Twilight made Tea.

Which was to say, she followed the precise instructions Miss Teagarden had given her on the preparation and serving of good black tea instead of trying to scientifically devise a more efficient manner. Which was to say, she made tea and was very glad it tasted good. She made tea, because according to her mother, making tea was what you did when you were about to have a very hard conversation with someone. Somehow, it made having the conversation easier. Twilight wasn’t sure how it could possibly make this conversation easier, but she was going to use every arrow in her quiver to try.

Celestia took her cup with a warm smile and sipped at it daintily. Cadence did the same, with an equally warm smile, and Twilight fiddled with a glass of ice cold water. She did not feel like tea right now. She felt like screaming, but that wasn’t going to solve anything. “Celestia, I-” she began and bit it off, immediately realizing the eighteen different logical fallacies she was about to indulge in and feeling like Mr. Game Theory had just rapped her across the hooves for even thinking of it.

Celestia took another sip of tea in the meantime and sighed. “Cadence, I swear by everything I believe in, I did not expect Discord to break free yesterday.” Her voice was quiet and surprisingly calm. “I had been certain we had several more months, at the least. I could not have predicted that little lover’s quarrel with Spitfire and Soarin.” She smiled faintly at that one, barely hidden by her teacup. “I do wonder how on earth they came to such a tussle to begin with, though. So very strange.”

Cadence was glaring at her, and Twilight felt hideously out of her depth. But there was something there she could latch onto. “Wait, you knew Discord could break free?” It was hard - very hard - to keep the incredulity out of her voice. She’d always known Celestia had much farther reaching plans than other ponies, but this…

Celestia shook her head. “I have been anticipating his escape for decades now. It was inevitable, but I could not predict the exact date.” She sighed heavily, setting her cup down in front of her. “Twilight, I beg of you to understand. Over one thousand years ago, Luna and I fought and defeated countless dark forces in our quest to build a peaceful land, but we never believed they would be gone forever.” Celestia’s eyes softened, a sadness passing over her face. “I have tried so very hard to prepare Equestria for this, but…”

Twilight put up her hoof, and Celestia fell silent. “I don’t…” She huffed out a breath, forcing the bubble of anger back down into her belly. “You don’t need to give me any excuses, princess. I’ve never questioned that you have Equestria’s best interests at heart. What I need to know is what were you inferring with Cadence.” Behind her, she could hear Cadence wince a little, but she ploughed on anyway. “Because it sounded like you had intended to warn her about this happening, but not me.”

Celestia was silent for a full two and a half minutes following that, her hooves pressed together and a pensive look on her face. Twilight bit her words back, refusing to allow everything she felt about… and for Princess Celestia to interfere with this. “Yes, that is correct,” she said, abruptly and quietly, and Twilight felt a stab of pain in her heart. It was… almost like betrayal. Why wouldn’t Celestia tell her about this?

Celestia looked up, and gone was the mask of serenity that she had worn in front of her so many times before. Now there was exhaustion, pain, and behind all of that… a glimmer of fierce pride. “Twilight… perhaps I should have told you, but I wished for you to live your life free of this knowledge.” Her lips turned into a smile, a gentle one. “Say of me what you will, my most faithful student, but I could not bear to see somepony I love so very dearly forced to bear the same burden I have carried for so long. Perhaps it was foolish. Perhaps I ought to have trusted you. Yet hindsight is ever perfect in these matters.”

Twilight opened her mouth, shut it, and found the will to speak again. “Princess, I…” she began, groping for the right words and finding none of them. Twilight hung her head a little, sighing and trying to figure out how to put her thoughts into words. “I’m… I should be angry at you, but I don’t want to be. I want to yell and scream at you about this but...” She blew out a huff, wishing that life wasn’t so bloody complicated sometimes.

Celestia’s hoof touched her chin and lifted her head. “Twilight, you would not be the pony I know if you were not at least a little angry at me.” There was a sly twinkle in Celestia’s eye, her smile faint. “You have never liked me withholding knowledge from you.”

