The first rays of sunlight slipped in through Twilight’s cracked curtains. For the briefest of instants, the morning sun lit up the insides of her eyelids. Then they fluttered open. With a morning groan and stretch, Twilight sat up. She smacked her lips while her eyes slowly focused on her surroundings. With a smile, she noted the curved walls of her old room, all the way in Canterlot.

With another mighty yawn, Twilight slipped out of bed. She took two steps towards her adjoining bathroom before a spray of color caught her eyes. Briefly confused as to what Rainbow was doing in Canterlot, and more importantly why she was on her balcony, she turned towards the chromatic hair. “Rainbow, what are you doing here?” she asked, trying to speak over another yawn.Still blinking as she looked out towards the morning sky, Twilight could only make out Rainbow’s quite distinctive hair, muted, she was sure, by the frosted glass of her door.

When her pegasus friend didn’t respond, or indeed move, she sighed. “Rainbow, it’s got to be freezing out. Come inside.” She spoke a little louder this time, gently pulling the door open with her magic. It took her a moment to register who was sitting on her balcony, but when she did, she froze. The rainbow of hair was not attached to the head of a brash cyan pegasus. Instead, it was a large, white alicorn body that held the hair up in the morning wind. “Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed, adrenaline rushing through her, waking her up instantly. Instinctively, Twilight dropped to a knee, bowing before her ruler.

“Good morning, Twilight.” Celestia’s voice was tired. “Please, come sit with me.”

Celestia was unusually still, Twilight noted. The princess was of course able to sit through hours of meetings with ease and could keep her emotions perfectly contained when needed. It’s almost like she doesn’t have the strength to move, Twilight realized. She could make out the subtle twitch of wings to indicate breathing, but that was it. Nervously, Twilight approached the princess and sat near her. This was not her first time sitting with her beloved mentor, of course; Celestia had invited her to join her for the royal court a few times. But they had been nothing like this. Seated by her mentor, Twilight glanced at her eyes, then followed them to see what the princess was staring at. Far off in the distance, barely on the horizon, was the Everfree Forest. Twilight couldn’t fathom why her mentor was staring out at it.

The pair sat in silence for what felt an age to Twilight, the sun slowly rising to the east. Eventually, Twilight could take the unease no longer: “Princess Celestia, is everything okay?”

Celestia said nothing at first. Twilight was about ready to open her mouth to ask again when the princess finally spoke. “No, I suppose not, Twilight.” For the first time since Twilight had joined her, Celestia moved. It was the barest of movements; if Twilight hadn’t been focusing everything she could on the princess, she would have missed it. Celestia’s head tilted, ever so slightly, to the left. “I have many questions for you, Twilight.”

This, naturally, perked the young mare right up. “Of course, Princess! I’m happy to help.” She wiggled slightly as a new wave of endorphins rushed through her.

“I suppose my first question must be this,” Celestia said after a moment. “What do you remember of last night?” Still, Celestia did not move, except to return her head to its natural position.

Twilight blinked. There was a long list of questions she had expected. Even more that she would have felt comfortable answering. If she didn’t know the answer, she was always confident she could arrive at a logical conclusion and present that, if needed. Asking her what she could remember, however, was nowhere near that list. She turned to stare off into the distance, her eyes unfocusing as she went deep into thought.

Casting her mind back, Twilight considered the previous night. With a shrug, she started with the first relevant thing she could recall. “Well, the chariot picked me up, like usual. The ride here was uneventful. Then…” Trailing off, Twilight found her memories beyond arriving at the castle were fuzzy at best. She was vaguely aware of talking with Princess Luna, and a charged discussion, but little else. The night was, for the most part, a blur. “Well, not much after that. Sorry.”

Another movement from Celestia, a tiny, almost imperceptible nod. “That is alright, Twilight.” Silence again filled the space between them, before the morning birdsong was finally loud enough to reach them. “What do you think of my sister?” The alicorn asked suddenly, startling Twilight from her drifting recollection.

Once again, Twilight was thrown for a loop. “Well, I mean…” she stammered, not sure how frank to be with her answer.

“I will not judge you, no matter your answer, Twilight.” Celestia’s voice had regained the calm, motherly tone Twilight knew so well. It went a long way to putting her at ease.

