Between Day and Night

by Davesknd

Rating: teen
Tags: Comedy, Romance, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Luna, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 83256

Twilight is called back to Canterlot to spend some time with the princesses

Twilight gets a distressing letter from Celestia and rushes to Canterlot.
What happened to the princess? What is Luna up to? Why do I sound like the narrator to a bad crime drama?
The first chapter is inspired by a drawing from JohnJoseco. The rest will be my own madness doing its part.

Published 2012-02-02 20:31:34 UTC
Last updated 2018-02-07 17:54:45 UTC

Preparing Phase One

A cloud moved through the royal palace. Even though it hardly met the definition of “cloud”. Looking at it was like looking through the world at skies behind it. It was dark bluish and filled with stars. It was Nightmare Moons favoured form of travel.
Luna felt terrible for taking this old spell out for a ride. She imagined that this was how it felt to wear the horseshoes somepony died in. It was much too comfy and filled with bad memories.

But it was necessary.

The gaseous princess floated through the halls, just outside the view of her guards and squeezed through the doorframe of her sisters private rooms. Luna had a very specific goal. Another door later, she was floating inside Celestia’s personal bathroom. Swiftly, the princess carried out the first part of this phase. While an observer would only see the cloud tug on the shampoo bottle for a second, Luna had actually added a very special ingredient.

Just a faint note of belladonna.

Not enough to poison her sister, of course. Celestia would have to drink three bottles of the shampoo before she would feel the belladonna. She would probably feel the soap, though.
But enough to paralyze a few of her eye-muscles for just a few minutes.

Then the princess waited.

Princess Celestia entered her bath just a few minutes later. She had a tiring day ahead of her. The sun had just been raised and there were several important duties were waiting. Just a quick shower and she could take on her duties.

Luna saw her sister enter. She saw her get a towel and enter the shower. A sting of spite ran through her. -You love to take long baths, Tia! You should enjoy them whenever you feel like it. Not rush into the shower.-

Finally, the sun princess did her best to enjoy the short wash, humming a soft tune. Finally, as usual, she grabbed the bottle of shampoo and administered a generous dose of it. Using her hoofs, she rubbed it into her flowing mane. The solar wind was a bit distracting, but Celestia had gotten good with it over the years. Poor Luna had to deal with quasars or novas.
Luna moved to strike. Quietly, she removed the towels and put them back in their original place. It was a good distraction. The moon princess had no interest in watching her sister shower.

But it was necessary.

Celestia finished and turned to get the towels. She blinked a few times. The world had become blurry. Not too blurry, but she couldn’t look too far. The princess wondered and shrugged. Maybe she was just tired.
As she turned to the stand next to the shower, her eyebrows rose.

Were those signs of her getting old?

Anyhow, the towels were on the other side of the room. Not a problem for an alicorn. Celestia focused... and stopped. She had bad vision. If she used the spell now, she could end up ripping the wall out. Being among the most powerful beings know to ponydom could get messy.

“Well... this is how earth ponies do it, so why not?” the princess whispered and left the shower dripping wet.
Luna watched and took a deep breath. This was the hardest part. All pieces were in place and the die had just left her hoof.
She moved and possessed the statue next to the drawer. As Celestia approached, she measured the height of her face, her speed and the angle.

Everything was in place.

Luna twisted the statue just a little.

“OWWW!”

Luna’s heart broke.

But it was necessary.

Just to inform everyone: I will continue this story in a bit of an unusual way:
Every odd chapter will be a phase.
Every even chapter will be the planning and preparation of that phase.
This will still be the story I only go to when I need to write some romance or Luna scheming. My main energy is in Draconic Troubles.
But that's enough of me rambling. Enjoy and Comment!

Phase Two

Celestia rubbed her cheek against her students one more time and returned to an upright position. Even the princess had a slight blush on her face now. Her gaze returned to Luna’s masterpiece once again.
The princess of the night had apparently ordered the pegasi to increase the humidity in the higher parts of the atmosphere just enough to not produce clouds and add some instant-rainbow. The result was incredible: Around the radiant white disk of the moon was a completely round rainbow. While the darkness only allowed 4 colours to be seen, it was incredible to behold.
Celestia just had to thank her in the morning, both for this view and for the idea to have Twilight around to share it. Her most faithful student. Her new friend.

“CHRRRR”

And the sleeping pony that was currently using her as a pillow. The princess couldn’t help but chuckle at the lavender mare.
“You have grown so quickly, Twilight. I can still remember you as a filly, jumping happily in circle after I accepted you into the school. And now look at you... you are the Element of Magic, you charged Nightmare Moon, you defeated Discord, you vanquished an Ursa Minor, stood up to three dragons, travelled to the gates of Tartarus... and you grew exceptionally beautiful.”

Celestia let out a sigh and looked up “I really do admire you, Twilight. You have done so much for me. And I am afraid that you will never know half of it. Because that half is something I could never impose on you.”

A hint of sadness invaded Celestia’s features. “But that is my role... soon... much sooner than I expected... will be the day when you won’t need my guidance anymore. Sure, I will always be your friend, but I know how life goes. You will find somepony, find happiness. One day, there will be no place for me in your life. And I am not selfish enough to hope that this day may never come...”

A shiver ran down the princess’s spine. The night felt cold, her crown felt heavy and the only warmth came from beneath her wing.

“And now look at me... the god-princess of ponydom is rambling to a sleeping filly. As much as I enjoy our closeness, I should get you inside.”

The princess gently nudged Twilight. She earned a grumble and a slight shifting.
“Oh... you want the hard way, my dear?” Celestia asked playfully and removed her wing.
Twilight felt the cold around her and grabbed for her blanket. She found the princess’s mane and rolled over, covering herself.

Celestia burst into laughter.

After calming down, she moved her head over Twilight’s and whispered into her ear.
“Twilight, wake up, we just discovered a new wing in the library! It’s full of old books!”

The princess had to admit that she did not expect the reaction she witnessed. The pony by her side started to drool and awoke, moaning “BOOOOOKS!” like a zombie pony.

Twilight’s eyes opened slowly. She was not sure why, but she could smell old parchment and book cover-leather. As soon as she could see a little, her eyes almost popped out and she was wide awake.

Princess Celestia’s features were illuminated by a bright moon behind her. A rainbow halo surrounded her head, adding just enough to make the view breathtaking.

Twilight’s jar dropped at the sheer beauty before her. She felt small and insignificant.

“Twilight? Are you all right?” Celestia asked with a hint of worry.

The lavender pony blinked a few times. A light blush invaded her cheeks. “I’m sorry, princess, I was... distracted...”
“It’s all right. You are tired. Let’s get inside.” The princess offered gently “I have better blankets in there.”

Twilight looked at herself, still partially covered in the princess long mane. Her blush went from pink to crimson.

“I’m so sorry, princess! I didn’t mean to...” “You better be sorry, my little pony.” Celestia interrupted her student abruptly. Twilight swallowed.

“You are supposed to call me Celestia.” The princess giggled and rose. “Come, we should get some sleep.”

Twilight nodded and got up herself. She followed Celestia quietly, rather confused with herself. Yes, the princess was beautiful! There were whole sections in the Canterlot library dedicated to that! She herself had always enjoyed looking at Celestia. Who didn’t?

But tonight was... different. With the distance between them slowly fading, the unicorn discovered something different than simple admiration of aesthetics. Something comparable to the way Spike looked at Rarity.

The unicorn pushed the thoughts aside and yawned. The princess was right: Twilight needed some sleep. She followed the alicorn into her room and slowly moved towards the door. She walked slower than usual, partially due to the tiredness, but mostly because she didn’t want to leave.

Celestia gaze drifted to her pupil. Her own words echoed inside of her head, but this time, she closed in a different way. *Not tonight!*

“Twilight?” she said gently.

Twilight turned around.

“Yes, prin--- erm... Celestia?”

“Twilight, I think I want to have a sleepover.” Celestia said with a smile.

“Excuse me?”

“You are tired and your room is quite a walk from here. Why don’t you stay? We can talk a little before sleeping and have breakfast” The princess announced.

Twilight mouth opened slowly. She was somewhere between “What” and “Yesyesyesyesyesyesyes-etc.”.

“But... can we do that? Wouldn’t that look weird? To the guards, I mean?” the unicorn argued, while a voice in her head demanded that she shut up.

“They have given up on gossiping long ago. I am rather boring, I fear...” Celestia admitted.

Twilight tilted her head slightly. “Did I look bored all afternoon? And I think that being a paragon of... basically everything... is not a bad thing!”

“You can be so silly, Twilight.” The princess said with a giggle “Now get some sleep. You can sleep in my bed.”

Twilight’s gazed upon Celestia’s bed. For a moment the surroundings vanished and there was nothing but her and the wonderful piece of furniture. It was huge, soft and she could hear its siren’s song: “Twilight! Twilight! Come to bed!”

Weird... the bed sounded like Spike’s.

“I will take the couch.” The princess added.

In a heartbeat, Twilight was wide awake. She looked over to Celestia. “I will not make you sleep on the couch, princess! I’ll sleep on the couch!”

“Oh, come on Twilight. I think I can handle a night on the couch.”

“It is YOUR bed, princess!”

“And I gladly have you sleep in it. It’s common hospitality.”

“And it’s common etiquette to not force your princess out of her bed... unless it’s on fire!”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “I read Lipizzaner Knigge’s book too. But, please, you are my guest, sleep in the bed.”

“I am also your pupil and your subject!”

“Then I can order you to sleep in the bed!”

“If you do, you might as well get the guards and arrest me for treason!” Twilight finally said in defiance and glowered at the princess. Apparently her short nap had not dissolved the alcohol in her blood yet.

Celestia’s eyes turned to slits. “You leave me no other choice, my pupil!”

She took a step towards Twilight!

And Vanished in a flash of light!

Twilight spun around and found the princess reappearing on the couch.

“And this is why you are still the learner and I am the teacher!” Celestia said in a mock-Nightmare Moon voice.

“That is not fair...” Twilight lamented.

“Life rarely is! MUAHAHAHA!” Celestia added, still in evil tyrant voice.

Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the trauma of fighting for her dear life against an evil goddess, but the last comment fanned the flames of defiance yet again.

“Fine! You won, Daymare Sun! You sleep on the couch.” Twilight answered in a sullen tone and lay down where she stood “And I will sleep on the floor!”

“Twilight! Come, I was kidding. Don’t do that!” Celestia pleaded.

“No! I will not have a sleeping place comfier than yours!” The unicorn insisted.

There was another bright flash and the princess appeared before her. “Neither will I! I shall sleep on the floor too!”

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

Both mares held their head high in victory.

Ten seconds passed:

Both burst into a fit of laughter.

As she calmed down, Celestia gave Twilight a gentle nuzzle. “I really like it when you stand up for yourself...” she said softly.

“You like it when I defy you?”

“No... I like it when you treat me like your equal.”

Twilight blushed lightly, not sure why.

“How about we call it a draw and both sleep in the bed?” the princess suggested “It is big enough.”

Twilight blushed deeper.

The bed looked even more comfy right now...

Preparing Phase Two

“This is ingenious! Why haven’t we thought of that yet?“

Luna let out a very soft sigh. She had just spent the last twenty minutes explaining the exact method of producing a rainbow at night, using only moonlight to the Canterlot weather pegasi, night division. The whole affair started with confused looks, several hoofs scratching their owners’ heads and one pony scribbling in a notebook. And now she had to deal with the praise.

“It may revolutionize the field of nocturnal weather work!”

“Seriously, Princess, why haven’t you shared this idea with us earlier?” one of the pegasi asked, yet again.

Luna had ignored this particular question time after time, but now, it had to come out.

“It was supposed to be our great present to our subjects.” She explained emotionless “And the only kind of rainbow that could be seen under our rule of eternal night.”

The temperature went down by several degrees.

“We wanted the night to last forever. We didn’t plan to destroy the rainbow industry or deny our subjects the beauty of rainbows.” Luna added, but the damage was done.

“Now, can you do this tonight?” she asked after the shock had sunken in.

“Of… of course, your majesty!” The lead Pegasus ensured and the princess was wise enough to dismiss the ponies quickly.

As Luna watched them leave, she cursed herself yet again. When she came up with this plan, she had no idea that it would be so painful. It was as if Nightmare Moon’s shadow was right behind her, wielding a big whip. Every step, she could feel another painful streak on her back.

But now was the time for the big one. The part that would make or break everything. She had to talk to Celestia.

Quietly, the princess looked out of the window. Celestia had just raised the sun, just as Luna had lowered the moon before the meeting began. It was common for her to keep her sister company during breakfast, so there was no reason for Celestia go get suspicious.

“You can do this, Luna…” the princess of the night told herself “Just talk to her casually, tell her that she has a black eye and offer her to spend the weekend off… easy as raising the moon, right?”

A sigh followed. It was NOT going to be that easy! She had to talk Celestia out of working. The moon, an object about the size of Equestria, was a greased marble compared to the adamant tower that was the sun-princess’ will.

Not that Luna held it against her sister. The years before Equestria’s founding, when the two alicorns were busy defeating monsters and locking them into Tartarus and battling against Discord had given them no choice but to develop indomitable minds.

*And still, it was you who took it too far, wasn’t it?* a voice inside Luna’s head whispered.

The princess shook her head and sighed. Standing around and lamenting her mistakes would not make this any easier. Quietly, she trotted away.

As she reached her goal she took a deep breath and headed for the royal dining hall.

“Good morning, my dear sister. How was your rest?” Luna chimed while entering. *A bit too happy* she thought to herself.

Celestia was sitting at the end of the table, currently helping herself to a huge bowl of delicious looking oat, hay and honey muesli and a cup of coffee. Luna had to suppress a snicker. Apparently, Celestia had combed even more hair over her eye than normal and fixated it with a hair clip, which completely messed up her long mane and its natural flow in the solar wind.

“Good morning, Luna.” Celestia answered, looking up.

“Do you expect a solar storm?” Luna asked innocently.

“No…” the sun princess answered slightly crestfallen “Please don’t ask… it’s embarrassing…”

“Now I am interested!” Luna said with a grin and darted towards her sister “Why the fashion statement? And where did YOU get a hair pin? Our manes don’t react very well to those.”

“Luna, please, I am not in the mood!”

“Now you are just being unfair, sis. When I didn’t take proper care of my hair and suddenly had a whole galaxy in my tail end and black everywhere else, we both had a good laugh.”

“Fine.” Celestia sighed and removed the pin. “It looks worse than it is…” she added.

Luna’s eyes went wide. And it was no acting. She had expected to give Celestia a slight bruise. Something that way slightly visible through the coat. She had not expected to see Celestia have something that looked like she had used crimson-paint eyedrops.

“Does it hurt?” Luna asked with honest concern. She felt the whip going down on her back again. This was not what she had in mind!

“No.” Celestia answered.

“What happened?”

“I got shampoo in my eyes and walked into the statue when getting a towel.” The sun princess answered and let out a sigh “It turned like this over night. I looked it up… eyes bruise that way. It won’t go away for a week or so.”

Something inside Luna’s head clicked. This was WONDERFUL!

“Well… I think you should use this.” She said with a grin on her face.

“What?”

“Look, Tia. You haven’t had a chance to take a break in quite a long while.” Luna mused “This little accident could prove to be your opportunity.”

“I’m not sure, I follow, Luna.” The sun princess answered calmly.

“Look: You can’t go around doing regular royal business with that eye. Ponies might not know what happened and the paparazzi would have a field day with our possessed princess.” Luna explained “If you put your hair over it like you just did, you look, and please excuse my rudeness, completely unfitting for a princess. The alternative would be showing up with an eye patch… and that would raise even more suspicions.”

“I’ll just let my hair cover it naturally!” Celestia insisted.

“Tia! One sunwind and we have a *Discord possesses the princess* or worse *Daymare Sun with the crimson eye* scandal.” Luna said with slightly exaggerated worry “We must not give all those Gabby Gums copies out there any dirt! Remember when the major of Manechester tried to bribe you with a cake?”

Celestia rolled her white and red eyes. “So, what do you suggest, dear sister?”

“Simple, Tia: You make an announcement from the balcony, explaining that you’ll take a week off all duties, except sun-raising. Then you put on a pair of sunglasses in front of everypony and have a week long vacation. Nopony will suspect anything if you are seen with a pair of sunglasses during your well earned vacation. I will take over the meetings, talking and signing and you have some time for yourself.”

“That may sound very tempting, Luna.” The sun princess admitted and Luna could feel that she meant it “But I can’t suddenly disappear for a week.”

“I never said disappear, sister! Quite the opposite!” Luna quickly answered “You’ll remain quite visible to our servants, guards and closest attendants. Don’t you see? This could be the perfect way to have a vacation without anybody expecting some evil plot by me!”

Celestia looked hurt. “Luna, that is not…” “YES, it is! We can stop pretending, sister! They do not trust me yet and it might be too late for this generation to start with it. But maybe they just need to see how heavy this crown is, how much their favorite princess is in dire need of a break and how well their other princess can handle things during that time… and give everything back when it ends!”

Slowly, the sun princess raised a hoof to her chin, deep in thoughts. A vacation was overdue, wasn’t it? And this could help Luna’s standing with her subjects… maybe…

As her mind raced, Celestia overlooked the impish grin on Luna’s face. “And you could invite your most faithful student to keep you company.” The moon princess added with a silken voice.

“HM?”

“I’m sure; Twilight Sparkle would enjoy a visit. You had so little time to talk during the gala and basically all other meetings in the past. Certainly, your most faithful student would enjoy spending some time with her mentor.”

“I am just not sure… My duty…” Celestia mumbled, but Luna knew that there was little heart in it.

“Come on, Tia. Take a break! Do it for me! For Yourself!” Luna stressed and added with a sing-song voice “For Twilight!”

The sun princess bit her lip for a second and finally nodded. “Oh, for Pete’s sake! I will do it! ‘This is a great idea Luna! I’ll write a letter to Twilight!”

“Who is Pete?”

“A figure of speech, Luna.”

“Anyhow! I will call the announcement, inform the ponies waiting for an audience and redirect all emergency lines.” Luna said happily and turned to leave “And make sure to watch tonight’s sky with Twilight! I have a very important project going on and I want you two to see it! It will be very romantic!”

“I keep telling you, Luna, you are reading things into my relationship with Twilight!” Celestia stressed, as Luna was about to leave the room.

“And I keep telling you: She wants you to give her your hoofkerchief!” Luna answered and left.

Celestia sighed as Luna had left. The picture was bare of innocence to her. In Luna’s time, this was the equivalent of “She wants your horn inside her!”.

Outside, Luna took a deep breath and allowed herself to grin. She would need some more helpers to make this work. Eagerly she walked down the hallway, knowing that seeing her sister happy would ease her guilty conscience.

Phase Three

Consciousness slowly slithered its way into Twilight’s head. Like a snake it slithered through her body, flicked its forked tongue a few times against her still sleeping brain and finally coiled around the unicorn’s senses.

It was completely dark and Twilight was hot! She was prone on her side, her head on something rather firm, long and warm. Something slightly softer, warm and heaving pressing against her back and another of those warm and firm tubes was going over her shoulder.

Twilight’s eyes shot open!

The Princess was cradling her in her forelegs, gently holding her against her chest.

The room was silent except for the soft ticking of a clock and two ponies gently breathing.

Twilight’s eyes slowly drifted half closed.

The size difference made her feel a little like Smarty Pants must have felt when she was a little filly. If Smarty Pants was stuffed with unbridled happiness and close to bursting from it.

The princess had discarded her regalia, shoes and crown before going to sleep, removing any cold barrier between her and the unicorn. And it was magnificent. Twilight could feel Celestia’s heart beat in the back of her head.

“This place must be the safest place in the whole world...” the unicorn mumbled and turned her head slightly, watching out to not stab her beloved mentor. With a little magic, Twilight illuminated the area in a soft purple glow.

She caught a glimpse of the clock on the wall. 2 o’clock. No rush to get up. The light dimmed, faded and the unicorn relaxed.

And tensed up again.

Suddenly Twilight realized why she woke up in the first place. The tea of yesterday evening had gone the way of every digested liquid and was waiting for its last journey.

The lavender pony grumbled slightly and tried to wriggle out of the monarchs grasp. Now the princess grumbled very elegantly and Twilight was firmly squeezed against a white chest.

The unicorn let out a sigh and wondered for a second if there was a spell to remove her problem. Maybe if she installed a pocket dimension into her bladder?

No, there was no way around it. Twilight had to leave Celestia’s embrace.

Her horn flickered with magic and with a flash, Twilight appeared next to the bed. She heard the princess shift and mutter behind herself.

Just as the slight tingle of magic dissipated, she shivered. The coldness of the night attacked her warmth spoiled skin. Quickly, the lavender mare summoned a little light and made her way to the bathroom.

Shortly thereafter, a relieved Twilight returned, horn illuminating her path, ready to...

Twilight froze in front of the bed.

Illuminated by her horn, she could see the sleeping form of Celestia. The light was soft, only allowing Twilight to see the silhouette of the princess’ curved body beneath the thin blanket. The princess chest rose slightly with every breath, her mane almost still next to the peaceful expression, Twilight could barely make out on her face.

Even in deep slumber, Celestia was breathtakingly beautiful. Twilight felt her heart smashing against her ribs and throat, as if it wanted to force its way out, while the memory of Celestia’s embrace was still fresh around her shoulders and made her shiver.

She wanted back! Back into those strong forelegs. Back into that safety. Feel the strength of a goddess around her and feel... loved?

Was this it?

Did all those years of diligence and hard work, the attempts to get the princess to approve of her friends, the wish to spend the gala with the princess... did it all lead to this?

Did she... want the princess to... feel for her?

No!

Did she want the princess to feel for her the way she felt for the princess?

Twilight felt herself tremble. She had seen through the Changeling queen. She knew when to trust her instincts and she knew a truth when she saw one in front of her. Those little dreams she sometimes had, which she had brushed off as silly mislead affection. The fact that she couldn’t stop smiling whenever they shared a room. All the things she felt during the last hours...

It led only to one conclusion.

She couldn’t help but see it right in front of her.

Sadly, there was something else, she could see right now:

*She latched onto you, like you sometime do to your pillow. You felt like your doll? She is one who is asleep. You can crawl back into her forelegs, but it will be pretending.*

Slowly, Twilight’s head sunk and the light from her horn started to fade.

*Just like Smarty Pants, you can snuggle against her and pretend, but she can’t love you back!*
A tear rolled down her cheek.

“It’s worse...” the unicorn whispered, suppressing a sob “She could. But she won’t.”

The bed and the princess slowly faded from Twilight’s vision as her horn lost its glow.

She wanted back!

Roughly, the unicorn turned around, tears slowly dropping from her eyes.

It was wrong!

Being bold when snuggling next to Celestia was one thing, but she would not force herself onto her sleeping friend.

*The couch is fine...* Twilight told herself, slowly walking away from the bed.

“Now, that is cheating.”

The unicorn froze. Slowly the rest of the room illuminated in a soft yellow light.

“Princess, did I wake you up?” Twilight asked softly, turning around. She had to admit, even after just waking up, Celestia was still extremely elegant. Her horn glowed in a soft light and her eyes were half shut.

“Don’t worry, Twilight, you didn’t.” Celestia said in a soft voice and blinked a few times. Suddenly the tears on Twilight’s face caught her eyes and worry invaded her features. “Twilight, is something wrong?” *Did go too far?*

“No... I just... I was feeling guilty about Spike!” Twilight lied “I was really worried when I left and I haven’t sent him any message that everything is fine.”

“I’m sure that Spike is fine, Twilight.” The princess answered gently “You know how he is.”

“Probably laughing about how I overreacted and having a good nap.” The unicorn nodded, glad that the princess fell for it. Not that she didn’t feel a little guilty about her dragon companion.

Celestia nodded and extended her wing, lifting the blanket. “Come back to bed... It’s still hours before we have to get up.”
Twilight hesitated for a moment, but finally gave in. The princess was inviting her after all.

“If you really don’t want to... I don’t mind if you sleep somewhere else.” Celestia offered, hoping that Twilight wouldn’t hear the hint of disappointment in her voice.

“No... I was just thinking.” Twilight answered while slipping back under the blankets. “You said that I didn’t wake you up.”

“Yes.” The sun princess answered.

“Then why were you awake?” Twilight inquired.

Celestia seemed to begin with her usual gentle demeanour, but stopped herself before words left her mouth.
“During Luna’s banishment, I had to keep the moon going at night. I was not sure how it would behave, so I used to sleep for an hour at a time, wake up and check on it. At least until I was completely sure.” She explained with a hint of sadness.

Twilight looked up at the huge pony next to her. It was already too dark to read her expression. “Sound terribly straining.”
Twilight said in a soft voice “Why do you still wake up?”

“Because every time I woke up, I looked outside and saw my sister’s visage on the moon.” Celestia’s voice explained from the darkness.

“You have been tormenting yourself.” Twilight whispered.

The darkness remained silent.

The lavender unicorn bit her lip for a second and decided.

“I am your friend, Celestia.” She said decisively and rubbed the side of her temple against the princess neck “If there is weight on your heart, I will be here for you, just like you have always been here for me.”

As soon as those words were spoken, Twilight felt her cheeks flush.

The hubris!

How could she be thinking that Celestia would come to her to ease the millennia of sorrow she accumulated?
Twilight was about to apologise, when she felt the warmth of a gentle nuzzling.

“I guess, I should have read the report you sent me on Applejack a bit more careful...” Celestia said softly, keeping her muzzle close to her student.

“The one about accepting help from others or about two ponies becoming friends without regards of circumstance?” Twilight asked with a weak smile and a huge blush on her face. She could feel warmth radiate off Celestia’s face in the darkness right in front of her.
If she leaned just a little closer, she could steal a... steal a...

A chuckle interrupted her trail of thought. “I was not thinking about the second one, but both are fitting.”

Twilight banished the thought. Celestia needed a friend right now.
“I am glad.” The unicorn said softly and snuggled against the princess.

“But let’s rest for tonight...” The princess offered and rested her head on the bed.

Twilight kept close contact to her mentor and relaxed as well.

*Maybe my place is not in her arms... but it is by her side...* She closed her eyes *I can be happy with that.*
Sleep came soon thereafter.

-

Twilight awoke.
She was still in the bed of the princess, inside of a half-lit, royal bedchamber. It was seconds before sunrise.
Currently, she was alone.

Twilight shook her head and got up, feeling that her mane was a complete mess, just like every morning. Her gaze drifted through the room. The princess’ regalia and golden horseshoes caught her eyes. They were still where Celestia had left them before going to bed. Even her crown was still there. Only the sunglasses were missing.

The unicorn took a few steps and looked towards the balcony.
The alicorn was outside, sitting on her haunch and looking away from the castle, her horn glowing golden as the sun slowly made its way over the mountains she was facing.
Twilight squinted a little until her eyes adapted to the brightness.
Even without the Summer Sun Celebration’s pomp and bravo, the raising of the sun was a view to behold.
Not only from an aesthetic point of view. Raising the sun and setting its course was an act of power and elegance that Twilight could hardly grasp. She was not even sure if it was a “spell” and not an inherit power of the princess. Sometimes she wondered how it was done before Celestia... if there actually was a “before Celestia”. Some history books contradicted each other.

For the time being, the unicorn enjoyed the view. Celestia’s room had a wonderful view, the rising sun tinged everything in a golden light and the princess herself was a wonderful cherry on top this feast for the eyes.

As the sun was on its course, the alicorn turned, just to see her smiling pupil through her sunglasses.
“Good morning, Twilight. I’m sorry, did I wake you up?”

“You do every day, prin... Celestia.” Twilight answered sheepishly.

“That is your fault; you know... you stopped the alternative.” Celestia stated playfully.

“I curse myself every morning...” the unicorn answered in mock-regret.

Celestia walked over to her student and ran a pristine, white hoof through a messy purple mane.

“Did you sleep well?” she asked cheerfully.

“Very, thank you.” Twilight answered. Her slumber was deep; the time she spent awake was the troubling part. “Did you get some rest too?”

“I still woke up, but I had a nice reminder of how nice sleep can be right next to me.” Celestia allowed herself to grin and closed in on Twilight “You snore, my dear.”

Twilight’s cheeks responded with a pink tint. “I’m sorry, I...”

“Oh, Twilight, it’s not as if you blackened the sky or anything. You have a rather cute snore. Very soft and melodic... almost soothing.” Celestia teased.

“Heh... I spent some time falling asleep in libraries... Had to keep it low.” the unicorn admitted and mentally added *Usually due to exhaustion during studies.*

“Dusty old books...” Celestia added with a wink “How about we freshen up and have breakfast. I feel quite hungry. We only had a snack for dinner yesterday.”

The unicorn nodded with a smile. The princess was right about her feeling hungry. She offered Celestia to wait while the princess was showering and found herself alone, sitting on the bed.

Thoughts of yesterday night crept into her head.

A part of her was arguing that she was just a tad repressed and projecting her needs at the next best god-princess of ponydom, she happened to have snuggled with yesterday evening.

Or maybe this was a quiet father-complex or she spent too much time with her brother, when growing up? What did Sattlemund Freud write again? Maybe she was just jumping at the longest and most dominating horn she could find!

WHAT HAD HER PARENTS DONE TO HER?

Twilight sighed... the argument her brain was making seemed coherent, but there was one counter argument, her heart kept making:
She enjoyed being WITH the princess.
Not just looking at her, being close to her, snuggling or touching her.

She liked to talk to Celestia, have fun together or just share a pretty view in silence.
This wasn’t shallow attraction anymore.

Twilight rolled her eyes and looked down at her chest. “Wonderful timing, Twi.” She mumbled “Can’t you realize your emotions at some other time? Like a few minutes before leaving? Then you wouldn’t have to walk around with this... feelings for the rest of your visit. At least I can still formulate coherent thoughts, unlike Spike. Then again, I am more cerebral than him and better at keeping it together, right Twi?” she turned towards the mirror on the dressing table “You can rely on yourself not doing crazy stuff, like talking to yourself!”

The Twilight in the mirror gave a supportive nod.

The next question entered Twilight’s mind. *Do I tell her?*

“It would be the honest thing to do!” the mirror pony suggested.

“Yes, but it would make things so awkward! Yesterday the prin... Celestia offered her friendship to me. It would look as if I took things too far... again! Like with the tardy friendship report or when I tried to stop time!”

“Hmm... And I thought Rarity was a drama queen...”

“Don’t go snarky on me, mirror-me!” Twilight hissed. She blinked twice and realized what exactly she had been doing. “Oh. My. Gee! Not again!”

The unicorn took a deep breath and tried to focus.

“I will not tell her! At least not until I am completely and utterly sure that this is more than a silly crush or a fabrication of my psyche. The princess wants to spend time with her student and friend! She shall have a nice vacation! I will not make that time awkward for her!” The lavender mare decided and her image gave her a smile.

“I DID IT AGAIN!” she wailed.

Frantically, Twilight looked around. She needed to distract herself, or her nerves would force her to leave the palace in a straight jacket.

A quill and paper on a lector caught her eyes. Writing a letter to Spike, would be a good distraction. The unicorn left the bed and began to write on an empty scroll:

Dear Spike
I just wanted to tell you that everything is all right.
The princess has decided to take a short vacation and invited me to join her. I am not sure how long I will remain in Canterlot, but you can always reach me by sending a letter to her. I don’t have to tell you what to do. If you can take care of your phoenix, so you should have no troubles with the library.
And please inform our friends as well.
In case they ask, of course!
DO NOT USE THIS AS AN EXCUSE TO ANNOY RARITY!
Your friend
Twilight Sparkle
PS.: I am serious about not annoying Rarity!

Just as Twilight finished with the scroll, the bathroom door behind her opened. Celestia emerged, clad in a white morning gown and followed by a fragrant cloud of steam.

The slight film of moisture made the princess shimmer in the sunlight and Twilight had to sort her thoughts before talking.
“I took the liberty of writing a letter to Spike.” She explained after re-hinging her jaw “Would you be so kind and send it?”

“Of course, Twilight.” Celestia answered and grasped the scroll in her magic.

Twilight realized something and her eyes went wide: This would be the first time she would see the princess send a letter to Spike. She had seen her receive letters, when Spike was busy during private lessons, but never send! Eagerness crept into her features, as her little scientist got an imaginary clipboard ready.

“Could you turn around, my dear?” Celestia asked innocently.

“What? Why?” Twilight replied deflated.

“Oh, it is just that the bond through Spike’s fire is very personal and I feel more at ease when I call upon it without being watched.” The princess explained.

Twilight hung her head in disappointment and turned around. And she was so interested!

The bit dropped.

“You are messing with me, aren’t you?”

“I have taught you well.” Celestia answered through a few giggles.

Twilight turned again and gave the princess a pout, leading to even more giggles.

“You can be so cute, Twilight.” Celestia said and closed in to give Twilight a hug.

“No hug!” Twilight responded firmly and took a step back.

The princess stopped dead in her tracks and the letter hit the ground silently. If the unicorn had looked deflated, the princess looked as if she had just tasted absolute vacuum. Her eyes went to the floor for a moment and back to Twilight again.

Twilight was able to keep her demeanour, but she had to hide how deeply this view shocked her. Only once had she seen Celestia in such a state before: Right after her loss to the Changeling queen channelling the power of true love.

“Now you are messing with me...” Celestia offered... no... pleaded?

“Oh, yes!” answered, her smile only becoming real as the princess smiled as well.

She closed in and embraced the alicorn, enjoying the damp warmth and the smell of expensive shampoo.

“Let me rephrase my statement: I taught you too well.” The princess whispered with a smile.

They broke the embrace and Celestia picked up the scroll again.

“I fear this will bore you...” she admitted.

The light around the scroll intensified. The paper seemed to warm up and suddenly burst into a green flame. Unlike with Spike, it left no puff of smoke that blew away, but completely combusted.

Twilight was still impressed. She could ignite candles, but applying exactly the right amount of energy to completely combust a whole piece of paper was not easy. And she had seen the moment in which Celestia had added a different kind of magic. All in all: a spell that needed much practice.

“Why don’t you write down what you want for breakfast? I’ll have it ordered while you freshen up. There are towels in the wardrobe and a toothbrush for you.”

Twilight nodded and gave Celestia a smile before going into the bath.

As warm water hit her coat, the unicorn relaxed. But one thing remained in the back of her head.
*I can make her unhappy!*

The lavender mare levitated a shampoo bottle over and started massaging the liquid into her mane.

*Not just fail her. Not just disappoint her and make her put me back a grade... I can hurt her.*

She swallowed.
Being Celestia’s student was packed with responsibility. Being her friend would add even more.
But then again: If her brother managed to MARRY a princess, she could befriend one!
“My family really has its way with royalty...” she said with a sigh, switched off the shower. After making herself presentable, the unicorn left the bath.

“You look good, Twilight.” A cheerful voice sounded from the vanity. Celestia had put on her regalia, crown and horseshoes. “Spike just replied to your letter.”

“Oh, that was quick.” The unicorn answered surprised.

A letter, held in a golden glow, levitated over to her.

Twilight squinted at the paper. Why was it so hard to read?

“Dear Twilight
Yeah, Yeah, I’ll run everything. No problem for your Number One Assistant!
Told Ya, by the way! If there was a second Changeling invasion, we would have heard of it. You worry too much.
So far, I told Applejack, who came by after fetching her cousin from the train station. You know: the one we met during before the summer sun celebration, Red Russet... or Red Baron? I’m not sure which one. Apparently he is paying the family a surprise visit.
And I told Rarity. And before you scold me: I did not go and annoy her! She paid the library a visit! She even borrowed a book, I think!
Oh, and Pinkie knows... don’t ask me how or why!
Anyways: Have a nice stay at the prinecssesses... with Celestia and Luna.
Yours
Spike”

“Spike needs to watch out with his writing. It’s not like him to smear the ink.” Twilight mumbled and rubbed her eyes.

“Still sleepy?” Celestia teased gently “You need a good coffee. Shall we head out for breakfast?

Twilight shook her head once and nodded.

Strange, now the letter was easy to read.

The unicorn discarded the thought and followed the princess outside.

Authors Note:
In case my beloved readers wonder why I took so long with this installment, let me explain: This Chapter was a Nightmare to write!
Just like the mother with a horrible taste for names yelled at some point: "My Short Story isn't so small anymore!"
The first draft was twice as long and included several sub-plots... then I sat down and started thinking where this story should actually go. And I already have one dragon in my archive, growing fat and fatter under it's own greed.
Since I don't want my ambition to go out of hand and I rewrote it... about 4 times.
Am I happy with this chapter?
Meh...
It has exactly the amount of fluff, jokes and plot I need... but I had to cut a lot.

Preparing Phase Three & Intermission

*Warning* To truly grasp the entirety of the next chapter, I suggest you read the story "Celestial Bodies: Followers of the New Moon", written by me and posted here: Followers of the New Moon
It is 1100 words long and establishes a few things, but is not required.
Self indulgent? YES! I admit it!
Also: You may want to skip the intermission, if you do not like Sparity.
You have been warned!

The moon had a rainbow. Luna had put a lot of effort into this particular night. The two visitors could see that and appreciated her lavishness.

They had arrived at the gates of the royal palace and were immediately welcomed by two members of the night guard. Now, the figures were led through the halls of the royal palace. Both had expected to be greeted in the throne room, but for some unknown reason, they ended up in front of Luna’s private quarters.

“Here?” the taller unicorn stallion asked his protectors. He earned a nod from one guards and a snicker from the other. Quietly, the night guard left the two alone.

Now they were standing there alone.

One of them was a robust looking, green earth pony with a scarlet mane and tail, both kept short and practical. His cutie mark depicted a red apple with little horns. Additional to two heavy saddlebags, he had a suitcase on his back, but didn’t seem to feel the weight.

The other was a tall, slightly lanky unicorn with a dark grey coat and a jet black mane. Beneath his eye was a big spot of white flesh, probably an acid-burn scar. His tail was cut short and his mane combed back, making him look a bit like a vampire-pony from an old movie. He was wearing a surprisingly thick scarf for the season and two smaller saddlebags. His cutie mark showed a huge mushroom inside a distilling flask. Sometimes his scarf seemed to shift on its own.

“She summons only the two of us, asks us to bring all we need for a week long stay and she even makes a romantic rainbow around the moon... And now we are supposed to meet her in her... bedroom?” the unicorn stated nervously.

“Maybe this is the reward for our loyalty?” The green earth pony stallion next to him said sheepishly.

“She would never...! Or would she? These blood moon stories seemed a bit lurid? And I have never heard about a rainbow-moon.”

“You are a stallion under the hoof, boss.” The earth pony grinned.

“I was not thinking any of that! And I prefer the phrase -to be spoken for-!”

“Yes, she does tell you most things you do...” his friend teased.

“In any case... let’s knock and then... tally ho?”

“You WOULD die for the princess, boss!” the earth pony added and rolled his eyes.

“If anything happens in there, I WILL die for her... Diamond Shadow is a secret agent” the unicorn swallowed “They will never find my body.”

The door opened as the taller stallion raised his hoof. Quietly, the two entered the absolutely dark room.

“Oh, loyal followers! My dear cultists! We were expecting your arrival!” Luna spoke from... somewhere. The room was filled with ornate furniture, high windows and tapestry. All of them filled with lots of surface to make for a great echo. And the princess hardly ever used the royal Canterlot voice with her cultists, so you couldn’t just talk in the direction the cyclone came from.

The cult leader took a few steps in the direction, he thought the voice came from and hit his shin hard on the coffee table. Dignified, he bit his lip until the pain dissipated and kneeled before the starry mane of his princess.

“My princess, we are here to...”- “You are talking to the window.” Luna interrupted his greeting.

“Oh, excuse me, I can see three starry surfaces and I just took the one to the left.” The cult leader apologised.

At the same time, the other cultist hit his head on a statue.

“Say, my princess, do we have to keep the light off? We common ponies can’t see as well in the dark as you.”

Another groan indicated that his friend had hurt himself again.

Luna rubbed her forehead.
*This is why Nightmare Moon worked alone!* went through her head and with a glow of her horn, several torches flared up.
The cult leader was currently facing a tapestry, depicting the night sky and his friend was trapped between Luna’s coffee table, a lector and a statue. His knees were bruised and he was shivering, half expecting the furniture to leap and attack.
Luna herself was standing in front of her bed.

*No! She worked alone because she had nobody to follow her!*

“What is thy bidding, my princess?” both stallions asked in unison and kneeled down.

“There is a very important task ahead, my beloved followers!” Luna announced proudly “A task only you two can fulfil! You have earned yourself this honour through effort and loyalty and we are delighted that you followed our call! We have made preparations, so you can be absent from your daily work. You shall have the honour to work for me and me alone over the next week! But enough of this verbiage! We have a busy week ahead of-“
“I’M SORRY PRINCESS! I CAN’T DO THIS! I LOVE HER!” the unicorn suddenly wailed and started cowering, both forelegs over his head.

Luna raised an eyebrow. “We assure you that you will have ample time to spend with agent Shadow. But your princess needs your assistance! In the name of redemption and maybe even love!”

The grey stallion sobbed loudly, while his friend couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.

“For you see, we have set a plan in motion to remove my sister from royal duty!”

“OH THANK GOODNESS!” the cult leader exclaimed and drowned out his comrade’s silent curse.

“We are not taking over!” Luna stated firmly, giving the grey unicorn a stern gaze “We are happily ruling with our sister now!”

“I told you, princess, I am over it!” the cult leader assured as he got back on his hoofs and sleeked back his mane “Sheesh... You form a Nightmare Moon cult and attempt a hostile takeover ONE TIME...”

“I overheard agent Shadow saying that you still mumble about endless nights and ponies appreciating fungus-cider in your sleep. While I have ordered all surveillance spells off, I can’t help but think that you are still a bit bitter.” Luna added.

“Surveillance spells?” the earth pony asked, while the cult leader’s cheeks flamed red.

“Of course! How else would she know what he mumbles in his sleep?”

The earth pony was about to answer, as his mouth was shut by a white magical shine.

“SURE! Surveillance spells! Not because we live in the same house and especially not because we sleep in the same bed and do things that would be considered immoral for ponies out of wedlock 1000 years ago!” the cult leader stated loudly, his horn glowing almost as white as his toothy, fake grin.

“Anyhow: The goal of this endeavour is to allow Celestia to have a simple vacation! To ensure this, I have rerouted all emergency routes. All except one!” Luna explained and pointed at the green earth pony “This is where you play your part: Red Devil Apple!”

“Just Red, Princess, please." The stallion intervened.

“Red, you will travel to Ponyville and visit your relatives there! You will keep your eyes open and inform us of any dilemma in the town before it reaches Celestia! Her contact is the dragon Spike, who lives in the library! We will equip you with a magical mirror, so you can stay in permanent contact with us!”

“I will follow your order, princess, but do you really think that this is necessary? I mean, it is just one week.” Red asked, while scratching the back of his head.

“Have you seen the statistics? Dam breaches, vehicles out of control, the town hall falling apart! And that is only the not-magical part! The place is a disaster, even without Discord around!”

“Cousin Big Mac mentioned something like that in one letter...” he admitted.

“Here is the mirror.” Luna said with a smile and levitated the object over to her new agent. He caught it and gave her a wry look.

“I will have to answer to some strange questions if they find this...”

“I assure you that no pony who doesn’t know what to look for will understand it.”

“No, it’s because it’s a powder and rouge box...”

“Yes, we had to improvise, sorry.” Luna admitted with an apologetic grin “There is a manual inside.”

“Anyways, I will gladly do your bidding!” Red stressed as he put the box into his saddlebag. He quietly added: “Especially if it involves eating Granny Smith’s pie!”

Luna gave him a proud nod.

“Let me get this straight, princess!” The cult leader intervened “You are placing a sleeper agent!”

“Basically, yes!”

*THUD*

“Did he just... swoon?” Luna asked perplex.

“You have to excuse the boss, princess. He gets a bit overeager when you do something intimidating, sinister or something is cute...” Red sighed “But that’s why we love him!”

The princess’ eyebrows rose as the stallion got back to his hoofs. “You may depart, Red.” She announced “Tickets for the train will be provided by the guards.”

Red nodded, gave a deep bow before leaving.

As he was gone, the princess turned towards the cult leader.

“I will be honest: Red’s part of the mission will be much easier than yours. I can trust no other pony with this. Nopony but you is loyal to me and me alone.” Luna sighed and gave him a slightly sad look “Even my night guard is recruited from the palace guards. You are the only one who would go against Celestia, but not me.”

The unicorn nodded grimly “I will do my best, princess! Just tell me your plan.”

The moon princess nodded and began: “I have used the belladonna spiked shampoo, you supplied me with, to fabricate a little accident.” She stopped, trying to swallow the shame. “I pushed a statue into Celestia’s way, bruising her eye and defacing her for the time being. Then I talked her into taking a break. She is currently being visited by her personal student.”

“You used the stuff to poison Celestia... and poke her in the eye?”

“Basically, yes.” Luna sighed, feeling another crack of the imaginary whip.

“Please, carry on...” the unicorn suggested, having a hard time to suppress a grin.

“Let me make this clear, Autumn Galerina! You will aid me in giving Celestia a chance to relax and enjoy herself! I take that you will not abuse this for any kind of childish revenge! I read your files. I know of your past! I know of your grudge against her!” Luna stressed, taking a step towards the unicorn “And what happened to your ancestor was as much my choice as hers!”

“My spite has ebbed, princess.” The stallion answered calmly “I am happy with my marefriend, I am the leader of my favourite princess’s followers and you consider me loyal enough to plot against your sister.” His eyes hardened “As for my ancestor: That is my burden to carry!”

The princess’s eyes softened and she took a step back. “You are not a bad pony. The cult’s goals were to appease me, plant food that could grow during the night and make the best out of something terrible.”

Autumn remained silent.

“First things first!” Luna said, returning to a serious tone “You will get a written permission to move freely through the castle. Many guards are used to seeing you, since you regularly bring agent Shadow’s lunch, so nopony will mind you walking around. I have also set up a laboratory for you. Go there and prepare these potions.”

A list levitated in front of the stallion.

“Erm... you are aware of how many laws I break by doing that?” he asked after a quick glance.

“You will brew them under royal enactment. And I think it is pretty harmless, compared to why you were kicked out of the school.” Luna added with a wink.

“You horribly mutate yourself one time!” The stallion sighed “Anything else?”

“Yes: What would happen to a regular pony that used your shampoo?” Luna asked.

“The pupil dilation would last slightly longer... and maybe a dry mouth for a little while. It should go away after an hour maximum.” Autumn answered professionally.

“Good...” Luna sighed. So she didn’t have to rush and exchange the bottles “Now go and finish the potions. Once you are done, you should go to sleep. I will have a room prepared as well. Tomorrow will be a busy day.”

The stallion nodded and gave a deep bow, before turning to leave.

“Erm...”

“Yes my princess?” Autumn asked, halfway to the door.

“Can I see it?” Luna asked awkwardly.

The unicorn sighed and turned around. “Fine...”

All four hoofs were on the ground and his horn remained without magic as the scarf suddenly moved.

Luna’s eyes widened slightly.

- INTERMISSION-

“I did not expect this from my Spikey-Wikey!” Rarity stated with a hint of shock.

Spike showed a mischievous and fanged grin. “We Dragons are a mysterious lot.” He added.

“If those are your surprises, you can count me in!” Rarity giggled.

The libraries living room was lit with many candles, giving it a dark, yet cosy lighting. The alabaster unicorn was lying on the sofa, a glass of wine levitating next to her. Spike was sitting next to her, with his own glass.

A plate of gemstones and expensive chocolates were just in reach for both of them, right next to five full bottles of wine.
“Kudos to the former librarian.” Spike said, his grin expanding “And to Twilight for unearthing them! Her pacing be blessed! Who knew that I would find this treasure while replacing the floorboard?”

“It’s still hard to believe that you have an eye for wine, sweetie.” Rarity stated, carefully sniffing on her glass.

“Alcohol doesn’t affect me. Burns up before it reaches the stomach.” Spike explained, carefully swirling his own glass. “And I may enjoy eating a tub full of ice cream at once.”

“Who doesn’t?” Rarity commented mentally.

“But I do have refined tastes too. And wine ripens much faster than gemstones.” He finished.

The unicorn rubbed her temple against Spike and took a sip. “Oh! Wonderful!” she giggled.

“Yes, that is the good stuff!” Spike replied after a sip “The princess has a few bottles of this one in her cellar too.”

“Oh, I bet, she ha... You know the princess wine cellar?” Rarity asked after setting down her glass and levitating a chocolate over to her.

“Oh, sure, Celestia and I would sometimes get together and have a drink. She got me into appreciating patently ripened things. It’s a thing we dragons and immortals bond over.” Spike explained.

“You spent time drinking with the princess?” Rarity asked, levitating her glass back to her, now that the chocolate was taken care of.

“Yeah, she was pining for a drinking buddy. And if you raise a dragon, you might as well use his alcohol resistance.” Spike added with a laugh.

And barely managed to catch Rarities falling wine glass, saving a 60 bit glass and a mouth full of priceless red.
He turned to look at Rarity, who was barely breathing and looking at him through widely opened eyes.

“Rarity?” Spike asked with worry, but the words did not reach the pony.

*He has a crush on me, he is polite, generous and all around adorable, he saved me from himself, ergo a dragon AND HE WAS RAISED BY CELESTIA, MAKING HIM A PRINCE!*

“Is something wrong?”

“Yes, but don’t mind it. Let’s finish this bottle tonight and open the second one tomorrow... at my place, over dinner?”

Rarity barely managed to catch the two falling glasses now...

Phase Four

Authors Confession:
When I wrote the last chapter, I had this one mapped out completely differently.
Than I had an idea that worked better with a few details and suddenly everypony was doing something else.
Usually I wouldn't be bothered, but I especially mentioned that the intermission would have no effect on the plot.
It does now.
I apologize and hope you can overlook this mistake.

Please enjoy!

Twilight enjoyed eating.

She had never made a secret out of her love for Spike’s cooking, the pies of the apple family or the wonders of Sugarcube Corner.

She especially enjoyed the rare times when she had the chance to eat together with the princess. Not only was the food exquisite, it was always a pleasure to watch Celestia eat!