Twilight couldn’t help herself, and she smiled faintly. “No, I haven’t.” She laughed faintly, and nuzzled her cheek into Celestia’s hoof. “I can understand why you’d hide this from me, but it doesn’t mean I like it.” Twilight rubbed at her own forehead, hoping the pain near her horn wasn’t an incipient headache. “Look, just… I know there’s things you can’t tell me. I accepted that when I became your student.” She even put on a rueful grin. It had been on the list of things Celestia had made her promise to understand as a little filly, even if she had long since wished she could take back some of those promises. “But please try to consider that telling me might help us solve a problem before it becomes a problem next time, hm? Because if you don’t, I may find myself becoming very cross with you.”

Celestia stared at her for just long enough to make her think she might’ve taken it a bit too far… and she burst into joyous, happy laughter for a good long while. It took her nearly a minute to recover herself enough to speak, wiping away tears of happiness from her eyes. “Faust preserve me, you looked and sounded just like Lulu then, Twilight.” She beamed at her. “I could not be more proud of how far you’ve come as a student, Twilight Sparkle. So yes, I promise that if I believe you can help me stop something from becoming a problem, I will call upon you immediately.”

Twilight exhaled heavily, and felt her own smile turning up much more warmly. “Thank you, Princess Celestia. That’s a great weight off my mind.” She turned to Cadence, who had remained uncommonly silent and was pleased to find her faintly smiling. “That deals with my primary concern. Cadence?”

Cadence took a deep breath of her own and began to speak in a serene, calm voice. “Auntie, Discord had… some things to say to us.” She focused her gaze right on Celestia, her muscles slightly tense. “Namely that things were happening that weren’t supposed to be happening. Ordinarily, I’d probably just dismiss his rantings, but…”

Celestia shook her head once. “But given what I have said to you recently, and today, you wished to consult with me regardless. In truth, he may well be right.” She made a very strange noise then. Something between a snarl and a strangled sigh. “Things are happening even in Canterlot that have taken me utterly by surprise. Not necessarily bad things, mind you, but events have begun to spiral out of my ability to predict them.”

Celestia returned Cadence’s focused look then turned to Twilight. “I will not lie to either of you. We must be prepared for any possible eventuality, including an attack on Equestria itself. I can no longer dismiss even the most unlikely of threats, and so…” She breathed out, hanging her head slowly. “So I must ask of you two something I had hoped to never ask. You represent my greatest reserve of strength, my most powerful light to wield against the dark. I have brought with me…” She turned, and a pair of sealed scrolls floated from her bags. Each was thick and bound with a tightly rolled black ribbon. “A special pair of documents. These scrolls will, upon opening them, imbue you two with the authority to override the orders of any other political force in Equestria. Including mine.”

Twilight stared in dumbfounded shock, a feeling that was easily echoed on Cadence’s face, as the scrolls dropped with the weight of their contents upon the floor in front of them. Celestia’s smile was hard and tight. “Goddess willing we shall never need to break those seals, but the day may come when neither I nor Luna will have the power to stop a threat before it defeats or consumes us.” She bowed her head deeply to them, and Twilight felt like her heart was about to pound out of her chest. “I cannot think of two ponies I would more readily entrust the safety of Equestria if that were to happen.”

Twilight felt a lump swallow down her throat, then did it again. She could not force the words past it, as the very thought of Celestia being defeated by anything was… utterly unthinkable. Fortunately, Cadence laid a hoof on her shoulder and nodded. “I understand, Auntie. We’ll keep them safe.” She grinned, brightly and happily, positive energy rolling off her in waves. “But to be honest, I doubt we’ll ever need them. If anything tries to mess with Equestria, we’ll be absolutely sure to beat them up before you can worry about them.”

Twilight felt some of the positive energy seep into her own limbs and nodded feverishly. “No doubt! There isn’t anything in the world that can stop our team of friends.” She tossed her mane challengingly and gave her own confident grin. “We promise, teacher. So let some of that worry go for once and remember that we managed to beat Discord even without your help, and what in the world could be worse than him?”