A breath she had only just realized she was holding slipped from her chest as she relaxed. “I like her. She’s interesting, fun, funny.” Twilight turned to look off towards the west and the recently set moon. “I’ve always enjoyed her stars; there is so much beauty in them. And she’s told me so much about them, constellations only she knows, patterns lost to time. I’ve loved these talks I’ve had with her.”

A small jerk of her head and Celestia nodded. “I understand.” The emotionless, tired, tone had returned. “If Nightmare Moon were standing before you, right now, how would you react?”

“What.” The word left Twilight’s mouth before she could stop it. It was less a question and more a brief utterance of confusion. Her head had snapped around to stare, wide eyed, at the solar princess, who sat impassively, still looking at the forest barely on the horizon.

The first two questions had at least sort of made sense. Together, they had almost seemed to lead to a discussion of Princess Luna, and Twilight’s relationship with her. While not something she was entirely sure she was comfortable talking about with Celestia, Twilight was more than willing to do her best.

When Celestia made no move to respond, Twilight let her eyes drift towards the fields and plains at the foot of Mt. Canterhorn. She took her time in responding, trying to sort through the ideas and images running rampant through her mind. “I guess it would depend on her actions at the moment.” She was still uncertain of her words, still trying to make sense of the snippets of thought in her head. “I’d be more than happy to give her forgiveness if she asked for it, and meant it. I’d be okay with giving her another chance. There is so much about her I don’t understand.

“If she was trying to take over Equestria again, I guess I’d try to find a way to reason with her.” Twilight paused briefly, a small, sad smile creeping onto her face. “I regret not giving her a chance, not talking to her first. After Gilda, Trixie, and that dragon, I’ve learned that just talking to somepo- somecreature might just be enough to handle the issue.” A tiny hint of blush colored her cheeks before she continued. “Actually, I was looking over copies of all the letters I’ve sent you and found the one you sent me off to Ponyville with mixed in. You said, “You simply must stop reading those dusty old books!” Twilight bit her lip. “I’m guess it was because I was saying some pretty mean things about your sister.”

Celestia was silent for a moment before asking, “So you’d give her a chance?”

Twilight nodded. The thinnest of smiles crept onto Celestia’s face. The pair sat silently for a while longer. A small shiver ran through Twilight; it was indeed cold, as her sleepy mind had predicted earlier.

It was another few minutes before Celestia spoke. Her words were measured and careful, but her cadence seemed to indicate a prepared speech. “I have a confession to make, Twilight.” Of course, as with anything the princess said, she had Twilight’s full attention. Celestia didn’t notice though; she was staring off into the distance, her eyes unfocused as if her mind was far in the past. “Being immortal means many things, Twilight. I have watched the birth and fall of empires. Entire forests have grown under my watch. I can remember so much of the history of Equestria.” Celestia heaved a deep, tired sigh. “History doesn’t ever quite repeat itself, thought it certainly tries. In the course of thousands of years, though, I’ve almost seen it all.”

Celestia shook her head. “While there are certainly many other detriments to being immortal, one of the worst is one of the simplest. Boredom. You have all the time to achieve your goals. Finish your dreams. Take up a dozen hobbies, keep at them for hundreds of years. Even create a few new ones. But in the end, everything else ends and you don’t.” She turned to stare up at the sky before continuing. “One thing I found to alleviate the boredom was meddling in the lives of ponies. I wanted to see what I could do.

“Turns out, with enough patience, almost anything. I could fill years recounting all the scheming I did, but I’ll skip to what’s relevant right now.” For the first time that morning, Celestia made eye contact with Twilight. For a brief instant, Twilight saw a thousand years of pain flash behind those purple eyes. “Not long after I met you, I realized you could be the one to save my sister. So I trained you for it. I had already spent a thousand years planning, I just needed the right pony at the right time. The short term plan was to put you on the right path so you would save my sister.

“To be honest, that was pretty easy. What was harder, and took a lot longer to plan out, was the long game. My sister fell to her inner demons because she felt unloved and unnoticed. She had grown bitter and resentful over decades. The Elements of Harmony couldn’t make her happy, all they could do is soothe her anger. I needed somepony to be her friend. I chose you.