The princess had perfect table manners, an exquisite taste and the stomach size of four average ponies. Additionally, she had to perform the most important and hardest spells in Equestria. In other words: Celestia needed much fuel!
Currently she was delicately and carefully carving her way through a four hoof high pancake pile with about half a pint of syrup, not a single drop landing on her coat or the table.

The unicorn couldn’t help but beam between bites. The food was good and the princess’ obvious happiness was infectious.
Generally, Twilight was doing better than she had expected. Celestia’s presence was as soothing as ever. Instead of slowly boiling in her emotions, she felt safe and cared about.

“So, what are you going to do today?” Twilight asked, as Celestia finished and moved on to her coffee.

“Luna basically cut me off all duties...” the princess answered with a sigh and a smile “I guess I am all yours.”

*URKS*

“Twilight, the coffee is hot. Please be careful...” Celestia tried to soothe the coughing and wheezing unicorn.

“I’m ok-cough- princess. Just -cough- got it in the wrong pipe...” the lavender mare explained between coughs, trying to get the liquid out of throat, nose and lower windpipe. She was glad that the little accident would hide her blush. *NOT LIKE THAT!*

“So: What do you want to do?” Celestia asked happily.

“Erm...” Twilight said, looking upwards. *Maybe we could just get something to drink, lie down on the sofa or in bed and just talk? --- Great idea Twi, why don’t you darken the room, light scented candles and offer to give her a sensual hoof massage? Oh, Celestia and Luna, she has such beautiful legs! NO... keep focus! What do you usually do on free days?*

Twilight’s eyes opened widely and her expression grew serious.

Then horrified!

“Twilight, are you feeling fine?” Celestia asked with concern.

“I AM AN EGGHEAD!” the unicorn wailed.

“Oh, my dear... I would say that you are well read!” Celestia offered.

“I tried to think of things I do for fun! And they all include books or studies!” Twilight sighed resigned and slumped her head on the table and hid behind her hoofs “I am so pathetic!”

“No, Twilight, you are not.” Celestia stressed and gave her a supportive smile “You simply love learning and got a bit too emerged. I warned you, but it doesn’t make you pathetic.”

“But an egghead... Why don’t you choose something? Can we do something that you do to unwind?” the unicorn asked after Celestia’s revitalizing smile had sunken in.

The princess took a short breath, opened her mouth... and froze.

Twilight was shocked: She had never seen Celestia at a lack of words!

*I read Twilight’s reports. I spend time with Luna... but she is busy! I used to raise Spike... and get drunk with Spike, but that is not an option with a light weight like Twilight. My little pranks are not really her style. And I don’t want to show her my best tricks yet! Luna took over headmistress duty too, so correcting some essays falls flat... oh gosh, this vacation was 487 years overdue! I wish we could just get back to bed, talk and snuggle a little... No, that would hardly be appropriate!*

“Princess?” Twilight asked carefully.

“I’m a workhorse...” Celestia sighed.

The unicorn’s eyebrows rose.

“All I can think of are duties that are slightly less straining than the others...” the princess admitted.

“We are bad at this vacation-thing.” Twilight mumbled and let out a sigh.

Suddenly the door opened.

Both Twilight and Celestia turned, just to see Luna enter the dining hall with a huge grin on her face.

“Good morning, Twilight, Tia.” The moon princess announced happily.

“Good morning, Luna.” Celestia greeted, happy to be distracted from her complete failure at anything relaxing.

“Good morning, princess.” Twilight added as well.

“We were on our way to court and thought we’d say hello.” Luna explained happily “Can’t wait to get back on the throne. And we fetched your newspaper on the way...”

A rolled up newspaper appeared next to Celestia.

“Oh, thank you, Luna. I was already wondering why the servants hadn’t fetched one, like they usually do...” the sun princess said, her voice laced with mistrust.

“Don’t mention it.”

Celestia opened the paper and let out a sigh.

“Really, Luna?”

“We know you, Celestia!” Luna stated with a wink “It would hardly be a vacation...”

“But cutting out half of the articles?”

“Yes! You would spend all the time making plans and wondering if you should intervene!” Luna stated calmly “No politics for you!”

Celestis sighed and levitated the newspaper over to Twilight. The unicorn grabbed it with her magic and looked through it... the princess was right: half of “Equestria Daily” was cut out.

-Insert late SOPA joke here-

“We also heard that Twilight’s room remained unused tonight.” Luna added with a wink “Good that you get into the spirit of enjoying your vacation.”

Half of the newspaper incinerated as Twilight’s cheeks flushed.

“LUNA!” Celestia scolded, a hint of a blush invading her cheeks “I don’t know what you imply, but...” “No implication, sister! We just assumed that you had a nice sleepover, just like we intended.” The moon princess interrupted “Now! How did you like the moon last night?”

The sun monarch sighed.

“It was magnificent.” She admitted, taken off guard by the quick change of topic.

“Yes, really beautiful...” Twilight muttered, trying to put the newspaper out.

“Apparently, our subjects enjoyed it as well. I was thinking about creating a holiday or adding one to an existing one... like hearts and hoofs day.” Luna pondered, strutting from her sister over to Twilight “You could enjoy it together with your very special some-pon-cess...” she whispered into the unicorns ear, making Twilight spin and look into her eyes with shock.
The moon princess winked and turned to Celestia. “Well, we should be going. Court is waiting and our subjects need tending. Enjoy the day, you two!”

She gave both ponies a nod and turned to leave. As she was halfway through the door, her horn illuminated for a second and she started to gallop away.

Luckily for her, Celestia resisted her urge pursue and asphyxiate her sister with the hoofkerchief that had appeared next to the princess’ plate. She turned towards the wide-eyed unicorn. “I have to apologise for Luna’s behaviour... she has been very eager to get me to take a vacation ever since she returned and now she apparently enjoys her triumph...”

“I don’t mind it, princess.” Twilight ensured, trying violently to remove her blush. An advertisement flyer that lay between the paper remains caught her attention.

“I just worry that she has adopted my worst traits.” Celestia sighed.

“I prefer her being like this to our first encounter. Less lightning.” Twilight giggled and started reading.

NEW! NEW! NEW!
Grand opening of Pageantry Saddler’s house of fashion!
Original Canterlot Haute Couture!
Hoof-stitched saddles!
Dresses Celestia herself would wear!
The first 200 customers will be given a 50% discount!
Also doing customization of saddles and dresses!
Come, try on and get yourself a real Saddler’s today!

Twilight’s eyes went wide: Dresses--- Celestia--- try on---

“Say, Princess...” Twilight asked carefully. “I have never seen you wear anything but your regalia... or the morning gown earlier.”

“Oh, yes, they are appropriate for any event. From Summer Sun Celebration to Hearth’s Warming Eve, I never have to worry about what to wear.” Celestia nodded happily and eyed her shoes for a second “Never subject to a fashion trend.”

“So, you have no other clothes to wear in the open?”

“I am not a cartoon character, Twilight.” Celestia winked, while somewhere, in Ponyville, Pinkie Pie started giggling “But most of them were gifts or official tributes, so they don’t especially match my taste... or fit. The poor dressmakers have to make educated guesses of my measures.”

“Then let’s see if we find something you like.” Twilight offered, levitating the flyer towards the princess.

“You want to go dress shopping?” the alicorn asked in surprise.

“No, I want you to try on dresses!” the unicorn explained “We can’t go out without raising a ruckus. Just think of the guards! And they certainly have nothing in your size...” her cheeks flushed “In your height! I mean... You’re not...!”

Celestia giggled at the unicorn’s awkwardness. “So, how shall I try on dresses that have never been stitched, then?”

“Spike pestered me into helping Rarity a few months back, so I did some research and found a illusion spell that could replicate clothes almost perfectly as long as I had a picture.” The Unicorn suggested.

“Twilight Sparkle! I am the god-princess of all of ponydom! I do not play dress up with my student! Be gone!” Celestia answered in Twilight’s imagination.

“That does sound like fun...” the real princess answered.

“Great!” Twilight cheered “I’ll just go and fetch the book from Rarity... Shoot!” her shoulder slumped.

“Book?”

“Rarity designed a few dresses for you when she was in that weird zone some artists go to...” she explained a bit sour “But it’s moot anyways. Spike can’t send entire books and I would need half a day to get there and back...”

“Why don’t you just teleport there?” Celestia asked gently.

The unicorn gave the princess a confused look. “Princess... I can’t! Ponyville is way out of my reach!”

“Well, my dear, then you should use *my* reach!” the monarch suggested with a slight grin.

“And how do I do that?”

“A very old, yet simple spell: We link our magic together. You set the destination and I teleport you. Once you have the book, you simply give me a tug and I pull you back.” The princess explained.

A smile returned to Twilight’s face. Learning interesting new stuff AND getting Celestia to try on a pretty dress! “So, how does this spell work?”

“Let’s get back to my chambers first. The dining chamber is hardly a good place to learn new spells.” The alicorn suggested and prepared to leave.

Twilight gave her an eager nod and turned to finish her cup of coffee.

As her gaze grazed the torn newspaper, she wondered where she had put the flyer. The unicorn shrugged and followed the princess.

As the servants entered to clean up the dishes, one of them wondered why someone had spit coffee across the room... and who had walked through it.

Meanwhile, Twilight and the princess returned to the freshly cleaned private quarters.

On the way, the unicorn had slowly but certainly lost her composure and was now openly showing her growing excitement: NEW SPELL!

Celestia had a hard time to suppress a chuckle. Her student could be so adorable: Looking at her with those huge eyes, as if trying to absorb every bit of light in the room, her hoofs slightly shivering while desperately trying to hide a grin. Twilight was so delightfully incapable of hiding her happiness. In moments like these, the princess had a hard time to not just grab and cuddle the unicorn.

The princess suppressed the urge and began to explain: “It is quite simple. We have to cross horns and synchronize our magical flow.”

Twilight nodded. That was a rather simple procedure.

“Then you have to begin a teleportation spell, right up to the point on which you choose a target location. But I will provide the last spark.”

The lavender pony nodded again. “And how do I get back?”

“Keep your magic in the same rhythm as mine. When you want back focus on the sun. I will find you.”Celestia explained.

“The sun?”

“A security spell to make sure no unicorn tries to mess with sun or moon. One of the oldest spells in Equstrian history.” The princess answered “Should any creature try to disturb the safe passage, Luna and I would instantly know. If you sync your power with mine, I can locate and pull you in before you trigger the alarm.”

“Wait, what would happen if I didn’t synchronize my magic with yours?” Twilight asked as worry slithered into her voice.

“You’d get teleported right into the court hall... in chains... with an inhibitor stuck on your horn. Only a being as powerful as Discord could hope to escape this magic.”

Twilight felt her stomach knot up. No pressure at all...

“Shall we begin?” the princess offered while sitting down and lowering her head.

As she closed in on her friend, the unicorn swallowed uncomfortably. This was not good! Well, it was very nice, but that was the issue! Crossing horns was a very personal gesture, usually done between parent and child, when the foal was first taught magic.

While several spells used this technique, they were rarely used, except between close family members, very close friends or... when defeating the queen of all changelings through the power of love!

Beads of sweat formed on Twilight’s forehead.
*Just calm down and think of Rarity’s boutique!* she told herself *And not how close you are to the pony you almost ki... NO, we won’t even think about that! That was... brain damage! I hope! Would be easier to deal with than this!*

“Twilight?” Celestia asked carefully, wondering why her most faithful student had stopped and was looking right through her.

“Sorry, Princess... I just had a thought... nothing important!” the unicorn answered and offered her horn.

Twilight shivered slightly as she felt Celestia’s horn against hers. The appendage itself was, like all horns or antlers, completely numb, but she could feel the slight pull on her forehead, the hard ridges bumping against each other and the strange railway-feel it gave, when all her movement to one side was blocked.
The unicorn had to fight down a part in her that just wanted to ride the railway to its end. Follow bump after bump down to the warm happiness. Press her forehead against Celestia’s, close in on that...

A tickle of magic ripped her out of the dream. Twilight cursed herself for almost giving in to the fantasy and focused on Celestia’s magic.

Magic

What a small word to describe the power Twilight felt in this moment. Going in sync with a power that moved heavenly bodies was incredible. But her special talent was magic after all. She soon found the special feeling that defined her beloved mentor’s strength.

“Very good, Twilight.” The princess said gently “Now visualize the place you want to be.”

Twilight did so before thinking.

*Zap*

Celestia cocked her head slightly to the side. A hint of rose snuck onto her face.

Twilight’s cheeks were on fire. Bullets of sweat formed on her forehead.

The unicorn had teleported... right between Celestia’s forelegs. She was standing a bit tilted, her head pressed against the princess’ side.

“Twilight, if-“

“I’m sorry, Princess! I... I...” Twilight interrupted the alicorn while trying to squirm backwards and away.

A firm foreleg stopped her and the princess lowered her head into a gentle embrace.

“Twilight.” Celestia said carefully. The image of a hoofkerchief danced in the back of her head, right next to Luna’s mocking grin. “If... if you want a hug, you can always...”
*What?* the princess suddenly asked herself *Ask me? I would never say no.* Luna’s grin turned to a sympathetic smile *Not long ago you charged Queen Chrysalis horn first. When did you stop being brave, Tia?*

“You can always hug me if you want.” The princess whispered, feeling her mouth dry up. Would this make Twilight like a small filly? Was this what a mentor should say? Why was her heart pounding so nervously?

Caught in her doubts, she didn’t see the twinkle in Twilight’s eyes and so the sudden shift and the two forearms that were flung around her neck surprised her.

A hug with both forelegs was a rather personal thing. Ponies had to leave the security of four legs on the ground to embrace each other like that, so it was more common to nuzzle or brush ones neck against each other.

Not that Celestia cared much right now. A purple unicorn was clutching onto her as if gravity had reversed for her letting go would result in a drop off the planet. And the princess couldn’t help but enjoy it. Twilight was so adorable in her honest display of affection, the alicorn felt her doubts melt.

Quietly, the princess lowered herself into a sitting position, so her fashionable, purple necklace wouldn’t have to strain its hind legs too much.

Finally, Twilight broke off. Trying to avoid eye contact, she offered her horn to give the spell another try.

Celestia knew better than to inquire further and did the same.

This time, Twilight truly disappeared.

The princess remained on the floor and relaxed a little, savouring the lingering warmth around the neck. Finally, she realized one thing: she was smiling broadly.

*Twilight seems to be in need for some coat contact...* the princess mused quietly. She shifted slightly as a shiver crawled over her back, unfolding her wings slightly.
*Who am I kidding? I need some closeness! Ever since Spike left, all I have is a cuddle with Luna from time to time! And my last suitor was decades... no longer... let’s not think about my age!*
The alicorn let out a sigh and lowered her head.
*Luna is back and retaking her duties and Spike is growing up, I never had this much free time... NO, don’t! That is just what Luna wants you to think! I could never implore this on Twilight!*
The princess shook her head to banish the thought. Her wings folded and a small whiff of air made her feel a damp spot on her coat.
Celestia’s eyebrows rose and she touched ran her hoof over her neck. Twilight had shed tears!

The princess bit her lip. Were those tears last night... happiness?

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh.
After Luna’s return and the issues with Discord, let alone the Changeling invasion, she would have simply allowed herself to have a satisfying relationship.
But whenever a friendship report arrived, she couldn’t muster up the will to go for it. Well, that was not entirely true... she just knew that any suitor could never be as important as her most faithful student was to her.
And Celestia did not do things half hearted!

Not being made of stone, the sun princess had allowed herself several liaisons over her long lifetime. But none of those had ever been purely sexual or void of emotional depth. Celestia had always opened her heart completely to her paramour and remained faithful through all seasons of his or her life... until she would visit her beau on his deathbed and give him one last nuzzle before they would depart in the lands that were beyond Celestia’s reach.

As a being of the moment, the princess had taught herself how to deal with the grief. The memories of happiness outweighed the pain by far and the feeling that she could share her immortality by keeping their memory alive soothed the last stings of loneliness.

The alicorn let out a sigh and rested her head on her forelegs.

What if she combined student and suitor?

*No! Don’t think like that, Celestia! After all she has done for you, Twilight deserves a wonderful life with a family, with a future! Not an old and stagnated god princess, three sizes too huge for her.*
And then there was the last two straws.

What if she rejects?
Celestia, while not used to being rejected was not worried about herself, but rather about the wonderful relationship, she had with Twilight: She would probably lose her most faithful student, friend and foster sister to Spike.

And even worse:
What if she does not reject? What is she accepts out of duty and not love? What if Twilight doesn’t feel like this for Celestia, but still goes for it?
What could be worse than destroying a wonderful relationship and robbing the best part of Twilight’s youth without giving the unicorn anything back?

No... Celestia would not risk that much!

If the initiative came from the unicorn, on the other hoof... Celestia feared that resisting would be... difficult.

*Meanwhile in Ponyville, Carrousel Boutique*

Make up hid the slight rings beneath Rarities eyes and the sewing allowed her to focus her frustration on something. She had decided to let the door sign remain on *closed* until noon and stay upstairs, so she could think in peace for a while.
Bothered... that was the word Rarity would use to describe herself.

Yesterday evening, she had the excuse of alcohol, but now, she was much, much too sober to ignore this nagging feeling in the back of her head: She had deeply enjoyed her time with Spike!
They had talked about Rarities work, Spike’s duties in Canterlot, the crown jewels and that adorable story of a much smaller Spike, trying to dress up as a guard to sneak in and eat them.

And she had truly enjoyed the company. Then he had escorted her home, like the gentlewyrm that he was and while she watched him leave, she couldn’t help but smile and worse: She was looking forward to having him over this evening.

Him and sadly not just the wine!

She couldn’t even pin it on the wonderful wine! No, the sheer fact that Spike had selflessly shared this priceless treat with her was worth more than the old grape juice itself could ever be.

Suddenly she heard the familiar sound of a teleport coming from below.

*TWILIGHT!* the unicorn thought *Spike must have sent her a letter to show off and now she is here to scold me or worse: To keep me from seeing him!*

She turned and removed her glasses. The sheer possibility of a forbidden fruit fanned her inner drama.

*This is not your choice to make! Spike is old enough to choose his way! Your books may have snuffed out the fire in your heart, fiend, but I shall fight for my dragon! Have at thee, former friend, for now, we are adversaries OF LOVE!*

Meanwhile, Twilight happily looked around in the main business room. The teleport had felt less draining than expected and it slowly sunk in that this was probably the biggest jump she would ever do.

The sound of a hoof against the stairs made her spin, to see Rarity come her way, head lowered, horn raised.

“Good morn...!” “I DID NOT TOUCH HIM!” Twilight began her greeting, just before she had to dodge a swift kick from a shrieking Rarity.

“Rarity! What the hay?” Twiligth shouted back, as she managed to jump out of the way of snap kick. Where did Rarity learn to fight like that? She focused and engulfed her attacker in a purple glow and lifted her off the ground.

“UNHAND ME, VILE DESTROYER OF BLOSSOMING HOPES!”

“What has gotten into you?”

“NOTHING!!”

“Calm down!” Twilight yelled in her most soothing screech “Who did you not touch? What are you talking about?”
Rarities eyes went wide. “You are not here to scold me for spending the evening with Spike?”

“Why would I?” the lavender mare asked, tilting her head a little. Slowly the information in the last few statements reached her attention. “Wait! What happened between you two?”

“We just had a very nice evening...” Rarity answered nervously “Spike happened to find a bottle of incredible wine and shared it with me. And I... might have enjoyed myself a little too much.”

“How much?” Twilight asked coldly.

“Enough to invite him over tonight... for dinner...” Rarity answered carefully “Maybe with a bit of candlelight...”

“Rarity!” Twilight stated with an icy voice and a gaze that could incinerate small animals “Have you any idea what the consequences of that could be?”

Rarity swallowed.

“I will NEVER hear the end of it!”

“Excuse me?”

“I have told him that he had no chance ever since we moved to Ponyville and suddenly you... you do that! His ego will inflate so much, it will be visible from space!” Twilight moaned and dropped Rarity. “And then the disappointment when he finally realizes that it will never work out! Gosh, this will be so annoying!”

The alabaster mare landed gracefully and sighed. She needed this out of her system and she might as well tell the pony that mattered: “Darling... you do not seem to understand: I do consider giving him a chance.”

“WHAT?” Twilight yelled, her eyes going wide. “Butbutbutbutbut... how? Why?”

“Because since the day he first came to Ponyville, Spike has been nothing but a perfect gentledrake around me! He is generous, honest, caring and a delight to have around! He may be a little cheeky, but I have never seen a more noble being!”

“BUT! He is a BABY DRAGON!” Twilight stressed “I know that he is more mature than a pony his age would be, but... DRAGON!”

“Twilight Sparkle!” Rarity said in a scandalized voice “I do not intend to jumpstart a new race with him! I was talking about giving him a chance to win my heart! A fair chance!”

“But what if it won’t work out? What if things go terrible? What if you both get hurt?” Twilight asked.

“After all the effort he spent... all the things he did for me... Twilight, he deserves a chance...” Rarity answered gently. Two sad eyes looked at Twilight. “Twilight... he won. His diligence, his patience, his hard work... he deserves it to pay off. I can’t keep on watching him enslave himself to me. My heart is not as hard as the diamonds on my flank...” Rarity shook her head and forced dignity back into her features “What element of generosity could keep on taking without even considering returning?”

“But he is...” Twilight started and shook her head “He is nothing you dreamt of! He is not a handsome prince or a rich designer or anything like that! He is my assistant. As much as I love Spike, you are just way out of his league!”

“Twilight Sparkle!” Rarity scolded again “If! And only IF he manages to catch my heart, I will gladly reconsider my... aspirations! True love goes beyond such foalishness as wealth, rank and status! Love can bloom anywhere between anyone!”

*Sounds familiar, doesn't it?* a voice inside Twilight’s head spoke and the purple pony swallowed. “But he is so small...”

“The last time he gave completely into an emotion, he grew huge enough to hoard whatever his greed desired. Maybe his growth reacts to other emotions too?” the alabaster unicorn offered “Or maybe not... Maybe we just get hurt and will one day laugh about our foolishness. In any case, you can’t find love without taking a few risks!”

“Just be careful... ok?” The unicorn surrendered. Her Spike didn’t seem so little anymore.

“I would never hurt him on purpose. Any pain he goes through will be mine as well. He deserves a chance... even if it’s just a chance to hurt us both.”

“I think I understand...” Twilight answered and swallowed “Rarity!”

“Yes?”

“Good luck...”

“Thank you, darling.” Rarity answered gladly “Was there something else you need?”

“Oh, yes! That one scrapbook of yours. With the dresses for princess Celestia! I want dresses for the princess to try on.” Twilight stressed happily, earning a raised eyebrow from Rarity. “With that one illusion spell!”

“Sure you can borrow it, darling... but please don’t show her the ones with a little cross on the bottom. Those ones are hardly more than scribbles.” Rarity answered and left Twilight to go and fetch the book.

“Thank you. Oh, before I forget. Should I get you something from that new boutique in Canterlot? They have an opening sale and all. You probably know their sortiment already.” The purple mare offered, pointing at the many magazines next to the newspaper.

The fashion pony cocked her head. “A new boutique? I can’t remember reading about an opening...”

“They had a flyer in the Equestria Daily.” Twilight explained “Seemed pretty big.”

“I can’t remember a flyer.” Rarity shrugged “They probably just overplayed it, if they can’t afford flyers beyond the Canterlot borders.”

“You are probably right.” Twilight answered, grabbing the book. “Thank you... in many ways!”

The unicorn closed her eyes and focused on the sun.

Rarity's eyes would sting for another minute.

Authors note:
I know what you think:
Why did this take so long?
Answer 1:
A complete rewrite, starting at page 2 when those silly ponies decided to ignore my plans and do things this way.
Answer 2:
Celestia's mind is a nightmare to write.
Answer 3:
I had a lot of personal stuff to do.
Good news: 2 more weeks until the holidays start.

Preparing Phase Four

Luna was smiling.

No, grinning!

She had slept exceptionally well, had a quick, yet good breakfast and her plans were coming together nicely.
With a bit of a spring in her trot, she was on her way towards the lab, she had prepared for her new left hoof-stallion.
A part of her was still flummoxed: She had followers and they were useful!

Luna had her doubts when she sent for the two cultists. Ponies willing go against a god-princess like Celestia were prone to holding grudges and she didn’t expect much loyalty now, after Nightmare Moon had failed them.

Yet they were helping her.

It wasn’t as if Luna needed the help. All she asked of them could be easily accomplished by a spell, some manipulation or some other of her many abilities.

But she wanted them to help! Autumn, Pipsqueak and her other honest fans gave her a sense of belonging. Of true identity! They looked up to her because they loved her night, her work and most importantly: Her.

This plot was not being carried out by a lonely Nightmare Moon nor a backwards ruler demanding undeserved loyalty! This was the work of all the forces at the command of Princess Luna!

And luck gave her two surprisingly useful individuals.

Red was a distant relative of Applejacks and well known as a bit of a special case in his family. He had once left his home orchard in search for a sophisticated life in Canterlot, just like the orange mare of Ponyville had in Manehattan. But unlike his relative, he never found back home. Currently he was tending to the adornment trees of some noble.
It pained the born farmer to grow trees that were not meant to bear edible fruit.

His sudden arrival would not surprise anyone, since he used any excuse to escape his job and he could easily keep tabs on Ponyville.

And Autumn…

Discovering that the Galerina family had lasted for this long was surprising. Once, they had been great alchemists. Many breakthrough in those fields had been made trough the special talent that ran through their line, like apples were tied to Red’s family.

True alchemy had always been looked down onto by the regal unicorns. The magi of the court used to call it “the vulgar brother of true magic” and many of them outright refused to study or teach it, since even “common earth ponies or pegasi” could learn the basics and maybe even emulate unicorn magic over time.

Luna herself had been asked several times to regulate or outright forbid its use. And it was telling that the court would become desperate enough to ask the princess of the night.

Still, the Galerinas were proud of their talent and never stopped studying and practicing their often arcane and strange art. Both princesses decided to tolerate the use, as long as it benefited ponykind.

And then she happened.

One terrible pony far beyond redemption hailed from their family.

Sadly, she was a genius.

For what she did, she was punished severely.

The royal sisters saw no choice, but to limit the explorative and experimental side of alchemy and outright forbade the use to anyone without a very hard to earn license.

It was no wonder that poor Zecora’s skills were seen as witchcraft and why she remained in Everfree, away from those laws.
The Galerina family fell from whatever little grace it had. Many left Equestria and most of the remaining members gave up their name in shame. They took on new ones in desperation to use their talent again, since being called “Galerina” was a sure way to not get a license, while Death-, and Skullcap seemed to work.

Autumn’s branch had kept the name for some reason and their youngest member had sadly inherited their ancestor’s special talent.

In Canterlot’s society, that was akin to having a murdering cutie mark.

Using all of his skills, he managed to get into her school for gifted unicorns, one of the last places where Alchemy was still taught.

And then there was this accident that changed everything and had him kicked out.

He blamed Celestia, formed a Nightmare Moon cult and tried to prepare Equestria for her return.

And now he was working for Luna to make Celestia happy…

Sometimes life can be very strange.

The princess of the night stopped in front of an average looking door that used to lead to one of the rarely used rest rooms for servants that did not live in Canterlot and would sleep in the castle over the week.

With a flicker of magic, the door opened.

Bubbling test tubes and the sound of a burner greeted her, together with a familiar, scarf wearing pony.

“Autumn?” Luna said with quite a bit of surprise. Her follower was supposed to be in bed by now! And look less sickly! “You look terrible…”

The stallion’s cheeks had a slight greenish tint as he turned to Luna very slowly.

“I had a little… accident… with the ink, princess…” the cultist admitted and his stomach growled softly.

“Accident?” Luna asked, worry invading her features.

The stallion nodded. “I made a second batch as soon as it happened! Perfect results, just like with the first!”

He pointed at a grey, marble inkwell with a huge cork.

“What happened to the first?” the princess asked strictly “You know how illegal and dangerous *Really want it ink* is. We have to destroy every last drop, once this is done.”

“Oh, that is taken care of…”

“Autumn Galerina! You immediately tell me what happened to the ink!” Luna demanded, using the stallion’s full name, like a mother would with her foal. Her voice was on the edge of royal canterlot.

“I put it in a translucent inkwell, when cooling it…” the alchemist admitted.

“So?”

“I saw the ink… and I… well… I really wanted it!” he added with a sigh.

“Don’t tell me that…” Luna started, a very disgusting picture forming in her head.

“Every last drop.” Autumn nodded and showed a completely black tongue.

“Ewwww”

“At least it’s not poisonous…” The stallion sighed and turned back towards the table. “I should have worn the lenses. But that proves its potency.”

The night princess nodded. “Very well, but take better care. Even small mistakes might put the plan in peril.”

“Could you please explain the whole plan to me, princess?” Autumn asked after putting on a pair of green glasses. At a closer inspection, one could see that they were very thinly cut emeralds. “It’s a bit hard to understand why we use means like these… I thought we just wanted Celestia to get some rest.”

Luna let out a sigh and pulled a flier out from under her wing.

“I had this flier printed. Please add the words ‘Dresses’, ‘Celestia’ and ‘Try on’ at the empty spaces.” She ordered. “I will elaborate while you do so…”

The stallion nodded and went to work.

“You see: Celestia needs more than a week off, I fear.” Luna started to explain quietly “Back, before my banishment, she and I had our differences, but we were here for each other. Now she has been mostly alone for a thousand years. And from what I see, she has become… how to express it? She has hardly taken any suitors in the last centuries, gone on adventures or allowed herself some other guilty pleasures that keep an immortal being’s sanity in check.”

“Wait! The princess had suitors?” Autumn asked, almost dropping the quill. Four seconds passed. “YOU HAD SUITORS?”

“Neither of us is made of stone, Autumn.” Luna sighed “Discretion dictated that we never made those… liaisons public, but eternity can get very lonely. If one does not sate his basic needs from time to time, one loses himself in fighting them! We owe it to our subjects to remain sane and happy, if only to rule them well.”

The unicorn nodded. It was understandable… and a bit hot.

“Anyhow: I suspect that Celestia has a certain attraction to her most faithful student. A Platonic love on the verge of becoming romance. If left unchecked, she will fight it, repress it and make herself as well as her student very unhappy!”

“With Sparkle?” Autumn asked, raising an eyebrow. “WAIT! Celestia is into… she likes… you know… side saddles?”

“Love and affection goes beyond gender, my follower.” Luna stated calmly.

The stallion swallowed softly. This was REALLY hot!

“So… why exactly do we want her to try on dresses?” he asked while sitting down, his body facing away from the princess.
“Try to think about it.” The moon princess probed with a bit of a grin.

Autumn stopped his writing for a moment and closed his eyes. He imagined his marefriend squeezing into that pretty saddle he had somehow managed to afford for her.

“I BETTER WEAR THE LAB COAT!” he suddenly blurted out, grabbed said clothing off a stand and buttoned it close with almost superequine speed. “SAFETY AND ALL!”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Oh, now you are turning red… the ink must have some side effects.”

“YES! INK!” the cultist agreed and grabbed the quill with shaky magic. “Please, tell me what the rest of the plan is!”

“We will give them time and opportunities to develop their relationship!” the alicorn stressed. “If it was not meant to be love, then I have to accept it. But it will make them both happy and that is all that matters!”

“That means: no love potion… good!” The cultist mumbled to himself he finally asked: “So we push and guide a bit?”

“Exactly!”

“The flier is ready, princess.”

Luna turned around to examine the work.

The stallion had done well. The words were well placed and the color was almost perfect. Having to deal with the effects of the ink a long time ago made the moon princess’ will too strong to fall victim to it, but she was sure that Twilight would not have that much luck.

“Really want it ink”… what a silly name for such a devious brew. By distilling Heart’s Desire oil and gemstone dust into an active agent and combining it with the natural ink of the incredibly grabby cuddle fish (sepia latimanus snugglya), one could get an ink that almost perfectly emulated the “Want it Need it” spell. Only that you always wanted the ink or whatever form it took. And worse: the effect was much more subtle. It burned the idea of having something into the victims head and left it there. Ponies would not steal things, but always have the nagging feeling that they really wanted whatever the ink told them. It was highly illegal for obvious reasons.

Luna smiled. Yes, this would help them to have dresses for Celestia to try on.

Wait! That was not how she would think that!

“Autumn!” the moon princess demanded “What did you do? The ink is much too strong!”

“What?” the stallion asked in surprise “So changing the mixture of gemdust did really work? I was on the edge, but I had to try it out. Just let me write it…” “YOU IMPROVED IT?” Luna interrupted her follower.

The alchemist looked down. “I just had an idea…”

“I give you the permission to brew one of the most dangerous liquids in the history of Equestria and you IMPROVE IT?” the moon princess yelled. “HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?”
“YES!” Autumn wailed and put the back of his hoof to his forehead “I lost myself in it! The process of creation, the idea that this might have some impact…” he shook his head “I’m so sorry, princess… but I FELT IT!”

“Heavens forbid if anyone ever gets their hoofs on this! I invited you here to support me, not to find ways to brainwash me!” Luna chastised.

Suddenly a bit dropped and the stallion seemed to lose every bone in his body.

“Princess, I would never… horse apples, what have I done? I am so sorry! But… It’s my special talent. I can’t fight being me all the time.”

Luna let out a sigh of frustration. “Lamenting won’t help us.” She stated “I overreacted. It’s not strong enough to control me, but I need to concentrate. And If I feel it, so will Celestia!” Luna sighed “We trained ourselves to feel any kind of mind altering spells or tricks. If she reads it more than once, she will find out!”

“But there is not enough time to make a new batch. I already pulled an all-nighter for this one.”

“Yes. Now you will make sure that she only reads it once!” Luna decided and quickly formed a plan in her head “I will bring them the newspaper myself, distract them and you will place the flyer.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?”

“I’ll turn you invisible! I’ll cast the spell and give it to you, and then you sneak in while I pay them a visit, place the flyer and steal it after they read it.” Luna explained.

“That sounds pretty risky.” Autumn admitted.

“And it is. But you brought this on yourself.” Luna stated coldly “And we have no other choice. I will prepare this newspaper and try to get it to Twilight.” she put a hoof to her temple “Yes… then I will act up a bit. When they both look at me, you place the flyer. I leave, you wait and once they put it away, you swipe it and hide in a corner until they leave. If anything goes bad, you yell out loud. I’ll place a listening spell in a hoofkerchief.”

“You are really good with this, princess.” Autumn admitted.

“I was Nightmare Moon.” Luna stated “Trickery and deceit are my forte.”

The stallion nodded with a bit of a supportive smile. He was glad that the princess was so far that she could talk about her past deeds openly.

“I’ll get some socks… hoofs on stone…” the cultist explained and turned to his suitcase.

“Good idea.” Luna agreed *I will cut the articles out. That way Celestia will be more likely to give it to Twilight.*
As Luna was doing her work, she looked over to her follower. A part of her felt bad for him. He simply did his best and… well… it was not his fault that he succeeded for once. If somepony understood what it meant to have a special talent that got no love, it was her.
She sighed quietly. Later she would see that agent Shadow would get the afternoon off and spend some time with him. He probably needed a kiss.

Yes, a deep kiss with that nice, black tongue of his!

Wait!

“DARN INK!” Luna yelled “AUTUMN! GO AND WASH YOUR MOUTH!”

Phase Five

Her magic was steady on the sun and she cast a simple grabbing spell. Arcane power materialized around her and she felt a teleport spell beginning.

As usual, everything went white but something felt wrong. Twilight felt... heavy?

She felt something fling against her horn. Weird!

The teleport seemed to take longer than the usual heartbeat but finally, the she returned to a soft ground in reality.
A soft “Thud” sound alarmed her that the book she was carrying had landed on the floor somewhere.
The unicorn shook her head as her eyes slowly adapted to the half-dark.

But suddenly, two forelegs grabbed her and held her against a chest.

They were longer than hers, but clearly not Celestia’s!

“CHRRRR… hmon… shmmdow…” Was quietly mumbled into her ear.

Twilight struggled against the soft hold, finally seeing that she was in a bed, in what seemed to be one of the many guest rooms in Canterlot castle. The curtains were closed, letting just a little light in. Two grey forelegs hugged her neck and a snout was gently pressed against her cheek.

And a certain pressure in her back told her that the pony that was currently cuddling her was definitely male! Luckily a blanket separated the two but Twilight still struggled harder!

“Chrr… don’t leave me for Lady Nightmare Moon… I made your favourite cake! Can she make you cake?” the stallion continued to mumble, making her inner psychiatrist listen up. That seemed delightfully disturbing.
But still, it was not his fault that she suddenly appeared in his bed and the unicorn didn’t feel like waking the stranger and embarrass him and herself. If she could just get a bit more distance between them she could easily teleport away, pick up the book and find out what happened. Struggling was easier than she had expected: besides him being taller than her, he was not nearly as strong as the princess or her childhood scuffling partner: Shining Armor.

She was almost out of his grasp and ready to teleport as a thought started to scream in her head and made her freeze: Two forelegs were around her neck, his muzzle was next to her ear… WHAT THE HAY WAS STROKING HER HAIR?

“IIIIIIHHH” Twilight yelled like a little filly.

The stallion’s eyes shot open.

“AAAAHHH!” he screamed, much higher pitched than her.

Later Twilight would admit that she did feel a little offended by his next action. But if the faithfulness of a stallion could be measured by how far he would throw an unknown mare out of his bed, this “hmon shmmdow” would have him for a very long time.

The purple mare landed hard on the other side of the room, the blanked now wrapped around her. A part of her brain recognized that the door was now on the far end of the room. Most of her brain, however, was focused on her horrifying discovery: On the bed was a monster!

An unnatural appendage grew out of the right side of his neck, just above his shoulder. Stretched out, it was probably almost as long as his foreleg, about half as thick and covered in the same grey fur as the rest of the stallion. It looked like some sort of tentacle.
The thing was rubbing his right eye while one fore hoof rubbed the other.

“WHAT IS THAT?” Twilight yelled again, pointing at the abomination in front of her as the thing shook the sleep out of his head.

“VILE CHANGELNG!” he suddenly proclaimed while grabbing under the pillow with the unnatural appendage “Back for more, I see! But I am prepared! EAT COLD IRON! GYAHAHAHA!”

An object was flung through the room.

Still too shocked to react, Twilight was hit directly on the head. “OW!”

She looked up.

A rusty horseshoe was hanging from her horn.

“A horseshoe?” she asked, slightly stunned. “Who throws a horseshoe?”

“Hm…” the stranger’s ire seemed to dissipate. “You are not a changeling… otherwise this would have been a lot more… effective...”

“WHAT IS THAT?” Twilight yelled again, pointing at the stallion.

A flash of white cut through the low light conditions and Princess Celestia appeared in the room.

She looked around quickly, her face full of worry until she found Twilight, confused, wrapped in a blanked and pointing.
Her eyes went to the stallion and a mask of gentle mischief returned.

“In bed with the enemy again, Autumn?” she asked in a teasing voice.

The stallion’s cheeks flared up and he grabbed his pillow to cover himself.

“Did you teleport your protégée in my bed, just to make that joke?” he asked coldly.

“I promise: I wasn’t aware that you were even in the castle.” Celestia answered gently. “My agents do not pursue perfectly harmless ponies. Well... at least not on my orders.”

His face hardened at the word harmless and his tentacle wrapped around his neck lazily.

Twilight was brought back into reality.

“WHAT IS THAT?” she yelled and pointed again.

“Is there any way this could get any more embarrassing…” he muttered loudly. Terror invaded his features “No, wait! NO! I SAID IT!”

The door flew open.

Again, Twilight was on the edge of screaming.

A blue Pegasus with a midnight blue mane that was stylishly combed over half of her face entered the room. Three perfectly hexangular lumps of briquette formed her cutie mark, barely visible under the night guard uniform she was wearing. As her yellow eyes opened in surprise her toothy and fanged grin disappeared. Leathery wings were folded on her sides, one holding her helmet. The two slits that were her pupils started to scan the room with a dangerous calm.
What was this? Freaky Abomination Appreciation Day?

“Honey... Why is princess Celestia in your room? Why is Lady Sparkle wrapped in your blanket? And why are you humping a pillow in front of them?” she asked calmly, her eyes slowly narrowing. “Is this some plan to bring back eternal night?”

“That is the first thing that comes to mind?” Twilight asked in confusion.

“You don’t know my idiot, do you?” the Pegasus asked with a hint of frustration.

“I wouldn't call that *humping*. He is more... shaking in complete terror.” Celestia corrected.

“Does it really matter what I say now? No matter how confused and scared I am, you are going to be angry.” the stallion wailed in defeat.

“You are probably right, but I want to know why I am angry with you!” the soldier answered roughly.

Twilight shook her head and finally managed to focus. “WHAT IS THAT?”

“That is my very special somepony.” The night guard answered, stressing “special” in the same way Diamond Tiara usually did when describing Snips and Snails.

“That thing on his neck!”

“That is a tentacle.” The guard threw in.

“Yes! But how? WHY?”

“Because he created a highly unstable and illegal mutagen and tested it on himself.” Celestia suddenly chimed in. She turned to the Pegasus. “Agent Shadow. Did you invite him?”

The night guard saluted. “No, Princess. Princess Luna gave him this room so he could stay over the week. She apparently wants to have the followers around while she rules alone. At least that is what I think. She didn’t explain it to me. She just told me that my next shift was at nightfall and that my coltfriend was in here. And that I should do the math. Well, not in exactly these words, of course.”

“I understand.” The alicorn said with a knowing grin. She turned to Twilight. “Shall we…”

“HOW MUCH CAN IT LIFT? DOES IT HAVE A BONE STRUCTURE? HOW IS IT CONNECTED TO YOUR SPINAL CORD? GOODNESS, I HAVE TO DISSECT IT!” Twilight almost exploded with stars in her eyes.

Autumn let out another little filly scream and jumped behind the night guard.

“A third of what my arm can lift! No, only sinews, tendons and connective cartilage! Between my 5th and 6th vertebrae! I had it tested! PLEASE DON’T DISSECT ME!” he wailed, as he cowered behind his girlfriend and pointed her head at the unicorn.

“Hey, nobody dissects my coltfriend! Not even a heroine like you!” the agent yelled, extending a protective wing.

The purple pony stopped dead in her tracks. This mare looked scary!

“As pleasant as a chat with agent Shadow and Autumn is, I think we should leave, Twilight.” Celestia suggested.

The unicorn nodded and grabbed the book off the floor. She quickly shook the horseshoe off her horn and stepped next to the princess.

Another flash of gold later, the stallion and the Pegasus were alone.

“I am really sorry, love… even though I have no idea what just happened…” the stallion muttered and was about to walk around his girlfriend, when her tail suddenly rose and wrapped around his neck.

“Honey, I spent the entire night telling ponies that the rainbow around the moon was a good thing and not the sign of Nightmare Moon’s second coming or Discordian aftershocks. I feel tense as a Manticor with its tail in a wood chipper and I have 6 hours of free time before it all starts again… You stay EXACTLY where you are!”

-

Twilight materialized a heartbeat later.

She looked around to find herself in the ball room. That was where her observation ended, as she was yet again grabbed and hugged fiercely.

But this time by the Princess. Confusion dissipated as Twilight could fully enjoy being embraced this time and returned the favour happily. But her happiness was sullied by a sob from the alicorn.

“Princess? What is wrong?” Twilight asked carefully, unable to see the princess’ face.

“Oh, Twilight! I am so sorry!” Celestia sighed and gave the unicorn another tight squeeze. The gentle composure of moments ago was gone. “I made a terrible mistake! I am so sorry that this happened!”

“Princess... what happened?” The unicorn asked as gentle as possible.

“I underestimated you! I underestimated you so much!” the princess said, her voice trembling slightly. “When I felt the sun calling out, I found and teleported you. But your hold was so much stronger than I expected. Instead of snapping out of your grasp, the sun held you back.”

Shock overcame Twilight. She could hold the sun?

“I managed to snap the sun away, but by doing so, I moved it. I panicked! I quickly dumped you in the first guest room that came to mind and realigned sun in its right place.” Celestia nuzzled the unicorn gently, savouring the feeling.

“But why did you put me in a guest room?” the unicorn asked carefully.

“I... I have never experienced something like this.” The princess explained, not letting go of the unicorn. “The thought of teleporting you in here hurt, with a cracked horn or... or worse.”

Twilight had to hide her shock as she saw a tear roll over the princess face.

“I couldn’t face it right away... I had to return the sun to its place. I had to keep the day going.”

The unicorn gently rubbed her temple against the princess’ neck.

“I am fine, Celestia.” She whispered gently. “Nothing bad happened.”

Celestia slowly let go. As the embraced loosened, Twilight slowly realized how tight the princess had held her. The unicorn took a deep breath.

“I am sorry.” The princess added crestfallen “The thought that my foalishness hurt you got the best of me.”

“You didn’t know how strong my grip could be.” Twilight tried to soothe by nuzzling Celestia’s cheek “Sometimes I have no idea how strong my magic is. Please don’t torment yourself. I’m here. I’m fine.”

She suddenly stopped, realizing how close she had come to a certain pair of lips and stepped back a little.

*COMFORT!!* A voice in the back of her head yelled and added *Celestia Dresses Try On*

Twilight blinked. Maybe that horseshoe had given her brain damage...

“Thank you, Twilight.” Celesita said after taking a deep breath herself.

“So... who were those two?” The unicorn asked, hoping that it would distract the sun goddess.

“Oh! I forgot that you have never actually met the leader of Luna’s cult.” Celestia answered slightly more cheerful.

“Wait! THAT was the head weirdo?” Twilight asked incredulously “When you wrote me about Luna’s cult, I imagined... well... different. Probably less mutated.”

“I doubt that Luna would like it if you called her followers weirdos.” The princess smirked “But trust me, Autumn is quite harmless. He may enjoy his melodrama, but I can’t say that he is a negative influence towards the followers or Luna.”

“He did seem familiar... wait! Autumn Galerina?”

“You know him?” Celestia wondered loudly.

“Know him? We were S.W.P.E.O.I.T.H.C.F.!”

“You were what?”

“Students Who Passed Each Other In The Hallway Casually Forever!” Twilight explained. After a short pause she added “I was really into acronyms back then. So that’s how he wrecked the chemistry room. And who was the other one?”

“His biggest conquest.” The princess giggled “She was the secret agent who infiltrated the cult. I had to turn two blind eyes on them, when I found out that they were in love.”

“Oh... She is in the service?” Twilight asked carefully. Shining Armour had mentioned the service. And the captain of the royal guard was not their strongest supporter. Too much sneakiness and lies.

“Officially she was suspended and only works as an advisor to the secret service now. But Luna offered her a permanent place in the night guard and well... she was one of the first to go through the change.”

“No more repercussions?” Twilight wondered aloud. “I mean... I read a lot of Con Mane, but I didn't think that the real secret service could get away with stuff like that.”

The princess sighed gently. “Usually, they don’t. I was close to going harder on her. But I cannot go harder on them with a clean conscience. Both were good and talented ponies that should have prospered... and yet, both slipped through my hoofs. It was up to Luna to catch them. I didn't want to see them suffer just because life is not always fair.”

“You care about them!” the unicorn said gently, her eyes growing bigger.

“Of course I do! I care about all my subjects, big and small.”

“Yes, but you don’t just say that or make exceptions... you truly care about all of us. Even if we have tentacles sticking out of our necks or do really foalish things, you still care about us!” Twilight stressed, stars dancing in her eyes. To her, the princess suddenly seemed even more beautiful.

“Twilight?”

“Sorry, just got lost in a thought.” The unicorn managed to stop herself from staring. “I got the book!”

“Then at least something good has come out of this mess...” Celestia sighed. “I had the ball room prepared for our little fashion parade. Even though the servants overdid it a little.”

Twilight looked around, to find the room filled with mirrors, a small stage and a music player.

“That was quick...” she admitted, wondering why there were so many heart motives. Maybe leftovers from last hearts and hoofs day?

The unicorn opened the book and immediately let out a sigh of relief. It was actually the sketchbook that she wanted and not, as she had expected, knowing the pattern of her life, Rarity’s secret sensual diary, a fetish line catalogue or an account book of a secret prostitution ring. Just sketches! Thank the stars!

“I’ll just step out for a moment. Why don’t you pick out the ones you like best?” Twilight offered quickly. She was still slightly flustered and needed to compose herself.

“Of course.” The princess answered, taking the book.

Twilight hurried out of the room and into a nearby bathroom.

After a few splashes of water into her face she stood in front of the mirror and let out a deep sigh.

There was no longer any doubt: Twilight was in love. This was no longer a crush or admiration. Twilight loved Celestia! She loved Celestia and everything she stood for.
In a world as chaotic and strange as Equestria could be, everypony could look at the sun and know that Celestia was there to rule them with kindness, mercy and gentleness.
And even when the facade broke, there was no tyrant, but a selfless and big hearted pony who would suffer and bleed for every single one of her subjects.

“I guess there is no way around it anymore...” The unicorn muttered “I love her.”

“Sure?”

“Yes, I know it. I can’t look at her without thinking what a marvel she is. I have never felt this strong for another being! I want to see her happy! I want to tear down that gentle facade and make the true her smile and laugh! I love the princess! I love Celestia!”

“Wonderful! Now, what are you going to do about it?”

“Well... wait! Who am I talking to?” Twilight suddenly realized and looked around. As she saw nobody in the room, her gaze finally drifted towards the mirror.

“Oh, great! I’m going crazy again.”

“Pretty much.”

Twilight looked at her image and smiled. “I might as well use you!”

“What?”

“Well, I have decided that I love Celestia! Now we can brainstorm to find out what to do next.”

“You do realize that I am not really a separate pony?”

“Yes, but you are some part of my subconscious and I can bounce ideas off you!” Twilight said with a grin.

“THE SUBCONCIOUS DOESN’T WORK LIKE THAT!” the mirror mare yelled back.

“SEE!”

“Goodness... we are messed up!”

“Anyways... how should I confess to her?” Twilight wondered and started to ponder, her hoof below her lips. “Hmm... I COULD TRY TO SEDUCE HER!”

Cracks started to appear on the glass as the mirror mare started to laugh harder than Twilight herself had ever done before. Actually, she was almost laughing harder than Pinkie Pie.