Celestia laughed faintly as her head came up, and her eyes settled unnervingly on Cadence. “What indeed? Now, Twilight, I know you do not wish to go…” She held up a hoof, Twilight already reflexively denying that statement. “But I need a few minutes alone with Princess Cadence. If you would be so kind as to check on Captain Struggle for me, then perhaps before I return to Canterlot we can enjoy lunch together and talk like we used to for the rest of the evening.”

Twilight snapped her jaw shut, and considered that offer. Obviously, Celestia was bribing her with the promises of lunch and talk with her beloved mentor. But she also obviously didn’t want Twilight to feel bad about being left out of the conversation, which might be full of important information. It took her about thirty seconds to weigh these two issues, before deciding that Cadence would tell her everything later, one way or another.

“Alright, but don’t think I’ll take too long.” She waggled her hoof at both of them, then scampered out of the room to find the Guard Captain as fast as she could.

The door shut quietly, and Cadence pressed her hoof to it. “Auntie, I need you to tell me that you had nothing to do with Discord getting free today.” She kept her voice calm, or as calm as she possibly could, given the situation. “I need you to say so, in clear and uncomplicated words, before I decide that there will need to be a royal reckoning between us.”

Behind her, she heard a swift intake of breath and its release. “I swear to you, Cadence, I would never do such a thing as purposefully release Discord. I knew he would escape soon, yes, but I had no idea it would be this soon.” She paused, and Cadence could hear Celestia swallow. “Does Twilight think I might be responsible?”

Cadence turned on the spot and looked into those terrified eyes. She might be a shameless manipulator, but… “No, she doesn’t,” Cadence said, very quietly. “I don’t think she can possibly conceive of you doing any such thing. She holds you in far too high an esteem to even think you might purposefully let somepony get hurt.”

“Thank the sun,” Celestia half whispered, and Cadence silently concurred with that statement. She loved her little mare, but right now… Right now she needed that naivety to help her deal with the incredible events enfolding them all. “Cadence, I know I have not been the finest of monarchs where you are concerned,” Celestia continued in her quiet, calm voice. “But I beg of you to believe I would not endanger my little ponies on purpose.” For a long moment, Cadence stared at her aunt and tried to decide how to proceed. And yet… what other choice did she have but to trust her? She nodded once, and Celestia sighed in relief. “Thank you. Now, we must to business.”

“Cadence, do you know what this…” Celestia lifted a section of broken black crystal chain with obvious disgust and disdain. “This filth is?” Cadence winced away and shook her head once.

“No. I’ve never seen anything like it before, and I have no idea how I created it. I was just…” She shivered in place, wrapping her forelegs around her chest. “I was so frightened that something would hurt Twilight, that Discord would hurt her, that I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind. I felt so weak, so unable to protect her without my magic under control, and it kept feeding in on itself until… until I was strong enough.” She could feel her breathing coming more rapidly and tried to swallow it down. She was not going to give into fear in front of Celestia.

Celestia though, seemed far more concerned with her than with the crystal. “No doubt. I had hoped we would have more time for me to speak with you about your cutie mark, and your destiny, but events are progressing too quickly now.” She folded her hooves over each other, and tilted her head up. “So I hope you will forgive me when I blatantly intrude upon something I should otherwise have no business in. Cadence, what is stopping you from proposing to my most faithful student?”

Cadence’s mouth went suddenly dry. Her muscles tensed and her bones ached, and it took a supreme effort of will to continue breathing. That, indeed, was the question, now wasn’t it? Twilight was her marefriend, and there was no denying that she loved her more than enough to devote herself to her in whatever way Twilight might demand… and yet, she had not even asked. “She’s...” Cadence tried to speak, and her throat caught on the words. What had been stopping her?

The day’s events were going to be traumatic enough for her to deal with. She had basically tried to rape the mare she loved, unleashed a magic she didn’t understand, and was now being stared at by the one authority figure she could never outwit. “What does this have to do with this black crystal?” she blurted out, desperate to buy some time for her to collect her thoughts.

