As they flew towards the castle, they were surprised to see a couple of shapes coming towards them. With an extra flap of his wings, Artemis sped up and placed himself between the approaching ponies and Twilight. As he did, he realized that he recognized these ponies. They were the same two that had kept watch over himself and Twilight as they slept last night. One served in his Night Guard and the other was his captain.

His captain came to a stop in front of him and saluted “Welcome back, your highnesses.”

“Thank you” Artemis replied “Why did you meet us out here? Is everything alright?”

“Yes, my prince.” Responded his captain as the four of them flew to the castle. “When you didn’t meet us at moonrise, we went to Princess Celestia to make sure you were alright. She told us that the two of you were spending the afternoon and evening in Canterlot on a date. We knew we wanted to be the ones to greet you upon your return.”

“Ah” Artemis said “I’m sorry about that. Going out today was a bit unexpected.”

“Not at all, your highness” protested the guard as they landed on a balcony “We are merely glad that you are feeling better and wanted to be the ones to welcome the two of you home.”

“Thank you, both of you” Twilight paused and tilted her head “You know, I don’t even know your names.”

“I am so sorry, princess. My name is Silver Shadow and I am the Captain of the Night Guard.”

“My apologies, princess. My name is Midnight Fang.”

“I would introduce myself, but I’m pretty sure you know who I am.” Twilight giggled

That got a round of chuckles from Artemis and the guards as they walked down the hall towards Celestia’s personal chambers.

Silver Shadow and Midnight Fang stopped at the door before opening it for their Prince of the Night and the Princess of Friendship.

“There you two are, I was wondering if you were going to come home at all tonight.”

Artemis and Twilight looked over to find Celestia laying on her bed, smiling at them. Artemis walked over and nuzzled his sister. She smiled and pulled him in for a hug.

“Good night, Sister. Sleep well.” He then turned towards the door and left the room to discuss nighttime security with Silver Shadow.

Seeing that her brother was occupied, Celestia beckoned Twilight over and whispered in her ear. “I hope it is okay with you, but I have purposely arranged things so that a room has not been prepared for you, Twilight.”

“What?” Twilight looked hurt “Are you saying that you want me to leave?”

“NO!!! Of course not!” Celestia looked shocked “I believe that you should repeat last night and spend the night with my brother.” She pulled Twilight closer “I don’t think that he has completely gotten over what happened during last night’s court. I want you to be there with and for him tonight.” She got a very serious look on her face. “Take care of him, Little Sister.”

Artemis looked back into the room in time to see Twilight’s eyes fill with tears as she hugged Celestia and whispered something into her ear. He couldn’t hear it, but the message was simple.

“Of course. Good Night, Big Sister.”

Artemis was both surprised and confused to see Celestia’s eyes also fill with tears as she returned Twilight’s hug. Celestia had a huge smile on her face as she laid her head down and closed her eyes. Twilight had an equally large smile on her face as she turned and headed towards him.

As Twilight left Celestia’s room, Silver Shadow and Midnight Fang closed the doors behind her. Then, they moved to follow Artemis and Twilight as they headed to Artemis’ tower. Once the four of them got there, the two Night Guard opened the door for and closed it behind the royal couple before taking up positions on either side of the door.

Once inside, Artemis looked around and found their bags from earlier laying on his desk, separated their books and levitated Twilight’s over to her. “I suppose you should get to bed. We just need to figure out which room has been set up for you.” His head hung low and he suddenly looked rather sad.

Celestia was right, as usual. “Actually, that was part of what Celestia wanted to talk to me about. She refused to have a room prepared for me.”

Artemis’ head snapped up “What?!”

Upon hearing Artemis raise his voice, the door to his room flew open as Silver Shadow and Midnight Fang ran in to make sure nothing was wrong.

Artemis continued as if nothing had happened, not even noticing that they had entered the room “She’s not sending you back to Ponyville tonight, is she?!”

Twilight shook her head “She didn’t prepare a room because she wants me in here, with you.” She paused before continuing “She doesn’t want you to be alone after the events of last night. Her exact words to me were “Take care of him, Little Sister”.”

She walked over and looked up at him before giving him a quick nuzzle. “Honestly, I was planning on it, even before she asked. I didn’t say anything because I was sure you wouldn’t have a problem with me spending the night in here.”

Artemis’ jaw dropped and he just stared at her.

She smiled at him before walking over to his bed and getting under the blankets. “You are right that I should get some sleep. I hope I’m wrong, but I have a feeling that Celestia wants to see us for breakfast at dawn again.” She looked over at him “Are you going to join me?”

Artemis managed to shake himself from his daze and walked to his bed, joining her under the covers. Once there, he pulled her close and wrapped his hooves around her. He paused as a thought struck him “Celestia called you “Little Sister”?”

Twilight nodded. She felt so safe and comfortable lying in his embrace that she was beginning to feel sleepy. “And I called her “Big Sister”. I think it’s her way of saying she approves of us. As if we didn’t know that already.” She yawned and shifted so that her head was on his chest, letting his heartbeat lull her to sleep.

Silver Shadow and Midnight Fang smiled as they walked out and closed the door. Once again, they would spend the night guarding the newest royal couple.

Artemis watched Twilight as she fell asleep in his hooves. He was not tired, so he just lay there and enjoyed the feeling of having her there with him. He listened to her breathing as he turned to stare out the window at the moon, calm washing over him. Twilight stirred slightly and mumbled something in her sleep before snuggling deeper into his chest. He sighed in contentment, held his mare tighter and allowed his eyes to close.

