Several minutes later, Twilight looked around and noticed that everypony was staring at her. “Sorry, I was thinking about the Linking Spell.” She tilted her head thoughtfully. “If it’s really so dangerous, perhaps it would be better if I cancel it.”

“NO!”

The Royal Canterlot Voice came from three different mouths as Sundance, Midnight Armor and Artemis instantly reacted to Twilight’s offer.

Twilight immediately pinned her ears to her head and buried her head under, and into, the closest solid thing she could find. This meant that her head was now under Midnight Armor’s wing and pressed into his side as she shuddered in pain.

Sundance, Midnight Armor and Artemis winced when they saw Twilight’s reaction. Knowing that she would need at least a few minutes, they waited quietly for her to recover.

Several minutes later, Twilight finally dared to pull her head away from Midnight Armor’s side. After a moment of silence, she carefully raised one ear, then the other. Then, she opened her eyes.

Artemis, Sundance and Midnight Armor’s eyes widened as they saw the tears in her eyes.

“W-what was that for?” she asked

Midnight Armor used his wing to give her a hug as Artemis moved closer to her other side.

Sundance moved so she was laying in front of Twilight and nuzzled her. “I’m so sorry, Twilight!” she said quietly “I didn’t mean for that to happen, I promise.”

Artemis nuzzled her as well. “I’m sorry, Twilight” he whispered “I didn’t mean to do that. But I don’t want you to cancel that spell. You were able to save me twice because you cast it.”

“B-but Mom and Dad said it’s dangerous. S-so I thought- eep!”

Twilight was cut off with a squeak as Midnight Armor tightened his wing around her. “I’m sorry, Twilight, I didn’t mean to hurt you. And I agree with Artemis. If you hadn’t cast that spell, it’s quite likely that my son would be dead.” He told her softly “Besides, your mother and I have seen the strength of your bond with Artemis. You won’t have a problem powering the Linking Spell.”

They lay like that for several minutes before looking over as Artemis raised his head.

“It’s time for me to raise the moon.” He paused “Twilight and I should go. I don’t want Celestia to complain and I certainly don’t want Twilight missing meals.”

Twilight turned to Sundance and Midnight Armor “I was tired after teaching the foals today. That’s why I’m asleep right now. It’ll probably be awhile before I can sleep again.” Seeing the expression on Sundance’s face, Twilight slowly shook her head. “Don’t worry, Mom. It shouldn’t be more than a few hours.” She laughed softly “You try dealing with fourteen eight year old foals by yourself for an entire day and you’d be tired too.”

Sundance sighed in relief and laughed as well. “You’re right. When you get back, I want to hear about how your day went.”

Midnight Armor laughed and nodded “You should wait until Artemis and Celestia get here, so you can tell us all at once.”

Twilight nodded as Artemis lit his horn and they both vanished.

In Artemis’ room, he opened his eyes and looked down to see Twilight lying next to him. Smiling, he nuzzled her. As she opened her eyes, he lit his horn and raised the moon. He turned in time to see her close her eyes again with a groan.

“Ugh, my head” She buried her head into a pillow, sighing as she felt the cool fabric on her forehead. “I’m used to you using the Royal Canterlot Voice, because you did it often enough right after you returned, but I am not used to hearing it from three ponies at once. Especially when all three of those ponies are right next to me.”

“I’m sorry, Twilight” Artemis whispered, nuzzling her “I didn’t mean to do that. It was an immediate reaction to the idea of you cancelling the Linking Spell. I know Mother and Father told us about the dangers that come with casting it. However, they’ve determined that you are capable of powering that spell without any trouble.”

“Mm-hm” Twilight mumbled, pulling her head from the pillow. “I wish they hadn’t tested me like that. I was really angry because I thought they were ignoring my questions.” She shuddered “You have no idea how worried I was when I arrived and found you lying there, unable to move. I really thought something was wrong.”

Artemis kissed her forehead before lifting her head and pressing his lips to hers. “Thank you, Twilight” He whispered

“Hm?” She responded, returning his kiss “For what?”

“I . . . You” He choked out, before kissing her again “According to Mother and Father, that spell requires both power sources to be present when it’s cast. That means you were only able to cast it because you loved me, even back then. They also said that most ponies can’t power that spell because the love used as the second power source has to be both extremely powerful and pure.” He pulled her into a tight hug “That spell is proof of how much you love me.” He paused “I’m not sure even Cadance and Shining Armor can power that spell.”

Twilight stared at him “B-but she’s the Princess of Love and everypony saw how much she and Shiny love each other when they stopped Chrysalis!”

“I know that.” He nuzzled her “Cadance’s love magic is powerful, almost in the same league as the Linking Spell, but even that pales in comparison. Remember, your brother was fooled by Chrysalis. If their bond was strong enough to power the Linking Spell, he would have been able to see through her disguise.” He kissed her to stop the protest that he knew was coming. “Don’t tell me that seeing through Chrysalis’ disguise is impossible. We know it can be done because you were able to do it.”

She was about to protest when her stomach growled, quickly followed by his. Laughing softly, they both stood and stretched before walking out into the hall, heading for the dining room.

Once they got there, they found Celestia waiting for them. She looked up and smiled as they walked into the room. “Good Evening, you two. I was hoping to see you for the end of court, Twilight.”

Artemis and Twilight sat down and began to eat the plates of spaghetti with hay balls and side salads in front of them.

After a couple of bites, Twilight laughed softly “After a day with fourteen eight year olds, I was tired. So I went to Artemis’ room for a nap.”

Celestia nodded “I can understand why you would feel that way. How were Mother and Father?” she paused “Artemis, what are you doing?”

Artemis had lit his horn and was casting a soundproofing spell around the dining room. “You should know what we talked about, sister.”

Twilight nodded “Yes, but Mom and Dad have asked that we keep this quiet.”

Curious, Celestia watched as Artemis created a sphere of magic and showed her what had happened. Her eyes widened as she heard their parents talk about the dangers of the Linking Spell.

“What?!”

Celestia saw Artemis jump at her outburst, but Twilight’s response surprised her. She watched as her sister curled into a ball and created a barrier around herself before attaching a soundproofing spell.

