Twilight was used to waking up early. It was a habit she’d developed as a filly, when she’d wake up every single morning at the crack of dawn just to watch Princess Celestia raise the sun. Spike found it endlessly annoying. She tried her best to not wake him up, but it sometimes did him good to wake up early, right?

Rarity though, as far as Twilight could see, was definitely not an early bird.

When she got to the train station, Twilight Sparkle found the two other ponies there waging a losing war against the sandpony’s evil clutches. The stallion at the ticket booth was snoring the morning away, drool trailing down his half-open mouth and onto some tickets scattered about. Twilight found herself grateful she’d bought most of her tickets days and even weeks in advance.

Rarity, at least, carried her drowsiness with much more grace. She was sitting on her hindquarters, eyes closed and head slightly dropping forwards. Her ears kept swiveling around, signifying she wasn’t totally asleep, and on her face was the absolute grumpiest frown Twilight had ever seen her friend make. Despite the fact Twilight found the sight to be quite cute, she refrained from making a single sound and quietly trotted towards her friend.

Rarity seemed to be mumbling under her breath, and Twilight got close enough to catch an “ungodly hour” and a “no beauty sleep”, amongst other mumbled complaints. Rather than calling Rarity, Twilight instead took the lid off one of the coffee cups floating besides her, and then carefully levitated it under Rarity’s face, the steamy aroma rising to fill her nose.

Rarity’s frown dissolved into a pleased smile almost immediately. She slowly opened her eyes; blinked one, two, three times; and her magic intermixed with Twilight’s as she brought the cup to her lips and took a drawn-out sip of delicious, caffeinated coffee.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Twilight said, teasingly smiling at her friend.

Rarity hummed in reply. She smiled gratefully at the alicorn, until her eyes went wide and: “Twiiiilight!” she whined theatrically, ears flattening against her head and tugging pitifully at Twilight's scarf. “It’s so early! Everyday I have to wake up at this hour, I can’t even get my proper dose of beauty sleep, and so I look hideous! Hideous, I tell you!” she exclaimed, turning away in shame to hide her perfectly done makeup. “Don’t look at me.”

“Rarity, don’t be ridiculous. You look fine.” Twilight snorted, shaking her head and taking a sip of coffee. Admittedly, Twilight thought Rarity always looked amazing, so perhaps there was some bias involved. “It’s only been a week. It’s not that bad.”

“Hah! Of course you’d say that! You only have to wake up early three times a week!” Rarity scoffed. When Twilight giggled impishly in reply, she harrumphed and turned away. “You know, I used to feel bad about you having to take the train rather than the private carriages, but I daresay my sympathy for your plight has vastly diminished.”

“Well, misery loves company, right?” Twilight offered with an amused smile.

Rarity finally giggled, rolling her eyes. “Ah yes, but what if misery preferred it if her company didn’t look so thrilled at being up at six thirty in the morning, hmm? Have you ever thought about that, miss Twilight Sparkle?”  

Twilight’s reply never came, interrupted instead by the sound of sniffling.

They turned around to find a stallion trotting up the station stairs, a unicorn foal trailing behind him. The stallion, whom Twilight assumed was the father, put down the single suitcase he’d been levitating and then trotted over to the ticketbooth. As he did so, Twilight and Rarity watched the foal take out a small plush doll of a royal guard and place it so its head would be peeking out the saddlebag.

“All right, here’s your ticket,” the stallion said, giving the foal a piece of paper. “Don’t lose it. The conductor will ask for it at some point, so be sure to keep it with your passport and papers, okay? Do you have all the papers you need for Starlington’s?”

Once he’d put the ticket away, the foal nodded. “Y-Yes, Papa…”

“Starlington? Isn’t that one of Canterlot’s boarding schools?” Rarity whispered.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah. It’s the best boarding school in Equestria right after Princess Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns.” Twilight herself had once thought she’d be going there, specifically during the minutes after she’d seemingly failed her entrance exam to Celestia’s school.

“P-Papa, I don’t want to go.” The foal hiccuped, wiping away tears with his hoof. He tugged on his father’s scarf and asked, “C-Can’t you come with me, please?”

The stallion looked down at his son with a pained expression and shook his head. “I’m sorry, honey, I can’t.. Mommy’s feeling sick, and somepony needs to stay with her to take care of her, you know that.” the stallion sighed and tenderly rubbed his son’s head. “I wish I could go with you… but you’ll be fine.”

“That poor darling,” Twilight heard Rarity whisper, and she couldn’t help but agree.

Being Celestia’s private student meant that Twilight had to actually live in the castle, and she’d been initially heartbroken at having to leave home. Admittedly, it had helped a bit that she’d be living with her idol, but she still remembered crying in her mother’s forearms the first day. And the homesick feeling that had accompanied her the first few weeks. It was hard for me and I didn’t even move to a different city, she thought, I can’t imagine what it must be like for somepony as young as he is.

