Midnight Armor felt a shudder go through his wife and looked down to see that she was crying. Sighing, he hugged her tighter.

“How could I have thought she would do such a thing?!” Sundance whispered, burying her face in her husband’s neck. “She’s never shown the sort of corruption that comes from using the amulet, or any corruption at all. Nor has she shown any sign of the traits that we’ve come to expect from those who seek out the Alicorn Amulet. Besides, if she really wanted to, she could have easily used the amulet after they took it from Trixie. The fact that she didn’t speaks volumes for her character.”

“Sundance,” Midnight Armor asked “do you have an answer to my question?”

Sighing, she nuzzled deeper into his neck. “I don’t know. When Artemis let us listen to what she said, I was instantly furious. My first thought was that she better have a very good reason for using that thing.”

“Why were you were so angry?”

Sundance leaned a little further into his side as she thought. “I’m not sure. When she told us that she never even touched the Alicorn Amulet, my anger evaporated. I remember thinking “That’s a relief. I don’t want her anywhere near that thing”.” She paused, surprised “Perhaps that has something to do with it.”

As soon as he heard that, Midnight Armor smiled. That’s the mare I love. “You don’t want her near anything so dangerous.”

She let out another sigh and nodded “That’s still no excuse for thinking that she would use it in the first place. I should have known better.” She closed her eyes and relaxed into her husband’s embrace. I just hope she can forgive me. She snuggled closer to her husband and tried to figure out why the idea of Twilight using the Alicorn Amulet angered her so much.

They lay like that for a long time, Midnight Armor giving his wife the time she needed to think. I’m sure she’ll tell me when she’s ready. A couple of hours later, he heard a soft snore and looked down. He saw that she had fallen asleep and laughed softly as he tightened his wing around her. He lay his head on the cloud and closed his eyes. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep as well.

Meanwhile, Artemis, Celestia and Twilight opened their eyes at the same time.

Celestia glanced outside, watching as the moon sank below the horizon, and shook her head. The sun can wait a minute. She teleported to Artemis’ balcony. Looking into his room, she saw him glance up at her and nod. Returning his nod, she walked inside.

In Artemis’ room, before Celestia arrived, Twilight and Artemis opened their eyes.

Almost immediately, Twilight began to cry. “Is that really what she thinks of me?” She whispered “She thinks I’m the kind of pony who would do something like that?”

Not sure how to respond, Artemis pulled her into a tight hug and lowered the moon before looking up at a flash of golden light. He saw Celestia standing on his balcony and nodded to her.

As she walked into her brother’s room, Celestia lit her horn and raised the sun. Once she was done, she walked to the bed, lay down next to Twilight and nuzzled her.

Twilight felt Celestia’s nuzzle and opened her eyes. She saw white and opened her mouth to ask Sundance what she wanted, but paused as she heard Artemis’ voice.

“I can’t believe Mother thought that.” He shook his head “Do you have any idea why?”

Celestia raised an eyebrow “You’re asking me?”

He gave her a look “You’re the one that can usually tell what she means, sister. Even when she doesn’t want to tell us.”

“That doesn’t mean I can always tell what she’s thinking.” Celestia thought for a moment. “Mother didn’t get angry until you let us listen to what Twilight said. Then she seemed happier after Twilight told us that she didn’t use the Alicorn Amulet herself.” She turned to Twilight. “The first thing you did was tell us that you didn’t use the amulet. Why?”

Twilight laughed softly and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I saw how angry Mom was and guessed that she thought I was the one who used the amulet. I didn’t want her to put magic in her voice again, so I decided to clear that up as quickly as possible.”

Celestia stared at Twilight for a moment before glancing at Artemis. “You thought I was the one who could tell what Mother was thinking? Perhaps we should be asking Twilight instead.”

Twilight shook her head “Both of you know her far better than I do. As for your comment, it wasn’t hard to guess the reason behind her anger. However, I have no idea why she thought I would use that thing.” She sighed “I’m just going to say it’s because she doesn’t know me very well and leave it at that. Otherwise, it’s going to drive me crazy until I figure it out. Besides, it makes sense.”

Artemis looked confused “How so?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow “She met me last week. Both of you have told Mom and Dad several things about me, but that doesn’t mean either of them actually know me. They can only really get to know me by spending time with me. Until that happens, things like this are probably going to keep happening.” She shook her head and sat up. “I’m hungry. Can we go get some breakfast?”

Wide eyed, Celestia and Artemis nodded before the three of them stood and headed for the dining room. Once there, Apple Crunch served waffles with maple syrup, blueberry muffins and orange juice.

Twilight looked next to the dining room table and saw the picnic table. It was small and obviously meant for foals. “I guess the foals and I will be eating lunch in here today. Is noon alright?”

Artemis and Celestia laughed and nodded before the three of them turned their attention to their breakfast.

After they finished, Artemis and Celestia headed for the throne room while Twilight headed for her classroom.

Twilight found fourteen foals and their parents waiting for her in the hall, just outside her classroom. “Good Morning”

The foals and parents responded with “Good Morning, Princess Twilight”.

She saw their smiles and shook her head. “I already know what you did yesterday after class.” Seeing the parents’ shocked expressions, she smiled. “Celestia showed me what happened in the throne room. While I wish you would have waited, I understand your desire to make sure your foals are learning from a good teacher.”

