It was...another victory for the lunar princess. How had she done it? How had she landed a perfect shot like that? Even with all of her experience in this game, she hadn't ever gotten a shot that flawless before. Her eyes only narrowed in the direction of the princess, at first she'd assume that her opponent had used magic, but that was quickly tossed out the window. Especially when she trotted up to her side with a hoof extended. “That was a great game, Applejack, I'll have to play you again sometime.”

A grin spread across the earth pony's face as she took the princess' hoof. “Ah didn't think you'd be THAT good at this game.” Luna only laughed in response to this, as a forest green unicorn stallion trotted up to her side. Evidence of a minor limp in his front right leg were still present, but hardly noticeable among all the festivities. Especially given he had seen the entire round from the very beginning. Keeping a watch on how well the princess had played the entire time. Especially considering it was only her fourth round.

“You'd be surprised how good Luna is at games.” he remarked.

“Really now?” Applejack asked, her attention now on the unicorn. A subtle smirk began to move across his face when she asked this, before he looked down with a small laugh.

“I can't beat her in anything....” Luna laughed at this remark, but it wasn't out of arrogance. It was here that the look in her eyes began to change when they met the look in the unicorn's brown eyes.

“Well now, I wouldn't say that, Emerald.” These words seemed to spark something in his eyes, which brought a smile to his face. The change was almost immediate too as she moved in a little closer to give him a very soft peck on the cheek. It was a rather sweet sight, especially when he leaned in a bit closer to give her a small kiss on her forehead, right beneath her horn. An odd sound emanated from the princess' throat the instant he did, which only made her cheeks glow a rather soft shade of red which was concealed by her sapphire coat. The very tips of their noses touched right after this and they seemed to gaze into each other's eyes. This moment however seemed short-lived as the childish singing of a certain other alicorn could be heard from across the garden.

“Luna and Emerald, sitting beneath a tree...!” a stallion's voice echoed, the tone rather teasing and obnoxious too. His voice seemed to snap the two right out of it, which everypony else had simply turned away from out of respect. Well, except for a certain marshmallow colored unicorn, who seemed to be eyeing the entire moment between them. The reaction proved to be instantaneous, especially from  the unicorn stallion, his face turned red entirely, before pulling back from Luna. She followed suit, before both of them turned their gaze on the alicorn.

The harsh gaze silenced him instantly and he resumed what he had been doing before. From the two, he turned back to somepony that grasped Emerald's attention. Was it the light shade of cerise of her coat or was it the violet, rose and gold colors in her mane that seemed to draw his attention? The unicorn stallion couldn't put his hoof on it, but something felt familiar about her, as if he had seen her somewhere before. He took immediate note of the stallion that stood beside her, a white unicorn. This pony he recognized however, as he had spoken with him on countless occasions before he had moved to the Crystal Empire.

'If that's Shining Armor...then she must be Princess Cadence.'  he thought, as he trotted up to his brother's side. Where had he seen her before?

“This is my brother Emerald.” Silver stated, “I take it you remember him?” It took only a few seconds after simply hearing his name before the cerise alicorn reacted. Immediately she pulled the green unicorn into a tight embrace which seemed to break him from the intense gaze he had locked on her. It came as a shock to him right away, as he attempted to pull away from the embrace.

“Emerald!” she called out, as she held him out in her hooves for a moment. “You've gotten so big!” Her eyes trailed over every inch of his body, taking note of how well taken care of it was. He was in excellent shape, rivaling even her husband. For a moment she even had to turn to him to check for physical differences. “And...your fitness...it even rivals Shiny too.” Both Emerald and Shining Armor's face lit up with a bit of a blush when they heard these words, which made caused a soft chuckle. “Who would've thought that, the cute little foal I watched, would turn out so handsome.”

Frozen would be the best way to describe the green unicorn here. Frozen mostly in embarrassment, given he wasn't quite used to the attention he was now receiving. It was at this moment however, that everything about her came flooding back. He remembered her caring for him when he was younger. She had been like a mother to him in those days, they were indeed happier times, although not as happy times as things stood now. As she continued to eyeball him, his eyes seemed to trail off just slightly over to Shining Armor. The look on the stallion's face was one of displeasure, directed at Emerald no less. One filled with jealousy, namely due to the fact that his wife was now eyeballing another stallion a tiny bit. The looks soon ceased as the green unicorn took a step back to indicate his discomfort. Which is when the princess snapped back to her senses.