Celestia inclined her head and sighed. “Everything, and nothing.” She lifted up the crystal chain again, staring at it balefully. “The last time I saw this substance was when my sister and I defeated the dark king Sombra, and when the corrupted Crystal Empire he ruled over vanished into the mists of time.” She shook her head. “It was the hallmark of his reign. Through it, he ruled his soldiers and ponies with the magic of hatred and fear. It was nearly too powerful for us to overcome, for we did not understand what it could do.”

Celestia tossed the stuff away, rubbing at her hooves as though she felt unclean. She spoke in a low, harsh voice, and kept her gaze steadily on Cadence. “It is a substance that reinforces itself, over and over again, drawing from the emotions of the creator. The stronger the emotion, the stronger the connection, the stronger it becomes… “ She shivered visibly, almost as if feeling a chill. “The crystals are extremely resistant to any kind of magic, save one. They cannot abide the power of love. I am not surprised that you, with your strong love for Twilight, could temporarily contain Discord with them.” She licked at her lips visibly, turning to face Cadence with a stone cold serious face. “Had there been nothing to hold you back, nothing to restrain you… Had Twilight fallen under your sway… I do not know what Luna and I would have had to do to stop you.” Celestia left the implications hanging, and Cadence felt a chill of fear grip her heart.

Celestia shook her head. “We are lucky my student is as strong as she is.” Then she blew out a sigh of relief before smiling faintly. “You remember when you ascended, that I told you your cutie mark spoke of a connection to the Crystal Empire, yes?” Cadence nodded hesitantly and felt a bit of sickness stir up stronger in the pit of her stomach. “This magic is proof of that, but it is also proof that your power could just as easily follow in Sombra’s dark hoofsteps.” Celestia focused her gaze upon her again, and this time there was nothing but hard resolve there. “You can banish this dark crystal with the magic of your love… But that love must be very strong indeed to counteract such power. So I will ask you again, Cadence. What stops you from proposing to Twilight Sparkle?”

Cadence felt cold all of a sudden. She felt a chill under that hard, resolute gaze and wished she could cower away from it. She loved Twilight, with all of her heart, and she knew it was real. So… why? She knew the answer, even if it wasn’t a comfortable one. “I want her to be happy,” she began slowly. Saying this had to be done carefully, very carefully, or else… or else there was no telling what might happen. “She is my very special somepony. She always has been, ever since she chased me down that night all those years ago, and I love her with all of my heart.” She sucked in a deep breath and looked her aunt straight in the eye. Their eye color was so similar, now that she stopped to think about it. “But the real question is, am I the right pony to make her as happy as she deserves to be? Or is that somepony sitting across from me now?”

Celestia’s shock was palpable and perhaps a bit satisfying for Cadence to see. Her jaw dropped, her eyes went wide, and she nearly pushed herself a little further away from Cadence. “Celestia, I’m not a fool. Twilight may have shared beds with no few other ponies during our time together, but there is only one pony she’s sighed over, worried about, or fretted as much over as me… and that’s you.” Cadence kept her voice calm, even, quiet. She wasn’t going to let her personal feelings stop her from saying something that Celestia had needed to hear for years. “And don’t give me that ‘I’m her teacher’ garbage,” she snorted derisively, neatly interrupting Celestia’s obvious next words. “You know just as well as I do that means absolutely bupkis when love gets involved.”

Celestia shut her mouth and nodded tightly. Tatarus, if there was anypony on the planet who ought to understand that better than Cadence, it was Celestia. Cadence might have laughed, but this moment was far too important. “I know she loves me, Celestia,” Cadence continued, keeping her voice quiet. “I know what we share is special. But I love her too much to shackle her to me if her heart belongs someplace else.” Then she looked up and caught Celestia’s gaze again. “I love her, truly. But Love means knowing when to let go too. It means knowing when somepony would be better off with somepony else, no matter how much it might hurt. So that’s my question to you, Princess Celestia. You, who know her even better than I do in many ways. Am I the right pony to make her happy in the way she deserves?”

