The last rays of moonlight danced through the lace curtains of Celestia's bedroom, cast strange patterns on the floor. Outside, the sky was growing lighter and an insistent tug was pulling on her horn. Her eyes flickered open. A warm presence was cuddled to her side. A smile crossed the sleeping Sun Princess's lips. The moon was nearly done with its journey to the western horizon, her sister's capable magic guiding it to its rest.

She laid back on the bed and drew Twilight to herself. The unicorn mewled and sighed as she cuddled into the embrace of her wing, wrapping her forelegs around Celestia's middle. Celestia nuzzled her. The sun was a distant, thrumming pulse. Energy, warmth, life. The start of a new day and with it ten-thousand promises for renewal.

Celestia loved this moment, she always had. Not quite night, not quite day yet. In a few moments she would have to raise the sun, but that could wait a while longer. She closed her eyes and buried her muzzle into the lavender scented mane of her lover. Twilight burrowed deeper into her chest. Celestia slid her second wing beneath her, held her within them.

Sometimes, she had to make sure this wasn't some sort of dream or trick played by a cruel god. Twilight was truly hers, hers to love and to love her. She almost planted a kiss on the place beneath her horn, only stopping because she worried that it would wake Twilight up. She was so cute when she was sleeping.

The pulse of the sun was becoming unbearable, a warmth building up within her horn. She honestly wondered how in the world Luna had managed to ignore the terrible burden of their duty by not allowing the moon to set. The pressure must have been unimaginable. Sighing, she closed her eyes and drew on her magic.

The sun rose from its place in the east, an orange ball of fire and light, its pink and golden rays filling the sky and coloring the clouds. Celestia yawned and tried to recall her duties for the day. Was there some sort of meeting? Oh, yes. The Parliament was having a special meeting. She couldn't quite remember what it was about.

She laid her head back on the pillow and nuzzled the still sleeping Twilight. With a tug of her magic, she drew up the blankets that had been knocked around when she had lifted up to raise the sun. At the moment, nothing mattered except the other Pony sharing her bed.

Gently, slowly, teasingly she ran an oak hairbrush through Twilight's mane. Twilight was still deep in sleep, a thin line of drool running down her lips. The bristles of the brush massaged Twilight's scalp, drawing moans of pleasure. Celestia fell into a steady rhythm with the brush, caressing each strand, smoothing down the stray hairs that poked out at odd angles. She frowned as the brush caught onto a particularly stubborn tangle.

Twilight yawned and stretched. "G'mornin'."

"Good morning."

Celestia finally got the brush through the tangle and then moved down to Twilight's tail. That was much easier. The brush slid through her tail, taming any strands that popped up.

Twilight's horn flickered to life. "Let me see that brush."

The brush wavered in the air as Twilight took it in her aura. Her teeth grit in a show of frustration as she steadied the brush and her ear erratically twitched. "Heh. I got it."

Celestia kissed her horn, causing Twilight to shiver against the older mare's body. "The doctor's are amazed by your recovery. I knew you could do it."

"I'm just glad the Guild paid for my physical therapy."

"They wouldn't want to lose their best member."

Twilight held the brush in her magic and directed it to move through Celestia's ever-flowing, multihued mane. It was an exercise in futility of course, but Celestia still appreciated the feeling of the brush as it traveled through her mane. "I'm going to have to get up soon."

The brush was now nearly lost in the pink part of her mane, tendrils of ethereal energy wrapping all around it. Twilight pouted. "You don't have to get up yet, do you?"

She nibbled on Twilight's ear. "No, of course not. You know I much prefer being with you."

Twilight nuzzled her cheek. "I'm in the mood for oatmeal. With lots of strawberries."

"I was thinking pancakes myself. I'll call a guard so we can spend more time in bed."

Twilight's face turned crimson. "That sounded suggestive."

"Was not my intention."

Twilight stretched again and rested her head on Celestia's shoulder. "Still, breakfast-in-bed sounds good."

A guard was called and the order was given. Celestia and Twilight nestled into each other, exchanging kisses and nuzzles before a knock on the door interrupted them. Celestia drew her muzzle from Twilight's neck and let the guard in. He carried a tray filled with a bowl of oatmeal, a stack of pancakes and two cups of tea.

Celestia took the tea in her magic once the guard left. Twilight cautiously took the tea in her hooves, too afraid to spill hot tea on herself if her magic failed. Laying it aside she picked up the bowl of oatmeal and began eating it Earth Pony style, using her hooves to move the spoon instead of her magic.

