Moondancer sighed, her horn glowing and she adjusted the seating chart again. Okay, so it wasn’t THAT bad. She glanced back at the list of attending ponies as well as the competitors. She could barely believe it. Even a griffon would be attending! As well as a donkey! There were going to be at least a dozen different entries, at least.

And, of course, tickets to the event had already been sold out. The judges would be the ruler of the night herself, with a pre-screening performed by three well known critics. The event was going to be spectacular, she could tell. It would truly make this Hearts and Hooves day something to remember. She’d even perfected the seating chart! It was perfect, wonderful!

And yet, something was missing. She sighed and glanced back to the head table. Herself, Twilight and Nightmare Moon. She felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes. It used to be Celestia’s spot. Twilight thought she was jealous but… no. That wasn’t fully it. It was a bit, she supposed. A large bit. But having it flung in her face had forced her to re-examine what it was she really wanted. And she’d finally realized.

There was more to it than that. Celestia hadn’t just been her mentor. She wiped her eyes and shook her head. The de-throned princess had been like her mother. Always there. Always encouraging her. Pushing her to make new friends, giving her useful advice and helping her to learn. She’d had plenty of teachers through the years who would tell her the answer. But Celestia was special. She’d give her just enough to figure it out on her own, to make it something she earned, rather than was given. A pony who always encouraged her to fly higher, and yet was always there to catch her when she fell. With that mare, it wasn’t important that she didn’t fall. It was that she learned something when she did.

She didn’t know why the princess chose her, after Sunset Shimmer was removed from her position and disappeared. But she suspected it had to have been because the ruler had hope that she would become a pony worthy of this role one day. A pony who would stop Nightmare Moon. She’d made so, so many mistakes over the years, but her teacher never lost hope in her.

She gave a light giggle as she remembered the time she’d accidentally cast a spell that switched her and her teacher’s manes for a day. While she suspected the ruler could have dispelled it with ease, she instead let Moondancer figure it out on her own, spending countless hours reversing the spell and understanding where her mistake had occurred. So, so many mistakes. So many errors.

And yet, her teacher was always willing to listen to her. She could send a letter, and a new one would arrive in mere minutes, a response from the most powerful pony in Equestria. The alicorn was always so busy, and yet she always made time to respond to her ever faithful student.

And now here she was. Serving under Nightmare Moon. Jealous of the lack of attention, the lack of praise. She missed it, she truly did. But more than anything, she missed the warmth. The kindness. The knowledge that, if she failed, then she would be fine. She would pick herself up and try even harder, again and again, as many times as it took. The knowledge that, even if she accidentally turned the entire throne room into custard again, her ruler wouldn’t be mad at her, and would just offer the advice she needed.

She wished with all her part she could have learned more. Could have been a proper reflection of that brilliant alicorn. Though she knew it unlikely, she couldn’t help feeling that if she could just SHOW Nightmare Moon what it meant, what it all truly meant. Why they had loved the Princess of the Sun, that maybe she could see her best friend again. Her precious caretaker.

Moondancer couldn’t stop the tears anymore. Her horn glowed, locking the door of her room before she leaned forward, her hooves up on the table and her face resting on them. She cried, tears flowing down her face, her entire body shaking.

“Celestia… please… come back. If only for a second. Please… I can’t… I miss you so, so much...” she whispered gently. “I-I don’t know what to do without you. I don’t know how to fix this. How to repair any of this. W-we’re trying so, so hard to keep Equestria together but… but I want you back… please...” she whispered, though she knew it was meaningless. She knew her ruler couldn’t hear her. Knew Celestia would never come back. Knew there was nothing she could do anymore but try and be brave and strong, to help keep all the ponies safe.

Worst of all, she knew it was her fault. For every time she walked to the throne room, she could see the cause of all this grief and misery. The Elements of Harmony, imprisoned above the ruler’s head. Their world had fallen. Not by her hooves, but by hooves only she could stop.

And now she was planning a stupid dessert party in celebration.

------

“Are you sure about this?” Moondancer asked, watching Rarity move around the ballroom and directing the staff where to hangup the decorations.

“Mmmm? Do you not like them?” the fashionista asked, glancing back. “Reds and whites are quite traditional.”

