Of all the places in Equestria where she could be spending regular time, this was not one she'd ever expected to find herself. Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria, was standing in what, to most, would be little more than a ruin. It was the old capital of Equestria. A castle that once housed the two Princesses, Celestia and Luna, before the latter's transformation into Nightmare Moon. It was here, almost four years ago, that Twilight and her friends had first truly come together to become the bearers of the elements of harmony. This castle, much like the day in which she first saw it, were things that had changed her forever.

But right now, she had other things on her mind. Her friend, Rarity, had recently got it into her head to do some restoration work on this old place ever since their first foray into it after the incident of Discord's vines. Her friend's plan had interested all of them however, and soon they'd all been putting regular days together to try and get this place back into proper condition. Right now, Twilight was in the main hallway, looking over a collection of old books that Spike had brought at her request. She wanted to see which ones were worth keeping, and this occupied her while her friends were off doing their own tasks.

Rarity was busying herself with trying to find and restore many of the castle's old tapestries and other fabrics. Fluttershy was trying to see what she could do to get the gardens, having been afflicted with centuries of neglect, back into shape. Rainbow Dash was helping Applejack to try and tear down parts of the outer walls that were simply too damaged to be properly repaired. And as for Pinkie Pie, even Twilight couldn't figure out what she was doing here most of the time.

However, as the hours passed, Twilight eventually found her task interrupted by the loud and unmistakeable sound of her growling stomach. She chuckled upon hearing that and, sure enough, saw that all of her friends had gathered in the hall to meet her. She smiled as she saw them, knowing full well that they all had the same idea. Using her magic, she levitated a nearby saddle-bag that she'd brought with her, and out of it emerged a collection of food and drinks that she'd arranged to serve as lunch for them during their tasks today. The group sat around a nearby table and began to enjoy their prepared meals, opting to discuss how much ground they'd covered so far.

"I can't tell you guys how many interesting books I've found! I don't think I'd be able to throw ANY of them away!" Twilight commented.

Applejack rolled her eyes at that.

"Figured as much. You never could throw away a book Twi, no matter how old. Me an Rainbow though, you'd be surprised just how many of those old walls were crumblin."

Rainbow stopped eating briefly before bumping hooves with Applejack.

"Yeah! AJ and I brought those things down like they were a pile of dry leaves!"

Fluttershy looked somewhat aghast at that.

"Oh my! I hope you didn't bring them down on any of the little tulips growing there!"

Applejack and Rainbow tried their best to assure her that they didn't damage any of the plants growing in the area, which seemed to calm her down considerably. The rest of the meal went by smoothly, and everypony there seemed to be enjoying themselves. Twilight smiled at the sight of all of her friends together like this. It had been a long time since the six of them had enjoyed a quiet moment like this, and she appreciated the chance, even though the middle of the Everfree Forest wasn't quite where she wanted to be to do it.

But, as pleasant as this all was for her, there was something that brought her happy mood down a little. Even though many of those she felt close to were right here, there was one she very much missed right now. A stallion she had not seen in almost two months. It was an even larger gap than the last time the two had been parted from each other. But she did not begrudge him for it. He had many duties after all, and her doubly so because of her title. Besides, she told herself, they always knew that there would be times when they would be apart from each other like this, and they knew they would have to endure it.

Resigning herself to that, she reached out for a nearby glass of water, ready to take a sip. But, before her lips touched the edge of the glass, her ears pricked up, as did those of her friends. All of them heard the same thing, a sound coming from down a nearby hall. Their heads turned simultaneously in that direction, all surprised as none had expected anypony but them to be here. It grew louder and louder, the distinct sound of hoof-steps approaching quickly. Applejack and Rainbow got up, looking as though they were ready for a fight. Twilight just kept her eyes on the door to the adjacent hall, and through the gloom, she could make out a shape. It was clearly a pony, and it was making it's way closer.

Once the figure reached the doorway and stepped through, into the light, Twilight's eyes widened with shock. It was a stallion. But not just any stallion, for this was the one her heart had been pining for these many weeks. Orange in his fur and blue in his mane, bearing a cutie mark of a blue shield and lightning bolt. As he stepped into view, he looked upon the six mares, and when his eyes locked onto Twilight, his face broke into a massive smile. Although still shocked, Twilight's face now bore the same expression as she stepped out of her chair.

