Groaning again, Twilight buried her face in Artemis’ shoulder. Smiling, Midnight Armor and Sundance exchanged glances before turning back to Artemis and Twilight.

Artemis stared at his father. “Did you hear Twilight when she just said “we’ve only been courting for a week”? It is way too soon for us to be even thinking of having a foal."

“You’ve been talking about this mare for a long time, Artemis." Sundance countered "It’s hard for us to tell the passage of time up here but, if my guess is right, you met her four years ago.” She shook her head. “I don’t care about the length of the courtship, or lack thereof. I care far more about the fact that this is clearly the best mare for you. If you don’t take her soon, somepony else will.” She paused when she heard Twilight's voice.

“Don’t worry." Twilight muttered "He’s already done that.”

Twilight froze as she realized that she had said that out loud and looked up to see Sundance and Midnight Armor staring at her. She turned bright red and pressed her face back into Artemis’ shoulder.

Laughing, Artemis nuzzled his mare. “It’s alright, Twilight. They would have gotten that out of us sooner or later.” He paused when he saw his mother's horn begin to glow.

Twilight looked up when she noticed a wave of light blue magic, the same shade as Sundance’s mane and tail, sweep over her body. She saw Sundance’s eyes widen for a moment before she smiled and nodded.

Before Twilight could ask Sundance what she had done, Artemis raised his head. Instead, she turned to him “Artemis?”

He nuzzled her again “It’s time for me to lower the moon. Stay here, I’ll be right back.” With that, he lit his horn and vanished, leaving her alone with his parents.

Twilight suddenly heard Sundance gasp. Is something wrong? Concerned, she looked at Artemis' parents. Her eyes widened when she noticed that both of them were starting to vanish. I can't let them disappear! Artemis isn't back yet! Thinking quickly, she surrounded both of them with her magic.

Sundance and Midnight Armor stared at Twilight in shock as their bodies reappeared.

“H-how?” asked Midnight Armor

Twilight shrugged “I was able to protect Artemis’ soul when the Elements of Harmony hit both him and Night-Terror Knight, and I was just a unicorn at the time. Compared to that, this is relatively easy because nothing is attacking either of you.” She gave the two of them a look. “I’m not letting the two of you leave until Artemis gets back.”

In Canterlot, Celestia appeared in the hallway outside Artemis’ room in a flash of golden light, about a minute or so before the moon and stars were supposed to be lowered. She opened the door and walked into his room. She was just in time to see Artemis wake up, open his eyes and light his horn, performing his celestial duty. Before she could say anything to him, he kissed the top of Twilight’s head, hugged her tighter and closed his eyes again. Within moments, he was fast asleep again. She smiled and shook her head as she rose the sun before walking back out into the hallway.

She looked at Silver Shadow and Midnight Fang “He woke up to lower the moon and stars before immediately going back to sleep.” She shook her head “I have a pair of guards coming up to relieve the two of you momentarily.”

Silver Shadow nodded “We will wait until our replacements get here before going to breakfast, princess. We want to make sure that there is no lapse in the protection of our prince and princess.”

Celestia nodded “Very well. Get some rest and enjoy your day. Your next shift will be covering a slumber party. So you’ll definitely have some entertainment.”

They laughed as they looked down the hall, seeing a pair of Day Guards walk up to them and take up positions on either side of the door.

Midnight Fang looked at Celestia “If it is going to be thrown by the pony named Pinkie Pie, it will definitely be entertaining, princess.”

Celestia laughed “It is and it will. I asked Twilight for a slumber party and she said that she wanted to make sure I got one.”

Silver Shadow laughed as well “Our princess is right, you will certainly be getting one now, princess!”

Back in the dream realm, Artemis reappeared a few feet away from where Twilight lay. He paused at the sight of his parents, still present and surrounded with Twilight’s magic.

Sundance saw her son’s confusion. “S-she is somehow keeping our spirits here, even after the night is over . . . She said that she wasn’t going to let us leave until you returned.” Her own confusion only deepened as Artemis began to laugh as he walked over to them.

“I should have expected that.” Artemis remarked “Not only is Twilight the bearer of the Element of Magic, her special talent is also magic. The two combined let her easily do things that many would consider impossible.”

Sundance's eyes widened H-her specialty is magic?!

Artemis nuzzled Twilight “How did you do it?”

Twilight shrugged before returning his nuzzle. “Shining Armor taught me to protect ponies by surrounding them with a magic barrier, or just my magic, when I was a small filly. I learned the first time I used the Elements of Harmony that it also works to protect souls.” She smiled up at him before continuing. “Earlier, you told me that these are the spirits of your parents. So I just did the same thing with them that I did for you.”