Before she could ask, Artemis frowned and showed his sister how he and their parents had just done the same thing. “The only difference is that the three of us did it at the same time, right next to her.”

Celestia winced “That must have hurt. In fact, I bet she has a very bad headache.” She walked over to Twilight’s barrier and lit her horn. Easily passing through it, she nuzzled her little sister. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just surprised because I didn’t know that the Linking Spell was so dangerous.” She watched as Twilight slowly lifted her head.

“Why is everypony using the Royal Canterlot Voice today?” Twilight asked quietly as she released her barrier. “And I can’t take medicine for the headache.” She slowly shook her head and turned to Artemis. “Can we head to court, please? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it might actually be quieter.” After Artemis nodded, she turned back to Celestia. “Mom and Dad asked that I wait till tonight to tell you about my day because they want to hear about it as well.”

Celestia smiled and nodded

Artemis looked at Celestia “Sister, I’m going to let you have your own dream tonight until we go to sleep as well. It shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours because I’m going to make it an early night.”

Celestia nodded again as the three of them walked out of the dining room. Celestia headed to her room while Artemis and Twilight headed for the throne room.

Entering the throne room, Artemis and Twilight looked around in surprise. There was only one pony present.

Ice Blossom smiled as she walked towards them. “Good Evening, Prince Artemis and Princess Twilight. We heard from the ponies that attended Day Court that the courts are merging in to one, starting tomorrow. That being the case, we have decided to hold our petitions until tomorrow morning.” She bowed “Have a good night, your highnesses.”

After Ice Blossom left the room, Artemis and Twilight looked at each other for a moment. “Well,” he finally said “you were right. Court was definitely quieter.” He smiled as she laughed softly. “Let’s go to our room. Even if you can’t sleep yet, you should relax.”

Twilight’s eyes widened for a moment before she nodded and headed for the hallway. A few minutes later, they were in their room.

Lying in bed, Twilight groaned as her head throbbed.

Artemis frowned and climbed into bed next to her. “I can’t give you any medicine, Twilight, but maybe I can do something else to help you feel better.”

Twilight closed her eyes with a sigh of pleasure as she felt his hooves on her back. After a moment, one of them moved up to her shoulders while the other stayed at the base of her wings.

He smiled as his massage earned him several more sighs of pleasure. Remembering how she had warmed the muscles of his wings, shoulders and back with her magic, he decided to do the same for her. He paused before deciding to warm the muscles in her head as well, especially around her horn.

She sighed in pleasure as she felt the muscles of her shoulders, back and wings warm and relax. This feels amazing! No wonder Artemis likes it when I do this to him. Her eyes flew open as the muscles in the top of her head all warmed at once. Immediately, her headache began to fade. Sighing again, she nuzzled into Artemis’ side.

He smiled and whispered “I guess that helps?”

“Mm-hm” she replied, moaning softly “Please don’t stop.”

Laughing softly, he returned her nuzzle “I won’t”

Roughly five minutes later, his spell ended. Her headache was still there, but it was at a manageable level by this point. She lifted her head and kissed him. “Thank you”

Surprised, he returned her kiss. As it broke he asked “Is your headache gone?”

“No” she replied “but it’s down to a manageable level.”

His frown returned as he looked at her. It’s partially my fault that she’s hurting right now. I’m not stopping until she’s pain free. We’ve still got some time before we need to go see Mother and Father, maybe there’s something else I can do for her. He watched as she sighed and stretched out next to him. He leaned down to nuzzle her again but, as she shifted, he ended up brushing his lips against her neck instead. After hearing her sigh in pleasure, he kissed her neck.

She had moved to snuggle closer to him when she felt his lips brush her neck. Unable to stop herself from sighing in pleasure, she felt him kiss her neck and moaned.

He smiled as he heard her moan and lifted his head. “Let me help you.” He whispered before returning his attention to her neck. She let out a sharp gasp of pleasure as he nibbled at her throat before moaning as he began kissing his way down her body. He nuzzled her stomach for a moment before moving down to her marehood. Laying by her hind legs, he lit his horn and gently rolled her onto her back. Before she could say anything, he kissed her entrance before licking it as well.

Twilight moaned as she felt his tongue on her marehood before gasping sharply as he pushed it inside her. After a few minutes, she began to shake as her orgasm approached. As her moans grew louder, she realized that somepony might hear her. She had just enough presence of mind left to cast a soundproofing around the room before testing it with a scream of pleasure as his tongue moved, deep inside her. Panting, she shuddered in pleasure as he pushed her closer to the edge. As she lay there trembling, another wave of his magic moved through her wings. The sudden pleasure pushed her over the edge. “A-Artemis!” she screamed as her orgasm washed over her.

He lifted his head to look at his mare and smiled. Making her scream is one thing, but I love hearing her scream my name even more. He lowered his head to clean up the mess that he made, as she continued to shake in pleasure. After he finished, he stood. Surprised, he looked down as he noticed how hard he had become. Now isn’t the time for that! He scolded himself I shouldn’t be thinking about anything but helping her feel better! That did nothing to stop the soft whimper that escaped him as lay down beside her. Trying to keep his mind off his desires, he rolled onto his back.

Twilight had just recovered from the powerful orgasm he had brought out in her when she heard him whimper softly. Glancing over as he rolled onto his back, it was easy to see why. I can’t believe that fits inside me. It’s huge!

She stood and quietly moved closer. I wonder why he hasn’t said anything. She shook her head. Whatever the reason, I can’t leave him like this. He was so focused on controlling himself that he didn’t notice when she climbed on top of him. Looking back, she carefully positioned herself before slowly lowering herself onto him.

He moaned as he felt something warm and wet envelop the tip of his member. Surprised, he opened his eyes to find Twilight on his stomach, lowering herself onto him.

She saw him looking at her and smiled as she slowly pushed lower. “Is this what you want?” She whispered

He shuddered in delight as she continued to slide down his member, sending lightning-like bolts of pleasure coursing through his body. “Yes” He breathed Moon and Stars Yes!

“Don’t worry, my love.” Leaning down, she kissed him as she let herself slide little lower. “You took care of me, now it’s my turn to take care of you.”