Before any of them could respond, everypony heard a whine and turned to find Cobalt squirming as he stood next to his father. “Daddy!” he whined “It hurts!”

Sapphire Wing sighed “For the last time, Cobalt, there’s nothing in your wing. Your mother and I removed everything last night.”

“Is it alright if I try something?”

Everypony turned to see Twilight standing in front of Cobalt.

Sapphire Wing nodded “Of course, princess”

Twilight lit her horn and gently spread Cobalt’s wings before surrounding both with her magic. Everypony looked on as she closed her eyes and focused. After a couple of minutes, she pulled a small piece of plaster from his right wing and sent a healing spell through that wing.

“That feels good!” He exclaimed, jumping forward to nuzzle her. “Thank you, princess!”

Twilight smiled and returned his nuzzle. “You’re welcome, Cobalt. I thought that might be the problem.” She looked up to see that Sapphire Wing was staring at her in shock.

“I-I thought we got everything out last night!” he stammered

Still smiling, Twilight shook her head. “It was deep in between his feathers and tucked into the bend in his wing, making it easy to miss and hard for somepony to remove without magic.”

Sapphire Wing stared “How did you know what to look for, princess?”

“After Celestia showed me what happened yesterday, I thought it would be a good idea for me to check his wings. I mean no disrespect towards you or your wife, but I know from experience that it can be easy to miss things in your wings if you rely on sight alone.” She laughed when she saw his stunned expression. “I didn’t always have wings, you know. What most pegasi learn as foals, I had to learn three years ago.”

“Thank you for helping my son, Princess Twilight.” Sapphire Wing bowed to her before turning to his son. “I’m sorry, Cobalt. Your mother and I thought we had gotten everything out of your wings.”

Cobalt nuzzled his father “It’s OK, Daddy! My wing doesn’t hurt anymore!”

Twilight looked around at the foals. “Cobalt, Cloud Night, Dazzle, Ruby, Marigold, Moondust, Buttons, Ivory Spirit, Crystal, Thunder Spark, Sunshine, Winter Night, Lightning Sky and Astral Flash. Good, everypony’s here.”

Mythic Blossom blinked “Princess, you already know their names?”

Twilight blinked as well and looked at her. “Yes. Why wouldn’t I?” Mythic Blossom stared for a moment before Twilight continued. “It’s time for class to start. Please return at five to pick them up.”

“Yes, Princess” the parents replied, still in varying degrees of shock.

The foals followed Twilight into her classroom and she closed the door behind them.

The parents looked at each other for a moment before heading for the throne room.

Sapphire Wing led the way I’m definitely telling Princess Celestia about this. I can’t believe Cobalt was in pain all night because we missed a piece of plaster! Thank goodness, Princess Twilight thought to look herself.

The parents arrived in the throne room five minutes before court started. Not wasting any time, they approached the throne.

Celestia and Artemis looked up as a group of ponies approached the throne. They had planned to enjoy a few minutes of peace and quiet before court and were going to ask these ponies to return once court started. Celestia paused as she recognized these ponies as the parents of the foals in Twilight’s class. “Good Morning, my little ponies. Is something wrong?”

“Just the opposite, Princess Celestia” Sapphire Wing replied, with a large smile. “We just dropped our foals off with Princess Twilight. One of the first things she did was find a piece of plaster in my son’s wing that his mother and I missed.”

Celestia’s eyes widened while Artemis gasped.

Sapphire Wing saw this and nodded “He’d been complaining all night, but neither my wife nor I could find anything else in his wings. However, when he complained a few minutes ago, Princess Twilight searched his wings with her magic and found this.” He showed Celestia and Artemis the small piece of plaster Twilight found in Cobalt’s wing. “Apparently, it was in the bend of his right wing, right up against the bridge and deep in between the feathers.”

Celestia winced while Artemis shuddered and twitched his wings. “That’s a rather sensitive part of the wing. Would you like me to send a doctor to look at Cobalt’s wing?”

Sapphire Wing smiled “I appreciate the offer, but that’s not necessary. Princess Twilight healed his wing herself.”

Celestia smiled

Artemis shook his head, smiling as well. Of course, she did.

Before Artemis or Celestia could say anything. Sapphire Wing spoke up. “As I said, princess, there’s nothing wrong. I just wanted you to know what happened.”

Mythic Blossom nodded “Princess Twilight continues to prove us right and this is only the second day. I can’t wait to see what else she does with, and for, our foals.”

The rest of the parents nodded as the throne room began to fill with ponies.

Celestia raised her voice “Good Morning, my little ponies.”

“Good Morning, Princess Celestia and Prince Artemis”

Celestia and Artemis glanced at each other and nodded. “Court is officially open”

Off to the side of the throne room, stood a group of nobles. They were huddled around Golden Flash.

“Do you remember the plan?” he asked them

They nodded before an earth pony mare responded. “We must get the courts separated again. How else are we to get Prince Artemis to approve our petitions?”

Golden Flash nodded and stepped forward “Good Morning, your highnesses. After speaking with Arctic breeze and Ice Blossom, I learned that a large number of petitions have been submitted for approval. Perhaps it would be a good idea for Prince Artemis to review them while Princess Celestia handles court.”

