The mood in Ponyville over the last few days had, understandably, been rather dour, with a great deal of panic thrown in. But now? Now, things had lightened up considerably, quite literally in fact. With the return of Princess Celestia, the sun had been raised over Equestria yet again, and all now basked in the warm glow of the day. Naturally, her safe return and the proceeding of the Summer Sun Celebration could mean only one thing; a party. And celebrate they did, with Pinkie Pie, of course, leading the way, arranging for many of the party treats and favours she'd arranged prior to the crisis that had befallen them. Everywhere one looked, there were smiles of joy and relief, especially within the town hall, where the majority of Ponyville's residents had gathered.

Many of those same ponies could not help but approach their monarch, going on and on about how grateful they were that she had been returned to them. Celestia herself, as always, looked upon them with warmth, greeting and speaking to everypony who came her way, young and old alike. As for Twilight, she stood to one side, gazing in admiration at her mentor from afar, and simply taking a moment to relax after the stressful ordeal she and her friends had gone through. Occasionally, she'd glance over to Pinkie, who had to work her hardest to keep the "poofiness" of her mane under control, causing no end of giggles for Twilight. In other places, she'd see Applejack, who'd cast her a smile and a tip of her hat as she surrounded herself with her relatives. Twilight, of course, returned the nod, and when it was done, she simply let out a contented sigh.

"This...this is more like it," she spoke softly.

Suddenly, her solitude from everypony else was interrupted when, to her surprise, she found her foreleg grabbed and held tightly by something much smaller than her. Looking down, she soon regained her smile, as Spike looked up to her with tears in his happy face.

"Spike...you don't need to do that every time you see me now."

The young dragon chuckled, then held onto her even tighter.

"I know, but...I just missed you so much!"

Twilight's smile widened, and she knelt down to his level, embracing her son warmly. As they held one another, the young unicorn whispered to him in a soothing manner.

"Don't worry, Spike...I'm not going anywhere."

They would have probably stayed this way together for a very long time, had it not been for the sudden arrival of somepony clearing their throat. Looking up, Twilight saw that it was none other than Fluttershy, who promptly smiled down to the both of them.

"I'm sorry to interrupt."

But Twilight, now getting herself off the floor again, shook her head.

"Don't be. I'm glad you came, actually. I never got the chance to thank you for looking after my son while I was gone."

Fluttershy nodded.

"It was no trouble. He was one of the most polite youngsters I've had the pleasure of looking after."

Twilight looked to her son with pride after that remark, though the latter seemed more than a little embarrassed. But, before she could say anything further to her pegasi friend, the unicorn then noticed something. Somepony very small was standing just behind Fluttershy, almost as if hiding behind her leg. It was another pegasus, a filly, with bright orange fur and a long purple mane, which hung low, almost to the ground, obscuring one eye. The filly looked to Twilight with nervousness, while Twilight herself found realisation, and soon smiled to her.

"Hello there. You must be Scootaloo."

Scootaloo retreated further behind her adopted Mother's legs, eliciting some concern from Twilight. But Fluttershy merely giggled to this, looking over her shoulder to her daughter.

"Don't worry, sweetie. Twilight's a friend. She's Spike's Mother, remember?"

Slowly, Scootaloo re-emerged, though she seemed hesitant to do so. As Twilight smiled down to her, the young pegasus could only respond with a small smile of her own, as well as somewhat muted speech.

"Mmm...hmmm..."

Twilight titled her head, looking to Fluttershy for clarification. The yellow mare, after giving a soft smile to her daughter, looked back to the unicorn before speaking.

"She's just a little shy. Takes a while to warm up to people. She was the same with Spike...at first."

Twilight raised an eyebrow to this, looking down to her son, who promptly blushed at being talked about like this. As for Scootaloo, she too gained a blush, looking away from the young dragon nearby. Twilight, looking from one to the other, couldn't help but gain a knowing smirk, before speaking up to Fluttershy once more.

"Well then...I'm glad to hear they got on so well."

The two older mares laughed together, so much so that they did not notice the arrival of a far larger figure close by. Spike however, did notice, and so poked his Mother in the side to gain her attention. It did not take long for Twilight to notice who it was, as Celestia herself was now drawing nearer. Out of reflex, both Twilight and Fluttershy gave a bow, with Scootaloo once more retreating behind her Mother. Celestia, looking once more to her student, gave a warm smile.

"I am glad to see you having a moment of peace at last, Twilight."

Looking up, Twilight returned the smile.

"And you, Princess."