She glanced at Artemis’ parents, noticing the look on Midnight Armor’s face. “Shining Armor is the name of my older brother. He used to be the Captain of Celestia’s Royal Guard. Now, he is married to Cadance, alicorn and Princess of Love. They both rule the Crystal Empire, now that it has returned.” She shook her head “He always believed that being Celestia’s student and personal protégé meant that I could become a target for those that wanted to hurt her. He wanted me to be able to defend myself and maybe others.”

Artemis was about to say something when he noticed that Twilight was beginning to sweat and pant a little. Worried, he lay down next to her. “Are you alright?”

She nodded “I can keep them here, but it gets harder the longer I do it. Whatever you have to say to them, please do it quickly.”

Nodding, Artemis stood before walking over to his parents. He gave them each a hug and told them that he’d see them in three months.

Sundance nuzzled him before nodding at Twilight. “You had better bring her along. I want to see both of you.”

Midnight Armor nodded “If you can, bring your sister as well.”

They both turned to Twilight “Thank you, Twilight. We’ll see you in three months.”

Artemis nuzzled his parents again before turning to Twilight. “You can release them now. Just be careful. If you do it too quickly, they may really vanish.”

“Don’t worry." Twilight responded "I won’t let that happen.”

Sundance and Midnight Armor stared at Twilight in stunned silence.

Twilight turned to Sundance and Midnight Armor. “It was nice meeting both of you.” She slowly released the spell that was keeping them here. She and Artemis watched as they went back the way they came. Just as they got to the point where they were almost out of sight, Artemis and Twilight saw the two of them look at each other.

“What did your scan of Twilight reveal?” Midnight Armor asked

Sundance grinned “She has some extra magic surrounding her body, mostly around her lower abdomen. In three months’ time, I’m fairly certain they’ll be telling us that she’s pregnant.”

Midnight Armor grinned as well “Good”

The last thing they did before going back to their forms as stars, was kiss each other. “I love you”

Twilight and Artemis looked around to find that they were back in the clearing in the forest. Artemis heard that Twilight was still panting and walked over to her. Not willing to let her stand yet, he dropped to his knees before laying down next to her. Neither of them noticed that two of the stars overhead had brightened considerably.

He covered her with a wing and pulled her close. “Thank you, Twilight, for keeping my parents here so that I could say goodbye to them.”

He paused, looking at her before for a moment he nuzzled her, concerned. “Are you sure you’re OK? You’re not only still panting and sweating a little, but you are also shaking now.”

Twilight nodded before resting her head on his shoulder. “The spell I used to keep them here was easy enough to cast, it just took much more magic than I thought it would to maintain it.” She paused then laughed “Celestia wants us to sleep today, right? So that we can be up long enough for the slumber party? I don’t think she needs to worry about that.”

“Twilight?” He asked before he felt her shake her head, instead of seeing the gesture.

She shifted her head a little to look up at him. “I used enough magic that I’m probably going to need to sleep for at least a few more hours.”

Artemis nodded and tightened his wing around her “Take as long as you need, Twilight. We have all day. Celestia may be a little worried, but as soon as I explain what happened, she’ll understand.”

Twilight laughed again “How upset do you think she’ll be when she finds out that I saw them and she didn’t?”

Artemis laughed as well “Probably at least a little. She’ll also likely demand that I bring her the next time they visit.” He shook his head and chuckled as something occurred to him. “I know she already thinks of you as the little sister she never had but I think she’ll be very happy that our parents seemed to like you.”

A couple of flashes of light caught Twilight’s attention as she looked up at the stars. “Artemis, which stars are those?” She pointed with a hoof

“Which ones are you talking about?” He followed her hoof. “Those are my parents.” He paused, watching the way the stars were flickering, and smiled. “Apparently, they are happy right now.” This comment earned them a bright flicker of light from both stars.

Twilight giggled, nuzzled into his shoulder and closed her eyes. “Good, so am I.”

His eyes lit up and he returned her nuzzle before he lay his head on the grass and curled his body around hers. “Me too” He sighed in contentment and closed his eyes as well.

They both missed seeing the two stars light up brighter than ever as they shone down on their son and the mare that would, hopefully, soon be their youngest daughter.

Around noon, Celestia decided to go see how Pinkie was getting along with the preparations for the slumber party. She had decided to use the ballroom for tonight. By bringing in a lot of cushions, pillows and blankets, she turned about a third of the room into a place for them to sleep, when the time eventually came.

Walking up to the door to the ballroom, Celestia heard Twilight’s friends all talking excitedly as they worked. As she opened the door, they all stopped and turned towards her.

Suddenly, Pinkie was right in her face. “No, no, no!” She actually glared at Celestia. “No peeking until it’s ready! Go do something else!” With that said, Pinkie slammed the door.

Celestia paused, in shock, before shaking her head and laughing. “I might as well go check on Artemis and Twilight, I haven’t seen them yet today.”

