Twilight opened her eyes to find that she was surrounded by the stars. Artemis must have sent me to see Midnight Armor and Sundance. Looking around, she saw both of them curled up on the cloud from yesterday. I’m asleep at the moment, so Celestia’s restrictions don’t apply. At least, I hope they don’t. She spread her wings and flew towards them.

As she got closer, she realized that they were both sound asleep. Surprised, she paused for a moment and just looked at them. Well, they’re usually stars in the night sky. When they visit us, they’re spending time with Artemis, Celestia or myself. So this is probably the first chance they’ve gotten, in a really long time, to just sleep. If I’m right, they deserve their rest. I don’t want to wake them, so I’ll get some sleep myself. Hopefully, they won’t mind sharing the cloud. Landing in front of them, she lay down and closed her eyes. Within a couple of minutes, she was also asleep.

Five minutes later, Midnight Armor shifted slightly as he began to wake up. Sensing a familiar presence, he opened his eyes and found Twilight asleep in front of him. He smiled and nuzzled his wife, trying to wake her without also waking Twilight. I know Sundance said she wanted to get some sleep, but she’ll be upset if I don’t wake her for this.

“What’s going on?” Sundance mumbled This better be good. I’m still tired. Yawning, she opened her eyes to see that her husband was smiling at something in front of them. She followed his gaze to see that their youngest was curled up in front of them, sound asleep. Alright, he’s forgiven. Smiling as well, she turned to her husband and whispered “I don’t want to wake her and can still sleep some more.” She carefully levitated Twilight between herself and her husband before spreading a wing and covering their daughter.

Nodding, Midnight Armor moved closer to Twilight’s other side. Getting into a comfortable position, he also spread a wing over Twilight, laying it on top of his wife’s. Both of them gently nuzzled her before laying their heads on the cloud and going back to sleep.

In Ponyville, just under four hours had passed and everything was ready for the party. Everypony watched as Spike walked over to where Artemis and Twilight were resting. He hesitated for a moment before tapping Artemis on the shoulder.

Startled, Artemis tightened his wing around Twilight and opened his eyes. He raised his head and lit his horn, looking around.

Everypony smiled as they saw this, happy to see Artemis protecting his family, especially after everything that happened recently.

Artemis felt something on his neck and looked down as Spike gave him a hug. Sighing in relief, he let his magic fade before spreading his other wing and wrapping it around Spike, returning the hug. “I’m sorry, Spike. I was just startled.”

Spike tightened his hug. “It’s OK, Artemis. You’re protecting Twilight. I just wanted to tell you that everything’s ready but we need both of you to start the party.”

Artemis nodded and nuzzled Spike “I’ll go into the dream realm and enter her dream. I would rather wake her that way. It may take me a while, depending on what she’s dreaming about, but I should be able to wake her without scaring her.” Plus, it’ll be nice to say hello to Mother and Father. This is the first time, in over a thousand years, that I’ll be able to see them for more than a night at a time. They’re here for a week, so I may as well see them as often as I can.

Spike nodded and began walking towards the girls. “I’ll tell everypony.” He paused and looked back at Artemis. “We don’t want her to accidentally scare Twi again, so we’ll make sure that Pinkie stays busy.”

Artemis laughed softly “I knew I could count on you.” He lay his head on his forehooves, closed his eyes and entered the dream realm.

Artemis appeared among the stars and looked over to see that Twilight and his parents appeared to be asleep. He smiled as he noticed that his parents had placed Twilight between them and each had a wing spread over her. As he walked closer, his mother opened her eyes and looked up.

“She arrived almost four hours ago, so it can’t be morning already.” Sundance said quietly “In fact, I’ve been wondering what’s keeping you and your sister.”

Artemis laughed softly as his father opened his eyes and looked over. “It’s actually still the middle of the afternoon. Twilight was tired and scared, so I calmed her before letting her take a nap.”

Midnight Armor gently nuzzled Twilight, careful not to wake her. “We were asleep when she arrived, so we didn’t know. By the time we woke, she was already asleep. Why was she scared? Did something else happen?”

Artemis nodded and showed his parents what happened when he and Twilight arrived in Ponyville.

“Since when was there a castle there?” Sundance asked, staring at Twilight’s castle in confusion. It’s a lovely castle, but I would have remembered a giant tree made of crystal.

Laughing, Artemis paused the memory. “When Twilight returned the Elements to the Tree of Harmony, a chest appeared at its base. It surprised, and confused, all of us because it had six locks and none of us had any idea where the keys were or how to open it. According to Twilight and her friends, the Elements tested each of them individually to see if they were truly worthy of being the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. At the end of those tests, each of the girls received something that turned into a key. Those keys opened the chest, allowing the girls to use the Elements of Harmony to defeat Tirek after he had stolen all of the magic in Equestria.”

He showed them an image of the Golden Oaks Library. “This was Twilight’s home, before Tirek destroyed it. After Tirek’s defeat, the chest grew into that castle. As soon as she saw it, Celestia declared that the castle was Twilight’s.”

Midnight Armor shook his head “That’s one way to get a new home.”

Sundance and Midnight Armor watched as Twilight tried to calm the foals near her. This meant that she was distracted and didn’t notice when Pinkie pulled a large blue cannon from apparently nowhere.

“Oh no, is she going to do what I think she is?” Sundance asked, nodding towards Pinkie I’m not going to bother asking where she got the cannon. Something tells me I don’t want to know. Besides, I’m more concerned about what she’s going to do with it.

Artemis nodded and showed them Pinkie using her party cannon, as well as Twilight’s reaction to it. He also showed them how he and the rest of Twilight’s friends reacted.