“Yeah... that probably is a bad idea...” Twilight admitted. And as if the universe itself decided to comment on this statement, somewhere in Equestria, the foal that would at one day become the great Captain Obvious was born. Strangely, the good captain would not do his name proud and point out the blatantly obvious, but rather fight crime in the name of justice and morality. The universe is funny that way.

“So... what do I do?”

“How should I know? I am you!”

“You are not helping! I am not helping! AHHHH!” Twilight groaned in frustration.

“Why don’t you try to be yourself?” her image offered.

“I have been myself ever since I met her!” the unicorn rolled her eyes.

“And you two ended up snuggling last night!”

“You do have a point there...”

“Sure we do.”

“So, I should be myself?”

“Who else would you want to be? I mean... it worked for Spike.”

“Gosh, can you imagine his face when we tell him that his sister has fallen for his mom?”

“Well, I won’t have to tell him! I am not real.”

“What did I say about being snarky?”

“That was the Twilight in the other mirror. Since every experience changes your subconscious, a projection like me disappears whenever you lose focus.”

“So, once I experience something new, you are gone? That is a bit sad.”

“Such is the fate of every fantasy. Only those made reality may endure. So take the dream you have and make it reality! There is a princess waiting in the ball room! And she is dire need of a new gown!” The mirror mare pumped a hoof in the air.

“Yes! Dresses Celestia Try ON!” Twilight cheered.

“You think funny, did you notice?”

“Oh, you are imagining things!” the unicorn answered and turned to leave, ignoring the mirror loudly proclaiming: “I AM IMAGINARY!”

-

Twilight found the princess in the ball room next to her discarded regalia, shoes and the book. She was unrolling a scroll that hovered in her golden magical grip. Her eyes lit up as the unicorn approached.

“Twilight, you got mail!” the sun princess announced.

“Oh, Spike sent me a letter?” the unicorn wondered aloud.

Celestia simply nodded and floated the scroll over to her student.

*Dear Twilight
WHAT THE HECK HAVE YOU DONE TO RARITY?*

Twilight stopped for a moment. Spike was writing in huge letters.

*Sweetie Belle found her unconscious with foam coming out of her mouth. She managed to grab Fluttershy to have a look at Rarity. At first Fluttershy thought that she had an epileptic fit, but she said that epileptics don’t grab their friends and yell “The princess will wear my designs!” at them and burst into maniacal giggles.
I swear Twilight, if you ruin my date with Rarity, you WILL REGRET IT!
I know which books you love the most and I am a dragon!
Consider yourself warned.
Yours dearly
Spike*

A sheepish grin snuck on Twilight’s face. “Upsy...” she muttered.

“What is the matter?” Celestia asked curiously.

“Oh, Rarity... well... she fainted after realizing that you would see her dresses.” Twilight explained, earning a giggle from Celestia. “And Spike was pretty angry, since they have a date tonight.”

“Oh...” Celestia deadpanned.

“Is that bad?” the unicorn asked full of worry “Is there some dragon-pony law? Would it be pedofoalia? Shall we intervene?”

“No, Twilight.” Celestia answered quickly. “Nothing like that... it is just.” The princess let out a sigh “My little Spike is growing up. I am happy that he is having success in love.”

A giggle escaped the unicorn. She knew the feeling.

“And I...” Celestia added slowly “We have a bet that he would get a piece from the Star of Sierra Luna if he manages to get a date with Rarity...”

“You bet a piece of the crown jewels?”

“Heh... I didn’t expect him to grow this fast...” the sun princess answered sheepishly. “The star consists of 17 pieces. I doubt that anyone would miss one. And what good are they if they lie around gathering dust... why not make Spike happy?”

Twilight felt a pang of admiration. Motherly and generous...

“So... shall we start?” Celestia asked and unfolded her wings. Sometimes Twilight forgot the princess pristine white feathers. The alicorn almost never left the ground when around the unicorn, as if she didn't want to remind her student that she was in fact the best of pegasus, unicorn and earth pony combined into one.

“Make me shine!” the princess demanded, channeling the other element carrying unicorn and struck a pose. The lights went out and two spots shone on the alicorn.
Twilight giggled and started to browse the book.
That one looked nice!

The unicorn focused, wove the magic and cast:
For a moment, the princess was engulfed in a purple glow that seemed to shatter, revealing a high night blue collar with a golden brim that turned to purple sleeves and gold and teal shoes. Uncountable peacock feather cascaded over her back, hiding her whole tail and rear.

“Oh...” Celestia said with a grin as she admired herself in the mirror “I have to avoid peacock farms in this gown... the hens might fall in love with me.”

*THOSE FEATHERED HUSSIES!* Twilight thought while suppressing a blush and said “You look marvellous.”

“It is a bit much.” The princess admitted after turning a few times.

“It IS a Rarity design...” the unicorn admitted, but didn’t care. Celestia was trying on a dress! She felt energized and ready.

The sun princess smiled and said “The dress aside, this spell is amazing. The illusion even moves.”

“Oh, I had the idea to weave in a physical component.” Twilight explained “It took me a while, but this way, the fabric falls naturally and you can move around in your gown.”

“What a clever thing to do!” Celestia admitted, more interested in her students idea than the dress. “I missed your creativity in spell casting ever since you left.”

Twilight’s face turned crimson and the dress disappeared as her concentration faded. She just waved off the compliment, trying not to grin like an idiot.

“Can you try the one on page 14 next?” Celestia asked. “I really need one of those...”

Twilight obeyed.

A moment later, the princess was clad in golden armour, laced with purple gems and matching heavy shoes, seemingly made for trampling. Her heavy looking helmet had the same jags as her crown and extended over her neck. For a moment, the unicorn felt reminded of Nightmare Moon. The avatar of the sun looked at least as intimidating as her sister right now...

“Makes me want to find Queen Chrysalis and have a rematch!” Celestia laughed, lowered her head and stomped her hoof a few times. “I would give her a few new holes!”

“I would not want to be on the wrong end of that horn...” Twilight admitted with a nervous giggle.

Celestia smiled and playfully stretched out her tongue. “Then keep being the wonderful pony that you are.”

“Princess!” Twilight giggled “Stop complimenting me... I get so embarrassed that I can’t keep my spells up.”

“If you want scolding, just keep calling me princess.”

“Sorry...” Twilight answered with an apologetic grin.

Celestia admired herself one more moment, this time by rearing up with a dire scowl, just before she laughed merrily and the armour disappeared.

Yet again, Twilight felt her heart beat harder. If there was anything more beautiful than the princess, it was seeing the princess happy. For a moment, she got lost in a thought, seeing the alicorn naked on the stage: She wanted back in those arms. The stallions embrace earlier had reminded her how much she had enjoyed it last night. His hold was gentle, but unfamiliar. Not intrusive, but somewhat like you felt when you got caught in a thick cobweb or... how fitting: vines.
Celestia’s embrace on the other hand... even if Twilight would never return into her forelegs, this short moment would keep her warm in many cold nights to come.

“Twilight?”

“Of course!”

Another flicker of purple glow later, Celestia found herself speechless.

She was now wearing her regalia and crown, but her shoes were replaced with golden sandals that reminded her of the ones Rainbow Dash had been wearing. Two lines of golden fabric went below her wings, ornamented with purple gems, similar to her regalia’s. But the main attraction was the long, high riding pristine white silk that went over her back and ended in a round golden seam. It was ornamented with stylized wings and small suns that seemed to make the solar princess glow.
The princess looked at herself from several angles, deeply impressed by the design. It felt like an addition to her beloved regalia, making them even more festive and majestic.

“How marvellous!” the princess admired “And I could even wear it at official events!” After a few moments she turned to her student “What do you think, Twilight?”

She found her student staring with her mouth open.

“I understand that you like it?”

“You... you need to own this...” the unicorn managed to say in her stupor. *And I need a picture of her in this... for erm... science!*

“I have to admit, Rarity has really outdone herself...” the princess laughed “Oh, I feel 600 years younger!”

The last comment tore Twilight back into reality.

“Shall I write down the page?” the unicorn asked “For your order.”

“I haven’t really considered ordering...” Celestia admitted. “As much of a boost to her sales it might be... purchasing a dress from Rarity would lead to... politics.”

“I doubt that Rarity would accept your money.” Twilight stated matter of factly “And who could stop the Element of Generosity from doing her thing?” Her mind had jumped out of its stupor and was doing double time now! The princess NEEDED THIS DRESS!

“Oh, Twilight... You have a politician somewhere inside you...” the princess giggled.

“I hope we can remove him.” Twilight joked, earning a giggle from Celestia “I will make a note.” The unicorn stated. “Next dress?”

Sadly, Rarity is much more creative than the author of these lines, so the reader will have to imagine the beauty of the gowns, dresses and one bunny suit that were tried on this day.

During all the time, Twilight felt strangely energized. Even though she used a very complex and difficult spell, she hardly felt exhaustion. She wanted to see the princess try on more and more dresses and so she kept going. Even as the spell seemed to get more and more difficult to cast, the unicorn pushed herself further. The book’s pages slowly ran out and a quick peek out of the window revealed it to be late afternoon already. Somewhere in between, a maid had brought them tea and some snacks, but the break had been short: There were still dresses for Celestia to try on!

“Maybe we have tried enough?” Celestia suggested, now wearing a pretty, but bland golden dress with sunflower motives and a straw hat with a sunflower. She was profoundly enjoying herself, but her breathing clothes projector was looking very tired right now.

Twilight shook her head. ignoring how itchy her horn felt. As if it was filled with ants..

“Just one more!” she pleaded.

“Aren’t you at least a bit tired of seeing me strut around?” the princess probed gently. Over the course of the afternoon, she felt more and more flattered by Twilight’s enthusiasm. It was so delightfully honest and unbridled.

“No!” Twilight answered stubbornly “Just one more... please!”

“Fine, but this is the last one.” Celestia declared.

The unicorn nodded and looked through the pages. A realization hit her: She had run out! All designs that Rarity had deemed ready were done. The purple mare bit her lip... there was one that she REALLY wanted to see. But Rarity had made a cross beneath it and she could understand why.

Twilight shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

This dress could answer a question; she had ever since the third one! She needed to see this dress!

“Sorry, Rarity...” the unicorn mumbled and focused her magic.
Celestia found herself in black fabrics that closely snug to her barrel, cut like the dress that Pinkie Pie had worn in Appleloosa, just without the poofy sleeves. From her shoulders to her elbows, her forelegs were covered in black fishnet stockings.
This is where the similarities ended. The rear of the dress framed the princess’ hind legs and rear in a way that emphasized her curves. The cut was exactly so high that it showed three beams and just the brim of Celestia’s sun while the front of her hind legs were uncovered.

It was stylish but a bit sultry.

Slightly speechless she looked at herself in the mirror. This dress was risqué.

“It surely is beautiful... but I can’t imagine many opportunities to wear it...” Celestia admitted, a hint of a blush invading her features. She was used to being beautiful, having not aged for centuries and seeing that she was still the common beauty ideal got her to accept that, but she rarely felt... sexy.
Her cheeks reddened even more at the thought. She usually kept those feelings for her current suitor and only if their relationship had reached that very special stage.
Why did the thought of Twilight seeing her like this feel so... tempting?

Meanwhile, the unicorn was glad that she was still in the dark. Even though her cheeks were so hot, they were probably glowing. Seeing the princess like was giving her more than just Goosebumps. The warmth in her chest that had been almost uncomfortable at some points was slowly moving through her stomach and further backwards.

It had answered the last nagging question. A question that she had never really thought about: Was she even into other mares?
The fact that she was slowly getting all hot and bothered by looking at Celestia in an extremely sexy dress gave a simple answer: She was clearly into Celestia.

The dress disappeared and with a flicker of magic, the curtains rose to lighten the room.

The princess left the stage and began putting on her regalia.
“I have to admit, this was a lot more fun than expected.” She giggled and turned to Twilight. “Twilight, you are sweating... did you exhaust yourself that much with spellcasting?”

The unicorn was about to answer when suddenly a fit of vertigo hit her. Whatever had kept her energized and eager was gone and her body was making demands now. Barely, the tired magician managed to keep on her legs.

“Seems that way...” she answered meekly, shaking her head.

The princess closed in, worry in her features. “Do you need some rest?”

“That would be nice...” the unicorn answered.

“I’ll teleport you to your room then. We can meet for dinner again, if that is OK with you.” The sun princess offered.

Twilight nodded weakly. Some time for herself would do her good. After all: she had a confession to plot.

The author wants to apologize in for the dresses described in this chapter. They are probably not very good, since the author is no designer and not very well described, since the author has issues naming parts of dresses in his mother tongue, let alone in English.
Also: Certain readers have demanded that Autumn should be more of a Mary Sue. I followed their advice and put him in bed with Twilight. Then I added Celestia and a third mare. I'm not sure what went wrong...

Preparing Phase Five

The shattered elements reformed, a unicorn´s eyes burning with unfathomable magic, a rainbow cascading in her direction, her own desperate wail...

These were the pictures that could cloud even Luna’s mind with fear. From now on, she would add the happy chattering of her sister and said sister’s student.

No matter how harmless the conversation seemed, the princess of the night was sweating bullets.
After leaving the hoofkerchief, she had teleported directly into the laboratory and was listening to the two chatting mares.

Minutes felt like hours...

There was some harmless talking and a few jokes. No indication that they found Autumn. Not a sound from him either.
Was he even still in there? Had he panicked and was cowering in a corner? How many more moments until Celestia found out?

They were leaving.

THEY WERE LEAVING!

Luna let out a sigh of relief.

A part of her wanted to teleport into the dining chamber, but two more voices stopped her.

The maids were cleaning up. Autumn would have to walk then.

The princess opened the door and waited.

She had made a critical mistake. The fact that she had never been one to delegate much had caught up to her again. Usually it was her and Celestia.
And in her darkest moments, she had gone so far to split into multiple ponies, since she was sure that she could never trust anypony.

Nightmare Moon worked alone.

And therefore Luna had made the biggest mistake a pony could make: She had reduced Autumn to his cutie mark.

Not only had she looked at him as little more than a walking alchemy lab, she had adjusted her plans to make sure he had something to do.

“Really want it ink... what was I thinking!” she scolded herself, eyeing the stone inkwell with disgust.

Celestia had understood a long time ago and used to say it over and over again: “If your subjects have only one strength and purpose in your eyes, you are not ruling a country, you are playing chess!”

Ponies were more than just one talent. They had personality, soul and layers! And even cutie marks could be interpreted and practiced in different ways!

*I need to work this out quickly!* The moon princess pondered *As soon as he comes back, I’ll ask him to destroy the ink. When he is resting, I will find something else for him to do. It will be a good exercise....* Luna decided silently. *And it would probably break his heart if I sent him home or told him to just not get in the way...*

After a while, a trail of slightly damp hoofprints entered.

“You did well!” Luna said and lifted the spell off her follower, who walked by her without slowing down.

His cheeks were... blue?

“Are you all right?” Luna asked with surprise and concern. This stallion had changed colours rather often lately.
Autumn went straight for his saddlebags and rummaged around. Luna could see him grab a bottle of green liquid and down half of it in one swing.

A disgusting scent of mildew filled the room and the moon princess knew what her follower had just downed.

“Isn’t it a bit early to open the cider?” she asked with a wrinkled nose.
The vile fluid was supposed to be a substitute for regular cider that the stallion had developed for the eternal night. He had explained how the whole process worked to Luna, and she was as impressed by the creativity as she was horrified by the chemistry. Out of politeness, she had tried it once. The taste was best described by licking the bottom of a compost heap after taking a swing of disinfectant. The night princess had the suspicion that you could only survive the drink because it was partially penicillin based. Deep inside, she knew that the stallion was only brewing and drinking it out of misled pride.

Autumn looked at her through teary eyes.

“When I grabbed the flyer... I thought Celestia had seen the paper move!” he whimpered “I was so scared that I swallowed it!”

“Oh...”

“It got stuck halfway down...” the stallion wheezed and coughed a few times and emptied the drink. Luna tried not to think about the content of the stallion’s stomach right now... He should probably avoid rapid motion and open lights for a while. “Sorry, princess, I don’t think that I’m cut out for this kind of sneakiness...”

The night princess shut her eyes and took a breath. Besides his missteps, Autumn had performed beyond expectations. Celestia was oblivious, Twilight had the message in her head and the flier was no more.
The ink would motivate and invigorate the unicorn for several hours to come, so the princess could just let the two spend a nice afternoon, while she had ample time to fulfil her duties and plot some more. But first things first!

“Autumn, neutralize the ink. We can’t afford another mishap like this.” Luna ordered.

The stallion went silent and turned around. Luna watched as he put on the protective lenses and emptied a small vial into the inkwell. Heartbeats later, the black liquid turned white and milky.

“We will change our approach.” The princess explained. “Go to bed now. I have ordered the maids to treat you as my personal guest. They will provide you with food...”

A loud gurgle in Autumn’s stomach seemed to answer. Luna took a little more distance. But since he didn’t explode after 5 seconds, she continued.

“You will be summoned again at nightfall, when we will continue our scheme. For now, we will let this day play out without interference. I will talk to Celestia in the evening and decide our next steps from then on.”

The stallion nodded slightly and hung his head. “Again: I’m sorry for messing up... I will try harder, princess.” he said quietly, bowed deeply and turned to go.

Luna bit her lip. *Celestia would give him a pat on the back and gently point out his strengths...* the princess pondered*Well... I agree with the basic direction. And he deserves a cheering up. He will probably get nightmares from what he ate anyways...*

A thunderclap made Autumn spin around.

Before him stood Nightmare Moon, clad in silver armour and a mane of thousand stars.

The stallion’s mouth dropped open in awe. He had never beheld the dark majesty of his princess in person, only on paintings and statues.

Luna reared to her hindlegs, wings unfolded “Thou hast performed far beyond Our expectations! Consider any mistake redeemed! We are proud to call thee the head of Our followers and Our most loyal servant! Now go and rest with the knowledge that We, the princess of the night, are very proud of... Autumn?”

“Sorry…”

“Are you crying?”

“Sorry...” the stallion muttered between gentle sobs “I just wish I could share this moment with Diamond Shadow... I feel soooooo happy!” he quietly added “She’d be proud of me for once.”

Luna broke the spell and gave him a smile. “Get some sleep. I need you fully rested.”

Autumn nodded, wiped his tears away and turned to go.
After the door closed, the moon princess let out a sigh. Autumn’s devotion was worrying at some points. While she did enjoy it, she didn’t feel as if she had fully earned it.
*At least not yet!* Luna told herself and left the room, locking it behind her.
She quickly moved through the castle towards her private study. A small smile crept to her face as she saw the two ponies waiting in front of the door.

“Excuse us being late.” Luna apologized and opened the door, allowing the other ponies to enter as well.

“Commander Moonsilver, Sub-Commander Blasted Sky” she greeted the two officers “How did the night go?”
The two guards exchanged a quick glance.

“Depends...” Silver, a unicorn answered.

“We both had a rough night in my opinion.” the pegasus next to her added.

Both ponies were night honour guards and both had gone through the change, giving them both serpentine, yellow eyes and small fangs.
But where the imbuing with darkness had turned the pegasus’ plumes into leathery, bat-like wings, it had given the unicorn a smooth, curved, almost fang-like horn with a sharp tip, not much unlike King Sombra’s.

Originally, Luna had developed the treatment solely to improve her personal guards’ vision. The other changes were mostly cosmetic, but she was the princess of the night. Her guards should embody darkness and have a sinister aura.

Modern translation: She thought it looked really cool!

“Were there problems with the public?” Luna asked with a bit of worry.

“After hearing that you would take the reins for a while, a few nobles panicked and started to gather their private armies of bodyguards in their estates.” Silver started “Now, seeing the moon-bow didn’t reassure them, so they ordered their forces to arm themselves and fend off, and I quote Prince Blueblood: ‘Those brainwashed monster ponies that the witch spawned’.”

Luna’s eyes went wide.

Silver continued. “So, when our guards made their routes, they got spears shoved into their faces at every door in the noble districts. So I asked for reinforcements, in case the nobles would get any bad ideas.” The unicorn rolled her eyes “Bad idea! They started to wake up their gardeners and housekeepers, *armed* them with garden hoses and brooms and put them on their walls.”

The moon princess’ jaw dropped.

“It didn’t help that the sub-commander sent me way more ponies than I asked for.” The commander added, looking over to Sky.

“You can blame the princess’ followers for that!” the Pegasus answered briskly.

“Oh, goodness, what did they do?” Luna sighed.

“They put up a few stands and sold snacks, tea, heated punch and some Horsetrian specialty which is basically spiced, hot wine. One of them has to be a cook form there or something...” Blasted Sky elaborated “Well, they offered all of that, but they mostly SOLD the wine.... Nothing better to keep warm in a cold fall night. After a while, everypony was getting very patriotic, so they started singing songs, drinking to your name, celebrating your grace for giving us such a wonderful view and being completely blind towards the irony of toasting to the night with something made from sun-matured grapes... with a foreign beverage.”

“Our followers did that?” the moon princess asked in surprise.

“Yeah... Pretty quick organizing, if you ask me... Anyhow, the problems started when the ponies got patriotic enough to invite my men to raise a mug with them. If you get what I mean.”

“So Silver had a cold war going on and you had troubled keeping the guards sober?” Luna asked, a part of her missing her time in the moon.

“That’s why I sent as many as possible to the commander. The celebrants were peaceful and those drinks were too alluring. The followers even helped the drunk to find home. Fighting changelings is one thing, but free booze! My men are not made of stone!” The sub-commander finished.

“So... how did the crisis with nobility end?” the alicorn asked, fearing the answer.

“I have to point out Agent Shadow’s part in this. Her suggestion was very useful.” The unicorn pointed out. “She said that if they want to raise the stakes, we raise higher.”

“WHAT?”

“So we sent a few guards to a nearby store and confiscated some feather dusters, coat hangers and other impractical and mostly harmless stuff. Then we gave half of the guards that and sent them to patrol. Seeing those evil and horrible monster ponies run around armed with staplers, foal scissors and toilet brooms, they quickly understood the absurdity. She called it the *Ponyville Way*.”

“The what?”

“They pull a rake, we pull a plunger!
They send one of us shaking his head; we send one of them laughing!
That’s the Ponyville Way and that’s how you deal with fools!” Silver finished. “Clearly,she was inspired by Pinkie Pie. We returned the *weaponry* in the morning.”

Luna had expected some problems, since the whole thing was on rather short notice, but apparently, the right ponies were in the right places. Diamond Shadow in particular had gotten far more interesting. Maybe it was time to find out more about her.

“Well done, both of you.” The moon princess stressed. “Silver, you are dismissed, get yourself some rest.”

The unicorn saluted.

“I will require a word with you, Sub-commander.”

Both ponies nodded and Moonsilver left after a bow.
Blasted Sky looked at Luna calmly. While Silver had been suggested by Celestia, Luna had personally asked the pegasus to become the sub-commander of her guard. Originally he had worked in the internal affairs department of the law-division and his track record was impressive.
The moon princess had insisted on having at least one lawpony high in her personal guard. Soldiers were useful during times of war and crisis, but Blasted Sky and his kind kept the country running peacefully when there was no external threat.

“What do you ask of me, princess?” the officer asked.
“We would like to talk about Diamond Shadow. You are her direct superior, right?”

The stallion nodded.

“How is she doing?” Luna asked carefully.

“Good material, of course. A great interrogator! Everything you expect from a former agent. To be honest, I’m glad that she works for us. She could do some serious damage on the wrong side of the law.” The Pegasus stated.

Luna nodded. “How did she take the change?”

“Almost too well. She had the same beginner’s pains as everyone but she mostly complained that she could no longer hide her switchblade in her wings. I tell you, that filly was born with fangs, we just made them visible.” The guard answered.
“And the new environment?”

“Oh... She is still a bit uncomfortable in the uniform. Still used to blending in, I guess. But I think Agent Shadow has a fine career ahead of her.”

“You still refer to her as `agent´?”

“Well, they never revoked her rank and it is custom to refer to soldiers by their highest rank.” The stallion explained and after a few seconds he added: “And Agent Shadow just sounds really cool.”

The alicorn closed her eyes for a moment: Time for the big one. “You are used to sniffing out bad apples, Blasted. What is your opinion on her... career choices?”

For the first time, the stallion seemed slightly uncomfortable. “Princess... this is a bit tough. From a purely professional point, I’m forced to point to the book.”

“We asked for your opinion, Blasted.”

“Look, if it were a fling, a thrill thing, a quick rush... something like that. Then I’d say we give her a formal reprimand and a second chance. But those two are steady now… and the whole cult is accepted! I had a talk with her about it. From what I understand, she considered her career over from the moment she started pursuing this relationship. The rules say that you shouldn’t fall for your target, but honestly: This guy shouldn’t have been a target from the start! Personally, I would have pulled her out and closed the case after a few months. From what I heard, Celestia herself wanted to keep tabs on them. This whole thing was a mess and it seems as if the service didn’t want to deal with it. She would probably still hang in the air, if you hadn’t offered her the position. I guess I should be grateful that we got a very loyal night guard out of this mess.”
“I heard that she still cooperates with the service.” Luna inquired further.

“Yes, mostly desk work and sometimes help with an interrogation. I believe it is a good idea if we allow her to keep it up. It’s good for our relationship with the secret service and it would be a waste if we turned her into a full honour guard.” The officer scratched the back of his head “Don’t get me wrong, princess, but protecting you can feel a bit redundant. Since you can throw lightning and all.”
“We understand, Sub-Commander.” Luna closed with a smile. “You are dismissed. And could you send Diamond Shadow to me? I have something to discuss with her.”

The stallion gave a bow and left.

After she was alone, the night princess opened her desk and quickly looked over the file of Diamond Shadow again. Something she had once heard popped into her head:
There were a few variations, but the basic premise was to be good, because if you are not a good little pony, then you might not get a good cutie mark. If you do bad things, you might wake up one day with a bad cutie mark. Better not find a talent at all, because sometimes it is better to stay a blank flank than to find out that the thing that makes you special is evil.
And then, you would have your cute-ceañera and you would get not one cake, but two.

One for finding your cutie mark.

One as a parting gift.

Because the princesses in their eternal wisdom and love could not allow you to hurt and endanger their good ponies. And no matter how sad it makes them, they have to do something about a bad little pony like you. So they will send out their agents… and they will come, they will find you, they will explain your future politely to your parents and then they will take you far away, so you can never hurt anypony ever again.

So be good!

Be good and eat your vegetables! Yes, they are totally gonna take you away for not eating your vegetables! LANGUAGE YOUNG LADY! It’s TARTARUS for a foul mouth!

Luna blocked out the last part: The noble who had told or rather yelled it was getting desperate when her daughter didn’t behave in the presence of the princesses.

The rest was true.

Celestia had installed the cute-ceañera tradition a long time ago to encourage ponies to show off their foals’ cutie marks. For almost all ponies, this was a wonderful day indeed, but sadly, not every pony was lucky. Sometimes a pony developed a talent or a trait that was dangerous or could be exploited for evil. And even if the pony would vow to never use her talent, things would turn out badly: Ponies needed to express their talents. Keeping the thing that gives you a place in the world buried almost always leads to CMRS (Cute Mark Repression Syndrome), one of the true banes of Ponydom.
While CMFIS (Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome) usually ended in rather harmless and easily healed mental unrest, CMRS was a gateway into endless and grave psychological problems, from depression over self-loathing to narcissism and delusions of grandeur, depending on the circumstances and the pony in question.
Luna herself had once faced a pony that, after being rejected by the world, started to worship her talent’s darkest aspects and finally turned on her fellow ponies. She still faced that pony every day in every mirror.
Celestia had admitted to her sister that she herself did not like the idea of spying on the growing youth of Equestria, but the special magic of ponykind had forced her hoof.
The festivities were traditionally public and it was at that point when parents or teachers were approached by local law enforcement.

Most of the time, they left without looking back. Usually after doing some damage to the cake. Privileges and all. But in very rare instances, they had to send a letter to Canterlot.

Not long afterwards, a soft spoken and polite professional would visit the family, have a talk with the foal and the family and finally offer a few flyers for education options. Funded by the royal sisters, of course.

“You have a stabbing cutie mark? Ever thought about becoming a surgeon? You know about wound entry angles, right, so how about forensics? Surely show-jousting could interest you, right?”

“Your special talent is handling explosives? Ever considered learning about static and going into demolition? There is a whole movie industry waiting for your work! If you really want to build them, we can surely find something in the army for you.”

“You are a good liar? How about acting lessons? You feel no remorse? Do you want to be a spy?”

A soft knock tore Luna from her thoughts.

“Enter!”

An armour-clad pegasus walked through Luna’s door and kneeled before the princess. Her coat was royal blue with a midnight blue mane that she kept styled over the right side of her face. Luna knew that it was not so much a fashion choice as it was to hide the scars. Most of them from before she had worked for Equestria.

“How may I serve you, Princess?” the Pegasus asked.

“How was the night?” the moon princess opened carefully.

“Ungrateful.” Diamond Shadow answered briefly.

“We heard that you helped diffuse the issues with the upper crust of Canterlot.” Luna offered diplomatically.

*When I hear this metaphor, I can only imagine burnt toast and how I treat the crust there...* the pegasus thought to herself, but calmly said “Just a little miscommunication.”

“Very well done.” Luna stated proudly “But the main reason why you were summoned is this: Autumn will be staying at the castle for the next week.”

For the first time since she entered the Pegasus showed an emotion. “Autumn? Here?” she asked in surprise “Please don’t tell me he is in the dungeon...”

“What? NO! Why?”

“The only reason that came to my mind is that he did something foalish.” Diamond Shadow admitted.

“No, Autumn will be a guest for the next week.” Luna explained “He will be helping with a project.”
“He... will?” the Pegasus asked, seemingly shocked “You... you really gave him a job!”

“Is something wrong?”

“No! No! That is wonderful! WONDERFUL!” the night guard cheered “I always knew that he could do so much more for Equestria than just sit at home and grow mushrooms in the basement! May I ask what he is working on?”

A thought occurred to Luna: Maybe the mare could tell her how to better use Autumn. “Isn’t that obvious?” she said proudly.

“Let me guess: He helps you choose the best artist to replace the Nightmare Moon statues with ones of you! We did clean them with the cult every second month after all. Oh, no he must be working on a new image for Nightmare Night! He had so many great ideas on how to ease young foals into it! Or do you ask him how to better approach the modern age? Because he spent months studying ancient times and how to introduce you!” Diamond Shadow guessed with surprising eagerness.

*OH COME ON!* Luna yelled mentally. Now she had a bad conscience. “No, Autumn is...” the moon princess paused for a moment. The stallion had been right: he was not cut for sneaking around. The mare in front of her on the other hoof... she was trained to do so. Maybe it was time to test her loyalty.
“I will be honest with you: Celestia is not on holiday out of her free will.” The night princess stated calmly. She could literally see the guard’s features getting harder to read.

“I caused an... incident that removed her from duty, so she could take a week off. During this week, Autumn and Red Devil Apple will help me ensure that my sister enjoys her time, while I take over her duties.”

“Why do you tell me that, princess?” Diamond Shadow asked calmly.

“Because I want you to help me as well.” Luna admitted “I need a pony like you in on this.”

There was a pause in which the Pegasus did not break eye contact with Luna. The night princess felt tested, as if the smaller pony was looking for a something in her gaze.

“I serve you and only you, princess!” the agent said after a while.

“I am glad to hear that.” Luna answered almost happily “I will try to reschedule you for tomorrow night. If I make you disappear too suddenly, there might be questions.”

“Understood, princess!”

“Oh, and before I forget: Autumn is in the honour guest room on the second floor. I’m sure he would be happy if you paid him a short visit.” Luna added.

A grin snuck on the usually hard face of the guard. “I will be happy to oblige, my princess!”

“I have just one more question...” Luna added before Diamond Shadow left “Just out of curiosity: after you changed. How did Autumn react?“

“He was… supportive.”

*Several months ago*

A black carriage rolled through the streets of Canterlot, drawn by several fierce looking night ponies.
Inside, Diamond Shadow was in a world of unpleasantness. The newly formed leather of her wings hung aching and twitching from her sides, the muscles still too fresh and too unfamiliar to be of use, her eyes were hypersensitive and itchy and she had bitten her own tongue at least four times by now. Luckily the other night guards hadn’t attempted any hollow consolation and instead offered her a ride home.
As they made it to her home in the commoners’ districts of Canterlot, a fellow guard helped her find the way to her home. She was wearing a blindfold and a cape.

It took the door just a few seconds to open after they had rung the bell and the pegasus found herself in a familiar embrace. A huge kiss was planted on her lips, making her forget the ache for a short moment.

“I think you can take it from here…” the other guard snickered and quickly advised the pair to keep the curtains shut before he left.

Autumn helped his girlfriend remove her cloak and store her armour.

“I didn’t expect you so soon.” He admitted while quickly darkening the room. “I was just about to go and borrow a power drill for your pole, but that can wait now.”

“Wait! Power drill? And what pole?” the Pegasus asked in surprise.

“You know… your pole. I bought one for you to hang from when you sleep.” The stallion answered sincerely.

“Why would I hang from a…” She glanced to her wings “Oh wait… no!” the pegaus moaned. “Let me guess: that buzzing sound is my dinner!”

“Fresh from Froggy Bottom Bog!” the unicorn nodded proudly. His eyes glanced over his marefriend and stopped at her fangs. “But I see that I can release them again… but don’t worry, I have prepared for every eventuality!” He quickly produced a spice rack.

“Why are there syringes next to the salt?” Diamond Shadow asked after a face hoof.

“I got some insulin from nurse Coldheart. Together with dextrose, you can adjust my blood sugar to your taste when you feed on me!” the stallion explained with the most sincere smile in the world.

“Autumn…”

“Yes?”

“I would punch you if this wasn’t so sweet!”

Phase Six

Phase Six

*This Fic has been beta-read by the great ALSilvertongue. Let us all thank him*

Her strength had abandoned her almost completely now. Twilight was barely aware of Celestia’s magic wrapping around her and lifting her gently from the floor. There was a flash and the softness of Celestia’s bed caressed her from below. The unicorn let out a sigh and rolled over, settling herself for sleep. A thought crossed her head and she let out a giggle.
“Celestia is so pretty...” the tired pony muttered, smiling broadly.

“Thank you.”Celestia replied.

Twilight’s eyes shot open. This time, all parts of her body that demanded sleep simply threw their hoofs up, concluded that striking only works when the boss gives a darn about the company and went for some ATP in the cantina, allowing Twilight complete clarity.

“Princess! You came with me?” the unicorn asked in shock.

“I had to make sure you got to bed safely, right?” Celestia answered gently and gave Twilight’s cheek a soft nuzzle. “So... you think your princess is pretty?” the alicorn asked and traced her muzzle over her student’s cheek, coming close to her lips.

“Ce-Celestia, I-” Twilight muttered, her cheeks burning brighter than the sun “You are beyond description! I could never see enough of you! You’re, you’re-”” the unicorn thought of the most romantic thing she could imagine “You are the positive end of the beauty bell curve! No, you are the lim->Infinity of beauty!”

“Oh, Twilight! You are so naughty!” the princess answered with a giggle and closed in on the unicorn again. “I admit, my mind is on curves too... you have developed so well.” Celestia cooed, her eyes shining with impish glee.

And before Twilight could formulate another thought, Celestia kissed her.

For a moment, the unicorn’s eyes were close to popping out, just before her body relaxed and she gave into the kiss...
Celestia’s soft lips were gently moving against hers, as the princess slowly climbed onto the bed.

This was amazing! This had to be a dream!

And it was!

*Meanwhile in reality*

“Oh, Twilight, you flatterer...” the sun princess giggled softly. After she had teleported the unicorn and herself to the unicorn’s bed, the smaller pony had rolled over, muttered something about Celestia being pretty and instantly fell asleep.
Now the supreme ruler of Equestria was again alone with a sleeping unicorn. The princess leaned in to her student’s head and gave her a gentle nuzzle on the cheek.

“Thank you for such a wonderful afternoon, my dear friend...” she whispered softly.

A gentle smile formed on the unicorn’s lips.

Celestia once more found herself facing conflicting emotions.

Every second of her life, every moment awake or asleep had been dedicated to allow ponies like Twilight this: peaceful rest.

She had done many things in ensure that in the past... she had imprisoned a legion of evil creatures in Tartarus, turned Discord into stone, cast King Sombra down into the icy pits of the north, even faced her own sister. All for ponies like Twilight.

The sun princess bit her lip. She could feel her heart beat faster. Last night, when she awoke and found Twilight resting next to her, she had not been able to resist embracing her. Knowing that the smaller creature was safe and secure in her arms and feeling her calm and relaxed breathing made the princess’ heart sing.

But that was not the whole reason, was it?

Twilight had truly grown into a wonderful mare over time. Not just in body, but rather in mind. All the time she had spent in Ponyville, in the company of her friends had turned the awkward bookworm into a competent, sharp and witty... well... still bookworm. The sun princess couldn’t help but marvel at how much joy she felt when her student opened up and simply let go of those accursed formalities.

Celestia discarded her shoe and slowly ran a hoof through the unicorn’s mane.
Twilight stirred slightly and unconsciously leaned into the hoof.
The battle within the solar goddess started anew.
How she wanted to just slip next to Twilight and put her wing over her. Blanket her with her plumes and spend the hours in her presence.
Quietly, the alicorn put her shoe back on, conjured up her sunglasses and turned to leave.
While such thoughts were endlessly alluring, today, she had not earned this pleasure.
As the princess left the room, she could literally feel how the joy remained with the unicorn and something else filled her.
Quickly, she put on her sunglasses, headed outside into the gardens and towards the next fountain. With a blink of magic, she grabbed a large orb of water, spread her wings and headed into the sky. Far above the towers of her castle, she focused on the water until it started to boil in her grasp. After just a moment, a cloud of steam remained and after a few nudges, a nice cloud sofa hovered next to Celestia.

She took a seat and looked down onto her kingdom. It was late afternoon and her subjects were about to finish their daily duties and head home. Everything seemed so peaceful.

The sun princess closed one eye and looked at a beautiful building in the noble districts. She could see a few servants work late in the garden. They were probably trying to get some additional bits for this year’s hearth’s warming eve.
Suddenly a giant hoof came from the heaven and stomped onto the house.

“OH NO! The master’s house! Quick! Save the silver!”

“And the master?”

“Nah! He was a jerk anyways...” Celestia yelled, asked and answered in a mock servant-voice and slowly lowered the hoof further, just a few centimetres in front of her eye.

After a few minutes of “stomping” onto buildings, the princess let out a sigh.

Even a game of Perspective-Godzilla could not cheer her up right now.

It was a taste. A taste that she had known for a long time and while she could sometimes avoid it, eternity meant dealing with it again and again. It was the bitter taste of defeat.

Celestia was no stranger to being beaten.

The thought that she could be killed didn’t even occur to her anymore. Every being capable of defeating her was at least wise enough to understand that the sun itself would die with the princess. That was why even Crysalis had simply imprisoned her. Had planned to force her to raise and lower the life-giving sphere from inside a cocoon, probably by holding her subjects hostage.

But she had lost other battles before. Even the solar princess had her limits after all. Over time, she had learned to live with the fact of being immortal but not all powerful. Sometimes a pony or being would simply overpower or outsmart her and force her to swallow humiliation’s brew. Then she would look for help, plan a new strategy or look for greater power.
For Celestia, defeat was never the end.

At least not the end of herself.

But today, she felt that she had almost lost Twilight.
There were many dangerous spells in the world of Equestria, but teleportation spells were the most dangerous legal ones. They were among the last spells a scholar learned and most average unicorns never learned them at all. One needed perfect control over ones magic to not damage the magical field of the teleported. Even a small mistake could burn the participants while re-entering reality, fuse their legs with the ground or worse...

When she felt Twilight resisting her grip, she almost cried out and when the pony’s hold on the sun suddenly collapsed, she expected that Twilight had lost consciousness, shattered her horn, killed her outright or much, much worse.

It had taken her a few minutes to reset the sun onto its path. Much longer than it would have taken, but she had to start again twice, when she was about to let it drift and go after her friend. But she had called herself back to duty again and again. Finally, she was done and followed after Twilight, but those minutes were worse than the entire Changeling invasion.
It wasn’t so much the thought of losing Twilight. She would lose Twilight, just as she had lost almost every pony she knew. Immortality’s price was eternal loss. It was the thought of losing Twilight now, on this day and long before her time had come. Time they could spend together...

Celestia repeated the thought in her head and let out a groan: Again, the princess of the sun had been beaten. The one force that was even beyond Celestia had struck her and left its mark.

Love!

Uncaring, unforgiving and merciless as only love could be. The arrows of cupid were sharp and his aim was always true.
You could walk years without love, but suddenly, it would jump you, grab you and never let you go! It was a lot like a tax collector in that regard.

It was sickeningly clear now: Twilight meant more to the princess than her duty did.

Of course, Celelstia would never abandon her post, but she recognized that feeling. The feeling that the sun rose for Twilight first.

And she also knew that fighting it was useless. It didn’t matter if it was fired from Chrysalis jagged horn or came from within her heart, love could beat her. She had seen it before and learned to accept it.

But what truly irked her was the fact that her sister had seen it before the older alicorn. Then again, Luna had access to the dreaming. Basically, she had cheated. Should Celestia really listen to Luna?

“You take two days off and you are already destroying my kingdom?” a familiar voice asked from below.

Celestia turned to see her sister levitating her own instant-cloud (just add magic) with her.
The solar princess stuck out her tongue as Luna took place.

“I call dibs on Blueblood’s mansion!” the dark sister announced.

“Second day alone in court and you already want to destroy your realm?” the sun princess teased.

“Only the nobles...” Luna answered with a sigh “To me it was just a few months ago when their ancestors earned their titles with bravery, smarts and valour... and now look at them.”

“That bad?”

“You have no idea...” the moon princess moaned and started crushing Blueblood manor.

“I think I do.” Celestia answered and let out a sigh herself “They are not all bad. Just look at Fancypants and his wife.”

“What a coincidence that you mention him. He actually came to court today to bring me a congratulatory card, signed by his whole staff and wished me a good rule.” Luna said with a bit of a smile. “I just wish the good ones were a bit louder...”

“I do the same thing every day.” The sun princess said and looked at her realm.
A few moments passed.

“I do not envy you anymore, sister...” Luna said after a while “But I will still earn their love!”

Celestia smiled and flapped her wing once to gently bump her cloud into Luna’s. She leaned over and nuzzled the other alicorn sisterly.

“I’m happy that we are this close again.” The white princess whispered.

It was true. Luna was not the enemy. And Celestia would do her best to keep it that way.

“Me too.” The dreaming’s ferry mare answered with a nuzzling of her own. “Are you enjoying your free time?”

“I am indeed.” The solar lady answered with a sliver of doubt.

“You don’t sound completely sure. Is something the matter?”

“I admit that I am feeling conflicted, sister." Celestia admitted and rested her head on the cloud.

“Maybe it is time you visit the five.” Luna suggested gently. “It used to help you a lot in the past...”

The alabaster regent looked at her sister in surprise. “It has been a while.” She admitted, an idea forming in her head “Maybe it is time to see them again.”

“I’m always happy to inspire you, sister.” The dark lady grinned back. “Excuse me for now. This was a nice break, but there is still some governing to do.”

Luna let herself fall from the cloud and soared down, back to the castle.

Celestia looked after her, still slightly distressed about her newly realized emotions, but happy that she had a sister like Luna.

*Later in Twilight’s room*

A shriek awoke Twilight from her slumber. Groggily, the unicorn looked around and heard a muffled voice through the door.
“IRON ORE? Are they crazy?” an unfamiliar voice almost yelled.

“Not so loud! We bring the guests what they desire! That’s why we are royal maids! Now help me figure out where we get a lump of ore from!” another voice answered a bit softer.

“Try the ground...” Twilight muttered and shook the sleep from her head. A quick glance at the clock revealed that it was about 7pm.

The unicorn stood up and quickly combed the nap out of her mane. Soon, dinner would be served and she wanted to look good for Cele... “Horseapples!” the mare cussed “I wanted to plot my confession and I have nothing!”

She quickly looked around.

MIRROR!

“Mirror Twilight!” the unicorn cried in bliss and looked straight at her reflection. “Mirror Twilight, you have to help me! I need to find a way to confess my love to Celestia!”

Her reflection only moved with her.

“Mirror Twilight?” the mare asked and cocked her head to the side.

To her dismay, the other mare did the same.

“Come on, I know that you can talk to me! I need your help!” Twilight pleaded “Pleeeeeeease!”

The pleading grin from her reflection infuriated the unicorn.

“WHY DO I HAVE TO TURN SANE RIGHT NOW? TALK TO ME!” she demanded from the mirror.

After jumping up and down, back and forth and trying to talk backwards, since it was a mirror and it always spelled things backwards, so why not try, she was as far as before.

“BUCKING MIRROR! SPEAK! TO! ME!” Twilight yelled and in the anger, a bolt of purple energy escaped her horn.

The mirror distorted, as if someone had thrown a stone into a pond and suddenly, she looked into the eyes of Princess Luna. Twilight took a step backwards and a second pony appeared in the mirror. She had seen him before... when she had first come to Ponyville.

“Report, Red!” the princess demanded.

“Princess?” Twilight asked in surprise, but Luna didn’t seem to notice.

“I managed to intercept Sweetie Belle when she ran out of the boutique, screaming fire and brimstone.” The stallion answered “Apparently, this really hot fashion designer had a stroke or something. I told her to get that one former model that works as an animal caretaker and have a look at her. Spike was the last one to find out about the incident.” There was a pause “It just occurred to me how many pretty mares are in this town.”

Twilight’s eyes grew wider. What was going on?

“We hope they do not distract you from your mission.”

“No, princess! I even got myself help. I recruited A.B. and her friends as Cutie Mark Crusader Detectives.”

Worry invaded Luna’s eyes. “Are you sure that they will not endanger your cover? And wouldn’t you appear suspicious, spending so much time with foals?”

“Don’t worry. They are well known for weird plots, Applebloom is my cousin and they used to be mascots in our cult, so nobody wonders if I hang out with them.”

The cult again? What were these ponies up to?

“If you say so.” Luna answered with a nod “Speaking of: Autumn stopped to mention them when counting members. May we inquire why?”

“They said they wanted something more adventurous. So they started some Arkham exploring thing. But honestly, I can’t see it. There just are no millennia old gods who descend from the heavens, talk via dreams and promise eternal darkness after centuries of slumber, right?”

Luna cocked her head to the side.

“OH! Right...” he answered after an awkward pause “Red out!”

The moon princess nodded and after a few seconds, her visage disappeared.

Twilight swallowed. Celestia had been worried about Luna’s behaviour and apparently, she was right! Twilight had to inform her friend that Nightmare Moon was back and she had helpers now. She had to openly uncover this sinister conspiracy and destroy the usurper now or...

“Wait!” Twilight stopped herself, a painful memory from shortly before the Changeling Invasion destroying her trail of thought “I have no clues or evidence besides seeing her talk to this relative of Applejack who is in Ponyville! And he even helped out!”

If she went on and accused Luna now, she could hurt the relationship between the two sisters. Worse, if she was completely off, she could possibly sever the wonderful bond she was forging with Celestia!
“I have to be patient and take my time!” she concluded “I’ll keep my eyes open and look into it, but I won’t accuse anypony! It’s time to practice what I preached to Pinkie!”

“That’s a great idea!”

“I know!” Twilight said and stopped. Who was answering now? She found her reflection move out of order again.
“Oh, now you show up!”

“I was always here, silly! I don’t move, since I’m a mirror.” The mirror mare answered.

“But you were not helping!”

“Oh, I help all the time. Especially with seeing yourself! What other help would you need from a mirror?”

“I need your opinion. I want to confess my feelings to Celestia.I love her and I want to tell her, but I’m not sure how. But I am not sure how.” Twilight admitted.

The reflection grinned back at her. “A confession? That is great! About time you went straight! Or rather queer...”

“Let’s not go into the details, please!” Twilight dejected “Just help me figure out how to confess.”

“Hmm... how big is your crush?”

“You know that!” Twilight answered with a bit of a blush.

“Oh, come on. Say it! How can you tell the princess if you can’t tell me?”

“I love her! I want to make her happy and see her smile every day! I want to be the one to share her joy and her pain!” Twilight admitted quietly “I love her... I love, love, love her!”

The mirror mare grinned back at her. “Then you should have a nice big dinner, maybe ask a few helpful questions and tell her exactly what you feel tomorrow after breakfast. When you are well rested, your bellies are full and you both feel happy, it won’t be too difficult!”

“Wouldn’t it be more romantic over dinner?”

“It’s fall. Evenings are too cold and windy right now and you are going for the sun princess after all. What is more romantic that the thousand colours of the leaves and the sun turning the world golden?” the mirror mare asked with a smile.

“I didn’t know my subconscious could be so romantic...” Twilight muttered. “Anyways, thank you a lot.”

“No problemo!” the mirror saluted back, grinning widely.

Twilight wondered again. Maybe the happy afternoon had completely overcharged her subconscious.

“Anyway, I should get to dinner. See you...” she stated and turned to leave.

The mirror mare looked after her for a while and let out a giggle.
“Oh, Twi, Twi, Twi...” she giggled, raised a hoof and removed her horn “And I just wanted to see how you scream when the mirror talks to you.” She added and shook the wig off her head. “Now I have such insights into your heart...” Her hoof smeared away some of the purple colour on her face. “And soon I get to plan another royal wedding or at least true love party.”

The mirror went back to normal as an “Okie Dokie Lokie” echoed through the room.

On her way to the royal dining room, Twilight passed two maids who were laughing maniacally as the transported a huge lump of reddish mineral. The student decided to ignore them and entered the familiar hall.

“Twilight, did you rest well?” chimed a happy voice from the table. Princess Celestia had already taken place and was smiling her usual calm smile at Twilight. Her eyes were hidden behind the pair of shades and several maids and a butler were preparing the table.

“I did, thank you.” The unicorn answered and went over to her seat.

For a moment, the two mares just looked at each other in silence, smiling happily.

The moment ended as the servants entered with a huge covered plate.

Twilight wondered for a moment what the princess had ordered for supper. The plate was exceptionally large. It had to be something fancy. This was royalty after all.
The servants heaved the plate onto the table and started to raise the cover from the plate.