“My reactions were carefully measured to push you towards interests you could share with her. I went out of my way to ensure that your love of stargazing wasn’t borne of academic reasons, but personal love. I used everything I knew of you, and how much I meant to you, to manipulate you, to mold you into the perfect companion for her.”

Celestia finally broke eye contact with Twilight, returning her gaze to the Everfree Forest. Twilight simply sat and stared, her brain struggling to rationalize her beloved mentors actions. A part of her wanted to be outraged, but she kept fighting to excuse the princess’ actions. The years of complete trust she had in her mentor, for the most part, won out. There was only a single, lingering, half remembered question in her mind. “Why did you do it?”

For the first time in her life, Twilight saw Celestia’s shoulders slump and her body go lax. To Twilight’s surprise, tears started to trickle down her cheeks. “Every morning when I set the moon I whispered to the air that I was doing it for Luna. Every night when I ticked off another day until her return I told myself it was for the best, that I wasn’t harming you.” A groan of exhaustion freed itself from Celestia’s chest. “But I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit that I was bored, that I was doing it because I could, that I enjoyed the manipulation.”

Twilight wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She still wanted to believe the best in her mentor, but that small voice of doubt was getting larger. Sitting there, Twilight stared up at Celestia. Instinctively, she knew that the right thing to do was comfort her. Unfortunately, to Twilight, there had always been a gap between them; it was okay for Celestia to cross it, but Twilight didn’t know if she was allowed to, or even if she could.

Still, the fact remained that the mare she looked up to more than any other was crying and clearly in pain. She knew that when she had gotten scared or panicked, Celestia would wrap her forelegs around her and hold her close. Scooting closer, Twilight tried to do the same, hesitantly wrapping her front legs around Celestia’s barrel, only to find she was much too small. “It’s okay,” she whispered softly, trying her best to comfort the crying mare.

Looking down, Celestia couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. “Come here, Twilight,” she whispered between sobs. Wrapping a wing around her young student, Celestia leaned into the affectionate hug. “I’m so very sorry, Twilight. I went too far, didn’t I?”

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t think so, Princess.” Hugging her tighter, Twilight gave the princess a small nuzzle. “You’re immortal. You know so much more than me. I trust you, completely. I’m happy with who I am. You helped to raise me. How can I be upset with you for doing what you thought was best?”

Celestia shook her head. “I….” A slow sigh escaped her lips. “Thank you, Twilight.” The pair sat silently as Twilight continued to comfort her mentor. Thought it only took a few minutes for the tears to stop, it felt an age to Twilight. With a deep breath to calm herself, Celestia sat up fully, though she left her wing around Twilight. “My apologies, Twilight. I doubt very much you wanted to start your day like this.”

A light chuckle on her lips, Twilight replied, “Well, no. But… I guess…” she trailed off, not knowing how to put her feelings into words.

“It is alright, Twilight,” replied the princess. “I know what you’re trying to say.” Again, silence filled the balcony, though this time it was comfortable. Neither had anything to say yet, and both were content to just sit.

Celestia did, however, have more, and so she eventually spoke. “I’m afraid I have some bad news, Twilight. Luna has left to castle for the foreseeable future.”

Twilight gasped. “Is she okay?”

Again, the alicorn’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t know, Twilight. She ran away last night after you fell asleep.” Twilight gasped in worry. “We had a… fight, last night. I said some things I greatly regret. She is still hurting, and I’m afraid I’ve only been making it worse as of late. There is still so much between us; I had forgotten that the past is so much more recent for her than me.”

A shiver ran through Twilight. “Did I do anything wrong?” she asked, a note of panic rising in her voice.

“No, Twilight. You-” Celestia let out a pained laugh. “She said you’ve been a wonderful friend these past few weeks, and she’s going to miss you greatly.” Celestia fell silent, a strained smile on her lips.

“Princess?” Twilight asked hesitantly, worried her mentor was going to break down into tears again.