"Flash," she said quietly.

Flash Sentry. Her colt-friend. Her lover. A stallion that meant more to her than any stallion had ever been before. The other five mares looked at the two, their gaze moving from one to the other before looking at each other, unsure of what to do next. Twilight knew exactly what to do though, as she now took steps towards the stallion, who now did the same. As she approached, Twilight still bore that same look of confusion from before, and once she met her colt-friend in the middle f the room, she voiced that confusion.

"Flash, I'm happy to see you, but what are yo-HMPH!"

In a move far more forward that Twilight had ever known of him, Flash had interrupted Twilight's questioning by suddenly placing one hoof on the side of her head, bringing his in close, and locked the two together in a kiss. Although clearly taken aback by this sudden move on his part, Twilight no longer cared. The feel of her love kissing her brought back all the memories of her last encounter with him, and soon she too was lost in this reunion. Closing their eyes, the two began kissing more passionately than before, wrapping their forelegs around each other's necks.

So engrossed was Twilight in this that she'd completely forgotten that she was still in full view of her friends. Speaking of whom, those five mares were all reacting to this rather public display of affection in a myriad of different ways. Rainbow and Applejack were giving each other knowing smirks, knowing they now had an opportunity to tease Twilight about this later. Fluttershy's face was blushing as she attempted to hide her view of this scene behind her long mane, all while peeking through it to get a look anyway. Pinkie Pie was practically bouncing out of her chair, trying her best to hold back what had to be a very loud set of giggles. And as for Rarity, she merely looked upon this passionate display with joy, having practically grown up on fairy tale romance stories.

After what seemed like ages, the two finally broke apart. When they did, they gazed into each other's eyes, seeing nothing but love in the other. To say that this was unexpected for Twilight would have been a great understatement, but even so, she would not have traded this one moment for all the world, and she was sure to let her colt-friend know that.

"Well, Mr Sentry, that was quite a "hello". I'm going to assume you missed me?"

Flash chuckled a little at that, his hoof still placed lovingly on the side of her face.

"More than I could ever say."

Twilight's own hoof was placed upon his, and she smiled upon him. But, being Twilight, her curiosity soon got the better of her, and her mind was once more abuzz with questions regarding her beau's sudden appearance.

"Flash, don't take this the wrong way, but...what are you doing here?"

The stallion lowered his hoof before he began to answer her.

"I'm sorry, but...I was worried about you. I wasn't able to get down here sooner, but up in the North we heard all kinds of terrible things. Celestia and Luna going missing. The moon and sun in the sky at the same time. The Everfree Forest invading Equestria. It was utter chaos".

Twilight looked at him with understanding. It had indeed been chaos, thanks largely to Discord's actions. The loss of the Princesses and the subsequent invasion by the Everfree had been an ordeal for everypony, herself especially. Fortunately for all concerned, she and her friends had managed to pull together and deal with the problem, though it still somewhat pained her that they had to sacrifice the elements of harmony in order to do it. Still, she couldn't help but appreciate that her colt-friend was concerned for her well-being.

"Thank you, Flash."

The stallion smiled at her before his expression became somewhat down.

"Had I the choice, I'd have flown down here at the earliest chance. But things in the North required my attention".

Twilight raised an eyebrow, confused about that statement. She opened her mouth to ask him what he was talking about, before her eyes drifted downwards. They widened with shock when they looked upon his left foreleg. There was a white bandage wrapped around the knee area, which was stained with what Twilight could only assume was blood, albeit long-since dried. She looked up at Flash with a great deal of worry in her face.

"Oh my goodness! What happened to you?"

Flash looked down at his bandages, looking somewhat annoyed, perhaps hoping that the love of his life wouldn't notice. Under normal circumstances, he'd have tried to relieve her of her concerns, perhaps tell her that he was fine. But he knew her well enough now to know that she wasn't going to let the matter drop until he confessed. So, looking up at her expectant face, he did just that.