“Oh! I'm sorry Emerald.” she acknowledged, her cheeks burning red a tiny bit.

“Its not me you should apologize to though...” Emerald stated, gesturing a hoof in Shining Armor's direction. Without question, she immediately placed a kiss on the white stallion's lips, which seemed to soothe his frustration immediately. The kiss only lasted a few moments, but when it broke his demeanor had changed drastically and he did appear to be more relaxed. “I'm sorry Shining Armor.”

His eye twitched slightly, before he sighed. “Its fine, Emerald...no harm done.”

The subject seemed to change relatively quickly once Silver spoke up however, a grin on his face. “So...how have things been going for you and Cadence lately?” he asked, “Last I spoke with her...you two kind of hit a rough spot.”

“Everything has calmed down since then, your advice was right...we just needed a bit of time to let the dust settle.” he replied, a smile forming on his lips. “So, thank you Silver.”

“Its not a problem, anything for my best friend.” he remarked, earning a small glare from his younger brother. He spotted this right away, his gaze shifted for a moment. “Well, its true!”

“Speaking of relationships....how's yours with Aunt Luna?” This question caught Emerald completely off guard, which caused him to shift glances between all three ponies. Now, he was one to keep his affairs private and in this case, he did it not only for his sake, but for Luna's as well.

“Nearing the six month mark and still going strong.” Emerald muttered,

“That's great to hear! Especially for Aunt Luna's sake, I've never seen her so cheerful before.” Cadence exclaimed, her smile only widening.

Meanwhile, the guest of honor, Twilight Sparkle sat quietly next to her mentor. Both looked on as the party continued, whether it was Luna's constant victories over ponies in horseshoes, this time it had been the cyan colored pegasus with the chromatic mane that she had beaten in a round. She could only laugh as she watched her friend challenge Luna to a rematch right after the defeat, which to her seemed rather fruitless as by this time, the lunar princess had gained the ability to get at least two shoes around the stake.

Overall, everypony could be seen enjoying the party, save for Twilight herself. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy a good party, it was just something else seemed to be bothering her, and even Celestia could see it very clearly. The past few days alone had been exhausting as she had packed up all of her belongings in the library to have them moved back to Canterlot. Not only that though, adding to her exhaustion was the simple fact of her new body. While brimming with energy, it required quite the adjustment and she had overdone it in the few days she spent packing up. Regardless of the fact she had help with it.

“Twilight, are you okay?” Celestia asked, expressing her concern to her student.

With a sigh and a restrained yawn she smiled. “Yes pr—Celestia. Just a little tired is all. I haven't really had the chance to rest over the past few days is all. I'll manage though, don't worry. I don't wanna fall asleep at my own party after all.” A bit of worry flowed through the solar princess as she watched her student push herself up to her hooves, taking note of just how hard she was pushing herself just after becoming an alicorn. It was painful to watch. “I think I'll get myself a drink.” With this said, she began to trot in the direction of the refreshments table, where Emerald, Silver, Shining Armor and Cadence could still be seen chatting.

Silver took immediate note of this, turning in Twilight's direction. “I'd be weary of the punch, Twilight.” he pointed out.

“Why's that?” she asked, only glancing at him for a brief moment.

“The punch was spiked.” he retorted, earning a snicker from the lavender alicorn.

“This isn't my first Pinkie Party, Silver. I know she spikes the punch when there are no fillies or colts coming. Thanks for the warning though.” He frowned in response to this, his attention returning to Cadence and Shining Armor. Only to laugh softly, along with Emerald.

“Last time Silver was at a party with spiked punch...it got really out of hand.” the unicorn remarked, earning a sneer from his elder brother.

“Is that so? Then he should keep his hooves off of the punch, right?” the alicorn turned his attention back to Twilight.

“It only got out of hand because they roped me into a drinking contest...a few too many, and of course something will get wild.” he added onto the story.