The distant sound of a train whistle caught the attention of the four ponies, and Twilight watched as the train pulled up at the station. The doors opened and the now familiar conductor wobbled out, exchanging greetings with the two mares. Engine Trail, as they had come to know him, looked over at the stallion and foal, who looked as if about to burst into tears.

“Come on, I’ll help you put your suitcase inside,” the stallion said, leading his son into the train, quickly bowing before Twilight when he noticed her.

The foal, rather than bow, simply stared at Twilight, almost as if he’d forgotten his misery for a moment. It returned, however, when his father gently urged him to hurry up.

Once they had gone inside, the conductor turned to Twilight and Rarity so as to lead them to a private compartment he’d secured after finding out Princess Twilight would be a recurring guest. Twilight was grateful for his efforts, but…

“Why, Engine Trail! Look at all of this!” Rarity exclaimed, stepping into the carriage, which had been decorated with what looked like delightfully snug blankets, plush pillows to lie on for sleeping, and several baskets filled with all sorts of expensive looking candies.

“It’s the least we could do,” Engine Trail said, watching attentively as Twilight sat down and curiously prodded at one of the pillows. “This is little compared to what you’ve done for Equestria!”

“Thank you, Engine Trail,” Twilight said sincerely, offering him a warm smile. As much as she wished she’d be treated normally, she had to admit the pillows were very soft and plush, and the blankets looked very enticing.

When the stallion left the compartment, closing the door behind him, Twilight turned around to find her companion making the most of their luxuries. Throwing decor to the wind, Rarity had wrapped herself in one of the blankets and laid her head down on the pillow, her previous weariness dissolving into a state of what looked like pure bliss. She looked oddly cute like that, almost like a kitten.

“Mmmm…” she murmured, and Twilight couldn’t help and think all Rarity needed to do next was to just start purring.

“Well, that didn’t take long.” Twilight laughed, raising an eyebrow at the unicorn.

“Twilight, I’m not about to waste Engine Trail’s kindness, especially when it might be gone on the days you’re not here,” Rarity replied, opening her eyes if only to cheekily flutter her eyelashes at Twilight. “For all we know, the ‘p’ in this V.I.P. treatment stands solely for ‘princess’.”

“I don’t know, Rarity,” Twilight confessed, realizing how different the place looked from the last time they’d been there. “I don’t feel right accepting all this ‘preferential’ treatment. I’m just like everypony else.”

“Twilight, don’t be silly! You more than anypony deserves the absolute best treatment in Equestria, so at least be polite towards Engine Trail by accepting this small gesture, hm?” Rarity levitated one of the spare blankets and unceremoniously dropped it on Twilight with a giggle. “There’s nothing wrong with indulging in the wonderful benefits of being you, darling.”

Twilight giggled, lifting the blanket off her face and putting it on properly. “I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I am! You’re so hopeless without me, Twilight Sparkle,” Rarity replied, levitating one of the chocolates from the baskets and snacking on it in a dainty way that only she seemed to be able to pull off. She licked her lips afterwards and looked at Twilight, sighing theatrically. “What would you do if I moved away? Who would teach you the intricately delicate ways of royalty? Heaven knows you’d probably still eat like a piglet.”

“I do not!” Twilight protested, swiftly putting down the large piece of chocolate she was about to scarf down, and reluctantly picking the smallest one. “You weren’t even there when I had lunch with Sweetie and the girls!”

“Thank Celestia for that because from the way she described it...” Rarity replied, before smiling deviously at the flustered alicorn. “Twilight, I’m just teasing,” she said, levitating Twilight’s original piece over to her friend and innocently adding, “I’m sure there are piglets out there with far worse table manners.”

“Pffft…”

Twilight lied down, covering herself with the blanket and watched as Rarity closed her eyes and drifted off. Even if the unicorn had been teasing, Twilight knew she was right. Etiquette had never been Twilight’s forté, and Rarity had always been there to help or offer advice, especially now that Princess Celestia was far away. In a way, with her love of royalty and glamour, etiquette and propriety, Rarity had always been a slice of Canterlot away from Canterlot.

Maybe that was why Twilight had eventually found herself drawn to her as… as more than… With a sigh, she took another piece of chocolate, snuggled into the blanket and closed her eyes, trying to blank her thoughts. Rarity would never…

“Twilight?”

Twilight opened her eyes to find Rarity looking intently at her.

“Yes?”

Rarity looked down at the floor. “I… I’m worried about...” she trailed off, sitting up straight and taking off the blanket. She bit down on her lip, lost in thought, before jumping onto the floor and magicking the door open.