Midnight Armor smiled as he saw Artemis, standing off to the side and talking to another stallion, drop everything and run to Twilight’ side. As soon as he heard his mare scream, he immediately went to check on her. Then he stayed by her side to calm her. There may have been no danger this time, but she didn’t know that and was obviously afraid. Well done, Artemis.

Sundance smiled as she watched Twilight protect the group of foals with a barrier and curl her body around the two that were clearly the youngest. That instinct certainly didn’t take long to kick in, probably because of what happened yesterday. She’s already protecting any foal near her.

“Pinkie used her “party cannon” because she insisted on throwing what she’s calling a “Baby Party” to celebrate Twilight’s pregnancy and wanted to get everything ready quickly. She just didn’t think about the fact that Twilight’s still afraid because of the attack yesterday.” Artemis shook his head. “That was almost four hours ago. Everything is ready now and the girls want me to wake her, claiming that they can’t start the party without both of us. I insisted on waking her this way, to avoid allowing them to scare her more than they already have.”

Smiling, Sundance nuzzled her youngest. I haven’t had a chance to do this since Artemis and Celestia were foals. I know that Twilight isn't a foal, but I can’t resist. Her smile widened when Twilight snuggled closer. She's going to be difficult, I see.

Twilight buried her face in Sundance's shoulder.

Laughing softly, Sundance nuzzled Twilight again.

Twilight suddenly felt like she was five years old again. This was how her mother used to wake her when she was a filly, so she responded the same way she did back then. Half asleep, she mumbled “Mom, stop that. I’m tired.” Not bothering to open her eyes, she nuzzled deeper into Sundance’s shoulder and went back to sleep.

Sundance’s head shot up, eyes wide. W-what?! D-did she just call me Mom?!

Artemis and Midnight Armor smiled as they saw the tears of happiness welling up in Sundance’s eyes but neither of them said anything because they were both busy struggling to contain their laughter.

This is too much! Artemis thought, trying not to laugh I’ve never seen her act like this!

This really brings me back. Midnight Armor thought, as he lost the battle and laughed softly. It hasn’t happened since they were very young, but there were times when Celestia and Artemis reacted in a similar manner.

Artemis noticed the wistful expression on his father’s face. It isn’t fair that Mother gets to have all of the fun. If Father tickles her, Twilight will be laughing as she wakes up. Smiling mischievously, he leaned close to his father’s ear and whispered “Twilight is very ticklish, especially on her sides.”

Midnight Armor grinned at Artemis. This should be fun and we don’t have to worry about it scaring her. Using his magic, he folded his wife’s wing before gently running the tips of his feathers down Twilight’s side. He smiled as she squirmed and tried to move out of the way but couldn’t because she had snuggled close to Sundance’s side. Laughing softly, he repeated the process. This time, Twilight giggled quietly but still tried to squirm out of the way.

Twilight found herself waking up again as she felt feathers running down her side. She tried to roll away as her giggles grew louder but, feeling her mother lying next to her, realized that she wasn’t going anywhere. As she felt the feathers run down her side again, she gave in and began laughing. “Dad!” She managed to gasp out “Stop it! I’m awake!”

Midnight Armor immediately pulled his wing back, staring at Twilight in shock. D-did she just call me Dad?!

Sundance saw the shock on her husband’s face, and the tears welling up in his eyes, and just smiled.

Twilight finally opened her eyes, still laughing, to find that Sundance and Midnight Armor were laying on either side of her. Looking up at them, she saw that they both had tears in their eyes as they smiled at her. Confused, she was about to ask about that when a sound distracted her. Looking in front of her, she saw Artemis laying on the cloud, laughing harder than she had ever seen or heard him laugh before.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked, before turning bright red as she remembered what she had said and done as she woke up. I didn’t mean to say or do any of that! I thought it was Mom and Dad trying to wake me! Sundance and Midnight Armor didn’t say I could call them that! They’re going to be so mad at me! She squeaked and buried her face in her hooves, gaining laughter from the other three.

Artemis leaned over and nuzzled her, still laughing. “Where did that come from?”

Without lifting her head, Twilight replied “When I was really little, until I became Celestia’s student, that’s how my parents would wake me up. Mom would start by nuzzling me. Sometimes that was enough to wake me but, if it wasn’t, Dad would use quills from my desk to tickle me.” She finally raised her head and looked up at Sundance and Midnight Armor. “I-I didn’t mean-” She stopped as Artemis laughed and nuzzled her again.

“I haven’t seen my parents this happy in a long time.” He told her “In fact, not since their first visit after I returned.”

“W-what?” she asked “They’re not mad?”

“Why would we be angry that you called us Mom and Dad?” asked Midnight Armor That must be the current version of Mother and Father. Different though it may be, I’m definitely not angry that she called us that. He glanced at his wife and saw the tears of happiness still present in her eyes. It’s obvious that Sundance isn’t either.

“That’s not how we were introduced. Artemis used your names, so that’s what I thought that’s what you wanted me to call you.” Twilight replied, face still red

Sundance laughed “That may have been true when we first met. However, that changed as soon as we discovered just how much you and our son care for each other. Not to mention the fact that you are carrying our grandfoal.” She nuzzled Twilight “Besides, we have been calling you our daughter. There’s no way that we’d be angry that you called us your parents.”

Before Twilight could respond, Artemis nuzzled her again to get her attention. “I’ve never seen you have that reaction while waking up before.”

Twilight shrugged and returned his nuzzle “For some reason, I felt like I was a foal again. That, combined with the fact that they used exactly the same method to wake me that my parents used to, is why I reacted that way.”

Artemis suddenly appeared to be a combination of upset and annoyed. “I think I know why you felt like that.”

Twilight looked at him, confused, before seeing him glance at her stomach. He’s right. It probably has something to do with how Celestia, Cadance and Shining Armor are treating me right now.