“Pizza Equestria!” the butler announced loudly and a pizza with a radius of Twilight’s forearm was revealed.

The unicorn’s eyebrows rose as she beheld the masterwork. Garlic and cheese were placed to form the silhouette of Celestia’s kingdom. Spinach formed the grass land, broccoli the woods, artichokes were the mountains, tomato sauce the rivers and lakes and olives marked the cities. Even the main trade routes were there, marked by strands of corn. A fried egg on the left and a piece of tofu on the right made a very impressive sun and moon.

Twilight looked over to the Princess. To her surprise, the princess seemed a bit crestfallen.

“I just wanted a pizza...” she almost lamented.

“I would call this a pizza!” the smaller pony offered.

“Yes, but it’s almost too pretty to eat.” Celestia explained as the pizza was cut into pieces.

“But it smells too good not to eat!” Twilight stressed, feeling her mouth watering. She just noticed how hungry she was.

The solar princess couldn’t help but giggle. “I have to agree. But what I really meant was the fact that the kitchen has, yet again, outperformed my expectations. Even when I order something simple, they... well, at least I won’t forget how my kingdom looks like.”

“The cook laments that he did not make it in exact scale.” The butler added professionally and left the two ponies to their meal.

Twilight took a good look at the princess. “You have issues enjoying it.” She stated flatly.

“Sometimes, I just wonder if it is because they want a raise or because they think a princess only deserves the best.” The alicorn admitted and helped herself to a piece of the northern border.

“From what I heard from Shiny, it is because they think that Celestia deserves nothing but the best.”
The princess looked up.

“You care about all of us. And I can’t speak for everyone, but most of us care as much for you!” the unicorn stated with a smile. Suddenly she caught what she had just said and hid her blush behind a slice of the Dragon Mountains.
The princess studied the floating landscape for a second, hoping in vain to see the eating unicorn’s face behind it. The comment, combined with her earlier thoughts had sent a flutter through her heart and she was not sure what to make of it.
“After dinner, I want to show you something, Twilight.” She stated finally.

“Oh?” the unicorn wondered aloud “May I ask what?”

“You will see...”

Later that evening, Twilight was following Celestia rather slowly through the gardens. The unicorn had zoned out during the dinner, imagining what her mentor could possibly show her and paid no attention to her own hunger or rather, satiation. Now she was filled up to the brink with parts of the Equestrian landscape and carrying her heavy stomach around like a very pregnant Elephant.

The alicorn on the other hoof still managed to keep a spring in her step, no matter how much she had eaten. A part of Twilight wondered if Celestia had actually thought of the pocket dimension idea before her... it would explain her divine figure and... Hmm... She noted the idea as possible compliment.

They saw a few gardeners, who were busy changing the colour of the leaves with their magic, but most of the staff had already headed home. The sun was on the brink of the horizon as the princess led the two to her private gardens. Twilight had fond memories of studying under her mentor here. Maybe she would show her a new spell? The thought ignited Twilight’s imagination and forced a grin on her face.

Finally they stopped before what appeared to be a round hedge with a gate on the side. The unicorn had to wonder: the hedge seemed as well kept as the rest of the gardens and the gate had no lock, yet she had never paid attention to this place. It seemed to be the most boring part of Celestia’s private realm.
With a flick of magic, the sun princess opened the gate and urged Twilight to follow her inside.
Twilight followed and found herself facing five statues, all of them depicting ponies. She was about to ask what this was all about, when something caught her eye: Unlike the ones in the royal statue garden, these statues seemed new, as if cut fresh from the marble. Now intrigued, she scanned the area more closely and found another weird fact: between the statues was a star shaped plate on the ground. From above, it would almost resemble her cutie mark!

“What is this place, princess?” the unicorn finally asked, now truly intrigued.

“And we were making such good progress...” the princess said with a sigh.

“Sorry, Celestia.”

“You are forgiven.” Celestia answered and walked to the middle of the place. “Believe it or not, these statues were the reason for terrible turmoil, when they were first revealed.”

“But why?” the unicorn asked, now truly intrigued. The statues were very well made and detailed, but neither offensive, nor explicit in any way. “And how come they are in such good condition?” Twilight’s eyes suddenly shot open “Are the really ponies who were cursed to stone? Am I next? Did I not call you Celestia often enough?
NO!” The unicorn started to shake and took a few steps back “The stories are true and you can only keep your immortality by draining young ponies off their life force and leaving their marble husks behind!” tears formed in her eyes “Ce... Celestia, I am ready! If I have to lay down my life for you and this realm, I shall!” she slowly closed her eyes “Please make it quick...”

Celesita’s facehoof could shatter diamonds.

“That is what I get for allowing freedom of art.” She groaned “They write silly stories about me being some kind of monster and rot my pupil’s brain!”

“Then why are they in such a good condition and why did they cause an outrage.”

“Luna and I used a powerful spell on these statues to make them immune to the perils of time.” Celestia explained “Those statues stood in our palace in the Everfree Forest and I had them transported here when I left it behind.”

“Why are they so important?” Twilight wondered again, her curiosity almost getting tangible.

“These statues represent what the Elements of Harmony can become.” Celestia explained and turned to the first statue.
A tired looking stallion stood there in antique looking, plate armour. He leaned on a cracked shield and held a halberd, jagged by battles, in his hoof. Twilight could even see beats of sweat on his forehead, as he faced an unseen foe.
“This is Loyalty and Betrayal.” Celestia spoke gently “The forsaken vanguard holds his post into eternity, even though neither reinforcements nor relief will ever come. He does not question his orders, even though those who gave them have long forgotten him. He reminds me that once I take loyalty for granted, I have no longer earned it.”

The princess turned to the next statue. A mare cupped her hoofs before her mouth and seemed to yell out loud. Only after the second glimpse did Twilight see that her ears seemed swollen and full of little bite-marks and her giant tongue was forked and sharp as a razor.
“Honesty and Lies. The yelling fool tells only truth, but expects to hear nothing but truth herself. She does not question what others tell her and spreads lies without knowing or understanding, even though she means only good. She reminds me that even the honest lie, if lied to.”

The next statue was of a crowned stallion that grasped an amphora from which coins seemed to flow. He held it out to let them fall freely onto the ground. But his mouth formed a twisted grin and his eyes seemed angry and sunken in.
“ Generosity and Greed.” Celestia elaborated “The spoiled prince gives everything he has, but not because he loves to share, but because he wants their gratitude. He would give everything to control and possess, not caring about those he gifts. He reminds me that even the most heartfelt generosity can turn to greed, if one stops giving and starts trading.”

Celestia took a few steps and pointed at the next statue. A strong stallion sat on his haunch, his body covered in cuts and wounds. He covered half of his face with a hoof, while the other half showed a happy and genuine smile. At a closer look, his wounds seemed to have the form of teeth. The stallion was literally covered in smiles!
“Laughter and Pain. The broken jester laughs and laughs, no matter how deep his wounds or how devastating his torment. He never told anyone about his pain and will never do, because if he keeps laughing, the world will laugh with him. And he knows that otherwise, the world would laugh at him. He reminds me that pain can be hidden behind even the most genuine smile.”

The final statue was a mare covered in flowery wreaths. At first glance, she seemed to have a happy smile and held out a hoof in friendship. But all wreaths had thorns on the outside and her hoof was prolonged into a jagged mono-claw.
“Kindness and cruelty. The twisted caretaker revels in the pain she sees and the suffering that surrounds her. She has forgotten how to live without pain and how to feel with those around her. Should there ever be no suffering around, she will cause it to sate her hunger. She reminds me that one who wants to help must be able to sympathize with those he wants to help and never become numb to the pain of others.”

At some point during the lecture, Twilight’s mouth had opened and she now stared at the twisted statues around her. Celestia and Luna had been the original holders of the elements and she could see why those statues had caused an outrage. Unlike Discord’s corruption, they clearly made to be a lesson for the princesses. A small knot formed in the unicorn’s stomach as she fathomed the height of this hubris, yet the sun princess kept them here in her private garden and even made sure they would be with her for eternity.

“Why did you show them to me?” She finally asked.

Celestia smiled gently and took a step towards the smaller pony. “Because I wanted to show you that even the great and wonderful princess Celestia cannot do without some guidance. The artist understood and gave me this wonderful present even though others called him a traitor, a lunatic and a Jotun.”

“A what?”

“They were forefathers of the modern trolls. But I have spent much time amongst these silent companions, thinking about my actions and plans.”

Again, Twilight’s mouth hung agape.

“Twilight?” The alicorn asked gently, just to be suddenly tackled and hugged fiercely. The sun princess couldn’t help but giggle softly and rubbed the back of the unicorn’s head.

“If you wanted to show me your fallibility, you have... ironically... failed!” Twilight said, while still making excessive use of her new right to hug her princess. “Knowing when to ask for help and guidance makes you even more amazing!”

“Oh, Twilight... come... the statues are starting to blush...” Celestia joked helplessly, desperately hoping that their marble companions were the only ones watching.

The smaller pony finally let her go, a huge blush on her cheeks. As she took a few step backwards, she let out a huge yawn.
“Someone is still a little tired from spell casting.”

“Heh... I think I really overdid it today.” The unicorn admitted with a laugh “Maybe I should go to bed earlier today.” *I could use some time to prepare for tomorrow.*

“And whose bed would that be?” Celestia asked with a wink.

“MINE!” Twilight answered both much too quick and loud, now turning crimson.

“And I thought Autumn would welcome you in his again.” The princess answered, hoping to smother her disappointment with a bit of humour.

“HE THREW ME THROUGH THE WHOLE ROOM!”

Celestia stopped for a second. “He did?”

“Yes!”

“Oh, goodness... maybe he should have taken a different approach on taking over and just challenged your brother to a mare-far-throwing contest.” The sun princess laughed.

Twilight was about to object again, but the laughter of the princess was infectious. “Do they have to bring their own mares or do they get standardized ones?” she added, earning series of giggles from the princess.

“They need to be unicorn or alicorns. Otherwise they won’t stick in the ground.”

“Shiny, you do this for your kingdom! Now go out there and send that mare skywards!”

“Of course Diamond Shadow is an alicorn! No, that is not a carrot with super glue!”

“CHEATER! He didn’t throw her that far! You banished her to the moon!”

They kept joking and laughing for a bit longer until the moon had risen. For a few moments, after the laughter had died down, the two just looked at each other.

“Thank you for this wonderful day.” Celestia said, breaking the silence.

“I have to thank you.” Twilight answered gently.

“We’ll meet tomorrow, at breakfast?” the sun princess offered.

“At breakfast.” The smaller pony confirmed.

Both went to their respective rooms in silence, still thinking about each others on the way and until just before sleep claimed them.

Author's Note

To prevent the comments:
Dun Dun DUUUUN!
*screaming Butterfly*
Rainbow Dash: "Gesundheit!"

27.02. The chapter has been corrected. Now everyone may suff- erm, ENJOY!

Preparing Phase Six

The seat of power. The heart of Equestria. Canterlot’s center.
There were many ways to describe the throne room.
Right now, Luna would have used two: dim and silent.

She made her way to the throne and took a look around. “Why are all of the drapes closed, secretary?” she asked quietly.

“Ugh, with all due respect, Princess, could you please refrain from using the Canterlot voice?” the secretary, a spectacled, light pony with a tidy brown mane and tail and a pen and inkwell cutie mark answered.
Luna knew her well. She had first met Money Penny in Ponyville, where she was visiting her cousin the mayor, and was dressed like a devil. An extremely adorkable Devil, who had cowered in fear before the princess.

“We do not use the royal... We do not use all components of the royal Canterlot voice, Mrs Money Penny.”

“Oh, sorry, princess....” the mare answered meekly “I assumed you preferred a darker lighting.”

The moon princess took a closer look. Rings under bloodshot eyes, much blinking, soft voice, her trademark collar and tie not as neat and tidy as usual.

“Mrs Penny, you apparently celebrated our name a little too much yesterday night.” Luna stated bluntly.

The mare looked crestfallen. “I apologize sincerely, Princess. I am usually...”

Luna sighed. “We are well aware of your diligence and efficiency. But we cannot listen to our subject’s pleads in the dark. Open the drapes.”

“Erm... I don’t think that will be necessary.” The secretary admitted.

“Why? The court will start in a few minutes. What about the first appointment?”

“There are no appointments.” Money Penny answered humbly.

“WHAT?” Luna cried, earning a small groan from her secretary. “They even refuse to talk to us in court?”

“To be honest.” The smaller mare answered, grabbing a clipboard with wobbly magic “I don’t think that this is the case.”

Luna gave her an inquiring look.

“We had a filled schedule, but everyone quit their appointments on short notice." The secretary explained carefully.
“Most said that they were not feeling well and asked to be rescheduled for afternoon or tomorrows court.”

The wheels in Luna’s head turned. “They all have a hangover!?”

“There were a lot of customers.” Money Penny admitted, trying not to imagine how much damage had been done to the economy.

The moon princess sighed. She wanted some time to plot, not half a day without anything to do. “Then we will stretch etiquette and shall listen to those without appointments.” Luna ruled “Mrs Penny, go, drink some water and rest until afternoon.”

“I could not leave you alone, princess!” the secretary answered bravely and instantly regretted raising her voice as a headache hit her.

“Keeping you here would qualify as torture.” Luna informed “And it has been abolished after all! At least if what Celestia told us is true.”

“Thank you, princess.” The pony answered meekly and took a deep bow. Luna was glad that she was not trembling, like she had the last time. The secretary left quietly.

“Now, please open the drapes. It is too dark in here.”

“It is?” one of the two night guards, flanking Luna asked.

“Yes.” Said one of the regular unicorns, who was about to open the drapes.

“Sorry, I’m still getting used to these new eyes.” The honour guard answered, blinking as light flooded the room.

“Anypony else hung over?” Luna asked sourly, but no answer came. Blasted Sky had done a good job with the guard.

*Court time started.*

*Five minutes passed.*

“Did we make it clear that we will see any petitioner?”

“Yes princess!”

“Still nothing?”

“Sorry.”

Suddenly a guard entered the throne room, removed his helmet and bowed before the princess.
“Princess, there are a few petitioners who would like a word.” He said calmly.
Luna put on a smile. “Lead them in!” she said gladly.

Seconds later, she felt regret fill her heart. Five ponies entered. She had the questionable joy of knowing very well. They were considered pillars of society and were lead by the one and thankfully only Prince Blueblood. The alabaster stallion took place and held a small piece of paper in his magic.

“Prince Blueblood. What may I...” Luna started diplomatically, but the unicorn interrupted her.

“Unhoof our ruler!” he demanded, holding the paper menacingly.

“What?”
“We know that you have done something to auntie and we want her back!” he stressed “You may have put satin over the peasant’s eyes, but...” “Wool.” One of the others corrected.

“Who in their right mind would use such a cheap material?” Blueblood wondered loudly and continued “You may have... done that thing to the lower classes.” And he stressed the last two words in the same way one would stress *Barbed Tapeworm* “But we, the paragons of this kingdom, we shall not be fooled by your brain washed followers and these monsters, you call your honour guard!”

Luna could feel the temperature drop. All of her night guards used to be regular guard ponies and there was still a deep camaraderie between the two factions. Not just the four night ponies were glaring at him; all ten guards within the chamber gave him rather angry looks.

While the prince’s armour of arrogance was too thick to notice, the other “paragons” held out their pieces of paper protectively.

“What are these papers?” Luna asked.

“Your puppets wouldn’t let us in with our weaponry, so we demanded that they gave us receipts for when we leave!” Blueblood answered proudly, not feeling how the temperature dropped lower.

Luna grabbed one and took a look. “1 Pitchfork? 1 Torch?” she read “You are the lynch mob?”

“I refuse the usage of the word *mob*!” the prince yelled “We are the heroic defenders of Equestria’s rightful ruler! Unlike the guard, which is either brainwashed or incompetent!”

At this point Luna’s ire and annoyance disappeared. She saw how all the guards tore Blueblood apart with their looks. There was digging your own grave and there was digging a grave and building a mausoleum on top of it.

“Not only have they allowed the peasants to dilly dally the night away, they failed to see your scheme, forceing us to act and go so far as hinder our heroic stand!” the prince continued.

Luna was fascinated. He was building higher and higher.

“Where is auntie?” he asked gruffly.

“Enjoying her vacation.” Luna answered calmly.

“Nopony has seen her since the day before yesterday! Reveal her location!” Blueblood continued.

“I did!” one of the day guards stated suddenly “She was raising the sun, as usual, on her balcony. She even waved when we flew by.”

“I did not ask you, peasant!” the prince snapped “And even if you are not conditioned, brainwashed or deceived, it could have been a puppet, an illusion or anything! You were probably fooled by a few simple mirror tricks!”

Luna’s eyes widened. He had just deemed the mausoleum unworthy and went on to heaving stones up his own pyramids.

“So, what exactly do you want us to do?” Luna asked carefully.

“Release the princess and surrender to her judgement!”

“So, you want us to fetch our sister, so you can see that she is well and free?” the moon princess assumed innocently.

“I think I made myself clear!”
“Of course, Prince!” Luna answered calmly “I will send someone to go and call my sister.”

“Very good!” Blueblood answered with his default expression of smug superiority.

“Good... all there is to do is call for Celestia and tell her that you demand her to cancel her vacation.” Luna stressed the last words gravely and one of the “liberators” looked up. “We will demand that she takes back the throne because you think that she was severely mistaken to believe, her sister could do a good job.” Now a few beads of sweat started to appear on the faces of all ponies besides the prince “Certainly she can understand that you are scared by change and rather have her chained to this throne.” Whispering started behind the clueless prince. “We can also ask her to do a little dance for you, while we are at it, since she is apparently little more than a windup toy to you!”

“Yes! Yes, that would be sufficient!” Blueblood answered completely sincere.

This was nothing short of a wonder of the world! A monument to endless arrogance and selfishness!

And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Blueblood, King of Idiots:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'

Luna couldn’t even think about doing the universe a favour and send this creature to Tartarus. A being like this should be studied and preserved.
Luckily for the prince, one of his acquaintances grabbed him and started whispering into his ear, while a mare walked to the front.

“That won’t be necessary, my Princess!” the mare said quickly “I think we overreacted a little. Maybe... we should just calm down and give the princess some time.”

“Yes, we can always liberate her when she is overdue!” another stallion threw in and the group started to scuffle backwards, dragging an angry prince with them.

“THIS IS NOT THE LAST YOU HAVE SEEN OF ME!” Blueblood managed to declare, shortly before the closing door cut him off.

The doors closed. Luna sighed loudly. “Two bonus free days to all guards present!”

The guard ponies looked at the princess in surprise.

“Erm... thank you!” one said “But why?”

“Because I would have mauled him after *puppets*!” Luna sighed “Anyone else out there?”

“Actually, yes!” the guard at the door answered.

“Lead them in.” Luna announced, fearing the worst.

“I present to you, a member of the exclusive Crust family.” The guard announced.

Luna instantly knew her fears confirmed. What could be worse than spending time with Jet Set’s snobby wife, Upper Crust?

“Lower Crust! Geologist!”

“OH! THANK THE STARS WHO FREED ME!” the moon princess exclaimed. Quickly she caught herself and a little blush invaded her cheeks. “You did that on purpose!”

“Maybe.” The announcing guard answered and opened the door.

A small and rather broad pony with a black and purple, hooded robe entered and kneeled before the princess. He removed the hood, revealing a yellow unicorn stallion with a brown and pale red mane.

“Princess- he started slowly “Erm- oh, sorry!” he kneeled down again “Greetings, Princess. I, your humble servant, erm, Lower Crust, have come here before you.”

*You don’t say...* Luna managed not to speak this thought. There was a reason why Autumn was the leader and speaker of the followers.

“I have come here before you!” Lower stressed again, apparently hoping that some divine script would appear from above or that Luna’s hoofs would turn into cue cards. “Erm- because of what we did.”

“We have heard of your deeds, my follower.” The moon princess said with a smile. “We are proud and happy that you have spread joy amongst all our subjects.” A few moments passed “You may stand.”

The stallion got up and nodded. “Erm- I’m here because of the money...” he said slowly.

“Money?”

“Yes- erm- we sorta made a bit of a profit...” the unicorn answered “Erm- we kept the price so low, we hardly got above raw materials, but there were a few donations...”

“Oh?”

“Erm- and we thought- after voting, of course! Since the boss and Diamond Shadow were busy and we decided to vote.”

Luna suppressed a chuckle. Democracy... how cute.

“And we, that means the followers, of course, we wanted to... well... donate it... to charity.” The stallion levitated a small scroll out from under his robe.

The moon princess accepted the scroll with her magic and took a look. It was the certificate for a bank account. A not exactly slim bank account.

“You made all that in one night?” Luna asked with hint of surprise.

“Yes. We had a lot of customers.”

Luna bit her lip. It was peanuts compared to what some nobles threw around, just to have an excuse to meet up with their friends and stroke their egos. But those ponies raised it on short notice and in one night. It irked the moon princess that she couldn’t make more than a short announcement out of this. The followers clearly earned more than a short mention in the newspaper, but anything more would earn an outcry from the rich and mighty, who would probably call the lunar Princess biased and trying to push her little cult into the spotlight. And Luna had just fought off a lynch mob...

“We shall put this money to good use!” the moon princess decreed “There are several free clinics and foal shelters which will be very happy.”

Her words earned her a huge smile from the awkward stallion in front of her, which worsened her ire toward the current state of Equestrian high society.

“We are exceptionally grateful that you took it upon yourself to do this.” Luna continued. If she couldn’t give them a medal, she could at least give them some nice words. “Again, the creativity, diligence and hard work of the followers have shown that the night is not to be feared anymore! Go home and rest with the knowledge that you have done a great service to your princess and Equestria as a whole!”

“Princess... Thank you!” the stallion managed to squeeze out of his trembling lips “We are happy to serve you.”

The moon princess waited a few moments, allowing the stallion to compose himself. Then she asked: “If we may inquire, how are the plans for the heating plant developing?”

“Oh!” Lower Crust almost keeled over from the change of topic “Very well, my princess. I... well... my part is not very important, but the team is very optimistic. The new colleagues make our old plans... erm... well... they are really shoddy in comparison, but I think we are on the right track.”

“Continue to do us proud.” Luna closed and smiled as the follower bowed and turned to leave. But he suddenly spun around again.

“Oh, before I forget!” he stuttered and grabbed beneath his robes again. “This is for you!”

A thermos levitated towards the princess.

“We... well, we thought you should know what we sell in your name...” he explained and quickly left.

She let out a small sigh as the door closed. It was still difficult to believe that this awkward little unicorn was not only the brother of Upper Crust, one of the snobbiest beings in Equestria, he was also a brilliant geologist, founding member of the followers and one of the fathers of the geothermal power plant.

Autumn had one thing in mind, when he recruited Lower Crust into the followers: Find a way to provide warmth during the eternal night. For some reason, he had apparently expected Nightmare Moon to freeze and starve her subjects to death and decided to prepare excessively. Lower and several other followers had managed to develop plans for a heating plant that would use the natural warmth of the earth’s core. Lower had provided knowledge about the temperature, hot spots and how the soil would react.

When Luna had seen the plans for herself, she couldn’t help but admire the stallion a little. It was an idea that had simply not occurred to ponykind before. Earth ponies could easily grow wood to burn, Pegasi had access to storm clouds to fuel radiators and unicorns had their magic. Nopony had ever thought of digging for warmth. They had even covered a “hot cloud” system to provide additional warmth to Cloudsdale.

“Are there more petitioners?” the moon princess asked loudly.

“Not right now, your majesty!”

The moon princess relaxed and gave into her musings. How could she utilize the stallion in her plans? What were his other victories?
Her gaze drifted through the room and suddenly it hit her.
A grin formed on the lips. Perfect! That went fast!
Now all she had to do was get through court!

“You can send in the next.”

“There aren’t any, majesty...”

“None?”

“It doesn’t seem so.”

Luna let out a sigh, popped the thermos open and took a swing of the wine. “We don’t suppose anyone happen to have a deck of cards?”

*Later that day*

Luna’s mood had improved over the course of the day. There had been no further lynch mobs or other angry ponies. Things had greatly improved when Fancy Pants and his wife had used their scheduled appointment to congratulate her. She had even managed to get those darn edicts signed early. But the biggest stroke of luck had been when she had seen Celestia fly into the evening sky with enough water for a cloud. It had given her a chance to measure her sister’s feelings. While a thousand years were a long time, it had been clear that Celestia had several things on her mind. The moon princess had suggested that her sister might want to visit the five statues they had received a long time ago.
An idea she was extremely proud of. Not only were the statues a good reminder not to distance yourself from your subjects, they were also a gift from a pony that had once courted the sun princess. How else would he have learned so much about the divine sisters? Surely, a reminder of old happiness would be a well placed push.

Now, Luna only had to make sure that she was not gauging Twilight’s emotions wrong. Earlier, she had noticed how the purple unicorn had entered the dreamland. Maybe she could find a few clues in there.
After retreating to her room, Luna quickly entered the sleeping world and homed in on the space that currently hosted the student. Silently, she slipped into the dream.

And left even faster!

“Mission Accomplished!” Luna said to herself with a huge blush. “And without any intervention whatsoever...” She really didn’t need to see that!

Forcing herself out of the memory, she had noticed how the resting world had been void of her most loyal follower and his girlfriend.

“I should go and see if Autumn is ready!” she said loud while trying not to blink. She could see nothing but white and purple when she closed her eyes.

The moon princess made her way towards the guest room but stopped at the other end of the hallway, when she saw it open.
An armour clad night guard left the room, but turned around to talk to the pony still inside.
Not wanting to pry, Luna averted her gaze as she moved closer. The sleeping world’s ferry mare was used to seeing her fair share of naughty dreams but that was in the sleeping world. While she avoided those including her or her sister with great care, she had never minded it. Sexuality was natural and important after all and dreams were there to explore what reality would not allow.
Seeing open displays of affections that went beyond the boundaries of family in the awake world on the other hoof still made Luna rather queasy. The world of consequence and order was, after all, not to be taken lightly.

Slowly, the princess reached earshot distance.

“...and take good care of yourself. I really don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry, hon, I’ll be careful.”

“Please be. It would be a huge loss to good looks everywhere.”

“Sigh... you only love me for my body.”

“Mostly... yes. But your cooking is a bonus.”

Luna rolled her eyes. That was not very nice of Agent Shadow to say, but she was probably joking.

The moon princess cleared her throat.
Both Ponies spun and kneeled down.
“Princess! We didn’t hear you approach!” the stallion said meekly, a huge blush forming on his cheeks.

“Do not mind it.” Luna said calmly “I hope you two rested well.”

The two ponies in question looked at each other quickly. Now Diamond Shadow was blushing too. They hadn’t gotten as much rest as they should have, since she had felt like doing the *Poor Lonesome Cowgirl* routine and rode her steed into the sunset.

“We have much to plan.” The moon princess stressed “Would you mind if we used your room ?”

“Erm... of course not.” Autumn said very carefully and both ponies entered.

Luna followed and her jaw dropped.

“Why is there a huge pile of... stuff in the corner?” she demanded to know.

Again, four cheeks lit up.
“You see, Princes... when the maids asked us what we wanted to eat, they stressed that they could provide us with anything...” Autumn explained “And I asked *anything* and they stressed *anything*... and so we thought... erm...”

“Let’s try it out...” Diamond Shadow finished.

“So... you asked for...” Luna made her way over to the pile. “A hatchet? A glass eye? A giant banana? Are those inflatable Diamonds?”

“Suffice to say, we were impressed.” Autumn offered carefully.

The moon princess let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead.

“I hope you are not too disappointed with us...” the stallion added rather crestfallen.

“No...” Luna answered flatly “Celestia and I make a game out of it too... Suffice to say: the maids have become very good at it.” She shook her head: Inflatable diamonds... It truly took a very unique mind to prepare for Nightmare Moon by digging for warmth.

Diamond Shadow bit her lip and stepped forwards. “I have to apologise, Princess! It was mostly my idea. I got a bit euphoric after I heard that Autumn was to be treated as a royal guest.”

“You did no harm.” The moon princess stressed “Most of this is worthless and I doubt that you will keep all the... trumpery. And I think I have to ask if the maids have some connection to Discord... this looks like his talon-paw-hoof-tail-work.”

Luna turned to the two ponies. “But enough of that! We have some plotting to do!”

The two smaller ponies nodded and Diamond Shadow saluted.

“Diamond Shadow, starting tomorrow afternoon, you will both keep an eye on my sister and intercept any attempts to disturb her holiday. I had a very worrying meeting with a few nobles and I believe they might prove troublesome.” Luna decreed.

The Pegasus gave another salute.

“And Autumn: Your help will be essential.” She continued “You were brought up in Canterlot in the same social class as Twilight Sparkle. You visited the same school and therefore know more about current romantic ideals and notions than I do. You will help me analyze their relationship and support it with ideas and situations! Right after I contact Red in Ponyville, we will plan what activities I will suggest to my sister tomorrow.”

“Erm... Princess... I feel honoured that you consider me for this job.” Autumn said carefully “But, I’m not exactly the most romantic-“

“YES, you are!”

Autumn’s head turned to look at the Pegasus, who had just interrupted him.
“Sorry, love, but you ARE.” Diamond Shadow stated coldly “You know what a mare wants! Trust me on that.”

“Well... I guess I can usually guess what you want...”

“And what am I? Diced Tomatoes?”

“No, but...”

“Love, Princess Luna needs your help hooking up the supreme ruler of Equestria and one of the greatest heroines in recent history. Now go and do your patriotic duty!” Diamond Shadow demanded.

Autumn let out a sigh and nodded: “Yes, honey...”

Author's Note

Again: Proofread by ALSilvertongue

Read, Enjoy and tell me what you think.

Phase Seven

There are no photons more charged than the ones attacking the closed eyes of a dreamer. Twilight had on several occasions considered measuring their power and see how much stronger they were. Maybe one could improve solar panels by putting huge eyelids onto them.
And on this morning, they were as merciless as always.

The unicorn was torn from her dreamless slumber with a groan and shook her bed-deformed mane.
The sun had already risen a little into the slightly cloudy sky and a quick glance towards the clock informed Twilight that Celestia had allowed her to sleep in a little. It was strange enough that she had been able to sleep in the first place.

“Time for my last meal…” she muttered and got up.

The purple mare spent a little more time than usual in the bathroom. For a moment, she considered putting on more make-up than usual and asking for a pretty dress… but she had to be honest with herself: Twilight did not care about surface appearances and neither did Celestia.
No, she would confess her love exactly as she was. Well… very clean and slightly more groomed than usual, but that was just courtesy. She brushed her teeth fourteen times in a row, not so much due to optimism, but because she wanted to play for time.
As she finished her hygiene, Twilight did something she usually avoided. She called for a maid.
Seconds later, one of the many well dressed and highly competent maids entered the room.

“How may I serve you, Lady Sparkle?” she asked professionally.

“Erm… is Princess Celestia still at breakfast?” Twilight asked awkwardly. It was always difficult for her to address the servants when they called her “Lady”. Sometimes she wondered how Shining Armour dealt with being a prince.

“In fact, yes.” The maid answered “She has not yet finished. Would you like me to deliver a message?”

“No, thank you. I will just join her.” The unicorn answered carefully “Oh! Is Princess Luna with her?”

“Princess Luna insisted on eating alone today.” The maid answered briefly.

Suddenly the unicorn recognized the voice and a question popped into her head. “Say, where did you get the iron ore from?” she asked carefully.

“We have our sources.” Came the professional answer.

“Could you please tell me?” the scientist in Twilight begged “I’ve been wondering all evening!”

“Bribed Discord with four pies.” The maid answered after harrumphing.

Twilight nodded. Pastries were a hard currency in Equestria.

“Well, I should go and join the princess.” She added and left the maid to her duties.

The unicorn trotted towards the dining hall. Whatever would happen later, she needed something in her belly. While she was not too hungry, a part of her expected to lose a lot of liquid due to tears soon.
As she reached the door to the dining hall, the unicorn stopped. Her stomach was in knots and her heart had decided to move towards her throat and have a house warming party.

*Maybe I shouldn’t do it…* came a thought from the back of her head *Maybe I can keep pretending that there is nothing and… and what?*

She let out a groan and shook her head. “No! I have to do it! Otherwise, the Mirror-Twilights would have died for nothing!”

A soft clinking sound alarmed her and Twilight turned to look into the eyes of a very worried looking servant, who had just dropped an empty milk can.

“And I just said that out loud…” she sighed and entered the room, ignoring the confused stallion.

The sun was just high enough to bath the whole room in gold and at the end of the table sat Celesita, clad in her regalia and the light of her foster sphere.

The unicorn let out a small sigh at the sight and moved towards the princess, who was still nursing a cup of tea and two cupcakes as she was reading in a book.

“Twilight!” the monarch said cheerfully “Good morning! Did you rest well?”

No matter how nervous Twilight had been mere minutes ago, the cheeriness immediately brought a smile onto her face. It was tough being nervous and afraid, when you were just so happy.

“Yes, I slept well.” The unicorn answered happily and made her way towards the table.

“Come closer, there is something I want to show you.” Celestia said with a playful smile.

Carefully, Twilight moved closer. “This doesn’t involve any squirting flowers, does it?”

“Oh, Twilight!” the princess giggled “I respect the classics, but I that one is probably older than me…”

The unicorn suppressed a giggle, imagining two amoebas in the primal soup being completely taken aback by the originality of a squirting flower. She moved next to the princess, who took a quick glance around.

The princess gently pushed her hair aside, revealing he covered eye.

“It’s getting better!” Twilight said happily.

Celestia simply nodded, equally glad. Her eye still had red spots, but they had become smaller.
“Soon, I will be able to return to my duties.”

This sentence hit Twilight like a whip. All thoughts of remaining quiet or taking time were thrown out in an instant. She had to confess today! The sooner, the better!

“Erm… Celestia?” the unicorn asked carefully, quickly grabbing some food with her magic off the set table.

The princess set down the book and gave Twiight her full attention. “Yes?”

“Is there a place we could talk after breakfast?” the purple unicorn asked carefully “Somewhere private?” *And romantic?*

“Hm? We can talk wherever we want. My resting chambers, my office, your room, my private gardens…”

Twilight thought over her options. What was the room where she felt most comfortable, where she was truly happy?

The library!

…

Rejected!

“Could we go to your chambers?” the unicorn decided, nervousness slowly working its way back up. Books were soothing, but a view of the red-golden clouds and sun-drenched country was more romantic.

“Of course. Whatever you want.” The sun princess answered gently.

Twilight quickly busied herself with eating and drinking, leaving Celestia to her book. The unicorn was not very hungry, but she hoped that she could untie some of the knots in her stomach by forcing food through them.

When both mares had eaten, they left the servants to their duty and headed for the chambers of the princess.
Twilight didn’t speak a single word on the way and Celestia had to wonder why her friend had such a stern expression on her face. Convicts on the way to the gallows would tell her to cheer up a little.
They reached the princess’ room, high in the towers of Canterlot castle.
After entering, Twilight walked towards the window, looking outside and leaving a slightly confused Celestia by the door.
The ponies of Canterlot had done a wonderful job, painting the leaves in hundred colours and the clouds moved slowly in the blue sky, their bottom drenched in the gold of the rising sun.
It was a wonderful view.

*For mirror Twilight…*

“Would you join me?” Twilight asked gently, turning to look at the princess.

Celestia simply nodded and closed in on the pony, not sure what to expect. The smaller pony had behaved rather curiously today. Well… there was a small blossom of hope, deep within.

Twilight looked up at her mentor, teacher, ruler … princess! She pushed the thought away and calmed herself in the way Cadence had taught her long ago.

“Celestia… this is something I just… no, this is something that is long overdue and I only recently realized.” Twilight slowly began, fighting to keep her eyes locked with the gentle gaze of the princess. “Celestia… you have known me for so long… you took me in when I was just a filly with a fresh cutie mark. You have done so much for me. You inspired me to study magic. You showed me my love for books, for reading and learning.” Her will crumbled and her eyes dropped, as Twilight felt her cheeks burn and her tongue drying “You reintroduced me with Spike, as you raised him, you led me towards my best friends and you always watch over me and help me when I need you.” The unicorn could feel her heart smashing against her ribs, as if trying to escape its bony prison “You are literally the sun of my life. I can look up to you and just bask in your glory, but you never burn me…”
The unicorn forced everything into those last words “Celestia! I can no longer deny or hide it! I love you! I thought I only admired, adored or idolize you… but this is not the case. I love you! I love who you are, I love spending time with you and I love seeing you happy! I… I know this is selfish of me, but I want to see you happy on every day of my life… because your smile makes me happier than…” Words lost meaning as a tear dropped from Twilight’s cheek. She closed her eyes and sobbed softly at the silent Princess.

Celestia had remained quiet throughout the confession, her countenance unreadable.

“Twilight…” she started calmly, but almost without gentleness. “I am the alicorn of the sun. The ruler of Equestria for centuries. I bring the fire of life to the sky, the warmth to the earth and light to all things that walk upon it. As much as I wish it was differently, to all ponies in Equestria, I am a god.”

Twilight felt cracks run over her heart.

“When ponies look to me, they must see a flawless being. Something to inspire them, just like I inspired you. I cannot have a flaw, weakness or taint. In our chaotic world, they must know that the sun will rise and set and nothing will change that.” The sun princess drew a quick breath and continued, as the unicorn’s lip started to quiver.
“They must also know that I rule them fairly and just, without favouring anyone. That my rule is true and just.”
Another tear dropped from the unicorn’s cheek and was quickly followed by another.
“If I ever gave my heart to somepony, that person would be in grave danger, for I have many enemies and some so powerful that I could only protect him or her with all of my might. And that would mean leaving my post. And that would mean abandoning my subjects.”

The tears were now running freely and Twilight could feel how the cracks ran deeper, almost deep enough to shatter her heart. “PLEASE!” she suddenly yelled “Stop! Just reject m...”

“NO” Celestia answered, her voice hard as a diamond sharp as a scalpel, sending Twilight to her haunch. “I have to say this and you have to hear this! ALL OF IT! IF I EVER MEANT SOMETHING TO YOU, YOU WILL HEAR AND LISTEN!”

Calmness returned not without effort and Twilight looked at the princess in shock. ”But I am flawed... I am not made of stone, nor am I a ball of fire in the sky. I can hunger, I can tire, I can cry and I can be beaten.”

Suddenly, a hint of sadness crept onto Celestia’s visage. “Twilight... loving me would mean living a lie. It would mean hiding your feelings from the entire world. Only your closest friends would be allowed to know and even they would have to take the secret to the grave. No matter how much you would like to shout it into the world, no matter how deeply you want to express it, to the outside world those feelings cannot exist. Maybe you would spend the best years of your life, sacrificing the chance to have your own family. No husband or wife at home, no children, no family for yourself. You would not even enjoy the privilege of marrying into nobility. Maybe the sister of Shining Armour will be invited, but not Twilight Sparkle, the lover of the princess. At best, you would be my shadow; maybe a cunning observer would express a suspicion and get laughed at for it. And finally, loving an eternal being would mean slowly withering while I remain eternal and unchanging. You would become an old mare... and die. Nothing I know can save you from that fate. Only a happy memory would remain.”

Celestia allowed herself a sigh and moved a bit closer.

“Twilight, have you understood what I just said?”

The unicorn nodded very slowly.

“After hearing all this...” Celestia asked, much softer and gentler “Could you still love me? Could you still want to spend your days with me? Could you accept the lies, the sacrifice and the knowledge that even I know no magic spare you death?”
There was a minute of silence that seemed to last for hours. Celestia had closed her eyes and did not bother to read the unicorn’s mien. The speech had drained her emotional batteries and now she had to deal with the guilt of taking this happy moment and beating it to death.

“Yes!”

The sun princess looked up, as the word caught her by surprise.

“I would still love you! “ The unicorn stressed, now sounding firm and determined “I don’t want fame, fortune or this kind of family... I want to... I want to be with you! I want the chance to make you happy in a way only a lover can make another happy! Even if it’s just for a fraction of your life! That is all I care about! That is what would make me truly happy!”

Celestia looked at Twilight with surprise. She bit down the tears that she felt approaching her eyes and nodded.
“Then so be it.” She said softly “Twilight Sparkle, I accept your love, for I feel the same.” The unicorn’s jaw dropped “I saw you grow into a wonderful mare and I have adored you for a long time, but only recently have I found it in my heart that this adoration is gone and has been replaced with the will and urge bring you happiness. Deep and true happiness. I enjoy your presence, I admire your kindness and I thrive on your happiness. Every morning, I look forward to raising the sun, because I know, somewhere, the sun will shine on you.”

Twilight was about to stutter something, when the princess’ horn lit up and a hoofkerchief appeared out of thin air. It was pristine white, with a broad, golden brim and Celestia’s sun adorned the middle. Silently, if levitated towards the right upper arm of the smaller pony. Twilight felt the soft silk tie fasten itself around her arm.

For a moment, she just looked at it, still trying to understand what had just happened.

As she looked at Celestia again, the gentle mask had vanished and a deeply happy and slightly shaken mare had taken her place. Twilight could see a single tear glisten in the morning sun, as Celestia slowly extended her foreleg.
“Come, my heroine!” the alicorn said with a slightly shaking voice. “You have completed this part of your journey. It’s time to rest... kiss and claim your princess! It’s the only reward worthy of your valour.”

Twilight took a shaky step forward, her eyes glued to Celestia’s. The next step almost propelled her into a tight embrace, as she threw her forelegs around the alicorn’s neck and rubbed her tear soaked cheek against the soft coat of Celestia’s neck, just above her regalia. A strong arm held her gentle, yet firm against the alabaster chest and with a soft flapping sound, two wings covered the sides of the unicorn.

Her gaze went upwards again and her heart skipped a beat as she saw Celestia’s eyes moisten with sheer happiness. Slowly, the embraced unicorn craned her neck and stood on her hind legs.
Closing the distance was a bit awkward and difficult, but she had come too far.
And before she knew it, their lips met and Twilight’s heart melted.

The unicorn had expected to be blown away by the aeons of experience, but Celestia’s kiss was gentle and patient. The alicorn’s lips moved carefully against Twilight’s, reacting to her, rather than guiding her.
The awkward pose and her inexperience made Twilight’s kiss a tad clumsy, but the unicorn made up for it with sheer sincerity and joy.
Their kiss broke and Twilight slumped back to her hooves. They were still looking into each other’s eyes, both smiling. The unicorn could even see a tint of rose on the princess’ cheeks. Had she really done that? Celestia had blushed because of her?
A hint of surprise came over Celestia, as Twilight suddenly started to tremble in her wings. She loosened her embrace a little and seconds later, it happened.

“YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES!”

A pony shaped, purple bouncing ball circled the princess, loudly proclaiming her agreement with the current state of the world.

“Oh Twilight...” Celestia laughed merrily, feeling how Twilight’s honest and open joy infected her as well.

“I love you! I love you!” Twilight suddenly added to her staccato of approval and her final jump landed her on Celestia’s back, her forelegs around the princess’ neck. “I love my beautiful, kind, humongous princess!”

Celestia couldn’t help but let out a happy sigh at the feeling of the smaller pony snuggling against her neck. She craned her neck around and moved her muzzle to Twilight’s ear. “This is one of the reasons why I love you so much: You are not just happy, you make the whole world brighter with your happiness.” She gently nibbled at the ear, earning a cute yelp from Twilight. “It makes my sun rather miniscule...”

“Nothing about you is miniscule.” The unicorn answered and rubbed her cheek against the princess. She let out a happy sigh. “I have dreamed of this for so long... but I couldn’t believe that you would ever want me.”

“And what made you think that, my dear?” Celestia asked playfully “The constant praise, the great pride I always have when talking about you or the fact that I entrusted my adoptive son into your care?”

Twilight’s already crimson blush somehow deepened. “Oh, princess... you are too good to me...”

“Oh my, this will not do, dear! Even when you are sprawled on my back and look me in the eye, you still address me wrong!” the alicorn remarked with pretended sharpness and softly smacked Twilight on the cutie mark with the tip of her wing “Apparently Celestia is a bit too long for you to remember.”

“Being so close to you does make my brain all fuzzy...” the smaller pony admitted.

“Then I suggest you come up with a pet name.” The princess suggested “Maybe you have an easier time remembering something you came up with yourself.” A soft grin snuck onto her lips “Now make up for it...” Then she puckered them inviting.

No power in Equestria could have kept Twilight from kissing those lips again. This time the kiss was a bit longer and Celestia put more of herself into it, making the unicorn shiver on her back.

For Twilight it was less dreamy and surreal, but sweeter in its reality. She was truly kissing the princess of all of Equestria.
They separated again, both smiling, Twilight broadly and Celestia sheepishly.

“As much as I enjoy looking into your eyes, my spark of joy.” The princess whispered softly, earning a gasp of surprise from the unicorn “My neck is getting a bit sore and I don’t think that we are the point of this relationship where you are supposed to be on my back.” She leaned closer to Twilight’s ear “At least not yet.”

Again, Twilight followed the path of the tomato and reddened. “Sorry. I was just so happy and-“

“And yourself. It was delightful, Twilight.” Celestia ensured while sitting down, she extended her wing to allow the unicorn to slip off her back.

Standing face to face again, the two mares stood there with slight awkwardness. Their body language was clearly showing that they had to spend quite a bit of willpower to not just jump into each other’s arms again.

“So, what now?” Twilight asked, hoping to break the magnetism.

“As much as I want to take you outside a frolic through the gardens, I think we have to discuss a few of the things I explained earlier.” Celestia answered with a sigh. “Please, make yourself at home. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

The unicorn nodded and took place on the rug Celestia usually used when reading letters or books. As the princess walked towards the door, Twilight suddenly realized something: She could finally justify it to herself to stare! The slim barrel, the wonderful curve of her haunch, the strong leg muscles underneath the white, the point where the pristine coat turned into the flowing tail... she could finally allow herself to be mesmerized by the display of sheer beauty and sexiness before her.
Celestia felt Twilight’s eyes on her body and it put a slight spring in her step.

She quickly rang a bell to summon a maid.

Seconds later, her hoof maiden arrived.

“Dusty, I am not to be disturbed for the rest of the day!” Celestia stressed gently.

Dusty Feathers saluted “Princess Luna already ordered not to disturb your holiday, princess.”

“No, I mean that Twilight and I have things of high magical property to talk about. Consider this a state visit.”

“Guards out of earshot range, Pegasi are kept away from all windows and Prince Blueblood will be bound and gagged on sight! Understood!”

“Thank you.” Celestia answered with a smile and closed the door.

She returned to a slightly flustered Twilight. The unicorn had spend the time to study her former teachers body to her heart’s content and was now featuring yet another blush. Her cheek capillaries were surely getting a workout today.

“Did you enjoy the show, my dear?” the alicorn asked sheepishly.

“Yes...” Twilight answered, well aware that denying it was useless.

“So, after several millennia, I still got it!” Celestia stated proudly and took place right next to the smaller pony. Her horn lit up for a second and a glint of magic ran over the windows.

As a wing was extended over her, Twilight looked up in surprise. “Weren’t we supposed to talk about the serious part of our relationship?” she asked.

“That doesn’t mean that we can’t cuddle while doing so!” the alicorn ruled.

“I refuse to argue with that!” The smaller pony answered promptly and snuggled into the pristine white coat next to her.

Celestia gave Twilight a gentle kiss just below her horn.

The unicorn sighed and forced herself to seriousness. “Repercussions!” she said bluntly “I want this out of the way to get back to the mushy stuff.”

“And some ponies say that romance is dead.” The alicorn said sheepishly. “Yes, there are things we have to make clear.”

“Who am I allowed to tell?” Twilight asked carefully.

Celestia’s face fell. “I don’t want you to think that I forbid you from telling anyone, Twilight!” she said crestfallen.

“I didn’t want to imply that.” The unicorn answered quickly “I just... you were right, you know. I want to yell it from the highest tower and write it into the clouds. I want to tell the entire world that I love you. Getting it out was hard enough.”

“Luna will be delighted to hear it.” Celestia began “Cadence and Shining Armour are trustworthy enough and family. I will ask for permission from your parents, of course.”

“What?”

“I may go with the times, but I am an old fashioned mare in some aspects, my dear Twilight.” The princess stated gently.

“How come you are fine to be with another mare then?” The unicorn asked sheepishly.

“Much older fashioned than this particular kind of prejudice.”

Twilight bit the inside of her cheek and averted her gaze. “I guess it’s plain stupid to ask if I’m not your first. Your age, that speech...”

Celestia leaned closer and her wing moved to lift Twilight’s chin. “No, Twilight. You are not the first pony that I have ever loved. And fate will dictate that you are not the last pony that I will ever love.” A gentle, bitter sweet smile crept onto her face

“But for as long as you live, you will be the only creature that I love.”

“How many?”

“Many. And I can tell you every single name, colour, quirk...” the alicorn sighed “I am both gifted and cursed with immortality, but luckily, this body and mind were meant to be eternal. I can remember them all, just like I will remember you.”

“Actually, I am kind of glad that you have experience with this...” the unicorn admitted “Because I am really lost here.”

“Oh.” Celestia deadpanned “I was about to give a ‘stars in the sky’ metaphor and... You are sure you are ok with it?”

“Don’t act as if I had much of a choice. I love you. So you have a past.” Twilight shrugged “Right now: I have you!” she cuddled against the slightly surprised alicorn again.

“You truly are a smart mare.” Celestia giggled “I assume that I am your first?”

“Goodness, yes!” the unicorn answered while shaking her head “Until recently, I was not even aware that I am into mares... and I still don’t think that I am. The pony that I love just happens to be one.”

“Older mare leads young filly astray... I know a lot of ponies who would love to outrage over this.” The princess giggled “Back to topic: The other elements may also know. They are your best friends and each of them is trustworthy.”

“We just have to make sure that Pinkie Pie makes a private party out of it. And don’t forget Spike!” Twilight insisted “Even though he will probably need counselling.”

“His current situation would make Saddlemund Freud squee.” Celestia admitted.

“Squee?”

“The good doctor loved a challenge. And had a great sense of humour.” The princess answered sagely.