“It’s just, I raised you to be the perfect friend for her.” The words tumbled out of Celestia’s mouth, faster and faster. “And you were! You were everything she needed you to be! I think she even began to love you, a true, deep love! Like last time! I know I didn’t do it for the best of reasons, but I did it for her. She’s worth it to me!” A hiccough escaped Celestia. “And now she hates me for what I did!” Jumping to her hooves, Celestia’s horn ignited with a golden glow. “I’m sure I’ll see you again soon, Twilight,” she said before vanishing in a blast of light and warmth.

Twilight stared, dumbstruck, at the point where Celestia had stood moments before. She blinked a few times, trying to wrap her mind around the idea that her mentor had just run away crying. It went against everything Twilight knew. She would have spent hours sitting there if her clock had not chimed away the hour. Jumping to her hooves, the chime sent Twilight into a panic. My chariot leaves at 6! I’m late! Her horn lighting, she gathered her brushes and washes, tossed them into her bag, and raced out the door.

At her frenzied pace she almost crashed into a number of maids and castle staff, though most still remembered her enough to dance out of her way. It under two minutes, a new personal best for her, Twilight arrived at the chariot pad. “I’m so sorry for the delay, sirs!” she yelled, leaping into the back of the chariot. With a whinny the pair of guards reared up and took off, flying towards Ponyville.

After checking through her bag to ensure she had everything, Twilight settled in to the ride. It was certainly faster than the train, but would still take a few hours. As usual, she took a few moments to contemplate the chariot Luna had ordered for her. Unlike Celestia’s, this one was dark blues and blacks, drawn back into a number of elegant spikes. The guards pulling the chariot weren’t the standard Solar Guard either; Twilight assumed their leathery wings, furrier ears and slitted eyes were standard for Lunar Guards.

While the guards had given her a bit of a fright the first time, she quickly learned they were no different than the royal guards she knew. If anything, they were a little more lax about the rules. The first time she had asked why she had been sent a chariot and wasn’t just taking the train. The guards had shrugged. So every time she rode the chariot, Twilight spent her time trying to figure out why Luna had seen to fit to order it, every single week.

Like usual, however, she quickly got nowhere.

A yawn on her lips, Twilight pushed open the door to her treehouse home. With a pop she teleported her bag up to her room, then made her way to the dining room. The moment she walked in, Spike waved at her from the table, a plate of pancakes ready for her. With a smile, Twilight sat across from her assistant and ate.

“Hey, Twilight. How was your evening in Canterlot?” Spike asked around a mouthful of food.

Swallowing so as to not be a hypocrite, Twilight retorted, “Spike, please don’t speak with your mouth full. It’s rude.”

Spike rolled his eyes, but quickly chewed her food and swallowed. “Sorry. How was your night?”

Twilight allowed herself a smile. “It was fine. Unfortunately, it sounds like I won’t be going back next week. Princess Luna has decided to…” Twilight trailed off, unsure of how to explain away the princess’ absence. “Well, Princess Celestia said she’s left, but I don’t really know why…”

Spike shrugged before going back to his pancakes. Once they had finished and cleared their plates, Spike made his way to gather the mail while calling over his shoulder, “Oh yea, Princess Celestia sent a letter earlier. I left it on your desk.”

“Thanks Spike!” Twilight called back, settling behind the librarian’s desk, ready for the day. She grabbed the scroll sitting on the wood, broke the gold seal and unwound the red ribbon.

My most Faithful Student,

It is with regret that I write to inform you that Princess Luna has decided to take time to herself and travel the country. She has asked for time and distance from everypony, and has indicated she will be traveling in disguise. Further, during her travels she plans to simply live amongst the populace and gain a new perspective on Equestria.

As such, she will not be available either by mail or visit. This does also mean that your regularly scheduled weekly meetings will be put on hold until such a time as she returns. I apologize for the abruptness of this letter, and hope it finds you well.

Your mentor,
Princess Celestia

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. Princess Celestia had already told her the real reason Luna was gone, so Twilight assumed this was some kind of cover story, something better than ‘Luna ran away’. However, the tone that the princess had written to her in was very off. Her horn lighting, Twilight thought to begin probing at the letter, checking for any illusions or enchantments covering the letter. Before she could start, however, Spike’s voice echoed from the front. “Twilight! You’ve got… Uhh...” He fell silent, unsure of his words as he walked towards her. In his claw he held another scroll, wrapped with indigo twine and sealed with silver wax bearing a crescent moon.