Sundance and Midnight Armor looked at each other for a moment before turning to their son.

“What are you taking about?” Sundance asked, confused. She may not be over a thousand years old like Celestia and Artemis, but she’s definitely not a foal.

Before he could answer, Artemis suddenly closed his eyes and raised his head. “Spike and the girls are trying to wake us.” Opening his eyes, he looked at Twilight and laughed. “I forgot that I was supposed to wake you for the party.”

Twilight nodded “We’d better go. Pinkie and Rainbow can get a little, um, creative when they want to wake me. Pinkie likes to jump on me, especially on my stomach. Something tells me that allowing her to do that now is a bad idea. And the last time Rainbow had to wake me, she decided to work on my reaction time by pulling me into the air first. I don’t want her to try that again.” She glanced at her wings and sighed. “Especially since I’m not allowed to fly right now.”

Artemis turned to his parents “We’ll be back in a few hours. As soon as the party is over, we’re both going to sleep.” He paused and laughed “As for tonight, I told Celestia that I’d bring her to see you as well. I hope you’re ready to deal with all three of us at the same time.”

Midnight Armor and Sundance smiled. “I think we’ll be able to manage.” He replied

Twilight turned to Sundance. If they’re sure that’s what they want . . . “As for your question, Mom, we’ll tell you about it later. If Artemis is right, it’s a result of something that happened this morning.”

Sundance smiled, but before she could respond, Artemis lit his horn. He and Twilight vanished. They left behind a very happy, but confused, Sundance and Midnight Armor.

“What could have happened to make her feel like a foal?” Sundance asked

“Why did she say that she’s not allowed to fly?” Midnight Armor responded

The both shrugged and cuddled together.

“I have a feeling that we’re going to have an interesting conversation tonight.” Sundance said, closing her eyes

In Ponyville, Artemis and Twilight opened their eyes and looked around as everypony sighed in relief.

“Sorry that took so long.” Artemis said, chuckling “She was asleep in her dream as well and didn’t want to wake up.”

Spike laughed, immediately understanding what Artemis meant. “It’s usually hard enough for me to wake Twi in the real world. It must have been nearly impossible in her dreams!”

“What?” Twilight asked “I was tired!”

Everypony laughed as Pinkie bounced over and stopped in front of the couple.

“I hope it’s OK with you, Twilight, we had to set up the party in the receiving room of your castle. It’s the only place that’s inside and big enough for everypony.”

“That’s fine, Pinkie, as long as you clean it up afterwards.” Twilight said before giving Pinkie a look. “No, you can’t ask or tell Spike to do it for you.”

Spike sighed in relief and gave Twilight a hug. “Thank you”

She smiled and returned his hug before standing.

Walking inside the castle, Twilight and Artemis headed for the receiving room and stopped in the doorway. Surprised, they both just stood there as they looked around in confusion.

The entire room had been repainted, in dark blue and violet, to look like the night sky. The walls also had silver on them to look like the stars at night. The ceiling had a perfect painting of the moon as well as several of Twilight’s favorite constellations.

Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow and Spike nervously waited for Artemis and Twilight’s reactions to their not so little surprise.

Wow, this is really pretty. Twilight thought, looking around, before she turned to Spike and the girls. “I like it this way. Once the party is over, please clean up the mess, but I want to keep this design.”

Artemis turned to Twilight and stared at her in shock. Before he could say anything, Rarity squealed in delight and rushed forward to hug Twilight.

“I was hoping you would say that! We thought your receiving room should have the design of something you both love. I already have designs for banners and tapestries to hang on the walls! I’ll make them as soon as I’m done with the blankets and clothes for your foal. You have to tell me as soon as you find out if you’re having a filly or a colt!”

Twilight nodded as she went back to looking around the room. Off to one side, there was a large circular cushion that was clearly made by Rarity. It was the same dark blue as Artemis’s coat, with silver sewn in to mimic the stars in the night sky, and trimmed with lavender. A large table in the middle of the room was piled high with every kind of food that could be brought in, or prepared, on short notice. There was a small table next to it, with a much smaller amount of food on it. She was about to ask about that when Pinkie bounced over to stand next to the small table.

“The food on this table is just for you, Twilight.” She said “It’s all healthy, so it’s OK for you to eat it, even the cupcakes and cookies. Applejack and I made them with fruit and only used a little sugar, so you can have as much as you want.”

Twilight nodded as she walked over to the cushion and lay down. Artemis followed and lay down next to her as the rest of Ponyville entered the room.

“You really like the new colors and design for this room?” Artemis asked Twilight

She nodded

“Why would you want my colors and night sky in your castle?”

Twilight leaned close to him and whispered “The same reason I have your foal in me. I love you.”

She giggled at the stunned expression on his face and continued her explanation in a louder voice. “You’re going to be spending a lot of time here from now on. Whenever we’re not in Canterlot, we’ll probably be here. In fact, we may have to start calling it our castle soon.” She shrugged “This castle should reflect the ponies that live in it, even if it’s only part time.” She nuzzled him. “Besides, after I give birth, I’m going to want to be somewhere quiet. If I don’t have our foal here, I’m pretty sure this is where I’ll want to come as soon as we’re medically cleared to travel.”

She made sure she had his attention. “I don’t care about Night Court or what the ponies in Canterlot will say about your absence. At that point, it’s our family that will come first and I’m going to want you here with us.”

Artemis just stared at her for a moment before, completely forgetting about the other ponies in the room, pulling her into a kiss that went on for at least a minute.

None of the ponies present complained, or were upset, at all. All of them were smiling and many were thinking that they would react the same way if the pony they loved said that to them.

Artemis and Twilight broke the kiss and looked around to see that everypony was looking at them. Everypony laughed as they both lowered their heads and blushed.