He opened his mouth to respond but gasped as she slid lower, sending another bolt of pleasure coursing through him. “Twilight!”

Listening to her name bounce around his room, she was suddenly very glad that she had cast that soundproofing spell. I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve heard him yell. It’s almost as loud as when he uses the Royal Canterlot Voice. Smiling, she pushed herself down the last couple of inches. She moaned in pleasure, feeling him touch the entrance of her womb, and rocked her hips from side to side to make sure she was properly balanced for the next part. Before she could do anything else, he moaned and grabbed her hips, pulling her a little lower and holding her still.

The sensations coursing through his body as she finally took the last of his member inside her were so intense that he was unable to speak. In fact, he couldn’t do anything but lay there, shaking in pleasure. Then she rocked her hips. He groaned in pleasure as the movement ground his tip against the entrance to her womb, pushing him over the edge. Grabbing her hips, he pulled her down and held her still as he began pumping within her.

She moaned as he began pumping his seed into her. Ooh . . . Oh stars, does that feel good! Shaking slightly, she let him ride it out. Once she felt his grip on her relax, she used her magic to lift his head so she could kiss him. I’ve never tried this before, so I’m not sure how he’ll react. She began bouncing, slowly raising her body before allowing herself to fall back down.

Still recovering from his orgasm, he moaned as she started slowly bouncing on top of him. Each bounce sent waves of pleasure spreading through his body. The sudden rush of sensations flooding his mind left him unable to form a coherent thought, let alone move. After a minute, he collected himself enough to grab her hips. The next time she came down, he thrust upwards, smiling as she moaned. He loved the sensations that his thrusts was giving him and the moans he was hearing from her. Wanting more of both, he kept thrusting, making sure to time it so that he was thrusting up as she was falling down.

She had gotten into a rhythm and was slowly bringing herself to another orgasm. She smiled when he grabbed her hips. She did not, however, expect him to thrust into her. Surprised, she couldn’t hold back a moan of pleasure. When he kept thrusting, all thoughts fled her mind. Her body began moving on its own as both of them sped up.

The combination of her bounces and his thrusts quickly brought them both to their second orgasms. He groaned as her passage began to pulse and clench around him before pumping more of his seed into her. She screamed in pleasure and pressed down harder, instinctively trying to make sure his seed stayed inside. As their orgasms ended, she fell forward onto his chest. Panting hard, she just lay there, unable to move.

He wrapped his hooves around her, still shaking in pleasure. “Thank you, Twilight. I really needed that.”

She finally managed to lift her head, pulled his towards her and kissed him. “I’m glad I could help.” She squeaked as his grip tightened.

“You did far more than just help, Twilight.” He told her, laying his head on a pillow and sighing in pleasure. “But why did that feel different?”

She blushed and nervously replied “Maybe it’s because I tried a different position than the ones we normally use.”

He laughed “I’m not upset at all. That was incredible!”

She sighed in relief before nuzzling into his chest. “Why didn’t you tell me what you wanted? I only figured it out when I heard you whimper and looked at you.”

He sighed and leaned up to return her nuzzle. “I was trying to help you feel better, Twilight.”

Twilight shook her head before she stood, lifting herself off on him. She saw how much of his seed rushed out and frowned, upset that she wasn’t able to keep it in her. A moment later, she smiled as she realized that she had a much more precious gift from him growing inside her.

Still smiling, she nuzzled him. “You did help me feel better, I’m not in pain anymore.” She heard him sigh in relief as she climbed off the bed. “You don’t have to hide anything from me. Next time, just tell me what you want, OK?”

He smiled at her “As long as you do the same.”

She nodded and glanced at his member before shaking her head, and blushing, as she muttered “I can’t believe you fit inside me.”

“What?” he asked, confused

“I’m usually focused on the sensations you bring me when we do that. This time, however, when I heard you whimper and looked over, I saw your full size for the first time.” Still blushing, she added “You’re much bigger than I thought.”

He blushed as well but, before he could say anything, she walked towards the bathroom. Worried, he asked “Are you alright?”

Glancing back at him, she nodded “I have to use the bathroom.” Her blush deepened as she added “And I need to get cleaned up. I’m a little sticky at the moment.”

He looked down at himself and laughed “I am as well.” Standing, he followed her into the bathroom. “How about a quick bath before we go see Mother and Father?”

She smiled and nodded as she headed for the toilet while he started the water for the bath. Ten minutes later, they walked into their room and returned to the bed. As soon as they lay down, Artemis pulled Twilight into his hooves and held her tight.

She nuzzled into his chest and closed her eyes. “I love you”

He returned her nuzzle and pulled the blanket over them before closing his eyes as well. “Trust me, I know. I love you, too.”

Sundance and Midnight Armor looked up as Artemis appeared next to them. They stayed where they were, laying on the cloud, and watched as he walked over to nuzzle them. He lay down next to his mother before lighting his horn.

Midnight Armor saw his son’s horn glowing. “Wait, Artemis”

Artemis paused, surprised, as the glow around his horn faded. “Yes, Father? Is something wrong?”

Midnight Armor nodded, clearly upset “How was Twilight feeling when the two of you woke up? I hope she wasn’t in too much pain because of what we did.”

Artemis created a large sphere of dark blue magic and showed his parents how Twilight reacted to waking up.

Sundance winced as Twilight immediately buried her head in a pillow. “She was in a lot of pain.”

Artemis nodded and showed his parents their conversation.

Sundance gasped when she heard what Twilight said about being worried about Artemis. “I was so concerned about making sure she has what it takes to power the Linking Spell that I didn’t think about that! She arrived in your dream to find the pony she loves in shock and unable to move. Of course she was worried!”

Midnight Armor sighed and glanced at his wife. “I was no better. I told her that Artemis’ reaction was normal for what we had discovered, but didn’t tell her what that discovery was. No wonder she was so angry.”

They watched the rest of the memory play, listening as Artemis talked about how, and why, he didn’t think even Cadance and Shining Armor could power the Linking Spell.

Sundance nodded thoughtfully “You’re right, Artemis. If the love between them was strong enough to power the Linking Spell, there’s no way he wouldn’t have noticed that the pony he loves had been replaced. I understand that he was brainwashed, but that’s no excuse.”

