It took me a while to get to sleep that night. I didn’t want the day to end. Even though Rarity had left a couple hours earlier, I didn’t want to close my eyes on this evening. It had been amazing. My brain eventually convinced itself that it needed rest. And so I drifted off to-

“So. How was your evening?”

I opened my eyes again. Luna was inches from my face. Once she backed up, I realized we were in the dreamworld.

“This really couldn’t have waited until morning?”

She looked a little hurt.

“I just wanted to check in..”

I sighed. At least I was asleep and getting rest. I guess it didn’t hurt.

“I had a lovely evening. We talked, laughed, and a had a nice meal.”

“That sounds nice.”

I was about to ask if that was all, but then I thought back to the conversation I had heard earlier that night. Luna wasn’t trying to be a pest. She wanted to know what a date was like. She wanted to live through my experience.

“Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal.”

She looked at me curiously.

“I will show you what happened, but you can’t tell Celestia. I get to tell her about my night. Understand?”

She smiled and nodded. She was acting like a filly receiving a new toy. I concentrated on my memories and recalled the beginning of my evening. The outside of the restaurant materialized. And there I was, waiting for Rarity. Luna sat down as the date began.

——————————

She didn’t make a single comment. She just drank it all in. She didn’t even seem upset about us overhearing them in the kitchen. The memory ended as I kissed Rarity goodbye at the station.

“When can I see you again?”

“I’ll be back for the fashion show in two weeks.”

“I guess I’ll have to come visit you before then.”

“I’m sure everypony would love to see you.”

“Yeah. But you’re the only one that gets a ‘hello’ kiss.’

“I should hope so.”

We kissed one last time. The train started pulling away. Rarity broke the kiss, laughing as she did.

“Look what you made me do!”

She trotted to the nearest door and jumped on as the train began to pick up speed. She waved to me from the door and I waved back.
The memory faded away and I looked at Luna. She was smiling. As she turned to look at me, I noticed a tear on her cheek.

“Thank you Shade.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

We sat in silence for a moment. She wiped her eyes.

“I’ve missed out on a lot as a princess. We were so young when we rose to power. I never got to chase after stallions like mares do.”

“That must have been hard.”

She nodded.

“Growing up with those feelings wasn’t the hard part. It was the fact that no stallion would come near me. They respected me too much. None of them could forget that I was a princess.”

“Times have changed since then. Maybe there’s a way you could find somepony now. You have plenty of friends that would be willing to help.”

“I wish it were that simple. I’m over a thousand years old Shade. What good would finding a mate be if they’re only going to be around for a few more decades?”

“Cadance seemed to figure it out. And Shining Armor has the option to stay.”

“But he’ll have a wife, a child, and a sister that will live for millennia. I don’t think I could ask that of another pony. They’d be giving up their entire life for me.”

Her voice had grown strained. I could tell she was about to cry. I raised her head with my hoof, our eyes connecting.

“When you find the right pony, they’ll be willing to make that sacrifice. Because they love you.”

Tears had started to roll down her cheeks. She smiled.

“Thank you Shade. Thank you for sharing with me.”

———————————

I woke up the next morning well rested. There was no time to waste! I hopped out of bed and went down to breakfast. Celestia was sipping some tea as I came in.

“Good morning Celestia!”

“Good morning! You’re awfully happy. I take it you had a good night?”

“We talked, laughed, and had a nice meal.”

“That sounds lovely.”

I sat down and pulled some food towards me. Celestia took another sip of tea.

“I hope you didn’t mess up the pantry.”

I dropped my plate.

“What?! How?!”

“I’ve always had a good sense of hearing. Once I realized we’d intruded on your evening, I got Luna to leave with me.”

I put my face in my hooves. Why me?

“I’m glad you had a good night.”

“Thank you. I guess.. And the pantry is fine. We didn’t..you know.”

“I figured. You’re still new to everything. And Rarity isn’t the sort of mare that would take advantage on a first date.”

“We did kiss though.”

“A lot from what I heard.”

“Shut up. What’s on the schedule today?”

“Not a lot for once. We just have-“

She cut herself off as a guard entered the room. He stopped a few feet away from us.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your morning Your Highness, but you have a visitor in the throne room.”

“I wasn’t expecting anyone.”

“He said you’d say that. He also said that you never expect him.”

Celestia rolled her eyes.

“Let him know I’ll be there in a moment.”

The guard bowed and left the room. I turned to Celestia.

“The way you reacted, there’s a few possibilities. But I have a feeling I know..”

“Starswirl.”

“Why do you think he’s here? I thought he was out seeing the world.”

“Knowing him, he probably got bored.”

“So..do we go meet him now?”

“I suppose.”

We stood up and started towards the throne room. I fell into step beside her. Starswirl! I couldn’t believe I was about to meet him. Part of me respected him for his contributions to the world, but another part had no particular interest in him at all for what he’d done to Celestia and Luna.
We reached the throne room and there he was. He looked a lot like the illustrations. I slowed down a little so that Celestia got to him first.

“Starswirl!”

“Princess! It’s good to see you.”

“What brings you to Canterlot?”

“As if you don’t know. I’ve been hearing rumors.”

Uh-oh.

“Rumors? About what?”

“Somepony called the Right Hoof?”

She seemed surprised that word had spread so fast.

“What have you heard?”

“Oh plenty. But I’m sure none of it is accurate. So I thought I would come find out for myself.”

I might as well introduce myself. I stepped forward and held out my hoof.

“Shade. Also known as the Right Hoof.”

Starswirl stared at me for a moment before taking my hoof.

“Interesting.”

“Surprised?”

“That’s one way to put it.”

“You have questions?”

“Many.”

I turned to ask Celestia something. Wait...was she scooting towards the door?

