Canterlot. The capital of Equestria. The shining beacon at the heart of a nation. When one looked to this place, to its sublime marble towers, elegant architecture and sense of nobility, they felt as though they were among the best of the best. When you walked the streets, everything was always so clean, so well-kept, and felt so safe, that it made one feel as though it was far removed from whatever troubles the rest of the world was experiencing. But, it was not all nobility and grandeur, for there were many places in this city, and some had a lot more hustle and bustle than the more elite sections. Just as one example, the many residential streets, which were often inter-woven with shops and restaurants, bore the sight of many ponies from all corners of Equestria, gathered here to enjoy themselves. And speaking of restaurants, that was exactly where a certain lavender unicorn now found herself.

"Thanks for inviting us out here, Moondancer."

Twilight's joy at being back in her home town, and with her childhood friend, was a clear as day upon her face. As for Moondancer herself, she too was more than happy to be reunited with her classmate, smiling widely. But the two of them were not alone in this open-air restaurant today. Spike was there too, sitting beside Twilight and waiting eagerly for his meal. And beside him was none other than Trixie, who, more than any of them, seemed to be rather preoccupied with glancing around the city. For every other second she was darting her eyes about, looking at buildings, people, anypony within sight of them. It was a reaction Twilight found some amusement in, but for now, she was instead focused on her old friend, who soon responded to her earlier comment.

"It's no trouble, Twilight. In truth I've been looking forward to catching up. It's been way too long."

Twilight smiled right back.

"You're right. I would have tried getting back here sooner, but..."

But she was halted by a raised hand from Moondancer.

"Say no more. I know it must be pretty busy over in Ponyville, especially after everything I've heard.”

Twilight nodded.

"You're not wrong. It really does seem like something big happens every other day there. Sometimes...sometimes I just want things to slow down a bit."

Spike, who'd been listening patiently this whole time, looked to his Mother with a smile before adding his own voice to things.

"It was nice seeing your parents again."

Twilight looked to the young dragon affectionately, patting him on the head.

"And I'm sure they were happy to see their favourite Grandson."

Spike laughed a little before replying.

"Their only Grandson, Mom."

Twilight rolled her eyes, maintaining her smile all the same. But soon after, Moondancer's eyes turned to Trixie, and after letting the blue mare look over her menu for a few moments, she cleared her throat, gaining her attention.

"So, Trixie? You're a performer?"

The other unicorn nodded in confirmation.

"Indeed. The Great and Powerful! Or, rather, I was known as that, before...well..."

She seemed hesitant, but as before, Moondancer seemed to understand, giving a single nod before speaking up again.

"Well, I'm sure once you get back on your hooves you'll be knocking them down in whatever show you have!"

Trixie chucked to that.

"Knocking them down...yeah...I'm pretty sure I could do that."

Looking back to her friend, Twilight started to gain a more curious look.

"So, Moondancer, how have the other girls been?"

Hearing that, Moondancer broke back into a big smile, letting out a sigh before answering.

"What haven’t they been up to? I swear, Minuette gets them all over the city whenever she can! That mare just can't stand still! It’s only because she knows how important my studies are that she doesn’t always drag me into it!"

Twilight giggled a little bit.

"Guess nothing really changes. She was always like that back in our classes, remember?"

Moondancer rolled her eyes.

"I'll say! Remember when she got Twinkle Shine's head stuck in that beaker?"

Remembering that, Twilight slapped her forehead in frustration, before adjusting her glasses slightly.

"Ugh! Don't remind me! Our teacher for the day looked like she was going to have a heart attack from it!"

Together, all four of them laughed at that, even though, from Spiked and Trixie's side of things, it was probably more of a case of them finding it hard to imagine Twilight involved in that sort of crowd. When the laughter died down, however, Twilight let out a sigh.

"But then Celestia arrived. She seemed to think it was the funniest thing in the world! That is, after she got the beaker off of course."

Moondancer nodded.

"Have you heard from her lately?"

Twilight looked to her.

"Celestia? I plan on meeting up with her later today. I would have liked to see her earlier, but she was in a meeting discussing possible trade deals with the new Buffalo nation."

Moondancer, naturally, seemed interested in this, but was soon interrupted by Trixie, who addressed Twilight directly.

"I hope you don't mind, Twilight, but I was wondering if I could wander around Canterlot for a bit after lunch? I've never been here before, so..."

But Twilight halted her with a raised hoof.