Midnight Armor nodded as well “I agree. He must have encountered the disguised changeling queen before the brainwashing started. Even then, he didn’t notice anything different about the mare that was to become his wife. However, I’m surprised that Twilight was somehow able to tell the difference.” He shook his head “I’m starting to wonder if there’s anything that mare can’t do.”

Sundance nodded again “That makes two of us.”

Artemis shrugged “She can’t dance”

His parents stared at him for a moment before they began to laugh. A few minutes later, Sundance managed to respond. “That’s not what we meant and you know it!”

Artemis merely chuckled

Midnight Armor finally calmed down and looked at Artemis, worried. “How is Twilight feeling now?”

Artemis smiled “Her headache is gone, so she’s fine now.”

Sundance suddenly looked worried as well. “She didn’t take medicine, did she?”

Artemis blushed and shook his head “I, um, helped her feel better.”

Sundance looked confused “What do you mean?”

Midnight Armor immediately understood and laughed. “Well done, Son” Seeing that his wife was confused, he whispered something in her ear.

Immediately, her eyes went wide as well before she smiled. “Well done, indeed.”

They both laughed as Artemis turned bright red and ducked his head. A few minutes later, he lit his horn again and brought Celestia and Twilight into his dream.

Celestia looked around for a moment, surprised at the sudden change, before flying over to nuzzle Artemis and their parents. Then she lay down next to their father.

Sundance, Midnight Armor, Celestia and Artemis turned to see that Twilight was standing a short distance away, watching them warily. Sundance and Midnight Armor were about to ask her if something was wrong but, before they got the chance, Celestia turned to them.

“When Twilight and Artemis showed your conversation about the Linking Spell, I was so surprised that I used the Royal Canterlot Voice.” She told their parents quietly “It seems that each of us has nearly deafened her today. I’m not surprised that she’s acting this way.” She turned to Artemis “Does she still have a bad headache?”

Artemis shook his head “I just finished helping her feel better.”

Sundance and Midnight Armor smiled

Celestia stared at him for a minute before she laughed. “That probably worked better than any medicine we could have given her anyway!”

Blushing, Artemis nodded as Twilight flew over and landed next to him. She paused as she saw the look on his face. “Is everything alright?”

Artemis nodded, pulled her down against his side and whispered something in her ear. Immediately, she turned bright red and buried her face into his shoulder.

Everypony else laughed

Celestia decided to start with something neutral. “How was Night Court?”

Twilight raised her head and looked over “What Night Court?”

Artemis laughed as he saw the expression on Celestia’s face. “Twilight didn’t mean it that way, sister. We walked into the throne room to find a single pony waiting for us. Before either of us could say anything, Ice Blossom told us that they were holding all petitions for tomorrow, wished us a good night and walked out.”

Celestia stared at them for a moment before shaking her head. ““What Night Court?” is right.”

Twilight shrugged and turned to Celestia. “At dinner you told me that you were expecting me at the end of Day Court. However, this morning, you didn’t say that you wanted me to come in after class. Did something happen?”

Celestia laughed “The nobles aren’t happy about the change to the courts planned for tomorrow. They spent most of the day whining about the idea as a whole before complaining that the decision was made without consulting them first.”

Artemis snorted and shook his head

Twilight looked at Celestia “They only come to court to see what they can get from you, right? Either that, or they spend hours bragging about some minor thing they’ve done that they think helps somepony. Why do they care that there’s going to be more than one pony present for them to bother?”

Sundance and Midnight Armor laughed “Good question, Twilight!”

Celestia smiled “They think they have power, remember? They believe that all they have to do is put in a petition and we will change the laws.”

Twilight laughed “Have you told them that I denied most of the legal petitions they submitted two weeks ago? Three of them seem valid but need to be researched further before a decision is made. The rest of the petitions were requesting changes to the most obscure laws we have, some decades old. Those petitions were really submitted just so the nobles could take money from the treasury. They know that Artemis hasn’t had time to familiarize himself with all of the legal changes made over the last thousand years and they’re trying to take advantage of it.”

Sundance raised her eyebrows “She caught that and still says that she’s not brilliant?” She whispered to her husband

Midnight Armor shook his head in disbelief, agreeing with his wife, before returning his attention to their children.

Celestia’s smile widened “That’s one of the reasons I was hoping you would come to court after class. Another is that Fire Fly came into court today.”

Artemis raised an eyebrow “I have two questions, sister. First, didn’t his training start today? If so, what was he doing in court? Second, what did he want?”

Celestia nodded “Yes, his refresher course started today. He came in after training was finished, but before court closed for the day. He was worried about his class.”

Twilight looked at her, confused “Why? It’s only been one day. Did I do something wrong already?”

Celestia laughed “It wasn’t you at all, Twilight. He told me that he accidentally gave you the “wrong” lesson plans last week and wanted me to make sure you got the “right” ones.” She shook her head “I was curious, so I made sure to check these plans before I let him leave.”

Artemis, Sundance and Midnight Armor stared

Twilight rolled her eyes “Are these plans any better?”

Celestia nodded “The plans he brought in today are the ones that were approved at the beginning of the school year. It seems that the ones he gave you were created after he decided to teach the foals about the creatures of the Everfree Forest and realized that his original plans didn’t allow enough time for him to tell those stories. He told me that he had planned to teach the foals according to the second set of plans for two or three more months before returning to the original lesson plans.”

Twilight paused “Do you think I should-?”

“No, Twilight” Celestia interrupted, knowing what she was going to ask. “The plans he brought in today were an improvement, but yours are better.”

“But mine aren’t finished!”

“That’s the point.” Celestia replied “Your unfinished plans are better than his finished ones. In fact, I borrowed your lesson plans and showed them to him.”

“W-what?!” Twilight asked, stunned “Why?!”

Midnight Armor laughed “If I know Celestia, it was so she could show him what he should have been teaching his students.”

Smiling, Celestia nodded “I also told him that he didn’t need to worry about that class anymore because you would take care of your students.

Twilight exclaimed “What?!”

Celestia laughed “I told him about the foal’s parents’ reservations about letting him teach their foals again and offered him an option to prove himself. He accepted.”

