When my mother opened the door, it was with a certain wariness. The neighborhood my parents lived in was very respectable and very safe, but I imagine that the noise Discord and I had made was something that had never been heard in that quarter of the city in several lifetimes, if ever. "It's okay, mom!" I reassured her. "It's just me. Can I come in?"

She peered over my shoulder at the slowly writhing draconequus and then looked back at me. "Dear, are you okay?"

"Nope, not really. Hey! You've never met Discord, have you? Mom, this is my friend, Discord, malevolent spirit of disharmony and inappropriate touching. Discord, this is my mother, Twilight Velvet."

"Help me..." Discord wheezed. "Call... the guards... Celestia.... anypony!"

I laughed at that. Maybe I laughed a bit too much. "Oh, don't worry about him! Those are special concatenating shields to nullify his magic. They're not uncomfortable on purpose; they've got to be that layered and tight to work properly. I happened to notice the effect of my ordinary shield on his magic and then worked up this specialized version... just in case someone got a little too playful. Be prepared; that's my motto!"

I thought about what I'd just said for a second. "Well, I guess that's one of my mottoes. 'Reading is magic' is another. Oh, and 'keep detailed notes' is a good one. Hmn... maybe I should start a list."

Mom gave me a look.

"Oh, right! Sorry, I got sidetracked there for a second. Busy day. Can I park Discord out here in the hall while we visit?" I was feeling a bit giddy and jumpy at the same time. I supposed it was the effort of maintaining the multiple shields, but I thought I could probably hold them indefinitely by adding little bursts of power at measured intervals. Plenty of time for a nice chat with mom and dad and a rummage through my old textbooks.

"This... isn't funny... any more."

"Quiet, you." I propped him in the corner by the hat rack, facing the wall, then gave mom a big hug, which we held for a long time.

"I'm so glad you're okay, dear," she said. "A captain from the guard arrived last evening and told us you'd come back, but he also mentioned that you had... changed." She held me out and looked at me. "You look like you've been exercising quite a lot, but otherwise you don't look like you've changed much."

"Right, right," I chuckled nervously. "I guess you haven't heard about the little fracas in Parliament Square yet. All smoke and mirrors. Nothing to worry about."

"Alright, dear," Mom said slowly. "Why don't you come in and sit down. You look a bit frazzled." She led me into the parlor, and I sat down on the big blue cushion by the fireplace.

"Have you got anything to eat? I haven't had breakfast yet, and I'm starving!"

"Of course, dear," she said, the worried, puzzled look still on her face. "Just wait here for a minute." She went out of the room in the direction of the kitchen.

"Okie-dokie! Oh hey! I'm going to have a look though some of my old books if that's okay with you. They're still up in the attic, right? You didn't sell them or anything?"

Mom leaned back into the room and gave me another look. She's got a whole vocabulary of expressions for various occasions. Of course she wouldn't have sold my books! What was I thinking?

I teleported the books I wanted into the room: only the books and not the boxes. The boxes were probably covered with dust, and Mom was a bit fussy about the neatness and cleanliness of her house. See? I can be very thoughtful sometimes. At least with the little things.

A low conversation started up out in the hall, but I ignored it. I opened Advanced Geomancy, Higher-Order Thaumic Flow Functions, and Matrix Transformation Theory, and began to go through them, cross-referencing and making notes in the margins. After a little while, there came a voice from the hall.

"Twilight?"

I looked up to see my dad peering into the room.

I froze my books, notes, and quill in place and got up to go hug him. He seemed tense for some reason.

"Oh, hey! Where are my manners? Have you met Discord? Let me introduce you!"

"No, it's fine, sweetie. I just had a little talk with him. Maybe you should let him go now?"

"What? No! He's been bad and is having a time-out. Besides, he would turn your house into a gigantic pudding or something if I let him loose. It would get all over my books."

"Okay," Dad said, gently. "What is it you're doing there?"

"Well," I said, clearing my throat and putting on my serious business face. "The world is all twisted inside, the government of Equestria is based on greed and deception, and I'm a cold-hearted killer. There's not much I can do about that last one, but I'm going to do my best to fix the first two."

"Maybe you'd like to take a little nap now and talk things over later?"

"Dad! I'm not a little filly any more. I know what I'm doing!"