A few minutes later, Celestia knocked on the door to Artemis’ room. Receiving no answer, she opened the door and looked at the bed to find them both still asleep. Wanting to talk to someone, she walked over and nuzzled them both.

Artemis suddenly raised his head, causing Twilight to open her eyes and look up. “Artemis? Is something wrong?”

He closed his eyes and focused for a moment before shaking his head. “Celestia is trying to wake us.” He paused as Twilight started to stand. “No, Twilight. I will go see what she wants, you stay here. You still need more rest.”

“But-”

“No, you just rest” he repeated “I’ll be back in a few minutes, just as soon as I remind my sister that she told us to sleep today.” He nuzzled her and vanished, leaving her with nothing to do but lay back down.

Back in his room, Artemis opened his eyes and lit his horn, casting two spells on Twilight, making sure that neither noise nor vibrations would wake her. Then he turned to Celestia “What is it, sister? Did you forget that you told us to sleep today so that we’d be awake tonight?”

Her eyes widened before she looked down sheepishly. “No, I just wanted to talk to someone.” She paused, looking at Twilight “Why won’t you let Twilight wake up?”

Artemis tightened his hold on Twilight and nuzzled her gently before looking up at his sister. He took a deep breath and told her about their shared dream. He heard a thump and looked over to see Celestia sitting on the floor next to the bed.

“I- I’m not sure what to say. I’m surprised that you brought her to meet our parents already.”

Artemis shook his head “I didn’t. I brought her into my dream so I could spend some time with her. I had forgotten that our parents were coming last night, until they showed up. After that, I thought it would be a good chance for her to meet them.” He looked at Celestia “Father wants me to bring you into the dream in a few months and Mother wants me to bring Twilight. So it’ll be the three of us for their next visit.”

Celestia looked surprised “They like her that much?”

Artemis nodded “I showed them the events of the last week or so. They both hugged her and Mother told me that I have “certainly found a good one”, as she put it.” He paused, blushing “They’ve already asked us for grandfoals.”

Celestia burst out laughing “Are you going to deny our parents as well as me?”

Artemis rolled his eyes “Sister, it is way too soon for that.”

Celestia was still laughing “Apparently, Mother and Father don’t believe that. They wouldn’t have asked if they did.”

Artemis looked off to the side and blushed again. “Mother did say that she doesn’t care about the length of our courtship in this case.”

Celestia nuzzled him “I told you! You two should stop putting it off and have a foal already.” She laughed harder as Artemis started sputtering.

She looked down at Twilight. “Why did you say that Twilight still needs rest?”

Artemis nuzzled Twilight again. “When I returned to the dream realm after lowering the moon, I saw that Mother and Father were still there. They were surrounded with Twilight’s magic.” He paused at Celestia’s look of shock “She used the same spell that she used to protect my soul to keep them both there long enough for me to return, so that I could say goodbye to them. However, it cost more magic than she had planned on using. That’s why she needs more rest. It is also why I’m going back into the dream as soon as I’m done explaining this to you. I want to be with her until she wakes, to make sure she’s alright.”

He gave Celestia a look “We thought it would be fine because you told us to make sure we sleep today. Neither of us counted on you going against your own words, just because you want to talk and can’t wait until the party.”

She blushed “I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d mind. I’ll check on the two of you in a few hours.” She stood and turned towards the door.

Artemis watched her “Why don’t you go find Cadance and Shining Armor or Twilight’s friends? They can keep you company.”

Celestia looked back at him over her shoulder. “Cadance and Shining Armor are in Canterlot, visiting Twilight Velvet and Night Light. I tried to go see what Twilight’s friends are up to but was kicked out of the ballroom by Pinkie Pie. She said I’m not allowed to peek until the party starts.”

Artemis laughed “Then go read a book, sister. Didn’t you get a new novel recently?”

Celestia paused “That’s right, I forgot about that! Thanks for reminding me. When you wake up, come to my room. I want to talk to you two, especially Twilight, without the others around.”

Artemis nodded “Very well, sister. We’ll see you later.” He closed his eyes and returned to the dream realm.

He looked around to find Twilight where he left her. She had rolled onto her back and was looking up at the stars. Smiling, he walked over and lay down next to her. She rolled over and snuggled close to his side.

“Is everything alright? What did Celestia want?”

Artemis nodded as he draped a wing over her. “Everything is fine. She was just bored and wanted someone to talk to.”

Twilight just looked at him for a moment. “What? First, she tells us to make sure that we sleep today so that we’d be awake long enough to enjoy the slumber party. Then she wanted us to wake up because she was bored?” She shook her head “She needs to make up her mind and stick with it.”

Artemis nodded “I explained what happened. She has decided to let us sleep and wake up on our own. However, we need to go see her in her room as soon as we wake up. She said she wants to talk to us, away from the others, before the slumber party starts. She didn’t say what she wants to talk about but she wasn’t angry at all, so it can’t be bad.”