Artemis raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Not many ponies, aside from Blueblood’s group came to my Night court, so I’m still new to dealing with the nobles in the modern era. This is clearly another one of their games, but I’m not sure that they’re after. For now, I think its best if I just listen and see how Celestia handles it.

Celestia raised an eyebrow as well “What makes you say that, Golden Flash?”

Artemis blinked and glanced at his sister. That’s Golden Flash? I’ve seen his name on several of the petitions brought into my court, but had never laid eyes on the pony. He must be the type to have his servants do his work for him.

Celestia glanced at her brother and whispered “Let me”. Returning her attention to Golden Flash, she noticed him whispering to a couple of nobles and cleared her throat. After they looked at her, she asked “Is there a reason you ask for this?”

Golden Flash nodded “I am aware of the fact that a number of those petitions are important. Additionally, many ponies present are here to see you. Therefore, it may prove beneficial for everypony involved if you split the work between the two of you, princess.”

One of the ponies, not in the crowd of nobles, stepped forward. “I don’t know about any petitions, but I’m here to see Prince Artemis.”

Close to a third of the room nodded, causing Artemis’ eyes to widen. What?

The pony, a Pegasus mare, turned to Artemis and continued. “My name is Starlit Daisy and I’m a traveling astronomer. The astronomical center I used to work at was destroyed when Tirek went on his rampage. Unfortunately, the damage was so extensive that we were unable to rebuild it. Ever since, I’ve been travelling around Equestria, looking for another to join. I heard that one was opening here. Unfortunately, I can’t find it. I asked around but nopony could, or would, tell me about it. So, I decided to ask the Prince of the Night himself.”

Golden Flash opened his mouth, about to tell her that no such thing was happening. However, he stopped when Artemis cleared his throat. Surprised, Golden Flash and Starlit Daisy looked at him.

Celestia smiled slightly as she noticed this. This is a good opportunity for ponies to see Artemis at work.

“It’s nice to meet you, Starlit Daisy.” Artemis began “You heard correctly, an astronomical center is currently being prepared. I will be opening it to the public tomorrow night.” He smiled as her eyes lit up. “I’m sorry to hear about the one that was destroyed. However, you’re welcome to join this one. If that’s what you would like to do, I suggest you speak to Sky Chaser.”

Starlit Daisy gasped “Sky Chaser is here?”

Artemis nodded “He came to my court last week and asked me if I’d be willing to open the new astronomical center to the public. He also told me that he is the president of Equestria’s Astronomical Society.”

Starlit Daisy grinned “He finally made it!”

Artemis stared at her, thoroughly confused. What’s she talking about?

Starlit Daisy saw Artemis’ confusion “I’m sorry, Prince Artemis. I’ve known Sky Chaser for years. In fact, he used to work at the same astronomical center that I did. One thing that bothered both of us, and the rest of our co-workers, was that there was no national society for everypony in Equestria. Sky Chaser always swore that he’d create the first one.”

Artemis laughed “In that case, yes, he finally made it.”

Most of the ponies in the throne room laughed as well.

The nobles, however, were getting increasingly irritated. “Now that that’s been cleared up,” Golden Flash started “I’d like to return everypony’s attention to the petitions.”

Artemis was the only one able to tell that Celestia narrowed her eyes before she spoke. “My brother and I will handle court together and go over the petitions this afternoon, after court. If there are too many to review today, we’ll take care of the rest after court tomorrow. Rest assured, your petitions will be addressed.”

Golden Flash, and the rest of the nobility, immediately began to voice complaints. Unfortunately, they were all speaking at the same time. This made it impossible for anypony to tell what they were actually saying.

Artemis took a deep breath, but was stopped by a nudge from Celestia’s wing. He glanced at her as she shook her head. “We don’t do it that way anymore.” She said quietly “I’m sure they’ll tire themselves out soon enough or they’ll realize that we can’t tell what they’re saying. Either way, they’ll quiet down because, as far as they’re concerned, having me listen to them is more important than any grievance they might have. Then we’ll have a chance to speak.”

The nobles did realize that their message wasn’t getting across. Unfortunately for Artemis and Celestia, and everypony else, this didn’t quiet them down. Instead, they got even louder as they attempted to make themselves heard. This continued, and they got progressively louder, for the next fifteen minutes. That was enough time for Celestia to consider giving Artemis’ idea a try.

Nopony noticed that a trio of ponies had walked into the room and stopped in the doorway, looking around. That changed when one of them spoke.

In her classroom, as Celestia and Artemis were starting court, Twilight asked the foals, Steel Night and Midnight Fang to wait by the door and lit her horn. The foals stared in wonder as the desks all rose into the air. One of them was set in a corner, while the rest were arranged in a half circle and set on the floor.

Twilight opened her eyes and walked to the center of the room. “We won’t be using them all of the time, but we’re using the desks today. Come forward and take a seat. Oh, and these are not permanent seating arrangements.”

The foals walked forward and sat down. Because the desks were arranged in a half circle, there was no fighting over who got to sit in the front.

Twilight summoned a stack of standard math worksheets. “If what I heard about the level you’re at in math is true, none of you will have any trouble with the problems on this worksheet. However, the information I’ve received about what you already know is a little confusing so I’m going to use another method to figure that out for myself. This week, your lessons will likely be a little too easy for you.” She paused as she saw a hoof go up. “Yes, Marigold?”