“Did you-“

“No. And please don’t ask this about every famous pony in history.” Celestia teased “Discretion is difficult if one is famous. Goodness, if you had not been my student, every pony in the castle would cry havoc and slip the dogs of gossip. The way it is, we can pretend that I teach you.”

“I think that will happen most of the time anyways.” Twilight answered sheepishly “I am not exactly well versed in courtly romance, being the affair of the princess and...” a blush spread again “things like kissing.”

“Oh, my dear, those things are indeed best learned by practice and not from books.” The alicorn explained sagely “But don’t despair, dear Twilight, this old pony will gladly take you...” the princess paused just long enough to make Twilight squirm “under her wing.”

“You are terrible.”

“What can I do? I am off duty, I am well fed, and I am in love! I couldn’t be happier!” Celestia giggled and squeezed the pony in her wing “Well, mostly because I am in love with you.”

Twilight felt her heart melt at the sheer happiness radiating from the princess. She nuzzled her neck again, enjoying the scent of rose... weird, Celestia usually preferred almond.

“Did you change shampoo?” the unicorn asked in surprise.

“Oh, you noticed?” the princess wondered “Apparently one of the maids nicked the bottle and Dusty had to replace it on short notice.”

“Does that happen often?”

“No, I was quite surprised. The castle maids pride themselves on never abusing their privileges.” Celestia explained “But I won’t have them look into it. It’s just a shampoo bottle.”

Twilight bit her lip. The strangeness was adding up. A part of her wanted to go and investigate. But most of her was happy underneath the princess’ wing.

“So, what do you have planned for today?” she asked, trying to distract herself.

“I was going to suggest that you got into contact with your family and spent at least an evening with them. And honestly, still think that should happen. But-“

“You really want to ask for permission? YOU think you need permission to be with me?” The unicorn asked bemused.

“Not instantly. But I do want to inform your parents.” The princess answered “And yes, I want to ask for permission. Call it a quirk, if you want to.”

“I will write them a letter.”

“We could also pay Luna a visit during the early break of day court.” Celestia suggested “I think my little sister will be... interested.”

*And what if she just tried to hook us up to distract us from her evil plan?* a voice inside Twilight demanded to know. “Yes, we should talk to Luna.” She said “I have a few things to ask her.”

“You sound troubled.”

“It’s nothing.” Twilight lied. She quickly reassured herself that there was no way to interrupt day court and busied herself with snuggling against the princess. Her gaze drifted towards the windows. “Can we just stay like this?” she asked “What if a Pegasus flew by and saw us?”

“I allowed myself to cast a spell on the windows. Right now, light only enters this room.” Celestia explained “Nopony can look into this room.”

“So, nopony can see me doing this?” the unicorn asked smugly and placed a kiss on Celestia’s cheek.

“Nopony...”

“Then nopony can see me doing this?” Twilight asked lovingly and gently kissed the alicorn’s jawbone, followed by a row of kissed over her neck down to her regalia.

Suddenly a rather loud flapping sound filled the room and coolness assaulted Twilight’s body.
Both mares remained silent for a while.

“Did I just...” The unicorn began, blushing.

“It has been a while.” Celestia answered, as if addressing a very old friend.

A few moments later, laughter filled the room again, as both beheld the princess’ fully outspread wings.

Author's Note

It finally happened! Mirrior Twilight would be proud!
Now don't worry, this is not the point where the story ends. Celestia still has 4 holidays left.
Don't forget to leave a comment.
Proofread by ALSilvertongue

Phase Eight

Twilight was a mare of the present and the future. She lived in the now and she planned for tomorrow. As such, she always had an easy time forgiving and moving on. And while Twilight was not aware of it yet, it was one of the traits that endeared her so much to Princess Celestia.

But right now, she was cursing her inability to properly hold a grudge. She wanted to be angry and careful and vigilant, but those states were difficult to achieve when your brain was filled with cotton candy and even the marble walkways felt like clouds because you were so darn happy!

How could she not be happy beyond belief? She had spent the last hour and a half cuddled against Celestia. After the princess had managed to calm her raging feathers, the two mares had decided that they had discussed enough grave matters of responsibility for the moment and simply enjoyed each other’s presence and closeness. Twilight had shied away from any bold moves for the moment; she spent most of the time rubbing her temple against the much bigger princess' neck and stealing the occasional kiss. Celestia had been a bit more active, nuzzling the smaller unicorn, draping a wing over her, and once, to Twilight's momentary shock, nibbling gently on her ear.

For the most part, they enjoyed each other's warmth and comfort in silence. Twilight had only commented once, to mention how difficult it was for her to kiss the princess. Celestia had responded that "Princesses are not supposed to be easy to kiss.", before giving Twilight several gentle pecks on the cheek.

For the little pony, it was incredible how safe and protected she felt when engulfed in Celestia’s plumes. Beneath the soft feathers were muscles that could probably snap logs of wood in half, yet the princess used them to blanket Twilight with such care and gentleness that she felt herself relax, forgetting all about the dangerous world outside those wings.

But now she had to be vigilant and prepared, for she was about to face Luna and her minions!

Luna, who had gathered sinister followers, sent agents to spy on her friends in Ponyville and probably had her hooves in the mystery of the disappearing shampoo bottle as well! Ok, that last one was a really lame reason to be vigilant, but Twilight had to find out the truth, even if she had to search through every cupboard in every bathroom in the whole castle! Maybe she could thank mirror Twilight while she was there.

No, focus! This wasn’t just about Luna being evil, thought. Twilight needed to know if Luna had manipulated Celestia and her relationship in any way. She had acted rather suspicious lately. How could she enjoy the embrace of her princess, kiss the royal lips and cuddle against that strong chest, if she hadn’t earned it herself?

Twilight looked up the amazing alicorn that walked next to her. Yes, she had to be sure. And if she was wrong and everything was in order, she could really enjoy this. She could hardly wait until they could spend more time together. Hopefully she could come up with some activities this time. Maybe they could read to... NO! Stop that Twi! Vigilance! Use the force! Focus!

The unicorn turned her attention back to the corridor in front of her. They were close to the throne room now.

“Are you well, my dear?” a gentle voice asked suddenly.

“Oh, yes, of course!” Twilight answered with a sheepish smile.

“It is just that you constantly change from smiling to scowling to looking thoughtful,” Celestia said a bit nervously, earning a groan from Twilight.

“I sometimes forget how bad I am at keeping my thoughts to myself,” the unicorn admitted, “I’m almost as bad as Applejack.”

“There is nothing wrong with honesty, Twilight,” the sun princess stressed, “I can't deny that there is much going on in my mind as well. But I will feel better too, once I have revealed the truth to Luna. While the way my sister expressed her... suspicions did irk me a little, I do want to thank her for the concern she has for my happiness and share some of my joy with her.” Celestia looked around quickly and leaned down to Twilight. “Unlike you, whom I shall not share with anypony.”

A blush and a faint smile came over the unicorn's features. Again, she was losing to the feeling of joy and happiness. She had to keep her mind on the subject: Danger, conspiracy, lies, Rarity!

Rarity?

“RARITY!” Twilight exclaimed in surprise, not expecting the alabaster unicorn.

Rarity, who had just been walking through the castle’s corridors, turned towards the sudden outburst. A smile went onto her lips as she saw both Twilight and the princess approach. A very broad smile... maybe a little too broad.

“What are you doing here?” Twilight asked happily, giving her friend a very quick nuzzle. Usually, Rarity was not very touchy, but Twilight was just too happy to see a friendly face.

“I had some official business with the princess.” the fashionista answered carefully and moved her shoulders to adjust her saddlebags. For a moment, Twilight could have sworn she saw something orange inside. “But that is done now. All done. Done...” She blinked once. “OH, Princess!” she suddenly jumped towards Celestia, sliding the last few inches on her belly, so she lay prostrate before the ruler “Did you see my design? Did you like them? At all? I tried so hard! PLEASE! DID YOU LIKE THEM?”

“They were magnificent.” Celestia answered gently, with a hint of awkwardness. Rarity’s manners did borrow a bit too much from the dark ages.

“OH! THANK YOU!” Rairity proclaimed loudly. “THANK YOU THANK YOU! I was so worried!” She kissed the alicorn’s shoes. “Thank Y-OH” the fashionista had been about to repeat the kiss (several times in fact), as Twilight’s magic grabbed her tail and roughly pulled her away to put her on her hooves.

The purple unicorn harrumphed. “I’m sure the princess is fully aware of your gratitude!” she said calmly, forcing down a slight hint of jealousy. That was HER princess now!

Celestia, well aware of her lover’s feelings, couldn’t help but let out a giggle. “I have to be grateful, Rarity. Your designs were not only amazing to look at and wear, they might also have given a certain push to something very important. Could you spare a moment? Twilight and I have something to tell you.”

Twilight looked up to Celestia and the princess gave her a small nod.

“Of course, Princess!” Rarity answered with a smile “I can always share a moment for you!” she looked over at Twilight. “And for you, darling, of course!”

Celestia stepped between the two ponies and light engulfed them. A flash later, they reappeared in the royal study. Besides being the place where the princess decided the fate of the country when she was not in the throne room, it was also soundproof and only the princess knew the spell to teleport in here.

Rarity looked at the two ponies. “So, what is it that you want me to know?” she asked.

“Rarity!” Twilight said seriously “It is very important that you keep whatever you hear in here a secret! Nopony, no! No creature alive, dead, undead, planeshifted, viral, unborn, immortal, dimensionally challenged, based on non-Euclidean rules or transc-“

“Twilight, I think she understands it!” Celestia interjected.

“Actually, I didn’t understand half of what she said.” Rarity admitted.

“Just don’t tell anybody!” the purple unicorn stressed “Only Celestia and I are allowed to share this secret, and it has to stay between the Elements of Harmony, my close family, Spike and Luna! I know you love gossip, but it has to stay between those few!”

“That sounds awfully important!” the alabaster unicorn commented. “But I shall not betray your trust! You are my friend and very important to me. I would never gossip about something entrusted to me by a friend!”

“Pinkie promise!” Twilight demanded.

“Must I? It is so undignified...” Rarity commented.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly!” Celestia suddenly chanted and happily flapped her hooves “Stick a cupcake in my eye!” she finished by happily jamming her hoof in her eye.

The alabaster unicorn froze in shock. She managed to compose herself and followed with her own proclaiming of the rhyme.

Twilight let out a sigh and looked up to her princess. The alicorn gave a gentle nod and the smaller pony crept closer until they were touching. “Rarity...” she started slowly “Celestia and I... we are in love.”

“ah... aha....” Rarity stuttered about as loud as Fluttershy, and Twilight could swear she heard a fuse blow. The alabaster unicorn relaxed completely, her mouth hanging open and her pupils as small as pinheads.

“Rarity?” the purple mare asked carefully.

“I don’t think she can hear you...” Celestia commented gently “I did not expect this...”

It took roughly a minute of awkward waiting for Rarity’s brain to reboot and send an automatic message to tech support. Slowly she shook her head and looked around. “Yes, Spikey-Wikey, just put it there to the others, I’ll call mother soon and have the pumpkin tamed!” she said incoherently, just before she managed to focus again. “WAIT!” she exclaimed “You and... and... Princess CELESTIA!”

“Yes, Rarity.” Celestia answered softly “Twilight has overcome her worries and fears and confessed her love to me. And the only answer in my heart was yes.”

“I’m truly glad that you are the first to hear it, Rarity!” Twilight added happily “If it wasn’t for you giving Spike a chance, I would have never admitted it. But after you saying that nothing but your heart mattered and seeing Celestia in your dresses, I managed to confess!” the unicorn rubbed her temple against the alicorns leg “I am very happy now!”

“We both are.” The alicorn added nuzzled Twilight gently.

“Oh, Twilight, Princess!” Rarity exclaimed happily. “This is so wonderful! I was worried when you spoke of secrecy, but this is such a happy occurrence!” Suddenly a thought entered her mind. “Wait! Secrecy! Intrigue! Hidden courtship! AFFAIR!” she said with her usual drama filled voice (loud, raspy and trembling). “Lovers kept apart by standing, by morals, by the world!” she continued almost madly, her inner drama cooking over. “Only able to express their love in secret! Only able to love behind the curtains! OHHHHHH!” the unicorn toppled over, her eyes glazing over and her horn shining.
.
Somewhere in Ponyville, a well known couch broke through a door and flew through half of the town before it suddenly stopped and fell to the ground.
“Looks like Rarity is out of town...” Rainbow Dash, who was currently bucking clouds away, commented as she saw the piece of furniture. “Hmm... why waste it?” she pondered and seconds later, the fainting couch was abused for naptime.
.
“I was not aware that the Element of Generosity had such affection for the dramatic.” Celestia commented carefully as Twilight held a hoofful of smelling salts under Rarity’s nose.

“You have no idea...” Twilight commented flatly.

Finally, the alabaster unicorn returned to the world of the waking. “Sorry.” She said rather embarrassed.

“Don’t mention it.” Celestia offered softly.

“I got used to it.” Twilight added.

“I don’t know what overcame me, but I can only wish you a very happy future.” Rarity stressed after collecting her thoughts “I am happy that you found each other.” She gave Twilight a big hug and turned to Celestia “Princess, I want you to gift you with a dress for this occasion! Please, just tell me which one and I will make it for you!”

“Oh, there is one dress that I would like to have. For certain occasions...” Celestia said very slowly.

Twilight nodded gladly. Surely the white one.

“Page 42, that is.”

A furious blush invaded the purple mare’s features. The black one? THAT one! She looked up to Celestia and the princess gave her a knowing wink. *Wonderful, Twilight* the unicorn thought to herself *She not only loves you back, she is also a huge tease!*

“I’m not sure I remember the design off the top of my head, but as soon as I’m back home, I will start! Oh, Twilight, Princess! Pinkie will love to throw a party for you two! And I will, of course, keep my lips sealed! Only you will share your feelings with whoever you deem fitting!” Rarity promised happily.

“Thank you, Rarity!” Twilight said softly “You are a great friend.”

“Anything for you, darling!” Rarity answered “Just promise me to be happy.”

“A promise I will gladly obey.” Celestia added.

“Well, I should be on my way then.” The white unicorn finally said “Your dress won’t sew itself.”

Twilight stepped forward and gave Rarity another quick hug.

To the surprise of both unicorns, Celestia did the same and embraced the fashionista.

“Twilight’s friends are my friends.” She said gently.

“Thank you, princess.” Rarity said “And goodbye for now.”

Slowly, Rarity left the two other mares alone.

“I wonder what she was doing here...” Twilight said after a few moments.

“We can ask Luna.” Celestia offered and stretched her wings.

The unicorn nodded gladly. “If I remember correctly, court should be on break now. Let’s go see her.”

The sun princess nodded and a hint of mischief appeared on her face. “You were rather rough with poor Rarity...” she teased. “Do I sense a hint of jealousy?”

Twilight suddenly blushed crimson. “Erm... maybe...” she admitted shyly. “I know she was just being formal and grateful and... you know: Rarity.” The unicorn moved closer and gently nuzzled up to Celestia’s leg “But... you know... those are supposed to hold me. I don’t want another mare’s lipstick on them.”

“Then I promise I’ll wear my greaves whenever Rarity is grateful.” The alicorn giggled and gently kissed Twilight on the forehead. “Jealousy doesn't suit a dazzling heroine like you.”

“I think it’s just because it is so fresh.” Twilight admitted, but couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

“You can trust one thing, my dearest; I have only eyes for you.” Celestia answered and removed one of her shoes to run a hoof through Twilight’s hair. “While we are here, why don’t you write a letter to your parents? We can give it to a guard to have it delivered on the way.”

Twilight nodded gladly and quickly wrote up a letter, asking her parents if they could spare some time for a meal together.
The two ponies left the study and made their way over to the throne room. On the way, they gave the letter to a guard, who gladly went to deliver it and wait for a response. Twilight felt her worries lift a little. It was impossible that Luna had planned the conversation with Rarity and the dresses. Maybe this was not her doing after all and these were just coincidences.

Maybe she had been overly paranoid this time.

As they reached the throne room, she looked up to her princess again and smiled. Yes, it had to be.

Celestia focused her magic on the large doors and opened them.

Twilight froze.

The room was drenched in darkness and filled with sinister figures! Rows upon rows of darkly armoured night-ponies on one side and robe clad cultists on the other stood before the dark throne. Their respective leaders knelt just beneath the seat of power, waiting for their dark orders.
Orders from Nightmare Moon herself, who was standing on the throne, dressed in darkest armour and loudly proclaiming her dark will!

“EEEEEEEVUUUUUUUL!” Twilight yelled loudly and pointed at the dark princess.

“Luna?” Celestia asked in deep surprise “Are you...?”

“SISTER!” the princess of the night exclaimed roughly “You are not supposed to be here!”

This was the move! Twilight was sure! Nightmare Moon was back and she was back with a vengeance! She focused and got ready to defend herself.

Suddenly, Celestia started to giggle. “Oh my!” she giggled “Are you really rehearsing?”

With a flicker of Luna’s horn, the darkness disappeared, the figures melted into nothing and the princess returned to normal. “It has been a while, Celestia!” the dark princess admitted “And this wedding is important! “

“So they finally decided to get hitched...” the sun princess mused. “What strange times we live in.”

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF DISCORD’S SCALY BUTT IS GOING ON!?” Twilight yelled in complete and utter confusion.

“This was a wedding ceremony in the dark ways.” Celestia explained happily “Rare occasions when Luna was asked to tie the knot between two lovers.”

“Few ponies would ask to be wed by me.” Luna added “So I am worried that I might be a bit rusty.”

“They are conducted at midnight, when the moon is half full, to demonstrate the importance of two halves for the whole. And since mostly honour guards would be wed this way, it is traditional for the participants to appear in armour or working garb. Even the princess is expected to come in war gear.” Celestia finished.

“You were rehearsing for a wedding, princess?” Twilight asked in confusion.

“Diamond Shadow recently proposed marriage to Autumn, and I accepted the duty of wedding them!” Luna explained.

“She proposed to him?” Twilight asked. “Am I the only one who finds it alarming that that is the least weird thing about them?”

“Indeed, she did.” Luna said with a gladness that surprised the unicorn a little “But what brings you here, sister? You are supposed to enjoy your free day and recover. “

“Oh, I do!” the sun princess stressed. “I am not here to try and do politics, I promise.”

“Good!” the moon princess answered calmly.

“Say, princess Luna.” Twilight suddenly said. The view had reawakened her suspicions. “Could I ask a few questions?”

“Of course, Twilight!” Luna said in a friendly manner.

“What exactly did you ask Autumn to do here? Twilight asked innocently “I don’t remember him serving an official function.”

“He serves as a personal consultant in common affairs.” Luna answered as natural as possible; she had to be careful now. “Since most consultants have a noble upbringing and education, a commoner like him helps me understand the concerns of my less privileged subjects better. The followers are a diverse pool of ponies with less than desired experiences and therefore, he can bring unique insights into the progress of government!” The moon princess congratulated herself mentally. That was complete garbage and still sounded plausible. She still WAS a politician!

“I see.” Twilight said slowly. That sounded realistic, but why did she say it like it was a Lexicon entry? “Say, have you heard that Red Devil Apple is visiting Ponyville? I heard he is a follower too.”

Luna forced a poker face onto herself. Sadly, for Twilight, Nightmare Moon knew all the secrets of deception. And the best deception was truth. “Indeed. Since Celestia and I talk about your adventures regularly, I worried that Ponyville might be in peril, with its defender visiting here. So, when I heard that Red was going to have a surprise visit, I asked him to keep contact, in order to react to any trouble. He was kind enough to agree.”

“Oh, very smart!” Twilight answered nicely. This was off. It had been clear from their conversation that Red had been sent there. Luna was hiding something! But the unicorn had no proof! She was playing with a master of her craft after all.

“Twilight, I thought we wanted to tell Luna something, not ask her about her followers.” Celestia interfered.

“Oh? What is it, sister?” the moon princess asked with a smile. The unicorn was on to something, but so far, Luna hoped she had covered her trails.

Celestia took a look around. Luna had placed several spells to secure the room for her rehearsals and there were no guards around. With a flicker of her magic, she added one layer of safety and turned to her sister. “I have to admit defeat, sister. Your insight has proven superior.” She started and stepped a bit closer to Twilight “I have been running from my feelings and it was up to my most faithful student to stop me and force me to face them. Twilight has found the admirable courage to confess her loving affection to me. And I have found the same in my heart. I love Twilight Sparkle. And I owe you an apology for not listening to you!”

Twilight nuzzled up to Celestia as the alicorn spoke and added. “If you had any influence, I guess I owe you my gratitude. I love Celestia.”

Luna looked at the two first in surprise. Slowly a grin snuck unto her lips. “OH! That is so wonderful!” she giggled and embraced her sister hard. “I am so happy for you!”

She turned to Twilight and hugged the smaller pony as well. “And the pony who freed me from Nightmare Moon deserves nothing but the best. And Tia is truly the best!”

Celestia giggled soflty and Twilight blushed a bit.

“And you know what comes now, my beloved sister!” the moon princess said with an evil grin.

“Oh, please...” the sun princess sighed “Do you have to?”

“Indeed!” Luna answered. “VICTORY DANCE!”

Twilight’s mouth dropped to the ground as the princess of the Moon, the ferrymare of dreams, and the former Nightmare Moon started to dance around her sister in a very VERY silly manner. It was not exactly choreographed, and about as dignified as her YES-fits, but as a fellow younger sibling, Twilight knew how rare such victories were. Or at least, she used to know. Lately she had been saving her brother so often, she was close to getting enough stamps for a free coffee.

“Luna, I get it, you are happy, can you stop now?” Celestia asked with a hint of tension in her voice. The moon princess was currently forming the letters “L-U-N-A! L-U-N-AAAAAA!” with her forehoofs.

“You bitterness only sweetens this victory for me!” Luna added and finished with a twirl that landed standing on one hoof. She was grinning broadly.

“I just don’t think it is an appropriate way to behave in the throne room,” Celestia said, slightly annoyed.

“Twilight is as good as family, sister.” Luna stressed “She earned and claimed that title.” She turned towards the unicorn “Just be careful! She gets really snuggly when she is asleep. Had to pry myself out of a lot of embraces back when we shared a bed!”

“Luna! That was aeons ago!”

“So was your sweet tooth! Some things don’t change!” she leaned closer to Twilight “Or rather: Sweet full-prosthesis.”

Twilight couldn't help but laugh at the exchange. She had seen many new faces of Celestia lately. This reminded her so much of her relationship with her brother, it made her feel nostalgic.

“As much as I enjoy rubbing it into your face, sister, I have to open court again.” Luna said with a big smile. “Why don’t you two go and enjoy your holiday. I will keep my grip on the reins and you... well, have fun and be merry!”

“We will.” Twilight said. Her mind was still on the case, but she knew, she would not get anything out of Luna.

“Indeed!” Celestia added “Thank you sister.”

The two lovers smiled at each other and left the throne room.

Luna was alone.

She added a layer of magic to the security spells.

“Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!”

Outside, Twilight looked up to her Princess. “I am glad that those two took it so well.” She said softly.

“You call that good?” Celestia asked with a wink.

“Fine, statistically, each of them fainted, freaked out and mocked you for a minute.” Twilight commented. “And this shows yet again that the mean is not a good statistical indicator!”

“You magical science teacher would be proud.” The sun princess giggled.

“Oh, who cares about that old hag?” the unicorn laughed. “I heard she dates her students!”

“I would take this to the headmistress, but she is even worse!” the alicorn added merrily.

They walked a bit further, but suddenly, something hit Twilight. “Where are we going?” she asked, slightly confused.

“I thought we could go outside and enjoy the weather a bit,” Celestia suggested.

The unicorn nodded softly. “That sounds nice.”

The two continued quietly towards the private gardens. Both mares had slight issues though. Both felt the urge to just walk closer and cuddle against each other, but there were just too many ponies around.
Twilight sighed. Every guard, maid and butler was a possible danger. She didn't like this. Still, trying to be inconspicuous, she looked up to Celestia.

On their way, the princess greeted several guards and maids by their first names and even asked one Pegasus guard named Stormbreak how his boyfriend “Lore” was. The unicorn couldn’t help but sigh. That was her marefriend over there. No longer a foolish, distant fantasy, no, her actual lover!

Smiling softly, she held back and basked in Celestia’s kindness.

They finally reached the private gardens, abandoned by gardeners, hidden from direct view and, best of all, filled with the colours of fall.

Twilight smiled broadly at the beauty and took a deep breath of fresh air.

Celestia meanwhile, was walking ahead and slowly took off her shoes.

“What are you doing?” the unicorn asked, walking over to her lover.

“Nobody is here to watch. At least nobody who might think less of me if I get some dirt on my hooves, right?” Celestia asked gently, removing the greaves with her magic.

“And sully my picture of the perfect Celestia?” Twilight answered sarcastically and channeled Rarity “DIRT ON YOUR HOOVES? I DON’T EVEN KNOW YOU ANYMORE!”

The sun princess let out a loud laugh and embraced the unicorn happily. “Now I know where Spike gets some of his sarcasm from.” She whispered gently.

Twilight leaned into the embrace and sighed happily. After a short time, they let go. “So, what do you want to do?” she asked eagerly.

“I would suggest a little exercise.” Celestia answered and flexed her wings “Your adventures have kept you in shape, my dear, but I think we both could use some time outside.”

“The palace food is delicious,” The unicorn admitted sheepishly. “I see where Spike gets his cooking skills from.” She shook her legs and looked at the princess expectantly. “So, what do we do?”

“Well… “ the alicorn began innocently, “we could warm up carefully, have a short break, run four laps around the gardens, rest, run some more laps, bask in the sun and enjoy the colours OR...” She levitated her crown off her head and quickly put it on Twilight’s head “The evil usurper, Queen Blinding Dusk, could chase the fallen princess through the gardens, hungry to claim her virtue!”

A smirk appeared on Twilight’s face. “WE SHALL GIVE THEE A TEN SECOND HEAD START!” she proclaimed in the Royal Canterlot Voice. “IT MAKES THE CHASE MORE INTERESTING AND THE PRICE SO MUCH SWEETER!”

“Woe is me!” Celestia proclaimed desperately and began to run, soon followed by a maniacally laughing Twilight. And laughing was easy for her. The sun, the grass, the warm sun and especially the beautiful alicorn ahead of her let Twilight’s spirits fly high.

Ever the tease, the sun princess ran exactly so fast to allow Twilight a difficult, yet manageable chase, slowing down when the unicorn seemed tired and speeding up just long enough to make her sweat.
Their play went on for quite a while, until suddenly, the evil queen decided to change the rules. Quickly, she turned around and jumped, followed by the usual blink of a teleporting spell.
Celestia was suddenly tackled from the front and both mares rolled through the grass laughing and hugging each other happily.

“We *pant* have captured *pant* you *pant* Princess!” Twilight wheezed. “We shall *pant* claim thy *pant* virtue *pant* once the world stops spinning.”

“Say what you want about evil rulers, but back in my days, they didn’t cheat!” Celestia giggled and gave the unicorn a gentle kiss on the cheek.

The smaller pony giggled at the kiss. “Aren’t you supposed to desperately plea for your innocence?”

“Aren’t you supposed to claim it already?”

A blush spread over Twilight’s face, and it was not due to exhaustion. She averted her gaze slightly.

The princess only nuzzled her gently. “I understand,” She said softly. “We have all the time you want. No need to rush anything.”

The smaller mare looked up lovingly. “Thank you.”

“I think we gloriously missed lunch. How would you like some afternoon tea?” Celestia asked and gently hugged the other pony once more, before getting up.

“Sounds Tea-licious!”

“Love?”

“Yes?”

“You spend too much time with Pinkie Pie!”

Author's Note

Edited by the extremely generous FFError

Preparing Phase Eight

Preparing Phase Eight

Day court was about to open once again and for the first time, in days, Princess Luna felt a slight tiredness tugging at her focus. While she had spent the rest of the night resting, she had given in to her urge to reward her followers for their hard work.
Once Autumn and Diamond had entered the dreaming world, Luna had subtly influenced their dreams to be pleasant, and finally connected them, so the newly engaged couple could spend some time together in a world without consequence and border. When she had left them they had been dancing through a moonlit field of silver flowers, surrounded by beauty and protected from Nightmares.
Luna was no stranger to influencing her honour guards' dreams, of course. One of the benefits of becoming a personal protector of the Princess of the Night was the certainty that one’s sleep would be peaceful and that nightmares would be teachers, not stalkers.
Linking dreams between lovers, though, was a rare gift, one that the lunar princess reserved for special services and deeds.
True love was a powerful thing; such a bond shared in a land dictated by thoughts and emotions left deep impacts in the waking world.

But Luna was secure in her belief that this gift would only strengthen the bond between Autumn and Diamond and what better way to spend the first night of engagement?

Luna took a final sip from her mug of coffee ("Cutest Sister Imaginable!") and looked over to her secretary. “How tight is the schedule?” she asked curiously. Maybe today, she would get some governing done.

“Not too tight, princess,” Moneypenny answered happily. “After your dialogue with the nobles yesterday, several other ponies with… concerns, have canceled their appointment. Today we could even start a bit late, if you want to.”

“No, we shall give audiences to petitioners, just like yesterday. All of Equestria shall know that Princess Luna is on the job!” Luna declared. She felt a sliver of pride. Her action yesterday had both set an example and given her some room to maneuver. Maybe today would be a good day.

“As you wish, Your Highness!” Moneypenny answered with a nod.

Moments later, the guard, in charge of the door stomped his hoof twice. “Announcing!” he began loud and clearly “Miss Rarity! Fashionista from Ponyville and Element of Generosity!”

A smile crept onto Luna’s face. Rarity was the Element-bearer she had spent the least time with. During her visit to Ponyville, the fashion pony had spent her time perfecting her Nightmare Night costume - A task that had apparently spanned over several Nightmare Nights and had yet to be completed to this day. They had also missed each other during Rarity’s visits to Canterlot. Whatever the request, this would be a great opportunity to socialize with a close friend of Twilight Sparkle, and perhaps find out a bit more about the target of her sister’s love.

The doors opened and in came… The grim reaper?

Luna’s eyebrows rose slowly, as she beheld a pony covered with long, black robes and a hood deeply pulled into her face.
Quietly, the petitioner approached the princess.

“Miss Rarity,” Luna began carefully, “it is always a delight to meet one of the ponies responsible for my freedom. What brings you before the crown?”

“A terrible, terrible thing, Princess!” Rartiy answered grimly.

*Wonderful!* Luna thought. This was going to be another one of THOSE days.

“I, a horrible example of an equine, have come before you to confess!” Rarity continued.

“Confess?” the moon princess asked, bewildered.

“CON-FESS!” Rarity proclaimed, and tore her robes away. Beneath, she was wearing bright, orange, hoof-stitched and elegantly highlighted prison overalls and a chain… a silver chain with a disco ball on the end. “Before you stands a menace to society! A horrible, disgusting and abominable pony! And for my deviancy and gross misdeeds, I deserve nothing less than dungeon! I shall be locked away with other despicable, uncouth deviants and creatures more beast than mare. Ponies who will humiliate and use me…”

Luna was about to ask Moneypenny if Rarity's drama had any hoofing in reality, but she was not given a chance.

“But even dungeons are not enough for a being as terrible as me! You should banish me from Equestria! Far away into the depths of the jungles, the heat of the badlands or the depths of the diamond dog mines! Where savage monsters and beasts will hunt me, feast on me and use me…”

Luna’s urge to interrupt became even more extreme, but one more time, Rarity continued.

“But even this fate is not terrible enough for me! You should do the worst thing imaginable in Equestrian law! I deserve to be turned into a statue, as an example of my wickedness or sent the moon, where my visage will warn others of my horrible transgressions! That fate-“

“I assure you that neither the other statues in our garden nor the moon rocks have any interest in using you, Miss Rarity.” Luna finally interrupted before Rarity could continue her pattern or demand to be executed. The moon princess gave Rarity a bemused look. “I am glad that you apparently saw the error of your ways and are willing to make up for them. As a former fallen Element bearer myself, I am well aware of the temptations of darkness. Please, confess your crimes now and I shall see how much mercy there is to spare.”

Rarity raised the back of her hoof to her forehead. “Do not waste your mercy on me, Princess. My crimes are too sick, too twisted!” she looked away “For I am guilty of…” she took a deep breath “Pedofoalia!”

The temperature in the room seemed to drop about seventy degrees.

“Pedo-what?” Luna proclaimed loudly.

Moneypenny moved closer and whispered in her ear.

“What? It’s called Pollophilia! Pollo means foal and Philia means attraction!” the moon princess interrupted at some point. Finally she shook her head. “Weird phonetic changes…” she muttered loudly. "Anyways, Miss Rarity, this is a severe crime!” The dark princess sighed bitterly, “before you are arrested, please, name the foal you shared intimacy with, so my guards can find the poor soul and attempt to help them.”

“Erm…” Rarity admitted “We have not really shared intimacy yet, Princess. We just had two dates and I kissed the little darling a few times on the cheek.” Suddenly she shook her head dramatically, “But alas, the flame of love has been set ablaze in my heart. And as such a deviant abomination, I deserve to be treated like the dirt that I am! I beg you, Princess, set upon me with the full power of the law!”

Luna was about to explain that so far, Rarity had not really committed any crimes and should rather seek help than punishment. But her mind had already put two and two together.
“You are talking about Spike?” she asked with a sigh.

“Indeed!” Rarity wailed “The poor little angel thinks he has finally caught my heart! But he has quested for the heart of a monster, not a mare! Please, Princess! Arrest me, before-“

“Miss Rarity!” Luna interrupted loudly “Would you answer me a few questions?”

The shackled pony looked up in surprise. “Oh? Of course, princess!”

“What is the age of consent in Equestria?” She asked carefully.

“Erm… I think 16 or so…” Rarity admitted.

“It’s 14 between minors, 16 with the consent of the parents and 18 without restrictions. And I think you to be an adult, though, according to Twilight Sparkle, you make sure your exact age is a mystery to ponies and dragons alike.” Luna explained dryly. “This leads me to my next question: How old is Twilight Sparkle?”

“Oh, she turned 23 not too long ago!” Rarity answered quickly.

“Very well, now tell me at what age foals may apply for the School for Gifted Unicorns.” Luna closed.

“Oh! I recently saw a flyer my parents had for Sweetie Belle! Foals may apply once they reach the age of six,” the prisoner-in-waiting answered.

“Very well!” Luna nodded “Now let us finish with a math question! If Spike was born on the day, Twilight Sparkle applied for the school for gifted unicorns, then how old is he?”

For a moment, one could almost see the gears spin in Rarity’s head. Suddenly her eyes went wide, her pupils went small and her mouth hung agape. “He…he…he is…” she stammered helplessly.

“17 years old!” Luna finished firmly “While he may be a baby dragon, he is a teenager in pony age and experience. And from what Celestia and I have seen of him, his mental age is around that.”

“But… I saw teenaged dragons!” Rarity stressed “They were bigger and stronger than him.

“Dragons count their adolescence in decades, just as they are considered infants until they reach a hundred years,” the moon princess explained calmly. “For all intents and purposes, the law treats Spike like a 17 year old pony.”

“And… and Twilight agreed!” Rarity almost screamed, her voice becoming raspy “We can be together!”

Luna’s demeanor changed in an instant, becoming grim and almost sinister. “Guards!” she ordered firmly “Leave us be and close the doors! Nopony may enter! You leave as well, Miss Moneypenny!”

Worry invaded the fashionista’s features as the orders were followed quietly by all ponies. Within moments, she was alone with the princess and the doors were sealed. A small knot formed in her throat. Had Luna’s hair just turned darker and stormier?

“You were wrong in one regard, Miss Rarity!” the moon princess said coldly, and stepped down from her throne. “It is not up to Twilight Sparkle to give her consent; it is up to Spike’s mother, my dear sister, Princess Celestia. And while I am sure that Celestia, knowing you quite well, will make a good judgment, there is one more party in the equation that has to be… satisfied.”

Luna came closer and Rarity felt herself shrink with every step. Were the princess’s eyes glowing? And why was the room getting darker by the second?

“For you see, I am not just the Princess of the Night, the Ferrymare of the Sleeping Lands and the former Nightmare Moon. There is one more title that should send even more terror into your heart than all of them combined: For right now, I am Auntie Luna!” Thunder clapped and shadows reigned the courtroom “And what makes you think you can just start dating my nephew without asking me?”

If smiles had to be forced with violence, Rarity was currently using a bazooka to keep hers in her face. “Er… you see… erm…,” she stammered weakly. She had expected banishment, imprisonment… manageable things. Not having to face her soon-to-be-drakefriend*s close family.

“Let me make this clear, Miss Rarity.” Luna began firmly “I love Spike. Ever since Celestia, Spike and I spent some time together, I felt like part of a family again. His kindness, honesty-“
“Slightly cheeky but always well-meaning and deeply selfless way.” Rarity interrupted softly.

For a second, Luna’s expression softened. But she regained her momentum quickly. “Apparently we talk about the same dragon.” The taller mare stated, looking down at the smaller pony. “Now, Miss Rarity, I want to make this clear: I am not a crazy monster anymore. I will not forbid Spike from having a relationship and I will certainly not forbid him from making mistakes! Should your relationship end in tears, I would share his sadness and yours, but you would have nothing to fear from me. Life is discovery and sometimes, discovery hurts. But should I find out that you abuse him, use his status as Celestia’s adopted son for your gain or make him suffer in any way that is unhealthy for him, I will visit your dreams… night after night after night… until you will have suffered just as much as you made him suffer!”

Rarity was still smiling. In the same way a skull was frozen in an unending smile. Her teeth would have clattered, if she wasn’t too scared to move in her own world of pure terror. She didn’t even feel the need to question if Luna could or would visit her nightmares; at this point, Luna would already be taking a starring role in those nightmares, whether or not the real Luna did anything further to influence them.

“Believe it or not, there is a reason for my harshness.” Luna continued, slightly less threatening. “This will give you a little insight into the depth of his affection, as well as why I deem him so worthy of protection. Recently, I became aware of a strange dream in the sleeping world. It was a world made completely out of sweets, ice cream and waffles. And somewhere in the middle, a certain little dragon was building a house of ice cream and sweets. Chocolate roofs, gingerbread doors, a delicious path of almond halves. It was a delight to see him work so hard to create his own little house.”

Inside, Rarity had to admit, that was both adorable and delectable. She may have been a lady, but that did not mean that she was resistant to the allure of sweets, especially if they were combined with such a spark of creativity.

“But this was not the end of the dream Miss Rarity, for as soon as it stood in all its succulent glory, Spike instantly left to fetch a very certain pony to share the house with. Because even in the depths of his dreams, there is one thing that makes him happier than living in a house of sweet wonders: Sharing his happiness with you.”

Rarity felt her eyes burn all of a sudden. Her little Spikey Wikey…

Suddenly Luna’s demeanor became soft. “Please, Rarity…” she said gently “I am a being of Nightmares no longer. If you love him, be happy with him, and if that love fades, let each other go… that is all right. But be honest with yourself and with him. Understood?”

Rarity simply nodded.

“I have spoken my part. Now please get out of this silly prison garb and be on your way.”

The alabaster mare nodded quickly. “Yes, Princess!” she said quickly and with a flicker of magic, her clothes were in her saddlebags.

She was about to kneel, when Luna raised a hoof. “No kneeling before potential family members, Rarity. And please call me Luna from now on. I hope we can get to know each other in the future.”

Rarity simply nodded and turned to go—a bit faster than average, still bearing a forced smile and a slight shiver. Nightmare Moon had been a lot less frightening than Auntie Luna.

Once the mare had left, Luna let out a deep sigh. “That was WAY too much!” she groaned with annoyance. Nightmare Moon had been less scary than that! Apparently her tiredness made her grumpy. Especially when her beloved family was included. And Celestia had mentioned how Rarity had once pursued Blueblood, so the poor mare probably had gotten some of the ire she felt for the foolish prince.

“I better get back to work…” she mused and returned to her throne. On the way, she came across the schedule Moneypenny had made. Apparently she had been a bit conservative with the idea of starting a bit later. There was literally no petitioner until the first break.

The moon princess sighed. “I might as well use the time…” she pondered and nodded. “I haven’t held a wedding in centuries… maybe I should rehearse a little.” A flicker of her horn darkened the room once again. One by one, Luna created three dimensional shadows and set them up in the throne room.

Soon a sizable wedding procedure filled the room.

“Hmm… one half guards and the other one followers…” Luna decided and the shadows "grew" robes and armors. She didn't know how much family would be at the wedding after all. “It will make things more natural for the beginning. Oh! And I better suit up!” An armour of shadows manifested around the alicorn, replacing crown and regalia. “Later, I have to see if my old armor still fits me.” The moon princess paused for a moment. “Well… only if powdering me with the rust counts as fitting. Now, where was I? Oh right!
BELOVED SUBJECTS!”

-

Meanwhile, elsewhere else in the castle, an intruder made her penultimate move. She had infiltrated the defenses, albeit not without difficulty. The turmoil of the last few years had reminded the guards that the price of peace was eternal vigilance.
Still, they were guards and a mistress of this craft could even avoid Equestria’s second finest. Slowly, she made her way through the castle, using the ventilation system, chimney shafts, the high rooms or tapestries as cover, should a guard walk by.
She knew in which room her mark was supposed to lounge, and to his misfortune, it had an open chimney. And from the lack of smoke and heat, the inhabitants had not been using it. Carefully, the infiltrator left the tight space of the fireplace and looked around in the dark room. She had left a rope hanging from the top for easier extraction.
She had to kidnap and question the male inhabitant. The procedure would be plain and simple. Sedate them, tie him up, tie him to the rope, pull him up the chimney and interrogate him on the roof. Then she would just leave him there and make her getaway via kite-suit and in a few hours, she would be able to enjoy the rest of the day as a simple tourist to Canterlot.
First things first. Snapping a small, chemical light, she pushed away the darkness, allowing her some visual inspection of the room. Wow, there was a lot of weird crap lying around.
Slowly and silently, she made her way through the surprisingly crammed room. Strange, but none of her concern. Though it would be tough to carry her mark through the mess.
Using her special, flat breathing technique, she crept up on the bed.
In the darkness, she could see the forms of two ponies.
Carefully, the infiltrator took a quick assessment. Her mark was right in front of her. Carefully, she searched for the prepared rag with knock out potion and slowly placed it on the victim’s nose and mouth.
This stuff was strong enough to make a manticore woozy.

So why did the guy's eyelids shoot up when she removed it?

Too late to react, the pony let out a scared yell.

The other form in the bed moved; suddenly, two slitted yellow eyes pierced the darkness, and fangs glistened in the light of the glow stick.

Why was there a dragon in the bed?

-

Luna was ecstatic! The moon princess was almost dancing through the halls, making a few guards and maids turn their heads in surprise. Princess Luna was not known for expressing her joy so openly. But what was there else to do? During her little rehearsal, Twilight and Celestia had visited her and basically told her that her plan had worked for the most part!

And while Twilight had proven to live up to her status and seen through a few flaws in her plan, her part as Cupid was done! Now she just had to keep the pair safe and sound over the duration of the holiday, and she could wake up every day with the knowledge that she had helped the two ponies who had done more for her than anyone else to be truly happy!

She had worried that this would be one of those days, but in retrospect: it had begun with her followers proposing marriage, her nephew’s crush admitting her feelings for him and now, her sister opening her heart to a pony she loved. This was a day of love!
Finally, the alicorn arrived in front of the guest room, where her followers were resting. She had planned to give them some more time, but right now, she wanted to share her happiness with someone! With a flicker of magic, she knocked on the door.

And was answered with a muffled “HEEEEELP!”

Luna’s eyes grew wider. Her magic grabbed the whole door, but it didn’t budge. Locked, of course.
But a scream for help was more important than the effort of calling a carpenter. Luna pulled her head back and the door tore out of it's hinges.

Inside, she beheld a horrible view:

Autumn was prone on the floor, his legs entangled in some sort of cable. The stallion was desperately trying to loosen the bonds.
A masked stranger, clad in a dark bodysuit was standing on the bed, a short blade in her mouth.

The picture would have been grim, had it not been for Diamond Shadow, standing broad legged over her fallen fiancé. She had apparently been caught without her armour and held only her helmet in her hoof, deflecting blow after blow from the attacker.

“WHAT IS GOING ON?” Boomed the royal Canterlot voice through the room.

The stranger looked up for a heartbeat.

Diamond Shadow did not.

A heavy backhoof with the helmet tore the blade from the stranger’s mouth and popped an inflatable diamond somewhere. A loud metallic clang sounded through the room, Diamond Shadow’s helmet added “dented” to its attributes and the attacker collapsed on the spot. One could almost see the stars circling the fallen being’s head.

Luna didn’t waste a second, engulfing the fallen perpetrator in a firm magical grip, pushing her to the ground, while entering the room and opening the window shutters with her magic. Behind her, she wedged the door unceremoniously back into its frame.

While Diamond Shadow freed Autumn from what appeared to be a bola, the moon princess took a good look at the stranger.
The infiltrator was equine in form and size, with dark tight-fitting clothes, a face-covering mask and a belt with several pouches. Her tail and mane were cropped and bound, so they wouldn't get in the way. Fixated to her belt was a scabbard for the short blade she had used. Luna focused her magic a little and pulled off the stranger's mask, revealing light brown fur, a broad snout, and a sandy blonde mane.

“A Mule-Ninja.” Diamond Shadow said after freeing her fiancé’s bindings and having a look at the infiltrator. “Masters of stealth and infiltration. Mercenaries. We only allow them in Equestria because sometimes even the crown has a mission for them and they usually adhere to the law. Apparently, somepony had a lot of spare bits to afford one.”

Luna nodded. “Indeed…” she said calmly “But why would anyone go after you two?” she wondered. “And this was certainly not a mistake. There aren't any obvious high-profile targets in the castle for her to be going after.”

“I did make a few enemies in my time…” Diamond admitted grimly “But nopony with the resources or the prestige to afford one of them.”

“They still only work for honorable employers?” Luna both asked rhetorically.

Autumn scratched his head. This was a bit too much action for him. “I need a drink…” the stallion muttered and grabbed a bottle of cider from his suitcase.

At this moment, the ninja stirred. Her head felt four sizes too big, her teeth hurt terribly and it was much too bright. What were the last things that happened? She had jumped backwards after the stallion had screamed and pulled her sword and bolas. She had hit him with the latter, as he tried to run and then the other one… Slowly she opened her eyes.
And instantly missed the gentle nothing of unconsciousness.

Three beings were standing above her:
One was a weird, thin stallion with a disgusting thing growing out of his neck. In the light, he looked a bit like one of those movie vampires, with his dark mane. His eyes were shining red and full of determination, while he held a bottle full of a vile smelling liquid that sent tears to the ninja’s eyes.

The other one was some horrible hybrid between a dragon and a pony. The ninja had seen the reptilian eyes and the glistening fangs in the dark, but the light revealed more horrors: Her wings were leathery, tipped with small claws. One half of her face almost appeared to be missing and had been replaced with disgusting, pink scar tissue and patchy dark blue fur.

Between them stood one big alicorn with a starry mane and tail and tiara on her head. The princess of the night herself. And she was clearly not amused!

“What is the meaning of this?” Luna demanded.

-I am not talking!- the Ninja answered in her native tongue –And you would not understand me, if I did!-

-We do!- Luna answered in the same language.

-And you will!- Diamond Shadow added threateningly.

-Tofu with bamboo and mushroom, menu 4, and spicy!- Autumn offered.

“Darling, we are trying to be threatening here…” Diamond sighed.

“Sorry, I just wanted to belong.” Autumn admitted.

“Focus, followers!” Luna demanded “This criminal has broken into the castle and attacked a guard and a guest of the crown. Call a maid and have the rack oiled and prepared.”

“What?” the ninja screamed. This was NOT part of her contract. “You can’t put me on the rack!”

“And take the word of a serf untortured?” Luna gasped in shock. Suddenly a smile crept onto her lips. “Especially from one who lies about her language skills?”

“Darn…” the mule whispered.

“Wait, princess!” Diamond Shadow raised her hoof. “We cannot torture her! But an attack on the crown is a matter of national security! That gives us infinite time to detain and question her. Too bad I am entangled and can't do the interrogating myself. But my fellow guards will get results.”

“No! We don't have time for that!” Autumn interfered “Just give me half an hour and I can mix up a dose of Firemane’s Revealer. That stuff melts anyone’s will in seconds and she will happily tell us anything we want to know. And with Equestrian medicine being what it is, she may even be able to formulate a coherent sentences and walk in a few years, should the side effects set in.”

“WHAT THE HAY IS WRONG WITH YOU PONIES?” the ninja suddenly yelled “This is Equestria! A nation of harmony and kindness, ruled by two caring sisters! You don’t do stuff like that!”

“I am the sister who tried to kill the other and turn this into a nation of darkness.”

“I formed a cult who worshipped her and prepared for said nation of darkness.”

“And I infiltrated said cult and lived as one ofthem for years, all while reporting to their worst enemies.”

The mule mare looked at her captors. Those ponies were crazy! This was so not worth it! “Ok!” she quickly said “I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Some noble contacted us and asked for a simple information extraction. I was tasked to capture and interrogate this guy. "She nodded towards Autumn "Then report to the noble.”

“What information are we talking about?” Luna demanded to know.

“It was pretty strange.” The ninja admitted “He wanted to know what Princess Luna is truly planning and where Princess Celestia is currently located.”

The moon princess’s features darkened even more. “Blueblood!” she growled “You truly are the heir of Princess Platinum!”

“I don’t know the noble’s name!” the mule defended desperately “Please don’t do the stuff you mentioned.”

Luna let out a laugh. “Ha, this castle doesn't even have a rack! Even a thousand years ago, we were against torture!”

Diamond Shadow grinned impishly “Oh, come on. Autumn holds no official title, so this was attempted kidnapping and assault."

“Firemane’s Revealer is a contrast mixture for CT scans!” Autum finished with a grin. “If I mix truth potions, they don’t have side effects!”

The ninja looked at her three capturers. “You ponies suck!” she grumbled. “So, I guess its prison for me…”

“Actually, we have a use for you…” Luna mused “We shall pardon your transgressions in exchange for a simple service.”

“What?”