"Sweetie, you're not thinking clearly. You're upset, and even though you've got very good reasons to be so, you need to take some time to—"

"Look at this!" I said, my voice rising unintentionally. I held up the geomancy book for him to see where I'd circled a formula in red ink. "Right there! That is a deliberate error! It was put in this book to distract anypony away from getting near the real truth!"

"Uh, sweetie—"

"Don't 'sweetie' me, Dad! It's a monstrous lie! It's part of a conspiracy to keep us all ignorant!"

"Twilight, you're scaring me."

"You should be scared! I've seen what lies at the heart of the world, and it is worse than any Nightmare! And what's so awful is that the government is hardly better! There has got to be a way to fix all of this. Our little puppet show this morning is only a patch; the system is fundamentally flawed!"

Mom shoved Dad aside and slowly approached me.

"Twilight, listen to me, please! Take a deep breath and try to calm down. I've made some sandwiches and tea, so why don't we sit down together and eat, and you can explain all this to us bit by bit so that we can understand."

"Don't patronize me!" I shrieked. "I'm right!" I shook the textbook at her. "If this stupid formula is correct, would I be able to do this?" I turned to the window overlooking the street and reached out with my magic. My inner sight showed the subtle flows of energy below the pavement, and I grabbed onto them, intending to twist a big granite spire up into the sky to illustrate my point.

Just because the thaumic flow of the world's magic is slow, doesn't mean it's weak; something that I had disregarded in my haste to prove my point. Something else I hadn't taken into consideration was that, even though I had expelled the Nightmare's physical self, I still had her magical power within me. So, even before I could begin the spell, I unintentionally created a conduit of enormous capacity. I had a fraction of a second to realize my mistake before the blow-back bucked me into darkness.

When I woke up, I was tucked into the guest bed. Dad was sitting by the bedside. He looked up when I shifted, and then stood and leaned over me. "Hey, sweetie. How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess. Kinda numb."

"We were pretty worried for a while there." He reached over and smoothed my mane back from my face.

The whole little "episode" came back to me in a rush, and I tried to sit up, but my head swam and I decided it was better to be lying down. I looked at my dad and said, "Discord! What happened when I passed out? Did he..."

Dad looked a bit uncomfortable and pointed with a hoof. There, between my forelegs, was a little stuffed toy. It looked a lot like Discord. One of its button eyes winked at me.

"Aaaaahhh!" I flung the doll away from me and it hit the wall with a squeak, then dropped to the floor.

Discord arose from the floor and dusted himself off. "I was just trying to comfort a friend, Twilight. Where's the harm in that?"

I eyed him warily, all too aware of the things he could do to me if I was slow to cast my special shield spells. Even if I got the jump on him, my parents' house would suffer in the struggle.[1] "I... I guess you're pretty mad at me, aren't you?"
----------
[1] The slide and swing set in the park would never be the same. Maybe they could be passed off as some sort of modern art installation.
----------

"Oddly enough, I'm not." he said. "I wouldn't want to become predictable."

"I'm really sorry, if that makes a difference."

Discord floated up over the bed and lazily looped through the air in a sinuous figure eight. "I know you are, Twilight. You're completely predictable, uninteresting, and dull: a classic good-girl. Booooooring!"

Dad was frowning at Discord, and I think he was about to say something in my defense, but I made a little motion with one hoof to forestall him. Discord was working up to something. He wasn't as unpredictable as he thought he was.

"Predictable, am I? So what am I going to do next?" I asked.

"You'll stay here, of course! Away from those nasty, bickering alicorns and those horribly difficult and embarrassing conversations," he said with a grin, a snap of his fingers, and a burst of magic. "Here, with your books, where it's safe and comfy!"

The sides of my bed grew rails and bars and I... I spat out the pacifier and teleported the baby bonnet and diapers off of me.

"Oh," Discord sounded disappointed. "Would you prefer a padded cell?"

I flickered a brief shield around the bed, which returned it to normal, and then I hopped out. "I've got to go, Dad. I'm sorry for worrying you and Mom."

"She went for a doctor. He said not to, but—"

"Tell her I'm okay, and give her my love when she gets back. I'll let you know how everything turns out." I gave him a big hug and then turned to Discord. "I'm going up to the palace and I'd really appreciate it if you didn't stick your oar in. Things are bad enough as it is."

Discord hastily hid the oar that had popped into existence behind his back. "As long as you promise to tell me all about it afterward."

