"We shall have the primary celebration here," Princess Luna declared the next morning, leading the entourage into the castle ballroom. "I do appreciate you all agreeing to help with this."

"It's no trouble at all," Twilight smiled.

"Oh, the ballroom!" Pinkie Pie squeed, bouncing around excitedly. "We've had so many adventures here! Like the Grand Galloping Gala! You remember that, girls? Like when Rarity was searching for her Prince Charming, but got Duke Blueblood instead? And he was such a meanie that you got mad and got cake all over him? Oh! And Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's wedding, but it turned out that Cadance was a phony and Twilight figured it out, but—"

"The Blue Moon Festival celebration will be attended by most of the Canterlot nobility," Luna continued over Pinkie's voice. "I am sure that you will provide us with an excellent reception."

"Worry not, Your Highness," Rarity said, her eyes shining with ideas as he examined the ballroom. "When I'm finished, you won't even recognize the ballroom!"

"And your guests are in for a treat," Applejack declared. "My apple mooncakes will have 'em coming back for thirds!"

"I'm certain that I have nothing to worry about, my little ponies," Luna nodded with a smile as they all hurried off to their individual tasks; there was much to do to prepare for the Festival, as indicated by the length of the scroll that was trailing after Spike along the perfectly waxed floor.

Twilight started to leave, but was called back by Luna. "My sister wishes to speak with you, Twilight. She's waiting for you in her study."

"Thank you, Luna," Twilight said. Exiting the ballroom, she hurried down the hallway to Celestia's study. The Guard stationed outside the door nodded politely to her as she approached. She nodded back and knocked.

"Come in!" Celestia's voice called from within. Twilight opened the door and entered the study. The walls of the study were lined with bookshelves, all of which were packed to bursting with tomes of every size and color, many of them as old as the alicorn princesses themselves. A number of lamps placed along the walls cast the room in a low, inviting glow, making the large room seem small and cozy. Princess Celestia was sitting at a carved oaken desk at the head of the room, looking over a long scroll. A pair of purple reading glasses with a golden neck strap were perched on her snout. She looked up and smiled at Twilight's entry. "Hello, Twilight."

"Princess," Twilight said, instinctively starting to kneel before remembering that that was no longer necessary and quickly straightening again with a nervous laugh. Celestia chuckled warmly as she stood up, removing her glasses and allowing them to dangle from her neck.

"How have you been, my student?" she asked, nuzzling Twilight.

"I've been all right, thank you," Twilight answered. "It's still a little overwhelming being a new Princess with a brand-new castle, but..."

"I understand, Twilight," Celestia nodded. "Being laid with such a heavy burden so suddenly must feel overwhelming to you."

"And the worst part is, I'm still not sure what I should do with this responsibility," Twilight continued, taking this opportunity to relieve herself of the weight of doubt and uncertainty that she had been carrying ever since the crystal castle had burst out of the ground. "I know that as the Princess of Friendship, my friends and I are supposed to help spread the magic of friendship across Equestria, but I'm still not sure where to start. I mean...I never planned for any of this to happen," she admitted, glancing down at her wings. "I'm not ungrateful that you made me a Princess, but I still feel like—"

Princess Celestia placed her hoof on Twilight's shoulder, causing her to abruptly stop her rant. "You feel like the future is uncertain, and that frightens you." Celestia smiled at her pupil. "Do not worry, Twilight. The truth is, I feel the same much of the time."

"Really?" Twilight said, her eyes widening.

"Yes. But you need not fear. What is coming will come, and you will face it with the same strength that you have faced all your past troubles. And if nothing else, you can always count on your friends to help you."

Twilight smiled, her shoulders visibly relaxing as she felt the weight fall off her shoulders. "Thank you, Princess."

"Of course, Twilight." Celestia paused, her face falling into a more serious expression. "Actually, that's partially why I wanted to talk to you, Twilight. As a Princess, you are entitled to additional protection now...protection that I believe you will need."

For a moment, Twilight was suddenly standing in a smoking crater, Lord Tirek glaring triumphantly down at her as he prepared to steal her magic. She shivered at the memory.

