Canterlot, the capital city of Equestria. Though not every pony in their nation had ever seen the place, there was always an image in their minds as to the kind of place it was. Regal, sophisticated, ancient, and above all else, imposing. And yet, no matter what people thought of it, there was one word that they almost never used when talking about it; homely. Ponies very often considered the place more as something to be admired rather than somewhere to spend your life. Although that opinion was very much opposed by those who actually did live there, as to them, Canterlot was about as good a place to dwell as any other. Where others saw regal impenetrability, they saw a city that they had known since the time they were born. Aristocratic or not, there was no place such ponies would rather be in. And for a time, Twilight Sparkle had considered herself among such people. Before her move to Ponyville, at least in the original timeline, she never once considered moving away from Canterlot, and while her newfound foreknowledge gave her a far earlier appreciation for her new home than the first time, she nevertheless retained a strong love for her hometown. And every time she visited it, she could never help but smile at the familiar sights where she had grown up and spent so much of her early years.

In fact, she was in Canterlot again at this very moment. She had arrived a few days prior to this, having visited Princess Luna to speak to her on a deeply personal matter. But as for right now, she was involved in other things, especially since she found herself once more in that old tower near the palace that she had called home for so many years. This tower, which was more or less a public library that few in the city had ever bothered to come to, was nevertheless a place of fond memories for her, having spent many a tutoring session here under the wing of Princess Celestia herself. To her shame, she had neglected the place for some time because of her move to Ponyville, but now, she was back, and together with her son, Spike, they had worked to get in back into tip-top condition. The windows were sparkling, the bookshelves had been dusted, and all around it looked as if the place had only just been constructed. Needless to say, they were both proud of having made the place presentable again, especially Spike, who was, if anything, even more enthusiastic about being back home than Twilight was. But, despite that, they had little time to pat themselves on the back, for there were, in this moment, entertaining a few guests in this place. And not just any guests, but a trio of mares that had, at one point, been Twilight's closest friends here in Canterlot prior to her move to Ponyville.

All of those mares were unicorns, the first bearing a light-blue coat with a blue and white mane called Minuette, the second who had a yellow coat and blue mane called Lemon Hearts, and finally, a white mare with pink mane called Twinkleshine. All four of the mares were, at this point, gathered around a table in the middle of the grand library chamber, all sharing a few cups of tea together, as well as laughing happily. There was, as one would expect from a long-overdue gathering of friends such as this, a great deal of gossip going around, from Minuette and the others talking about the things they'd been getting up to since Twilight's departure, to Twilight herself talking about all of her friends back in Ponyville. The whole place had a very happy atmosphere to it, which Twilight was immensely thankful for. However, there came a time when the chatting and the giggles died down, as Spike had finally arrived, having brought another fresh pot of tea to serve to the mares. Needless to say, Twilight looked to her adopted son with an appreciative smile.

"Thank you, Spike."

Hearing that, Spike gave a smile of his own.

"No problem, Mom."

But, mere moments later, the two looked up to see some snickering amongst their guests. Although initially confused by this, Minuette began to explain things to them after allowing her laughter to die down.

"I'm sorry. It's just...out of all of us, who'd have guessed that the first of us to become a mother would be Twilight, of all ponies?"

There was a general murmur of agreement, complete with nods all around, even from Twilight, who let out a brief chuckle before speaking up herself.

"Yeah, I wasn't exactly the friendliest mare in town, was I?"

Upon speaking those words, Twilight immediately looked down at her cup of tea, her expression making it clear that she was feeling somewhat upset about something. The other mares and Spike all looked to her, recognising this, and yet remained silent, giving her the time she needed to get her thoughts into order. Even now, knowing what she did, she still felt shame at her one-time treatment of her old Canterlot friends. Although thankful that things would have eventually worked themselves out in the other timeline, the simple fact was this; she had forgotten them. In that other history, she was a so-called "Princess of Friendship" and yet the ponies who were, arguably, her first collection of best friends, had been completely absent from her mind, as if they hadn't even existed. Rectifying that had been a big motivation for her, in this time and the other. However, in this time, she knew all the steps to take, and she wouldn't simply let Spike be the one to remind her of her old friendships. Although, the moment she'd told him what she planned to do here today, he knew in his heart that this was the reason. She had done it before and she would do it again. Even so, despite knowing what their reactions would be, she still needed to say something of great importance to the mares before her.

"I just...wanted to say sorry. I was never a great friend to you girls in the past and...well...I hope you can forgive me."

And now, as then, the result was the same, as all three mares burst into a fit of giggles together, which eventually led to Lemon Hearts speaking up herself.

"Oh, Twilight! You have nothing to apologise for! We were used to that kind of behaviour from you at that point."

