Starlight Twinkle lay in her room, her face buried in a pillow. She had just broken up with her latest coltfriend, after only dating him for a couple of weeks. It hadn't been an easy break-up, either. It was mostly down to him always being late for their dates (or even missing them entirely), and she just couldn't tolerate it any more. Sadly, this seemed to be the norm for her; She had found herself incapable of keeping a coltfriend for more than a month or so. Either she found there was something wrong with the colt, or they found something wrong with her, or they just lost the "spark" that had brought them together in the first place.

Starlight couldn't understand why it kept happening. Unlike her mother at that age, she was a fairly sociable pony, not afraid to get out there and make herself known, nor was she shy about making the first move. She had been described by her friends as warm, caring, and fun to be with. She had been assured that any colt would be lucky to her. And yet... she was unable to hold on to a colt to save her life.

Her longest relationship was with Rainbow Dash's son, Thunder Storm. For a time, things were great; His wild enthusiasm for life mixed well with her zeal for enjoyment and fun. But over time, they'd drifted apart. They both wanted different things out of life. Thunder Storm wanted to follow in his mother's wing flaps and be a Wonderbolt, while Starlight sought to be a 'Princess of the Ponies', and make a difference in the lives of the residents of Ponyville, through charity and involving herself with their needs and happiness. Their respective goals started to interfere with their romantic endeavours, even sparking a few arguments. Eventually, they decided to break up, though they pledged to remain friends.

Starlight had hoped to find a true, steady coltfriend, but kept finding stallions that were decidedly less so. The fact of the matter was: All those break-ups were starting to take their toll on her. A heart could only survive being broken so many times...

As Starlight wallowed in misery, there was a knock at her bedroom door.

"Honey, can I come in?" The voice of her father, Flash Sentry called.

"Sure, why not?" Starlight sighed. "You know what they say: Misery loves company."

Flash entered the room, instantly picking up on Starlight's mood.

"Oh, no." He shook his head. "Another break-up?"

"Yeah..." Starlight nodded.

"There, there, my little shining Star." Flash comforted her. "It's okay."

"Except that it isn't." Starlight pouted. "Why can't I ever hang on to a coltfriend? Every time I hook up with a colt, something goes wrong!"

"So you've had some bad luck." Flash told her. "It doesn't mean you should stop trying."

"Why bother?" Starlight frowned. "It seems like I've always been unlucky in love. Right back to my first crush: That jerk, Wheat Stalk."

"I remember." Flash said angrily. "That little twerp, stringing you along like that."

"And every colt since has been unreliable, or rotten." Starlight continued. "Great taste in colts I've got, huh?"

"I wish I could be more help, sweetie." Flash sighed. "But I'm afraid I don't have much dating experience. And neither does your mother."

"Of course you don't." Starlight said bitterly. "You got lucky the first time, with each other. So did Dusk. He wound up marrying his childhood sweetheart! So why am I the one having all the trouble?"

"That's one question I definitely can't answer." Flash shrugged. "But you never know, the next colt could be 'the one', right?"

"Yeah, right." Starlight huffed. "Maybe I should just quit the dating game, before I have to endure more heartbreak."

"As a doting father, part of me agrees with you." Flash admitted. "But a bigger part wants me to tell you not to give up on love. You could miss out on meeting somepony really special if you stop looking."

"Yeah, right." Starlight pouted.

Just then, Twilight and Spike entered the room.

"Hey, everypony." She smiled. "We just got an invitation to attend a royal summit in Haygypt."

"Haygypt, huh?" Flash declared.

"Yep." Spike nodded. "All the royals are invited. Special request from Prince Nightshade himself."

"There you go, Star." Flash grinned. "A little trip might be just what you need to take your mind off things."

"Why, what happened?" Twilight asked.

"Another break-up." Flash revealed.

"Oh, I see." Twilight sighed. "I'm sorry, honey."

"No big deal." Starlight shrugged. "But I'm not really in a traveling mood anyway?"

"Wait, weren't you saying last week about you'd love to go-mmph!" Spike's sentence was cut off when Starlight covered his mouth with her wing.

"I changed my mind." Starlight insisted. "I'm going to spend a week or so in here, by myself. Alone."

"I know you're in a rough place right now, but moping isn't going to solve anything." Flash declared.