“But you only had THREE DRINKS!” Emerald snapped, “Count them...THREE DRINKS before you cracked!”

“But! It was strong alcohol Emerald!” Silver retorted.

“Still no excuse.” the unicorn laughed, taking a small sip of his own glass of punch. “What was in that punch is nothing...and compared to this party...its also kind of weak. You just can't hold your alcohol.” Silver felt defeated here, having been bested in an argument by his own brother, his jaw dropped, leaving him speechless.

“Not everypony can handle alcohol well. Rarity gets quite tipsy after just two glasses. Its nothing to be ashamed of.” Her gaze locked onto Emerald here. “And especially no reason to poke fun at somepony.”

“Its not the fact of how little he can handle though...but, of what he does once he's past that point.” the unicorn explained, “Its part of the reason we don't allow him to drink anymore...even a party among friends...” Twilight only nodded in understanding. With her own glass of punch levitating by her side she quickly embraced her elder brother before returning to her mentor's side. Another few minutes seemed to pass before Silver gestured softly, excusing himself from the conversation. Only to make his way over to Celestia and Twilight.

“Would the princesses mind if I joined them?” he smiled.

“Fine by me.” Celestia replied, before her gaze shifted down to her student, who only gave a simple nod, not even bothering to look up at Silver.

“No objections, just don't call me princess, alright?” With this, he took a seat right beside the new alicorn. Twilight gazed back up at him and even though she was used to the sight of alicorns she couldn't really shake the odd sensation she felt when she was around this particular one. Was it the fact he was a stallion that made her feel like this? Or was it just her new body playing tricks on her? As the sight of a male alicorn was quite uncommon, even by alicorn standards. Even with the constant barrage of questions though, nothing seemed to want to come out of her mouth, save for a single smile. The smile was broken however by a very quiet, yet very long yawn.

“So...is there anything you need, Silver?” Even with her level of exhaustion she was still able to think coherently to a degree as well as listen.

“I just want you to know...my information gathering services are now at your disposal.” he stated, “As an informant its my duty to ensure you remain updated on all the details of what is going on in Equestria.”

Her gaze remained stoic, given her mind was barely able to process the information before she spoke up again. “So...you are to Celestia and to me now I assume, as to what scouts are to my brother?”

“In a sense, yes....However, my job is much more complicated than I've made it sound.” he explained, “I've only used the word 'informant' as the easiest way to describe it...but, considering I have to use more...devious methods to gather information at times...you can even consider me a spy.” When this registered in Twilight's exhausted mind, her gaze shifted to her mentor, with a small head tilt.

“We have spies?” She enquired, her eyes growing a tiny bit wider and a bit of energy shooting through her.

“Of course we have, Twilight.” the alabaster alicorn replied, taking a sip of tea after the statement. “They're a bit old fashioned, given the peaceful times we live in today, but keeping up to date on all the affairs around the world is still vital. For example, when engaging in diplomacy with the other kingdoms.”

Silver caught her here, clearing his throat. “Except the Griffin Kingdom...you know very well I'm not allowed to go back there.” he remarked.

“You may not...” Celestia chuckled, “But you know as well as I do, that you're not the only source of information, Silver.”

He smirked here, “Too true.” he added, chuckling softly. “But overall, my information, as I've already told you, often remains in Equestria. I don't leave too often.”

“I can imagine.” said the lavender mare, now rejoining the conversation after having listened to it go back and forth between the solar princess and the stallion. “Its hard enough for an alicorn to keep a low profile inside Equestria already. I can only guess how difficult it'd be outside our borders.” This earned a nod from the stallion.

“Indeed it is...its even worse given alicorns are seen as royalty or nobility.”

“Tell me about it...” Twilight's new wings seemed to unfold by themselves, as if it had been second nature. It caused her to shift a glance to them. As she gazed at them, she began to realize that she didn't quite understand how she had moved the yet, but just the fact that she could even without giving it a second thought was enough for her at least for the moment. “I always wondered why there were so few of them anyway. Its pretty much just a mix between a pegasus and unicorn. So I'd assume that there would be more alicorns in Equestria, given the number of pegasus-unicorn couples out there.” Celestia kept quiet as Twilight spoke and she was actually thankful that her student wasn't at her best right now, as it prevented her from taking notice of her silence.