“I know, but it just seems a bit… bright,” the student mumbled, glancing around. She then shook her head. “No, you’re right. Sorry, I’m just nervous.”

“Oh dear. I can’t say I’m surprised. Twilight was the same way right before the gala. But, it went wonderfully and this will too. How have your studies been going?”

“My… oh. Well, ahem,” Moondancer said, giving a light cough. “It’s been an experience. An interesting one. We’ve actually been looking into a bunch of old magics. Some of Starswirl the Bearded’s old spells, even. He didn’t complete all of them, though.”

“Who?”

“… Starswirl the Bearded? Only the most… nevermind. He’s a really amazing pony, though. His magic was revolutionary. I’ve been doing a bit of work into the more dangerous magics as well. Ones that… well. I’d probably better not speak much about them. Sorry.”

“It’s fine, darling. Just don’t push yourself too hard, okay? You’re an amazing unicorn, there’s no need to work yourself to the bone.” Rarity stopped at a table, unfolding and refolding a napkin. “Are you excited?”

“Excited? Yes. Terrified? Double yes. It’s only a few days away...” she muttered. “If everything doesn’t go well...”

“Everything will be fine. Are the preparations ready?”

Moondancer nodded. “Yes. A train has already been reserved, it will gather all of the contestants and their desserts from the corners of Equestria. They’ll arrive around noon. The party will start there, where the treats, and their creators, will walk them out of the train and into Canterlot proper, with an escort of guards to help them carry it. I’ve managed to get a few performers for the parade, as well. A real Hearts and Hooves pre-celebration. From there, they’ll bring them here, to the castle, at which point the judges will sample each one. Finally, the main event, where Nightmare Moon will sample each of the winners of the pre-screening and crown one of them the ‘Crowned Dessert of Equestria’. After that, the desserts will be tried by the many other ponies, a good host of who are party planners and other clientelle who would benefit from samples such as these, the crowned dessert gets great publicity, lots of other creators get lots of orders for their amazing work, everypony gets lots of bits and good feelings all around. And Nightmare Moon gets the props of being the pony who all this was done under, and is seen as a visionary. All’s well that ends well and such.”

“… Don’t take this the wrong way, dear. But if something DOES go wrong… it won’t be the end of Equestria. It--”

“Will just infuriate Nightmare Moon. No. This is a first. The first event of this sort, the first of its kind. If it goes poorly, it’ll reflect on her highness. And she would not take that well. So… it HAS to be perfect. It will be perfect.”

Rarity sighed and gave a nod. “Of course, darling. It’ll be fine, I’m sure.”

“I wish I could go with the train,” Moondancer muttered. “Make sure all of that goes well, but...”

“You need to be here at her highness’ side, yes?” Rarity said. “Not to mention you need to deal with all of the… possibly occurrences, yes?”

“Yes. Twilight can’t go either. I could ask one of my friends but… well...”

“What’s wrong, dear?”

“… They’ve kind of… distanced themselves from me. No. That’s not fair. I’ve distanced myself from them, as well.”

“That doesn’t… why ever for?”

“Because Nightmare Moon...” she muttered. She felt another soft pang in her heart and felt fresh tears forming in her eyes. How she wished she could run to them and discuss things. “We were supposed to be the Elements of Harmony, to wield them against her. Nightmare Moon… if she thought we were close again, if she thought I was bonding with them, there’s no telling what she might do.”

“Have… you told them about this?”

“No. But I suspect they know. Bon Bon is smart, she’s always been really good about… that kind of stuff. She probably explained it to the other girls. I… s-still sometimes get letters from them,” she said, choking on the words and quickly wiping her eyes. “B-Bon Bon would h-have been perfect for this. S-she was one of the most… the most t-talented p-ponies I know and she...” She choked on the words again. “T-then there was… was M-Minuette who… who was a-always so energetic a-and excited, she’d light up a room, she’d know what to d-do to make sure that… that everypony felt happy here and… and Lyra was just… just so--”

Her words were cut off by Rarity stepping forward and giving her a tight hug. “There there, darling,” she whispered, gently patting her on the back. “I understand. I know. Let it out...”