“You will finish your mission.” Luna answered smugly “You will listen what we have to say and report accordingly. You will tell your employer that our plans include several small reforms, a commendation for the volunteers of the bazaar two nights ago and a grand ball at the end of the week, to celebrate my sister’s return to office. Princess Celestia is in the castle, currently spending time with her personal student. They are testing several new, high-level spells and therefore spend much time away from the public eye.”

The ninja raised her eyebrows. “That is all?”

“You work for an idiot.” Luna shrugged. “If he wants to spend thousands of bits, just to be told the bloody obvious, so be it. But do not bother my subjects like this again, for next time, you shall find no more mercy here!”

The magical aura around the prisoner faded and she slowly got up. “Can I just ask one question?” she asked meekly.

“What?”

“Why didn’t the knock out drug work on him?” she asked carefully.

“Beats me…” Autumn shrugged and took a swing of his cider. A half-putrid half-medical stench filled the air.

“Autumn comes from a long line of Alchemists,” Luna answered flatly. “They spend so much time dealing with and consuming highly reactive chemicals and poisons, their bodies have to be buried in iron coffins, because if they get cremated, the crematorium might explode in a multicolored bang.”

The mule nodded and knelt down. “Thank you for your mercy, Princess!”

Then she turned and began ascending the chimney.

Autumn looked after her. “She could have used the door…”

Luna sighed and looked at her followers. “Are you both well?” she asked concerned.

“She was good…” Diamond Shadow answered coldly “But I had better. They are infiltrators and spies, not fighters.”

“I am fine, princess.” Autumn answered with a nod. “Just a bit shaky.”

The moon princess nodded and let out a sigh. “I have underestimated Blueblood's foolishness. Even if she delivers her message, he will probably not believe it. It seems like we have a new enemy…” She paused for a moment, looking over her followers. “Blueblood is the worst kind of fool: A fool with money and respect. You saw how far this idiocy of his goes. Autumn, Diamond, I cannot guarantee your safety anymore. If you decide to-“

“We will not abandon you, Princess!” Autumn interrupted firmly “Excuse my hubris, but you will need all the help you can get against Blueblood, his money and his noble fools.”

“Count me in as well, Princess.” Diamond Shadow added calmly “I owe you too much and won’t be able to talk Autumn out of it. If I help you, I can at least make sure he is safe.”

Luna felt a swell of pride in her chest. “Thank you,” she said gladly. “Now rest. I will brief you on the changes and updates in the afternoon. I have to get back to court and your rest has been interrupted most rudely. Blueblood will not make his move until he receives his report. And whatever his move will be, we will be prepared!”

The two followers nodded and knelt down. Luna nodded back at them and left the room.

Then she returned. "And feel free to ask for another guest room until the door is fixed."

After the princess had left, Diamond Shadow suddenly embraced Autumn tightly.

The stallion let himself down on his haunch and softly stroked his fiancé’s hair. “It’s ok, love…” he whispered softly. “I’m fine… you saved me. You always do.”

“Autumn…” the mare whispered after a short while. “Next time somepony attacks you, I want you to do something!”

“Yes?”

“You get down on your knees, surrender and beg for mercy!” Diamond Shadow demanded. “Because I will always come to rescue you! Just stay safe and wait, ok?”

“There goes my dignity…”

“Screw your dignity! You sleep with a plush mushroom! I don’t need you to have dignity! I need you! And I refuse to lose you!”

Autumn let out a small sigh and gave his fiancée a soft kiss. “As you wish, my love.”

Author's Note

Disclaimer: I used the Austrian laws for relationships, since I grew up with them and think them to be quite fine. Please don't start discussing that in particularly.
Otherwise... wow it has been a time, hasn't it?
I held it off, but I am glad to have this chapter done. Now the shift in the story is complete and A NEW CHALLENGER HAS ENTERED THE FRAY!
While Celestia and Twilight are doing their best to make their love work, let us see how Luna and her followers fare against the dark and stupid powers of Blueblood!

This chapter is beta-read by my appreciated pre-reader: http://www.fimfiction.net/user/fferror
I hereby thank him for not going completely nuts on me for making the same dialogue punctuation errors again and again.

Phase Nine

Two cups of tea were stood opposing each other on a large coffee table, separated by a vast variety of cakes, cookies and other sorts of delicious pastries.
They had been placed there by careful and professional hooves, ensuring they gave a perfect picture of relaxation and perfection.
But over time, one cup had begun to move ever so slightly.
It had ventured past the carefully erected barriers, ignored the depths to the side and slowly approached its distant equal.
It had ventured closer and closer and finally, the saucers had met with a soft clink and the cups were together.
At exactly this point, Celestia let the metaphor fall apart and put her wing lovingly over Twilight Sparkle, who was finally snuggling against her.

“Is something wrong with the tea?” Twilight asked softly, while rubbing her back against the soft and perfectly preened dream of sheer white and warmth that was Celestia’s wing.

“Just a silly thought, my dear…” Celestia answered with a slight shake of her head and sigh.
Tea, free time, Twilight… free time to have tea with Twilight!
Was there anything better in the world? The sun princess closed her eyes and just let herself enjoy the moment. The feeling of a loved one close and the wonderful smell of tea and pastry around her. Truly a perfect moment. It would warm her for thousands of cold nights to come.
Twilight, too, closed her eyes and pressed into her lover. And pressed against something hard.

Darn regalia!

Not wanting to disturb her lover’s quiet reverie, Twilight pushed her head back and caught a full face of softly flowing mane.
And while the gentle texture, dreamlike smell and poetry, that was the colour of the mane made her heart beat faster, it was not what she wanted right now.
The smaller pony stretched her neck to finally reach the back of Celestia’s neck.
Now she simply had to find the clip -or whatever held the thing in place- and she would be able to attack the nape of her titanic mentor’s neck for massive cuddliness!
Twilight’s eyes wandered over the huge, metal piece of jewelry
.
There was no clip, opening or even any kind of visible mark that it was not one big ring.
Then how did Celestia get it off? It did not fit over her head!
The unicorn blinked a few times.

“Twilight, should I be worried about what you are doing back there?” Celestia asked, not moving a muscle. Still, she sounded amused.

Twilight let out a soft grumble. “Your necklace is in the way…” she muttered “I always bang my head against it when I cuddle against you. And my hair gets stuck.”

Celestia’s chest began to tremble and she let out a series of soft chuckles.

Twilight pouted.

Celestia looked at her and her heart melted.
Twilight pouting was the most adorable thing known to ponydom. So sweet, it could probably give even the worst monsters in Tartarus diabetes. And it earned Twilight a series of soft smooches on the cheek, which made saidcheeks burn.
“I’m sorry, Twilight…” Celestia giggled, gently nuzzling the flustered mare “I am simply so used to them, I forget how cumbersome they can be.”

Twilight gave her a questioning look. “You forget them?” she banged a hoof against the metal in question. “You have a ring of what seems to be solid gold with a giant rock in the front around your neck and you FORGET about it?”

“It is solid gold, dear.” Celestia giggled “Do you expect the royal regalia to be fake?”

“If I had to carry that, I would be dragging it around at best.” Twilight sighed and shook her head.

Celestia smirked a bit. “I have to admit, this is an area where I can’t point to an obvious strength of yours and explain how equal we are in the matter. I suggest that you don’t challenge me to any hoofwrestling contests in the near future.”

Her horn sprayed magic and the metal removed itself from the royal neck in a bright flash.

Twilight jumped greedily.

At the necklace.

Her magic engulfed it, taking measure of how heavy it felt, of the texture of the metal and the magical properties of the jewel in the front.
Her curiosity fueled, she began guessing the spell Celestia used to remove and place it, how old it was and who had crafted it. It was good craftsponyship, that was sure. How much history had this piece of metal seen? How many deeds had been signed or battles fought by a Celestia wearing this item?

Celestia, meanwhile, suppressed a chuckle at her beloved’s enthusiasm.
Twilight’s will to learn and experience was alive and well. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but for a pony, it could open worlds.
Sweet nostalgia overcame the sun regent.
Of times when she would set a few objects before her pupil and watch happily as she studied and explored them with her incredible mind and attention. Of happiness over every new discovery and furious thought over every obstacle.
But even sweet nostalgia could not compare to the sheer joy of being in love with the wonderful mare Twilight had become.
It was at this wonderful moment that a dreadful noise tore Celestia from her musing.

A knocking on the door.

Celestia quickly removed her wing from Twilight and let out a disappointed sight.
Luckily, Twilight was busy spinning the regalia in her magic at this point and hardly noticed the wing leaving her withers.

“Yes?” Celestia called out, deciding that sitting close to Twilight was not exactly a faux pas. Especially before the servants or the guard. They were used to seeing the unicorn around Celestia with things to study in her magical grasp.
The door opened and a white pegasus guard entered slowly.

“Phalanx!” Celestia said kindly. Not only was the pegasus one of her personal honour guard, he was also one of the ponies she had true pride in. Simply said, The pegasus was Wonderbolt material. But he had refused the call two times, because he believed that serving Celestia in person was his true calling.
Though Celestia did believe that it had also to do with the fact that his marefriend was one of her personal maids and potentially would sneak off and enjoy a kiss or two during the coffee break.
“Princess! I am sorry to disturb your holiday!” Phalanx said calmly and stepped closer “But I have a letter for Lady Twilight Sparkle.”

Celestia nodded softly. “As you can see, Phalanx, Lady Twilight Sparkle is currently busy with an experiment.” She looked at Twilight again, who was slowly snapping out of her science-trance. As her eyes returned to the guard, the princess couldn't help but supress a giggle. “Are you blushing, my staunch defender?”

“Erm…” Phalanx mumbled and looked away.

“Is it… Goodness, Phalanx, you have seen me without my regalia!” Celestia laughed.

This tore Twilight from her studies. She shot Phalanx a glare that loudly demanded “WHENWHEREANDWHYYOUSCUM?”

“Yes, Princess, but the last time, you had at least a scarf on… and all we saw of you was hidden under a blanket, an ice pack-“

“-Or oozing unsavory fluids from every possible orifice…” Celestia said and shook her head “Worst sniffles in a century.”

“You had us all very worried, princess.” Phalanx admitted shyly.

“Thank you, Phalanx.” Celestia answered with an honest smile, one that made Twilight’s heart skip a beat. She was truly grateful for his concern. “Now, about that letter?”

“Oh, yes, of course!” the guard stammered, grabbing a letter from his armour.

Twilight put the regalia aside , reaching out to the paper in her magic.

“The sender asked for an answer ASAP.” Phalanx added “Should I stay close by to deliver?”

“Be so kind. We will ask for you as soon as Twilight has read it.”

With that, Phalanx saluted and left the room.
“Your parent’s, I assume.” Celestia said gently, onceTwilight had opened the letter and was reading.

“Yes.” Twilight answered and swallowed “Oh! Mom wrote it. DARN! I completely forgot about that!”

“Forgot about what?”

“The two wanted to visit the Crystal Empire this week. They are going the day after tomorrow morning” She let the letter float lower, “Celestia, they invited us for today. Mom says that they need the whole of tomorrow for packing and preparing. But she is all prepared to cook for tomorrowin advance, so she can make a dinner for five.”

Celestia ignored the slight comment about her fuel consume. But not out of politeness. Her features were freezing.

“Celestia?” Twilight asked with a tad of worry “Are you all right? You seem a little paler than usual.”

The sun princess flashed an awkward smile and got up. “To be quite honest, I was hoping to have a bit more time to mentally prepare for this.” She admitted in a soft, slightly quivering voice.

Twilight blinked, opening her mouth in surprise. “Are you… worried?”

“No, Twilight.” Celestia answered, her wings twitching slightly “No, I am not worried. To be frank, I am scared.”
“
SCARED?” Twilight roared in disbelief “Of mom and dad? You? The princess of the sun? The one who defeated Discord, Sombra, Nightmare Moon! YOU are scared of my mom and dad?”

Celestia sighed and gave Twilight a crestfallen smile. “You did the same… and still, you were scared of my rejection.”

Twilight opened her mouth, but a raised hoof from Celestia stopped her. “Write them that I will be happy to visit them today. Seven would be a good time, right?” she paused, adding softly “That should give me some time to groom myself and come up with… something.”

And so, while Twilight began writing a polite and happy answer to her parents about how their house would soon be graced by the monarch of Equestria, said monarch walked over to her vanity and levitated an army of brushes, lotions and other utensils out of the drawers.
The letter was just done when the brushes landed on the bed in a perfect formation next to several maxi-size portions of beauty products and a selection of instruments that were as much supposed to serve a mare’s complexion as to torture prisoners.
Twilight was somewhere between laughing, shaking her head and bashing it against the wall.

Why in the name of Luna was CELESTIA OF EQUESTRIA worried about what HER PARENTS thought of her?

“Erm… I’m done…” said the perplexed unicorn. Celestia almost tore the letter from her magical grip. The mask of calm composure reformed on her face and she opened the door.

“Phalanx! Ah, there you are! Two things: Deliver this letter to Twilight Velvet and Nightlight, as hasty as you may! And while you are at it, I will be dining with them this evening at seven.”

Phalanx nodded. “Understood, Princess! I will inform the cooks, the honour guard will be on stand-by with a chariot and Princess Luna will receive a notice. Shall I inform the food tasters?”

“Can you remember the last time somepony tried to poison me?” Celestia asked with a chuckle.

“According to the records, you ate half a pound of arsenic and flushed it down with enough nightshade essence to kill a regular-sized elephant.” Phalanx answered neutrally.

“Oh, so it's half a pound these days?” the sun princess chuckled “Gets more every generation. Now be so kind and inform everyone.”

After a salute, Phalanx disappeared in a cloud of dust.
As if the slamming door had caught it between frame and door, Celetia’s mask of calmness shattered, honest-to-Luna panic invading her features.

“Oh, goodness, I have to get ready!” she muttered beginning to hover the brushes in strange dance around her. Sometimes flashing closer to run through her coat and smoothen an imperfection or straighten some hair. Celestia quickly removed her crown, and began to move the brush to her mane and tail, all while her lips formed silent words, as if talking to someone.

Twilight had to fight to keep her eyes in her head.

“Celestia?” she asked carefully. As she approached she had to dodge a suddenly coming bottle of lotion. “What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing is *wrong*, Twilight!” The mass centre of a small solar system of brushes answered nervously “Just that I haven’t asked for the hoof of a pony in AGES and now I have to go and ask your parents with less than three hours to prepare… darn, I should take a shower!”

Twilight slowly and incredulously shook her head. She knew that expression on Celestia’s face all too well. She had seen it in the mirror on the day the solar monarch had visited her and her friends for brunch in Ponyville. “Celestia.” Twilight said a bit more firmly stepping closer.
She was ignored. Celestia’s breathing had sped up and she was looking ahead unfocused . The beings before her inner eye had taken her full attention now.

“CELESTIA!” Twilight yelled and as if to punctuate her yell, all the brushes fell to the ground.

Celestia stood there, taking deep breaths and looking at Twilight with wide eyes.

The smaller pony stepped closer and put a hoof on Celestia’s knee. “They will love you…” she said slowly, looking deeply in her lover’s eyes.

“I… I know that they do.” Celestia muttered slowly “They love their princess, Celestia, who gives them every morning and rules over all her little ponies…” She slowly averted her gaze “But will they love the Celestia that stole their daughter’s heart, turned her towards mares and robbed them of a grandchild through you?”

Twilight paused for a moment. She knew that her parents would. That they only cared about Twilight finding happiness and joy in her life. But that was not the issue here. “It has happened before, right?” she asked slowly.

“Some parents did not like the idea of being robbed of an heir…” she admitted slowly, her face scrunching up.

“What happened?”

“I was younger, Twilight… so much younger.” Celestia answered through gritted teeth and closed her eyes. Memories of necessary deeds assaulted her mind.

Bribes, favours, shady agreements and a lifetime of denied feelings and regrets. “It can be surprising how quickly one can fall from beloved ruler to terrible, foal-napping monstrosity that only founded the school for gifted unicorns so she had a buffet for her… disgusting, deviant tendencies.”

The words hit Twilight like an anvil would. The moment when Celestia had first showed her how to use dark magic flashed before her inner eye. Was this why it seemed that she had so little trouble with it? Because she had so many years of sorrow at her disposal?

“Not that he ever went there…” Celestia added grimly, “But the more to blackmail me with, the better.”

Twilight bit her lip, nodded some courage to herself and reared back to embrace Celestia tightly. Her forelegs hugged the guilt-ridden pony's bare neck tightly and she pressed her cheek against her beloved. “I’m here, love.” She said softly, hugging her tighter “I told you: If you feel bad, I’ll be here for you. I know that is not much, but if I can comfort you, I will!”

Celestia wrapped her forelegs around the smaller pony and pulled her as close as possible. The soft breathing and slowly quickening heartbeat she felt beneath Twilight’s coat scared the memories away. She relaxed taking a deep breath. “Thank you, my dear.”

“I know, I’m not the element of loyalty, but I swear, as long as I am here, you will never go through something like that.” Twilight muttered firmly “Because anyone who will want to hurt you will have to go through me first!” She took a page out of Iron Will’s book “And I pity the fool!”

A chuckle left Celestia’s lips, and she nuzzled her purple necklace gently. “Seeing how protective of me you can be, I do too.”

Twilight sighed. It would be so much easier, if she could just tell the world that she was with Celestia. And then yell several threats including her magic and how easily one could find themselves in a house filled with poison joke, timberwolves and maybe a hydra or two.
Her princess would not have to worry about being blackmailed for her choice of partners ever again. And maybe it would ease that darn jealousy as well. Darn secrecy.

“I should probably take a quick shower…” Celestia said and tore Twilight from her musings.

The unicorn nodded and let go of her lover. “But don’t worry about what my parents will think!” she stressed with a reassuring smile “Just be yourself and they are bound to love you more than they could ever love the Princess Celestia, they believe to know.”

An honest smile began to spread over the princess’ face. “That was one of the most beautiful compliments, I have ever received…” She gave Twilight a soft kiss on the cheek. “Thank you!”

Twilight smiled back at her.

“So… do you want to join me in the shower?”

Twilight looked at her in red, blushing terror.

Celestia let out a chuckle. “Gotcha!”

She took a step backwards, turned, and walked towards the bathroom. Twilight was sure she put an extra sway in her step. Otherwise her eyes wouldn’t be glued to those full, toned, alabaster… erm… wings!
The unicorn let out a loud sigh.
Emotional rollercoaster did not suffice to describe a relationship with the alicorn. It was more an emotional hot air balloon ride. There were no rails, the wind could change at the drop of a hat and when you were going down you could only throw stuff overboard, pull the cord like crazy and hope that the thing inflates again… But once you were on the top… goodness, it was wonderful.
The sound of running water disturbed Twilight’s musing and she turned around. What should she do now?

Investigate Luna?

Doubtful that the moon princess would allow herself any kind of mistake after she had questioned her earlier.

Find out if the followers knew something?

No, they were loyal to Luna and had no incentive to talk to Twilight. Heck, they probably didn't like her on the basis that she had helped to defeat Nightmare Moon. And maybe also because she had suggested to dissect one of them.

“But I can tap into her line!” She decided finally. “All I have to do is find a book that has a non-psychosis-induced-version of what I did already. Maybe for a portable mirror.”
With a determined grin, Twilight rushed out of the royal chambers.
Her goal was her former favourite place in the world, before Celestia’s embrace had taken the spot and put a claim on it: the Castle library.
Her gallop only took a few moments. As usual, it was empty. Not many ponies had free access to this room. While the books in here did not hold nearly as sensitive information as the ones closed off in the wings of the royal library, this smaller reading room was in the parts of the castle that were only frequented by guards, maids, princesses and V.I.P.D.s (Very important ponies and dragons).
As Twilight entered the huge room with the big hourglass in the middle, a wave of nostalgia overcame her.
Here she had first learned levitation, here she had first heard of Starswirl the Bearded and here was the place where she had spent that fateful day with Spike, finding out about Nightmare Moon.
How fitting that she would find a way to beat her again in this very location!

“Now, if I was a non-tree-based librarian, where would I put the spells about mirrors?” Twilight wondered aloud. “Under M. maybe!”

It didn’t take long until she came across a huge, blue book, labelled “Mystical Mirror Magic”. With an eager grin, Twilight grabbed it in her magical grasp and nodded to herself. She could take this to Celestia’s room, study the spell and soon, she would have tabs on whatever Luna was sending out of the castle.

“This will do wonders in helping me mercilessly invade other ponies privacy!” Twilight said to herself. There are no rules in love or war, and she was currently engaged in both. Eagerly, she turned towards the exit.

The sound of wood scraping over wood caught her attention.

Someone else was in here!

In the side booth, with the little lectors!

“Who could that be?” Twilight wondered quietly, making her way towards the booth. The librarian never stayed this long, and who else would be here? “Hello?”

With a bit of focus, she magically grabbed the door and slowly opened it.

Her eyes went wide.

Then her cheeks turned red.

Inside the booth were two ponies.
Well, the two coat colours and four eyes suggested that it was two, but the lines were blurry.
At least Twilight knew now that Luna’s minions were busy. Because there was no way anypony could plot a coup when entangled like that. Or do basic math. Or keep any higher brain functions going.
Not that the two were pushing the rating. The midnight blue, bat-winged pegasus was still clad in her full armour, and what Twilight could see of the other pony was either hidden behind the wings, pressed against a bookcase in the back or embracing the former happily.
But they were smart to close the door behind them. A prudish pony would find the two making out furiously in a public library rather unruly.

Twilight was a prudish pony.

But the true shock came from the fact that they had not even noticed her or the lector they had tipped over. The two were too busy enjoying themselves and each other to realize that someone had opened their door.

Twilight slowly took a step back.
She wanted to look away. She wanted to say something. She wanted to gallop off.

But she couldn’t.
For some reason, her eyes were glued to the two ponies kissing, holding and rubbing against each other.
And every second that she stood there, she felt a fire burn in her chest.

She knew that flame.

It burned green and viciously.
Using all her willpower, Twilight turned around and trotted out of the library, still unnoticed by the two love-birds.
As soon as she had escaped the allure of watching two strangers kiss salaciously in a crammed space, Twilight let out a soft groan.
She could still feel the emerald flame of jealousy bite and scorch on her heart.
The unicorn took a deep breath and tried to smother the feeling, but she couldn’t help it.
Why could those two do such things? Why could they sneak into a library and make out? Why could they hold hooves, lie together in a park or do all those other things that happy couples do?

Why could they?

All while she and Celestia could not?
It wasn’t even that Twilight wanted to make out with Celestia in a booth in the library. Well, at least, not right now. But how could they truly enjoy their love for one another if they had to watch each other’s backs all the time?

“It isn’t fair!” Twilight muttered and dropped her head.

*Life rarely is!* The voice of Celestia echoed in her head.

Twilight bit her lip, her eyes burning. Was this how it would be? Would this be the relationship she had not even dared to dream of? A series of short, if happy, moments, wrapped up in a thousand lies, worries and uncertainties? Feeling tears slowly fill her eyes, Twilight reached up to rub them and accidentally dropped the book. It landed before her and opened, revealing a beautiful,little graphic, centered by a small, metal mirror.
The unicorn beheld her reflection. Slowly, she felt another emotion emerge the sea of her soul.

“NO!” Twilight growled, stomping her hoof down. Determination invaded her features and she nodded grimly to her reflection.

She was Twilight Sparkle.

The unicorn with the highest magical potential ever witnessed by Celestia. The pony that helped bring the royal sisters back together. The vanquisher of an Ursa Minor. And the fifth placed in the Running of the Leaves!
Oh, and that changeling thing, too…

“I have to change this!” she muttered to herself. “Not just for me, but for Celestia! Even when I pass on, my princess deserves to love freely! And who could possibly change the world if not Twilight Sparkle? Starting tomorrow, I will do everything in my power to give Celestia the chance to be happy without being forced to hide it!”
She nodded to herself one more time and picked up the book in her magic.
“But all I can do right now is getting ready and hope that my princess does not explode until we tell mom and dad…” She looked in the mirror one last time. A smile formed on her lips. “Hey, mirror-Twilight.” She said softly “Thank you…”

The carriage had left the cobblestone of Canterlot’s main streets and ascended into the sky above the city.
Twilight looked down.
Many ponies were stopping and waving as the royal chariot made its way through the evening sky, pulled by two Pegasus guards and protected by two more honour guards to each side.
There were only a few sunbeams left, but it was good enough an excuse for the Princess to wear her sunglasses.
Nostalgia hit the unicorn.
Not too long ago, she had been one of those ponies below, looking up at a distant princess she could only dream of.
Dream of incorrectly, that was.
She had never imagined that the wonderful Princess Celestia could be such a powder keg of worries and uncertainties.
At least when it came to her love life.
Celestia hid her worries well, though. As soon as the guards had shown up, the worries had gone and the perfectly calm pleasantness of Princess Celestia had returned.
Not too long ago, the act had been as relaxing and calming for Twilight as it had been to all others, but now, it felt off. The real Celestia was not a pony of contentment, but a mare of passion. She was happy, sad, eager and worried.

“Say, Celestia…” Twilight said slowly, hoping she could distract her lover a little. “Are you really that poison resistant?”

“Already tired of me?” Celestia giggled softly and gave Twilight a grin.

Twilight showed her tongue.

“Sorry, Twilight I had to.” The sun princess said with a headshake “But no, I am not immune to poison. I simply have much higher resistances than the average pony.” She paused for a second. “Or Manticore. But I can tell you: I have had terrible stomach-aches after a meal with arsenic. But eating it in front of my assassin and giving all nobles in the room a broad smile did help in the long run.”

“And you made sure to keep the rumour up...” Twilight muttered slowly.

“Either that or a real food taster… and I don’t like the idea of somepony getting poisoned in my place.” Celestia answered calmly.

“But you have a food taster!” Twilight interrupted.

“Have you ever seen him?”

The unicorn paused for a moment and went through her memories. “Erm… no? But Phalanx offered to fetch him.”

“Phalanx would call for a pony that would never come. I use the spot as an anonymous position to funnel some money to charity. Just like with the deathspony, the court jester, the hay-staler-“

“Hay-staler?”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Back in the… less civilized times, it was common that the head torturer or the deathspony was given a bucked of stale hay a day as payment.” She explained “And at some point, some unicorn noble suddenly feared that the servants would screw up and give away hay that was not truly stale and disgusting. Therefore, the minor title of hay-staler was created. A pony that had to try the hay reserved for the deathspony and ensure that it was truly stale.”

Twilight blinked. “Wow… the middle ages sucked!”

Celestia looked over her glasses. “You tell me? You were not around when we had no water closets, Miss Sparkle! Reality is: Princess Platinum used a bucket and a window!”

And relieved laughter filled the air over Canterlot.

They had made it to the porch of no return, and Twilight could feel herself getting slightly nervous as well.
One did not come into your parents' home with a lover more than twice your size and feel completely at ease. But it was probably just a shadow of what Celestia was going through.
Phalanx of the pegasus guards had already marched ahead and knocked. Seconds later, the front door had opened and the smiling faces of Nightlight and Twilight Velvet had appeared, which made Twilight even more nervous.
The unicorn forced a smile onto her face, and together with Celestia, she approached her loving family.
They knelt before the Princess and stayed down until the two guests were inside and the door was closed.

Then the shame began!
“Twily!” Velvet said happily embracing he daughter tightly. She pushed one of those horribly humiliating kisses only a mother could give, onto her cheek. “Have you gotten thinner? Does Spike cook you enough?” she added after letting go of her daughter and leaving a huge blush on her face. “I tell you, if he is on some healthy-cooking thing again, you can just write me a letter and I will pay you a visit.”

Nightlight was slightly less embarrassing, giving her a fatherly hug. “You look good, dear.” He added.

“Miss Velvet, Mister Nightlight.” Celestia chimed in, after the family greeting rituals were done with. “It is a joy to see you again.”

*Blatant lie* Twilight remarked mentally.

“It is always a pleasure and an honour to have you in our modest home, your highness!” Velvet answered with a bow.

“Please, no more bowing.” Celestia requested with a smile.

“Of course, your majesty!” Velvet answered, blushing softly. She turned to Nightlight. “Say, dear, could you show our guests the dining room and set everything up? I’ll be with you in a-“

“I AM IN LOVE WITH CELESTIA!” Twilight spouted loudly.

Three wide, shocked pairs of eyes were on her.

Twilight looked up to Celestia, seeing how her lips formed something like “What the…”

“I’m not gonna watch you be worried and nervous during the entire dinner!” Twilight said firmly and stepped closer to Celestia. “Mom, Dad. I am in love with Celestia and I have admitted my feelings to her today. And she said yes. We are a couple now!”

Celestia cleared her throat and quickly nodded, her mask gone and forgotten. “Erm… yes, we are.” Celestia bowed deeply. “Twilight Velvet, Nightlight, I hereby ask for the permission to woo your daughter. The pony I love more than anything in the world.”

A thump rang through the hallway. Searching for the source of the sound, Twilight noticed with a start that her mother had fainted

Nightlight, still aware of his surroundings began to grin, then to shake, then at last he jumped, pumping both hooves in the air. “YES! BOTH OF THEM!” As he landed, he grabbed his only partially conscious wife and began twirling around wildly. “HEAR THAT, LOVE? WE ARE THE BEST PARENTS EVER! BOTH OUR KIDS GOT THEMSELVES PRINCESSES! WE ROCK!”

Twilight meanwhile began to blush more and more.

After yet another twirl, Nightlight looked his limp wife in the eyes. “And you were worried about today being bad news!” he said with a maniacal laugh “Two out of two! Darn, if we made another one, it would probably score Luna!”

Twilight face-hooved, terribly reminded where the honest enthusiasm that Celestia loved so much originated.

“Princess, Twily!” Nightlight announced once Velvet had recovered well enough to stand by herself again. “I am happy to hear that you have found each other, and you are more than free to love each other and be happy as you wish to be!”

This time, Twilight simply smiled, relieved at her father’s words. She looked up at Celstia, curious how the princess had taken the reaction.
She had never seen the princess’ face so scrunched up.
“Celest-“ Was all she managed to say, before the dam broke and Celestia let out a torrent of laughter. Holding her belly, the alicorn that reigned the sun keeled over, still giggling and laughing loudly.
“Wonderful, dad. I think you broke the princess.” Twilight sighed, relieved that Celestia was at least enjoying herself.

“Quid pro quo, young lady.” Nightlight countered with a smirk and pointed at his slowly recovering wife. “Just look what you did to your mother!”

“I missed you, dad…”

“So did I, Twily.”

It took a soft slap on a white royal shoulder and a white commoner's rear by their respective dark partners to get the two collapsed mares out of their distinctive stupors and assemble everyone in the dining room.
Twilight had to admit that her parents handled the whole things with incredible calm and professionalism. At least, now, after her father got his outbreak out of his system.
Then again, they had some experience with a certain pink foalsitter.
A huge, perfectly arranged ratatouille was divided among the ponies and soon, the silence that could only be created by chewing mouths fell over the table.

It was only after all plates had been cleaned to a mirror shine, that Twilight Sparkle raised her voice.
“Mom, Dad, I’m grateful that you are supportive of me being with Celestia.” She said smiling.

“Nothing to be grateful about, dear.” Velvet answered with a smile “You are our daughter, and we are happy when you are happy.” She paused for a moment “To be frank, I had a feeling that if you ever fell in love with someone, it would be princess Celestia.”

Twilight felt herself blush a little as she overheard the chuckle from Celestia.

“Yes, Twily, you did worry us from time to time…” Nightlight added, levitating the plates away. “For a while, we were worried that you were simply not into love.”

“We did some research on asexual tendencies and the like.” Velvet added thoughtfully “Not that there is anything wrong with that, but you know… we were worried at the time.”

“And then your mother got caught up on it and I had to sneak food into the library, because she would not stop reading.” Nightlight snickered and began to carrying the plates out of the room.

“Don’t blame me for these things being so interesting!” Velvet proclaimed towards the kitchen.
Celestia could not help but let out a soft chuckle at both, Twilight’s parents antics and her beloved’s crimson cheeks.
Genetics know no mercy.

Author's Note

Edited for errors and mistake by That creepy bunny cat thing

So please direct all complaints, threats and spent grief seeds to him.

As for the chapter:
This chapter has been "prepared" for almost two years now and it was the reason why I went a bit overly annoyed by people complaining that "the relationship is not fine" and "secrecy is unhealthy for new lovers". Here is the point: I agree! Now let those two find out and make it better as well.
Anyways, enjoy and maybe write me a comment.

Preparing Phase Nine

Author's Note

Before you read this chapter I want you all to understand this:
I am very sorry for not posting so long but please don't flood the comments with stuff like "This finally updated." or "It's alive!".
I will try to get the out more often but I can't do wonders (magic I can do, but only with a deck of cards or the blood of 10 virgins).
This has been beta-read by the lord of contracts and eating cake

Preparing Phase Nine

… And while your suggestions are certainly understandable - may I even admit, admirable - the crown of Equestria does not intend to budge in on the dining habits of our inhabitants in any way that does not include obviously poisonous and harmful substances.
And though ponies, sheep, cows, donkeys and goats would not suffer any harm from it, a compulsory vegan diet would basically force all omnivores and the few carnivorous inhabitants of Equestria into illegality. Further, it would destroy the dairy and hatchery economy, which is currently in the hooves of thousands of cows and gives most of our chicken population their homes.
It would go against the ideals of harmony and tolerance that our beloved home is based on. The crown encourages healthy eating and exercise, but we would never enforce it.
I hope the Vegan League sees this and understands the position of the crown.
Her Serene Majesty, Princess Luna of Equestria

Luna let out a sigh and let her quill hover into its socket. Then she closed her inkwell and sealed the letter. Whole Grain, the leader of the Vegan League and well-meaning-yet-pompous jerk, would probably throw a tantrum over her refusal to ban all non-vegan foodstuffs in the kingdom, but the princess had no intention of depriving her people (and herself) of the joys that a vegetarian cuisine could give. The fact that soy didn’t grow naturally in Equestria and her own love for that amazing crème that her personal cook called his specialty (at least 10 eggs per serving) were only two further reasons to reject the proposal.
“At least they mean well… “, she muttered. Then she placed the letter in the “OUT” tray on her work-table and sipped the last bit of her coffee. It was full of answers to letters and proposals directed at her. After the panic about Celestia’s holiday had ceised crippling them, every pony who had ever written a demand or proposal Celestia had rejected was coming out of the woods now and proposing it again, hoping that Luna would allow it. So far, Luna had rejected all of them, their reasoning ranging from “Too many naked butts; make pants mandatory!” to “Forced servitude for anypony below knighthood!”.
It was indeed a nice change that society had recognized their new princess… as an opportunity to dig their hooves into and use for their own benefit. Well… at least they didn’t openly try to revolt anymore. Though that was at least honest.
Finally, Luna cleaned up her work and left the letters for the servants to collect. Worktime was done for now, and she had more to plot and set in motion. And she also had to inform her subjects about their first victory. The trouble with the ninja had overshadowed their last encounter. This time, she would tell them that they had succeeded in their set-up and that they simply had to keep the fresh couple safe from harm and distraction. How difficult cou… NO! She would not even consider thinking that question! That never ended well!

The princess nodded to herself and left her office, heading straight for the guest room Agent Shadow and Autumn had taken after the last one had to be vacated due to a princess smashing the door in. It was not vandalism if it was your own door, right?
Luna took a deep breath just in front of the door, then closed in to knock. But as she was about to raise her hoof, she was interrupted by a soft, melodic singing echoed through the door. Luna stopped herself and instead leaned closer, listening to the song.

“There’s a time when the moon reveals itself through the clouds
I let out a sigh and want to cry out loud”

Luna raised her eyebrows. The song had been one of the few that her followers had composed to ease ponies into the concept of the eternal night. Leave it to her biggest fan to get two decent songwriters to join his cult. Though many of their works had never been made public, basically all of followers knew them by heart. But what truly surprised her was how well Diamond Shadow could sing. She had not expected the hard-nosed batpony to be a rather decent songstress.

“But deep in my heart, I feel love so alive
In the depth of my soul I know we will survive!”

A bit sad, but full of hope. A wonderful thing to have in a world of darkness.
The moon princess shook her head and forced herself to break the spell and knocked on the door.
The song ended abruptly, and Luna waited patiently for. The soft clopping of four hooves approached the door from the other side, until it at last was opened slowly.

“She is still fully armored up. And she leaves enough room so that I can’t punch her and stands in a way that makes it impossible for me to slam the door in her face…” Luna noted mentally. Apparently, Diamond Shadow had no intention of being surprised again. But there was more than that catching Luna’s attention.

“Oh… Princess, it’s you.” The bat pony muttered. “I’ll wake up-“

“Diamond Shadow, would you please come with me for a moment?” Luna interrupted quickly and firmly. The smaller mare hid her surprise, and simply nodded before allowing herself to look back with both worry and longing.

“Maybe we can stay if it would make you feel better?” Luna said gently, and Diamond Shadow made place to let her into the room. “You haven’t slept one second since the attack, have you?” the moon princess asked gently.

“Is it that obvious?”

“No, your mask is as good as ever, but when I wanted to link your dream with Autumn’s again, I noticed that you were absent in the dreaming world.” Luna replied and pointed to the smaller mare’s swollen eyes “And the fact that you have been crying is obvious.”

Diamond Shadow let out a low sigh and averted her gaze in shame.

“It seems weird to me that a seasoned soldier like you takes this worse than Autumn.” Luna said gently. It was time to channel her sister again. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“What is there to talk about?” the smaller mare asked softly. Her eyes went to her sleeping fiance. “I screwed up… I almost lost him… again.”

Luna suppressed the urge to object. There was more to listen to.

“I... I’m supposed to protect him. He’s a scholar… a leader… not a fighter. I am supposed to be there for him. I should have defended him.” Diamond Shadow muttered, her eyes slowly filling with tears. “But I didn’t even wake up.”

“But-“

“If you hadn’t linked up our dreams and his sudden absence hadn’t snapped me awake… and if he wasn’t him… he… he… that mule would have taken him away.” The mare sat down with a soft thud, her eyes firmly on the spot between her front-hooves. “I messed up… and I almost lost him…”

Quietly, Luna stepped towards her protecto. The batpony’s tears began to fall one after the other.

“Princess? Can I ask you a question?” Diamond Shadow said suddenly raising her eyes to look directly at Luna.

“Of course…” Luna answered, caught off-guard by the sudden question.

“Do you want him?”

“What?!” The moon princess blurred out. Luckily, Autumn was a deep sleeper.

“Just tell me: Do you want him?” Diamond Shadow asked -almost aggressively- tears streaming down her cheeks. “Do you feel even a little spark between you when you spend time with him? Isn’t there at least a little warmth in your chest when you see him eagerly explaining stuff? Can you really say that you never sneak peaks on him when he walks past you?”

“Agent Shadow… are you jealous?” Luna asked softly.

“No! No… I…” The bat pony’s eyes returned to her hooves. “I want him to be happy… I want…” her eyes returned to Luna “You to be happy… and if you feel even the smallest hint of attraction. If you think that you could ever… love him… then I would-“

“You are offering your fiancée?”

Diamond Shadow took a deep breath and finally looked back into Luna’s eyes. “Yes, I am. I love him. I want him to be happy. And I know that there is only one pony in the world that could possibly make him happier than I could. And that pony is the princess that I owe everything to. The one other pony in my life that I want to see happy.” She sighed again, and a soft smile crept onto her features. “How could I ever marry him if I knew that the two of you could be so much happier with each other?” A hint of despair entered her voice as she continued. “I… I promise, you would love him. He is kind and gentle and dedicated and so…” she sobbed loudly, but forced herself to continue “so adorable when something he planned works out…” A tremble ran through the mare as she fought the urge to turn and look at the stallion she was praising.

Luna sighed heavily and took another step towards the now shivering mare. “You don’t mean that…”

“Yes I do!” Diamond Shadow sobbed. “He deserves better! He deserves everything! He should be sitting by your side, advising your rule while the followers work for a better Equestria! He… he shouldn’t be stuck with a mare that played him and all his friends like a fiddle for years and drove a knife into his back when he needed me most.” The mare tried to steady her breath and forced some calm back into her voice. “It used to be so easy, Princess. I never felt this before. I never felt remorse when I betrayed others. I… I hardly ever felt anything! And now there is so much love that I don’t deserve!”

The moon princess swallowed. She had taken a look at Diamond Shadow’s work. During her time as a secret agent, the pegasus had infiltrated a crime syndicate of snowflake forgers for more than two years. She had worked with them, celebrated Hearth’s Warming Eve with them, laughed and drank with them. And, when the time came, she had coldly helped with arresting them. And when one had tried to escape, she had hunted him down, smacked him unconscious with one of the molding plates they had used to flood the snowflake market and dragged him back to the guard.
In the distant past, Luna had met ponies like her. They were completely normal and well-adjusted. But in the sea of their souls was a maelstrom where others had their conscience. They were capable of things that would make King Sombra shake his head, but they lacked the ambition of a tyrant. They made amazing agents.
But now the worst thing imaginable had happened to Agent Shadow: Love had filled that greedy void in her soul. And now a fleet sailed over that passage, heavily laden with regrets and sorrow.

Woe to the monster that understands its own nature. No wonder vamponies feared mirrors.

Luna knew that feeling.

What had helped her through the moments when the regret hurt the most?
Slowly, she extended her foreleg and pulled Diamond Shadow into a firm embrace. The pegasus tensed up for a moment, but soon relaxed and leaned her forehead against the Princess’ shoulder. Luna held her close and gently rubbed her back. “I know what it means to have terrible deeds on your consciousness, Diamond.” Luna whispered gently “But if you try to punish yourself, you will just produce more sorrow. Autumn has forgiven you. He loves you. And he completes you as much as you complete him. I think it is time that you forgive yourself.”

Slowly, Diamond Shadow pulled back and looked up into the princess’ gentle eyes.

“A lot has happened over the last few days. Autumn accepting my call, the distress with the nobles, you proposing marriage to him and the attack of the ninja. It is understandable that your feelings are in turmoil.” Luna explained as gently as possible, hoping that she would use the right words. “And don’t forget that I need you, too…” A soft smile invaded Luna’s features “I can’t just allow one of my staunch night guards to walk away like that.”

Diamond Shadow sniffed once and let out a soft chuckle. “Leave it to Autumn to follow the best princess of them all…” she mumbled shaking her head softly.

Luna couldn’t help but feel a pang of pride bubble up in her heart. It was nice to help and receive a little love for it. She could have used more ponies like these a thousand years ago. The moon princess pulled her protector close once more and rested her head on Diamond’s, eyes drifting to the bed where her biggest fan was still sleeping.
Suddenly, Autumn let out a snort and turned over, eyes half-open and still laden with sleep. A few nerves in them noticed his two favourite mares embracing each other tightly, their gentle eyes focused on him.

“Chr… can’t dream that…” he mumbled softly “Luna would kill me…” And turned around to continue sleeping.

A huge blush invaded Luna’s features, and Diamond Shadow began to laugh softly. Quickly, the two let go of each other and moved apart.

“Would you?” Diamond Shadow asked suddenly, a hint of teasing in her voice.

Luna blushed even deeper and cleared her throat loudly. “I do not judge my subjects based on what their subconscious does for, to and with them.” The moon princess stated firmly. She did not want to go deeper into this. She had seen Diamond Shadow’s dreams, and found that her staunch protector had simple tastes but great hunger. One had included a group of five Autumns. How did one call a group of Autumns? A flock? A herd? A calendar?

“I think you should wake him up…” Luna said quickly, “I have an announcement to make.”

“Yes… better get him out before dream you and dream me-“ Diamond Shadow began, but a disapproving look from Luna stopped her.
The bat pony made her way to the bed. “Sweetie!” she whispered gently, all while crawling onto the bed “Your lady and mistress demands your attention… and Princess Luna needs something, too.”

Autumn let out a grumble and pushed his head deeper into the pillow.

“Wrong answer…” Diamond quipped, raising her wing. It went down in a blur, and a juicy smack rang through the room as it made contact with Autumn’s haunch.
The stallion’s eyes shot open, and he let out a scared whinny. His eyes went over his surroundings until they finally focused on his fiancée.

“Good afternoon, honey…” Diamond Shadow said gently pushing a little kiss on his nose. “How about you make yourself presentable? The princess wants to announce something, and we don’t want to make her wait, do we?”

The stallion was clearly not quite awake yet, and simply nodded, crawling off the bed and making his way toward the bathroom.
Diamond Shadow smiled and turned around, only to see that Luna had taken quite an interest in the carpet. A blush invaded the agent’s features, and she stepped off the bed. “Erm… sorry for that, princess… but he has such a blessed sleep. I could scream my lungs out and he wouldn’t move.”

Luna nodded letting out a small sigh. “I understand that you two have a healthy, mature relationship. I truly do. I know that I must seem like a thousand years behind on these things… but please understand me: I spend much time in the land of lawlessness and unbridled imagination. And even I can’t escape the more private dreams of my subjects. Especially when those dreamers need a helping hoof… What I am trying to say is… in the dream world, the rules of impulse and instinct are so simple and easy to follow. But the waking world has changed so much. I do have problems adjusting even now.”

The bat pony nodded. “So… you have to catch up on 1000 years of change in one world, while pretty much everything stayed the same in the other?"

“Not quite… Dreams are a reflection of reality in many ways, and with every rule change on the one side, the other reacts. While some aspects stay the same, many details, such as guilt over transgressions or self-image, did evolve dramatically.” Luna explained further. “Not to be rude, but even the idea of having a childless marriage would have been preposterous at best.”

“And to you 1000 years were like two years ago…” Diamond Shadow finished the thought.

Luna sighed. “My predicament is my fault and burden. My antiquated ideas should not interfere with my ability to interact with you!”

“No, princess… I can get a bit too clingy around him. Especially lately…” The bat pony said with a shaking of her head “It’s just… It’s the first time in our relationship isn’t a burden to me. That I can actually enjoy being with him…” she sighed softly “The first part of our love was full of my lies and betrayal. The second third was all about me feeling terrible and trying to make amends to him and the others… and now, finally, I get to be happy and-“

“And then a ninja shows up.” Luna concluded offering a smile. “Don’t consider this to be an omen. My nephew’s idiocy is not a deed done by the whims of fate… He simply is a disgrace…”

Diamond Shadow raised her eyebrow. “Wait, if he’s your nephew AND Celestia’s nephew, then who is the…”

“Prince Blueblood’s family is the royal family of the unicorn dynasty. They were adopted by Celestia and me after we were declared rulers of Equestria by the power of the three tribes. At the time, an important and exalted deed. These days, merely a formality, as it seems. They are all to be treated as close family. No matter what light that might put on us.”

“You’re not happy with how they turned out?”

“Indeed…” Luna grumbled. Yes, Princess Platinum had gone down in history as a spoiled brat and horrid ruler, but historians considered her a small fluke among the monarchs. And whatever she had caused, her grandmother, Lady Reingold, had been the one to promote Starswirl the Bearded to Royal Sage and had his entire works copied and published. Some titled her the inventor of the unicornian school system.

It was at this point that Autumn returned from the bathroom, teeth freshly brushed, mane combed, horn filed, face squeaky clean and scarf hiding anything unusual.
“Now you are up to grooming standards!” Diamond Shadow said with a smile. The two ponies turned to their princess, eager to listen.

“Very well, my followers.” Luna said and quickly cleared her throat. “I am pleased to announce our first victory: Celestia has informed me that Twilight Sparkle has revealed her love to her and has accepted her as her suitor. I was able to express my happiness and followed my sisterly duty to appropriately rub my rightness in her face!”

The two followers simultaneously threw their hooves in the air and let out a cheer. “Wohoo! The rightness has been rubbed in the face!” Autumn announced happily.

“Indeed! But do not celebrate prematurely, my followers. This ship has not sailed yet! Our next step needs to be the close observation and protection of the two lovebirds. Ensuring that they can express their feelings uninterrupted is essential! Celestia is selfless to a fault, and will abort this holiday the moment that any news of discontent reaches her. And with Blueblood stomping about, I doubt that we will be left in peace.” Luna declared seriously. She began to pace in front of her followers “We have to keep our eyes peeled and our ears open. This-“

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

“Excuse me? Is Princess Luna present?” a strong, firm voice rang through the door. “There’s a letter for her. And a message from Princess Celestia!”

“Come in!” Luna announced loudly.

The door opened, and Phalanx of the day guard entered the room. He was greeted by a sophisticated nod by Luna, a comradely salute from Diamond Shadow and Autumn looking at the two mares in confusion and wondering how he was supposed to greet.

“Princess Celestia has announced that she will be dining with the parents of her student this evening.” He explained calmly “And I was also given this message from a messenger. It is apparently important.” The guard produced a letter, bearing the seal of the royal family of unicorns.
Luna managed to hide her flinching and took the letters. “Thank you, Phalanx. I am grateful that you informed me first. That will be all for now.”

Phalanx saluted and turned to go.

The door’s closing was met with a huge grin spreading across Luna’s face. “This is fantastic! This means that Celestia is about to ask for permission from Twilight’s parents tonight!”

“Permission?” Diamond Shadow asked in confusion. “What would Celestia need permission from Sparkle’s parents for? Doesn’t she outrank everyone?”

Luna rolled her eyes. “She will officially ask for the permission to court Twilight Sparkle, of course.” Her eyes wandered to Autumn. “Did Autumn never ask your parent’s permission?”

“From MY mom?” Diamond Shadow scoffed, “That would have been rich! She would have swapped me in for a barrel of cider and a bunch of headache potions…”

“And before you ask: My parents don’t talk to me anymore, so my love here couldn’t ask them for their permission, either.” Autumn explained quickly.

A shiver of discomfort ran over Luna’s spine. “Yes, I read about it in your file… Erm… you two don’t seem to take it too badly…” she offered politely.

“The followers are our family!” Autumn said firmly and eagerly.

The moon princess offered a nod. It was strange to see a cult leader who actually meant it when he said stuff like that. “Anyways, we will need to make precautions for tonight. One of you will have to keep an eye on our two lovebirds. But first, let’s have a look what Blueblood wants…”

The glow from her horn tore the letter open and Luna quickly read through the document.

“What?!” She suddenly exclaimed, the letter shaking in her magic. “This… this is… this… this is unexpectedly clever!”