Celestia followed her lead, grasping a fork in her hoof as she lifted a piece of pancake to her mouth. The sweetness of the bread, butter and syrup tantalized her.

Twilight swallowed a mouthful of oatmeal and strawberries and glanced over at Celestia, but said nothing. Celestia picked up her tea in her hooves, sipping the vitalizing black tea blend.

"You don't have to use your hooves just because I do."

"I want to Twilight."

"Why?"

Celestia laid down the teacup. "Solidarity, I suppose? It just seems the right thing to do."

Twilight returned to her oatmeal, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Today is my day to give a speech at the Mage's Guild. I'm so nervous. I don't want to look silly or say the wrong thing."

Celestia hugged her close with a wing. "I'm sure you'll do great."

Twilight yawned. The oatmeal was fast disappearing."I hope I will, but giving a speech is always nerve-wracking." She rested against Celestia. "Doesn't matter if I'm an archmage or a student."

"Even I get nervous sometimes."

Twilight stared at her."Seriously?"

Celestia nodded. "At least three times in the last millennium I've completely failed at giving a speech."

"What happened?"

The Sun Princess shrugged. "Life went on."

Twilight nibbled on the last bit of oatmeal and drained the teacup before cuddling into Celestia's side. It took Celestia some time to finish up the pancakes as she savored every bite along with extra moments with Twilight. Duty would soon call her away, but at least she could prolong the parting.

It could not be prolonged forever. She called a servant to carry away the tray and then rose. Twilight pouted. "So, this is goodbye for now?"

Celestia kissed her. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. I'll call a chariot for you."

They shared one last kiss, Twilight relishing the sugary taste of Celestia's lips on her own.

...

Only after Celestia saw Twilight off and was trotting down the alabaster halls of the palace did she realize something was wrong. She stopped in the middle of throne room, sunlight reflecting on the stained glass windows reflecting the great heroes and happenings of Equestria's past.

"What troubleth thee, Sister?" Luna asked. She had been walking alongside Celestia on their way to the throne room. Raven, the royal scheduler, was a respectful distance behind them.

Celestia hummed in thought. "I'm not really sure. Raven, what is on the schedule for today? There's something important, something to do with Twilight."

She turned to face her assistant. Raven pulled her notebook from her saddlebag, flipping through it with expert quickness. "Oh, I see. You were going to set up a date with Lady Twilight after her speech at the Mage's Guild. I believe you promised to take her to her favorite restauraunt. That's not in the schedule, but I remember you very distinctly telling me that." She set aside the notebook. "You already set that up, I assume?"

Celestia froze. A panicked whine nearly came from her lips, but she stopped it at the last possible seconds. Her eyes grew wide as she desperately tried to remember if she had in fact set up that date.

No, no she had not. The Minotaur Union had to behave like the belligerent jerks they were and try to muscle in on Equestria's southern border. Three frantic days had been spent averting war. Luckily, cooler heads had prevailed and she had rescinded the order to invade their lands.

She felt Luna's hoof on her shoulder. "Sister? Sister, I can presume you did not set up the date?"

In the maelstrom of narrowly avoided armed conflict, the date with Twilight had been nearly forgotten. It took at least a week to set up reservations at the Rook and the Raven. There was no way she would have time.

Not unless she hurried.

"Luna can you handle court?"

Luna puffed out her chest as if offended by the implication that she couldn't. "Of course!"

Celestia hugged her. "You're a lifesaver!"

Luna returned the hug. "Farewell, Sister and godspeed!"

Celestia broke into a gallop, her hooves slamming against the alabaster floor as she darted down the hall and toward the wide oak door at the exit of the palace. Bursting through the door, she flared her great, white wings and soared into the azure sky. The wind whipped her mane, sliced against her feathers, the air warping around her as she shot around clouds.

The golden and white towers of Canterlot were far below her, flags snapping in the breeze. She dipped down lower, her wings starting to ache. She slowed her flight as she directed her course towards a small street lined with shops. Ponies milled about, wandering through the stores.

The centerpiece of the street was a cozy looking, wooden building. Smoke rose up from a red brick chimney. It gave the appearance of having been a cottage in another age (indeed, it had been) and decorate, verdant ivy curled around its walls cementing its rustic appearance. One would almost not believe it was a Canterlot restauraunt. It had the feeling of an Earth Pony eatery, but a Unicorn ran it and it featured traditional, Unicorn recipes.