Marigold blushed “Mr. Fly stopped teaching us about . . .” She stopped, apparently too embarrassed to continue.

Twilight walked forward and nuzzled her. “If you’re trying to tell me that he stopped teaching you about history and working on your reading, I already know that.” She paused as all of her new students sighed in relief. “That’s why I’m teaching you this way for this week. I need to find out exactly what he’s been teaching you and where he stopped in all of your subjects. Once I know that, I’ll be able to come up with better lessons for you and start teaching those next week. It might be a little too easy or confusing until then. If I get to something you don’t understand, I need you to tell me, alright? I promise, I won’t get mad. That just means that it’s something I need to teach you.”

They all nodded “Yes, princess”

Twilight smiled and distributed the worksheets. She heard a noise and paused, glancing towards the door. “That can’t be from the library. Court must be louder than usual today.” She shrugged and turned back to her students to see that they were pulling pencils from their saddlebags and getting to work.

After the last foal finished the worksheet, Twilight collected them and distributed the next. “There are four math worksheets for today. Do your best, but it’s alright if you don’t understand something.”

The foals nodded, but didn’t say anything.

The foals were working on their third math worksheet while Twilight listened as the noise from court kept getting louder. “That’s enough.” She muttered before turning to her guards. “Midnight Fang, please go to the library and ask Rose Petal to come in here. If she’s not on duty, just ask any attending librarian.”

Midnight Fang bowed and left the room. A few minutes later, he returned with Rose Petal.

Twilight smiled as she saw the look on Rose Petal’s face. “Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble. I assume you can hear the noise?”

Rose Petal sighed in relief and nodded

Twilight nodded as well “I’m going to see what the problem is and ask them to, at the very least, tone it down. I can’t leave my students unattended and refuse to bring them into court, especially if it’s in that kind of chaos. Instead, I would like you to watch them until I return.”

Rose Petal smiled “For a moment there, princess, I thought you were going to ask me to go to court and tell them to be quiet.” She shook her head “I mean no disrespect, princess, but I’d far rather you do that than me. I’ll watch your class. Is there anything they need to be doing?”

Twilight laughed “I wouldn’t make you do that. As for your question, they have one more math worksheet to do. After that, if I’m not back, please have them begin the science worksheets.” She summoned four stacks and placed them on the unused desk. “I’m trying to find out what they already know so I can figure out what I need to teach them. It may be tedious, but this seems like the best method to do it.”

Rose Petal nodded “Unfortunately, you’re right about that, princess. I’ll see to it that what you’ve asked is done.”

Twilight smiled “Thank you. Steel Night and Midnight Fang, please come with me.”

They both nodded and followed her out of the room. The three of them headed for the throne room. Once there, they stopped in the doorway and looked around.

“What a mess.” Twilight commented. Glancing at her guards, she quietly said “You might want to cover your ears.”

They had been serving Artemis long enough that both of them immediately understood what she was going to do and pinned their ears to their heads as she opened her mouth.

“Silence!”

Surprised, Celestia glanced at Artemis “Did we let it get that loud?” she whispered

Artemis quietly replied “Apparently”

Golden Flash asked “When did Princess Twilight get here? More importantly, what’s she doing here?”

Twilight heard this and looked at Golden Flash. “If you mean the throne room, I got here a couple of minutes ago. As for why I’m here, I was trying to work but couldn’t focus because I could hear ponies shouting from halfway across the castle.” She gave him a look. “This better be important, Golden Flash. I have foals to teach.”

The parents of her students, still standing near the throne, smiled.

Foals to teach? Ah yes, I recall hearing that she’s teaching Fire Fly’s class while Princess Celestia is sending him through training for something. Golden Flash decided to use this as an opportunity. “My apologies for interrupting you, princess. I didn’t realize we were being that loud. However, since you’re here, I’d like to get bring up something that’s troubling the members of the nobility. Perhaps you can convince Princess Celestia and Prince Artemis to return to their separate courts.”

Twilight laughed, as did Artemis and Celestia “I’ll do no such thing.”

Golden Flash looked confused “Why not, princess?”

Twilight smiled “Celestia and Artemis agreed to it, but combining their courts was my idea.”

Every member of the nobility in the throne room shouted “WHAT?!”

Twilight noticed their anger and decided to explain. “For one thing, it’s better if they work together. This is especially true if they are presented with a difficult petition or a lot of petitioners at once.”

“Second, there’s what happened two weeks ago. If I understand correctly, that was only possible because Blueblood was able to keep Celestia buried in paperwork. It’s harder for such a plan to work with court structured as it is now.”

Celestia did say she wanted me be the one to tell them about this. “Third, I know that many in the nobility are trying to take advantage of Artemis’ fairly recent return.” She watched as all of the nobles widened their eyes. “When the three of us held a joint court, I was the one who went through the petitions that were submitted. All of them had been sent to Artemis’ court. Three of those petitions have been set aside for further research before a decision is made. As for the rest, I’ve denied them all.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Before any of you complain, know that I’m aware of your plan to have Artemis authorize amendments to some of our laws that would allow you to steal money from the Royal Treasury. You have been sending your petitions to Night Court because you know that he hasn’t had enough time to familiarize himself with a thousand years of legal changes. That being the case, it would be easy for you to get him to authorize something unneeded or potentially illegal. With Celestia and Artemis working together, it’s much harder for your plan to work.”