"No problem ,Trixie. Spike can help you look around. He knows this city like the back of his claw."

Spike beamed with pride over this, looking to Trixie.

"Yeah! It'll be fun!"

Looking down to the young dragon beside her, Trixie smiled, placing a hoof upon his shoulder.

"Well then, I look forward to it, little guide."

There was another brief round of laughter, after which, Trixie looked back to Twilight.

"Thanks again, for bringing me with you today, Twilight."

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, no doubt to tell Trixie that such a thing was "fine", only to be stopped when, all of a sudden, there was a coughing sound. Not a natural cough, but instead a cough that was only made to make people aware that you were there. All heads around the table turned, and there before them was one of the waitresses of this restaurant. She was a white pegasus mare with a blonde mane, and currently, she was looking to Twilight with a degree of uncertainty.

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but...did you say your name was Twilight?"

Twilight, understandably, was a little uncertain herself right now, but after a momentary nervous laugh, she nodded.

"Um...yes?"

Then, to Twilight's confusion, the mare started to develop the tiniest of frowns.

"Twilight...Sparkle?"

Twilight's smile started to fade.

"...Yes?"

The other mare's frown deepened.

"The Twilight Sparkle from Ponyville?"

Twilight was feeling more and more nervous right now.

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

Now, the other mare looked at her with pure bile, as though disgusted at simply looking at her.

"So...you’re the one!"

Of course, a lot of other ponies nearby, who had been eating their food until now, were starting to look over at this display of anger, all while Twilight couldn't make heads nor tails of it.

"I'm sorry, but...have we met?"

The other mare kept her frown.

"No...but you've met my brother."

Twilight frowned right back.

"And who's that?"

The other mare stepped forward, looking more and more angry as the moments passed.

"He was an Equestrian Guard, assigned to Ponyville. And because of you, his career is ruined!"

Twilight thought long and hard over that, only to be suddenly struck with realisation.

"Your brother...the one from the bar?"

The waitress frowned, still looking furious.

"Yes! He was going up in the world! Assigned to the Guard of an Ambassador! But then you had to come along and throw him to the wolves!"

Twilight stood up, understandably indignant over this.

"Hey! All I did was tell the truth over what he did!"

But the other mare pointed an accusing hoof at her.

"You sides with those accursed Lunars! You chose them over us! I don't care what he did, because thanks to you, all he can get assigned to now is the back door of the Canterlot Garrison buildings!"

Trixie stood from her chair, clearly angry at these remarks.

"Twilight did what was right! Leave her alone!"

Moondancer followed suit.

"I second that! You have no right to judge her!"

The other mare looked to both of them with still-obvious anger in her.

"I have every right!"

"HEY!!!"

The group turned, seeing an older unicorn stallion emerge from inside the restaurant. He marched right up to the group, looking from the waitress to Twilight and her group, before finally speaking up.

"What's going on here?"

Trixie pointed to the waitress.

"This mare started insulting our friend here!"

She placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder to emphasise her point, and the stallion, seeing that, looked to his employee.

"Is this true?"

The waitress, never taking her eyes off Twilight, nodded.

"She's the one who ruined my brother's career!"

The stallion's eyes widened.

"You...you mean you actually...?!"

His head darted in Twilight's direction.

"Miss, I am so sorry for this! I assure you, we don't normally allow this kind of behaviour amongst our employees! Is there anything I can do to make up for this?"

But, it seemed as though his words had fallen on deaf ears, as both Moondancer and Trixie started leading Twilight and Spike away from the table.

"Don't bother! We'll just find some other restaurant!" Moondancer remarked.

The stallion glared angrily at the waitress as this happened, but the latter, continuing to stare at Twilight, mumbled one last time as she walked off.

"...Traitor."

Though she had long since stopped looking at that waitress, Twilight nevertheless seemed to be affected by that final remark, seeming despondent as she walked along with her son and friends. Spike looked to her with worry, and Moondancer, after casting a glance in Trixie's direction, smiled to her old classmate and placed a hoof upon her shoulder.

"Hey, don't take her too seriously, Twi. Nopony else thinks of you like that."

Twilight raised her head slightly, giving her friend a smile, but, after doing that, started to notice that a lot of the mares and stallions nearby were starting to look at her. Some seemed just the tiniest bit angry, others seemed fearful, and some just didn't know what to make of her or what had just happened. Letting those expressions sink into her mind, Twilight let out a long sigh, her head sinking once again.

"I hope you're right, Moondancer...I truly do."