Twilight looked up as a unicorn with a cream colored coat walked up to her. She immediately recognized him as a doctor that works in Ponyville Hospital.

“Please bear with me for a moment, princess. I heard that you had quite a scare earlier and would like to check your heart rate as well as the rest of your vitals.” He put a stethoscope to her chest and took hold of one of her hooves. A few moments later, he nodded and put the stethoscope back around his neck. “Good. Your numbers are a little high, but still within the normal range. That probably has a lot to do with the fact that Prince Artemis reacted quickly and calmed you down as fast as possible.” He looked at Twilight “I’ve received a copy of your chart from the hospital wing in Canterlot Castle, including the full physical examination that they did on you a couple of days ago. Stone Steps and I will be working together to track your pregnancy and monitor your care, princess. If anything comes up while you are here, please don’t hesitate to come see me.”

Twilight nodded

He paused, looking around “Its fine to be at this party, princess, but I would advise you not to overdo it. If what I heard about the events of yesterday morning is true,” He paused as Artemis and Twilight nodded “the scare that you had today is nothing compared to the one from yesterday. It may be best if you stay at the party for no more than a couple of hours. It’s far more important that you relax right now.”

Pinkie bounced over “It’s OK! This party is going to be a short and quiet one, nothing exciting at all.” She pouted “Applejack made me promise that it’s just going to be a big dinner party and Rarity made me promise that it’ll only be an hour and a half. We’re going to end the party when Artemis raises the moon so that Twilight can go to bed early.”

Twilight sighed in relief “Good, I’m still tired. And thank you, Doctor. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” She lay her head on the cushion and snuggled closer to Artemis as he spread a wing over her.

The doctor saw this, smiled and nodded “Very well. Have a good night, princess.”

Over the next hour or so, most of the ponies in the room mingled and went to the large table to get themselves some food.

Twilight spent most of that time laughing at the antics of Pound and Pumpkin. Both of them had decided to stay near her and were doing anything they could think of to make her laugh. She also spent a lot of time laughing at the minor pranks that Pinkie and Rainbow were pulling on random ponies in the room. Ordinarily, these ponies would be getting really angry but, when they heard Twilight laughing, they couldn’t help but smile. They were willing to put up with the pranks because, after hearing Twilight scream earlier, they decided that they’d rather hear her laugh.

Artemis noticed this and smiled. These ponies aren’t just doing this because she’s a princess, they truly care for her.

Eventually her stomach growled, so Twilight started to stand so that she could go get some food.

“Oh, no you don’t”

Twilight paused and turned to see Applejack and Fluttershy standing next to her, while Rainbow hovered in the air above them. Applejack and Fluttershy each had a plate on their back while Rainbow was carrying a couple of bottles of apple juice and a glass of milk.

“We’ve got your dinner right here, Twi. You just stay put and rest.” Applejack told her

Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but yawned instead. She decided not to argue and settled back onto the cushion. They’re not going to give up unless I agree. I would insist on getting my own food, but I’m not in the mood for an argument right now. The newness of my pregnancy will wear off and they’ll be back to treating me normally soon enough. I just have to deal with it until then.

Artemis nuzzled her “I’ll be right back. I’m going to get some food.”

Twilight nodded and looked around at the ponies in the room, finally seeing a pony she that she had been looking for since the party started. Raising her voice, she called out across the room. “Cheerilee, can you come over when you get a second, please?”

Cheerilee was halfway across the room and knew it would take her at least a couple of minutes to get over there so she looked at Twilight and nodded before beginning to make her way over.

While she waited for Cheerilee to make her way through the crowded room, Twilight ate her plate of apple fritters and a side salad before moving on to the plate of oatmeal raisin cookies and an apple cupcake. She was just finishing the last cookie when she heard a noise and looked up. Artemis had gotten fed up with trying to walk through the crowd and decided to fly back to her side as Cheerilee finally made it over. Twilight nuzzled Artemis and used her magic to bring over a cushion for Cheerilee to rest on.

Cheerilee smiled “Thank you, Twilight. There are a lot of ponies here.” She lay down on the cushion with a sigh of relief. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Did you hear about Fire Fly?” Twilight asked

Cheerilee nodded “You’re going to be teaching his class, starting Monday, right?”

“Yes” Twilight replied “I have his lesson plans and was wondering if you could help me go through them tomorrow. As far as I can tell, most of the students in his class are around seven or eight years old. You know better than I do what level foals of that age should be at and what they should be learning. I hear that Fire Fly is a good teacher but, given what I know about some of his teaching methods, I’m not sure I should trust his lesson plans. I know his lesson plans were already approved, I doubt they approved the idea of him scaring his students like that. I think he’s either not following his lesson plans or he changed them. However, I’m not trained as a teacher. That being the case, I want a second opinion.”

“Of course, Twilight” Cheerilee smiled “What about tomorrow afternoon at the park? Weather permitting, of course.”

Twilight lifted her head “Rainbow!” she called out to the room as a whole.

Almost immediately, Rainbow was hovering in the air above to them “What’s up, Twi?”

“Do you know what the weather’s scheduled to be like for tomorrow afternoon?”

Rainbow grinned “It’s gonna be sunny with a few clouds all day. Perfect for me to practice my newest trick! The Wonderbolts are gonna love it!”

Twilight laughed “Try not to crash this time, OK? If you have to, try to do it in the park so I can heal you quickly.” Turning to Cheerilee “Meeting in the park sounds perfect. Is after lunch alright?” she paused “In fact, why don’t we meet up for lunch? We can have a picnic as we work.”

Cheerilee nodded “That sounds like fun. I need to do a little work too, so I’ll bring my lesson plans as well. Will it be just the two of us?”

