Ch. 14: The Celebration

Twilight looked around the town square in amazement. It was like the Summer Sun Celebration, but around ten times louder. She had no idea how Pinkie had thrown it together so quickly.

The townspeople had good reason to celebrate. The sun had risen again, and their Princess had returned to them from the grave. Not only that, but she had introduced to them her sister, the long-lost Princess Luna. There was some initial suspicion – she had been Nightmare Moon, after all – but that was quickly dispelled when Celestia vouched for her, and said, in no uncertain terms, that anybody who thought otherwise could bring it up with her.

By the time Princess Celestia had finished her explanation, Pinkie Pie, working alone, had managed to completely redecorate the town square. Many would call it the party of the century. To Pinkie, it was just Tuesday.

"Hey, Twilight!" Pinkie said, hopping up to Twilight with a lampshade on her head. "Just a heads up: Don't drink the punch! It's been spiked so many times, I think it's, like, ninety percent vodka!"

'Somebody say my name?' A familiar – pun unintended, but welcome – voice said in Twilight's mind. She looked down at her feet to see Spike, rubbing some sleep out of his eyes. 'What did I miss?'

Pinkie Pie looked around in confusion. "Who said that?" She asked.

"Wait, did you hear that?" Twilight asked, her eyes wide. Spike scampered up her leg to perch on her shoulder.

'There's no way she could have heard me. I can only talk to you!' Spike said to Twilight. Pinkie gasped.

"Holy crap, your iguana can talk!" She shrieked.

'I'M NOT AN – oh, forget it.'

"This is so awesome! Twilight, we should totally have pet playdates! I'm sure that your iguana and my pet alligator – his name's Gummy – would get along awesomely!" Pinkie squealed at the possibilities.

"Spike's a dragon. Why do you have a – no, never mind. Don't want to know. How can you be hearing him, though? He should only be able to communicate with me!" Twilight said.

"Who should only be able to communicate with who?" A tiny voice asked, so quiet Twilight almost didn't hear it. It was Fluttershy, a slight blush on her face and a cup of punch in her hands.

"I think Pinkie is – somehow – able to hear Spike," Twilight explained.

'It's probably because she's a little bit crazy.'

Fluttershy's eyes shot open. "Did… did Spike just say that?" She asked.

"You too?"

"Ooh, maybe we can all hear him now because we were doing that mind-meld thing earlier!" Pinkie suggested.

"That seems to be the most likely explanation."

'What mind-meld? What did I miss? I just woke up, and suddenly the sun is up and everybody is partying like there's no tomorrow!'

Fluttershy snatched Spike off of Twilight's shoulder, a beaming smile on her face. "I'll tell you all about it! Oh, and after that, you can tell me all about yourself, I have so many questions to ask…"

'Twilight? Uh, help?'

"You're on your own, buddy," Twilight laughed as Fluttershy and Spike melted into the crowds.

"Wow, Fluttershy needs to get drunk more often," Pinkie said. "Anyway! You liking the party?"

"It's… it's incredible, Pinkie," Twilight said. "I'm amazed you were able to put this together on such short notice."

"It wasn't really short notice," Pinkie said. "I already had a basic plan, so I only had to make a few changes!"

"You had a few hours? How?" Twilight asked, confused.

"This isn't just Luna's party!" Pinkie said, pointing at the Princess, who had joined a circle of dancers. "It's your party, too!"

"This is… for me?" Twilight asked repeated in awe.

"Uh-huh! It's a double-feature party! One part is a 'Welcome-Back-From-Being-Evil Party', and the other part is a 'Welcome-To-Magiville-Twilight' party!" Pinkie said. "Isn't it awesome?"

Twilight just smiled, and gave her friend a surprise hug. "Thanks, Pinkie," She said. "This is probably the nicest thing anybody's ever done for me."

"No problemo!" Pinkie said, squeezing Twilight back so hard she heard a rib crack. "I gotta get back to making sure everybody's having a good time! Catch you later!" She hopped off, disappearing into the crowds. Twilight smiled wistfully. She'd realized she was going to miss this place, crazy people and all.