“Princess?” Autumn asked carefully.

“Blueblood has asked for a formal consultation in the setting of a dinner this evening.” Luna explained in a tense voice. “Not a major thing, but etiquette demands that one of the current rulers is present at the time. He clearly banks on me either denying him, which would cast me in a bad light, me canceling night court to humour him, which would be equally bad, or me fetching Celestia, which would cancel her holiday!”

“Are you sure this is Blueblood’s doing?” Diamond Shadow asked with concern. “This sounds almost… smart…”

“I am as shocked as you are! This is a tough one… While I could take the political heat, he would probably continue to pick on us until he got enough dirt for the nobles to act out.” Luna speculated, setting the letter on the table. “We have to come up with an idea as quickly as possible.”

“Isn’t there a pony that can run court when you or Celestia are busy?” Diamond asked, scratching the back of her head.

“Like a seneschal or something?” Autumn offered.

“We used to have a seneschal, but Celestia told me that she used that title so little, she stopped bothering to give it to anypony.” Luna explained quickly “If I had a seneschal, I could have them handle Blueblood until I am done with night court.” her eyes opened a bit wider, and she looked at her followers. “Listen carefully! I need you two to go and fetch the “Nobilite Notablissime” and the “Titulus Titanicus” from the library! I need to know if Celestia changed a few details, and I don’t want any servants to grow suspicious! We shall meet in my quarters!”

The two smaller ponies nodded in unison and galloped off.

Luna looked after them and let out a sigh. This kind of devotion felt very nice…
After a few seconds of quiet content, the moon princess returned to reality and focused her magic. With a plop, she disappeared rematerializing inside her chambers. Slowly, she trotted towards the mirror, she had prepared for communication and tapped the surface. After a few moments, a mostly familiar face appeared on the surface.
Of course, it was not Luna’s face.

“Red! Do you have time for a status report?” Luna asked the mirror.

“Everything is fine, Princess!” Red Devil Apple answered calmly and firmly. “Apparently, a couch in the middle of the street caused some ruckus, but the whole town was quiet and calm.”

“Very well, Red. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open.” Luna stressed.

“Yes, Princess, I will.”

“And… Sorry, but I have to ask…” Luna sighed and gave into curiosity “Why are you wearing lipstick and eye shadow?”
Red’s chin dropped. “Erm… Cousin Applebloom found the powder box, and after she nagged me why I kept it close by, I pretended that it was mine… Then she and her friends wanted to help pretty me up, and it got a bit out of hand…” He bit his lip. “I felt like such a slut…”

“Erm… ok… But how does the pearl necklace, the huge pink bow and what seems to be a laced dress come into it?”

Red began to tear up. “When… when Granny Smith saw me running around all painted up, she took me aside and explained to me that she… that she… that she would always love me, no matter how I felt about myself… then she gave me great-grandmother’s pearls and called in the entire family to wish me well… and cousin Bloom gave me one of her bows…” The stallion broke out into tears “They are such a wonderful family, and I love them soooooo much! I should visit them more often but I am soooo ashamed! I ran away from them like a stupid little colt, and now they don’t even know me anymore.”

Luna nodded gently. “Red, please. If Ponyville is truly quiet, please take the time to mend some fences. Just keep me updated in case anything happens.” She said as carefully as possible.

Red just nodded, mascara running over his cheeks.

“And Red… I understand your cousin means well, but please drop the bow. That pink classes fiercely with your coat. Luna out.” The moon princess added quickly, deactivating the mirror. Then she let out a sigh. She was truly beginning to enjoy her followers, but she also hoped that the crazy was not rubbing off on her. Otherwise she’d have to change her name to Princess Lunacy.

And while she was at it, she also had to figure out what a "slut" was!

-

Meanwhile, Autumn and Diamond Shadow arrived at the royal library. The two quickly narrowed down where to look for the desired books and began going through the shelves.

“This reminds me of the days we spent studying in here…” Autumn said. He looked through the bottom shelves, while the pegasus was hovering around the shelves above him. “On some days, our teachers would let us at whatever topic we wanted to, and we would just study the hours away…”

“I bet YOU would study the hours away while your classmates would do what real foals do…” Diamond Shadow teased. “If you don’t believe me, this is the third book that’s been very creatively vandalized.”

“Yes… they let us in here way too early!” Autumn deadpanned “But it was safer than that one time one of the junior classes got their head stuck in a flask. Or a beaker… I’m not sure anymore,”

“I am honestly surprised that wasn’t you.”

“I almost burned my eye out in that acid spill…” the stallion sighed, his hoof reaching for the scar below his eye, “I got careful after that. Never put water into acid! Always the other way around!”

Diamond let out a snort. “Yes, you got yourself expelled extremely carefully…” she said with a giggle grabbing a book in front of her.

“Hey, at least I got in…” Autumn protested. He was silenced by the “Titulus Titanicus”, Equestria’s basic guide to titles, being held in front of his eyes from above. “Hey, great! Now we-“ He swallowed his words once he noticed that Diamond Shadow was still descending. Her hind legs first touching and then encircling his barrel until she finally landed her rear on his back. She dropped the book and wrapped her forelegs around his neck, while snuggling her cheek against his. Autumn blushed fiercely at the feeling of her weight on him and her warm embrace. Her armour was pressing against the back of his head, but he could ignore that detail. “What did I do to earn this?” he asked with a soft giggle.

“You are my cute and adorable fiancé.” Diamond Shadow teased gently “And I can hardly snuggle you like this when Luna is around…”

“Now this is more like school…” Autumn snickered, then went serious “Only you and I would be different ponies, and I would be in that booth over there with my head in a book, desperately trying to ignore what was going on so nobody would beat me up…”

Diamond was about to answer when she heard hoofbeat approaching. Seeing something purple approach through the door, the bat pony held onto Autumn with her hindlegs and flapped her wings as vigorously as possible. The unicorn, meanwhile, barely managed to grab the book on the floor before he was air-lifted into the next booth. The bat pony was able to close the door in the nick of time, only able to confirm that it was Twilight Sparkle who had just entered the library.

“Wha-“ Autumn attempted to ask, only to be silenced by Diamond Shadow putting her hoof on his lips.

“It’s Sparkle!” the batpony whispered. “I don’t think that she saw us, but keep quiet! She’s probably going to get suspicious when she sees us dilly-dallying around the library.”
Autumn nodded and bit his lip. “Erm… Honey… could you get off me for now… You know that I’m a wimp… and your armour is heavy”

“That was the smart way of saying it.” Diamond Shadow giggled quietly, slowly dismounting the unicorn. “We just have to keep quiet until she leaves.”

The seconds turned to minutes. The two ponies sat in complete silence, only listening to the clopping of Twilight’s hooves on the floor and the one or two times she said something to herself. The two managed being quiet very well for a pegasus in full armour and a civilian. At least until the movement outside stopped and Diamond Shadow decided to risk another look. In a second on carelessness, her hoof got stuck in a carpet and she pulled it out from under a lectern. The wooden object fell over loudly, causing both ponies to freeze for a moment.

“What now?” Autumn hissed “No way she didn’t hear that!”

“There’s only one exit, and it’s too small to hide!” Diamond said coldly, looking around. She was running out of options.

“Can’t we, like… do something to make her go away? Make out or something… that works in the novels…”

Diamond Shadow rolled her eyes. “Yes, in trash literature! That would only work if she was the most prudish and repressed mare on the surface of Equestria!”

Autumn paused for a moment. “Erm… yeah, that’s Sparkle, all right!”

“How would you know?”

“She was two classes lower than me in school! Trust me, she was legendary! All colts snickered about it! She once hit the alarm cause she thought there was a gas leak when she walked past an older mare in heat!”

The pegasus let out a snort. Sure, it was a long shot, but what else could they do. “Fine, let’s give her a show. But if it doesn’t work, let me do the talking!”

“Ok so-“ Autumn began, but he never finished. Diamond Shadow had already grabbed him and pushed him against the wall. For a moment, the stallion’s heart stopped by two slitted eyes pierced his gaze. Diamond Shadow made sure he never forgot that he was in love with a predator. Then a pair of hot, blue lips was pressed onto his, and his mind went blank.

Diamond Shadow, on the other hand, did not allow herself the luxury of giving into her instinct. Her whole plan was to keep the Twilight from Autumn with her body and ensuring that she dominated the visuals, so the stallion wouldn’t give the two away by making eye-contact with Twilight. They could not allow any acknowledgement of the other mare, or they might lose the illusion and be asked questions.
The issue was that Autumn was now pushing back a little, his lips moving with hers and his forelegs wrapping themselves around her neck. Luna, when did he get so good at this? He was making her head feel fuzzy by rubbing her neck like that!

Not good! She had to keep control of this. Sparkle hadn’t even reached the door yet.
With a titanic amount of willpower, the pegasus reached up and pulled Autumn’s hair back, making the stallion shiver helplessly and relent his assault. Diamond Shadow felt terrible for pushing his buttons like this, but the mission came first.

Finally, she heard the door open behind her. A heartbeat later, she could FEEL Twilight’s gaze burn holes into her back. One little mistake could foil this whole thing! One little moment of being unrealistic and this would go south.

This was tense. This was frightening. This was mind-breaking.
And it was also bucking exciting.
Being watched surely wasn’t Diamond Shadow’s kink, but turning a moment of tenderness into a tense mindgame of deceit was like playing checkers with a gluttonous pro gamer and then telling him that all the board was also entirely made of chocolate.
Still, she still had a grip on herself.
All she needed to do was wait it out?
Until the darn peeper behind her finally left.

“Why are you still standing around, you darn pervert! Don’t you have a traitor princess to make out with?” Diamond Shadow screamed mentally checking her options. Maybe if she pulled away and began whispering naughtiness into Autumn’s ear? Or if she began to wiggle her flank? Luna, did she just consider flashing Twilight Sparkle? That went even too far for her… WAIT! Were those hoofbeats? YES! The unicorn was turning around! YES! She was galloping away!

Barely able to breath, Diamond Shadow pushed herself away from her sweaty, twitching lover.

Then she collapsed next to him, her chest heaving against her breastplate. “This was the worst idea… you’ve ever had!” she groaned.

“Uh-hu…” Autumn muttered.

“Sparkle almost didn’t leave!”

“Uh-hu…”

“What if she calls for the guard because two ponies are doing it in the library?”

“Uh-hu…”

“Luna would kill us if she heard that!”

“Uh-hu…”

“Great… I literally bucked his brain out. It finally happened!”

“Wow…” Autumn finally managed to formulate. “That was… amazing…”

“Yes, but that’s not the point!” Diamond Shadow groaned. She shot her lover a glance and instantly regretted it. She caught a gentle gaze of absolute devotion that only true love and certain love poisons could produce. The one that always made her heart melt.

“Autumn!” She sighed “We have to get up and look for the other book!” Her mind didn’t seem to register that her body was crawling towards the stallion.

“Right! We need to return the books to Luna and thwart Blueblood!” Autumn said gently, his forelegs slowly wrapping around his fiancé.

“Then why aren’t we getting up and doing our job?” Diamond asked with a hint of despair. All while she began to rub her cheek against Autumn’s.

“Because all I care about at the moment is you…”

“Same here…” he batpony trailed off in thought, her eyes narrowing pensively. She then appeared to reach a conclusion: "RAWR!"

-

Some time later, and in Luna’s quarters, the moon princess eagerly accepted the two books she had ordered. “Very good. But I am surprised a simple trip to the library took you this long…” the princess stated, casually flipping through the volumes.

“We had a run in with Twilight Sparkle…” Diamond Shadow admitted calmly “And I have to report that though she did see us, we managed to avoid being suspicious and being questioned.”

“Are you sure you did not attract her suspicion?”

“Trust me, she has no idea why we were even close to the library or even in the castle!” Diamond Shadow stressed.

“So I suppose your distraction took some time?” Luna asked carefully.

“Indeed. The distraction took a while…” Diamond Shadow said with a nod. "And we would still be distracted if we hadn’t rolled into that bookshelf. And hadn’t knocked that other book off right onto Autumn’s head, so he bit both our tongues."

“It matters not! The meeting between Celestia and Twilight Sparkle’s parents should overshadow her attention for now.” Luna lowered the book and a smirk entering her features. “And I have found what I was looking for!”

The two followers stooped a little closer, listening curiously to their princess.

“As I was hoping, the title of seneschal has not been altered. It can still be mantled by any adult pony of at least minor noble standing.” Her eyes went to Autumn “A pony like you, Autumn!”

“WHAT?” Autumn screamed “I am no noble!”

Diamond Shadow shook her head as well “He really isn’t! I mean… I call him ‘my king’ sometimes, but that hardly counts…”

Luna sighed. “Autumn, you are one of the descendants of Sulciceps Galerina.” She said seriously “Your name, your cutie mark and your talents do not leave any doubt in mind. And while, due to her, your family has been stripped of all their titles you still hold a claim to them. A weak claim, given that you are not the oldest Galerina alive, but still good enough to allow me to name you my seneschal.”

Autumn blinked a few times. “We are really scraping the bottom of the barrel with this one.”

The books before Luna floated slowly towards her desk. “Indeed we are. But it is enough to satisfy anyone who might look into the matter. Anyways, our course for this night is set! I shall hold night court. Diamond Shadow will follow the two lovebirds to their dinner and ensure that it shall not be interrupted. And Autumn will humor and ultimately foil Prince Blueblood.”

The two smaller ponies nodded if only, after a few moments, Autumn slowly raised a hoof. “Princess…” he said slowly “You know that my devotion is boundless, and that I would walk into Tartarus, open all the cages and make obscene gestures at the monsters trapped in there for you…” He swallowed and sighed “But this is really pushing it.”
Luna’s eye softened instantly. “I agree.”

Phase Ten & Intermission

“And when I turned my head, I noticed that Spike had grabbed the hem of my dress and stuffed it into his mouth! I instantly turned around and tried to pull it out of his jaws, but he sneezed. Suddenly my whole dress was ablaze! I teleported out of it instantly. And then all I could do was look in horror as he kept chewing while his cradle caught fire. I was well aware that dragons did not mind the heat of their own fire, but it was still a shock for me to see my beloved bundle of scales sitting happily in his own burning bed. Later I understood that Spike had confused the sparkle on the hem for gemstones and decided to eat it.” Celestia said with a bit of nostalgia in her voice. The evening had turned to night, and now the two couples were in the living room of Twilight’s parents, drinking hot chocolate and exchanging stories. Meanwhile a gramophone played some cosy tunes in the back. The princess had even kicked off her shoes and had completely opened up. “From that day on, I made sure never to wear sparkling trinkets in front of Spike until he understood the importance of not setting his foster mother ablaze.”

“Goodness… And I thought Shining Armour’s upbringing was interesting.” Twilight Velvet said, shaking her head slightly. She floated her cocoa closer and had a sip. “When he brought in those strange dice and weird books with the angry minotaurs on them, I was completely thrown off.”

“I think those were supposed to be demons.” Night Light giggled “And I had a huge laugh when the critically acclaimed adventure book writer had to spend three days of research until she got behind the idea of RPGs.”

“I was simply concerned about our son!”

“I was more concerned about him when you tried to join their group.”

“Such an expression of raw creativity! I had to try it out once!” Velvet stressed firmly.

“Good that you got stuck on the character background. I really liked that book…” Nightlight added with a wink.

“So this is how the great Twilight Velvet comes up with her ideas. Maybe I will try this one out when I write a novel.” Celestia giggled, taking a sip as well.

“You have ambitions in writing, princess?” Velvet asked eagerly. “Oh, what genre do you have in mind?”

“Oh, I am only teasing, my dear. I have spent so much time with writing down and accepting laws and orders that I doubt that I could ever go to prose. I once tried my hoof in poetry, but I noticed that I had many issues with the theme and the fitting of words into pentameter. So I gave up on literature and stuck with music.” Celestia waved off.

“Oh, we tried to get our Twily into music in the past. But our filly was all about reading.” Nightlight giggled “The only reason she would ever sing was because that was music with words.”

While the three ponies giggled and laughed merrily, Twilight Sparkle found herself deeply buried in the lowest levels of tartarus and whatever hell lay beneath it.
Sure, she should be happy that both her parents accepted her beloved princess as part of her life and socialized so well with her.
Sure, she should be happy that Celestia had overcome her nervousness and worries and actually opened up to them, showing the warm and complex being beneath the smile.
But now the dream had turned ugly!
Both parties had realized that they were indeed all parents and were now exchanging FOAL STORIES! And while Twilight’s parents, saintly as they were, had not yet tapped into the depths of stories they had about her, Twilight would kill herself if anyone told Celestia about the incident when she tried to build a particle accelerator out of a hair dryer and a vacuum cleaner! And heaven help Nightlight if he whooped out the foal photos! That would classify as torture under international laws!

“So, if I may ask, what kind of instrument do you prefer, princess?” Nightlight asked, tearing Twilight out of her torment.

“Oh, I have tried my hooves in many instruments… though my favourites will always be the piano, the classic wing-harp, my beloved triangle and, of course, the doubec!” Celestia explained.

Twilight’s eyebrows rose. “You play with a drum?”

“I began when back when an old friend in Zebragaskar showed me how to play and gifted me with my first one. Sadly I played it beyond the point of repair. But you would not believe how therapeutic it is to lock yourself into your room after a long day of dealing with the issues of the day and just hit something.” Celestia giggled.

“Am I the only one who finds the triangle even weirder?” Nightlight asked.

“Oh, I was partially kidding… but I do admire the instrument to some degree… a perfectly played triangle can enhance the effect of a whole symphony, while one that misses its spot can ruin it. It is a testament to simplicity and the virtue of precision.”

“I am so taking notes for my next book…” Velvet commented with a grin.

Suddenly the record skipped and a “Bed of Roses” from Bon Anchovy started to play. As if on command, Night Light set his cup aside and got up.

“Come, dear, not in front of- OH!” Velvet was interrupted by her husband pulling her up with his magic and resting his head on her shoulder. As if choreographed, they instantly began to dance a slow and sensual dance. Every step stemmed from memory, every movement another joyful memory for the next time. They grew a bit faster with a few turns and spins. Old Bon was singing and slow and thick as honey when his piano took over.

Twilight’s eyes went wide. She couldn’t remember seeing her parents dance like this! Then again, she hadn’t heard that song play in this house very often…

Finally the song ended, and both ponies looked at each other for a moment. Finally, they shared a soft kiss.
Twilight instantly looked away to see that Celestia was holding her wing before her broadly grinning mouth.

Velvet cleared her throat and shook her head quickly. “Goodness, I am so sorry that you had to see this, dear.” She said, slightly embarrassed. “But this loon that I call your father once promised me that he would dance with me like this whenever we hear old Bon tickle the keys…”

Nightlight winked. “Heavy injury or sickness not withstanding, but a promise is a promise, and I made two to my wife that I will never break!” he said gently nuzzling Velvet.

“But… I’ve never seen you two dance to this song!” Twilight stressed, her cheeks crimson and eyes wide.

“Because those are on the Mommy-and-Daddy record!” Velvet answered as she sat down again. “We usually keep this out of the gramophone when Shiny or you are around.”

“Just because I promised that I would always dance with her to this song doesn’t mean I have to play it constantly. “ Nightlight added. “Though I’ve put it on a lot more often ever since the two of you moved out.

“This is so adorable!” Celestia giggled loudly “Oh, it is so wonderful to see couples that never fall out of love! Oh… what a rare thing to witness!”

“You can learn a thing or two about wooing a princess from this old stallion as well, daughter. Just look at the one I got…” Nightlight grinned broadly and Velvet let out a giggle, her cheeks getting slightly rosy.

Twilight, meanwhile, wanted to die. Or at least lobotomize herself to a degree that it robbed her of any ability to process the surroundings. This had gotten worse than foal-stories and her parents being embarrassing! Now it was in the realm of parental affection! TO EACH OTHER! If this went on, they might imply that her parents were still… how to put in in a way that Twilight would use to express it… unsuccessfully reenacting their attempts to procreate for the sake of personal recreation and relationship building!

“Oh, you old charmer!” Velvet giggled leaning closer to her husband “But he is right, in a way… this stallion here knows how to treat a mare.”

“Well, that was a nice evening, but I think I hear my oven calling! We should really get Spike to bed an-“ Twilight began to babble, her eye twitching violently.

“Love, we are not in Ponyville, your oven is not capable of speech and I think that Spike is old enough to go to bed when he chooses to.” Celestia said with a giggle, leaning closer to Twilight. “Though if you want to change the topic, you could use your father’s advice and maybe invite your princess for a dance…”

Sadly, Princess Celestia did not notice the sudden onset of worry on the faces of her hosts.

Twilight, meanwhile, began to smile. “I would love to! I went dancing with my friends not long ago, and they all agreed when Spike mentioned that it was something everyone had to see at least once in their lives!”

Celestia rose with her lover, and as the next song began, Twilight stretched to rest her head at Celestia’s shoulder and prepared to follow the music together with the mare she loved.
What followed cannot be described with words.
Two minutes after the song had begun, Celestia was rolling around on the ground, laughing loudly and uncontrollably. Her fore-legs were bruised and her left hoof was chipped, while her regalia had several small dents and scrapers.
Twilight Velvet was shaking her head and pushing her hoof into her husband’s mouth so he wouldn’t join the princess in laughter.
And Twilight was completely distraught and close to tears. She had just tried to follow the music and dance with the princess, and yet she had stepped onto her hooves constantly, knocked her over once and almost knocked herself out seven times when she rammed her head and horn into Celestia’s regalia.
What nobody realized was that it was not in fact that Twilight was a downright terrible dancer. It was just that Twilight was so in tune with the Element of Magic, a part of her transcended this realm and was in tune with the cosmos. And whenever she would dance, she would follow the music. The music of the great ancient god Azathoth, who sat at the centre of the universe, playing a maddening flute surrounded thousands of other gods who frantically swayed and spun to its tune. Maybe Twilight would never know that her “wild flailing” was in perfect tact to that tune, and the world would only ever remember her as “Twilight Sparkle: Please stick to saving the world and singing!”

“Ce.. Celestia, I am so sorry!” Twilight sobbed loudly, tears beginning to run down her cheeks.

The laughter ceased instantly, and before anyone could react, Celestia pulled Twilight down to her into a big and tight hug. “Oh, my love, don’t be! I have so many reasons to love you ,and you being a horrible dancer won’t cancel out any of them.”

“But… but I hurt you!” the smaller pony sniffed, nuzzling into Celestia’s coat. “I… I never want to hurt you.”

“It takes more than a spoiled hooficure and a few steps on my legs to hurt me, my love.”

“But I don’t understand it!” Twilight sobbed “Rarity said that my dancing was quite something. And Pinkie was so impressed, she was completely silent. And Rainbow Dash even tried to include my moves into her show, saying that if she could move like that, even the Wonderbolts would be impressed. And Fluttershy called it nice. And Applejack was so in awe, she had her hoof in her mouth for the whole evening!”

“I… can see it right before my eyes…” Celestia noted with all the diplomacy she could muster. She continued to hug Twilight until the unicorn finally calmed down and the two parted.

Twilight shook her head, and suddenly she remembered where she was. Her eyes went to her parents, and her blush grew even deeper. Both had their hooves in front of their mouths, and tried desperately not to giggle like little school fillies.
“My Twily is in love…” Nightlight finally said “How adorable!”

And there was the shame again!

Two more hours of said shame later, the moon had reached its highest point and both couples agreed that it was time to retreat.

“Twilight Velvet, Nightlight, I can hardly express my gratitude for this evening. I had a wonderful time, and I promise that I will do my best to be a good partner for your daughter. Thank you for this evening!” Celestia said from the entry hall, Twilight at her side.

“It was an honour, Princess.” Velvet answered with a smile. “And what could two proud parents want more than their daughter being happy?”

“And if you take half as good care of her as you do of Equestria, we should be thanking you.” Nightlight added.

Twilight let out a chuckle, both glad that she had the absolute support of her parent and that torment would finally be over. She did love her parents, but she preferred them only in small doses.

“Oh, I did remember, I have to talk to the guard for a moment. Those poor souls have been warding us all the time.” Celestia suddenly noted “Be so good as to deliver my best wishes and greetings to Shining Armour and Cadance. Twilight, I’ll wait for you outside.”

Twilight was a bit surprised at the Princess nodding politely and turning to leave. She pushed the confusion aside and went in to hug both her parents tightly. “It was so good to see you both again!” she said happily, feeling her eyes becoming teary. “Thank you for supporting Celestia and me! You two are wonderful!”

“Everything for our favourite filly!” Velvet chuckled.

“You tie with your mom on my scale.” Nightlight added with a wink.

Twilight let go of them and let out a sigh. “But please, one more thing.”

“Anything!” Velvet said gladly.

“Please don’t tell anyone about my relationship with the princess.” Twilight stressed gravely “It… it’s complicated, but we don’t want anyone knowing yet.”

Both parents looked slightly concerned for a moment but nodded.

“You know, just until I graduate. So nopony can claim that I seduced the teacher.” Twilight added, earning a chuckle from Nightlight.

“It’s probably for the better, Twily. This family is already rolling in fame and good fortune. I won two youth book prizes, your brother married a princess and rules a kingdom with her… and your father does stuff.” Velvet said, giving a slight side-glance at her husband.

“Her father does amazing stuff!” Nightlight added with a grin.

All three let out a laugh, and, after another hug, Twilight turned to leave and joined Celestia on the porch of her parent’s house. To her surprise, the guards and the royal coach were gone, and Celestia was looking at the stars with a soft smile on her face.

“A bit for your thoughts?” Twilight asked softly, stepping next to the princess.

“This was the most fun evening I have had in ages.” Celestia answered gently. “I don’t think I’ve had this much enjoyment ever since Spike moved away. I… I don’t get to be myself with others very often.”

Twilight stepped a little closer and rubbed her cheek against Celestia’s shoulder. “You should be more often… *yourself* is an amazing pony. My parents sure think so. And I had no idea you had so many baby stories to share. They had so much fun.”

“It does seem that way…” the alicorn noted gently and gave Twilight a wink. “You are courting a complete cougar-mom.”

“Like the big cat?”

“I’ll explain another time…”

“So… where is the guard?” Twilight asked after a few moments of wondering “I kinda expected them to wait here for us.”

“Oh… I told them to pull the coach back to the castle and project an illusion of us in there.” Celestia explained rising. “I… I do want to end this night on a special note…”

“Hmm? What exactly do you have in mind?” the unicorn asked with careful curiosity. Celestia’s whims were unpredictable to her.

Slowly, the princess of the sun kneeled down next to Twilight and extended her wing down. “Get up and I will show you.”

Twilight blushed. “Erm…”

“Now don’t be shy, dear. How often do you get the chance to hitch a ride on the ruler of Equestria?”

“Does almost tackling Nightmare Moon count?”

“Only if she carried you at least ten meters. Now come on!” Celestia giggled. She quickly ducked down, slipping beneath Twilight’s legs and hoisting her onto her back.

“Wha?” Twilight gasped, trying to reposition herself on top of the princess.

“Now get comfy, my dear. We are taking the scenic route!” The alicorn giggled. Twilight shifted so their barrels were parallel to each other and her forelegs were wrapped around the princess’ neck.

“Didn’t you say that I wasn’t supposed to be on your back yet?” Twilight asked, much too comfortable on the soft back of her lover.

“Oh, Twilight… that was hours ago!” Celestia giggled, beginning to flap her wings.

The pair slowly began to rise. Twilight felt butterflies in her stomach. Not only was she very close to Celestia, she was also going to experience one of the rare occasions of the princess using her wings when she was around. For some reason, Twilight assumed it was because Celestia didn’t want to intimidate her; the princess usually kept her plumes close to her barrel, so it was a rare treat to see Celestia leave the ground. Unless it was when she was busy undoing a really-want-it spell going horribly wrong.
The pair began to rise above the houses around them, and suddenly Celestia began to accelerate forward. Twilight let out a small yelp and tightened her grip. Her cheek pressed against the princess’ neck, the unicorn didn’t dare to look around. The butterflies in her stomach that Celestia’s presence caused were quickly replaced by those reserved for the laws of acceleration. The two were beginning to race across the sky and the cold air was tugging at Twilight’s hair. Sometimes a lock of Celestia’s hair obscured her vision, and she was partially thankful because it was getting rather clear that Twilight did not have the vertigo-resistance that Rainbow Dash had. Trying not to look at the rapidly passing landscape, Twilight instead focused on Celestia’s face… and her eyes went wide.
The Princess had a broad grin on her face broken sometimes by a bit of strain and effort when her wings beat at their hardest.

“She loves flying…” Twilight muttered to herself. “And she is sharing it with me!”

The pair reached the summit of Celestia’s rise, and the princess stiffened one wing to fly a little circle. Finally, she began a softer glide.

Twilight looked down at Canterlot beneath them, the streets like veins of light and the castle brightly towering above them. And yet, it seemed so small and insignificant from up here, where she was alone with her princess.

“I so rarely get to see my kingdom from here…”

Twilight looked up, surprised by the tint of sadness in Celestia’s voice.

“Most of the time it is duty. The rest of the time it is the concern of my protectors… or exhaustion…” Celestia paused, and Twilight felt the alicorn’s chest expand in a deep breath “Or the knowledge that I have nopony to share this view with…”

The unicorn felt her eyes burn a bit, and hugged her princess tighter. “You have now!” she said just loudly enough not to be drowned out by the wind “And it’s almost as beautiful as you are. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

Celestia remained silent ,approaching a nearby cloud and landing atop it. Slowly, she lowered herself to lie down, being very careful to keep Twilight on her back.
For a moment, Twilight considered using her cloudwalking spell to hop off, but that idea quickly lost to the enjoyment that Celestia’s closeness brought.
Celestia gently turned her head and looked into Twilight’s eyes. A blush appeared on the unicorn’s cheeks. The princess had the softest hint of pink on hers, and her big magenta eyes were full of soft affection. She placed the softest of kisses on Twilight’s nose and crossed her horn with the unicorn’s. Slowly, the princess closed her eyes, and Twilight felt the body beneath her relax.

Crossing horns…

Twilight could still remember the last time she had seen Celestia cross horns with a pony besides herself.
It had been with Queen Chrysalis during the changeling invasion, just before the two had fired their magic at each other.
For a second, Twilight was amazed by how such a similar action could mean deep hatred as well as the endless affection that she was feeling in this moment. Then she decided to think about such things at a later date, and simply enjoy Celestia’s closeness.
Twilight didn’t notice the time pass. She just noticed that at some point, Celestia withdrew and placed another kiss on her nose.

“I think we should get back to the castle…” the princess stated calmly, all sadness gone from her voice.

Twilight nodded quickly stealing another kiss. Celestia turned her head straight and got up.

“Twilight?” the princess asked suddenly “Do you trust me?”

“Of course, Celestia!”

“There is something that I want to do… It’s a lot of fun and really exciting, but you have to trust me. I promise, it will be fun.”

Twilight blushed. She was not sure if she was ready for… nah! Celestia knew that Twilight was not yet ready for that. Certainly this was something different, and Twilight should get her mind out of the gutter! “Erm… sure.”

“Then take a deep breath…”

Twilight did so.

“And off you go!”

Suddenly, Celestia extended her wing and moved her body around harshly.

With a yelp, Twilight rolled off the princess and fell through the cloud. For a moment, panic began to overcome her, but just before it could take a hold of her heart, she noticed a soft, golden aura around her body, and the worry dissipated. Seconds later, Celestia materialized beside in front of her, her wings tight against her barrel, so the two could fall towards Equestria together.

The unicorn looked down at the approaching ground, a grin forming on her features. With her fears gone, she could enjoy the adrenaline now pumping through her veins. This was nothing compared to her adventures, of course, but the thrill was intoxicating. It was the closest she would ever come to flying, so she would enjoy it!
Canterlot began to blend out the rest of the world. Celestia disappeared, and Twilight felt the princess come into being beneath her. Quickly, she held tight to the alicorn’s neck.

Celestia opened her wings and began to fight gravity.

The unicorn felt her weight multiplying, as she was pressed into her princess and the rush came to its height.
Seconds later, Celestia had won her struggle, and the proud alicorn was gliding through the sky again.

“Next time tell me if you want to dump me!” Twilight laughed, her body trembling slightly.

“Oh, Twi, I would never drop you right in the middle of Canterlot!” Celestia laughed “So many witnesses!”

“You could just make it legal. No crime where there is no law.” Twilight answered, still riding her adrenalin. She felt Celestia’s barrel quiver with laughter.

“Oh, Twilight, don’t make me laugh while I carry you. I might drop you for real…”

The unicorn sighed hugging her princess tighter as they approached the castle.
A short time later, Celestia landed on her balcony. She entered her bedroom, casually undoing the magic that kept her safe during the night with a golden glow of her horn.

“I think you can get off now, dear…” she said, noticing that Twilight was still holding onto her.

Twilight nodded and quickly slid off the princess, partially glad to have some solid ground beneath her hooves again. “You should be glad that I have gotten used to adrenaline rushes. Imagine what a mess I would be if I hadn’t turned into a regular adventurer.” The unicorn teased, stretching her body.

“You were always brave, Twilight… though I agree that you have grown with your challenges.” Celestia answered.

The unicorn turned serious for a moment. “Why don’t you go flying more often if you love it so much?”

Celestia let out a soft sigh. “Because sometimes, when I see the horizon from above… I feel the temptation to keep on flying and flying until my wings tire and never look back. And then I feel ashamed…”

Twilight offered a soft smile. “You would never give in. You love your little ponies too much for that. And it's amazing that you won’t let go.”

“Admittedly, it’s much easier when I have somepony as amazing as you with me.” The alicorn said with a smile.

“Now I am proud to be your ball and chain!” Twilight giggled, giving Celestia’s leg a quick nuzzle.

The princess ran her hoof slowly through Twilight’s mane in response. “So… shall I teleport you to your quarters?”

Twilight froze for a moment. Sure, why not? Return to…
“Erm… Celestia? I know that we are… erm…” Twilight suddenly said, partially surprising herself. “You know… can I sleep here again?”

Celestia raised her eyebrows, clearly surprised by her lover.

“I mean… I don’t want to sleep with you… yet! Just... stay with you for the night.” Twilight quickly explained “I mean… when you holiday is over, we won’t be able to see each other that often. And… I kinda want to have a sleepover.”

Celestia let out a giggle. “Oh, Twilight, you are so adorable… too brave to let out a single scream when you fall through the sky but now you stammer when you ask your lover to share their bed with you.”

Twilight blushed deeply, but quickly recovered. “Bed? I thought we agreed to sleep on the floor!”

And laughter filled the room until the two lovers went to bed.

*Intermission*
A few hours before, in the biggest and most prestigious mansion in all of Canterlot, several servants were quickly scampering around and mostly away from the private chambers of the one and only Prince Blueblood of the unicorns. One of them was heaving a huge bag of bits reserved for a patient mule currently sitting in the lobby. There was a certain tension in the air. A familiar tension that was usually described as “the master is having one of his moods”. They had gotten less severe in recent times, but the Prince had yet to completely free himself of such episodes.

Currently, said Prince was standing in front of his favourite mirror (every mirror that showed his visage was his favourite), applying the last bits of work that made him usually look amazing. But even his own magnificence could not ease the deep frown on his face.
“Can you believe her nerve?!” He snapped “Comes back with such a ludicrous and clearly manipulated story and then demands to be paid?! I tell you, it is impossible to find decent personnel these days! Impossible!”

“And you are sure that she isn’t telling the truth?” a feminine voice asked from behind him, sometimes interrupted by the sound of a grape being chewed.

“Of course! It is unheard of that aunt Celestia would just disappear unannounced and without warning like that! And then this…” Blueblood forced himself not to spit, and instead levitated his collar over “This mare takes her throne and we are all supposed to just take it?! This is treason all over again! We cannot stand for this! We have to fight her!”

“So you-“

“Yes! I did as you told me!” the stallion fidgeted with his collar. “I sent a formal request, and if she shows up, she forfeits night court, Then we can come in during the daytime with a faked emergency declaration to force her hoof. If she shows up all tired, we can file a motion of no-confidence and force her to release auntie.”

A silence followed wherein Blueblood kept trying to get his collar done right. He was stopped by the other pony clearing her throat, and suddenly froze, realizing what he had done. “Erm…” he muttered, nervousness overcoming him “I didn’t mean to interrupt you. I am just very… stressed. I am worried about auntie and-“

A blue glimmer grabbed his collar and put it into its perfect place with one quick motion.

“There is still no reason to be rude!” the mare behind him said. Blueblood caught a glimpse of her approaching him from behind. “You will find out the truth and set right what has to be set right!”

He nodded. She had a way of… asserting herself when he needed her to.

“They will tremble before us…” She continued, walking up next to him. Her soft, blue coat brushed against his “Before the Prince of all Unicorns and the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Author's Note

And so, the true enemy has been revealed. The puppetmistress that made Blueblood slightly less incompetent than usual. The sinister force that might slightly inconvenience the happiness of our heroes. Can their well-meaning but silly EVUL be controlled?
Next BatPONYtime, Same BatPONYchannel

In all seriousness. Enjoy and comment.
Pre-reading done by His Bunnycatness

Preparing Phase Ten

Author's Note

So... it happened... I finally updated.
Guess it's time to explain what exactly went on in my life and why everyone had to wait so long. Basically: I had a major breakdown. Emotional distress to the max, suicidal thoughts on a constant basis... I needed help.
So I went and got it. Spent a while in a psychological clinic, turned my life back on course, got better treatment. Basically I had the luck and privilege to find the institutions and people that helped me crawl out of the gutter.
And then my Beta Reader had final exams and it took another two months.
Still, here is the chapter, I'll be working on the next soon. It's good to be back
And Please don't write "This Updated?" or "What? Update?" or stuff like that... just... enjoy...

Preparing Phase Ten

It was evening and the pieces of Princess Luna’s grand game were standing at the ready to move into their positions.

Diamond Shadow had adorned herself with a variety of her old spy gadgets: a pair of binocular goggles, a belt with several pouches full of quick-cloud-powder and a headset to keep contact with Luna. The mare was obviously glad that she didn’t have to wear a bodysuit or a night-vision enhancement, as her natural colour would hide her perfectly in the night and her slitted gaze could easily pierce the darkness.

Autumn Galerina had been visited by the royal tailors, who had clad him in an amazing piece of tailoring. A fine tuxedo suit of purest black with pointy, bat-like edges and rims. He had also been given a shirt with generous ruffles and a blood red bowtie. To hide his unnatural appendage and to give him some more authority, they had added a black, one-shouldered cape with red inlay. It also hid yet another communication device so he could call for support if need be. Luna had noted that he looked even more vampiric than his fiancée now, but she had to admit, she loved the design. The tailor knew what the princess who regularly wore a cape made of bats liked.

And finally, there was the Princess of the night herself, clad in her regalia and crown, ready to hold court and support her followers through a communicator, hidden in her mane and crown if need be.
“Very well…” Luna said, nodding firmly “My sister and Twilight are to leave the castle within the next half hour. Blueblood and his entourage should appear not before the next full hour. I will open the night court immediately after this meeting.” She turned to the stallion in front of her “Autumn, I will do my best to be speedy in my proceedings. But even with Moneypenny’s and all other secretaries’ help, I am not sure how quickly we can finish. I trust that you use your skills as a speaker and leader to distract the prince. Don’t forget: You ARE my seneschal and speak with my fullest authority. Use it! Don’t stall with empty phrases and small talk. Demand that he asks his questions to you and answer them as you see fit. Prince Blueblood will not expect an actually competent leader to challenge his empty claims.”

Autumn nodded, a small yet proud smile sneaking onto his face. “Don’t worry, Princess. He isn’t the first, white royal pony I have had to stand up to. I won’t fail you!”

Luna nodded. “I am certain. I have also sent for Blanc Beauregard to oversee the meeting. He is an exceptional night guard. Maybe you should have a talk with him before Blueblood arrives.”

“You got Old Blanc to watch the whole thing?” Diamond Shadow giggled “Poor guy… don’t worry, love, he looks scary, but he’s a huge softie.”

“He has also been a day guard for a long time.” Luna added “His loyalty to Celestia and me is without question. You will meet him in the Blue Corridor in the east wing. Now you should better be off, Autumn. You may want to collect yourself before Blueblood arrives.”

Autumn nodded firmly. He turned to Diamond Shadow to give her a quick peck on the cheek only for her to grab his chin with her hoof and pull him into a big kiss on the lips. She winked at him as he pulled back and he gave a sheepish smile to Luna as he left towards the door.

“You seem glad that I rejected your offer, Agent Shadow.” Luna stated calmly after the door had closed behind the stallion.

“Let’s not talk about that anymore…” The other mare sighed “Being in love is scary enough. I don’t need to be reminded of my own foolishness.” A smirk invaded her features “And the fact that he looks really nice in that suit does help. Shows him off way more than our robes…”

~Rejected what offer?~ Autumn’s voice asked through the communicators and Diamond Shadow’s face went white. ~Did you invite her to dinner? I told you that we can’t have ponies over until I get new silverware! I know that we don’t use it often but it’s just good manners to- ~

“YES, HONEY, I INVITED THE PRINCESS TO DINNER! But you know… professional relationship and all, now be quiet and go humour Blueblood!” Diamond Shadow yelled into her communicator. A shiver went over her as she made sure to switch it off.

“I would agree to an invitation to dinner, Agent Shadow.” Luna offered carefully, her expression somewhere between surprised bemusement and reassuring gentleness.

“He’d love that…” Diamond Shadow answered carefully “but I don’t think that that would be a good idea. I am your guard, and if you start fraternizing with one of us… that would look like we were fishing for favours.”

The moon princess let out a sigh. “I am the absolute co-ruler of Equestria, the princess of the night, and… you know the rest. Every invitation Celestia and I get is about fishing for favours. My sister has simply adopted the strategy of pretending not to notice and allowing her deeds to redeem her from suspicion of corruption. What other headmistress would visit her student’s home to dine with their family?”

“Well… I had my headmaster over several times during my school time…” the bat pony admitted sheepishly.

“Yes, your ability to talk impressionable foals out of their lunch money is on record…” Luna answered with a wink “But as I said: I would not deny an invitation outright.”

A blush began to crawl onto the bat pony’s cheeks and she swallowed. “Erm… I think I should go and get into position, Princess. But I will think about it… Autumn would sure love it. And so would I… but maybe not in our home. It’s… small…” She quickly spread her wings. “I will keep contact, Princess!”

Luna watched her protector fly off, wondering why her employee was so worried about her home.

Diamond Shadow, meanwhile, hoped that she could stall a visit from the princess until their home was adjusted for royal visitors. Princess Luna didn’t need to see that they had installed the pole Autumn bought for her vertically and added a little stage for recreational dancing.

As Diamond Shadow was flying towards the royal chariot yard and Luna prepared mentally for another night of petitions and work, Autumn arrived in the Blue Corridor.The Blue Corridor was a marvel of architecture, as old as Canterlot Castle itself. Celestia had ordered it in memory of Princess Luna, therefore the hall had been decorated with sapphires and lapis. Small quartz crystals on the ceilings simulated a wonderful, starry night and at its end was the Midnight Chamber, a conference room known for a candelabra that had a full, silver moon at its centre. Maybe due to wishful thinking or out of nostalgia, Celestia had insisted that the creators leave out the mare in the moon, even though it was made after Luna’s banishment. The maids had already taken the orders of the ponies announced and left a buffet for them for dinner.

As announced, Blanc Beauregard was standing at the end, waiting without moving. Blanc was a career soldier only a few years short of retirement. The fact that he had few to no visible scars and only a few missing teeth was a testament to his sheer skill. Never one to go for a desk-officer’s career, he had been an honour guard of Celestia for a long time.. Though the change had turned his feathers into stringy leather they were still white as alabaster. His eyes had taken the typical slits of the night guard, though they had remained red, revealing his albinism and betraying the dye on his dark blue mane and tail.Autumn closed in on him, offering an awkward smile. He was not sure how to treat the guards in the castle.

“There you are…” Beauregard said with a smile, opening the door behind him. “Now, let’s talk this through: I had quick briefing with Luna, and I will announce you as ‘Night-Seneschal of Canterlot Castle’. I’ll pronounce it so it sounds like “Knight”. Makes it a bit more intimidating and respectable. Gits like Blueblood need that kind of fluff or they won’t hear a word when you talk. I think it’s better you give me a hooffull of things about you that I can spin a title out of. Trust me, I’ve been announcing ponies for decades now, I know how to-“ He stopped, noticing the complete surprise on Autumn’s face. “What?” the guard asked.

“I don’t know…” Autumn admitted “I just… didn’t expect you’d be so supportive. I mean, I just got the title and-“

Beauregard let out a laugh and shook his head. “When did YOU become so humble?”

“What do you mean?”

“Boy, last time I saw you, you burst into the throne room declaring the end of an era.” Blanc laughed.

“Goodness, you were there?” Autumn asked, old shame bubbling up inside of him.

“Didn’t have these at the time.” Blanc nodded, stretching the digits of his wings and spreading them a bit “But yeah, I was there when you made a complete and utter ass of yourself.” Bemusement danced over his features “But I can’t say that I resent you. You’re a weirdo… but one of the good kind of weirdos. When you come in to kick out the rightful ruler, you humiliate yourself and show the other princess some love. When Blueblood does it, he makes an ass out of himself, incites civil unrest and insults everypony around him. I go with the one who causes less damage.”

“Trust me, losing dignity is my forte…”

“I could say the same thing about myself. I literally got my haunch spanked by Nightmare Moon’s lightning! And now I serve her!”

“If I may ask: Why? Why did you join the lunar guard? I saw how unpleasant the changing process is. And you don’t seem as if-“

“As if I was waiting for pasture?” Banche laughed “I can tell you why: Because Celestia told me that she trusts Luna. Because that is all I need to know that I can trust Luna.” He sighed “And because it allows me to keep on doing what I love doing…”

Autumn tilted his head a bit to the side.

“Look, boy, you might have already noticed, but the “Blanc”-part in my name isn’t because of my shimmering heart. I suffer from albinism. Or better to say: I have always been albino, but I began suffering from it recently. I’ve always had issues with bright light. That’s part of not having any melanin. So I was given mostly night-shifts and nopony complained. But lately, I began having issues with age-related night blindness. And trust me, it's tough being the guard of the most important pony on the planet when you need a cane and an armband with three black dots.”

“But the change gives perfect nightvision.” Autumn added.

“Now you get it! Celestia offered me a pair of eyes that can actually see. And all she asked in exchange was me doing the same thing I have been doing for a long time.” He winked “Only that the colour of the princess has changed.”

“Glad to know that you are on my side…” the other stallion said with a sigh.

“If it’s against Blueblood? Who wouldn’t be? But I stick with the guy who goes steady with my comrade in arms… oh, speaking of… can I ask you a favour?”

“Sure.”

“Two weeks ago, your squeeze-“

“Bride to be!” Autumn interfered, not without pride.

“Congratulations! Anyways, she had these weird portobello biscuits with her and they were amazing! I was wondering if you could write down the recipe for my husband.”

“Do all lunar guards have a home stallion these days?”

“Mares weaken legs!” Blanc replied completely seriously.

“I’m not sure that means what you think it means…”

“I take any excuse to give my husband a good one. Anyways, you write me a note with your full name and a series of accomplishments that I can spin and I will make Blueblood want to go home and cry into his pillow before he even enters the room. Given you write the recipe for those awesome biscuits on the other side.” The guard added.

Autumn smiled. Saved by mushrooms… story of his life.

“Is that really your full name?”
“Never go on a drunk bender with a pony that can legally change your name.”
-

It had been almost an hour of waiting and Autumn had become excessively bored. Every ten minutes, he would ask for a status update on his co-conspirators and every time he got something like “Package wrapped and safe, over” from Diamond Shadow and a “Noble is still whining, over” from Luna. A part of him was wondering if the two had just ditched him and were now having a filly’s night out in the royal spa.
As thoughts of his two favourite mares being massaged by other, equally hot mares crossed his mind, he instantly forced himself to think about hoofball before his fantasies went to places he could not return from.

“Announcing!” Blanc Beauregard declared loudly “Prince Blueblood of Unicornia! Prince of the unicorns! The royal advisor of lawful matters: Marble Inkwell! And the court mage of Unicornia: The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Three unicorns slowly approached the conference table. One was an old sage, burdened with glasses that seemed too heavy for him to keep on his nose and two saddle bags full of tomes and books, and advanced age. His coat was a matte yellow, his mane was black--combed over some balding--and his cutie mark was a square inkwell with the word “LAW” on it.
The second was a rather fetching mare in her best years. She had a sky blue mane with almost silver stripes in it, a brilliant azure coat and a cutie mark showing a moon and a wand. Autumn had never seen this mare before, but something about her spelled trouble.
And between them walked the big white himself! Prince Blueblood, still blond, big and handsome, just like Autumn had him in memory. How could anypony with a compass rose for a cutie mark be this lost?

As soon as Blueblood noticed that none of the princesses were in the room, his eyes narrowed. “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF TH-“ He began to scream, but an even more forceful voice interrupted him.

“Announcing!” Blanc continued “The night seneschal of Equestria, Autumnalis, The Third, Godzilla Galerina! Founder and Leader of the Followers of the New Moon! Co-inventor of the geothermal heating plant! Inventor and sole provider of Equestrian fungus cider! And most recent winner of the annual Canterlot stallion pole dancing contest!”

Autumn felt his chest swell with pride. He had worked his haunch off to get that medal! Much to Diamond Shadow’s pleasure.

“This is unheard off!” Blueblood yelled angrily while his advisor put one of the books on the table and began flipping through the pages. “Who is this traitor? We demanded a meeting with the princess! This is unprecedented! This is absurd! This is-“

“Actually, Prince Blueblood…” Marble Inkwell interrupted carefully “The Princess is clearly in her right to announce a seneschal and have him discuss matters with us. I even find this lad’s family in here. A very old bunch bu-“

“I get it!” Blueblood snorted and approached the table. “Anyways, I hope that Princess Luna is aware of what a spectacle she is making of herself! How can she expect this complete nopony-”

“Well, not nopony.” Inkwell added again. “Seems like they still hold a few old claims. If roughly 712 ponies, 41 donkeys, 12 gryphons, a minotaur and two goats were to spontaneously die, he would be the new prince of the unicorns!”