Celestia’s mouth snapped shut, and her face went near instantly from shock to a rueful annoyance. “By the moon, niece, are you quite serious?” That was a rather astonishing statement, but Celestia followed it up ruthlessly. “I will not deny it, I love her. I have loved her since the moment I laid eyes upon her. She is brilliant, talented, adorable, and without a doubt one of the most attractive young mares I’ve ever had the pleasure of teaching.” Celestia stood up abruptly and marched the few steps over to Cadence where she firmly grasped her chin and yanked her head up. “I would marry her in a single one of her heartbeats, without hesitation. But that heartbeat belongs to you, Cadence, and it always will. So stop torturing yourself over what happened with Shining Armor. That was as much my fault as anypony’s.”

Cadence found herself being hauled to her hooves, and Celestia smiling faintly at her. “I am humbled that you would put my own happiness ahead of yours. It is a sign that you are a better mare for her than I could ever hope to be.” Cadence tried to speak, but found herself unable to do so as a firm rap of magic snapped her muzzle shut. “Now shut up and go ask for my student’s hoof. You have my blessing.” And without warning she was turned about by sudden and strong hooves and shoved bodily through the door of the library.

Cadence wheeled, annoyance strong in her mind, only to find the library door shut firmly behind her. For several long minutes, she stared at that doorway and wondered what had just happened. She wondered why Celestia had thrown her out, and if perhaps she had gone a shade too far with her questions. But she had, at long last, the answer to a very old question. She turned from the door, and forced herself to ignore the soft, muffled sounds beyond the doorway. Celestia wanted her privacy, and Cadence would give it to her, even if it hurt to do so.

Cadence found Twilight sitting at a table at Sugarcube Corner, surrounded by celebrating ponies and frosting in every possible direction. She was a tiny island of silence and contemplation amidst an ocean of madness, and not for the first time, Cadence wondered if she had ever truly managed to crack that old shell of self isolation that Twilight seemed stubbornly determined to hold onto. Maybe it was just a part of who she was. Cadence didn’t know, but she did know she would have a lifetime to try to find out.

Her hooves touched ground as she dropped from the air, and she quietly took her steps over to the table. Twilight was absorbed, apparently, in examining a single cupcake’s frosting construction. A scrap of napkin nearby had some complex mathematical formulae on it, and Cadence was almost positive she was trying to figure out some kind of equation for the frosting. That would be cute, if Cadence was not also positive that meant Twilight was very, very depressed.

She sat quietly at the table, and extended her hooves across it so that Twilight could not miss them. She didn’t stir at first, but she eventually placed her hooves atop Cadence’s and sighed softly. “Hey, darlin,” Twilight spoke in a soft affect of Applejack’s accent, and it made Cadence smile.

“Hey yourself, dahling,” Cadence cooed out, mimicking Rarity’s own accent and conjuring up a small smile from Twilight. “Want to talk?” she asked quietly. Twilight sometimes needed to talk, and sometimes that was the absolute last thing she wanted to do.

Twilight nodded a little, laying her chin on the table. “Celestia looked so sad.” Her words damn near cut straight to Cadence’s heart, and the pain was almost enough to make her want to turn away. But almost was not enough, so she held strong. “I hate… seeing her like that, Cadence. I hate seeing her look like she’s got no hope for being happy. If anypony deserves to be happy, it would be her, damnit!” Twilight sounded stubborn and angry, and Cadence couldn’t blame her.

“Yeah, I hate it too, Twilight.” She gently laid her chin on the table so Twilight would have no choice but to look her in the eye. Whatever Celestia might have said to her, whatever she might have felt about how Twilight felt… I have a duty, Celestia. To Love, and to be honest with other’s Love. You taught me that. “So. Do you think we should do something about it?” She kept her voice calm, and quiet, just as she had with Celestia.