"Fine," I sighed. "All the gruesome details, I guess. And hey..." I reached over and pulled him into a brief hug. "Thank you. You were a good friend to me even when I was being difficult. That's pretty impressive."

"I... oh... You're welcome, Twilight." Was Discord actually blushing? It was undoubtedly just another act.

I teleported into the entrance hall of the throne room. The two household guards at either side of the inner doors didn't flinch, even though I had appeared quite close to them.

"Your Highness," one of them said, "Her Majesty asked us to convey her regards and ask you if you would be so kind as to spare her a little time as soon as would be convenient for you."

He had obviously memorized the message and was repeating it verbatim. I imagined all of the palace guard had been given the same instructions in case I happened to wander by. I didn't have the heart to ask him which Majesty had given him the message, but as he was wearing the golden armor of the Solar Guard, it was undoubtedly his princess.

"Thank you," I said. "Where is Her Majesty now?"

"She is in the solarium with the Princesses Luna and Cadenza, Your Highness."

So formal and serious. Well, after intra-monarchy tension for months on end, I supposed it was almost reflexive to be excruciatingly polite. The fact that they were talking to a mare who had violently thrown around several hundred tons of Canterlot building materials just that morning was probably additional incentive. I thanked them again, and headed up the north hallway.

I was attacked as I passed the entrance to the staff dining room. The first pony hit me low and hard on my left, and just as I was turning to see what was going on, the next landed on my back. The others piled on only a second later, and I was buried under a heavy squirming pile of my friends.

"Twilight, Twilight, Twilight, TWILIGHT, Twilight—"

"Pffnkie!" I tried to say through a face full of fluffy pink mane.

All coherency dissolved into overlapping greetings and joyful noises. I couldn't see Spike, but I knew the feel of his head spines digging into my cheek very well.

After a while, we all fell apart and got a good look at the whole group. "Did you come all the way here to see me? I would have come back to Ponyville in a day or so."

Applejack stepped forward. "After what Rainbow Dash told us, we figured you might need a little lookin' after, so we caught the red-eye last night."

"Yes," Rarity said. "We arrived just in time to catch the flashes and bangs from Parliament Square. By the time we got there, it was all over and ponies were saying the most ridiculous things!"

Rainbow Dash gave me a crooked grin. "'Nightmare Twilight?' Really?"

I almost rolled my eyes and scoffed, but then I thought about it. "Not in the way ponies probably told it, but yes, today I was a villain."

"Pfft! Yeah, right!" Rainbow Dash did roll her eyes.

"But you're not dark and spooky anymore!" Pinkie said. "No more Nightmare means you're our old Twilight again!"

I didn't think I was ever going to be their "old Twilight" again, but at least I could take a shot at being a new Twilight. The first thing I was going to do was ignore just how wet my neck was. I ruffled Spike's spines and said, "I'm sorry I caused all of you so much trouble. I'm supposed to be princess of bringing ponies together, not princess of crazy and pointless adventures!"

That got a chuckle out of most of them, but Pinkie's eyes went slightly out of focus and she got a crooked little grin on her face that sent a little shiver up my spine.

"All that matters is that you're here, and everything is back to normal," Fluttershy said with an expression of desperate hopefulness.

"Normal," I said. "Right."

"Oh, hey!" Rainbow Dash said, and pulled something out from under one wing. "You made the papers! Check it out!"

"EVIL DEFEATED!" read the headline. By slightly less evil, I mentally added in self-disgust. Below the enormous letters was a full width picture of me blasting the statue of Celestia. The photographers must have been in the square even before I'd arrived. Nothing had been left to chance.

"When asked for a comment," I said, in an attempt at levity, "Nightmare Twilight said, 'Mwahahaha! The evening shall last foreverrrr!'"

The group began to chuckle but stopped abruptly when Spike slapped me hard on the shoulder. "Stop it!," he shouted. "It isn't funny! You were gone for so long, and then you came back looking like that, and I thought you were going to get banished and, I'd never see you again, and it isn't fair that you scared me like that, and—"

I wrapped my wings around him and squeezed, rubbing my cheek against his. "I'm sorry, Spike! I'm really, really sorry. I messed up, I know. But that was the only way I could fix things. It was the only way that more ponies weren't going to get hurt because of me."