“I-I just… I want things to be back to normal, so bad. I want m-my friends back. I-I want my teacher back. I-I want… I want the sun back. I just…”

“I know… I know...” the unicorn whispered, softly rubbing the other mare’s back. “You’ve been very strong. This can’t be easy for you...”

“I-I don’t feel strong… I feel weak and scared and like… like it’s all going to come crashing down and I’m going to end up getting e-everypony destroyed. S-she kept my friends captive! All of them! If it wasn’t for Twilight, if she hadn’t talked the princess down...”

“I know. No wonder you’ve distanced yourself from them. But… you don’t have to be alone. I understand why you can’t go back to them, why you can’t be seen with them. But you’re still one of my friends. And I know Twilight sees you as a friend. So does Spike, dragon or not he is an absolute doll. Then there’s--”

“SPIKE!” Moondancer said, a grin forming on her lips. “That’s the answer!”

“Spike?” Rarity asked.

“I’ll ask him. HE could be a royal escort for the train! And keep an eye on things!”

“Err… that’s… a bit of a uhhh… big responsibility for such a small dragon, isn’t it?”

“He did walk all the way here from the dragon lands, he’s a lot tougher than he looks.”

“Truly? Oh… I suppose. You… wouldn’t have him do anything… too much, would you? I mean, he’s such a good natured, kind dragon.”

“Of course not. I promise, I wouldn’t put him in ANY danger, ever,” Moondancer said firmly. “Though, I’ll need to get Twilight’s permission. And he’ll have to agree to it.”

Rarity sighed. “I doubt she’ll notice. Last I saw, she was working on her book and I don’t think the sun rising could have distracted her.”

“Okay, fair. I’ll ask Spike, then. I don’t suppose you’d know where he is?”

The mare hummed. “Around now? He’d likely either be in the library reading a comic, begging the cooks for more gems or on his way here.”

“Why would he be on his way here?”

“Oh, he’s an absolute dear, he’s always coming by when I’m working and offering to help. Why, he even made his way all the way to my boutique a few times.”

Moondancer stared at the mare for a long moment. Finally, she shook her head. “I see… so I guess if I keep working with you, he’s bound to show up?”

“Eventually, yes.”

“Hi Miss Rarity!” a voice called out, Spike popping from around the corner. “Hi Moondancer!”

Moondancer narrowed her eyes and watched him for a moment. He looked a bit embarrassed, inching around the corner rather than walking in casually. She wondered how long he’d been listening in on their conversation. She then rolled her eyes at how paranoid she was. There was no way SPIKE was a spy for Nightmare Moon, he was probably just being polite and didn’t want to interrupt their talk. She mentally kicked herself for being so suspicious.

“Ah, Spike, just the dragon I was looking for,” Moondancer said, trotting over with a smile. “Would you be willing to do a job for me?”

“Oh, sure. Ummmm, what kind of job?”

“Organizing and managing a bunch of desserts, making sure the cooks don’t kill each other, that kind of thing. Contact me if anything goes wrong. I’ll enchant a pair of mirrors, okay?”

“Yes! I can do that!” the dragon said, giving a nod.

Moondancer nodded and then glanced to Rarity. “Do you mind if I steal Spike for a little bit?”

“Oh, of course darling. Though, Spike, if when you’re done you’d be willing to help me with a bit of digging? I’ve got this idea for the garden and I think you’d be perfect for making the tunnel.”

“Of course, Rarity,” the dragon said with a dream smile.

Moondancer rolled her eyes and trotted off, dragging him besides her with her magic. She then snickered. “So. How long were you watching us?”

His cheeks went red. “I-I wasn’t spying, you two were just having a--”

“A conversation and you felt bad about interrupting and then you got nervous because you didn’t want us to think you were eaves dropping? Especially when you saw me crying?” she asked.

“… Err. Yeah. That obvious? Sorry, I mean… nopony wants others to know when you’re crying,” he said sheepishly.

“Yes. I don’t think Rarity knew, or cared, though. It’s fine, I understand, and I appreciate you not barging in. But do feel free to announce yourself, even if interrupting. Okay? The last thing I’d want is somepony who doesn’t know you thinking you were spying on them. Ponies are suspicious enough as it is.”

