Luna ran through the forest. She had been able to break through again after Twilight had shut her out. Hopefully nothing had happened to her. It had taken Luna a few days to find an opening in her mind. And it had been the same place. The old castle. But Twilight was nowhere to be found.

The castle wasn't the only piece of the memory in place. The Everfree Forest was there. And if Luna had to guess, Ponyville would be there too. It seemed Twilight had followed her advice after all. She had recreated Equestria. It looked just like the real thing. Would Twilight still be living in her castle at the edge of town? Did her friends visit her? Was she studying in her library again?

Luna could only hope.

--------------------------------------

The stars were coming out now. The majority of the constellations were visible. It wasn't accurate, but Twilight found it much more appealing. Besides, it was her mind. She could do what she wanted.

"It looks beautiful."

The alicorn watched from the corner of her eye as Spike came out onto the balcony. He really was growing up. She had always hoped to see that, knowing that it could easily take a hundred years for a dragon to grow fully. But as an alicorn she would definitely live long enough. And in her mind she didn't  have to wait! In a fraction of the time she'd made him twice her height when he stood on his hind legs.

"Thank you. I always do my best when it comes to the night sky. You know how I love astronomy."

The two friends sat and looked at the stars for an hour, only occasionally speaking. This was the life that Twilight knew she was meant to have.

And what about Celestia and Luna?

Twilight shook her head. Celestia had been too afraid to accept the truth. And Luna was far weaker. Too weak to object to a change in the regime.

You can never be forgiven for what you did.

It was...unfortunate that she couldn't simply erase Celestia and Luna from rule. But Twilight knew she had to at least try to make them see reason. In the end she did what she had too.

Letting them fade would have at least been merciful. Locking them away though?

Twilight shook her head again. These feelings of guilt were more trouble than anything. Spike smiled, mistaking her inner struggle for nerves.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?"

Twilight smiled, raising her head.

"Of course! It is the anniversary of my rule after all."

"I'm so glad ponies like you. You're so kind to them. And you keep them safe."

He always knew how to make her giddy. Her initial entry into power had been rocky. Ponies were confused as to where the other princesses were. But Twilight had reassured them. In fact, once they knew that she wasn't going to rain chaos and destruction down on them, they had welcomed her with open hooves.

"You're a lot like Cadence was."

Twilight cringed at the remark.

"I told you never to mention her name Spike. You know that."

The dragon slapped his tail across his mouth, eyes lowering in shame.

Cadence... Shining...

No! She would not dwell on such unpleasant memories. Tomorrow was a celebration. And Twilight meant to enjoy herself.

-----------------------------

Luna emerged from the trees. There was Ponyville! But... Where was Twilight's castle? Without a second thought she took off into the sky, racing for the town. Perhaps this was Ponyville before Tirek. That had to be it.

Luna landed in the town square.  Ponies froze where they were, looking at her in shock. Looking around, Luna realized that something was wrong. The ponies here looked..unhappy. The buildings were in disrepair. And the overall emotion was gloomy. What had happened here? She met the fearful looks with a warm smile, hoping to not-

Ponies panicked. Within a minute the streets were empty. All except for one creature.

"Well, well. Things just got interesting. You're the real Luna, correct?"

-----------------------------

Twilight lowered her horn, the sun finally raised. She looked down from the balcony to see preparations underway for the festivities. She could hardly wait!

"Twilight! Have you seen the food yet? It tastes, I mean, looks delicious!"

She pretended not to notice Spike wiping the frosting from his lips. Every year it was the same.

"I feel like stretching my wings before the party. Care to join me?"

That was all the dragon needed to hear. In fact he hadn't even let her finish the sentence before jumping off the balcony. Twilight let herself laugh at the still child-like behemoth. He really loved to fly ever since his wings grew in. She poised herself on the edge of the balcony, her wings spreading. Today was going to be perfect!

Taking off, Twilight caught up to Spike and sailed up into the clouds. Her mane billowed behind her, a patch of stars flowing in the light blue sky. This was freedom. And there was nothing that could take that away from her.

And then it hit her.

Twilight's right side spasmed, causing her wing to fold. Her heart skipped a beat as she plummeted. And then it filled her ears, thumping louder and louder. But another sound slowly overtook it. The sound of beating wings. Dragon wings.

"Hold on!"

Twilight felt a claw wrap around her as Spike halted her fall. He descended quickly, keeping an eye out for any ponies nearby. As he touched down, he released Twilight from his grasp. She laid still for a moment before standing up.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine. Thank you for saving me.. Again."

"That's been happening more frequently. Are you sick?"

"No!"