Twilight shook her head “I’m sure Artemis will want to be there with me. After yesterday, well . . .”

Cheerilee smiled “I understand. For now, he doesn’t want to leave your side. That’s alright, he’s welcome to come as well.”

Twilight and Cheerilee turned to Artemis as he raised his head.

He saw this and smiled “It’s time for me to raise the moon.” Looking out the window, he watched his sister’s sun sink below the horizon before lighting his horn. Twilight and Cheerilee watched as the moon rose and the stars appeared.

Twilight yawned again and, to the room and a whole, said “Thank you for coming, everypony. Applejack and Pinkie, please come over here. As for the rest of you, I’m sure I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night.”

Twilight looked up as Applejack and Pinkie walked over. She levitated a small bag of bits to each of them. “I know its short notice, but I’d like to put in an order from both of you. This should be enough for the food and materials, based on what I know of the rates you charge. Artemis, Cheerilee and I are going to be having a picnic in the park tomorrow for lunch while Cheerilee and I get some work done. I’d like the two of you to cater the picnic.”

Pinkie and Applejack smiled and nodded. They watched as Artemis nuzzled Twilight.

“I think it’s time we both got to bed.” He told her before he yawned “I don’t know about you, but I’m tired.”

Twilight nodded, yawning as well “Applejack, Pinkie and Cheerilee, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

Artemis cast a teleportation spell, bringing himself and Twilight to her room. He nudged her towards the bed before walking over to her bathroom.

Twilight giggled quietly as she watched him go into the bathroom and close the door behind him. Now’s the time for my surprise. She lit her horn, closed her eyes and focused, casting a certain spell on the ceiling. When she finished, she opened her eyes and glanced up. Yes! Not only was I right about what spell Celestia used, I was able to cast it myself and get the same effect! She smiled I hope Artemis likes it.

A couple of minutes later, Artemis returned to Twilight’s room to find her laying on her back in bed. He noticed that she was smiling as she looked up at the ceiling. Confused, he walked over to the bed before looking up himself.

He almost fell over in shock.

The ceiling of her bedroom was a perfect replica of his night sky. He watched a shooting star move from one side of the room to the other. T-this is incredible! She put more detail into her spell than Celestia did! He heard her laughing and tore his gaze from the ceiling to look at her as he felt her magic surround him. He didn’t struggle as she levitated him into bed next to her. “H-how did you-?”

She saw the expression on his face and giggled “Do you like it?”

He nodded

“I was able to figure out what spell Celestia used for the enchantment in your bathroom and thought it would be a nice addition here. However, I don’t want it in my bathroom. Instead, I want it over the bed so I can watch the stars as I fall asleep.” She nuzzled him “I knew it was going to be something I would enjoy, but I also wanted it to be a surprise for you.”

He was so touched that he couldn’t even say anything. Instead, he wrapped his hooves around her and held her close before pulling her into a kiss. After it broke, he rolled onto his back and placed her head on his chest, just holding her tight as he looked up at the ceiling. A few minutes later, he felt her nuzzle into his chest. Glancing down at her, he saw that she was yawning again. Chuckling, he returned her nuzzle. “Come on, let’s get some sleep. Mother and Father are waiting.”

She smiled and nodded before closing her eyes and quickly falling asleep.

He smiled as well and nuzzled her again before falling asleep himself.

Sundance and Midnight Armor raised their heads and looked over as Artemis suddenly appeared, not far from the cloud they were lying on. They watched as he closed his eyes and lit his horn. Two flashes of light later, Celestia and Twilight were standing next to him. Smiling, they watched Celestia nuzzle both of them before spreading her wings and flying over to the cloud. After hugging Celestia, they turned to Twilight and Artemis to see Twilight speaking quietly to Artemis.

“Do you think it’s alright for me to fly over or should I teleport?” she asked

Artemis nuzzled her “We’re in the dream realm, so it’s alright for you to fly.”

Twilight smiled and nodded before both of them spread their wings and flew over to the cloud, joining their family.

Landing not far from Sundance and Midnight Armor, Twilight looked up to see a stern expression on Celestia’s face.

“Twilight . . .” Celestia warned, looking at her with a slight glare. She didn’t listen to us at all! I’m going to lift the restrictions we placed on her, but I haven’t done that yet!

“You’re not even going to let me fly in my dreams?!” Twilight asked indignantly as she glared back up at Celestia before sighing in resignation and laying down. I can’t believe this! She didn’t even treat me like this when I was a foal!

“What are you doing now?” Celestia asked, wincing as she realized her mistake. Oops. For a moment there, I forgot that we’re asleep. No wonder she’s angry.

“The only thing it seems that you’ll allow me to do.” Twilight snapped, laying her head on her forehooves and closing her eyes. “Resting”

Artemis watched the exchange, wide eyed, before walking over to Celestia. Narrowing his eyes, he spoke in a voice that was nearly a growl. “Sister, you may have restricted nearly everything she does in the waking world, but this is my realm. Those restrictions don’t apply here.”

“But-”

“Do you honestly believe I’d allow anything to harm her?” Artemis interrupted, thoroughly annoyed “Besides, even if something dangerous managed to get past me, don’t you think our parents would stop it? That’s not even including what Twilight would do. She’s not exactly helpless, you know.” Not waiting for Celestia to respond, Artemis turned away and walked over to Twilight, laying down next to her.

Sundance and Midnight Armor watched their children in shock before glancing at each other. “Well, that answers the question from earlier.” She commented

Midnight Armor nodded “Both of them.”

Celestia turned to their parents “What questions? Did something happen?”

Artemis lit his horn, created a large sphere of dark blue magic and played the events of the day. He started with their arrival in Ponyville and showed Celestia how Pinkie had accidentally scared Twilight. Then he switched to what happened when he entered the dream realm to wake her for the party.