"Your father's right, dear." Twilight agreed. "Do you really think just sitting in your room alone is going to help you feel better?"

"Can't make me feel any worse." Starlight muttered.

"Well, I think it'd better for you to come to Haygypt with us." Twilight smiled. "You can see a new country, make new friends... it'll be wonderful. What do you say, honey?"

Starlight sighed deeply.

"Okay, I'll come." She gave in. "But only because I know you'll just keep bugging me about it otherwise."

"Smart girl." Flash nodded. "Just like her mom."

"You're going to love it." Twilight hugged her daughter. "Trust me."

It didn't take long for the family to get ready. By the next morning, they were all set to go. A royal carriage from Haygypt itself had arrived to pick them up. The Pegasi pulling it wore ornate headdresses and robes. Dusk (who had offered to stay behind and "hold down the fort") and Spike saw the family off.

"Have fun, everypony." He told them. He gave Starlight a hug. "Hang in there, baby sis."

"Oh, I'm hanging." Starlight sighed. "Hopefully, Haygypt won't be too much of a drag."

"That's it." Dusk grinned. "Just keep thinking positive."

"Too bad Dazzle and Sparkling Night are still visiting Sweetie Belle in Baltimare." Flash declared. "Wouldn't mind getting a goodbye hug from my grandson."

"They'll be back soon." Dusk told him. "Until then, I have Spike to keep me company."

"You stay out of trouble, okay?" Twilight told Spike.

"Who, me?" Spike chuckled. "Sure. Why would you even ask?"

"Maybe because I haven't forgotten about that party you threw while the rest of us were visiting Cadance, over in the west wing?" Twilight pointed out.

"Aw, come on." Spike pouted. "You're not still sore about that, are you? It was months ago."

"And it took weeks to clean that mess off the ceiling." Twilight frowned.

"Okay, fine." Spike frowned. "No parties. Got it."

"Good." Twilight patted him on the head. "See you soon."

"Have fun, Twi." Spike smiled sincerely, his disgruntled attitude defused.

"Come on, Everypony." Flash urged. "No time like the present. We don't want to keep our hosts waiting."

Once the family got into the carriage, the Pegasi took off, pulling it into the air.

It was quite a long trip, even by air. Most of the time, Starlight remained silent, staring out over the edge of the carriage.

"Come on, sweetheart." Twilight tried to comfort her. "Cheer up."

"How can I cheer up when it seems like I'm destined to be alone?" Starlight pouted. "Almost everypony I know has gotten paired up, except for me!"

"You shouldn't be worrying about that." Flash told her. "You're still young. There's plenty of time for you to find Mr. Right."

"No offense guys, but I'm can't take dating advice from ponies who can count their romantic partners on one hoof." Starlight said surly. "I've had almost half a dozen coltfriends, and none of them turned to be 'Mr Right'. It seems like everypony pony in Equestria but me has found their perfect match!" Her eyes starting watering. "Why? is there something wrong with me?"

"Of course not." Twilight smiled. "You're a beautiful, kind, and fun young mare."

"Then why can't I find a decent colt?" Starlight sniffed.

"You will, darling." Flash encouraged her. "Just be patient."

"And for now, why don't you put those thoughts aside and enjoy our little trip?" Twilight suggested. "None of us have been to Haygypt before, so it should fun... and educational."

"Yeah, I guess..." Starlight smiled weakly.

"That's my girl." Twilight smiled.

After a couple of days (interspersed with rest stops for the Pegasi), they finally entered the country of Haygypt.

"Hey, check out the pyramids!" Flash pointed.

"And there's the sphinx!" Twilight smiled, pointing out the gigantic statue of a pony's head on a cat's body.

"And there's lots of sand." Starlight said sarcastically. "Lots and lots of sand..."

Not long after, they reached the capital city of Cairode. The city was bordered by an imposing-looking thirty hoof tall stone wall. Once they flew past the wall, they saw the grandeur of the city itself; There were a fair amount of working-class dwellings, with the ponies on the streets looking fairly content, and among the other buildings were guards barracks, inns, bars, even brothels and gambling corners.

"This is quite a view." Flash admitted.

"Feel that heat." Twilight mopped her brow. "Glad I brought sunscreen..."

"Nice place." Starlight admitted.