Twilight nodded and put her head back on his shoulder.

They lay like that, just relaxing, for the next three and a half hours. Only then, did Artemis agree that Twilight had rested enough and allow them both to wake up.

Artemis and Twilight opened their eyes at the same time. Twilight was about to stand and stretch, when Artemis hugged her tighter. She looked up at him only to be pulled into a kiss. They held it for a couple of minutes before allowing it to break. Sighing in pleasure, Twilight snuggled closer to Artemis for a minute before pulling away, standing and stretching. She moved over so that he could do the same.

After stretching, he looked over at her. “We should go talk to Celestia”

She nodded and opened the door. They both walked out, closing the door behind them, and headed toward Celestia’s room. The pair of Day Guards fell into step behind them. As they arrived at Celestia’s room, another pair of Day Guards opened the door and allowed them to enter.

Celestia looked up as they entered, closing the book she was reading and levitating it over to her desk. “Come over here, please. Lay down and make yourselves comfortable.”

They nodded and walked over to the bed. Twilight climbed onto the bed and settled herself next to Celestia. Artemis followed and lay down so that Twilight was between himself and Celestia.

Twilight looked at Celestia “What did you want to talk about?”

Celestia smiled down at her “First of all, I wanted to see for myself that you are alright, Twilight. According to Artemis, you used a lot of magic when you kept our parents there after he left to lower the moon.”

Twilight nodded “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I didn’t used enough magic that I was in any danger. I was just really tired.” She glanced at Artemis “He made sure I slept for the last three and a half hours to recover.”

Celestia nodded as well. “Good” Then she got a mischievous smile on her face, looking over at Artemis and Twilight.

That’s the same smile that Sundance used before she asked us for grandfoals. Here we go again. Twilight thought

Artemis noticed the same smile and frowned at Celestia. Not again! Can’t you give it a rest, sister?

Celestia saw their expressions and her smile widened. “Artemis told me that our parents have asked you two for grandfoals.”

Twilight sighed “Sundance did ask that, yes.”

Celestia’s smile became a grin, happy at both the topic and that Twilight mentioned her mother by name. “And?”

Twilight gave her a look. “Celestia, we never said that we wouldn’t have any foals. We just said that it’s too early in our relationship for us to have them right now.”

Artemis nodded. “We talked about it yesterday and decided that we would wait about a year. At that time, we’ll see where we are and discuss it again.”

“But!” Celestia paused as she saw the looks on their faces and sighed. “Fine, I’ll leave it be for now.” Besides, I’m pretty sure she’s pregnant already. I just have to wait a few weeks, at most, before I find out if I’m right. She giggled “However, you are not getting out of this for long. If I can’t convince you, I’ll just let our parents do that for me. You never were able to resist them for long, little brother.”

Artemis opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a knock at the door. The three of them looked over before Celestia responded. “Come in”

The door opened to reveal Cadance. “Pinkie wants me to tell you that everything is set up and ready. In her words “Come on, come on, come on! Let’s go already!” And yes, that is a direct quote from her.”

Twilight laughed and looked at Celestia. “We’d better not keep her waiting. Trust me, you don’t want her coming to get you.”

Celestia laughed as well “I’ll take your word for it, Twilight. Let’s get over there before she decides to come find us.”

Twilight and Artemis nodded and stood. The three of them walked to the door, joined Cadance and the four of the headed for the balcony. The Day Guards followed behind them.

As they arrived at the ballroom, they saw Pinkie waiting in the doorway. “Come on already! It’s supposed to be a party but we can’t start it without our Prince and the two Princesses of Honor!”

Twilight looked at Pinkie, puzzled. “I thought this party was for Celestia, Pinkie. Why are you including Artemis? And who is the other princess you mentioned?”

Pinkie bounced in front of Twilight and bopped her on the nose. “You, of course! Silly Filly!” She giggled at Twilight and Artemis’ confusion. “Did you think we were done celebrating our new favorite Royal Couple?” She bounced around a bit before answering her own question. “Nope!”

Twilight turned to Celestia “I’m sorry. I didn’t ask her to do this, I swear.”

Celestia laughed “No, but I did.”

Twilight was stunned “Why did you do that?!”

“I don’t think you fully understand, Twilight.” Celestia explained, smiling “You are the first, and only, mare that has ever even interested my brother, let alone captured his heart. Did you think I’d really pass up the opportunity to celebrate that he has finally found his special somepony? Even better, it’s the mare that I found and trained myself.” She tilted her head “In fact, I’ll probably be celebrating this for a while.”

Twilight and Artemis looked at each other before sighing and shaking their heads.

Pinkie stopped in front of them and opened the door to the ballroom. “Come on in!” She shouted “Let’s get this Slumber Party started!”

Next Chapter: Chapter 32 Estimated time remaining: 31 Hours, 45 Minutes