Celestia laughed as she saw Twilight’s reaction to Sundance and Midnight Armor’s attempts to wake her. “She used to do the same thing when she was little!” She called them Mom and Dad! That’s great! After hearing Twilight’s explanation for why she reacted like that, and Artemis’ comment afterward, Celestia sighed. Knowing their parents were going to want answers, she lit her horn and created a large sphere of golden magic.

A flash of Artemis’ magic made the dark blue sphere vanish. He looked at the sphere his sister summoned, wondering what she was going to show them.

Twilight kept her head on her forehooves but opened her eyes to watch what was going on.

Celestia showed their parents what happened after breakfast, starting with Twilight asking if she and Artemis were going to fly to Ponyville. She showed how she, Shining Armor and Cadance reacted as well as Cadance’s explanation of why they wanted to put the restrictions in place.

Midnight Armor laughed as he heard Twilight ask Celestia if she should ask himself and his wife for their opinion, but said nothing. I want to see everything that happened before I respond to any of this.

Sundance listened as Artemis made his point to Celestia, Cadance and Shining Armor. I wonder why Artemis is going along with this. Is it because he’s trying to be a good little brother and do as his sister wants, even though he obviously doesn’t agree?

Everypony watched as Cadance and Shining Armor quickly realized their mistake. Then they listened as, after Artemis and Twilight left, Shining Armor asked if they thought Twilight and Artemis were angry with them.

Sundance saw Silver Shadow step speak up. Who is that pony and why is he there? Her eyes widened as she heard what he told Celestia. So Artemis goes along with the way Celestia’s treating Twilight because he doesn’t want to make his sister angry? He certainly didn’t have a problem with angering her when they were younger. I wonder what made him change his mind.

Artemis’ eyes widened as he heard what Silver Shadow had to say about the reason behind some of his actions. Why did he tell her that? That’s something I didn’t want Celestia to know about.

Celestia lit her horn and the sphere of magic vanished before turning to their parents, nervously waiting for their reactions.

Sundance and Midnight Armor looked at each other for a moment before they both nodded and turned back to their children.

Midnight Armor cleared his throat “I can understand you being protective over your younger siblings, Celestia. You’ve always gone out of your way to keep Artemis safe, so it’s no surprise that you’ve extended that towards Twilight as well.”

“After the events of the last couple of weeks, I can even understand why you’ve become a bit overprotective.” Sundance continued

“However, this is more than a little excessive.” Midnight Armor said, picking up where his wife left off. “Cadance was correct in saying that you, she and Shining Armor have gone overboard in your attempt to keep your sister safe. Protecting her is one thing, but you must allow her to live her life.” He glanced at Artemis and Twilight “Your brother was right in saying that you can’t tell Twilight to sit still for a year and your sister was definitely correct when she said that we don’t want her living in a bubble.”

Sundance glanced at Twilight “I understand why Twilight said that she felt like a foal. The fact that Midnight and I inadvertently used a familiar method to wake her aside, it would be difficult for her not to feel like a foal when her older siblings are treating her like one while she has done nothing to deserve it.”

She looked at Celestia “We need to talk about these restrictions that you have placed on her and we’ll start with the one we witnessed when the three of you arrived. I don’t blame her for the way she reacted. If I were in her position, I’d probably do the same, if I allowed the restriction at all. Why don’t you want her to fly? There’s not much that’s dangerous about it and it’s a great way for her to get some exercise. Sure, she shouldn’t be flying during the last two to three months of her pregnancy but, at only two weeks along, she’s nowhere near that point yet.”

Celestia sighed “I was already protective over Twilight because she became my personal student when she was a small filly and I watched her grow up. To make matters worse, somepony just tried to kill her. As a result, Cadance, Shining Armor and I see danger in everything that she does.”

“Celestia,” Twilight said, causing everypony to look at her. “That may be a reason for your actions, but I don’t think that’s the real reason. There has to be more to it than what you just said.”

She paused as Artemis nuzzled her. After returning his nuzzle, Twilight looked back up at Celestia. I bet this has more to do with the fact that I’m her little sister now. “Two weeks ago, you said that you have always seen me as the little sister that you never had. After Blueblood’s trial, you told me that you would only be able to say that I was truly your little sister if Artemis and I got married or had a foal. When I told our family that I was pregnant, and everypony got the cheering and congratulating out of the way, one of the first things you did was call me “Little Sister”.”

Twilight glanced at Midnight Armor before turning back to Celestia. “Earlier, Dad said that you’ve always been protective over Artemis. In a rather short period of time, you gained both a little sister and a niece or nephew on the way. Only hours later, your new little sister, and niece or nephew, were attacked. That’s when you became overprotective of me and that’s the real reason you’re acting like this, isn’t it?”

Twilight heard everypony else gasp and looked around in surprise before turning back to Celestia. “None of the things that you’ve restricted me from doing are particularly dangerous. You’re just worried about me getting hurt, aren’t you?”

Celestia nodded, unable to say anything

Twilight stood and walked over to her. “These new instincts that have surfaced because I’m pregnant aside, you know that I’m capable of protecting myself. After all, you’re the one who taught me. Not only that, as you said, Artemis will probably be spending a lot of time with me. For the times that he can’t, he assigned Steel Night and Midnight Fang to protect me. You trust my brother, he was the Captain of your Royal Guard for years, after all. He’s testing the ones that Artemis has chosen to protect me to make sure they’re capable of the task. Besides, when I’m in Ponyville, the girls will also be with me and when I’m in Canterlot, you’ll be nearby. As my mother said the other day, I’m “pretty well protected”. So you can relax.”