Twinkleshine nodded at that before adding her own voice to the mix.

"Yeah! Besides, you had some pretty important things on your mind at the time. It's not as if priorities like that are gonna make us hate you or something."

There was another round of nods of agreement after that, to which Twilight couldn't help but smile. Seeing this level of acceptance from mares she had never even given a second look to, even though they had every right to be at least a little bit upset, was a heart-warming thing to see. Even so, there was still one sour note in all of this. One thought that spoiled Twilight's ability to embrace this moment and feel happy about her being reunited with her old friends. One thought that, at this very moment, caused her to let out a long sigh.

"I thank you for your kind words, but...have any of you heard from Moondancer lately?"

Immediately, the mares looked to each other with some confusion, looking as if they were trying to drudge up an old memory they hadn't thought of in a long time. And that was something that made Twilight feel all the worse for. Moondancer had been the biggest sore spot in this entire ordeal for her, or, at the very least, would be a sore spot. She was the utter embodiment of everything Twilight had feared about coming to Canterlot to fix this problem. A mare who had once been her friend, wanted to be close to her, and had grown distant and reclusive because she refused to open up. If there was one thing Twilight regretted from her life in Canterlot, it was that she was nowhere near as good a friend as she could have been. After much time, her other friends looked to her as if they'd just remembered something important, with Minuette being the one to speak.

"Oh yeah! Moondancer! We used to talk to her a whole bunch back in the day, but then, I guess...she just sort of drifted away. Can't really remember why though."

But Twilight did remember, and it stung her to do so. Even so, she looked to the mare with fierce determination in her eyes.

"Girls...I think it's time we made a house call."

Though Twilight already knew the way, it had taken a slow and steady pace to get to where she needed to go, mostly because, despite her foreknowledge of her success, it was still going to be a difficult thing for her to have to face. The other mares, as well as Spike, had all been staying close to her, but, yet again, had felt that she was uncomfortable about something, and so had kept quiet throughout their journey. Well, all except Minuette, who seemed to have a smile on her face no matter how bad the situation was. Eventually, they reached their destination; a somewhat run-down cottage on the outskirts of town, somewhere near the public library of Canterlot. It had the clear marks of belonging to somepony who hadn't really been taking care of it all that much, much to Twilight's dismay. So, taking a deep breath, she moved forward and approached the front door, her friends in tow. Slowly, she raised a hoof and knocked, making sure to be more gentle this time, lest that accidentally break something again. It took a while, and for a moment Twilight wondered if there was actually anypony home today. But, in the end, her patience was rewarded, as the door opened, revealing the home's sole occupant; Moondancer. Clad in a black turtleneck and wearing thick black glasses, the mare, at first, looked surprised to see them all here, but eventually, her expression became one of disdain, prompting a nervous cough from Twilight.

"Um...Moondancer?"

The other mare might have been many things, but she was not so angry as to be deliberately rude when given a greeting, and so, after letting out a sigh, she spoke up, her voice lacking any kind of enthusiasm.

"Hello...Twilight."

The tone of her voice was, understandably, one of anger, and Twilight was ready for it. She turned around, looking to the mares who had come with her, and gave them a silent gesture with her head. It took a few moments, but eventually, they seemed to get the message, and started to casually walk off to the side for the time being. Spike gave his mother a somewhat nervous look, but a reassuring smile from her let him know that she'd be fine, prompting him to join the others, albeit while keeping an eye on her. Now alone with her former classmate, Twilight took a few moments herself before speaking to her, with her voice hushed and considerate.

"It...it's been a while."

Moondancer raised an eyebrow at that.

"Did you need something, Twilight?"

Hearing that bitter voice, Twilight let out a sigh.

"Moondancer...I came to see how you were doing. Recently, I...I realise that I was far from being the best of friends to you or the other girls when I still lived here. I guess...I just...wanted to make sure you were still a part of my life."

But Moondancer frowned slightly at that.

"I'm a little busy at the moment, Twilight. No offense, but I don't really feel like having some friendly reunion right now."

At that moment, at looked as if she was about to close the door, only to be stopped when Twilight put her hoof in the gap. Although at first annoyed at this, she looked on as Twilight spoke softly.

"Please...just...let me talk to you. All I ask is that you hear what I have to say. If you still want me to go after that...I swear that I'll leave you alone."

Moondancer considered that offer carefully. In fairness, it wasn't an unreasonable request, and Twilight did seem to genuinely want to speak with her. Although clearly hesitant about it, Moondancer eventually sighed before nodding her head, silently agreeing to Twilight's terms, to which the latter couldn’t help but smile. Slowly, the young alicorn looked to her old friend with an earnest expression.

"Could...could I come in for a moment?"