Fluttershy looked to her friend, giving a short nod, before then started to move away, with Scootaloo close behind her. Spike soon followed, recognising a "private moment" when he saw one, though he was not above giving his Mother a quick hug before leaving. Now here with her mentor, Twilight found herself unable to avoid asking the obvious question.

"So...how are you feeling?"

Celestia sighed as she stood beside her student, looking out over all the other ponies at the party.

"Far better than I was. Thank you for asking."

Twilight nodded, looking quite relived, and so joined her teacher in looking out at the other ponies. It contended her to see so many of her people so happy and safe now that the danger had passed for them. However, as she dwelt on this, thoughts from the past few days began to well up in her mind once more. So many that, for a time, she took on a more troubled look. The elder alicorn beside her had noticed this, and though she remained as composed as ever, she spoke with clear concern in her voice.

"You have questions, Twilight?"

Though briefly embarrassed at being seen to have concerns, Twilight soon cleared her throat, looking to her mentor with earnestness in her eyes.

"Yes, Princess. I was wondering...why? Why did the Tantabus come after me?"

She looked ahead, to the other ponies, before continuing.

"I mean...it had the perfect position of safety. It could hide in the dream realms. It had taken your power. If it had stayed there, I couldn't get to it. Instead? It exposed itself, left itself open to the Queen. So..."

Slowly, she looked back up to Celestia.

"...why?"

The Princess sighed, turning away from her student.

"When I was under the beast's spell, I could feel it probing my mind, seeing into my thoughts and memories."

Her expression was an angry one as she recalled that time, but she calmed herself soon afterwards before continuing.

"It would have known of you through me. It would have sensed that you would try to stop it, that you'd try and arrange for some defence against it. And because you lacked my sis...the Queen's strength, it no doubt saw you as a more manageable threat it could deal with."

Twilight nodded, accepting that answer. But, her doubts continued.

"That makes sense, but...there's still something that doesn't make sense."

Celestia looked to her as she continued.

"How was I able to hurt it?"

At first Celestia seemed confused by this, prompting Twilight to explain herself.

"It's just...the legends about it all said that only alicorns could thwart the Tantabus. And yet, in the fight...I struck it with my magic. It reacted as though my attack actually hurt it."

She looked Celestia right in the eye.

"But...how could that be possible if only alicorns could cause it harm?"

For a moment, Celestia seemed hesitant to answer, thinking over her words carefully. But, with Twilight continuing to await an answer, the elder mare soon put on a small smile for her.

"I wouldn't concern yourself, Twilight. No doubt the legends were...exaggerating. Perhaps alicorns were not the only ones capable of hurting it?"

Again, Twilight nodded, though Celestia continued to seem uncertain about what had been said to her. Then, after a brief pause between them, curiosity began to grip the Princess, and it was not long before she asked a question of her own.

"Twilight...may I ask something?"

The young unicorn looked up to her again, giving a nod as consent. Celestia hesitated, but only for a moment.

"Did...did the Queen see your strike against the Tantabus?"

The question had caught Twilight off-guard, but not so much so that she was unable to come up with an answer shortly afterwards.

"I...I don't think so. I mean...I suppose it's possible, but...I'm not really sure."

For a time, Celestia seemed almost worried by that answer, leading to a degree of understandable hesitancy on the part of Twilight.

"Is...is something wrong?"

But Celestia, quickly regaining her composure, simply smiled at her student.

"Do not mind me, Twilight. I just get overly-worried sometimes."

Twilight nodded, though it was clear from looking that she was not wholly satisfied with that response. However, as the silence between them carried on, Twilight found that there was yet another question brewing in her mind. A question that she knew was going to cause some issues, and yet, in this place, with her mentor so close by, she felt as if she had no choice but to ask it.

"Princess..."

"You wonder what happened to us? Between my sister and I?"

The remark caught Twilight off-balance, and yet, as Celestia now started to bear a serious look, the young unicorn simply nodded in response. Slowly, Celestia closed her eyes, and it was not long before she started to explain.

"As legends said, she and I once ruled Equestria together. We always had our differences, but in almost all things, we worked as a team. Nothing ever came between us that could not be resolved later on."

Then, her eyes opened, revealing a more steely glance.

"But, one day...the differences simply became...too great."

Curiosity gripped Twilight, and she watched with increasing interest as her teacher carried on with her story.

"Long ago, before the divide...Equestria was plagued by a terrible foe. A spirit of chaos and disharmony. Discord."

The Princess sighed.

"He had travelled from one side of our lands to the other, bringing nothing but pain and misery to our people, all to satisfy his need for self-amusement. Naturally...my sister and I had to stop him."

A firmer look crossed her face.