“I have some papers to look over. I’ll be in my study if either of you needs me.”

I made a face at her that said ‘are you seriously leaving me alone’. She mouthed ‘sorry’ to me and disappeared. I turned back to Starswirl. He was chuckling.

“She hasn’t changed one bit.”

“You have no idea. Some days I think they’re both still fillies at heart.”

“I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised.”

“So. What do you want to know?”

“You look like a changeling. But not quite identical.”

“I was a changeling. Then Chrysalis took my magic by force. My body has been adapting over time, but it seems to have come to some finality.”

“And how did you come to be here?”

“Twilight befriended me. Celestia locked me up for a week. Four years of resentment later, we made up. She decided my skill with speed-reading would come in handy and made me her walking library. That and we’ve become close friends. She trusts me with a lot.”

“I gathered that much. She’s essentially given you the position that I once held.”

“Funny that she never found anypony else to trust like that in a thousand years.”

“I probably left a bad taste in her mouth.”

That’s when I made a risky decision.

“From your falling out or from essentialy forcing her onto the throne?”

He stared at me. There was no expression on his face.

“You’ve learned a few things I see.”

“I have. I’ve learned a lot of what happened in the beginning. You’re a remarkable unicorn, Starswirl. But your logic leaves something to be desired.”

“I know that what I did all those years ago wasn’t the best decision for them personally, but it was the best for Equestria. Can you honestly say I didn’t make a good decision choosing them?”

“They’re wonderful rulers. I just wish you had been honest with them up front.”

“That they weren’t the only options? I wish that had been the case. They were annoying and disrespectful as fillies. If I could have gotten somepony else, I would have.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“No. But it’s the truth I believe.”

I sat and stared at the unicorn for a long time. He stared right back and eventually broke the silence.

“Did you know I was the one that brought changelings into Equestria?”

“Really?”

“Not directly. I found a tree that was layered with dark magic. I posted a warning so that nopony would approach it. But the nail holding the sign cracked the trunk open and out they came. I didn’t find that out until after the first infestation.”

“Huh... I’d never known that. Then again, the changelings never really kept a history.”

“I doubt it would be very interesting. They’ve been a stagnant race until recently.”

“They’re kind of annoying now. You know, with all the positivity.”

“I haven’t had a chance to meet them since my release. But I’ll take your warning to heart.”

I smiled.

“I may not like you very much, but you’re not a bad pony.”

“Thank you. And don’t worry about not liking me. I tend to have that effect on ponies.”

“I would never have guessed.”

I turned towards the door.

“Alright! We’ve been friendly and I didn’t kill him. Are you happy?”

Celestia’s and Luna’s heads appeared at the edge of the doorway. Luna piped up at being discovered.

“What are you talking about? We just barely got here.”

Starswirl began to laugh.

“Yes. Some things never change.”

——————————

I spent the afternoon discussing magic with Starswirl. He was impressed with my knowledge of his theories.

“Why learn my theories when you can’t use them?”

“Better to have the knowledge in case somepony needs it.”

“Have you studied my ascension spells?”

“That’s the one thing I’m not allowed to see. And I doubt those spells would be of any use to me.”

“It’s probably for the best.”

“You cheated.”

“What do you mean?”

“You created those spells to make alicorns, but you went ahead and used the immortality spell on yourself.”

“My spell. My rules.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works, but I’m a little late to the argument. What are you? 1200?”

“I was in limbo. I’m not that old!”

“Am I interrupting?”

Celestia had entered the study. I smiled at her.

“Not at all.”

“I’m glad to see the two of you getting along.”

“He’s a cranky old unicorn that holds a high opinion of himself. Do you really think I’m getting along with him?”

Starswirl rolled his eyes.

“You’ve picked up their sense of humor. I see why you chose him Celestia.”

“He reminded me of somepony from a long time ago.”

I looked at Starswirl.

“You? You used to be funny?”

“In my younger days I was very funny. I could make a joke out of anything.”

I muttered to Celestia.

“That explains the hat.”

She covered her mouth to stop from laughing. Starswirl looked between the two of us and shook his head.

“You two deserve each other.”

We all laughed. Sure, I still had some resentment towards him. But if Celestia had learned to forgive him, maybe I could one day as well. After all, I wouldn’t be here without him.

——————————

“So where are you off to now?”

“I’ve settled down near the North Luna Sea in a small patch of forest.”

“Ah. Vanhoover territory.”

“I’ve seen a lot of Equestria now. Things have changed a lot in a thousand years. But I liked that area the best.”

He looked out over the city.

“It seems Twilight and her friends have done a fine job of protecting the kingdom in the recent years.”

“They have. Though I could do without so many world-ending threats in my life.”

“Welcome to the club.“

He began walking down the steps of the castle. Really? Just like that he was leaving?

“Good luck Shade. Those two have always been a hoof-ful. I hope you can keep up.”

“Don’t jinx it for me.”

His horn lit up and there was a brilliant flash of light. When my vision cleared, he was gone.

“He’s never been good with goodbyes.”

I turned to Celestia.

“He’s very careful with what he reveals.”

“Wizards were always like that. Secretive.”

“I couldn’t figure out if he actually felt sorry for anything in the past.”

“Because he doesn’t. Everything he did was for Equestria. For the most part.”

“I’ll trust you on that.”

I shook my head to clear it.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something all day. Would it be alright if I took a couple days off?”

“Oh? What do you have planned?”

“A trip to Ponyville. Thought I would go see my friends.”

“Of course. It’s been a while since you’ve seen them.”

She grinned.

“Besides your pantry partner that is.”

“Starswirl is right. You’re a real hoof-ful.”

“Wait until you’ve been around a few centuries. You learn to make everything fun.”

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