It was very popular despite its rustic nature, entirely because of the food it served. They had the best fried oats in Canterlot, if not Equestria, and Celestia would almost accept a bribe of their roasted daisies. Celestia landed and hurried into it. Ponies hastily bowing to her made it easy to get around them, not that she would cut in line. Wooden Spoon, a tawny Unicorn mare who was the grand daughter of the original owner, smiled to her and bowed. "Good morning, Princess. Lady Twilight isn't here?"

Celestia's wings drooped and she spent a few moments catching her breath. "Twilight...date...reservations..." She wiped away some sweat on her brow. "Tonight I have a date with Twilight. I need reservations for two."

Wooden Spoon frowned and looked through a black notebook. "Princess, I'm sorry. It's completely booked tonight. Saturdays are always booked."

"Not even the private room?"

"Fancy Pants is bringing his wife there."

Celestia released a long sigh.

"I'm sorry, Princess. I-I could cancel some re-"

"Don't even think about it." Celestia rose. "I made a mistake, Miss Spoon. I'll deal with it myself. Have a pleasant morning."

"You too, Your Highness."

Celestia felt her whole body droop as she trudged out of the restauraunt. To her great surprise, Raven was waiting for her. "I assume things didn't go well?"

Celestia shook her head.

Raven laid a hoof on her shoulder. "Look, there are plenty of restaurants in Canterlot. Even Ponyville. You could take her somewhere new."

Celestia sighed again. "She'll know something's up. I promised her a date at her favorite restauraunt. She's going to know I forgot. She already has a low self-image. She'll think she's not important to me. Maybe she won't even want to...to be with me anymore..."

"You can tell her everything was booked. She'll understand. She's the most forgiving Pony I've ever had the privilege of meeting."

Celestia straitened her shoulders. "You're right. I need to find a new restauraunt though. Oh, and I need to be there to see her speech. I also promised moral support."

Raven glanced up at a clock. "We've got two hours."

They hurried down the road. Most of the high quality restaurants one would take their date to required reservations. The White Swan was booked as Celestia suspected it would be. So was the Cultured Oat and Le Fancee Pantaloones. Celestia's gait had begun to slow after an hour of trotting through the city.

Raven remained in high spirits, quickly cantering just ahead of her. They had wandered down a side street filled with more restaurants with fancy titles, many in foreign languages. Ponies in expensive looking dresses and fine suits strolled to and fro on the paved road. Raven glanced towards a Neighponese sushi bar. "Does Twilight like sushi?"

Celestia looked over at it. "She's never expressed any dislike for it. Wait...actually, I do remember her telling me how much she likes tuna. Let's go."

Together, they walked through the doors of the sushi bar. The black stallion at the counter greeted them with a bow. The space was remarkably clean, a red carpet covering the floor. High above on the ceiling was a mural of a dragon. More murals on the walls depicted samurai and other scenes from Neighponese legend and history.

The rich, inviting scent of fried noodles and fresh cooked fish wafted around the room. Celestia cantered up to the counter. "Do you have any tuna dishes?"

The stallion nodded. "We have many, Your Highness."

"Would I need to make reservations here?"

"No."

"Great! I'll be back later!"

With a new spring in her step, she nearly pranced out the door. Raven followed close behind her. Something had been gnawing at her. She suddenly remembered."Um, Princess? You were supposed to meet with the new Saddle Arabian ambassador fifteen minutes ago."

Celestia's blood chilled. The Arabians worshiped the sun and the sun alone. The meeting was a small meet-and-greet. It was to last for half-an-hour. She would then have time to go see Twilight's speech. "Raven, take hold of my side. We're going to teleport."

Raven obeyed. Celestia drew upon the power of the sun and vanished in a flash of light.

...

Twilight stood in front of the mirror. "Magic has often been thought of as merely a tool, but in fact, is so much more than that. My research has uncovered new and exciting revelations about magic's very nature. It seems that..." She began to pace, making a groove in the wood. "Seems? Seems?! No, no passive words! It is or it isn't!" She breathed deeply. "Okay."

Spike kicked his legs as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Sounded fine to me. Can I go read comic books now?"

Twilight groaned. "I'm not finished, Spike! I've got to get this right! It's in an hour!" She looked back to the mirror. "I have discovered that everything has a spark of magic in it, not just sapient races such as Ponies or Dragons. Latent magic exists in all things. Plants have magic. So do non-living things such as rocks and water. A particle I have come to call the Thaumaton is responsible for this. What, then, is the thaumaton?" She paused, groaned. "I sound like I'm talking to a college class! These are fellow mages! These are my equals!"