The next thing he knew, he was being awakened by the pull of the moon. When did I fall asleep? He thought as he looked down at Twilight. This time, he knew that any movement that he made would wake her. Instead, he simply lit his horn and lowered the moon and stars. He wanted to enjoy the feeling of having Twilight asleep against him and in his hooves, so he decided to put off waking her as long as possible.

Unfortunately, Celestia chose that moment to open the door. “Good Morning!” she said brightly as she strode into the room.

Thinking quickly, Artemis cast a spell, making sure that the noise of the conversation would not wake Twilight. “What are you doing, Sister?” he hissed

Celestia froze, looking from her brother to Twilight “Oh, I thought you both would be awake by now. I came to get you two so that we could eat breakfast before court . . .”

He frowned “You didn’t tell me that you wanted us to be at breakfast or court today, sister. I already have a plan for us today. I wanted to let her sleep in a bit before eating a late breakfast. Then, I was going to ask her about the legal petitions that she went through during your court yesterday. Most of them had been submitted to my court but I don’t know much about the more obscure laws yet so I would like her help.”

Celestia paused “I guess it makes sense for her to help you with the petitions but . . . can’t I get the two of you to eat breakfast with me?”

“Sister, not everyone likes to get up at dawn. You and I have to because of the sun and moon, but it’s not fair to ask her to be up with us.”

Celestia opened her mouth to answer but she was interrupted by another voice.

“Ugh, too early . . .”

Artemis and Celestia looked to Twilight in surprise as she turned her face into Artemis’ chest before yawning and stretching.

She shifted so that she could look at both of them. “What’s going on?”

Celestia smiled sheepishly “I wanted you both to eat breakfast with me before we have another joint court today. I just forgot to ask if it was alright with you.”

Before Twilight could respond, Artemis looked down at her “What woke you up?”

Twilight’s horn flashed as she broke the noise suppression spell. “You may have made it so that noise wouldn’t wake me, thank you for that, but you forgot that I could still feel you talking.” She smiled at his perplexed look. ”With my head on your chest, I can literally feel it when you speak. It is an interesting way to wake up.”

Twilight turned to Celestia “I did want to sleep a bit longer, I don’t usually get up until at least eight or nine, but I guess I’m up now. As for court, isn’t that yours? I understand having us there yesterday, but why today? I was planning to do a little research into those legal petitions from yesterday. A couple of them have me curious.” Looking over at Celestia, she missed seeing Artemis’ eyes light up.

Celestia did not. She smiled “Very well. Take Artemis with you to the library. He will need to know these things for next time.” She got a pleading look on her face “Can we eat breakfast together, at least?”

“Sure, as long as you let me sleep in tomorrow.” Twilight stood and stretched “Artemis, can I use your bathroom?”

Artemis smiled, opened a drawer and levitated a brush to her “Of course”

A few minutes later, she came back into the room to find Artemis and Celestia waiting for her.

“I’m sorry, Twilight” Celestia said “I didn’t think about the fact that you no longer get up at dawn like you used to when you lived here.”

Twilight smiled before letting out a yawn. “It’s okay. Most of the time, I’m up really late at night. If I’m not studying or reading, then I’m out stargazing. That naturally leads to sleeping late.”

As the three alicorns walked out of the room, Silver Shadow and Midnight Fang automatically fell into place behind them.

They walked into the dining room to find the chefs waiting for them. Celestia looked at them in surprise. The head chef smiled “We have served you long enough to know how you like things. You always expect your guests to join you at sunrise for breakfast, princess.”

Celestia looked at him with a sheepish smile on her face. “I didn’t know it was so easy to predict my actions. Thank you, Apple Crunch. What’s for breakfast?

Apple Crunch gestured with a hoof and a few other chefs came into the room with fruit-stuffed crepes, lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar.

“Ooh, looks good!” Celestia went over to her seat at the head of the table and sat down.

Artemis joined her before looking around for Twilight. He found her still standing in the doorway, yawning. He smiled before he lit his horn.

Twilight gasped as she found herself lifted into the air as he brought her to his side. He wrapped a wing around her shoulders as she looked at Apple Crunch.

“Can I get some hot chocolate, please?”

“Hmm, that sounds good. Can you bring enough for two?” asked Artemis

“That is a great idea. Make it three, please.” added Celestia

Apple Crunch smiled and bowed “Of course, your highnesses. Right away.”

As they waited for the hot chocolate, the three of them started on their crepes. It was only a couple of minutes before the hot chocolate was brought in.

After they had eaten, Celestia opened the folded newspaper that had been placed next to her.

She was not at all surprised to see the first story. It was, of course, about what Blueblood had done and how Prince Artemis had been saved by the sudden appearance of Princess Twilight. There was a picture of Night-Terror Night in the process of turning back into Artemis while Twilight sat in front of him. The second story was about Day Court the next day. The picture for that story was one of Twilight nuzzling Artemis in the middle of court. The third story covered their afternoon/evening out in the park. The picture showed Artemis and Twilight laying in the park, being tickled by several foals.

Celestia smiled and passed Artemis and Twilight the newspaper for them to read. “You two had a busy day, I see.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 13 Estimated time remaining: 35 Hours, 48 Minutes