“P-princess!” Golden Flash stuttered, staring at her in shock. How did she figure out our plan?!

Twilight ignored him and continued “There is a fourth reason I suggested that they combine their courts. This reason is much more personal. If we kept things as they were, I would only be able to see Artemis for breakfast and dinner.”

Golden Flash raised an eyebrow “What are you talking about, princess?”

Twilight raised her eyebrow as well “Are you aware of what happened during court on Friday?”

Golden Flash nodded “What does that have to do with combining the courts, princess?”

“Clearly you don’t understand.” Twilight sighed “Let’s try it another way. I know you’re married, Golden Flash, but do you have any foals?”

Golden Flash smiled “Of course, princess. I have three strapping colts and a beautiful little filly.”

Twilight nodded “When your wife was pregnant, would she have accepted only being able to see you during two meals a day?”

Golden Flash visibly shuddered as he imagined his wife’s reaction. “N-no, princess. There’s no way she would have tolerated that.”

“Why do you expect me to?” Twilight asked

“What?” Golden Flash asked, surprised

At that, Twilight lost her temper. He just doesn’t get it! Fine. Let’s try it this way. “I’m pregnant. Artemis is the father. The schedule for separate courts meant that I could only see him during breakfast and dinner. I won’t tolerate that.” She glared at the nobles “Any questions?”

Eyes wide, the nobles shook their heads. “N-no, Princess Twilight”

Twilight noticed a movement at the other end of the room and looked up to see Celestia and Artemis walking towards her. “I’m sorry, Celestia and Artemis. I didn’t mean to take over court. It’s just that they were making so much noise that I-”

By this point, Artemis and Celestia were standing in front of her. Celestia nodded to Artemis. He shut Twilight up by kissing her. Everypony in the throne room smiled.

“Its fine, Twilight” Celestia told her “In fact, I was going to thank you. They were being very loud and I was too polite to raise my voice. Artemis wanted to raise his, something I should have immediately allowed him to do, but I stopped him.”

Artemis nuzzled her “Besides, you did a better job explaining it than I would have.”

Celestia nuzzled her as well. “Yesterday, I told you that I wanted you here to explain what you decided to do with the petitions. You handled that nicely.” She paused and laughed “As for court, I think these ponies understand the fourth reason better.”

“What?” Twilight asked

Celestia smiled “If I had gone with my original plan and just used the first three reasons, they would have fought it. However, your fourth reason, which you explained perfectly, is easily understood by everypony.” She laughed at Twilight’s confused expression. “When a pregnant mare wants something, and it has to do with her family, she’s going to get it.”

Everypony laughed as Twilight blushed

Celestia continued “You can head back to your class now. I’m sorry it got so loud, but we won’t let it happen again.”

Artemis nuzzled Twilight again “We’ll see you for lunch.”

Twilight nodded as she, Midnight Fang and Steel Night turned towards the door. As they left, Twilight heard Celestia’s voice “We’re going to talk about your plan to trick my brother into allowing you to steal money from the Royal Treasury.”

Twilight smiled I’m almost sorry that I won’t be here to hear that part. I’m sure I’ll hear about it tonight when she shows Mom and Dad. She paused I still have to figure out how I’m going to respond to the way Mom thought I used the Alicorn Amulet. I’m sure Dad, Artemis and Celestia also want to talk to her about that. In fact, I bet Dad’s doing that right now. I think I should talk to Mom about this before I make my decision. Her mind made up, Twilight turned her attention to the rest of her day.

A few minutes later, Twilight, Steel Night and Midnight Fang walked back into her classroom. The foals all looked up at them and smiled before turning back to their worksheets.

Steel Night and Midnight Fang stood near the door while Twilight walked up to Rose Petal. “How were they?”

Rose Petal smiled “No problem at all, princess. They’re working on their fourth science worksheet.”

Twilight smiled as well “Good. Thank you, Rose Petal.”

Rose Petal bowed “Of course, princess.” She paused “I noticed that it’s much quieter now. If I may ask, what was the problem?”

Twilight laughed “The nobles were complaining about Celestia and Artemis combining their courts. Then they thought they could get me to convince Artemis and Celestia to return things to separate courts.”

Rose Petal raised both eyebrows “I take it that didn’t work?”

Twilight shook her head “Of course not. Mainly because combining the courts was my idea. I gave them four reasons for my suggestion. According to Celestia, it’s the fourth reason that they finally understood and won’t argue with.”

Rose Petal tilted her head “Would you mind if I asked what that reason is, princess?”

Twilight smiled “Not at all. I’ll tell you exactly what I told them. “I’m pregnant. Artemis is the father. The schedule for separate courts meant that I could only see him during breakfast and dinner. I won’t tolerate that.””

Rose Petal immediately gave her a hug.

Surprised, Twilight hugged her back. “Not that I mind, but what was that for?”

Rose Petal blushed “I heard that you were pregnant, princess, but the pony that told me insisted that it wasn’t true.”