Twilight looked confused for a moment before she understood. “You mean our plan to have him teach the class of older foals?” She watched as Celestia nodded before her eyes widened “B-but that means-!”

Celestia nodded again “The younger class is yours now.”

“I thought you were going to wait two weeks before making a decision!”

Celestia sighed “That was my plan. However, something happened that I didn’t count on.”

She saw Twilight’s confusion and smiled “After your class ended, the parents brought their foals to see me. They wanted to show me why they believed that you needed to be the one teaching their foals, so they asked the foals to tell us what happened in class today. The foals described how you took the time to get to know them, and what they need to learn, before teaching them about the creatures of the Everfree Forest. To see how much they had learned, I quizzed the foals about those creatures. They got everything correct and weren’t scared at all. In fact, Marigold giggled and said something about a Manticore “purring like a kitty”.”

Sundance stared at Celestia “purring like a kitty”? She glanced at her husband to see that he was just as confused. They both shrugged and looked back at Celestia. I won’t interrupt Celestia’s account of her day. However, I really hope they show us that one because that’s not something you see often. In fact, I’ve never seen that happen.

“The parents were confused until I showed them what you showed us this morning.” Celestia laughed “It’s been awhile since the last time I saw so many jaws drop so quickly. I asked the foals if they had learned anything else.” She smiled at Twilight “They told me that the forest was those creatures’ home and they needed to leave it alone. This confirmed their parent’s suspicions. By the time the unicorn foals told us about the magic test you gave them, and your promise to teach them the basics of magic, the parents had all but made up their minds.”

Sundance smiled and reached over Artemis to nuzzle Twilight, who was staring at Celestia in shock.

Artemis looked at Celestia “Let me guess, that’s when Fire Fly walked in.”

Celestia looked at him, surprised “How did you know?”

Artemis laughed “I didn’t. I said it was a guess, remember?”

Celestia laughed as well “You’re right. After they heard everything that was said, the parents submitted their petition.” She smiled and lit her horn, showing her family a group of fourteen foals that took almost twenty minutes to stop cheering and bouncing all over the place. “In fact, Sapphire Wing had to pull his son out of the wall. Cobalt put more strength than we knew he had into his flying leaps and somehow managed to embed himself into the wall.” She paused and looked at Twilight “You might want to be careful with that one.”

Twilight laughed “I’ve learned a few tricks from dealing with Rainbow Dash, so I should be fine.” She paused and looked off to the side, lost in thought.

Midnight Armor laughed when Twilight muttered something about needing to check Cobalt’s wings for pieces of plaster. “You shouldn’t have to worry about that. If that foal did get something stuck in his wings, I’m sure that his parents have already figured it out and removed it. I know from experience that not doing so can be almost as painful for the parent as it is for the foal.”

Twilight turned to Midnight Armor There has to be a story behind that. “What are you talking about, Dad?”

Midnight Armor shuddered “I still don’t know how he did it, but Artemis got a pebble stuck in one of his wings. He was only five years old at the time but it quickly became obvious that he had mastered the Royal Voice at a much younger age than his sister had. The fact that he wouldn’t hold still didn’t help. As a result, it took me over an hour to find the pebble, let alone remove it.”

“I healed Artemis’ wing and put both of our children to bed. After that, I went looking for Midnight.” Sundance paused and laughed “I found him outside with his head in the coldest part of the lake.”

“I couldn’t help it!” Artemis immediately replied “That really hurt!”

Twilight smirked “If we have a Pegasus, and that ever happens to our foal, you’re dealing with it!”

Artemis looked at her “Twilight?”

Midnight Armor was also confused for a moment before he suddenly understood. With a matching smirk, he turned to his son. “I believe what she means is “It’s your turn”.”

Artemis stared at his father for a moment, still not sure what they meant, before his eyes suddenly widened. “Oh no”

Everypony else laughed

When they calmed down, Sundance turned to Twilight. “We’ve heard about Night Court and Day Court. I believe it’s your turn, Twilight. Why don’t you tell us about your day?”

Twilight nodded and lit her horn, creating a large sphere of magenta magic. Everypony watched a group of foals follow her into her classroom.

“Oh, no you don’t” Celestia said, catching everypony’s attention “You should start at the beginning of your day, Twilight. I’m sure Mother and Father want to see everything you did for those foals.”

Confused, Twilight looked over “That was the beginning of the day.”

Smiling, Artemis asked “Didn’t you do something about your classroom?”

“What else was I supposed to do?” Twilight asked “I wasn’t going to bring fourteen foals into an empty room. Besides, it was just a table and some cushions.” She saw the looks on everypony’s faces, sighed and changed the scene to Artemis, Celestia, Midnight Fang and Steel Night watching Twilight walk into an empty room. Everypony watched as Celestia explained that the desks wouldn’t be available until that evening.

Twilight paused the playback “That reminds me, have the desks arrived?”

Celestia nodded “They’re already in your classroom. However, the ponies that delivered them have little imagination. They placed the desks in three rows of five.” She paused thoughtfully “I should have a chalk board put in there as well.”

Twilight shook her head “The desks won’t stay that way. I like what I did with the cushions. That worked well enough that I’m going to do the same with the desks. As for the chalk board, thanks for the offer, but no thanks.”

Celestia looked confused “Then what will you use to teach the foals?”

“The same thing I used today.” Twilight smiled as Celestia looked even more confused. “Illusions. That’s how I taught them about the creatures of the Everfree Forest. I don’t see why it can’t work for other topics. Besides, we’ll also be using their textbooks and the books from the library.”

Celestia smiled and nodded “If you need anything, let me know.”

Twilight returned her smile and nodded as well before letting the playback continue.

Midnight Armor smiled as he watched Twilight create the table for the foals before summoning a pile of cushions. “That table is a solid illusion, right?”

Twilight nodded “Solid illusions don’t last long, usually no more than a day, but I only needed it for today. The cushions are real, though. I teleported them from a couple of different places in the castle, my old tower and a few of them came from the library.” She paused “I should tell the librarians why some of the reading cushions suddenly vanished. I hope that didn’t cause too many problems.”