Silver on the other hand was already eager to answer this, a grin plastered on his face as if he was wanting to teach again. The solar princess seemed to take notice of the smile as well, which seemed to bring about her own smile. “Well...” he began, “In terms of genetics, it can be a rather rare occurrence. It requires a very strong bloodline of unicorn magic and a very strong pegasus bloodline too...without both, the only other way to become one, is essentially the way you became one.” Twilight's wings seemed to fold up here after she took a second glance at them, this time gazing at them a bit longer.

“I guess unicorns and pegasi will never get around, huh?” she giggled softly, thinking back to the founding of Equestria. True, none of the three tribes had really seen eye to eye back then, but in particular, the pegasi and unicorns seemed to really be at each other's necks the most.

“Oh they got around, in terms of my parents.” he chuckled, “And on my travels, I saw quite a few unicorn and pegasus couples...Las Pegasus is one wild city.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Guess I really should leave the jokes to Pinkie...” she mumbled, before taking another sip of her punch, thus emptying the glass.

“I'm sorry...I've never been good at telling jokes.” Silver frowned, lowering is ears a tiny bit. Twilight only giggled here, it was one that was very short lived though.

“Wow...I must be really b ad at it if you can't even tell that I was the one telling it.” in the middle of her second laugh however, she stopped. Closing her eyes for a moment, she visibly wobbled, feeling a bit light-headed and rather dizzy. “Wow...” came her voice once her eyes had opened again. “Sorry princess, Silver, but I should really get some rest. I feel like I could pass out on the spot.”

“Of course Twilight...I bet Spike is waiting for you as well. You shouldn't make him worry.” Celestia nodded. Twilight only smiled back at her mentor, knowing full well she wouldn't ever lose that image she had of the princess. Before embracing her briefly.

“Thank you...it was a great party!”

“Have a wonderful rest, Twilight.” Silver said, his attention shifting to Celestia as the new princess trotted off.

“I'd be disappointed if you didn't follow her.” the solar princess said, her smile never vanishing. “I didn't think I had to order you to.” The stallion's expression seemed to melt, going from one of seriousness to a very kind smile.

“I had every intention of escorting her back to her room...but...I have the feeling you have another job for me to do...another job on top of the previous one you gave me.” Her magenta eyes seemed to lock onto the stallion at this point, even though her smile hadn't vanished or dimished in the least.

“I do...” she spoke up, “But, I will tell you about it later. For now, I simply just want you to ensure she reaches her room safely.” the princess giggled softly here. “If she passed out on the floor and one of the guards found her...Shining Armor wouldn't let me hear the end of it.”

Silver gave a soft salute to the princess with his left hoof before picking himself up. “I'm on it.” were the last words she had expected to hear from him. However, this wasn't the case as he spoke up one more time as he began to trot, slowly turning back in her direction. “One more thing...I'd be careful in eyeballing that cake...Luna and Emerald even said, they'd keep you away from it if they had to.”

Celestia froze completely when these words passed through her ears. She had expected him to go after Twilight immediately, but now here she sat with him gazing at the back of her head. A piece of cake floating before her. The cake was coated in chocolate frosting, with chocolate whip cream. And at the very top of her slice, sat a single strawberry that had been coated in chocolate. Her mouth had been watering for just a single slice since she had laid her eyes on the scrumptious cake. It would be a delight to even have just one bite. This slice in particular she had snuck, hiding it beneath the small table she sat beside hoping that nopony would notice her eating this sugary delight. If it was an award for an awkward moment, this would indeed be the winner.

“Luna even said you're on a diet...party or no party.” he remarked, “But, I won't tell...but you better hope neither of them find out though.” He couldn't help but laugh as he resumed his trek down the halls after Twilight, picking up his pace to a gallop. This left Celestia frozen with the evidence unable to even react. How had he figured it out? The solar princess wasn't surprised at what happened next either, having a pair of cyan eyes locked on her from across the table.

“Tia....” the lunar princess began.

“Ehehehehe....”