The carriage soon brought them to the main palace. It was a towering, square-shaped structure, easily the biggest building in the city. It was covered in banners, flags, and statues.

"Whoa." Starlight gaped. "My compliments to the architect."

The carriage finally touched down by the palace entrance. After the family disembarked, an Earth Pony stallion stepped forward.

"Greetings, Princess Sparkle, Prince Sentry, Princess Twinkle." He bowed. "This way, please."

The stallion led them into the palace foyer, where Princess Celestia, Shine Paladin, Princess Luna, Constell, Prince Blueblood, Dusty, Shining Armor and Cadance, and even Queen Chrysalis and Sleight Gambit were already waiting.

"Prince Nightshade and his family will be here momentarily." The Earth Pony declared. "Until then, feel free to make yourselves at home."

As the Earth Pony departed, Twilight's family started to mingle.

"Hello, everypony." Twilight smiled.

"As always, it is wonderful to see you, Twilight." Celestia beamed.

"Ditto." Shine agreed. "It's been a while."

"Hey, Flash." Constell grinned.

"Hey, Connie." Flash nodded in greeting. "Lemme guess, your pop's holdin' down the fort back home."

"He certainly is." Luna confirmed. "I have no doubt that he will be able to handle any problems that should arise in our absence."

"What problems could happen?" Blueblood asked. "Things have been pretty quiet lately, after that hubbub in the Crystal Empire with Sombra's spell book was dealt with."

"Speaking of which, how are things?" Dusty asked Shining and Cadance. "I hope there wasn't too much damage. It'd be a shame, since it wasn't so long since Black Knight attacked."

"Thankfully, there was only some minor structural damage." Shining announced.

"Good thing, too." Cadance smiled. "Our insurance rates are already crazy."

"I see you didn't bring Twyla along." Twilight told Shining. "It would've been nice to see her, but I guess she wouldn't be ready for such a long trip."

"You guessed right, Twily." Shining nodded. "We've got Anthem foalsitting her back home."

"At least you know he's in good hooves." Twilight smiled.

"I must say, I'm surprised to see you here, Queen Chrysalis." Celestia remarked.

"That makes two of us." Chrysalis declared. "I'd never even heard of the kingdom until the invitation was delivered to our hive."

"I didn't think we'd been an independent nation low enough to warrant this kind of gathering." Sleight added. "But that Nightshade character did go to all the trouble of having the invite hoof-delivered, so we figured showing up was the least we do."

"That's another thing." Shine frowned. "From what I've heard, the royalty here liked to keep to itself. So what's with the swerve?"

"I suspect we'll soon find out." Celestia surmised.

"Gotta say, these are some nice digs our gracious host has." Sleight noted as he looked around.

"I'll admit it looks quite grand... by pony standards." Chrysalis shrugged. "But it could use some slimecombs, just to make it look more homey."

"Remind me never to hire a Changeling decorator." Blueblood muttered to Dusty.

"How are Mist and Blue?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, they're... busy at the moment." Shine grinned. "A certain new addition is keeping them up most nights."

"I'll bet." Twilight chuckled.

"What's the status with that extended family of yours, Blueblood?" Flash asked. "Even though a few of them of them moved in practically next door, things have been pretty quiet, Napoleon-wise."

"Oh, they're doing as well as can be expected." Blueblood smiled. "Lars is teaching, Sonny's got his restaurant, Slot's on the road with Vinyl..."

"And dad's still working on his memoirs." Dusty added. "We brought Vito and Pureblood down to stay with him just before we left, and I got to take a look at his notes. It's some really compelling stuff."

"I'll have to keep an eye out for it at the local book store." Flash noted. "Should be pretty interesting..."

"So Star, how're things?" Constell asked. "What's going down with that new coltfriend of yours?"

"Ex-coltfriend." Starlight corrected. "We broke up. Lousy guy never showed up for our dates on time..."

"That's too bad." Constell tutted. "You were pretty cute together."

"Don't even talk to me about colts." Starlight declared. "I'm here to attend this summit, and explore this strange new land. I don't even wanna think about colts."

"Suit yourself." Constell shrugged. "I, on the other hand, can't stop thinkin' about Luxury. His parents took him to visit family in Manehattan, and I miss him like crazy."