Celestia laughed “Rose Petal noticed and came into court to tell me. She thought we had thieves in the castle and couldn’t figure out why they were stealing cushions.” She paused as everypony laughed. “As soon as I explained what happened, she laughed and asked me to tell you that you can keep them in your classroom. I thanked her and told her that I was sure you would be able to find a use for them.”

Twilight smiled and nodded “I know the desks are there now, but that doesn’t mean that we’ll be using them all of the time. Sometimes it’s better to learn while sitting on cushions, instead of at hard desks.”

Celestia smiled “We did that when you first became my student. I remember teaching you on cushions, my bed and in the gardens far more often than in the classroom.”

Twilight smiled and nodded “As I got older, we had many of our lessons in the library as well.”

Artemis laughed “I’m not surprised, though that may be where your love of books came from. If it didn’t start there, those lessons certainly strengthened it.”

Everypony laughed as Twilight blushed.

Twilight glanced at their parents. “Before I forget, I’m sure you’re both curious about the Manticore that was “purring like a kitty”.”

Sundance and Midnight Armor nodded

Twilight changed the scene. “This was when the girls and I were walking through the Everfree Forest, on our way to get the Elements of Harmony so we could face Night-Terror Knight. He sent several challenges that we had to face along the way. This was one of them.”

She showed them how she, Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity, and Pinkie thought it was attacking and tried to fight back. Twilight smiled as Fluttershy stepped forward, found the thorn in its paw and removed it. Everypony watched as the Manticore scooped Fluttershy up in its paws before it began to lick her face and purr.

Sundance stared at the image for a couple of minutes before shaking her head. “I’ve never seen anything like it. That Manticore really is “purring like a kitty”.”

Twilight giggled “Fluttershy goes into the forest a couple of times a month to check on several of the creatures that live there. She always makes time to play with that Manticore. At this point, it’s so friendly that she’s trying to decide what to name it.”

Midnight Armor, Sundance, Celestia and Artemis stared at Twilight. “She plays with it?”

Twilight nodded

Sundance looked worried “Should she be doing something that dangerous? Even if it doesn’t attack her, a Manticore is a rather large creature. She could get hurt.”

Twilight shrugged “Fluttershy is a very careful pony and animals are her specialty. Besides, I played with Cerberus and he’s even bigger.”

Sundance and Midnight Armor's jaws dropped. Celestia and Artemis began to laugh when they saw the expressions on their parents' faces.

Midnight Armor’s eyes were wide as he stared at his youngest in stunned silence. S-she did what?!

“Y-you played with Cerberus?!” Sundance stammered

Twilight nodded again “He left his post and came to Ponyville. We had to get him to leave before he hurt somepony.”

Midnight Armor paused, almost afraid to ask. “W-when did this happen?” Don’t tell me this is something else she did as a unicorn!

Twilight tilted her head “A little over three years ago. Maybe closer to three and a half.”

“B-but that means-” Sundance stammered I don’t believe this!

“Yes, Mother” Celestia managed to say, still laughing “She was a unicorn.”

Noticing their mother’s expression, Artemis laughed harder.

Midnight Armor and Sundance stared at Twilight “What?!”

Twilight shrugged “Fluttershy did the hard part. One minute, Cerberus was eating the buildings and growling at everypony. The next, I heard a thud and looked over to see this.” She showed them an image of Fluttershy hovering above Cerberus, rubbing his belly.

Everypony stared at the image for a moment before turning to Twilight.

Eventually, Sundance asked “H-how did she do that?!”

Twilight giggled “That’s Fluttershy for you. Compared to that, my part was easy.” She showed them an image of her running alongside Cerberus while levitating a ball.

Eyebrow raised, Midnight Armor said “And you did that all the way to the gates of Tartarus.”

Twilight nodded “Once we got there, I threw the ball a few times before leaving it with him. Now he’s got something to play with.”

Midnight Armor nearly choked “I was joking! D-did you really do that?!”

Confused, Twilight nodded again

Sundance shook her head and looked at Celestia. “I know I asked you this already, but clearly I need to ask again. “What in Equestria did you teach this mare?!””

Celestia shook her head as well, eyes wide. “I’m going to tell you the same thing I did before. “I’m not sure but, whatever it was, I’m glad I was able to do it.””

“Huh?” Twilight asked, looking from one to the other

Artemis hugged her “You don’t seem to realize how amazing what you’ve just described is.”

Twilight shook her head “I did what I had to, that’s all.”

They had no response for that, so they just stared at her.

After a few minutes, Twilight looked up at Sundance. “I’m sorry, I never finished telling you how my day went.”

Sundance smiled and shook her head “That’s alright, Twilight. Besides, I’m not sure I can take much more right now.”

Twilight tilted her head “What do you mean, Mom?”

Midnight Armor raised an eyebrow “Night-Terror Knight, Ursa Minor, Cerberus, Discord, Crystal Heart, Star Swirl’s final Spell, Discord’s Vines, Tirek, Night-Terror Knight again and Blaze.”

Celestia noticed how closely Twilight was paying attention as their father listed off her accomplishments. That’s odd. Did I forget something? Or has something happened that I don’t know about?

As Midnight Armor finished his list, Twilight blushed, causing everypony else to laugh.

“Thank goodness Celestia forgot to tell them about what happened with the Alicorn Amulet.” Twilight muttered “Actually, she probably doesn’t know that happened. Still, it may be for the best. I’m not in the mood to explain that one right now.” She knew that she was far enough away from the others, and thought Artemis was too busy laughing, to hear what she said.

He wasn’t

Artemis noticed Twilight muttering to herself and leaned closer to hear what she was saying. Eyes wide, he froze. The Alicorn Amulet?! When did she come into contact with that?!

Twilight felt Artemis freeze Oh no, did he hear me?

Sundance, Midnight Armor and Celestia noticed their expressions and turned to see what was going on.

Artemis turned to Twilight, watching as she slowly faced him.

“You heard what I said?” She asked quietly, freezing as he nodded.

“Twilight,” he asked slowly “do you want to tell us about that?”

She shook her head

“I may not know exactly what happened, but they need to know about this.” He told her, suddenly very serious “At the very least, Celestia needs to know so she can make sure that whatever happened doesn’t happen again.”