“Wouldn’t I be king in that case?” Autumn asked, slightly annoyed.

The elderly sage tilted his head slightly. “Hmm… I think you are just creepy enough to get kinghood. Though you look a tad more like a count at the moment…”

Autumn blinked. “What?”

“Have you no education if it comes to royal titles?” Blueblood grunted “Thanks to the ingenuity of my ancestor, the wonderful Princess Platinum, it was declared by law that royal titles are specified by the appearance of the wielder. Dashing males are princes, beautiful maiden are princesses, creepy weirdos are counts and so forth.”

~That is a law?~ Diamond Shadow's voice asked through the earpiece.

~We found it a small compromise when it was Platinum’s last demand before uniting the tribes. Granted, Celestia and I do enjoy our titles. It lets one forget the age…~

Autumn’s eye twitched, and his tentacle moved beneath his cape, slipping over the button of his communicator. It was stuck on send! The other two would be hearing every word that was about to be said in this room. This would get even more humiliating than expected.

“Even if this is somehow valid! The great and powerful Trixie did not put on her best hat and cape to stand before some glorified clerk!” the mare declared and ran a hoof through her mane. “Trixie was promised a chance to talk to Princess Luna and show her Trixie’s amazing feats in diplomacy and organization!”

~This mare is not using the royal Canterlot voice correctly! She sounds like a report from one of Celestia’s old tacticians! He always spoke of himself in the third person.~

“Well, I am here to listen to said ideas and suggestions and offer whatever help I can give before the Princess is done with her other duties and manages to join us here.” Autumn explained calmly. “Surely you will have little problem convincing me to bring those suggestions to her. I am certain to call for her once your wisdom has been revealed.”

~Using their ego, very well done Autumn. I knew you were the one to choose! Agent Shadow, how is my sister doing?~

~From what I can see, she is rolling around on the floor with Twilight’s mother while the dad and Sparkle share a knowing smile. Is that a thing with royalty?~

A satisfied smile crept onto Blueblood’s visage. This commoner seemed to know his place. But the mare beside him narrowed her eyes. “The great and powerful Trixie does not feel safe revealing her secrets to a complete stranger.”

“Both the guards as well as Mister Inkwell can vouch for my authenticity.” Autumn rebutted.

“Trixie is not concerned if you are who you are but about the fact that you might take credit for the work of the great and powerful Trixie!” Trixie stressed indignantly. “Trixie will not reveal her grand designs before anyone but the princess! Nopony here can vouch for your character!”

“Of course not… what is a title these days?” Autumn answered with only a hint of joy.He did, however, take great pleasure in her eyes narrowing. Now he was sure who had masterminded this evening.

“A title! That never changed!” Blueblood answered.

“Very insightful and accurate, my prince.” Inkwell answered eagerly. There was a sincerity in his voice that made Autumn wince internally. So far he could tell that Trixie and the prince were pretty much on the same level of sheer arrogance as well as determination. Marble, on the other hoof, was apparently more in love with titles and his regulations. He could prove as much an asset as a hindrance.

“So, how about we all have a bite to eat before the great discussion?” Autumn offered with a polite smile.

“What a blatant attempt to play for time!” Blueblood sneered. He wrinkled his nose.

“This was supposed to be a dinner over which we talk, and I thought we might as well eat if the esteemed guests refuse to talk.”

“Yes, yes, whatever!” the prince answered, waving his hoof.

Behind him, Blanc produced a bell from under his armour and rang it. Seconds later, two maids appeared and began preparing plates from the buffet.

“I think I know how to put food on a plate.” Autumn muttered. He approached the buffet himself, grabbing a plate in his forehoof.

~There is nothing wrong with getting served food, Autumn.~ Luna whispered.

“Yes, but while I shove things onto my plate I can talk to you.” The stallion answered into his cape as he grabbed a fork with his mouth. “Princess, do you have any suggestions how to deal with this?”

~The letter spoke of Blueblood asking for advice, and now the narrative has completely changed. It seems as if the two are trying to shove you into a defensive position. Also: I think I have heard the voice of this mare before… but I can’t put my hoof on it.~ the princess responded.

“Inkwell?”

~A means to an end. He is a court-known scholar and probably only there so Blueblood can back up any claims.~

Autumn nodded. “Thank you, Princess. I’ll do my best.” Not allowing himself a sigh, the stallion returned to the table. He had to admit this much: Blueblood had rather good table manners. But his lack of tact towards the maids made Autumn cringe a bit. Those mares and stallions did amazing work. Trixie was a bit better in that regard, though she didn’t take off her hat.The dinner tasted amazing, but the constant poisonous stares made it impossible to enjoy. At this point Autumn was wondering how those two could hold that kind of spite with food like this.

“So, are we just going to stare at each other angrily?” Autumn asked after what felt like an eternity of chewing.

“Why would I bother speaking with peasants?” Blueblood spat.

Autumn wanted to reply, but suddenly an idea crawled into his head. “Well, fine…” he said “Mister Inkwell. I was aware of my family’s past, but I’m not what you can call knowledgeable. You seem very well versed in genealogy. Could you tell me a bit about my titles?”

Inkwell’s eyes lit up. “But of course!” he giggled. Seconds later, he produced another book from his saddlebag that seemed to tower over the table. Autumn didn’t even want to consider how the frail stallion could carry it in a bag. “Well, let me see… oh, there they are. Galerina! What a shame that the line stopped recording all this time ago.”

“Yes, the records were purged after… her.”

“A tragedy… anyways, from what I can gather, your current titles are “Minor Gallant of Yaldaur”-“

“Of what?”

“That place doesn’t exist. I think it’s a scribal error. That’s probably why nopony retracted it.”

“I see…”

“Then you hold the right to a full four-poster bed with squirrel-fur curtains.”

“What?”

“Oh, it’s not being enforced, but by law, only nobles are allowed a four-poster bed. Beds were a status symbol back in the days.”

~Oh! Four poles for you to dance on! We should get one!~

~Agent Shadow!~

“And you are the current in line for the position of Hay Staler.” Inkwell ended.

~What is that?~

“You forgot my position as Seneschal.” Autumn added.

“Oh, that is actually a peasant’s title.” Inkwell said with a smile “It can be granted to anypony worthy of the title.”

~Oh? Celestia had that one changed?~

“Speaking of titles…” Autumn continued, an idea grazing his mind. “Trixie, you currently hold the title of court mage?”

“That is correct! Court mage of the unicorns is exactly what the great and powerful Trixie deserves! Trixie has, after all, almost bested the personal student of Princess Celestia!” the mare answered with apparent eagerness.

“It is also an earned title then.” Autumn continued, feigning interest.

“Indeed!” Inkwell answered before Trixie could “Granted by the unicorn royalty, it is a title that is open to whomever the highest noble deems worthy!”

“Ah, yes, Clover the Clever was given that title as well, correct?”

“Very good. She had indeed earned it. Not only was she Starswirl’s prodigy she al-”

“Anyways, we are not here for a history lesson!” Trixie interrupted harshly.

“Certainly not…” Autumn concurred “But what am I to do? I am here to offer advice and support. And if I can’t do that, I thought I could inquire a bit about history and titles…”
Trixie glared. “Fine… Trixie accepts your… authenticity. She will talk to you.”

Autumn nodded and suppressed the urge to do a little victory dance. “So, what irks you, prince?”
“If you must know, pawn, Trixie and your prince were worried about the state of affairs within the school for gifted unicorns.” Trixie explained with a bit of a scowl.
“Yes, Auntie’s pet project…” Blueblood nodded with an air of superiority. “I never understood why anyone would send their treasure there… I was educated in the most expensive private school in all of Trottingham.”

Yes, because you failed spectacularly at the entry exam! We are the same age. I was there! You went before me! You screamed at the dragon egg for ten minutes and then had a hissy fit over your nanny not being able to convince the jury of your creativity!
Autumn thought.
And that school was so expensive because it spends all bits on bribing the teachers to give minor academic titles to idiots like you!

“For as long as Princess Celestia is absent, I see uncertainty in the future of our most valuable foals.” Trixie added grimly.

“Celestia may be the headmistress as well as the teacher for several subjects, but I clearly remember that she always had very capable supplement teachers whenever she had to go on a diplomatic journey.” Autumn answered calmly “During the water crisis in Baltimare, she was gone for over two months, but we never had a single late lesson. I am certain she made precautions. Every foal will get the tutoring they need and deserve.”

“We are not worried about brats doing their homework!” Blueblood sneered. “We worry that the foals will be indoctrinated into anti-sun rhetoric.”

“Anti-Sun?” Autumn deadpanned.

“It might start harmless, but can you possibly imagine what kind of sabotage a group of indoctrinated foals might do?” Inkwell asked carefully.

“Sabotage the sun?” Autumn groaned “That thing in the sky? How can anyone sabotage the sun?”

Inkwell scratched his chin. “If you say it like that it does sound a bit-“

“The great and powerful Trixie will not tell a suspicious pony like you how to sabotage the sun! Trixie certainly knows a way!” Trixie interrupted.

~She is bluffing.~

~Excuse my impudence, Princess, but DUH!~

“Does it involve a big sling and a lot of wet sponges?” Autumn asked while rolling his eyes. “Goodness, with what is on the market right now even the craziest foal could at best launch themselves to Cloudsdale…”

Inkwell scratched his head. “That’s oddly specific…”

“Whatever!” Blueblood sneered. “Just because the brats can’t directly destroy the sun doesn’t mean that their minds won’t be warped by-“

“For goodness sake! Celestia will be gone for a week! You couldn’t brainwash a goldfish in that time!” Autumn groaned. “I am a cult leader! I should know.”

“Goodness!” Inkwell exclaimed “Cult leader? Then we can’t call you a king! Dear Leader! Yes, that would be your title.”

“Not nearly as impressive as Court Mage.” Autumn said, a smile creeping onto his lips “Say… Court Mage isn’t linked to land or any kind of inheritance, is it?”

“Of course not! Beside a minor stipend, it is a typical commoner’s title. Bound only to merit of skill and knowledge!” Inkwell answered.

“Where are you going with this?” Trixie asked with a hint of anger in her voice.

“Nowhere!” Autumn answered completely innocently. “It was just that I don’t remember you from the school for gifted unicorns… I mean, you would have been just a few classes beneath me. Like Twilight Sparkle was.”

A hint of paleness entered Trixie’s cheeks. “Trixie had an extensive education in the great and powerful school of life! I did not need petty schoolwork to become the mare I am today!”

“Oh, I would never doubt the merit of practical and diverse experience! I was just wondering how these titles are granted these days…”

“Oh, Prince Blueblood himself granted this charming filly her title.” Inkwell explained, completely overlooking Trixie’s hoof-sign to stop.

“She has earned it more than any other mare I could imagine!” Blueblood added proudly, equally ignorant.

“Good that it went to such a deserving young mare…” Autumn almost hummed “Some ponies might see it as some kind of stepping sto-“

“INKWELL, you are excused!” Trixie suddenly interrupted.

The elderly pony looked up in surprise. “But-“

“You will receive your full payment for your services, but it’s clear that we will not need any juristic or genealogic advice for the evening. Have a nice evening!” Trixie stressed, much to the surprise of the smaller stallion.

After a few moments of wondering, Inkwell fetched his books and left. Halfway out, Autunm quickly turned to Blanc. “Could you help him? And give us some time…”
Blanc nodded and took the elderly pony’s saddle bags.

“What a useful title to give to his marefriend.” Autumn noted as both other ponies were outside “Have her around until the other higher ups get used to her and suddenly there is no scandal when you go steady with a commoner, right?”

“Who told you that?” Blueblood exploded, both of his forehooves on the table.

“You just told him, my prince…” Trixie groaned.

~Autumn, I want you so much right now!~

~AGENT SHADOW! ~

“What? I would never tell anyone about us!” Blueblood stressed “Especially not some stranger like that!”

“I will explain it later…” Trixie groaned and turned to Autumn “That was extremely underhoofed!”

“That? Underhoofed? You sent a mule ninja after me! A NINJA!”

“Granted, Prince Blueblood let his passion get the better of-“

“NINJA!”

“Oh, please! Who hasn’t been bound and gagged these days?” Blueblood shrugged.

“It’s not exactly my kind of kink!” Autumn hissed.

~Oh goodness, no! Yours is way more fun!~

~Don’t you have a couple to stake out, Agent Shadow?~

~They are sitting in the living room and talking! Listening to my future hubby being amazing is the only thing that keeps me from falling off this cloud in boredom.~

“Fine, fine, the Ninja was a bit much. But you can’t deny that Celestia’s disappearance is extremely suspicious.” Trixie said “A vacation out of nowhere, and no contact with the outside world?”

“It wouldn’t be much of a vacation if she had to deal with all the nobles she has to deal with during her working hours, now would it?”

“Without a warning?”

“So the changelings have time to prepare a potential attack?”

~Nice one, honey! You can really look forward to when I come ba- No, wait! Package is moving. Package- No! Wait Package is wrapped but empty! Box is empty, bow is fancy!~

~Autumn, you have to keep them busy until the carriage is back. If they see an illusion come home, they will have every right to assume the worst!~

Both Trixie and Blueblood glared. “Very well, you have your story and you’re sticking to it.” Trixie said. “We are obviously wasting our time here.”

Autumn’s eyes went wide. “So… how did you meet?” he asked with a smile “You know… Must have been very interesting for royalty and the lower classes to come together!“

Trixie was about to put all her sarcasm into the answer, but Blueblood sighed dreamily “It was a night of pure glory! There I was, travelling to the meeting between Equestria and Sattle Arabia. I had prepared a speech about the ‘18 Hole War’-”

“You mean the one that they lost?”

“Indeed. Anyways, I was on my way, when suddenly, my guards seemed to vanish and a group of ruffians attacked me. Cowards as they were, they struck from behind, put a stinking bag over my head, slapped an inhibitor on my horn and left me bound in a ditch.”

~The guard calls it Protocol BB. They have become very- OH CRAP! Present incoming! Cutting com!”~

~Agent Shadow! What is going on?~

~They are landing on my cloud! Over and out.~

“So there I was! Bound! Gagged! Helpless! All alone in the world!” Blueblood continued dreamily. “And then she came! My heroine! My… erm… the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
Autumn had to suppress a giggle as Trixie actually blushed.

“Indeed, as if to reward me for my humility and kindness, Trixie found her prince bound and helpless when she ran… erm… retreated from the show for the Saddle Arabian delegation.” She looked over to Blueblood. “I found him in the ditch, unbound him, and at once knew that I had found a treasure.”

“And I rewarded my saviour with a title suited for her greatness and powerfulness--and, at some point, my affection.” The prince continued. Finally, his features hardened “So what do you want?”

“What?” Autumn asked.

“Until a certain time has passed, it would be highly problematic for our secret to see the light of day. I am ready to be… generous…” Blueblood stressed.

~They breed the good out of them! And are we that cheesy? Autumn, hit me if we ever get this cheesy!~

~I agree and you are, Agent Shadow! Did you escape my sister?~

~Ditched the cloud and am repositioning. Those two are too busy with each other to notice. Goodness, the sweet-talk!~

“Look, Blueblood, I don’t want anything from you! I just want you to give Princess Luna a chance! Stop your petty attacks and you will see that Princess Celestia will return as soon as the week ends.” Autumn stressed angrily. “And this is not a bribe! I’m not gonna tell your noble friends about your affair! Who do you think I am?”

“A weirdo cultist who looks like a vampire!”

“Point taken. But I’m not going to mess up your love for some… I don’t know. Petty politics. There isn’t anything in it for me. You don’t have anything I could want!”

Blueblood glared. “I am a prince!”

“Did this seriously just hurt your ego?”

The prince gave an indignant snort.

“Whatever. Your secret is safe with me. Just don’t send any more ninjas!”

~My servants just informed me that the carriage has arrived. You can release them, Autumn. I will talk to you two in the morning. Thank you for your amazing work! Your princess is very proud! Luna out!~

Autumn let out a sigh. “Fine. I think we have said everything there is to say. You can look forward to explaining all this mess to Celestia when she comes back…”

“Auntie will understand that I do all this out of love!” Blueblood announced loudly, turning to go.

“Erm… Miss The Great and Powerful Trixie, could I talk to you for a moment?” Autumn asked suddenly.

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Darling, give me a second…”

Blueblood nodded and left the room.

“You’re not a gold digger. Godhood isn’t worth this treatment. How in Luna’s name do you handle this guy?” Autumn groaned.

Trixie gave him another glare. “He means it!” she hissed.

“What?”

“He does this because he is seriously worried about his aunt!” Trixie said in a strained voice “He cares! He cares deeply! He thinks he is a beacon of virtue and role-model! And that he has to act like that because of it. But nobody ever told him the truth. Nopony ever told him how much of a twit he can be. But you know what? Trixie once did. Trixie once told him that he was hurting ponies. And he was devastated! He couldn’t look in the mirror for a whole day! That’s like a week for Trixie… and two weeks for the average pony! But that’s beside the point! Trixie happens to like him! Trixie was lost in in her own ego too and Trixie knows that one can change!”

Autumn sighed. He really wasn’t the best pony to criticise anypony’s love life. “So, where did you actually go to school?”

“The Ecole Gaullier Prance!” Trixie answered proudly

“Wait! That’s a clown school!”

“I WAS IN THE MAGICIAN COURSES!” The mare yelled, rushing to leave as well

Autumn sighed in relief, at last allowing himself to slouch a little..

~You did amazing, love!~

Autumn bit his lip. “I’m sorry…” he muttered.

~What?~

“I never told you… I know that you hate nobility, but I never told you that I was one of them. I knew that we had still-”

~Have you BUCKING LOST IT?~

Autumn flinched as the yell rang through his ear. Diamond Shadow was past pushing the volume of the speaker.

~I hate nobles for what they do! For being terrible to ponies! If you are one, you are proof that there might be a chance for them to end up good ponies! DON’T EVER BE ASHAMED OF WHERE YOU COME FROM EVER AGAIN!~

The stallion flinched again “Yes, love…”

~And by the way: You’re gonna get so much flank when I’m back! Go to bed and wait in position 4!~

“YAY! Position 4!”

Phase One

Spike takes care of the library during the early hours and of Owlowiscious. Rarity brings Spike a few gemstones each day. And Owlowiscious takes care of the library during the night.

Twilight ticked her mental checklist off and returned her attention to the ride. Two Pegasus guards were pulling a beautiful carriage with her inside. She had left Ponyville in the late afternoon and was almost in Canterlot now.

After a few moments of watching the city seemingly grow taller in front of her, she turned to her saddlebags and took out the letter. Spike had surprised her with it in the morning. Once again she read through it:

My most faithful Student
I hereby invite you to join me in Canterlot castle for a few days. Due to an unforeseen circumstance, I will have a few days without royal duty and would enjoy the presence of my most faithful student.
Yours
Princess Celestia of Equestria

It was short, to the point and completely worrying. Twilight had instantly torn books off the walls, just like she always did in a crisis. Or when she was relieved… or bored, happy, undecided, drunk or in any other state of mind. Her research showed that nothing had ever stopped Princess Celestia from following her duties. Well, besides the return of ultimate evil in either the form of her sister or Discord.

Twilight swallowed and tried not to think about what exactly was going on in the castle. She would see it soon enough.

The unicorn arrived after another twenty minutes of worrying, trying to ignore the worry and a small fight against a fit of panic. The guards pulling the cart had remained as stoic as usual, but she was sure that they would talk about her in the break room.

As the carriage circled the castle and headed towards the gardens, Twilight could see the white form of her beloved mentor, expecting her in front of the castle’s garden doors. She could also see Princess Luna standing next to her sister. And she could see something out of the ordinary that scared her a little!

The carriage landed and stopped. Twilight leapt out and headed for the princesses, completely disregarding any kind of procedure. Luna suppressed a light giggle and whispered to her sister. “I told you she would be worried. You should have explained yourself, sister!”

Celestia sighed slightly, but gave Twilight a big smile.

“My dear Twilight! My most faithful student! It is so wonderful to see you again!” announced the princess of the sun.

Twilight stopped dead in her tracks and stared at Celestia’s face. A huge pair of shaded hid the eyes of the alicorn.

“Princess… why… why are you wearing sunglasses?” the unicorn asked after a moment of awkwardness.
“I will explain it to you inside, Twilight.” Celestia answered, earning a laugh from Luna.

“It is good to see thee again, Twilight. We have missed thou!” greeted the princess of the moon “Especially Tia!” she added with a wink.

The sunglasses hid the glare Celestia shot to her sister. Twilight followed the two rulers quietly and confused. She had never seen the princess wear sunglasses. What was wrong?

Luna quickly excused herself to some duties, so Twilight and her mentor walked alone and currently in silence. The unicorn quickly realized that they were heading towards the wing where her old room was located. While her curiosity didn’t stop to gnaw on her, she kept silent and waited for the princess to explain the reason for the new fashion choice. Was Celestia trying to take a page out of Rainbow Dash’s book?

Still in thought, Twilight was surprised how quickly they reached her old quarters. Still without a word, the princess entered with the unicorn following closely.

“Twilight!” Celestia said seriously “I am an old pony! I do not indulge in hyperbole! You ARE the pony, I trust most in this world, besides Luna. I expect that everything that happens inside this room will remain inside this room!”

The unicorn swallowed and nodded. She knew that she could not betray the princess, even if her life depended on it. “What happened…? Princess?” she asked carefully, feeling her eyes burn a little.

Celestia turned towards Twilight and levitated the sunglasses away.

Twilight let out a gasp of shock.

Celestia’s right eye was... red. Not the iris, though, but the eyeball itself was blood red, with only the magenta circle and her pupil in the usual color.

“Princess! What? Are you possessed? Is this some kind of curse? What happened?” Twilight blurted.

Celestia sighed and gave Twilight a wry smile. “When you bruise your eye, it looks like this…” she explained “Yesterday evening, after showering. I had shampoo in my eyes and I walked into a statue…”

Twilight started to shiver.

“You may laugh now…”
And so she did. All tension fell off the unicorn as she roared with laughter. Celestia couldn’t help but join in herself. It was a bit funny.

“I’m sorry, princess!” Twilight quickly said, after the laughing slowly ebbed out “But I was so worried and…”

“It’s fine, Twilight.” Celestia interrupted “I did not want to worry you by saying that I hurt myself, but apparently I worried you even more with saying nothing.”

“But what does this have to do with your duties?” Twilight asked.

“It seems as if there is no way to heal this little… problem with magical means.” Celestia explained “And you saw how you reacted. How do you expect nobility to react to me looking like a…” Celestia tried to think of a word.

“Zombie Pony?” Twilight offered.

“Exactly!” The princess giggled “Hiding it would only raise suspicion. So Luna insisted on taking over my duties until my eye is completely healed. My staff knows what happened and I deserve a break, if you ask them. So, I wondered what I should do with the free time and honestly, I wanted to spend some time with you, Twilight!”

The unicorn felt her face grow hot. The princess was having her first holiday in Discord knows how long and she wanted to spend the time with her! It was a dream come true!

“Princess, I would be so happy to…” Twilight started, but her own tears interrupted her, “Sorry…” she muttered, wiping her eyes “From worry to happy too quickly.”

“Oh, Twilight…” Celestia smiled and moved closer “You can be so adorable.”

The princess nuzzled her student gently, producing a huge smile on Twilight’s face.

“How about we go to my room for the time being?” she asked

“You don’t like it here?”

“Twilight, the furniture is too small for me.”

“Oh! Of course!”

-

After a short walk, the two mares had settled down in Celestia’s private quarters. Roomy, comfy and familiar. Twilight had been in here a few times during her lessons. The room was fitting for a pony of Celestia’s caliber, which meant that the furniture was huge.
Only the huge chessboard with figures of all international leaders and important people that many people imagined to be here was missing. True tyrants do not need this sort of crutches!

The princess herself had taken place on a nice and cozy carpet with a huge pillow-roll next to her.

Twilight was lying in front of her on an equally cozy rug. Drinks and some snacks were provided by a servant who gave Twilight a very deep bow. He could apparently remember the celebration after Discords defeat.

The two had a lot to catch up on and their conversation grazed magical spells, friendship and their common friends.
Twilight was in heaven. She had missed the conversations with her mentor, the approving smile and Celestia’s gentle demeanor. There were few moments when the unicorn felt as relaxed and happy as she did with Celestia present.

There was only one detail that irked her.

“Princess…” she interrupted Celestia suddenly “You don’t have to hide it.”

“What?” the princess asked disarmed.

“The eye. You are trying to hide it by squinting, tilting your head and with your hair.” Twilight explained “You don’t have to hide it from me… really.”

Celestia flushed very slightly. “I am not exactly used to…”

“Not being perfect?”

“Twilight, I am not delusional. I am not perfect in any way. Just… I guess I have become a little vain over the last century. Without Luna around, I got much more attention and I didn’t want to disappoint anypony.”

Twilight couldn’t help but giggle slightly. “The great princess of Equestria, raiser of sun and moon for a millennium, worried not to look the part?” she asked gently “That is something that will show up in no history book.”

“Are you making fun of royalty?” Celestia asked with an aura of fake shock.

“I guess I am…”

“Good!”

“Good?”

“Twilight, you are hardly just my student anymore. You have become more like a very dear friend. Sure, I will teach you whatever I might know, but ever since you have moved to Ponyville, you have taught me so much with your reports. And you gave me back my sister!” Celestia stressed with a smile.

Twilight followed the way of the chameleon and responded by taking on the color of the pillows behind her. A very nice crimson.

“Speaking of Luna… she wanted us to *inspect* her night tonight.” Celestia added.

“Inspect?” Twilight asked skeptically.

“Inspect… show it off… you are the judge.” Celestia winked back.

“She does seem a bit off… why is she so… overly eager?” Twilight probed.

“I have no idea.”

Twilight let it at this and got up. Celestia followed and levitated the carpet with her.

“Could you be a dear and fetch the tea pot?” the princess asked on the way out “I have some mugs ready.”

“Sure.” Twilight answered, getting the object, together with a candle and a contraption to keep the tea hot.

Celestia was already sitting on the carpet outside, two mugs in front of her.

Twilight almost dropped the tea pot. Her mug said “#1 Student”.

“I saw a mug like this in one of the guard’s rooms and thought them to be fun. I got Luna a “Cutest Sister imaginable” one!”

*Twilight’s imagination*

Luna: “WE THANK THEE, SISTER! THE SWEETNESS OF OUR VOICE WILL ELEVATE OUR CUTENESS AND WE SHALL FIT THE PROMISE EMBOSSED ON THIS WONDERFUL CONTAINER! NOW LET US THANK THEE IN THE TRADITIONAL, EIGHT HOUR TEA CEREMONY! SERVANTS, PREPARE THE NEW PORCELAN AND THE SLAVE-SACRIFICES!”

“Why are you snickering, Twilight?”

“Nothing, Princess!”

Twilight was about to sit down, when a small gust of wind hit her. Not expecting how cold it had already become, the unicorn shivered for a second.

“Oh are you cold?” the princess asked immediately “I have an old scarf inside. Take a seat, while I get it for you.”

“Princess, you don’t have to…” “I am not invalid, my dear pupil. And fetching you a scarf is not below a princess. I get health care for all my subjects, so I can fetch you a scarf.” Celestia interrupted Twilight and gave her a wink as she entered the chambers.

The lavender mare looked after the monarch and turned around. Her eyes caught Celestia’s mug. It was a similar model to hers, but as blank as Scootaloo’s flank.

*Time to earn you a cutie mark…* the unicorn grinned and focused her magic.

A small rectangle of magical ink appeared on the side of the mug. Twilight quickly moved and wrote, before she let it disappear. With a smile, she turned around.

Meanwhile, Celestia had found the yellow and orange scarf and finally returned. The princess sat down next to Twilight and moved the scarf around her neck, gently tugging it steady.

Twilight looked up thankfully and poured them some tea, while the princess took place next to her pupil. Twilight floated the mug over to Celestia andjust as the princess wanted to take hold of it, she turned it quickly.

Celestia let out a small gasp, as she read “Worlds best Princess”.

“I might have to hide this from Luna…” Celestia said softly.

“As much as I like Luna, you are my favorite.” Twilight said very softly and moved a bit closer “She has Pipsqueak and her cultists.”

“And I have you? That seems a little unfair. Luna might get terribly envious.”

“Oh, let her be…” Twilight said and nudged the princess ever so gently.

Celestia looked over to her student. “I mean Nightmare Moon levels of jealousy.” She said with a wink.

Twilight felt her cheeks warm up. And it was not the tea. “I beat her once, bring her again!” she answered. “And please don’t praise me so openly… You are spoiling me, princess.”

“I have to concentrate my praise to the times we meet Twilight. Letters are much too easily misunderstood. Your earlier exploit show that.”

“I’m sorry, Princess.”

“Don’t be… and Twilight, do me one favor.”

“Anything!”

“Just call me by my name when we are alone. Luna is the only pony who calls me Celestia. And sometimes I miss being addressed casually.”

Twilight looked up in surprise. Luna would probably faint, if she heard this complete violation of protocol. “You mean just Celestia?”

“Without the just”

Twilight swallowed again. “If you want so, Ce… Celestia.” The word almost remained in her throat. It was weird to say the least. Ever since she was a little filly, the princess had been a titanic figure. A goddess so far out of reach and above her, she had been looking at her in awe, whenever she saw her, even from afar. And now she was calling her by her name. Like… like friends! A surge of electricity ran over her spine, making the unicorn shiver.
Twilight thanked her body for this unexpected response. The princess had apparently misread it and slowly extended her wing to warm the smaller pony.

If there was one thing about Pegasi that Twilight envied (besides the flying part), it was their ability to embrace with their wings. Whoever had the pleasure of being engulfed would be treated to a tickling allegretto of harder pinion feathers brushing over ones coat. The slight shift that followed was almost like a light massage or a grooming. And finally there were the downs… OH CELESTIA, THE DOWNS! Forget pillows or clouds! A well kept Pegasus had the softest thing in Equestria right on their wings.
No wonder that some burnt out pegasi sometimes sold them to shady pillow-producers during their moult.
Twilight let out a deep sigh and almost dropped her mug. The princess of the sun had the best kept wings in Equestria. She had learned wing keeping from a phoenix after all.

The unicorn shivered again and snuck yet again a little closer. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt brave tonight. There had been moments when she wanted to just let it all out and snuggle up to her mentor, but tonight the voice that told her that that would only lead to awkwardness was much more silent. Twilight felt strong tonight, she felt brave, she felt… tipsy.

Neither of the ponies had realized it, but both had been drinking a lot of Celestia’s tea for the extended evening. Long ago, Celestia had asked her servants to spice her tea with a generous shot of “Captain YARRR’s Special Spiced Rum”. This had been so for about 360 years. The alicorn’s sheer size and metabolism rendered her extremely resistant to intoxication, so she never felt any effect, besides a nice sting in the flavor. Twilight on the other hand was neither an alicorn, nor was she very good a holding her liquor. Even Ponyville’s cider season had not changed that. While not being outright drunk, the pony would not be allowed to drive or pull a carriage at the moment.

“And there is Canis Minor…” Celestia said quietly while looking upwards “Now… what was it Luna wanted to show me?”
Twilight suddenly remembered their agenda for the night and followed her mentor’s example. There was indeed Canis Minor and a whole heaven full of stars. Usually, Twilight would have started looking for unusual details or added stars, but she had already seen what was odd. The stars were brighter than usual. They had to be… why else would the princess be as radiant as she looked right now.

A lock of multicolored hair had covered her bruised eye and with the last flaw hidden, the beautiful alicorn quickly dominated Twilight’s attention.

“Oh, I see it now!” Celestia suddenly said, a smile creeping on her face “Wonderful idea sister! That completes it! What a beautiful night, indeed!”

“Not as beautiful as you… princess. Not as beautiful as you, Celestia.” A very happy unicorn mumbled, the sky forgotten. Twilight looked at Celestia for a long time, enjoying the eternal beauty of her favorite princess. Yet again, she felt a surge of courage. Carefully, the unicorn pressed her form against the princess. Shivers ran over her as she felt the full warmth of the god-pony besides her. With a happy smile on her face, Twilight leaned against her friend, her head resting on Celestia’s regalia.

-Maybe things will be a bit awkward… maybe she will ask me to give her space… maybe she will tell me to go to my room- went through the unicorns mind.

Meanwhile Celestia’s thoughts were somewhere else. How long had it been since she was given a good cuddle by someone else than Luna? Her rank as supreme ruler and basic protocol had robbed her of any opportunity to simply get a hug, enjoy another pony’s warmth and care. Things got even worse when Twilight had entered her life. Soon after taking in the eager filly, she had learned to enjoy her presence and not long after she had run into a terrible dilemma. Celestia was old. She had witnessed several changes in pony society, behavior and manners. And she was not sure how much closeness would be appropriate towards her student. Always worrying to engage Twilight physically, worried to be too open or worse, to sate her need for closeness on the young filly. But now, as her student, no, her friend was cuddling up against her. The alicorn felt her ancient heart flutter.

Meanwhile Twilight’s very lively imagination went on and on, passing over Celestia banning her from Equestria to a very detailed execution. Just when the sheer terror was about to make her tense away, Twilight felt movement in the Princess’ neck. Before she could move, Celestia’s head had circled hers and muzzled her. The thoughts disappeared as quickly as they had appeared and the unicorn relaxed.

Both ponies remained in each other’s embrace for a long while, the night sky forgotten.

*Meanwhile at the other end of the castle*

Luna lowered the binoculars slowly, a broad grin on her face.

“Phase one complete!” she announced.

Preparing Phase Seven

“So, it is no longer considered romantic to hire a professional bard to serenade for your beloved, but rather to play for her yourself, even if one might lack the high skill level a professional musician might display?” Luna asked, highly intrigued. The last few hours had consisted of Autumn painting a very broad picture of ways to woo a mare and several of those had earned more questions from her, all while she took notes like a school filly would do. They sat around a table with several beverages, most of them high in caffeine.

“It is romantic if a professional sings or plays in the background, but it’s the combination of displaying your skills AND expressing them solely for your love. It's not so much about having high skill as it is about doing things for her and her alone.” The stallion answered patiently, yet clearly tired. He had been leaning on his hoof most of the time and sometimes his eyes shut for a short time. “That applies to most arts. As an example: I often cooked for Diamond Shadow.”

“I see.” The moon princess pondered. “So, to give an example: It would be more romantic if a gardener mowed the lawn in front of his lover's house, rather than buying her flowers?”

“No, Princess. It would be romantic if he grew flowers for her. Displaying low skill level is okay, but showing none at all usually makes it worse. And it also helps if both enjoy the subject. If I started serenading Diamond Shadow on a tuba, she would probably stuff me into the opening... the small one.”

Luna let out a sigh. “This seems so... retro.”

“What?”

“It’s just like it was before concept of nobility and generalized etiquette was created.” Luna explained “Relationships have apparently returned to being a very individualistic and personal thing, instead of something representing standing and family.”

“How retro are we talking?” the stallion asked carefully.

“Ponies already had written language, but not yet a centralized currency. “ the moon princess explained after some thinking “Back then, Celestia and I enjoyed a bit of a wild phase and just appeared before other ponies from time to time as guidance.” A soft smile crept onto her face “Most of the time, we would explore the world, seek out new places and wherever we went, we were worshipped.”

“Erm... princess?”

“Yes?”

“May I ask a very inappropriate question?” Autumn asked very, very carefully.

Luna simply cocked her head a little.

“How long have you and Celestia been around?” the stallion asked.

The alicorn let out a laugh. “At least you know that it’s inappropriate to ask for a mare’s age. But I will be generous: I do not know.”

“Hmm?” the stallion’s eyebrow rose.

“I am serious: I do not know because it took a while before the pegasi came up with a calendar, and the first one they made was different from the one used today. We travelled the world often and for long durations of time, so even if I had bothered to count the days, I would be off by decades or centuries.”

The cultist looked at Luna for a short while. “WOW!” he finally admitted “Compared to you I basically have the life expectancy of a... blood cell!”

Luna gave him a pressed smile.

“Back to our plan! I am not getting any younger!” Autumn stressed and took a swing of cold coffee. “Now that we have established how romance is seen nowadays.” *Have very excessively and boringly established how it is seen nowadays* he added mentally. “Now we can analyse if our target, Twilight, truly has feelings for the enemy... erm, Celestia!”

“You still won’t let go of the grudge, Autumn?” Luna asked with a sigh.

“No, entirely new reasons!” the stallion defended. “She humiliated me in front of Twilight and Diamond Shadow!”

The Moon Princess’ eyebrows rose. “When?”

“Earlier today. Sparkle suddenly dropped into my bed and-“

“WAIT!” Luna interrupted “She has seen you? They KNOW that you are here?”

“Yes.”

“How? What do they think, you are doing here?”

“You see, I was sleeping and had this really weird dream. A shriek woke me up and Sparkle was in my bed. At first, I thought she was a changeling and I tried to fight her, but then Celestia showed up and made fun of me-“

“Are you sure that it wasn’t a dream?” Luna interrupted “Celestia mocking you is a central motive of several dreams, you have.”

“No, princess, I am sure that it was real, because then Diamond Shadow showed up and Sparkle wanted to dissect me.”

“Are you really sure that it wasn’t a dream?”

“Yes, because then Diamond defended me by telling them that I am supposed to help you out and the two left and Diamond and I...” the stallion quickly caught himself “Kissed and made up.”

“BY THE TIDES!” the moon princess almost yelled, sending the stallion onto his haunches “This is NOT good!”

“I am sorry, princess, she just appeared in my bed!”

“I believe that it is not your fault. But it does mean that I have to give you a more... observable and public role for the time being.” Luna pondered “Twilight is a very smart and insightful pony. Our plans are foiled if she smells conspiracy!”

“So, what can I do?” Autumn asked carefully.

“Leave this to me, Autumn.” The alicorn answered after a sigh, she turned and spoke while walking a bit “You are a versatile pony and it should be easy to give you a believable position in the palace. We managed to take care of one mistake, we shall not falter in the face of misfortune. Right?”

No answer came.

Luna turned to see a broadly smiling stallion. “You think I’m versatile?” he asked dreamily.

The moon princess sighed. “Are you going to fawn over every single compliment I give you?”

“Yes!”

Quietly, Luna began to rub the spot right below her horn. “We should move on! You get your new orders tomorrow.” she decided “Now I want your opinion on the relationship between the two. As a pony that knows present etiquette and behaviour better than me, and grew up in the same environment as Twilight, you can certainly give me more detailed insights! Please have a look.”

A clipboard appeared before the stallion.

“You made a list?” he asked incredulously.

“Certainty can only be gained through careful observation!” Luna stressed. “I did help introduce the scientific method after all!”

Autumn nodded and took the clipboard with his hoof. “Let’s take a look…” he said and yawned once. “Smiles whenever they share a room… idolizes her… looks up to her with a gentle and dreamy look…” his tentacle snaked out from under his scarf and flipped the page. “Goodness…”

There was a knock on the door.

“Come in!” Luna called out and the door opened, revealing an unarmored Diamond Shadow, who was carrying a pair of saddle bags and a tired look.

“Are you still working, Princess?” she asked with a bit of surprise. “It’s almost 3AM.”

“Oh? There goes the time when one is hearing new things.” The alicorn wondered loudly and took her notes. “Did you come to a conclusion, Autumn?”

“She certainly seems smitten, if the data is cohesive! But why is there a whole page on her dreams?” the stallion asked suddenly.

Quickly, Luna grabbed the clipboard. “Excuse me! I forgot to remove this page. You were not supposed to read about Twilight’s dreams.”

“No! How do you know so much about her dreams?” he asked, still quite surprised. His tired mind gave him a kick. “Speaking of, how do you know so much about MY dreams! I never told anyone about the dreams where Celestia humiliates me!”

Diamond Shadow’s eyebrows rose. “That is a good question. You didn’t even tell me that you had those.”

“It would be good if you shared those emotions, Autumn.” Luna suggested “It is not healthy to keep these things pent up. Especially the one where Celestia locks you into a box with only your head sticking out, magically removes your tentacle, ties it into a ring and plays ring-toss onto your horn, while little fillies dance around you, singing mocking songs.”

“STOP!” Autumn wailed “How do you know all that? I never told anyone about that!”

“I am the princess of the night.” Luna said calmly “I rule over the both the waking and the sleeping night. I am the ferrymare of dreams and…”

“WAIT!” the stallion cut in “You see what we dream?”

“Basically, yes.” The night princess answered and instantly regretted her honesty. Always the same reaction when she told ponies in the waking world.

“Autumn, stop it… your tentacle is not strong enough to strangle yourself with.” She said in a deadpan voice “And agent Shadow, you cyanide tooth was removed when you ended your active service. You are chomping onto a perfectly harmless implant. There is no reason to be ashamed! I shall not judge you for what your subconscious lets you see at night.” The moon princess sighed yet again “Ponies hardly ever react positive to this reveal, but I did not expect you, Agent Shadow to abuse your poison tooth.”

Diamond Shadow groaned and gave up on the suicide. “The tooth hasn’t been lethal ever since I told Autumn, I was secret service. He kept replacing the cyanide with Tic Tacs.”

Luna’s eyes went wide. “How?”

“She has a very deep slumber…” Autumn answered also blushing and looking away.

“No, how did you find out?”

“Whenever he did, he spent a good part of his allowance on the toxic waste service.” The Pegasus answered.

“HEY, I’m not losing the mare of my life to you biting onto a peach seed or something!” the stallion defended himself.

“And I told you that I got a harmless one the first time! You cost me 4 replacements!”

“Well, if you let me make you a tooth regrowing potion, we could have avoided that!”

“You don’t have a license for that! And I am not drinking your potions!”

“You eat my food!”

“Your food does not alter my body!”

Autumn remained silent.

Diamond Shadows serpent-eyes narrowed. “You BETTER not be thinking-“ she growled coldly.

“I did not think a thing!”

“As usual!”

“What is that sup-“ ” You LIVE together” Luna interrupted loudly “You SLEEP together?”

The guard cocked her head to the side. “Of course! We have been a couple for years now.”

Meanwhile, the stallion hid behind his hoofs, expecting divine punishment at any second.

But the princess simply cleared her throat and fought a blush that crept onto her features. “It is not up to me to tell ponies how to live their lives, Autumn, but I think you accepted responsibility and proposed.”

“Oh, he did.” Diamond Shadow answered briefly. “I just said no.”

“WHAT?” Luna exclaimed “But… but… I don’t want to meddle in your private live, but you two seem so happy with each other. And why are you still a couple if you don’t want to marry?”

Again, the Pegasus sighed and walked closer to her lover. “Princess, I want to spend my life with this wonderful idiot here.” She said gently and put a wing over his withers. “But I don’t want to marry! Nopony and AT ALL! I don’t like the idea of being called a *wife*! I don’t like how everybody expects you to suddenly pop out foals like a sweets suspender and I certainly don’t like how some ponies give you stares, just because I happen to earn the bits and Autumn takes care of the house!”

The stallion nodded crestfallen and leaned into the wing’s embrace. “Even if I have a good harvest, I earn at best a third of what my honey here earns. And I grow my mushrooms at home, so its only logical that I also take care of housework, cooking and so on. I really don’t fit the idea of the husband who feeds the family. I already get some weird looks at the market for buying for two all the time. And I really, REALLY don’t like the idea of having foals... not that it’s an issue.” He swallowed and Diamond nuzzled up to him gently “Diamond Shadow is right. We get nothing out of marrying.”

“You see, princess, I am a Las Pegasus filly. That city has not exactly done much good to the institution of marriage. I am happy with my Autumn.” She nuzzled him gently “I don’t want to play dress up for one day and pretend that it would change anything.”

Luna nodded quietly. “I see your point.” She stated and stepped before the two. “Marriage was not meant to be a chore or choke the partners. It was meant to unite them in love and bring them happiness and joy.” She turned to Autumn “It is clear that, though you are an unconventional stallion, you love and respect Diamond Shadow and wish for nothing than to bring her joy and happiness.”

Autumn smiled and nodded.

“And Diamond Shadow, while fools have called you a traitor, it is clear that not following your heart would have been a far bigger betrayal than refusing your orders. You have proven a loyal guard and you will certainly be as loyal to Autumn.”
Diamond smiled, looked up to her lover... and then the bit dropped.

“WAIT A BACKSTABBING MINUTE!” she suddenly yelled “Are you trying to sneak-marry us?”

*Curses* Luna thought and gave an apologeticsmile.

“I can’t believe you, princess! First you pretend to understand our pleas and then you try marry us in the back!” the night pony complained “Autumn! Say something!”

“OH MY STARS! I ALMOST GOT MARRIED BY THE PRINCESS!” Autumn exclaimed.

“You are not helping!” Diamond Shadow groaned “And now you are drooling! I swear, if you faint on me!”

“Agent Shadow, I apologize for my approach.” Luna said quickly, interrupted by a little thud, as Autumn swooned.

“Princess, I know that it used to be outrageous for a couple to... express their affection out of wedlock-“ the annoyed mare started, but was interrupted by the Princess.

“I tried what I tried not for the sake of my slightly anachronistic views.” She explained. *At least not completely*

“Then may I ask why you just tried to hitch us like that?” the night pony asked, while giving her lover a soft kick.

“Because some gestures have more power than others.” Luna explained carefully “Names have power, Cutie Marks don’t appear without reason... and marriage, if done for the right reasons and between the right ponies, is not so different. Let me say it like this: There is a reason why Queen Crysalis attacked before the ceremony, even though she put herself in great danger by separating herself from the swarm.”

Diamond Shadow sighed loudly. “Look, my Princess, it is 3 in the morning, I direly need some sleep and if it has to do with magic, then I have to zone out, because I was only trained to resist mind spells and such. I will not pretend that I get this...” She bit her lip and looked over to her slowly recovering lover “But apparently it means more to Autumn than he let shine through and that is good enough for me.” She turned to the stallion. “Autumn stand tall!”

The cultist obliged. “What'd I miss?” he asked drowsily and his eyes went wide as Diamond shadow knelt down before him. Her wing opened her saddle bag and retrieved a small, square box.

Luna took a step back. She suddenly felt out of place.

“Autumn, you know that you're not the first stallion I’ve been with. But you certainly are the first stallion I have truly felt for. It tore me apart to lie to you and betray you in every waking moment. And when that night on the summer sun celebration came, I was ready to catch you... only to fall. When the mare in the moon disappeared, I knew that I could not even trust Celestia herself any more. I was ready to lose you. I prepared to be all alone. And when it was your turn to be betrayed, when I expected you to leave, you forgave me. And you continue to make me the happiest mare in Equestria, no matter how horrible I was to you, no matter who and what I used to be. Now, Autumn Galerina, will you make me happy again?”
She opened the small box, revealing an elegant silver pin, depicting the moon, the followers had chosen as their symbol. “Will you marry me?”

Autumn’s eyes almost dropped from his skull. “Yes!” he said after several moments of wondering what exactly was happening.

Diamond Shadow smiled, stepped closer and put the pin onto his scarf.

The stallion smiled broadly, his gaze going from the shining object to his fiancée and back. The he jumped forward and pulled her into a huge kiss.

Luna couldn't help but giggle once.

“Say, love.” He asked after a few moments “How come you had this with you?”

“It used to be your birthday gift, became your I-am-so-proud-of-you-for-getting-a-job-for-the-princess-surprise and now, I thought I might as well use it as our engagement pin.” She answered flatly.

“That is convenient...” Autumn commented flatly.

“Look, I would have proposed with your darn plush mushroom if I didn’t have this thing with me.” The Pegasus quipped and grabbed a big, fluffy, red and white fly agaric from the saddle bag.

“I left Mr. Toadstool at home for a reason...” Autumn whispered, blushing yet again.

“You sleep better with him.”

The two lovers let go off each other and the stallion turned to Luna. “Princess, may I ask you for a favour?” he asked with a blush.

Luna gave him a knowing smile. “Of course, Autumn.”

“Please don’t tell anyone that Diamond Shadow gifts me with jewellery.”

Both mares immediately facehoofed.

“I’m getting second thoughts right after proposing, that has to be a record!” the agent grumbled.

“I wasn’t finished!” the cultist stressed and held up his hooves.

The moon princess gave him a nod and waited patiently.

“Please don’t tell anyone that I sleep with a plushy!”

“THAT’S IT!” the guard pony exclaimed “Princess, what my beloved fiancée wants to say is: Could you do us the honour and marry the two of us.” She waited for a second “I mean, could you conduct the ceremony?”

Luna gave them a smile. “it is one of the benefits of being in the honour guard to be wed by the princess, Agent Shadow.” She said gently “And I have to admit, I do miss holding weddings.”

“You have my gratitude.” Diamond said, bowing deeply. She then turned to Autumn. “Fine, we get hitched, but I will not wear a dress!”

“If I may interject!” Luna said quickly “You have the option of marrying in parade armour.”

The smaller mare’s eyes widened. “I can marry in my armour?” she said, grinning widely “No silly dresses, no pretended white-innocence and no darn blue strap thingy? Goodness, I'm starting to like this already!”

“Can I marry in my cultist gear?” Autumn asked carefully.

“Sure, someone has to fill the dress quota!” his fiancée grinned.

Luna let out a laugh. “I shall leave you at that. Recover for the rest of the night and tomorrow morning. I will contact you, once I have orders.”

“May I ask what you have planned for the day?” Autumn wondered “We have not exactly prepared much.”

“Simple, Autumn.” Luna said, turning to go. “We shall wait and observe.”

“That’s all?” the stallion asked.

“We have been leading them even before they met.” The moon, princess stressed “Now it is time to observe and wait. We shall proceed once I have talked to them and know more.” She made her way to the door “Now have a good night and rest well!”

The two ponies remained alone.

“I’m glad you stopped her. “ The unicorn admitted softly, slowly walking over to the bed.

“You seemed rather thrilled.”

“Yes, but I am WAY too tired for a honeymoon.”

“So eager for another round of ring toss?”

“...You are terrible.”

Author's Note

It is done!
I was really unhappy with this chapter at first.. I had several jokes planned that just didn't want to happen in the end and DS was giving me a lot of troubles.
It's tough to convey that sometimes Luna does not influence on the Twilestia story willingly without being boring. Luckily, her followers are there for the laughs.