Twilight laughed “Yes, it’s true. As is the part about Artemis being the father. If my calculations are correct, our foal should be born roughly a month and a half after the next Nightmare Night.”

Rose Petal smiled “Congratulations!”

This time, it was Twilight who blushed “Thank you. Anyway, before you head back to the library, I’d like to talk to you about a couple of things.”

Rose Petal nodded “Of course, princess”

Twilight smiled “The foals in this class need library cards because I intend to use the castle library to work on their reading. Additionally, I’m going to bring them to the library this afternoon. I want to see what level they’re reading at and the best way to do that is to have them read. We’ll likely be in the foal’s section of the library for at least an hour. Would you please tell the librarians about this?”

Rose Petal nodded again “Of course, princess. I’ll let them know right away.”

“Thank you” Twilight replied as Rose Petal walked out the door and closed it behind her. Twilight turned her attention to her students and noticed that they were all looking at her. Smiling, she said “Thank you for waiting patiently. Has everypony finished?”

The foals all nodded

Twilight gathered the worksheets and teleported all of them to Artemis’ desk. I need to ask Celestia if I can have a desk of my own put in here. I don’t want to keep using Artemis’, he may need to use it for something.

Twilight was broken from her thoughts as she heard several stomachs growl at once. Laughing, she glanced at the clock above the door. “It’s almost time for lunch. In fact, lunch will probably be ready by the time we get to the dining room.”

The foals cheered and headed for the door.

Twilight smiled and headed for the dining room, with everypony following her.

Twilight, Steel Night, Midnight Fang and the foals entered the dining room to find Celestia and Artemis waiting for them.

The foals squealed in delight and crowded around Celestia and Artemis. “We really get to eat lunch with you? Ooh, what about recess, are you really going to play with us?”

Celestia laughed “Yes, my little ponies”

Artemis laughed as he listened to several stomachs growl “Speaking of lunch, I believe it’s time to eat. Why don’t we all sit down?”

The foals looked around for a moment before Cobalt spotted the picnic table. “Is that for us, Princess Twilight?”

Twilight laughed as she, Artemis and Celestia sat down at the bigger table. “Yes. The table that Celestia, Artemis and I eat at is too big for you. So Celestia asked a few ponies to make that one especially for the fourteen of you. Have a seat so we can eat.”

Twilight looked at her guards. “Steel Night and Midnight Fang, this is your lunch break as well. Each weekday, you will have two choices. Eat with us or leave for an hour and return at one. You needn’t worry about my safety for this hour because I’ll be with Artemis and Celestia.”

Steel Night bowed “Cherry Blossom has asked that I return home for meals when possible, my princess.”

Twilight nodded “Enjoy your lunch and I’ll see you at one.”

Steel Night bowed again and walked out of the room.

Midnight Fang bowed “I’d prefer to eat here, my princess. My family lives several hours away, so there’s no way that I could see them and be back in time.”

Twilight nodded again “Then come sit down. I won’t have you going hungry.”

Midnight Fang bowed again and moved to a seat not far from Artemis. I don’t want to cause any misunderstandings by sitting too close to Princess Twilight. It’s safer to sit near Prince Artemis because I’m not as likely to anger anypony that way.

Everypony looked up as Apple Crunch walked into the room, followed by half a dozen other chefs. Everypony was served a small salad as an appetizer. After everypony had eaten their salads, they were served lettuce, tomato and cucumber sandwiches and individual servings of fruit salad. Once those were gone, everypony got a small slice of yellow cake and a glass of milk.

When everypony had finished eating, Celestia smiled at Twilight. “Where did you plan to take them for recess?”

Twilight returned her smile “The garden behind the castle.”

Artemis smiled as well “That’s a good idea. The further we can get from the nobles for a while, the happier I’ll be. Let’s go.”

They walked out of the dining room to find Golden Flash waiting for them in the hallway. “Prince Artemis, I-” He suddenly cut himself off as he found himself on the receiving end of glares from Artemis and Twilight.

“Didn’t I make myself clear?” Twilight asked

Before Golden Flash could say anything, Artemis continued. “The meaning behind Twilight’s words was that she wants to spend as much time with me as possible. You clearly didn’t understand that, so I’ll make this as simple as possible. Mealtimes, and any other time outside of work, are for family and those we allow to accompany us. You don’t fall into either category, so you can wait for court to resume at one.”

Without waiting for a response, Celestia, Artemis, Twilight and the foals walked past Golden Flash, heading for the gardens.

Celestia paused as she heard Sapphire Wing’s voice. Curious, she turned to observe them, making sure that neither of them saw her.

“There you are, Golden Flash. You’re not authorized to be in this part of the castle. Please tell me that you didn’t interrupt the prince and princesses as they were eating their meal.”

“Of course not!” Golden Flash scoffed “I waited in the hall for them to finish and tried to approach Prince Artemis as they left.”

Sapphire Wing narrowed his eyes “The prince and princesses are on their lunch break. Like most ponies, they do other things than just eat. Dealing with situations like the one you caused this morning has undoubtedly stressed them out. If I had to guess, I’d say that Princess Celestia just wants to spend time with her younger brother and sister. Prince Artemis isn’t usually awake during the day so he probably wants to rest. I’m sure he also wants to spend time with his sister and Princess Twilight, the mare that is carrying his foal and will soon be his wife. Princess Twilight clearly wants to spend time with her older sister and the stallion she loves. They’re allowing the foals she teaches to join them because, if I understand correctly, there are things that Princess Twilight plans to teach those foals, even as they play.”