Spike flinched. Twilight cursed herself for yelling at him.

"No. It's just..an old injury. From Ponyville."

"Oh."

Spike knew better than to pursue the subject any further. Ponyville was another topic that couldn't be mentioned in front of her. Twilight stretched her wing, examining it for damage.

"Everything seems fine. Why don't we go back and start our checklist for the party?"

"You do realize that Queens don't usually handle the checklist, right?"

"That's why I have you little assistant."

"I don't think I could even hold a checklist anymore with these big claws."

-----------------------------

Luna flew as fast as she could. Queen Twilight?! Had she really made herself ruler in this Equestria? Surely the idea of power didn't appeal to her. She hated her duties as princess already! But if the Nightmare had taken her... Luna couldn't think about that right now. She had to get to Canterlot. She had to find out what was really going on.

------------------------------

"Atten-tion!!"

The Royal Guard formed an aisle to the stand. Twilight walked between them and up onto the platform, into the view of all the ponies in attendance. Cheers rang out. Trumpets sounded. Twilight beamed at the adoration of her ponies.

"Thank you!" "THANK YOU!"

The cheers died down and Twilight stepped forward.

"My little ponies! I feel privileged to call myself your Queen. I have ruled over Equestria and kept the peace. You have never had any need to fear me. I makes my heart overflow with happiness that we have established this peace and I hope to keep it in the centuries to come!"

The cheering started again.

"Now I know not all of you have always had the kindest words for me. The Fall of the Princesses came very suddenly at the time. It left many confused. But the past is behind us, and we must look forward to our great future!"

She stepped towards the edge of the stage, motioning towards a structure in the city.

"It is my great honor to present to you a piece of that future, the newest addition to the Canterlot Academy of Science; The Rainbow Planetarium! A gift to all of you, and especially to those whose dreams lie with the stars."

At the back of the crowd, Twilight noticed Spike wipe a tear. No doubt appreciation for her having remembered one of their old friends in the naming. She would make sure to erect something with Rarity's name soon enough.

The crowd finished cheering and Twilight smiled.

"Thank you all for coming out to celebrate the anniversary of our peace. I hope to continue providing you with a kingdom as great as the ponies within it."

A final cheer came from the crowd as Twilight left the stage. That had gone perfectly!

"Twilight!"

Spike came bounding over, the ground shaking at his approach.

"Are you going to do it?"

"Do what Heavyfoot?"

He looked taken aback.

"You... You promised we would."

Twilight's calm demeanor cracked slightly, fear and sadness beginning to leak through. She had promised him.

"Okay. But just this once."

They flew off towards the mountains, leaving Canterlot behind them. It didn't take long to reach the summit of Mt. Harmony. It was there that Twilight had hollowed out a cave and built the shrine.

They entered the cave silently, neither one wanting to be the first to speak. There at the far end was the shrine. The five Elements stood on display, shining even in the darkness. Twilight looked at Spike. He was tearing up again, no doubt looking to one particular Element.

"I miss them Twilight. Why... Why did they have to go?"

Twilight had never been sure about that. Spike had told her what happened while she was..incapacitated. It didn't make sense why their friends had turned into the Elements of Harmony. And they really were the Elements. Twilight had flown to the Tree of Harmony to see for herself. The Elements hadn't been there.

But it didn't matter now. It had been far too long to matter. Her friends had been preserved and that's all she cared about. She felt a tear roll down her cheek.

"I miss them too Spike."

-----------------------------

Luna landed on the balcony of her room. Nopony had seen her arrive. No need to alert the guards of her presence. After what she had learned that would cause more harm than anything. She just had to find Twilight.

-----------------------------

Twilight stood at the summit, allowing the wind to chill her. Spike had asked to be alone. She knew that he liked to talk to Rarity's Element. He came here often. But it was the first time for Twilight. She had done her best to avoid coming here. The memories were too much for her.

They're not really gone. You know that.

Then why did it hurt so much?

Snap out of it! This isn't real! You know that!

So what if it wasn't real? Twilight had built a life for herself. And it was a life she was quite fond of.

What about the others? What about Celestia and Luna?

They were fine.

What about you?

That caused her to flinch. She remembered the spasm she had experienced earlier. Obviously her body still needed time to heal.

And yet you act as though you're never going home. What if the pain is your body telling you to wake up?

That..was a possibility. But it wasn't worth the risk. What if she woke up and the pain killed her?

Isn't it worth the risk to see your friends again?

Perhaps...perhaps.

Spike rumbled out from the cave, wiping his eyes.

"You ready to go?"

"Yes. It's cold up here."

Without another word they took off, gliding down the face of the mountain.