The other mare looked to her, studying her face carefully, and saw no trickery there, but sheer honesty. There was clearly some hesitation on her part, for which Twilight could not blame her for, but, in the end, Moondancer reluctantly stood aside, allowing her in, though rolled her eyes as she did so. Twilight offered an appreciative smile at that before accepting the silent invitation, entering Moondancer's home while the latter closed the door behind her. Now inside, Twilight took a moment to look around. Much like the exterior, the interior of Moondancer's home looked like it hadn't been looked after in a very long time. There were study books strewn about all over the place, and the whole house had a great feeling of loneliness about it. A slight shudder went through Twilight's spine as a very worrisome thought entered her mind. Is THIS what her life would have been like if Celestia had never seen fit to send her to Ponyville? Would she have ended up as Moondancer was, alone with not a friend in the world, obsessed with nothing but books? It wasn't a pleasant thought to say the least, but even so, she put on a smile for her host's benefit, turning to her and continuing to speak softly.

"So...it's been a long time. Are you keeping well?"

Hearing that kind of small-talk, Moondancer frowned.

"I'm a busy mare, Twilight. If you have something to say, I suggest you say it."

Immediately, Twilight gained an immensely apologetic look to her.

"Moondancer...I came...I came to say...I'm sorry."

The moment she’d spoken, the other mare looked taken aback by those words, having clearly not expected it. In this silence, Twilight continued to explain herself.

"This is not just about me being a poor friend. The others knew that about me and have already forgiven me, even if I don't fully believe I deserve such quick forgiveness."

With her eyes still locked onto Moondancer, Twilight's expression became one of sadness.

"But...there was one pony above all that I wasn't just dismissive of...I outright ignored her, like she was never even there. And that, perhaps more than anything else...was the biggest mistake I ever made when I lived here."

Moondancer turned away from her, not wanting to look her in the eye. It was clear that the pain of Twilight's disregard for her at that party was still fresh in her mind, despite her obvious attempts to bury such thoughts with her constant studies. In time, her expression grew somewhat angered, as she spoke with a slight degree of venom in her tone.

"Do you...do you really think an apology is going to fix all of that, Twilight?"

The young alicorn looked at the ground with a tint of shame upon her face.

"Perhaps not...but...I know I wouldn't be a friend if I didn't at least try."

Needless to say, Moondancer was becoming somewhat infuriated by her old colleague's words. But, as before, she kept quiet, with Twilight continuing to speak.

"You...you reached out to me. You, above all others, put yourself on the line to want friendship with me. And I...I didn't even think of what you might have wanted, or needed. I could stand here all day talking about priorities or what other stuff I was doing at the time, but the fact of the matter is this...I let down a friend. And that...is something terrible."

Slowly, the young alicorn took a step forward, prompting Moondancer to take a step backwards from her, with her expression showing clear uncertainty about all of this. After all, the words that were coming out of Twilight's mouth, they were like she was staring into her very soul, witnessing the very raw emotions she'd tried so hard to bury over the last year or so. Twilight was, quite literally, saying what Moondancer had been thinking during her entire time alone, which, naturally, meant that she had very little to say herself.

"Moondancer...I'm sorry...for not coming to that party. I'm sorry for not being a real friend to you. I'm sorry...for having forgotten about you. You deserved better than that. You deserved better than me."

Those words may have been rehearsed in her head many times since her foreknowledge was granted, but that did not, in any way, make them less genuine. Twilight truly felt what she was saying to the other mare right now, and there was no trace if it simply being a case of her going through the motions, as it had been for so many other situations she’d been in. These words, they were from the heart. Gradually, Twilight began to hang her head low, no longer able to look her old friend in the eye.

"If you choose to never forgive me for what I did, I'll accept that. But...please...don't let what I did to you shut you off from never having friends, or wanting others to be close to you. Because believe me...I know that life...and I don't want that for you."

Silence followed that moment, and Moondancer had little time to really take in all of this. Despite all of her efforts to the contrary, all her plans to bury her feelings on the matter with isolation or studies and the like, she had been upset by Twilight's rejection of her all those months ago, and it still stung. To think of that memory was painful, and while every fibre of her being was screaming at her to berate and shout at Twilight for having turned her down, for making her feel humiliated, she knew, in the end, that this was not what she wanted. Twilight had done wrong by her, that much nopony could deny, and yet, seeing her now, at the genuine and honest way in which she'd put herself more-or-less at her judgement, it began to slowly change something in her. Her expression began to soften, and, despite her best efforts not to, her eyes began to well up. Gradually, Twilight lifted her head, and saw this, seeing Moondancer lift her glasses off and wipe her tears away in a vain attempt to keep Twilight from seeing it. In the end, the other mare spoke, her voice wobbling as if she was still on the edge of crying.