“Wait, where are you going?” Twilight asked, similarly getting up.

“I’ll be back in a minute. I just want to check on something,” Rarity replied, taking one of the spare blankets, a couple of tissues from her saddlebag, and five or six wrapped-candies. “Go back to sleep, darling,” she said, smiling at Twilight before disappearing into the hallway.  

Worried? thought Twilight, still watching the empty hallway. Worried about what? She considered going after Rarity, but decided on waiting first. With a yawn, she lied back down and kept herself entertained by going over her duties for the day. The meeting with Princess Celestia, then going over the guest list for the dignitaries coming over in the following holiday weeks, and if both of them could find the time, lunch with Rarity.

After at least five minutes passed with no sign of the unicorn, Twilight finally decided on getting up to investigate. She got up, refusing to abandon the warm blanket, and trotted into the empty hallway. She passed by several equally empty private rooms until she finally found her target inside an empty public car.

At the very end of the car, Twilight saw Rarity talking to the sole other pony there: the little foal from earlier. He was seated by the window, his plush doll held tightly between his forelegs, and Twilight had gotten there just in time to see Rarity carefully place the blanket over the foal’s shoulders.

“There! Doesn’t that feel much better?” Rarity asked, sitting down so as to not intimidate the foal. She gave him the tissue and continued: “Nothing like a warm blanket and some scrumptious candy to wipe off any sad face!”

“Uh-huh.” The foal nodded, sniffling slightly and wiping his tears away with the tissue.

Aww…

Twilight smiled, taking a few careful steps towards her friend. Even though she should have known that’s what Rarity would be worried about, there was something terribly endearing about watching how good Rarity was with children.

“T-Thanks, Miss.”

“You’re very welcome, dear,” Rarity replied, taking from the table what Twilight recognized as the empty candy-wrappers. “I’ll go back to my carriage and get you a few more sweets.”

“Did… Did Princess Twilight send you?” he asked, neither he nor Rarity having noticed Twilight standing in the same room.

“Twilight? Yes, she did! She’s always thinking of other ponies, and asked me to come here and check up on you,” Rarity replied without missing a beat. “As Princess of Ponyville, she always makes sure to try and brighten the day of any little filly or colt who might be sad. In fact, the only reason she didn’t come herself is so she could bring you even more sweets!”

The foal didn’t reply immediately, clutching his doll closer to his chest. “Sh-She’s not angry at me for moving away?” he asked, starting sniffle again. “I didn’t want to go. She’s my favorite princess…B-but the school...”

“Awww, darling,” Rarity said, voicing exactly what the heart-warmed Twilight was thinking. “I give you my word that Princess Twilight would never be upset at you for something like that.” She leaned in closer and continued in a conspiratory whisper. “In fact, would you like to know a secret? Princess Twilight actually grew up in Canterlot, and she and Princess Celestia are the best of friends.”

“She did?” The young colt gawked at Rarity before repeating his astonished question in a slightly different way. “She is?”

“Yes she is,” Twilight said, stepping forward and revealing her presence to the two of them, a newly teleported basket of candy floating besides her. “She took care of me when I was still a young filly, and I promised her that I would do the same thing for anypony that needed it.”

It was a complete and total fabrication of course; Princess Celestia was more pragmatic than that, but the colt seemed heartened by it. The basket of candies certainly helped too, which he couldn't resist digging into when Twilight placed it on the table in front of him.

"What's your name?" she asked, indulging in yet another chocolate and pointedly ignoring Rarity's whispered warning about calories.

"Spring Comet,” the foal replied, taking another candy and giving Twilight an idea.

She gestured towards the empty seats opposite the foal. "Mind if we sit with you a while? We have so much candy, we can't really eat all of it by ourselves!"

It didn’t take long for Twilight and Rarity to find out much about Spring Comet. It seemed having company helped ease his nerves, and by the time he and Twilight had devoured most of the chocolates, they’d learned almost his entire life story — granted, it wasn’t a very long life story, but he had certainly been excited to tell them all about it. At least, until they got to the present, and with it, the part where he had to go to his new boarding school.

“My mom went there when she was little. She says I have to come two months early so I can get used to the school and the city,” Comet explained, toying with one of the dozen wrappers littered all over the table. “But when she went, she had a friend with her, ‘xcept all my friends are staying in Ponyville.” He sniffed once, rubbing his eyes with his hoof. “And they won’t come to visit until Hearth’s Warming Eve…”

“That’s not entirely true, is it?” Rarity said, taking one of the few remaining candies before the other two did. She pointed at the plush seated on the table. “He’s coming with you, isn’t he? Does he have a name?”

“Rift Design,” Comet replied, seeming to cheer up a bit. “He’s a guard working for Princess Celestia! He’s the best guard she has, but…” He looked conspiratorially to the sides before leaning in to whisper, “he’s a changeling.”