Twilight looked at her with those beautiful, expressive eyes, and spoke in a soft and sad voice. “I don’t know what we could do, Cadey. She’s so… distant. No matter how much I try…” She sniffled a little, and Cadence wanted nothing more than to whisk her beloved away to some distant cloud and cuddle her until it stopped. But…

She took a deep breath and spoke. “She loves you, you know.” There. It was on the table, out in the open, and Cadence could stop bloody worrying over it. Twilight stared at her, her eyes gone wide in mute shock. “She might not have said anything, but she does.” She closed her eyes and moved to take her hooves back. “You should go talk to her, Twilight.” Pain was acceptable as an alternative to seeing two ponies she loved so deeply be so hurt.

But Twilight grabbed at her hooves and did not let her take them away. “Cadence… Stop.” Her voice had gone firm, but not angry. “I had hoped… I had hoped I could just be patient, but it’s pretty clear I can’t do that anymore.” Cadence opened her eyes to see Twilight’s face alive once again. Her eyes narrowed and a faint flush in her cheeks. “Cadence, I love her too. Far more than I have any right to, if I’m being honest with myself.” Her blush grew brighter, but she held on to Cadence’s hooves even harder. “But I know who I want to be with for the rest of my life, and I’m tired of waiting for her to stop blaming herself.”

“Twilight, I-” Cadence felt her muzzle get snapped shut for the second time today, this time by Twilight’s magic. She rubbed vigorously at her nose and half glared at Twilight in silence.

“Shut up,” Twilight said, bluntly and grabbed her hooves and half-dragged her across the table. “Marry me. Please.” Twilight’s words hit her like hammer blows, right into her sternum. “We’ll.. we’ll think of something for Celestia. But right now, I want you to say you’re going to marry me, Mi Amore Cadenza.” The world had gone silent around them, and Cadence was acutely aware that everypony was watching in silent anticipation.

It’s been ten years, Cadence. Shut up and kiss her.

So she did. She grabbed Twilight and kissed her with all of the passion and love she could muster from her soul. She kissed her and kissed her and didn’t stop kissing her until somepony in the crowd gave off a little wolf-whistle and somepony else yelled, “Just say it already!” Which elicited a big laugh from the rest of the ponies.

Cadence detached herself just long enough to stick her tongue out at the crowd, and turned back to the flushed and surprised Twilight Sparkle. “Of course I’ll marry you, Twilight Sparkle.” Then before Twilight could possibly argue with her, she kissed her again.

A gentle applause and a few cheers went up around them, and then… “Well It’s about bloody time!” Pinkie Pie yelled from the window, a huge grin on her face. Twilight was startled, and Cadence whipped her head around to see who’d yelled… and giggled at the sight of Pinkie. “You two had better not go anywhere, I need to get my wedding planner notebook!” Pinkie continued, then vanished from the window.

“Oh, dear,” Twilight said faintly, looking sheepish. “We’re really going to have to let her plan the wedding, won’t we.” That was a statement, and Cadence nodded with a little grin of her own. Twilight sighed expressively. “Well at the very least there will be plenty of balloons.” Cadence giggled madly and pressed in for another kiss when… when the tip of her horn gently touched Twilight’s. It had happened a thousand times before, and not the least of which when they connected with one another in heavy intimacy. But this time….

The world exploded around them in bright purple and pink light, coruscating waves of energy erupting out of the ground around them. “What in the?!” Twilight blurted out around her lips, but the tips of their horns would not disengage from one another. The light erupted into a pillar that soared into the skies above them and a wave of violet and pink energy, shaped like a six pointed star, swept through the buildings and out around them into ponyville. The wave of light spread out like a sonic rainboom, off into the distance in a solid bar of light hundreds of feet high before vanishing into nothingness.

Silence followed, and Cadence felt herself overtaken by awe as the magic slowly dissipated around them. Twilight’s eyes had gone wide, and Cadence could not help feel a little tight warmth in her chest. “Did we do that?” she asked quietly, feeling a moment of childlike wonder. She’d given off love magic before, but that… That had been magnitudes of power beyond anything she could possibly have imagined.