We hugged in an awkward silence for a time, while the girls shuffled their hooves and examined the ceiling, and then I said, "I know it isn't going to make up for everything I've put you through, but just as an initial apology, how about if I commission Pinkie Pie to bake you a double-stuffed, triple-layered gem cake for dessert tonight?"

"R—really?" Spike looked up, eyes shining.

I nodded. "Do you think you're up to the challenge, Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie's face tightened down into fierce determination. "If he doesn't gobble enough to make himself sick, I'll turn in my oven mitts!" With that, she turned and began to stomp off in the direction of the palace kitchens. After three stomps, she looked back over her shoulder and added, "And there's gonna be so many gems in it, his barf will glitter!"

Something to look forward to, I told myself, while the rest of the girls made various quiet noises of disgust.

"On that charming note..." Rarity said. "As we all now have a de facto dinner date, I feel I should pass along Princess Celestia's message."

"Oh, right," I said. "The guards gave it to me. I was on my way to see her when you all ambushed me."

"Oh! Well, don't let us keep you from your royal duties, darling!"

"Too late," Dash said, half under her breath, earning herself a perfunctory glare from Rarity.

"Alright, then. Dinner in the little hall an hour after sundown." I hesitated. "Is it okay if I invite one or two more guests? We can have a more private get-together back home in a day or so. Yes? Good! Rarity, could you please ask the castle staff to arrange the meal? Pass it along as a request from me." I nudged Spike. "Walk along with me? You don't know how much I missed having my number-one assistant by my side."

Spike gave me a slight grin. "You were probably lost without me!"

"Utterly lost," I confirmed, as we walked on toward the solarium. "Ready to write out some invitations?"

He hesitated until I teleported a pad of paper and a quill into his claws. "Ready!"

"Good!" I nodded, and began to dictate.

"Her Exalted Highness, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship," announced the guard as he opened the door to the solarium. Exalted? When did I get a promotion?

"See you at dinner, Spike," I said as I walked away from him and toward the doorway.

I had put on my big-girl shoes and mentally prepared myself for a stern dressing-down from Celestia. I was determined to be calm and reasonable about it, and I was going to do my best not to get emotional. But I certainly wasn't prepared for what I saw when I entered the solarium.

Luna and Cadence stood together with somber expressions. Behind them, almost entirely hidden from view, stood Celestia, looking out of the large windows. It wasn't until the door boomed shut behind me that she stood and turned to face the room.

When I saw her tear-streaked face, I found myself frozen in shock.

I didn't have much time to gawp, because Luna rushed forward and wrapped her forelegs around me and pulled me into a powerful hug. "Oh, Twilight, I was so worried," she murmured into my mane. "You should never have had to go through that at all! Celestia asked too much of you... expected too much."

Despite her appearance, Celestia's voice was calm and even. "Twilight is stronger than you give her credit for. She has her little eccentricities and... 'moments' we used to call them, but she has always served the kingdom well."

I felt Luna's lips against my neck as they pulled back in a snarl. She lifted her head to glare at her sister and opened her mouth... and suddenly her expression softened and her muscles relaxed.

Celestia's own face went from neutral and distant to a fond smile. I felt a cool sensation of relief wash over me, and I breathed a sigh of relief. We all had the same basic values and goals and we loved each other; why should we fight? Everything would be just fine.

Celestia approached the two of us and Cadance joined her, her horn softly glowing and shedding little heart-shaped pulses of magic. They both pressed in on either side of us, necks bowed over our backs and wings spread and overlapping. With all the wings and pointy bits, alicorn group hugs are a bit complex, but we managed.

There was a long time of unfocused apologies and reassurances after we had all dried our eyes, but there were several things that had to be gotten through, and we all knew it. First came Cadance's area of expertise.

"I don't want to make you angry, Twilight, but I think I really should—"

"Yes, of course," I cut her off. I had expected this and was prepared for it. "Things would have gone very differently if I had been sensible about this in the first place." I glanced at Luna, but she said nothing and her expression was unreadable.

Cadance lit her horn and touched me with her magic. It felt good. Then she gasped.

"What is it?" Celestia asked, suddenly alert and staring at me intently. I couldn't help it: I tensed up.

"It's... odd," Cadance said. "I'm surprised by the... well, it's hard to explain. The texture of Twilight's magic maybe? It just feels strange to me."