“A changeling?”

“Uh-huh! But he’s a good changeling!” the colt continued. “He turned into a pony so he could help others, ‘cause ponies don’t like changelings, but he still tries really hard to help.” He took the plush and held it tightly against his chest. “I wanna be a royal guard just like him when I grow up.”

“How curious! Usually foals your age—” She looked at Twilight, smiling impishly. “—And some mares all have Daring Do as their hero!”

The colt blinked. “Daring Do?” he asked, a bit surprised when the otherwise composed Princess Twilight Sparkle gasped loudly.

Which was understandable considering the statement, wasn’t it?

“You’ve never heard about Daring Do?” she asked, ignoring Rarity’s whispered ‘please, darling, try not to look so offended’. How could somepony not know about Daring Do?! Those books should be required reading everywhere! The suspense, the action, the drama!

“Nuh-uh…” Comet shook his head before asking a lethal question, “What’s it about?”

Rarity looked towards the window, giggling. "Here we go..."

Unlike Ponyville's own train station, Canterlot Station was brimming with ponies despite the early hours. Some were dozing off, others were pressed to board, but none were more effusive — and certainly not excited — as the Princess and foal stepping onto the station.

"She used a mirror to redirect the freeze spells?!" Comet asked, his terror long forgotten and replaced instead with endless excitement and curiosity over the tale Twilight had been weaving. "Did Daring Do freeze Azuzotle too?!"

"Ahuizotle," Twilight corrected her promptly, before going back to the enthusiasm of a filly let loose in a candy store. "And yes, but not permanently. Though, further assessing the situation she was in, I think it would have been more efficient to use the rebounded spells to freeze the cursed totem, therefore—"

"Heavens, are you still going on about that?" Rarity said, stepping down onto the station. "What's going to be the point of reading them if you already told him every minimal detail, darling?" She took out some sunglasses from her saddlebag and put them on. "At this rate, I'm going to be an expert on Daring Do, and I haven't read them either."

"Yet."

Rarity raised her eyebrows. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that almost sounded threatening. Are you planning on locking me with you in the library until I read them?" She giggled when Twilight rolled her eyes. "You know, that doesn't sound too bad, actually. It could be our own little private book club."

Rarity’s words faded away into silence within moments, but the idea she had planted in Twilight’s mind proved harder to shake. Twilight found herself musing on what it would be like: the two of them lying on a large pillow inside the library, cuddled together, Twilight listening peacefully as Rarity read aloud, discussing all their Daring Do theories, Rarity putting the book down and leaning in to—

“Princess?”

Twilight blinked. “Huh?” she asked, looking down and finding the foal staring back at her with wide eyes. He seemed to look a bit upset, clutching his plush toy to his chest. Twilight realized she’d apparently missed something while she was off daydreaming, and when she looked to Rarity, the unicorn rolled her eyes unhelpfully.

“Comet mentioned he doesn’t know how to get to his school, and I said we’d be delighted to help him get there,” she said, smiling brightly at the foal. She turned to Twilight and fluttered her eyelashes in the way she did when she expected to get what she wanted — which she always did. “Aren’t we, Twilight?”

“Oh, uh, yes,” Twilight said, smiling when Comet’s expression immediately brightened up. “We can take you.”

Relieved by the news, Comet excused himself, promising to get his suitcase ‘super quick’ so they could set off immediately. Once he was out of earshot, Twilight turned to Rarity, raising her eyebrow.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at the castle in twenty minutes?” she asked, distinctly remembering what a stickler Perfect Stitch was for punctuality.

“Mh-hm...”

“...And I’m not sure we can get to Starlington's and then back to the castle in time… Unless you don’t mind Perfect Stitch thinking you’re somewhat unprofessional,” she continued, hoping to help Rarity to realize that upsetting her boss wasn’t the greatest of ideas — especially if she wanted to keep coming to Canterlot, which Twilight very much hoped she would.

“Twilight, I finished all my designs due for today,” Rarity said, finally turning to look at her friend and smiling gratefully. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m sure Perfect Stitch will understand. Seeing just how much she raves on and on about her three-year old grandson, I rather think she’d be mortified at knowing we left the poor child to his own devices.”

“But what about Princess Celestia?” Twilight continued, still very much concerned. “What if she decides to drop by to see your progress?”

Rarity giggled. “Twilight, I know your life revolves around making sure everything and everypony impresses the Princess, but I’m certain she’ll understand our decision.”

Twilight was aghast. “My life doesn’t revolve around that!” she protested, a blush creeping up her face. "It doesn't!" she reasserted when Rarity raised her eyebrow.

Rarity giggled. "You keep telling yourself that, darling."