Author's Notes: Well, it's very much overdue, but finally Chapter 19 is here! Just as a note of reference, I am extremely pleased with how this chapter turned out, especially the first half. Another note of reference is that I have just recently bought a new laptop, so Chapter 20 might be delayed slightly while I transfer things across and just generally get used to the feel of this new machine. It makes my old laptop look about as useful as a pocket calculator. Now, onto, reviews...

To everyone who commented and speculated on the dream sequence at the beginning of Chapter 18...I'm afraid there is not much I'm willing to say about that. Keep reading, and perhaps the pieces will start to fall into place. This story is working it's way towards a big climax, though we still have a long way to go to get there!

"Princess Luna of the Night": In your first review, mistakenly entered under "anon" (two seperated identities, or just a mistake? Can't tell...) you've offered to co-write with me. Unfortunately I have to decline...I have several projects of my own that really need to be finished properly, and my head just doesn't have room for any more ideas right now. I am happy to offer advice and beta-read, though. My Skype account name is 'australian_chaos', so look me up there! And yes, to anyone else who reads this and wants a talk, I'd be happy to. Just let me know that you're from this site and this story when you send your contact request, otherwise I may ignore it.

And finally, as per usual, a HUGE thank you to "DiamondGirl400" for beta-reading. Unfortunately, this is the last time she will be available to beta-read for an extended period of time, meaning that for the foreseeable future, my chapters will be released un-betaed. Hopefully I've improved enough in that time to make up for it!

And finally, before I let you go, I feel obliged to warn reader that this chapter does contain some very mild spoilers for "A Canterlot Wedding" the Season 2 finale double-episode of the show. Nothing very specific, but events are vaguely referenced, so to those few of us left who have yet to watch it, I advise doing so before reading this.

With that little warning, on with the show!

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Chapter 19

The Broken Remains

Starfall was surprised to note that, in the time he had spend talking with Princess Celestia, the Canterlot pegusi seemed to have rearranged the clouds, as it was now raining throughout the majestic city. The brilliant white and gold architecture the city was renowned for had been transformed into a more drab grey and amber, the whole city looking so much gloomier in the poor weather. Even the grassy fields and parks, despite being rejuvenated by the nourishing water from the heavens, had a heavy, almost sad sense of weight to them.

The upside to the rain, though, was that nopony was out braving the weather, save for a scarce few hurrying about, trying to spend as little time in the rain as possible. Princess Celestia ensured that the two of them, and the two dark-coated Royal Guard Unicorns serving as Celestia's personal bodyguards, remained dry by flaring her horn, a burst of brilliant yellow magic causing a forcefield of identical colouration to materialise around them, glowing faintly as it protected them from the rain, which seemed to sizzle and evaporate upon contact with the field, though anything else touching the field was allowed to pass through untouched as they continued on, the forcefield following them along Canterlot's roads towards the Royal District.

As they continued along, Starfall noticed several other unicorns had thought of similar plans, using either bubble-shaped forcefields like theirs, or else umbrella-like domes of magic above them to protect them from the rain, allowing them to go about their business as per normal. Starfall thought he saw the same cyan-coloured pony who had waved to Twilight when she had shown him her tower...Lyra Heartstrings, he vaguely remembered her name being from another time he had encountered her. But by the time Starfall looked over his shoulder to double-check if it was her, she had disappeared around a corner, obviously not willing to stick around in the rain.

None of the ponies out and about seemed to notice that there was a Princess in their midst, though, so Starfall simply flicked his wings to rid them of the few drops of water they had accumulated in the brief moment they had been exposed to the rain, before moving into step behind the Princess, keeping to a casual trot to keep up with the Princess' longer stride.

As they got close to the Royal District, though, Starfall spotted a unicorn he really did not want to see right now...Cosmo. The black unicorn, strangely, did not seem to be moving with all that much purpose, the horrible weather the only thing stopping Starfall from assuming he was simply just loitering around, although he did notice the silver sheen of a magic forcefield around the former friend, protecting him from the rain in an identical manner to Princess Celestia.