There was an easy answer to that. "I'm still carrying the Nightmare's power. Don't worry, there's nothing of her left, just the energy, and I've got full control of it." I tried to smile reassuringly at Cadance. "It should feel odd!"

Cadance glanced at Luna, who remained stone-faced, then back at me. "Yes, that's probably it. Sorry. I'll go on." After a minute or so the cool touch of Cadance's magic faded and she sat back. "The Nightmare told you she had forced you into loving Luna?" she asked, a puzzled tone in her voice.

"Yes, she 'pushed' me into it. But even after her influence is gone, I still love Luna." I turned to Luna and gave her a reassuring smile.

Cadance frowned. "She lied to you, Twilight. The only spell remnant I can detect is one that nudged your physical attraction to Luna. There is no trace of anything else."

Luna's ragged exhalation was neither missed nor commented upon, and fortunately, it was loud enough to cover my own gasp of surprise.

Cadance continued. "I confess I've never encountered a situation like this before, Twilight. You love her, but your preference for male partners might cause some—"

"'Twill be no matter for concern!" Luna interrupted. She had been standing behind Cadance and Celestia, but she walked slowly around them to approach me, flowing from one form to another with each step. She didn't transform as quickly as a changeling, but her mastery of the art was very clear. In a dozen paces, she became a dozen different ponies, all male. "I shall be whatever my lover finds comely, and in time she may even find mine own self desirable again." The final body she wore as she stopped in front of me was a particularly striking stallion version of herself, ethereal mane and all.

"I..." Cadance said in a voice so low it was nearly a whisper. "Unless you enjoy being a stallion, Luna, I'm not so sure that's wise or healthy."

I briefly had the strange twin emotions of admiring Luna's new form and feeling that I was being disloyal to her somehow. I was about to make a very rude comment on the state of anypony's mental health versus my own, when Celestia spoke up.

"We discussed this earlier, I believe."

Cadance backed away, and Luna turned to face her sister. "It is Twilight's decision to make. I will do as she wishes."

"Luna, it is unfair to saddle Twilight with such a decision. You have a responsibility—"

I cleared my throat. "Would you mind bringing me up to speed on this discussion?" There may have been a bit of an edge creeping back into my voice.

Celestia glanced at her sister and Cadance, but neither of them seemed over-eager to help out. She sighed and walked back to the big curved windows, nodding to a cushion next to her as she lay on her own. I accepted her offer and Luna, still wearing her stallion form, lay down by my side. Cadance stood where she was, nervously shifting her hooves.

"The situation is now much better than it was," Celestia began. "Very much improved over what I had any right to expect, in fact. But that does not mean that Equestria and her allies are returned to perfect harmony. There will be a long period of time in which any small disturbance will be magnified out of all proportion. We must take care that the next year or so is inordinately peaceful and... normal."

Cadance snorted. It was a very soft, lady-like snort, but it was certainly a sign from the only neutral alicorn in the room. The Alicorn of Love had expressed her opinion. I was a little bit glad that I had missed the earlier "discussion."

"Oh." I said, glancing at Luna, whose face had settled into an impassive mask once again. "And we aren't normal."

"You are perfectly normal," Cadance said, barely above a whisper. It was obviously untrue, but we all knew what she meant.

"Yes," Celestia nodded. "I cannot be anything but happy for your mutual love, and I understand how much it means to you both, but many ponies will feel differently."

"Because we are both mares? I know that makes a difference to some of the older and more conservative ponies, but most ponies nowadays don't care."

"Or they feel that expressing such prejudiced objections would not be received well," Celestia added. "But that is only a tiny part of the problem, and alone, it would not be of much consequence. The real problem is that Luna and I are more symbols to our citizens than we are real ponies. I have never taken a lover because I have always had to be the inviolate Sun Princess, the supreme and solitary leader of Equestria. A husband would have lessened my authority and stature in the eyes of my subjects. Luna is only just now being accepted as a princess with equal authority, years after her return. Any mate for her would be problematic, but given your tangled history over the last two years, continuing your relationship would be incredibly disruptive at the very least."