Twilight gently tugged the scroll free with her magic to bring it closer. The moment her magic enveloped the scroll she felt dozens of enchantments and protections on it. “Uhh, stay back, Spike. I think Princess Luna put a lot of wards on it.” Not willing to risk anything to do with alicorns and their magic, the young drake took a few quick steps back. Closing her eyes and bracing for the worst, Twilight broke the seal.

After a few seconds of nothing happening, Twilight permitted herself to crack open an eye. The scroll continued to float, harmlessly, in her magic. Somewhat braver this time, she unrolled the letter and brought it closer to read.

Twilight Sparkle,

I wish to apologize for my abrupt departure last night. No doubt Celestia has already told you that I left, and part of the reasoning. Simply put, I needed to get away from everything. At the moment Canterlot holds too many conflicting emotions for me.

I also need to find myself. It has been well over a thousand years since I was last integral to society. My duties as princess are not needed, Celestia proved she can handle the sun and moon together. I feel worthless in Equestria. So I will be travelling over the coming months, meeting new ponies and exploring new things. I hope that come my return I will have a better understanding of myself.

Further, I wish to apologize for leaving you. While it is sad of me to say, you are my only friend. I shall greatly miss our weekly talks. I feel I have learned so much from you. For the generous gift of your time, of your company, I cannot fathom how to repay you. No doubt you would deny such recompense, but still, I find myself needing to repay this debt I owe you.

I know that coin would have little meaning, and indeed be an insult to our friendship. However, I have little else to give. My knowledge is a thousand years out of date, my skills a millenia behind. Should I come across something able to repay this debt, I will make all haste to return the kindness you have shown me.

During my travels, if it is alright with you, I wish to correspond with you. I hope to share some of the things I discover and learn with you. Perhaps you could share some things with me? I understand if you do not wish to, though.

If you do, write your reply on the back of this letter and drop in the mail. It will find its way to me. And do not fear the enchantments upon this scroll. So long as only either you or I open or read this letter, nothing will happen. The spells are designed to ensure privacy in our communications.

Sincerely,

The Night Princess.

Postscript: If you’re interested, Celestia says you’re a wonderful chess player. I typically take black, so the first move is yours.

Unable to stifle a small, relieved, chuckle, Twilight flipped the scroll over and scrawled a reply.

Dear Princess Luna,

I would love to hear of your travels! And I think I understand why you left. At least a little. I will also miss our weekly talks. On the other hoof, we may be able to talk more often through letters.

Also, please don’t worry about paying me back. I expect you expect this response, but I must give it anyways: I am happy to spend my time with you. You’re a much more engaging conversationalist than you give yourself credit for. And I don’t think all of your knowledge is old. Your knowledge of the stars is certainly beyond anything ponykind today knows.

I’m not sure what you’re hoping to hear from me, though. I’m sure my life will be very boring compared to your travels. All I have to do is go to parties my friend throws, take care of a library, and hope Princess Celestia doesn’t send me on any more

The scratching of Twilight’s quill abruptly stopped. Ya, like the time she sent me to fight Nightmare Moon… Chewing on her lip, Twilight scratched out the last few words.

All I have to do is go to parties my friend throws, take care of a library, and hope Princess Celestia doesn’t send me on any more and keep my friends from fighting too much.

Yours,

Twilight Sparkle

PS: I’d be happy to. I’ve long enjoyed a good game of chess. Pawn to C4.

“It’s just a letter from Princess Luna,” Twilight told an expectant Spike. “She’s really worried about privacy though, so don’t try to open letters from her, okay?”

Spike heaved a deep sigh of relief. “Ohh, good. I was worried for a second. You find out why she left?”

A small smile came to Twilight’s lips. “She wants to explore Equestria and find her place in it. That’s all,” she lied. That was all Spike needed to know, she reasoned.

“Okay, well, there’s also a Pinkie Pie invitation,” Spike replied, quickly tossing the bubble-gum pink letter onto the desk. “I’ve flipped the sign around. Rarity was asking for me earlier, mind if I head out?”

Twilight waved him off with a smile. At least I’ll still be able to talk with her a little.