As they passed by, Cosmo looked up, spotting the small group, making him pause, apparently tense in the presence of Princess Celestia, despite the fact that she appeared to have not noticed him at all. He briefly caught Starfall staring at him, throwing the pegasus a surprised look, before sneering and trotting away from them, apparently having remembered something better to do than remain in Starfall's presence.

For a few moments, Starfall was left wondering what Cosmo had been doing there. As far as he was aware, there were no shopping malls or points of interest near the Royal District...and the District itself was restricted access that few common ponies were allowed to enter. Which basically meant that unless Cosmo was visiting somepony who lived near the borders of the Royal District, he really had little reason of being there in the first place. But who was he visiting, then?

After letting his thoughts and questions chase each other in circles for a few moments, Starfall was brought out of his musings, his thoughts travelling to the coming encounter with Princess Luna as they entered the Royal District. He was under no illusions the Princess Celestia was taking him anywhere else; this matter involved the Princess of the Night, which meant that was the only place they could be going.

It was an encounter Starfall was not looking forward to in the slightest. Even if Princess Celestia was being kind to him so far, he had no doubts that the younger Princess would demand immediate action the moment she saw him. He seriously doubted her anger had abated at all since last night. The question currently troubling him was why was Princess Celestia throwing the two of them together again? Surely she knew it would only rile her sister up further to see him again?

Despite his misgivings, Starfall chose not to speak up, obediently following the Princess of the Sun as she guided him towards the quarters of the two ruling Princesses, her golden weather shield shimmering out of existence, no longer needed in the Royal District, which was a part of Canterlot completely covered by a vaulted ceiling situated high above their heads, though several sections of the rooftops were made of glass, allowing a clear view of the grim sky overhead. The Royal Quarters was a highly secure location, Starfall knowing many unscrupulous types would love to try and have a shot at overthrowing the current royal line if security ever turned lax.

A small minority of ponies were of the opinion that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, having ruled over Equestria for over a thousand years, were due to step down and let somepony else take their place as leader of Equestria. Starfall did not understand such an opinion, believing that as long as Princess Celestia remained the just and kind leader that she was, that there was no reason to ask her to step down just yet.

But the fact remained that such opinions existed, and that some ponies were so assured of that opinion being the correct one, that they would go to extreme lengths to see the Royal Sisters cast aside. Starfall had heard the rumours that Canterlot's deepest dungeons were filled with the various ponies who had been caught in their attempted regicide, along with other, dangerous criminals, many of them not even ponies.

Once more shaking himself out of such grim thoughts, glaring up at the gloomy sky through the windows above his head as if to blame them for his pessimism, as Princess Celestia finally stopped in front of a door Starfall recognised only too well. Behind it was Princess Luna's study, where he had been learning from her for the last couple of months. It seemed the moment of truth had finally arrived.

Princess Celestia seemed to wait a moment, glancing at Starfall while he gathered himself, apparently waiting for him to show he was ready before committing to anything. He gave her a grateful smile at her consideration; this was going to be trying enough, facing a Princess who was angry at him, without the added burden of just being thrown in the room with little to no preparation.

After a few deep breaths, Starfall figured he was as ready to face this encounter as ever, and nodded to Princess Celestia, who nodded back, before turning to the door and knocking gently on it. Starfall closed his eyes for a brief moment, bracing himself. When Princess Luna saw him, Discord was going to reign for a brief moment.

"Enter," came the reply of the voice Starfall recognised all too well...a voice he used to cherish hearing every time he visited this place. Now, however, that voice left him feeling incredibly nervous, and a little bit scared as well. But as Celestia's magic opened the door, she remained behind him, giving him little choice but to enter meekly, looking up through his eyelashes and mane at the Princess of the Night, waiting for her inevitable explosion.