Twilight looked down “It won’t. We already took care of it.”

Celestia sighed as she noticed Artemis’ tone of voice. This probably won’t be good news. That tone usually means that something bad, or dangerous, is coming. “Artemis, what are you talking about?”

Artemis glanced at Celestia before returning his gaze to Twilight. “If you don’t tell them what happened, I’ll have to tell them what you just said.”

“Artemis”

Twilight, Artemis and Celestia looked up to see that Sundance had a serious expression on her face.

“Tell us what you’re talking about.” She told him, unintentionally lacing her voice with magic. “If whatever you’re talking about is as dangerous as you’re implying, we all need to know about it.”

Artemis and Celestia shuddered with pain. Mother hasn’t done that in a long time. I don’t think she knows how much it hurts. Twilight froze, staring at Sundance. W-what the-?

Midnight Armor noticed the expressions on the faces of his children. What’s wrong? Oh, she’s doing that again. He turned to his wife. “Sundance” When she didn’t respond, he kissed her. As it broke, he nuzzled her as well. “Honey, calm down. You’re putting magic into your voice.”

When was the last time Midnight called me that? She returned his nuzzle before turning to their children. She noticed that Celestia and Artemis were shuddering, but couldn’t tell if it was with pain or fear. Looking next to Artemis, she saw that Twilight could very easily be mistaken for a statue and was staring at her in shock. Sundance quickly stopped her magic. “I’m sorry.”

Artemis quickly decided that he didn’t want their mother to do that again. Sending Twilight an apologetic glance, he let everypony hear what she had said.

Twilight saw their expressions change and immediately knew what was coming. She quickly surrounded herself with a barrier and attached a soundproofing spell. Even with her soundproofing spell, she heard Celestia, Sundance and Midnight Armor clearly.

“WHAT?!”

She used that thing?! She better have had a very good reason for that! Sundance didn’t know why she immediately jumped to that conclusion, or why it angered her so much, but she was furious. Despite her anger, she laughed when she saw that Twilight had surrounded herself with a barrier and attached a soundproofing spell. “She learns quickly, that’s for sure. Artemis, can you ask her to release her barrier? I promise we won’t use the Royal Voice anymore.”

“He doesn’t need to, Mom. I can hear you.”

Surprised, Sundance looked back at Twilight as she lowered her barrier.

Twilight immediately noticed Sundance’s anger. Why is Mom angry? Oh, I get it. She probably thinks I’m the one who used the amulet. Not wanting Sundance to put magic into her voice again, Twilight quickly spoke up. “Before anypony yells anymore, I want to make something clear.” She waited for them to nod. “I did not use the Alicorn Amulet, I never even touched it.”

Celestia and Artemis smiled I knew it. She’d never use an object like that.

Midnight Armor nodded, smiling as well. That’s good enough for me. Though I wonder how she came across it in the first place.

Sundance sighed in relief, her anger gone. That’s a relief. I don’t want her anywhere near that thing. She looked at Twilight in confusion. If she didn’t use it, somepony must have used it against her. How did she survive that?!

Twilight saw their expressions and sighed. I guess I have to explain it now. “It was used against me. And, yes, I was a unicorn at the time.”

Artemis, Celestia, Sundance and Midnight Armor gasped but waited for her to continue.

“This one’s going to take a while.” She snuggled closer to Artemis’ side before continuing. “A traveling performer, a unicorn named Trixie, came to Ponyville. Her show was mostly about calling ponies onto her stage so she could humiliate them. After she did this to a couple of ponies, Trixie asked me to be her next “volunteer”. I knew I could stop her, but didn’t want to show off, so I refused.”

“At the time, there was also a misunderstanding on my part. I had noticed that the girls didn’t like her shows, so I thought they hated magic. They really didn’t like Trixie’s bragging, but I didn’t know that at the time.”

“Anyway, after hearing Trixie brag about how she had vanquished an Ursa Major, a couple of foals decided that they wanted to see her do it. They went into the Everfree Forest, found the Ursa’s cave and allowed an Ursa Minor to chase them to Ponyville. Trixie tried to get rid of it, but ended up making it angrier.”

“Spike had been trying to convince me to “show up” Trixie because he believed that I was the only one who could shut her up. I didn’t want to do that so, to get him to stop bugging me, I went into the library for some research. I was actually reading about Ursa in general when he came to tell me that what he thought was an Ursa Major was in the center of town. I went to see what the problem was and ended up solving it myself.” She paused “All of you know how I stopped it, so I’m going to skip that part.”

“The reason I finally acted was because I wanted to protect my friends. Unfortunately, Trixie believes that I purposely humiliated her. For some reason, she also thinks I’m her rival now. As a result, she’s constantly trying to prove that she’s stronger, and better at magic, than I am.”

Celestia, Artemis, Midnight Armor and Sundance shook their heads, but didn’t say anything.

Twilight looked at Celestia “Do you remember the day that you brought the representatives from Saddle Arabia to Ponyville and asked me to put on that magic show for them?”

Celestia nodded

“If you had come a few days, or even a few hours, earlier, you would have found a very different Ponyville.” Twilight sighed “Somehow, Trixie had gotten a hold of the Alicorn Amulet. She returned to Ponyville and challenged me to a magic duel.”

Everypony gasped “What?!”

Twilight nodded “At first, I told her no. When she began to attack Ponyville, I changed my mind and accepted. Naturally, I lost. I didn’t recognize the Amulet at the time. Even if I had recognized it, there was no way for me to have beaten it with my magic alone.” Twilight paused as she saw Celestia open her mouth. “You’re probably wondering why I didn’t have Spike send you a letter.”

Celestia nodded

“As soon as the duel was over, Trixie exiled me from Ponyville. Then she put up a shield that kept Spike and the girls inside. I had no way to reach you.”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed while Artemis glared. Sundance and Midnight Armor also looked angry as they listened to what she went through.