"I have been thinking that it is time for you to take on a contingent of Royal Guards for your own protection," Princess Celestia continued in a rather grave tone, looking down at Twilight with an expression of deep concern. In the low light, the age marks on the alicorn's face were cast in sharp relief, hinting at just how old and tired the Princess of the Sun really was. "Being a Princess means a great many things, and one of the things that you will learn is that it can make you a target. I hate to think that some day, some misguided pony may try to hurt you."

Twilight glanced at the door, thinking of the Guard standing outside. A large, imposing stallion in golden armor, standing statue still with an imperious scowl forever on his face. The idea of having several ponies like that following her around, watching her every move, made her flinch.

"I don't know, Princess," Twilight said. "I...I just don't feel comfortable with having bodyguards. And I'm not sure the citizens of Ponyville would like it; Ponyville is a very safe place."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Well, besides the monster attacks," Twilight admitted. "Ponyville is mostly crime-free; in fact, we were rated as having the second-lowest level of crime out of all of Equestria's major cities!"

"That is true," Celestia agreed. "And I understand your hesitation; it took Luna and I many moons before we became comfortable with the idea of having Guards protecting us everywhere we went." She thought in silence for several seconds. "Perhaps you would consider a personal bodyguard? Just one Guard at first so you can get accustomed to being guarded?"

Twilight tapped her chin in thought. "Maybe," she said after a moment. "But right now, I need to help my friends with preparing for the Festival. Can we talk about this later?"

"Of course, Twilight," Celestia smiled, replacing her glasses on her snout. "Now go and have fun."

Dismissed, Twilight bounded back out the door, eager to get back to work. Celestia watched her go, her face creasing into a look of deep worry.

"What happened to that innocent, bright little filly?" she whispered to herself. A moment later, she answered herself in a quieter tone: "She grew up."

That evening, Twilight decided to go for a walk around Canterlot. She strolled briskly down the cobbled streets, breathing in the evening air with a contented smile. Ponyville might have been her home now, but Canterlot would always have a special place in her heart.

She looked up to find that her hooves had subconsciously guided her to the Canterlot Public Library. The huge building, located in the southeastern part of the city, was designed to look like a small castle, complete with small towers and doors three times the height of a normal pony that swung wide open to welcome its visitors within. She'd always liked the design, as if the building was designed to withstand the attacks of time to protect the wealth of knowledge and wisdom from past generations within.

She entered the main lobby and cast her hungering gaze on the shelves of books that stretched as far as the eye could see. Her eyes were guided up to the arched symbol, decorated with images of famous pony scholars and authors with a symbol of the sun and moon in the center. There were a number of ponies browsing the shelves in search of a good book for the lazy, cloudy evening promised by the weather team. Among them was a familiar brown-coated stallion with a gray trilby sitting atop his head.

Phillip was perusing a novel selected from a large stack set beside him on the small table he was sitting at, and appeared to be about a two-thirds of the way through. He didn't look up as Twilight approached, but his left ear twitched briefly towards her, which she took as an acknowledgement of her presence.

"Is that the latest Agatha Canter mystery?" Twilight asked, noticing the author's name emblazoned on the cover of the novel. "Oh, I love her! I haven't read the newest one, but—"

"Wife did it," Phillip grunted, closing the book and setting it aside. "He was sleeping with her sister."

"I didn't hear that! I didn't hear that!" Twilight wailed as if in agony, clutching her ears. Her cry elicited a chorus of "Shhh!" from the other patrons. She lowered herself back down, grinning sheepishly in apology.

"Have you been here all day?"

"Slept late, went for a run, then came here," Phillip replied, selecting a collection of T.S. Equine poetry from the pile.

"You know, if you came to the castle, I'm sure we could find something you could help with for the Festival," she offered.

"No, thanks," the blunt reply came from behind the book.

"But we'd appreciate your help," Twilight said.

Phillip considered this for a beat, but then answered, "Not interested."

"But—"

Phillip sighed and looked up at Twilight over the top of the book. "Look, Twilight, I really appreciate you thinking of me, but I'm really not interested. You have things to do. Just—I'd prefer to be alone right now." And with that, he returned to the book.

Knowing that the conversation was over, Twilight left the library with a sigh.

Author's Notes:

Note: this chapter was significantly rewritten 7-19-16.

Celestia worries for her student, the mane six prepare for a festival, and Phillip Finder...is a jerk.

Just a quick little bridge chapter to set up the rest of the story.