"What did I just say?" Starlight frowned. "No colts! I don't even wanna look at a colt longer than I have to-"

Suddenly, a fanfare rang out. A group of servants emerged. The Earth Pony from before stepped forward.

"Announcing Prince Nightshade of Haygypt, his wife, Princess Red Rose, and their son, Prince Day Light!" He bellowed.

The servants parted, and a Unicorn stallion with a black coat, red mane, and pale blue eyes walked into the room. His Cutie Mark was of a nightshade plant, and he wore fancy golden robes, along with a curious ornate headdress of black and gold, with a curious blue gem set in the part above his horn, with a matching false beard.

Alongside him was a very beautiful Pegasus mare with a light red (with some strands of green) mane, styled into multiple braids, a moderate red coat and green eyes. She wore a Haygyptian cotton dress which left her front hooves bare, save for strands that connected to her bracelets. Her Cutie Mark was of two intertwined roses.

Bringing up the rear was a teenage Unicorn. He had his father's coat and his mother's mane (styled into a tuft), but unique dark blue eyes. He wore a simpler version of his father's robes, and his Cutie Mark was of a sun peeking out from behind a cloud.

Starlight froze in place, her eyes fixed on Day Light.

'Wow...' She thought, before catching herself. 'No, snap out of it! No thinking about colts, remember?'

Despite her internal rebuke, she continued looking at Day Light. He quickly noticed, and turned away, blushing.

"Thank you all for coming." Nightshade smiled. "I cannot tell you how glad I am that you all accepted my invitation."

"It was our pleasure, Prince Nightshade." Celestia bowed.

"Especially after such a courteous invitation." Shine smiled.

"Princess, you are even lovelier in pony than I imaging." Red Rose beamed. "It is such an honor to meet both you and your sister."

"You flatter us." Luna blushed.

"Prince Blueblood and his lovely wife, Dusty." Nightshade bowed. "It is a pleasure."

"I'm sure it is." Blueblood smiled.

"Thank you for having us." Dusty added.

"Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance." Red Rose smiled. "Welcome to our humble abode. It's no crystal castle, I know..."

"It's a magnificent palace." Cadance told her.

"It sure is." Shining agreed.

"Princess Twilight, Prince Sentry." Nightshade nodded.

"Hello, your highness." Twilight bowed.

"You have a beautiful city." Flash added.

"What can I say?" Nightshade said modestly. "I and my citizenry have put a lot of work into it."

"Princess Constell." Red Rose beamed. "You're as beautiful as your mother."

"Thanks." Constell chuckled. "I do try..."

"And I see even the Queen of the Changelings herself has chosen to honor us with her presence." Nightshade remarked. "In time, I hope our two nations can become good friends."

"Yes, well, that would be the point of this summit, wouldn't it?" Chrysalis pointed out. "To forge better relationships between our nations."

"Exactly, your highness." Nightshade nodded. "Come, let us discuss matters over lunch."

"Never could say no to a free meal." Sleight grinned.

As the group walked into the dining area, Starlight homed in on Day Light.

'No harm in just talking to him, right?' She told herself. 'Nothing wrong with introducing myself...'

"Hi." She said meekly. "I'm Starlight."

"Hello." Day Light said curtly. "It's very nice to meet you."

"And you." Starlight nodded.

"I have never met other royalty before." Day Light declared. "I didn't think they'd be so... lovely."

"Oh, thanks..." Starlight blushed. Still trying to get her mind off thoughts of romance, she quickly tried to think of something else to talk about. "It's, er... a very nice palace you have here."

"Thank you." Day Light smiled. "...So, have you ever been to Cairode before?"

"First time, actually." Starlight admitted. "We got a pretty good look from above when we came in, but I wouldn't mind getting to see more of the place."

"I could help you with that." Day Light declared. "I know this city like the back of my hoof. I could show you around, if you'd like..."

"That would be nice." Starlight smiled.

"Father?" Day Light called. "Would it be alright if I showed Starlight around the city?"

"Of course, son." Nightshade nodded. "Just be back before sundown, okay?"

"Yes, father." Day Light nodded. "Come along, Princess."

As Starlight followed Day Light out of the room, Twilight looked on brightly.

"Looks like this trip will do more for Starlight than we hoped." She smiled.

"Let's hope so." Flash frowned. "If Starlight gets another heartbreak, I don't know how we'll be able to pull her out of it..."