"The battle was long and hard-fought. Using every magical trick we knew, we matched Discord, spell for spell. But no matter what we did, he always found a way to come back from whatever we threw at him. It was a stalemate, and all of us grew increasingly frustrated from it."

Slowly, Celestia's face became almost a pained one.

"Then, at the end of it all, my sister and I knew that there was only one way to subdue this creature. A spell. One so powerful that it required the magic of both of us to see it done."

The Princess looked down to her student once more.

"...A spell of change. To imprison Discord within himself. To turn him from flesh...into stone."

Twilight seemed stunned by this information, something which did not go unnoticed by her teacher.

"It was not something ever thought possible for pony magic to accomplish. A stone prison of one's own body, far more potent than anything a creature like a cockatrice could do. But, we succeeded, and Discord was, at long last, prevented from continuing his reign of chaos."

But then, Celestia's expression became a despondent one.

"I remember it still. How weak I felt. How drained. So exhausted was I that I could not even stand. My powers returned at a later date, but for the time being, I was utterly spent."

Then, her eyes narrowed.

"But Luna...she was not so exerted. As much as it may pains me to admit to this, she always was the more powerful mage. She still had strength to spare, even as I lay motionless upon the ground. She stood, making her way over to Discord...then looked me in the eye."

Twilight knew where this was going, but even so, she said nothing as the older mare resumed.

"I could feel it, her anger. She had witnessed every atrocity, every act of maliciousness that Discord had wrought upon Ponykind...and it had enraged her. Now, he was there, paralysed and defenceless before her. Luna, my sister, looked me right in the eye..."

She hesitated, gulped, then said what they both knew had to be said.

"...and then, with her greater strength...she shattered his statue."

Twilight gasped, clasping her hoof over her mouth. Celestia too was looking very down by this, but did not look at her student, instead remaining stoic in her expression.

"Whatever life-force that had been within that stone...vanished with Luna's assault. Discord, the Lord of chaos...had been slain. When our strength had both recovered, I argued with her. I told her that he was contained, that he was no longer a threat, that he might have even reformed one day."

She shook her head.

"But Luna would not believe it. On and on, she kept telling me that if Discord ever found a way to escape, he would simply go ahead and do what he'd been doing all over again."

Here, sadness took hold in Celestia's eyes.

"That...was the divide. We simply...simply could not reconcile after that. Luna left, and those closest to her followed. And our nation...was never the same again."

There was silence now, even in spite of the party going on around them. Twilight wanted to say something, anything to get her mentor to feel better, but every time she thought of something, none of it seemed good enough. In the end, she approached her, placed a hoof gently upon her side, then spoke softly.

"Princess...maybe...maybe things can be good between you again? It's been a long time, so...maybe the wounds have healed?"

But Celestia merely shook her head, looking to her apprentice with utter seriousness.

"No, Twilight. Things were said and done that can never be taken back. Luna, even during her isolation, has been an opponent, to the point of taking somepo...something precious from me. Far away she may have been...but she has still hurt me."

To say Twilight was depressed by such words would have been an understatement, as she looked down to the ground. Celestia, at least for a time, seemed guilty about causing such feelings in her student, and so nudged her slightly, gaining her attention. When Twilight looked to her, she gazed up into a smiling face.

"At the very least...I am glad I was able to talk to somepony about this."

Twilight nodded to that, trying to seem as upbeat about the matter as she possibly could. However, it was not long before her teacher looked to her with concern in her expression.

"Twilight...I have a favour to ask of you."

After a brief moment of hesitation, the young unicorn nodded.

"Of course."

Celestia considered her words for a moment, before just coming out with it.

"Would you, perhaps...consent to living here, in Ponyville, for a little bit longer?"

Twilight looked to her with confusion.

"I...I wouldn't object to it, but...why?"

Celestia sighed.

"This incident...with the Tantabus...I fear it may have set off events that cannot be undone. This will not be the last time you or I see my sister, and our two kingdoms...they may have far more to do with one another in the coming days."

Concern gripped Twilight, but she kept silent as the Princess looked down to her.

"I need somepony here...somepony I can trust...to remain in this place. For make no mistake, Twilight...things will change from now on."

Naturally, such a remark was not an easy thing to take in. But, to her credit, Twilight did not shy away. Instead, she steeled herself, taking in a few calming breaths before, finally, looking to her mentor with a look that was just as serious as hers.

"I will do what I can, Princess. You can count on me."

That, at the very least, seemed to put the monarch at ease.

"Thank you, Twilight."

As she turned to look upon the rest of the party-goers, Twilight, under her breath, muttered the only thing that was on her mind right now.

"Shining is going to freak when I tell him about this."