Not giving Golden Flash a chance to respond, Sapphire Wing escorted him down the hall. “You can wait in the throne room. Starting tomorrow, you’ll have to leave the castle during the lunch break. As the Captain of Princess Celestia’s Royal Guard, I have the authority to demand that. If you require further authority, I’m certain that Princess Celestia and Prince Artemis will have no problem authorizing it for me.”

Celestia smiled I know you asked for a week-long vacation for Hearth’s Warming, Sapphire Wing, but you’ve just earned a two week vacation instead. She hurried to catch up with her little brother and sister. She found them, and the foals, in the garden.

Twilight looked up “If it’s alright with you two, I’d like your help with the first part.” Celestia and Artemis smiled, nodded and allowed her to continue. “Artemis, you take the earth ponies and Celestia, you take the pegasi. I’ll take the unicorns. After fifteen minutes, we’ll all get back together and play a game. Every day, the three of us will switch groups so that the foals get to spend time with, and receive help from, all three of us.”

Celestia nodded “That’s a good idea, Twilight.”

Artemis nuzzled her “What were you thinking of playing today?”

Twilight returned his nuzzle “We played hide and seek yesterday, so I was thinking of playing tag today.”

The foals began to jump up and down. “Yay!”

Twilight turned to the foals “Cobalt, Cloud Night, Dazzle and Ruby. You’re with Celestia today. Marigold, Moondust, Buttons, Ivory Spirit and Chrystal. You’re with Artemis. Thunder Spark, Sunshine, Winter Night, Lightning Sky and Astral Flash. You’re with me.”

The foals split into their assigned groups and moved to stand in front of the appropriate alicorn.

Celestia spread her wings and took to the air, the pegasi foals following suit. She began a gentle game of midair tag while making the foals weave around the clouds to work on their maneuverability.

Artemis moved to an open part of the garden and created a track on the ground. There were objects that had to be jumped over and others that had to be ducked under. He showed the foals how it worked and asked them to run through the course one at a time.

Twilight lay down where she was and pulled several small rocks over to her. Each foal was given two of them and asked to levitate them both at the same time. None of them could do it at first but she patiently explained how it worked. Soon, all five of the unicorns were levitating three rocks each.

“Well done, everypony!” She said “Now we’re going to work on your control.” She levitated three rocks of her own and moved them around as if they were riding a roller coaster. “With enough practice, you’ll be able to do this too. You can practice with whatever you have around you rocks, toys, stuffed animals, leaves or feathers.” Suddenly, thirty more rocks rose into the air around her before joining the first three on the invisible roller coaster. “Eventually, you will be able to do this as well. Right now, you just need to work on your control. Step one is a circle.”

The foals stumbled a little but eventually got the hang of it. At the end of the fifteen minutes, Celestia and Artemis walked over with their groups. They watched as the five unicorn foals sent their rocks around the garden in a big circle.

“That’s very good, my little ponies.” Celestia told the foals before turning to Twilight “How many of them could do that fifteen minutes ago?”

Twilight was paying close attention to the flow of magic in each unicorn. Not looking up, she answered “None of them could levitate two rocks at the same time.”

Celestia smiled I thought so.

Artemis looked up at the rocks and noted which ones were surrounded with the magic of which unicorn. “Unless my eyes deceive me, they’re each levitating three right now.”

“That’s right” Twilight responded, eyes still on the unicorns

Artemis and Celestia exchanged glances and smiled

“Alright, that’s enough. You can stop now.” Twilight said

Thunder Spark, Sunshine, Winter Night, Lightning Sky and Astral Flash immediately lowered their rocks to the ground and looked at Twilight, not even breathing hard.

Twilight smiled at them “I want you to practice this tonight, but only for fifteen minutes. Make sure you have your parents time you. You’re still learning so, while you need to practice, you also need to rest. Otherwise you’ll overuse your magic. Trust me, you don’t want to do that because it really hurts.”

“Yes, princess” they replied

Twilight nodded and looked around at all of the foals. “Good. Now who’s ready to play tag?”

The air was suddenly full of shouts of “Me!” and “I wanna play!”

“This is a ground game and don’t leave the garden.” Twilight waited for all of the foals to nod before she gently bopped Ivory Spirit on the nose. “You’re it!”

The foals squealed and took off running in every direction.

Twilight looked up as Artemis lay down next to her. Smiling, she leaned into his side and sighed in pleasure as he spread a wing over her.

Celestia lay on Twilight’s other side and nuzzled both of her siblings before turning her attention to the game. When a couple of foals started to get a little too rough, she called out for them to stop. Otherwise, Celestia, Artemis and Twilight just watched them play.

After each foal had been “it” at least once, Twilight sighed regretfully and stood. “I guess we’d better get back to class. I’ll see you a little after five.” She paused and turned to Celestia “Oh yeah, I thought of something I need in my classroom. A desk. Right now, I’m teleporting the papers I need to grade to Artemis’ desk but it’d be better if I had my own.”

Artemis kissed her “I don’t mind. You can use mine as long as you need to.”