“I think so…” Twilight whispered, then glanced around rapidly. “But… where did everypony go?” Sure enough, none of the crowd ponies, nor those that had been seemingly packed into Sugarcube were anywhere to be seen. In fact, Sugarcube’s doors were closed up tightly along with the windows, and there was no sign of anypony in the streets. Maybe they’d gotten a bit scared by the energy wave?

Twilight shook her head. “Sometimes, I marvel at how Ponyville deals with weird stuff. Whatever. Let’s go back to the library and talk to the Princess.” She turned, her hoof now curled firmly around Cadence’s neck. “And… I meant it when I said we need to think of some way to help the Princess, Cadence.” Her voice was soft but hard determined. “I think between us we can think of… think of something.”

Cadence nodded once. “Yeah. We will, beloved. We will.”

Twilight was very glad to be back on sturdy ground in the library. Here, mistress of her domain, she could tackle any problem, including the one of how in the world she was going to break this to her brother. Not that she wasn’t deliriously happy, but she was still a bit worried about him and how he might react to this… strange sequence of events. It had been a long, odd, frightening day, but… but there was hope here at the end of it. She was happy for that.

Of course, coming back to her library, now free of that wicked and cold black crystal… well, that was certainly a bonus. Spike, on the other hoof… “Could you please tell the Princess that I’m supposed to be the one who makes tea for guests, and not the other way around?” Spike asked plaintively, looking pained. “She’s dancing in there, and I can’t get a word in edgewise, Twilight.” Spike was wearing his little white apron and perched outside the doorway to the kitchen. From within, Twilight could barely hear what definitely sounded like Princess Celestia singing some kind of jaunty tune.

Cadence gave her an amused look, and with a shove the pair of them walked into the kitchen, and there Celestia was. She was indeed dancing to some kind of saccharine pop-song playing on her record player, bouncing all over the place in a way that made Twilight equal parts amused, uncomfortable, and mildly aroused. Best not to dwell too much on those thoughts, Twilight, she mused with a slow smile.

Celestia bounced around, beaming at both of them with a happiness Twilight hadn’t seen in her in a very long time. “Come in, come in! Sit!” She gently chivvied them along with shoves of her golden magic until they gave in and sat down at the table. “Now, we’ve got a great deal to discuss, obviously, but…” Three teacups hit the table and were followed by a bright white teapot, which poured a refreshing brew into them. “Right now, I want you two to take all the time you need to get ready. I’ve no end of things we’ll need to prepare in Canterlot anyway.”

From somewhere… Twilight wasn’t sure where, but somewhere, Celestia produced a shining steel flask, from which she poured a dollop of something that smelled very strongly of cherries into each cup. “I will ensure nopony, including your parents, puts any pressure on either of you to set a date.” Her smile was broad and soft, and her eyes shone as she nudged the cups over to each of them. “Never forget where your journeys have brought you, nor how they have brought you together in a way nopony could have predicted.” She raised her own teacup, and Twilight could not help but to raise hers as well.

Cadence chewed on her lip for a moment before raising her cup, and the three of them gently rapped them together in camaraderie. “We won’t, Auntie,” Cadence said, all too-softly. Celestia smiled faintly at her, and the three of them sipped the tea together.

Twilight nearly fell into a coughing fit as fiery cherries clawed their way down her throat, but she gave herself a good accounting under the sly grin of Celestia and powered through it. “Very…” She did give off one, delicate cough. “Tasty, Princess.” She felt her lips turn into a small smile. “Just… Promise me you’ll never be afraid to talk to us about anything. We’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”

The Princess crossed her heart with a faint smile. “Of course, Twilight. Now.” She clapped her hooves together and rubbed them with a fierce grin. “Before I return to Canterlot to make preparations, I must ask but one thing of you both.” Twilight steeled herself for some dangerous mission, and Cadence looked resolved to handle anything. “Who gets to wear the tux?” Celestia asked with an arched eyebrow, and Twilight burst into laughter.