Surprisingly for the sun-hued pegasus, Luna's explosion never came...or was at the very least muted. "What is he doing here?" she growled, her tone clearly demanding an answer as Princess Celestia made her presence known. "We thought we were clear on the matter, Sister?" she asked, her tone making Starfall cringe. Luna had obviously been asking for him to be punished in some form, likely very severely.

The elder Princess, however, was not intimidated by her younger sister, responding to the demands with a hard stare that was enough to make Princess Luna paused, even if she still looked angry and ready to explode at any moment. "And I assured you, Luna, that I would get to the bottom of this incident. And I have," she replied, sounding almost like a mother trying to explain something to a young foal. "And what I have discovered has left me rather disappointed in both of you."

Starfall grimaced at the reminder that, despite Celestia's gentle attitude towards him, he was still in some kind of trouble. Luna, meanwhile, seemed stunned that her sister was taking such a hard attitude towards her. "But...Sister," Luna started to protest. "We explained everything to thee last night! Starfall has made transgressions against us, against the Royal Family, that cannot be ignored!"

Princess Celestia sighed, looking like she was fighting to keep her patience. As gentle as Starfall knew the Princess of the Sun was, he knew even even her temper had to have it's limits...and this day was obviously pushing them. "Yes, sister, I understand that Starfall's declaration was a little out of place, and surprising. And that he was wrong for hiding it from you all this time."

Starfall had the good grace to look sheepish, and a little guilty. Princess Celestia had a point. As much as he was certain the Princess of the Night would never return his feelings, he should have said something the moment he became aware of it, rather than hide it, and make his intentions look worse than they already did. He had dug himself into this pit he know found himself in...and even if Princess Celestia seemed to be trying to help rectify that, he knew it was going to be up to himself, and him alone, to dig himself back out again.

While Princess Luna seemed to be nodding in satisfaction, glad her sister was taking her side, Princess Celestia once more settled her magenta gaze on her sister in a piercing stare. "However, sister, you are at just as much fault as Starfall," she continued sternly, making Starfall shiver as he heard Princess Luna gasp in shock. He realised he never wanted the ruler of Equestria upset at him ever again. She may not be raising her voice, but her tone alone was scary enough.

"Us?" Luna repeated, clearly stunned. "But...what have we done?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused. Starfall had to admit that she did have a point. As far as he was aware, the Princess of the Night's only crime was possibly overreacting a little, which given the circumstances, was understandable enough, even if it left him feeling even more guilty than before.

Princess Celestia sighed, going into a full-blown lecture mode now. "My sister, I requested that Starfall teach you about the way today's world works for a reason...to avoid situations such as this one." Princess Luna made an attempt to protest at this, but Celestia raised a gold-shod hoof, stopping her younger sister's words, clearly barely even getting started. "I understand that the whims of Starfall's heart are less than ideal, especially for you, Sister, but times have changed more than you can begin to realise, and you need to understand this so this kind of thing is never repeated."

Celestia's words seemed to merely confuse her sister, who made her confusion known. "We do not understand, Sister. Thou speaks as if social class no longer exists, but we have seen it for ourselves. Royalty stay with royalty, and the commoners keep to themselves, as well. That is the way it is supposed to be."

Princess Celestia gave another frustrated sigh...clearly Luna was missing something the elder sister assumed was blatantly obvious, and was getting tired of having to point such things out. "Luna, you know as well as I do that this has changed more than most things. Or have you already forgotten the wedding of dear Princess Cadance...specifically, that she married Shining Armor, who is not part of any royal bloodline?"

Starfall vaguely remembered that there had been a royal wedding in Canterlot some months ago now, and also remembered that the wedding had very nearly been ruined by an attack against Canterlot, the details of which were surprisingly scarce, the only readily agreed-upon fact was that it had been thwarted, and the aggressor had been using the wedding as a cover to stage their attempted coup. He pushed the event out of his mind, though...thoughts of the days surrounding that event usually lead him to that very dark period of his life he refused to even think about.

Princess Luna, on the other hoof, seemed to think Celestia's argument had little validity, waving it off. "That is different, Sister. Shining Armor is the commander of the Royal Guard. He is royalty in all-but blood," she countered, seeming to think her argument settled the matter.