Celestia stared at Twilight for a moment, in shock, before pulling her in for a hug. “Very well.” She said “Cadance, Shining Armor and I talked it over after you left and decided to remove the restrictions we placed on you. The only reason I was angry earlier was that I’d forgotten that we’re dreaming and thought that you hadn’t listened to anything we said.”

Twilight nuzzled her “You know me better than that. When we first got here, I asked Artemis if I should teleport or if it was alright for me to fly.”

“She’s right, sister.” They looked up to see Artemis standing next to Twilight. “I told her that it was alright for her to fly because we’re in the dream realm and I was trying to let her have a little fun around your restrictions. I didn’t expect you to get so angry about it.”

Celestia nodded and returned Twilight’s nuzzle.

“I’m glad that’s settled.”

Celestia, Artemis and Twilight looked over in surprise to see Midnight Armor smiling at them.

Sundance nodded “There’s one more topic that I would like to get out of the way before we can enjoy ourselves.” He won’t like this, but we need to talk about it anyway.

Artemis turned to her “What topic is that, Mother?”

Sundance stood, walked over to her son and nuzzled him as she draped a wing over his back. “What the Captain of your Night Guard said to your sister. Trying not to upset or anger her is a good idea but you’re going overboard.”

Artemis sighed and lowered his head. Of course she wants to talk about that. Unfortunately, I can’t just tell her that I don’t want to talk about it. She’s not going to leave it alone until she feels that she’s gotten to the bottom of the issue.

“That’s right, Mother.” Celestia said, before turning to Artemis “Why don’t you just tell me if you don’t like my actions? When we were younger, you never had problem telling me when I was doing something you didn’t like, especially just before your banishment.”

“That’s the problem.” Artemis replied, shuddering as he thought of his time trapped on the moon.

Celestia and Sundance exchanged confused glances, not sure what he meant.

Midnight Armor noticed that a voice was missing from the conversation. Looking at Twilight, he paused as he saw the thoughtful expression on her face. Standing, he walked to her side and draped a wing over her back before nuzzling her to get her attention. “Twilight? Is something wrong?”

Startled, she glanced up at him before looking around to find that everypony was looking at her. Shaking her head, she replied. “Sorry. I was just thinking.”

“About what?” Celestia asked, curious

Twilight looked down “N-nothing. I’m probably wrong, anyway.”

Sundance kept her wing over her son’s back, but reached over to nuzzle her youngest daughter. “Somehow I doubt that. You were able to figure out the reason behind Celestia’s actions, even though she didn’t want to tell us. I believe that, if you’re thoughts are on the topic that we’re currently discussing, it’s quite possible that you’re either correct or on the right track.”

Twilight shook her head again “I don’t want to bring it up.” It’s just going to upset them.

Artemis nuzzled her as well “It sounds like it’s something you think we won’t like.”

Twilight nodded, still looking down

“That convinces me that you’re onto something.” Midnight Armor replied “This topic is already one that isn’t pleasant. The sooner we deal with it, the better.”

Sundance removed her wing from Artemis’ back and turned to face her daughter, determined to get to the bottom of this. “It’s alright, Twilight. Tell us what’s on your mind.”

Twilight looked nervous “But-”

Midnight Armor lay down, pulling Twilight with him, and used his wing to keep her by his side. Artemis walked over to lay on her other side as Celestia and Sundance lay side by side, facing them.

Twilight looked up, noticing that they were all looking at her. She decided to give them one last chance to avoid the pain this would surely bring. “A-are you sure that you want me to say this?”

Sundance and Midnight Armor nodded

“A-alright” Twilight took a deep breath “Isn’t this almost the same as what you did, Celestia? You were afraid of Artemis because you thought he would be taken over by darkness again and you would be forced to banish him again, maybe even lose him forever. However, you didn’t say anything about it, even when he specifically asked you to tell him. The two of you have sorted that out, but I believe this may be something similar.”

Sundance and Midnight Armor were staring at her, mouths open in shock, but said nothing. They simply waited for her to continue. Celestia looked upset, but she didn’t say anything either. Glancing at Artemis, Twilight noticed that he suddenly looked nervous but was trying to hide it.

She sighed again, looking down at the cloud beneath her. “The last time you and Artemis got into a fight, he ended up on the moon for a thousand years. Granted, it was Night-Terror Knight you fought instead of Artemis, but the idea is the same. If your roles were reversed, and it was you who came back after a thousand years, wouldn’t you do anything you could to avoid angering him? I’m pretty sure he didn’t tell you about it because he knew that it would upset you. I don’t think he’s afraid of you. Instead, I believe he’s afraid of getting into a fight, or argument that could lead to a fight, with you because of what happened the last time he did that. He doesn’t want to go back to the moon.”

Celestia gasped, tears coming to her eyes “I-I didn’t think about that!”

Twilight was still examining the cloud beneath her hooves. “I may be wrong, but I think that’s what’s going on.” She felt a shudder go through Artemis and looked up to see that he had his face buried in his hooves. She noticed that he was shaking, probably crying, and nuzzled him. This is why I didn’t want to say anything!

Celestia also saw this and lit her horn. A flash of light later, she was laying on Artemis’ other side, nuzzling him as well.

Sundance stood and quickly moved over to Celestia’s other side before lying next to her again.

They lay like that for a long time, until Artemis stopped shaking. Only when he finally lifted his head and laid it on his forehooves, did anypony else move.

The first to move was Celestia. She shifted so that she could spread a wing, draped it over his back and pulled him closer to her. She didn’t notice that this pulled him away from Twilight. Focused on Artemis, Celestia also didn’t notice the shudder that ran through her little sister before she started crying quietly.

Midnight Armor, however, did notice. He pulled Twilight closer to his side and nuzzled her before covering her with a wing.