Princess Celestia pressed her back against the doorway and tried to breathe normally.It is going to be okay, she quietly told herself, driving out all emotions or personal feelings or whatever. Now was not the time to have a breakdown. “Hark, Sister. You hath requested words with me?” Luna’s voice was a soothing balm to her soul and just the sight of her restored sibling put a little warmth into her heart.

“Yes, I have. You were watching the goings on in Ponyville, I must presume?” Celestia pushed off the doorway to cross the hall. Luna’s smile was faint, but it was wonderful to see it there. She’d been so much warmer, so much more… alive as of late. Celestia wondered if Prince Armor being alongside her hadn’t been a blessing in disguise after all…

“Mm. It is as we suspected,” Luna began, quietly turning and beckoning Celestia to follow her. “Though I have but thy previous observations to go on, the power that pair gave off was a very impressive display. And this is only the first time they have truly dedicated themselves to one another, yes?” Her eyes were sharp and so were her words. Luna was no fool, and whatever her differences with the modern age, her magical skills had not dulled a whit.

“They’ve done so before, but unintentionally. Remember the Gala?” She grinned broadly at Lulu’s blushing cheeks and had to admit that the pair of them had likely changed the tenor of the Gala for generations to come with their little stunt. “We will need to be very careful, Luna. Cadence’s power has always been tied up with her love for others.” She sighed heavily. “But combined with the strength of Twilight’s magic, and her connection to the Elements…”

Luna nodded once. “They are only just beginning to mesh, to create the gestalt of power, and yet I could see the blast of energy from here.” She shook her head too. “We must be cautious, sister dearest. We may be creating a monster here. Should either of them realize the power they now possess...” Her eyes narrowed, and her words ran low. “I love Dame Sparkle for returning me to sense, and I shall not allow her to follow the same path I did.”

Celestia turned her head sharply, keeping her own voice low. “That will not be an issue, Lulu. I give you my word on that. Do not even suggest that such could happen in front of her either. She is delicate enough as it is.” Celestia sighed deeply and felt herself lean against one of the marble walls, too exhausted to continue for the moment.

Luna, of course, would not allow her peace. “Did it hurt thee, Tia?” There was no need to elaborate on what ‘it’ was. They’d had this discussion a thousand times before, and even before Luna had lost her senses.

“Of course it did, Lulu. It always hurts. That doesn’t meant it wasn’t necessary.” Celestia grit her teeth and shoved herself off the wall. “We need to plan for the wedding ceremonies. We shall need to draft the paperwork to bring Twilight into the Royal Family on a more formal basis. Knight Night Light, and perhaps grant her mother a title of her own. We must-”

Celestia did not see Luna coming. She was slammed against the wall, but not roughly so, and Luna’s fierce eyes bored into hers. “You cannot keep doing this to thyself, Tia. Thy heart bleeds, and thy soul weeps. And do not deny it!” she snapped, and Celestia’s denial died on her breath. “I am the Mistress of Dreams and the night is my domain, sister! Do not think I do not hear your quiet sobs in the wee hours of the morning or see her face in your dreams every night!” Luna’s voice was thick with emotion, and her eyes barely concealing tears. “You deserve happiness, sister! Why do you shove it away!?”

Celestia took a deep breath and teleported out of her sister’s grasp. It was a spell she had performed all too often, and Luna whipped about with her eyes wide in surprise. “Because I will not rip what my niece so loves away from her. I will not allow my own desires to supersede what is best for Equestria and for the one I love.” She turned and marched quietly down the hallway. “Twilight Sparkle deserves better than an old mare like me anyway,” she half-whispered, then strangled the heartache in its crib. She lifted her head high and exhaled deeply. She had work to do. “Return to your knight, Luna. Be happy in my stead. I will keep watch over Equestria, as I always have.”

She grabbed hold of her magic and used it to hurl herself through the ether to her rooms. There, she found ink and quill, law book and paper, and began the work to make Twilight a part of their greater family. At the very least, it would distract her from her thoughts, and perhaps if she worked enough, she could find some peace in her dreams tonight.