The dragon nodded. “Okay. So, what all do I really have to do?”

“Just organize things. I’ll have a couple guards with you, so if anything goes wrong you’ll have backup. But… honestly? I just want somepony I can trust and I KNOW wants this to go well to be there.”

“You trust me?” he asked softly.

Moondancer paused and glanced over at him. “Of course I trust you. You’re Twilight’s assistant. And I trust her more than anypony in this castle… even if she does sometimes annoy me. And I know she trusts you.”

“Oh...”

“That, and I’ve seen the way you act, your behavior, everything about you. You’re a wonderful example of dragon kind. I can barely believe you are like many of the other dragons. But… well… I suppose I’ve never actually met many of the other dragons. I’ve always heard they were big bullies and, err… no offense.”

“Nope, that sounds about right,” Spike said with a shrug. “Lots of dragons are the toughest, meanest thing around and are jerks. I’m just special, I guess.”

Moondancer nodded, glancing down at the small dragon. He was small and adorable, though she felt she was beginning to understand why he was sent here. He was disposable. Small and weaker, likely bullied a lot. She startled at the sudden rush of protectiveness that flowed through her, her cheeks burning when she realized how badly she wanted to throttle the Dragon Lord for sending him here and allowing his abuse to continue.

“Well, I’m happy you’re not like them, then,” she said firmly. “You’re one of the nicest dragons I’ve ever met. And if you were a pony, you’d be one of the nicest there, as well. And I’ve heard nothing but praise from Twilight on how great an assistant you are.”

“… Wait, really?” he asked, standing up a little straighter.

“Indeed. Why, I’m a little jealous. If she didn’t already have you as her assistant, I’d have begged you to become mine.”

Spike chuckled and shook his head, his cheeks burning. “I-I don’t really do much.”

“Really? Okay then, how does Twilight put it… how many of her quills have you sharpened and ink pots have you refilled just today?”

“W-well, I mean, she was in writer mode so--”

“And have you brought her breakfast?”

“If I don’t make her eat she won’t, so--”

“And blank paper, how much have you restocked?”

“Well, I just--”

“And last night, how did you get her to go to bed?”

“I threatened to light her papers on fire if she didn’t stop, it was late and I was tired. But I don’t--”

“How many small things, picking up trash, organizing, all of that, do you do each day to ensure she has a nice, clean room?” she asked.

“I didn’t think she noticed,” the dragon said, his cheeks burning.

“Of course she notices, she’s a good pony. You’re an amazing assistant, Spike, and anypony would be happy to have you in their life.”

Spike blinked and glanced back towards the dining hall. “Any… pony?” he asked dreamily.

“Anypony. Now then. This will require you to leave the day before the event, okay?”

“Huh? Oh. Right. Yeah,” the dragon said, shaken from his thoughts.

“You can sleep on the train, but basically you’ll be keeping an eye on ponies, deal with any issues that come up. In theory, there won’t be much for you to do except keep me informed of the going ons. Got it?”

“Seems easy enough,” he said with a shrug.

“And of course, I’ll pay you.”

“… Huh?”

“This is an official job for the kingdom, you’ll be given compensation.”

“… What? Like…”

“Like actual bits, to buy whatever you like with.”

“Oh...” he whispered. “I’ve… never been able to do that, before...”

She nodded. “Of course. So… I’d just think about something you truly want for yourself. In fact… here,” she said before a small pouch popped into existence besides her. “One of the standard.” She then tossed the bag to him, the coins jingling inside it. He eyed it for a long time. “Just think long and hard about what you want to buy. It can be a bit exciting the first time.”

The dragon nodded. “Of course...” he whispered, gently weighing the bag in his hands.

Author's Notes:

You know, I didn't really think about it much until I wrote this chapter, but Celestia was a pretty good teacher. Just imagine how busy she was, and yet how quickly she would respond to Twilight's letters. Sure, sometimes it took a bit, but for the most part, she really seemed to put a lot of effort into helping Twilight.

Also, I may have teared up a few times writing this chapter. Just a little bit. Maybe I'm just weird. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Celestia as a teacher, especially compared to your own.