Unaware of this, Celestia nuzzled her brother. “Artemis, is this true?” she whispered

He nodded, starting to shake again

Celestia tightened her wing around him “I’m so sorry, little brother!” She whispered, crying as well. “I had no idea!” She felt him shudder and hugged him tighter. “I’m not mad at you. In fact, I’m mad at myself for not noticing this. I can’t believe it took four years, and Twilight pointing it out, for me to finally see it!”

They lay like that for several minutes before they realized what Celestia had just said. Celestia, Artemis and Sundance gasped and looked at each other in shock as they suddenly noticed that they hadn’t seen or heard from one particular pony in a while, all three of them saying the saying the same thing.

“Twilight!”

A flash of magic drew their attention. They turned to see Midnight Armor looking at them before he nodded to his side and lifted his wing. They saw Twilight curled up next to him, crying.

Celestia’s eyes widened as she saw this. Why is she upset? After a moment, she gasped as she suddenly understood before sighing and turning to Artemis. “She didn’t want to tell us what was on her mind, remember?” She asked quietly “She must have known that it was going to be painful for us to hear. Mother and Father made her say it anyway and, as soon as she finished, you started crying. I don’t blame you for that, but she probably thinks it’s her fault that you’re upset.”

Artemis stared at his sister for a moment, stunned, before he turned to Twilight and lit his horn.

Twilight gasped as she felt his magic run over her before she was levitated into the air. Believing that they were angry with her, she kept her eyes shut.

Celestia shifted slightly, making room between herself and Artemis, as he gently placed Twilight on the cloud. Immediately, they snuggled closer to her, and each other.

Sundance and Midnight Armor glanced at each other before she snuggled closer to Celestia while he did the same to Artemis. They each spread a wing so that all three of their children were covered with a blanket of feathers.

They lay like that for a while. It wasn’t until Twilight stopped crying that anypony moved. As soon as she stopped shaking, Artemis nuzzled her.

Surprised, Twilight lifted her head, only for both Celestia and Artemis to give her a hug. T-they’re not mad at me? Before she could say anything, Sundance leaned over Celestia’s back and Midnight Armor leaned over Artemis’. They both nuzzled her.

“Twilight, we know that you didn’t want to bring up something so painful for both Artemis and Celestia. However, we need to talk about this.” Midnight Armor said

“Especially since, once again, you were right. Artemis confirmed that what you said is the reason behind his actions.” Sundance continued, nuzzling Twilight again “If you hadn’t brought it up, it’s possible that he would have never told anypony about this.”

“Now that it’s out in the open, we can work through this. Only then will it be possible for either of them to move on.” Midnight Armor said

“Artemis, I understand your fear and agree that you have a powerful reason to keep your sister happy.” Sundance began “Given the reason behind your fear, I no longer believe that you are going overboard.” In fact, I’m surprised that he isn’t going further.

Midnight Armor nodded, agreeing with his wife “Even so, you can’t keep going along with whatever she says, especially if you don’t agree with her. It is important that both of you have an equal say in the things going on around you. This includes both your family and the way Equestria is run.”

Celestia nuzzled Artemis “I don’t blame you for feeling this way, especially after what happened a thousand years ago. However, a couple of weeks ago, I told you that I wouldn’t allow anything to separate us again and I meant it. If I were to get that angry with you again, I’d just tell you to leave the castle for a while. Besides, even if I wanted to, I can’t banish you again.”

Twilight nuzzled him as well “At the moment, I’m the only one that can banish you, or anypony else, and you already know that I refuse to do that. If Celestia tells you to leave the castle in Canterlot, just come to mine. As I told you during the dinner party today, it’ll probably be considered ours soon enough. You’re always welcome here.”

Artemis didn’t respond. Instead, he returned Twilight’s nuzzle before slowly relaxing in his place in the family cuddle.

Sundance and Midnight Armor looked at each other but, before they could say anything, Artemis raised his head.

Celestia raised hers as well “Artemis? Is everything alright?”

He nodded and turned to her “It’s time for me to lower the moon.”

She looked at him, confused “Are you sure? I don’t feel the pull of the Sun.” After receiving a nod from her brother, she expanded her senses, reaching out with her magic. “Ah, there it is. How did you sense the moon before I sensed the sun?”

Artemis shrugged “I’ve got more experience sensing the pull of the moon while navigating through the dream realm. Besides, you’re used to sensing the sun from your own dreams. However, right now you’re in my dream. It can be harder to sense things you’d easily notice otherwise because, instead of just the filter that comes because you’re asleep, you also have the filter that comes with being in somepony else’s dream.”

Celestia nodded “That makes sense.” She glanced at their parents before turning back to Artemis. “Are you willing to set up another shared dream tonight?”

Artemis nodded “I don’t see why not.”

Celestia smiled and nuzzled Sundance, Midnight Armor, Twilight and Artemis. “I’ll see all of you tonight.”

Artemis looked at Twilight “Everypony’s expecting the two of us to sleep in today, so I’ll be right back.” He lit his horn before he and Celestia vanished.

In Canterlot, Celestia opened her eyes, stood, stretched and walked out onto her balcony. She watched the moon set below the horizon and the stars fade before lighting her horn and raising the sun. When they come back this evening, I want to talk to them both.

She didn’t have anything scheduled for the day, so she decided to get some breakfast before returning to her room for a long soak in a hot bath. After my bath, I think I’ll read the rest of that book.

In Ponyville, Artemis opened his eyes and looked down at Twilight to see that she was still snuggled close to his side. Deciding not to move, he lit his horn and lowered the moon and stars. Pulling the blankets tighter around them, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

Next Chapter: Chapter 42 Estimated time remaining: 27 Hours, 60 Minutes