Twilight nervously stood before the mirror. She used her horn to levitate a hair spray and spray her mane, making it shinier. Spike came in, and he gasped, and started laughing.

"You remind me of Rar-" he stopped, cringing, and Twilight looked over to him, to see tears in the corners of his eyes. Her hooves wrapped around him in a warm hug.

"I know you miss them," said Twilight. "But we can make amends with our old friends and have a nice life here." Spike sniffed, and smiled at her. A knock on the door sounded, and Twilight dropped Spike. "Oh! They're here!" She rushed to the door, and opened it. Outside were Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkleshine. Lemon Hearts gave her a nervous smile while Minuette frowned.

"Hello, Twilight!" exclaimed Lemon, shaking her hoof hard. "It's been so long!" Twilight glanced nervously at Minuette, as the blue unicorn glared.

"I'm sorry, but, care to explain why you've been gone for so long without telling us?" asked Minuette, and Twilight's ears lay flat on her head.

"Oh..." Twilight's voice cracked slightly. "Princess Celestia sent me to Ponyville to help with preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration when Nightmare Moon came back and I decided to stay with my friends... They distracted me and I forgot about you all. I'm sorry." Minuette gave her a long, forgiving look.

"I understand," sighed Minuette. "I just hope it doesn't happen again."

"Me neither!" exclaimed Lemon Hearts. "Remember all the fun times we had?"

"Yeah," laughed Twilight.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Twinkleshine. "Let's go to dinner!" Twilight frowned.

"What about Moondancer?" asked Twilight.

"Oh! I nearly forgot," said Twinkleshine. "She is running a bit late. Ever since you left, she confined herself to one library all day and night to study spells." Twilight flushed as she remembered she forgot about Moondancer's party.

"Oh no," groaned Twilight. "I hope Moondancer isn't too mad about the time I skipped her party."

"But I am," snapped a voice from behind. Whipping around, Twilight came face to face with a cream unicorn with a red mane.

"Moondancer!" exclaimed Twilight, her happiness taking over to worry as she hugged Moondancer. Scowling, Moondancer shoved her off, leaving an awestruck Twilight on the ground.

"Why would you hug me, after abandoning me?! All of us?!" shouted Moondancer, her hoof pointing to the others.

"I-I'm sorry," said Twilight. "Let me expla-"

"No!" cut off Moondancer. "I don't want to hear your excuses. The day you forgot the one time I let myself open up to society, I was broken! I thought you could help me, but no, friends don't matter to Twilight Sparkle!" Moondancer put her back to Twilight, and the three others helplessly watched as they fought.

"Please, I'm sorry, but important things came across that day," said Twilight.

"More important than your best friend?" asked Moondancer coldly.

"Yes, regretfully," replied Twilight, hanging her head shamefully. "Nightmare Moon returned and I had to gather the true Bearers of the Elements of Harmony and save Equestria."

"Well, you could have come back instead of waiting three years," reminded Moondancer, turning to face Twilight.

"I could have," admitted Twilight. "But my old friends were so amazing I forgot about my true friends. I'm sorry. I'm no longer friends with them though." Moondancer took a moment to think, and scowled.

"I suppose I'll give you a chance," said Moondancer, and before Twilight could hug her, she continued,"But take it slow. It's going to be some time before I forgive you." Twilight nodded sadly.

"I understand," replied Twilight, and Spike glared in the background.

They arrived in the area where all the finest restaurants in Canterlot lay. Twilight looked around, mouth watering as she saw all the places.

"Where are we going?" asked Twilight. Twinkleshine smiled.

"There is this place named the 'Tasty Treat' and it just opened two weeks ago, and Lemon Hearts went there, and she said the food was wonderful, even though not many ponies came to eat there," replied Twinkleshine, pointing to a small restaurant that had exotic decor.

"I hope you don't mind there isn't any hooves from Zesty," said Lemon Hearts.

"Ah, it's fine," replied Twilight, waving her hoof dismissively. They went inside, andan amazing smell filled Twilight's nostrils. She sighed blissfully.