Spike rolled back on the back. "Eh, not really. You're, like, the greatest archmage ever."

Twilight blushed. "No, I'm not."

"Are too."

"Does thaumaton sound stupid?"

"Why don't you call it a Twilighton?"

"Because I'm not Trixie?"

Spike chuckled. "So, I guess thaumaton's okay."

Twilight looked back at the mirror. Her parents would be there. Her friends would be there. Spike, her son in all but name, would be there.

Most of all Celestia would be there. She gave a happy prance. "Just get through this, Twilight." She broke into a second prance. "Then Celestia will be taking you out for the best date ever."

...

Celestia appeared in the throne room. Raven stumbled and Celestia steadied her.

"HOW DARETH THOU INSULT ME!" Luna's wings were spread as she slammed a hoof on the ground.

The grey Arabian stallion looked ready to draw his scimitar, his white tail flicking in annoyance. "The insult is the absence of your sister, Nightmare Moon!"

Luna snorted. "Calleth me that again and your heathen altars will be smeared with the blood of your sultan mixed with your own!"

"Cease that at once, both of you." Celestia flared her own wings and lifted to her full height. "Sir Ambassador, I expect you to give my sister the very same respect you give to me."

The ambassador pointed to Luna. "She-"

"I don't want to hear it." The calmness in her voice chilled everyone in the room. "You shall treat her with respect or you shall no longer be welcome in my domain. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

The ambassador muttered a few, probably uncomplimentary things then prostrated himself. "Perfectly."

Celestia turned to Luna. "Sister, you are relieved for now. Thank you for taking care of court in my absence."

The ambassador lifted up. "She threatened me."

Celestia glared at him. "You insulted my sister on a point where she is highly sensitive. Be grateful I do not have you tossed out on your ear. In her day, insulting the reigning monarch was grounds for war. In fact, apologize to her."

The ambassador stood. "Very well. I'm sorry Ni...Luna. Princess Luna, I apologize to you."

Luna sniffed. "Apology not accepted."

"Luna, don't be a child."

Luna rolled her eyes and muttered something about the Crusades having ended prematurely. "Very well. I accept your feeble attempt at an apology."

Celestia shook her head. "That's the best you'll get out of her, I fear. Let's get down to business. Follow me. You too, Luna. It is high time the Arabians learned to accept you as my equal."

The ambassador followed her as she led him towards the private dining area just atop the balcony. Luna smiled and nearly bounced along as she stood side-by-side with her sister.

The industrious maids had set up a full tea service on the white, stone table. The ambassador, Luna and Celestia sat around it. Celestia poured three cups of jasmine tea. "Now that the unpleasantness has passed, let's get down to business."

...

Twilight peaked behind the purple curtain and just as quickly ducked back behind it. She had forgotten just how big the auditorium was. A sea of chairs filled the vast space, each chair occupied by a mage or a relative of a mage. Her friends, as Heroes of Equestria, were in the front row along with her family. Even Shining Armor and Cadence were in attendance.

Looking out over the crowd again she spotted several of her former teachers. Her old alchemy professor, a wizened, green stallion with a graying mane was giving a speech. His overly large blue robes swallowed up his frail frame as he droned on about her accomplishments. Twilight hardly cared.

She gave the crowd one more look. One very important face was missing. She adjusted her own blue, rune-covered robe and silver-pentagram necklace. Panicked scenarios played in her head. She said she'd be here. Why isn't she? Where is she? She took a deep breath. The Minotaurs attacked. She's dead. No, no, she's immortal, of course she isn't dead. But she could be hurt. What if she's hurt? She took more deep breaths. I'm being silly. She said she'll be here so she'll be here. I just have to trust her.

A glance at the clock told her that her speech was set to begin in five minutes. Professor Windbag continued his speech. Twilight was beginning to recall why her tenth grade alchemy class had annoyed her so much.

"And, although we are funded by the Crown, generous donations are always appreciated..."

Somepony needs to buy a new boat. Twilight thought to herself.

She tapped her hoof impatiently and ducked her head from behind the curtain once again. Four minutes to go and Celestia still wasn't there.

"Thanks to your generous support, we are adding a new wing to the school..."

Where is she?

The ambassador, whose name was Akbear Al-Geldiri, slammed down the teacup like it was a tankard of ale and loudly laughed. "By the Jeweled Sword of Moohamed! You rode a dragon into battle?"