If only she didn't have to leave.

"...But what if..." Twilight said to herself, scratching her chin. She smiled as a new idea formed in her mind, and ran off in search of her mentor.

Twilight found Princess Celestia relaxing under a tree, a mug of frothy cider in her hands. She smiled at Twilight as she approached.

"Hello, Twilight," Celestia said. She gestured at the mug in her hands. "Tell Applejack that this is the best cider I've had in decades. Divine."

"I'll be sure to, Princess. I mean, Celestia," Twilight said, sitting down next to her. "You, uh, you have some foam on your lip, by the way."

"Oh, thank you," Celestia said, licking it off. She sighed with satisfaction. "No, really, this is amazing. Ask her who I have to talk with to buy enough barrels of this to sink a small boat."

"I'll pass along the message," Twilight Sparkle said, chuckling. "Where's Luna?"

Celestia pointed out into the crowds, and Twilight soon spotted Princess Luna in the center of a ring of dancers, circling and stamping her feet in a traditional dance. She had a look of pure joy on her face. "I'm so glad that she's been accepted so easily," Celestia said. "I was worried that the people would be afraid of her, knowing who she once was."

"This town is pretty accepting of newcomers," Twilight said. "I know that first-hand."

Celestia looked at her apprentice, noticing the almost wistful look on Twilight's face. "Is there something wrong, Twilight?" She asked. "You seem troubled."

"I'm fine. I just wanted to ask you about… about…" Twilight gulped. "Hold on, I just remembered. I think this is yours." She held out the Element of Magic. "I had to use your tiara to make it. I don't know why, it just felt like the right thing to do."

Celestia looked at the big crown-thingy being offered to her for a few seconds. She started to chuckle, and closed Twilight's fingers around it. "Thank you, Twilight, but the Elements of Harmony don't belong to me anymore. You and your friends are their Bearers. Keep it; it may come in handy," She said. Her voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. "I have about eight of those tiaras back in Camelot, anyway."

Twilight recognized her chance. "Speaking of Camelot..." She said. "I wanted to talk to you about... going back."

"The Alicorn's lifeboats will be here to pick us up tomorrow morning, if that's what you're asking," Celestia said, a very small tinge of disappointment in her voice.

"Actually, I… I don't really want to leave," Twilight said. Celestia looked at her with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh? Might I ask why?" She requested.

"It's… it's for my next topic of research," Twilight said. "Six mages, working together, were able to not only defeat an evil demigoddess intent on eternal night, but return her to normal using the magic of… well, of friendship. For this reason, I, Twilight Sparkle, have decided that this form of magic requires further investigation and studies."

"Does it now?" Celestia asked, her eyes twinkling with pride.

"Yes, I believe it does. Thus, in order to continue my studies into the magic of friendship, I would like to stay here, in Magiville, until such a time as my research is complete," Twilight said.

Celestia hummed in thought, as if she was considering the pros and cons of Twilight's research. Finally, she smiled. "…Very well. I, Princess Celestia, Arch Mage and Dean of the College of Magi, approve Twilight Sparkle's request for continued research in Magiville," She decided. Twilight's face lit up. "I'll be expecting you to send me regular reports on your findings via dragonfire, of course."

"Once a week. I promise."

"I'm so proud of you, Twilight," Celestia said. "You've grown so much." She brought her mug to her lips, and grumbled when she found that it was empty. "Damn. I'll be back in a moment."

"Of course, Princess," Twilight said as Celestia stood up to go search for more apple cider. Twilight leaned back against the tree, and looked out over the crowds of partygoers.

She saw Fluttershy off to the side, talking a mile a minute to Spike, who was staring longingly at Rarity, on the other side of the square. She saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash in the middle of an arm wrestling contest. She saw Pinkie Pie, who had broken up the traditional folk dance, mentoring Princess Luna in the sacred art of breakdancing.

But above all that, she saw her friends.

And she never thought she'd be so happy to say that.

The End.