"With Celestia and Luna gone, things became pretty bad all over. Some of the...less civilized creatures of the frozen wastelands surrounding the Crystal Empire got it into their heads to try and take advantage of things while they were gone. Fortunately, thanks to the shield of Princess Cadence, and your brother's leadership, we dealt with them."

He looked down at his injury again.

"Some of us with more scrapes than others though".

Twilight considered that. She'd heard rumours that things had been hectic all over their nation during the absence of the two Princesses, but she hadn't expected anything like this. Still, she felt clear relief that all had been resolved, and she stepped forward and embraced Flash in a hug, which he gratefully returned. As they held each other, Twilight listened as Flash spoke again.

"Once order had been restored, I and all the other guards were needed pretty much around the clock while things got patched up. A few days ago though, Prince Armour decided that we'd worked long enough, so he gave many of us time off to go and enjoy the upcoming New Year celebrations".

The young princess moved back from him, smiling as she did so. She too had been looking forward to the New Year, and had secretly hoped that she would get to spend time with Flash during it, along with her other friends and family of course. However, as she considered his story, a thought came to mind.

"I'm surprised my brother let you go. Surely he knew where you'd go once you were let loose."

Flash chuckled at that.

"Indeed. In fact, he tried everything in the book to keep me in the Empire. If it wasn't for Cadence intervening, I'd have never got away."

Twilight rolled her eyes upon hearing that. That sounded like her brother alright. Still, she looked on as Flash spoke again.

"But all of it. The fighting, the constant patrols, all of it. Being here with you again has made it all worth it. And after everything you and your friends have been through down here in the South, I cannot tell you how grateful I am to see that you're okay".

Not once, in all the time she'd been with Flash, had Twilight ever really thought about this. When she was younger, she would often worry about the well-being of her brother, Shining Armour, as he would often go out for weeks on end during his training as a cadet. When he was officially inducted into the guard, her worries only grew, as she knew he would be tasked with many dangerous missions. As a one-time bearer of the elements of harmony, and now a Princess, she knew that her family had often worried about her going off and going dangerous things, which she'd never been comfortable with. The last thing she needed was to know that she was putting her lover through the same kind of worry.

Even so, Twilight smiled at him, gently placing her hoof on the side of his face, appreciative of his concern for her. She'd been just as worried about him when she started hearing about all the work the royal guard had been up to over Equestria, and she was equally as grateful that she and he could be together again, especially after such a long absence from each other's lives. Her tone then took on a sound of slight annoyance, though she had not meant for it to.

"Thank you, Flash. But you didn't need to worry too much. My friends and I have faced a lot of danger in our lives. We can handle ourselves. No need to worry".

Flash looked at her, his face making it clear that he was a little worried that he might have offended his filly-friend a little. But then, a warm smile crept onto his face as he leaned forward and nuzzled the side of her head, giving Twilight a warm feeling as he did so.

"Twilight...the day I no longer care enough to worry...is the day I am no longer worthy of being yours".

Twilight was not some overly-romantic mare. She knew that what he'd just said to her was about as cheesy, corny and cliché as he could get. But as far as she was concerned, that didn't matter. She knew that he meant every word, that his worry for her was born out of love, not some sense that she was incapable. And she appreciated that about him. There was a time, long ago when they first started being together, when she'd feared that the great distance between them might have led to their love lessening. That fear had been put aside many times during their time together, and their absence from each other's daily lives had, as the old saying went, made their hearts grow fonder indeed. Both of them knew that they both led dangerous lives, both with her as a Princess and him as a guard, and as such, they knew that each would have to face perils regularly. But they did not fear that. They knew now that they could both face those perils and come out of it, ready to be in each other's embrace when all was said and done.

Twilight could have stayed like this for ages, just being with her lover. But, she soon remembered why she was here in the first place, and turned her head to see her friends, who had been present during this entire thing. All of them, even Fluttershy at this point, were all looking at the couple with mischievous smirks. Twilight gave a nervous cough before addressing them.

"Um...do you guys mind?"

The mares all looked at each other and, still smirking, they got comfortable in their seats to get a better view of what the couple were doing, making it clear that they weren't going anywhere. Once they did that, Applejack spoke for all of them as she gave her answer to Twilight.

"Nope".