I opened my mouth to object, but Celestia went on. "Adding in Luna sometimes appearing as a stallion would also confuse our ponies about her traditional and symbolic role. You correctly pointed out that the gender problem will only affect the older and more conservative ponies of the kingdom, but that is a very good description of the majority of nobles and ponies in positions of power. What everypony needs right now is reassurance in the normalcy and stability of our rule. Please forgive me for being blunt, but there is only one thing that is more important to me than your happiness, and that is the good of the kingdom." Her head drooped and her expression became a mask of sorrow. "I will make no demands of you, but I truly believe that continuing your relationship will be harmful to the harmony of Equestria."

We all were silent for a very long time. I could be noble and supportive of the good of the realm, or I could selfishly choose to gratify my own desires and bring harm to Equestria. At least that was the choice as Celestia had framed it.

I turned to Luna. Her face was closed and unreadable but her eyes were very bright in the late afternoon sunlight. I kissed her on the cheek and said softly into her ear, "Wait for me in the Tower of the Moon. I will come there right after sunset."

She hesitated, but finally nodded and rose to her hooves. She didn't teleport away. Instead, she backed into the shadow of a pillar and faded from sight in a strange swirl of magic. I took Luna's method of departure as an unspoken message.

I stood and went to Cadance, hugging her tightly. "Thank you for everything you've done for me. I hope you can forgive me for how rude and troublesome I've been."

"Of course I do! But, are you sure you want me to leave, Twilight? I would like to help if I can."

The little love-whammy she had dropped on all of us earlier had undoubtedly defused a tense situation, but I needed to finish the conversation with Celestia without any moderation clouding the debate. "Thank you, but this is something that should be between Celestia and I alone. I will see you tomorrow if I can."

When the door closed behind her, I returned to my cushion, lay down again, and took a long moment to collect my thoughts. I wanted my words to be as precise and unemotional as possible. Celestia waited patiently.

Finally, I took a deep breath and began. "I killed a pony for you today. Yes, I know I didn't strike the blow myself, but without my cooperation, it wouldn't have been possible, so I am as guilty as you are. I did it because you convinced me that it was in the best interests of the kingdom and the world at large. But, no matter what logic tells me, I don't feel that it was right."

"If there was any other way, I would have taken it," Celestia said, her head bowed.

"I believe you," I told her. That got her to look up at me. "But I will never forget the look on her face the moment before she died. I don't know how I can deal with that. I..." I paused and took a couple of deep breaths to calm myself. "I don't mind admitting that I'm having a hard time keeping myself together right now."

"I know," she said.

I squeezed my eyes shut and my jaw muscles tightened. It took me a few seconds to unclench my teeth enough to speak. "How do you deal with it? I realize now that you must have had to do... things like this before. How do you cope?"

Celestia looked me in the eyes for a long moment. She did so because she wanted me to know that what she was going to tell me wasn't anything but the truth, no matter how it sounded. "I pretend to cope. I act like I imagine a pony who could cope would act. I keep on with the charade until one day it becomes the truth. And all the while, I desperately hope it will be the last time I will need to pretend to be somepony else."

She turned her head away from me. "It never is," she said, quietly. "But Equestria will have the leader it needs."

I sat and thought about that for a long while. "Okay, then," I said, rising to my hooves. "What's good for the kingdom is good for me, too."

Celestia looked up sharply at me. She'd caught the subtle tone in my voice. Good.

"I'm in love with Luna. I won't say that the issues you raised about our relationship are insignificant, and I agree that the image the two of you present is of critical importance. If you want a logical rebuttal from me, then consider Luna's likely reaction if I broke up with her. What sort of image would she present then, or do you think she is a good enough actress to cover up the resentment she couldn't help feeling, even if she was willing to try?"

Celestia listened attentively with a grave expression. She made no comment because she knew I wasn't finished.

"It was the Nightmare's influence. She manipulated me into seducing Luna and creating a rift between the two of you. Now that I'm 'cured', everything's back to normal. That's what I'm going to pretend."

The ghost of a smile flitted across Celestia's face. "But in actuality..."

I gave her a slight grin in return. "I've read that romances gain a certain exciting quality when they are carried on in secret, and I'm looking forward to discovering if that's true."

Celestia rose and crossed the short distance to where I stood. "You are an amazing pony, Twilight Sparkle, and I cannot find it in my heart to deny you happiness. It will be as you wish." She wrapped her huge wings around me and hugged me tightly and I returned the embrace with all of my strength.

Author's Notes:

Once again I must give my heartfelt thanks to my most excellent pre-readers, AcademicPony and statoose!