"I...I can't tell you how much it means to me to hear you say that. I felt...so hurt when you didn't show up. I felt like I didn't matter, even when others told me otherwise. You were the pony I wanted to be friend with more than any other, and when you didn't show up...it hurt me, Twilight."

Twilight looked away, wincing at those words. But, it wasn't long before her old friend continued speaking.

"But...despite all that...despite how much I might have been angry with you for ignoring me...and how much I still want to be angry at you…the simple matter is...I do still want you as my friend."

Genuinely, Twilight looked surprised at that, even more so when Moondancer, despite all of what had been said, began to put on a small smile, probably the first she'd had in a long time.

"I don’t know if this is the right thing to ask, but…could...could we start again?"

Despite all of her foreknowledge, those words were still just as sweet to Twilight as they were the first time around, and she too began to well up before giving a happy nod. Nodding back, Moondancer too was starting to cry again, and without a single word, they rushed forward, embracing each other in a hug. It was a pleasant moment, and one that made Twilight feel as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulder. If there was one thing she knew most of all in this world, it was that to have friends was better than being alone, as her own time without such people had taught her well. Now, as before, she had fixed perhaps the most strained relationship she'd ever had in her life, and the sense of joy and pride she felt from it was immense. But, more than all of that, she had made it so that a pony could let herself have friends again, and that, in itself, was a great victory, even when compared to all the earth-shattering accomplishments she'd had over the years. When the two finally parted, they wiped their tears form their faces, letting out a simultaneous chuckle with each other. But, while this moment had done much to clear away a lot of the negative feelings that had been here before, Twilight saw, to her confusion, that Moondancer was staring at something behind her. Turning, Twilight saw that Spike and the other mares had been looking in through the nearby window, and all of whom were bawling loudly from what had gone on between the two mares, leading to a sob-filled shout from Minuette.

"Can we come in now?!"

Several hours had passed since the group had all come together, and the atmosphere of the place had changed from one of loneliness to one of absolute friendship. The five mares and Spike were all sitting around a table, set up outside in Moondancer's small garden, smiling and laughing amongst themselves as they spoke. To say that Moondancer looked happy would have been a great understatement. No, she looked positively overjoyed at all of this. Gone was her solitude, and back again were the friends she had been so close to losing not so long ago. It had taken all of her strength not to simply break down into tears again at all of this, but even so, the gratitude she felt at being surrounded by ponies who cared about her was plastered all over her face. Twilight too was happy, as she and the other mares kept on discussing the other ponies that were close to Moondancer, from her sister to the ones who worked at the library she visited so often. The more they talked, the more evident it was that this reclusive mare was not as alone as she had first thought. It was like Pinkie Pie had always said, that making friends is a feeling that surpassed all others, even if they were technically old friends returning to your life. They chatted and discussed things together for some time, with Moondancer becoming more and more confident in her mannerisms and speech all the time.

When Twilight looked at her, she smiled to herself, thinking once again of just how like herself Moondancer was. She too had, at least in the first timeline, been so unsure of herself when making friends, and it had taken others wanting to be close to her to truly make her come out of her shell. Needless to say, it was a thought that made her appreciative of her Ponyville friends all over again. In fact, after considering that, her mind was already at work, thinking of ways to bring her two groups of friends together, even thinking of going to visit Lyra, another old friend whom she knew was living in Ponyville at this time. But, before she had the chance to do so, she was interrupted when her son, Spike, suddenly starting to get a gurgling sound in his stomach. Twilight turned to him, having recognised that sound many times over the years. The other mares looked to them with confusion, only to step back in surprise as, just as Twilight expected, Spike let out a massive burp, which, as always, magically conjured forth a scroll, sealed with Princess Celestia's personal icon. Though confused, Twilight took the scroll into her hooves, all while Spike received a few odd glances from the other mares.

"Erm...did you just burp out a scroll?" Minuette asked.

But Spike merely nodded and shrugged his shoulders, having already got used to such things a long time ago. Instead, he turned to his mother, who had opened the scroll and began to read. But, with every line, her expression grew more and more serious, until at last, she put it down, looking to him with a clear look of worry.

"Wha...what is it, Mom?"

Letting out a sigh, Twilight's words were hushed.

"Spike...take a letter for me. We need to send word to the girls back in Ponyville. They need to get here to the capital as soon as possible."

Needless to say, a sentence like that caught Spike off-guard, and both he and the other mares looked to each other in a concerned manner with the way in which Twilight had spoken that, leading to Spike looking to her once more.

"But...what happened?"

Frowning somewhat, Twilight turned, looking to the skyline of Canterlot, and, more specifically, the great towers of the royal palace at its centre.

"It's Discord. He's...he's been put on trial."