Luna nodded and laughed. "Oh yes! Several actually! Zakar was a faithful companion for many centuries."

They were getting on well now that Celestia had forced them to stop fighting. Celestia looked to a clock. She had three minutes before the speech started and honesty was seeming more and more like the best policy. "Mr. Al-Geldiri, it has been a pleasure meeting you, but I must be going. I'm sorry I never explained my absence. There have been some issues this week with the Minotaurs-"

He spat. "Minotaur infidels, bah."

"And I forgot about an important personal engagement. I need to go."

Al-Geldiri nodded. "I understand. So, whatever became of Zakar?"

"She's around. Became a bit reclusive, but we're talking again."

While they laughed and talked, Celestia made her exit.

...

Twilight gulped as Professor Windbag introduced her. She shyly peaked out from behind the curtain. There was a commotion in the back. A broad grin broke out on her face as her beloved, Celestia, rushed up to her seat. Twilight had to stop herself from running onto the stage, but there was still a quickness to her gait as she stepped out and stood at the podium. She took a breath and began her speech.

It was long and full of technical terms and she noticed some non-mage members of the audience trying not to fall asleep. Rarity surreptitiously kicked Dash when she began to nod off. Dash actually looked grateful, not wanting to be rude and fall asleep during Twilight's moment.

Twilight looked over the audience as she spoke, trying to direct her speech to everypony. Still, her gaze inevitably drifted to Celestia. Celestia smiled at her and Twilight broke into the second half of the speech with renewed energy. A bead of sweat dripped down her face as she realized how many hundreds of eyes were focused on her.

"So, y-you see, while the existence of this particle has been suspected to exist, I-I have or-or I think I have uncovered its existence."

Celestia nodded to her in encouragement to keep going. That gentle smile warmed her heart. It was like Celestia was telling her that she was doing great, that she could do this.

She swallowed back her anxiety and focused solely upon Celestia. "Several experiments I have performed have detected its existence." She gestured to her power point which showed charts and graphs which could only be understood by the mages in the room. They all were taking intense interest, some even taking notes.

Her speech ended with a slide of a hypothetical depiction of what a thaumaton might look like. Everypony clapped in thunderous applause that rocked the auditorium. She tried not to blush and failed. Quickly hurrying from the stage, she was nearly mobbed by her family and friends who hugged her and slapped her on the back in congratulations.

She stood in the center of the herd that had formed around her. "Thanks for the support everypony."

Applejack adjusted her hat. "I can't say I understood all of it, but it seemed everypony else did. I reckon you were spot on."

Rarity patted her back. "It was truly fascinating. I never even thought of magic like that before. Well done, Darling."

Twilight thanked them again before heading off with Celestia. She nuzzled under Celestia's chin. "Thanks for being there. I know you had some royal duties and that's probably why you were nearly late, but the fact that you still made time for me means a lot. It makes me feel special."

Celestia swallowed the lump in her throat as they stepped onto the road that led away from the university. "Twilight, I...I have a confession."

Twilight gazed at her with her beautiful, violet eyes. Celestia gulped. "I couldn't get a reservation for the Rook and the Raven. I'm sorry. The problem with the Minotaurs came up and, well, I forgot. I'm so sorry." Her shoulders sagged.

To her surprise, Twilight rubbed against her. "I won't say I'm not disappointed. But I know the empire comes first. I always knew that's how it'd be. You have duties."

Celestia nuzzled her ears. "I sometimes wish...no, I'm being selfish."

"It's okay to be selfish every now and then."

"It's nothing. Really. Twilight, do you like sushi?"

"Yes." She playfully swatted Celestia's rump with her tail. "What was it you were going to say?"

"You're not going to let this go, huh?"

Twilight's tone turned very serious. "It's important to you, so it's important to me."

She leaned close to whisper in Twilight's ear. "Sometimes I don't want to be a princess anymore."

"But you're a great princess! Equestria needs you."

"Do they, Twilight? And it's only sometimes. There are rewarding parts of my job. Making a difference in the lives of others, for example. I just wish I had more time to spend with you."

Twilight leaned up to kiss her. "Maybe you need a vacation."

Celestia draped a wing over her. "Perhaps. An intriguing notion. So, you're not angry?"

"Of course not. I don't care where you take me out on a date to, as long as I'm with you."

They shared a kiss, basking in each other's presence.

Author's Notes:

Arabians bear only passing resemblance to their RL counterpart.