“Instead, I went to see Zecora.” Twilight looked at Sundance and Midnight Armor “Zecora is a zebra that lives in the Everfree Forest. Anyway, Zecora agreed to train me so that I could beat, not Trixie, but the amulet. At the same time, the girls were ransacking my library because they were trying to find anything that could help. Eventually, they found a book that had information on the Alicorn Amulet in it, as well as how to defeat it. They managed to smuggle Fluttershy out of the barrier to get me the information. Fluttershy, Zecora and I came up with a plan to get Trixie to take the amulet off. Then we smuggled Fluttershy back into Ponyville so they could get everything ready on their end. After we made our own preparations, Zecora and I went to the barrier. As soon as I touched it, Trixie came running, mainly because she wanted to taunt me. Instead, I challenged her to a rematch.”

Midnight Armor looked at her, confused “If she still had the Alicorn Amulet on, there was no way for a unicorn, no matter how powerful, to defeat her with magic. Why did you challenge her?”

Twilight shook her head “I had no intention of challenging her with magic. Instead, my friends and I worked together to trick her into removing the amulet herself. As soon as Trixie took it off, Rainbow grabbed it and gave it to Zecora. Zecora has it locked up in the Everfree Forest. Not many ponies know where it really is, and even fewer are willing to go into that forest to get it. Yes, we should probably move it to a more secure location. For now, however, it’s safe. More importantly, it can’t be used.”

Midnight Armor sighed in relief Even though she didn’t have her usual resources, she was still able to solve the problem. She also found the best way to secure the Alicorn Amulet that was available to her at the time. Well done, Twilight.

Sundance bowed her head, clearly upset. What was I thinking? I should have known she wouldn’t have used that amulet herself.

Celestia looked at her little sister “Twilight, why didn’t you tell me about this?”

Twilight shrugged “I had planned to talk to you about it. Unfortunately, the next time I saw you was when you brought the delegates to Ponyville. You were focused on them and I still had to perform that magic show you asked me to put on for them. After the show, we did manage to talk a little. You apologized because things were going to get busy for a while and said that you were going to have to postpone my lessons. In fact, I didn’t get to actually talk to you again until a few months later. I remember thinking that I should send you a letter, but you had just finished telling me about how busy you were. The danger had already passed, and the amulet was secured, so I decided not to say anything.”

Celestia looked upset “I’m sorry. That day, I sent you a letter but got no response. I thought that was odd, but just assumed that you were busy preparing for our visit that evening. Before I could consider it further, the delegates approached me to continue our tour of Canterlot before we went to Ponyville. The rest of my day was spent with them.”

Sundance stood and moved to Twilight’s other side before laying down again, nuzzling her to get her attention. “I owe you an apology, Twilight. The reason I was angry was that I thought you had used the Alicorn Amulet.”

Midnight Armor looked at his wife, clearly upset. Sundance, how could you think that?

Celestia and Artemis gasped Mother?!

I knew it. Twilight gave her a sad smile “It’s alright, I understand. That’s a natural conclusion to jump to. You don’t know me very well, so you couldn’t have known that I would never do that.”

Twilight’s response only made Sundance feel worse. Holding back a sob, she pulled Twilight into a tight hug. What’s wrong with me?! She’s given me no reason to doubt her. I certainly had no reason to think that she would use that thing.

Before either of them could say anything else, Artemis and Celestia raised their heads, both saying the same thing. “It’s time”

Artemis turned to their parents “We have to go, but we’ll be back tonight.” He gave his mother a look that clearly said “We’ll talk about this later.”

Sundance nodded “Have a good day.” As soon as their children vanished, she lay her head on her forehooves and closed her eyes.

Midnight Armor stood, walked over to his wife and lay down next to her. Nuzzling her, he watched as she opened her eyes. I’m sure she wants to get some sleep but we need to talk about this first.

“I don’t know” she said quietly

Surprised, he just looked at her “What?”

She laughed, clearly annoyed. It was equally clear that the one she was annoyed at was herself. “You were going to ask why I thought she would use that thing.”

“You’re right, that’s exactly what I was going to ask.” He pulled her close and covered her with a wing before continuing. “Twilight was also right when she said that we don’t know her very well. However, we know her well enough to be sure that she’d never resort to using the Alicorn Amulet. For one thing, she’s an alicorn herself. Yes, she was born a unicorn. However, we’ve heard enough about her, and what she’s done, to know that she was a very powerful one. We also know that, when she needed more power to face an enemy, she had access to something far more powerful that that amulet.”

Sundance shifted so she could look at him. “What are you talking about?”

Midnight Armor smiled “Twilight is the bearer of the Element of Magic, remember? Even as a unicorn, she had access to that power. Whenever she had to face a challenge that she couldn’t overcome on her own, she had her friends and the Elements of Harmony to help her.”

Sundance didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. She just stared at her husband.

“Throughout history, several ponies have used the Alicorn Amulet.” He continued “None of them were evil. However, most of them had similar traits including arrogance, excessive pride and a strong desire for revenge. As far as I know, Twilight possesses none of these traits, even when angered or in battle. Have you noticed that all of her battles were to protect her friends, Artemis, or Equestria? Even the rematch against Trixie was to stop the Alicorn Amulet, not the unicorn that wielded it. If Twilight wanted revenge, she would have taken it as soon as the amulet was removed.”

He shook his head, even more certain. “She’s not the kind of pony that would use the Alicorn Amulet. Besides, if she had used that amulet, she wouldn’t be able to wield the Elements of Harmony right now. Her Element would have rejected her because the Alicorn Amulet corrupts the ponies that use it.” He paused, looking at his wife. “We can see what kind of pony she really is if we examine what she did the first time she used the Elements of Harmony.”

Sundance looked at him for a moment before she gasped. Of course. If she had any of those traits, she wouldn’t have saved Artemis.

He saw her expression, guessed her thoughts and nodded. “She was facing the most evil pony she had ever heard of at the time.” He nuzzled her “I have no idea why she was able to see Artemis’ soul, but the reason doesn’t matter. What matters is that, during that battle, she was given a choice. She could have killed Night-Terror Knight, and Artemis, or sent them both back to the moon. She had no reason to help any part of her enemy, but that’s exactly what she did. Twilight saved our son’s soul.”

He nuzzled his wife again. “I’m not angry at you, Sundance. However, I must ask you to explain yourself. What made you think she would use the Alicorn Amulet?”

Next Chapter: Chapter 45 Estimated time remaining: 25 Hours, 57 Minutes