"Ah! Customers!" exclaimed a mare with a foreign accent. "Father! Take their orders and I will get the ingredients out. Thank you all for coming! My name is Saffron Masala, and I will be cooking your food." Saffron was an orange unicorn with sharp ears and a poofy, deep purple mane.

"Hello!" replied Twinkleshine.

"My friend says your food is great," said Twilight. She licked her lips. "It sure does smell nice!" Saffron giggled. A pudgy, older stallion emerged from a door, supposedly the kitchen.

"Really? Customers?" asked the stallion, eyes wide. "Well, that's... great!" He smiled. "Well, my name is Coriander Cumen. What do you want to eat?"

"Give us all the best thing you have!" exclaimed Minuette, and she glanced to her friends. "Dinner's on me!" The others cheered happily, excluding Moondancer as she glared at Twilight, watching her every move.

"Will do," replied Coriander, and he walked into the kitchen, and silence followed. All the mares stared, expecting Twilight to say something. She turned pink, and cleared her throat.

"So, what's been happening while I was gone?" asked Twilight. Moondancer looked away. The others glanced to each other, and smiled.

"We became pretty good friends of Princess Cadence," replied Minuette.

"I bet you figured since we were her bridesmaids until Chrysalis hypnotized us," added Lemon. Twilight laughed nervously, once again turning pink.

"I was too stressed to realize you guys were her bridesmaids, sorry," replied Twilight, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.

"It's fine," replied Twinkleshine. "We saw that you were making sure the wedding was organized." She giggled. "That's always been a hobby of yours."

"Well, while you were gone, I was upset, locked in my house," cut in Moondancer coldly. Twilight frowned, ears flat on her head.

"I'm sorry, once again," said Twilight, looking to the table, examining it, pretending to be interested.

"Alright," replied Moondancer, turning to Spike, murmuring something to him. Twinkleshine cleared her throat.

"So, can you tell us about your friends?" asked Twinkleshine, and the other two turned to face her, eyes shining in wonder. Twilight growled, but her next outburst was interrupted by Coriander, as he brought six bowls out. He gave them each to every mare. Twilight looked down at it, and licked her lips. The smell was very tempting, and you could see in the soup all of the good ingredients, mixed perfectly and a warm steam crept out of the bowl. Using the spoon given to her, she dipped it in, and tasted the contents of the soup. The flavors danced in her mouth, and she gasped.

"Is it too hot?" asked Saffron as she walked out, a worried expression on her face. Twilight shook her head.

"It's the best thing I've ever tasted!" exclaimed Twilight.

The other mares looked to her excitedly, and then tasted the food themselves. Murmuring to one another in happiness, they ate more. Soon, they were done with their dinner.

"Coriander, Saffron, I will be sure to come back!" exclaimed Minuette, sighing blissfully. "That's the best food I've ever tasted!" The both of them smiled, leaning to each other.

"Well, a father and daughter are the best team!" gloated Coriander. The mares waved goodbye, with the exception of Moondancer, and headed home. Spike glared at Twilight, who was confused.

"On the way, you said something about her forgiving you," scowled Spike. "If she can eventually forgive you, why can't you forgive our friends?!"

"Their betrayal is different!" snapped Twilight. "So, I had to leave without telling my friends, but that was on Celestia's orders! They ignored me completely, with no orders at all from anypony! They didn't care about my worries and suspicions, while I cared about our real friends' opinions! So, our problem is completely different!" Spike glared at her.

"You mean your problem," said Spike slowly, and he sighed. "I've spoken to Rarity before she left. I'm moving in with her." Twilight gasped.

"W-W-What? You can't! I-I own you!" exclaimed Twilight, grabbing Spike's shoulders. "Well, not own you, but you know what I mean! You're like my little brother, and I have full custody of you!" Spike shook his head, and pushed her off him.

"I may not look like it, and you've forgotten, but I'm sixteen. I'm the legal age to move in with any adult, friend or family," replied Spike. Twilight felt a tear trickle down her cheeks.

"N-No! I won't let you!" protested Twilight.

"I'm sorry, but losing one friend is better than losing five," replied Spike, tears in the corners of his eyes. "I hope that one day we will all be friends again." Twilight stopped, watching Spike, sobbing, as he hurried away.