Starfall had to admit she did have some sort of point. Royal Guards were the tip of the royal spear, figuratively speaking, which practically made them royalty themselves. At the very least, they were highly respected, and it was not uncommon for certain Royal Families separate from Celestia and Luna's line, such as Princess Cadance, though the young Princess was apparently Celestia's niece, though the blood relation was said to be rather thin, to marry a pony from the Royal Guard, or even the Canterlot Military.

Princess Celestia shook her head. "A thousand years ago, Sister, you would be correct. But today, this is no longer the case. Social class does still exist, but it does not have the same level of importance it did a thousand years ago. A commoner can, with a single lucky break, become a prominent figure in high society within months. And there was a case once of a prominent Prince in the Royal District marrying a common country pony. Relationships today are, ideally at least, based entirely on the love the couple share for each other."

Princess Luna looked like she was about to interrupt again, so Celestia continued hurriedly, Starfall guessing that Luna was going to say something along the lines of having little affection for him. "I'm not saying you have to return Starfall's feelings, Luna. That is for you, and your heart, to decide. But Starfall has broken no law, and done nothing that could be even remotely conceived as wrong, except possibly hiding the truth. As long as he understands that you do not return his feelings, and abandons any attempt to pursue his feelings further, then there is little more I can do."

Starfall nodded, deciding he had better say something. "I never intended to pursue these feelings in the first place. And now that I know these feelings are not wanted, I think they're already passing," he admitted. He was pretty sure it was true, as well. He wasn't blushing and fidgeting like a hormonal adolescent in the presence of the prettiest mare in his school class when he was around Luna any more. His heart seemed to have realised his crush was being rejected, leaving it to slowly fade out of existence.

Celestia nodded. "That is probably for the best, Starfall. Next time, though, I suggest you stay away from hiding your feelings," she advised kindly, before turning back to her sister. "Now, sister, your reaction, though excessive, makes some sense in light of your continuing attempts to adjust to the modern world. As such, I'll ignore the pain you've put Starfall through needlessly. But I want your teachings to him to resume, and I want his teachings to you to continue again."

Starfall was stunned beyond words. Princess Celestia was not only letting him off with little more than a scolding and a bit of a guilt-trip, but she also wanted his astronomy studies under Princess Luna to continue? While part of him was elated that his life had not just been resigning to the dumps, the other part was very worried. Luna was not going to like this suggestion one bit.

"What?" Luna cried, her reaction not disappointing Starfall's expectations in the slightest. She was clearly stunned, and very unhappy with Celestia's request. "After all that has happened, thy desire is for us to work with him again?" she demanded, clearly this having been the last thing she expected. She seemed to have accepted, at long last, that Starfall was not going to punished, but having to return to studying with him seemed to be a step too far for her.

Celestia nodded stiffly, giving her sister another of her patented glares. "Do not forget the secret Starfall is aware of, Luna. He has a never-before-seen talent that we should cultivate. And as I have repeated several times before, he is in the best position to show you the modern world, and how it works. I want your studies to continue, and that is that," she said, her meaning in her tone clear. She did not want any more protests or arguments. Even though she was not talking to him, Starfall knew that if she talked to him like that, he would be rapidly agreeing to anything she said.

Princess Luna glared right back at her sister for several more moments, tense, clearly desperate to protest further. But sure enough, her aqua eyes lost their hard edge, seeming to realise that her sister was not about to let her have it any other way. "Very well, Sister. We shall do as thou asks," she relented, though her tone was stiff, clearly unhappy with proceeding. "But let us express plainly our displeasure at this."

With this, she gave Starfall a hard look, one that made him swallow nervously. He may have gotten his basic, but comfortable life back, but he was not certain that the next few weeks were going to be very rough. Princess Luna was very displeased, and Starfall was going to be the only pony she had in her presence, making him the prime target of her displeasure for the foreseeable future.