Starlight watched as her mentor was burying herself in paperwork and books to read, concern starting to fill her mind. It had been like this for a few days now, Princess Twilight had drowned herself in work and seldom exited her chambers. Her friends had come by many times in the past week asking if she was available only for Starlight to shoo them away stating that the Princess was busy, but before being Starlight’s mentor, Twilight Sparkle was also her friend, a friend she was beginning to worry about.

Stepping into Twilight’s office, Starlight cleared her throat. “Ahem… Ma’am…?”

Twilight didn’t even look up from the book she was glued to, an empty look in her eye. “Hm?”

“Err… Twilight that is…” Starlight corrected herself, not wanting to sound too formal.

“What is it, Starlight?” She asked, a hint of annoyance in her tone.

Starlight inhaled and exhaled as she stepped forward. “Twilight, I know your job is super important, but you’ve been working yourself to death lately…”

“Your concern is ill-placed, Starlight. I’m quite alright.” Twilight looked up and smiled weakly at the girl.

Rolling her eyes, Starlight stepped forward. “Spike told me that he caught you up until eight in the morning the other day trying to get ahead on paperwork?”

“Damn… I was hoping he’d keep quiet about that…” She blushed and played with a strand of her long mane.

Starlight rolled her eyes once more. “Twilight… Perhaps its time for a day off?”

“I can’t.” Twilight shook her head and looked right back down at her books.

Starlight was flabbergasted at how quickly the princess shot that idea down. Something was definitely into her that she was trying to keep from her assistants, but the question was what?

Not taking no for an answer, however, Starlight shoved forward and moved the book out of in front of Twilight with some magic and cleared off her desk, gently sorting all the papers into bins and the books neatly stacked on a table on the other side of the room. “I thought you’d say that… That’s why I brought this…” Starlight smirked as she levitated a scroll in front of Twilight.

“And what is this?” Twilight raised a brow.

“Give it a read.” Starlight grinned.

Sighing, Twilight took the scroll and unrolled it, glancing over its contents.

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

It has come to my attention that you have been most productive over the past week. While I applaud your diligence, dedication, and studiousness, do not forget that you are the Princess of Friendship, and skipping out to spend time with your friends for a solid week is simply not becoming behavior for one with such a title.

That is why it is my decree that on the day of receiving this letter, you Twilight Sparkle are to take the day off and spend it with Starlight. Sorry, Twilight, but I knew that without a royal decree it might have taken weeks to get you to stop once you’re in motion. Please don’t be too angry! Try and enjoy your day off!

Yours Truly,

Princess Celestia

Twilight blinked and grunted. “Clever… Using my mentor against me… I give you credit, Starlight… You’ve learned well…”

The grin on Starlight’s face grew larger. “I learned from the best. Come on, I have plans for us…”

“What kind of plans?” Twilight raised a brow.

“Well for starters… You’re a mess, Twilight… I think we need to get you cleaned up… You haven’t brushed your mane in days…” Starlight pointed out.

Twilight thought about it, wondering when the last time she bathed was, concluding that she couldn’t remember. Day and night had blended together when she was lost in her sea of paperwork.

“I suppose… You have a point there…” Twilight admitted rubbing her neck nervously. “So… What do you have in mind?”

Slowly, Twilight’s body descended into a tub of hot water, she cooed delightfully as she closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of the tub, her friend Starlight relaxing across from her. “Mmmmm… You were right, Starlight… I definitely needed this…”

“I got the idea from Rarity… When she heard what had become of your mane, she paid for the trip…” Starlight explained.

Twilight let out a chuckle, she could imagine Rarity doing exactly that, it was, after all, the kind of thing that Rarity did. If there was an issue with one’s mane or personal grooming, she was the first to the rescue.

“Remind me to thank her next time I see her…” Twilight stated as she found herself in a very relaxed state, unable to move.

“I will… By the way… I sort of wanted to ask you about all this extra work you’ve been doing…” Starlight began.

Twilight let out a sigh, a part of her suspected this entire trip was merely a ruse to lure her to a place where Starlight could probe her for information; after all, Starlight had grown increasingly curious regarding the secrecy of some of Twilight’s work as of late.

The question to Twilight was merely if Starlight could keep quiet about what she was doing.

“Let me ask you something, Starlight… Do you remember why I put the records for Adagio’s case in the royal archives?” Twilight asked.

Starlight blinked but shrugged as she unwrapped her mane from the towel it was in and allowed it to soak in the water. “Sure, you wanted to keep a record of what happened even if it was kept from the public eye.”

“And do you know why I wanted it out of the public eye?” Twilight followed up with.

“To keep public opinions from overtaking Equestria. You wanted to contain the matter until you thought deeper about it…” Starlight raised a brow, trying to figure out where this was going.

“Do you think I did the right thing…?” Twilight asked.

Her friend nodded. “Absolutely… I mean we don’t know much about sirens or Adagio for that matter. It was probably wisest to not cause public hysteria by revealing a murder plot by a siren, it could lead to witch hunts across Equestria.”

“Very good… I suppose… If you share my view… I can tell you more…” Twilight sighed.

Starlight scooted across the bath and put herself next to Twilight. “Well… I have been wondering about this all… What’s going on, Twilight?”

“I’ve been trying to see if I can learn more about sirens based upon the information that Adagio gave me when I spoke with her in her prison cell… It’s not much, but I am looking into potentially getting rights for sirens in Equestria…” Twilight nearly whispered.

Starlight blinked and shook her head. “I don’t think I heard you correctly… Did you just say you wanted to gain rights for sirens in Equestria?”

Twilight nodded. “You heard correctly…”

“That’s insane, Twilight! Have you forgotten what sirens have done every time they have been discovered here? They terrorize the place!” Starlight protested.

“We just don’t understand them, Starlight… Adagio didn’t want to become a murderer she… Well… She was sort of molded into that role by the way Equestria treated her kind… We’re sort of at fault… She may have pulled the trigger, but we put the weapon in her hooves… Err… Hands…” Twilight rubbed her neck as she sat up.

“True as that may be… You know the ponies of Equestria will resist such a move, Twilight…” Starlight frowned.

“I’m aware… That’s why I need more time… I want to try and see if I can find and meet with the council of sirens… Perhaps I can convince them to work with me? Maybe if I can gather enough research and convince them to come speak, we can warm ponies up to the idea…” Twilight grinned sheepishly.

Starlight shook her head in disapproval. “This has bad idea written all over it, Twilight…”

“Starlight… Please… I believe this is the right thing to do… I think this is the best path to prevent another Adagio incident…” Twilight frowned.

Starlight found herself locking eyes with her friend, seeing those sad orbs made her give in. She sighed and nodded. “Alright… If it means that much to you, Twilight… And you believe in it… I’ll get behind you. We’ll do it together…”

“Thank you, Starlight. I know this will be the best option, you’ll see!”

“I hope you’re right…” Starlight smiled.

Next week is Act V. Get ready. It's coming.

Also, we broke 400,000 words. Yay!