Twilight returned his kiss “What if you need to use it and can’t because it’s covered with things for my class?”

Celestia laughed “Don’t worry, Twilight, I’ll have one made for you. It may take about a week, so you’ll just have to share yours until then, Artemis.”

Artemis stuck his tongue out at his sister. “I said I don’t mind, sister. So that’s not a problem.”

Celestia nudged her brother with a wing.

The alicorns paused as they heard laughter and turned to see that the foals were watching them. As one, the foals stuck their tongues out at Artemis and giggled when he returned the gesture.

Twilight lit her horn but paused, looking at Celestia “Are you expecting me in court after class? If not, I’ll be in Artemis’-”

“Our” he corrected

“room, grading papers.” Twilight finished, nuzzling him

Celestia laughed “Not this time, Twilight. You took care of what I wanted you to tell the nobles earlier. One of us will come get you for dinner.”

Twilight nodded and teleported herself and her class to her classroom.

Celestia and Artemis stood and walked back to the throne room.

Twilight found Midnight Fang and Steel Night waiting for them in her classroom. The foals walked to their desks and sat down, looking at Twilight.

Twilight smiled “There are four history worksheets. I understand that Fire Fly hasn’t been working with you on history, so it’s alright if you don’t know the answers. I just need to know what you already know so I can focus on what you need to learn.”

“Yes, princess” the foals replied.

It took the foals much longer to work through these worksheets and, when she looked at the completed ones, Twilight noticed many blank and wrong answers. This worksheet was for foals four months into the year. The fact that they don’t know the answers to these questions means that Fire Fly must have started telling those stories a couple of months into the school year. While they know some of the major events, I don’t see any dates.

She collected the second set of worksheets and noticed the same results. Sighing, she looked at her students. “Instead of giving you any more worksheets, I’m going to try something different. Do any of you know what month it was the last time you learned history in class?”

Ruby raised her hoof.

Twilight looked at her “Yes, Ruby?”

Ruby blushed “It was right after Nightmare Night, princess.”

At that, Twilight raised both eyebrows. What?!

“Yeah” Lightning Sky added “That next Wednesday. I remember because it was my birthday! I thought he was telling the story as a birthday present.”

Steel Night’s eyes widened “Really?” He whispered to Midnight Fang

Midnight Fang shook his head “That’s no way to teach foals.”

“So that’s one and a half months into the school year.” Twilight said thoughtfully “It’s no wonder you can’t complete these worksheets. They’re meant for students to use as homework after four months of learning. Did he stop working on your reading the same day?”

The foals all nodded “Yes, princess”

“Not the ideal answer. At least I now have a starting point for both subjects.” Twilight said slowly before noticing tears in her students’ eyes. She smiled at them “It’s not your fault that your teacher wasn’t teaching you the way that he was supposed to. Don’t worry, I’m going to fix that.”

The foals smiled and nodded

Twilight paused “We’re going to make today’s history lesson easy. Everything we’re going to talk about happened one thousand years ago. Can you tell me something that happened at that time?”

Moondust raised his hoof “Mommy said that’s when Princess Celestia sent Night-Terror Knight to the moon!”

Sunshine also raised her hoof “My mommy told me that’s when, Princess Celestia and Prince Artemis turned Discord to stone!”

Dazzle raised her hoof “Daddy said that’s when the Crystal Empire disappeared!”

They learned more about history from their parents than their teacher. Twilight shook her head in disbelief before smiling at the foals. “You’re all correct. Everything you said happened one thousand years ago. However, there is one more. Who knows the name of the centaur that stole everypony’s magic?”

Together the foals said “Tirek!”

“Very good” Twilight replied “One thousand years ago, he came to Equestria with his brother. They both wanted to steal our magic, but Tirek’s brother became friends with a unicorn. After that, he decided that he didn’t want to take our magic and tried to get Tirek to stop his plan.” She paused as she noticed that her students were taking notes. “When Tirek refused, his brother told Celestia and Artemis about what Tirek wanted to do. Then Tirek’s brother went home while Celestia and Artemis sent Tirek to Tartarus.”

Twilight waited until the last foal finished his notes before looking at the clock. “Please put your notes away. We’re going to the library to work on your reading.”

The foals did as she asked before going to stand by the door. Twilight smiled and opened the door and walking out into the hallway. The foals and her guards followed her down the hall to the library. Steel Night and Midnight Fang stood guard outside the library while Twilight and the foals walked inside.

Inside the library, Twilight smiled as she noticed that the foals’ section had been set up for her and her students. On the table was a note. Reading it, Twilight smiled wider and looked at the foals. “It seems that your library cards will be ready tomorrow, after lunch. This means that you’ll be able to check books out and take them home.” Noticing that the foals were about to cheer, Twilight quickly told them “I understand that you’re happy, but you need to be quiet in the library. We don’t want to disturb other ponies, do we?”

The foals shook their heads “No, princess”

Twilight smiled “Good. Choose a cushion and wait here, please. I’m going to get a few books and be right back.”

Wordlessly, they did as she asked.

A few minutes later, Twilight returned with five books of varying difficulty and asked her students to read the first one. After they finished that book, Twilight jumped to the third. This one should be more of a challenge. A few minutes into this book, she was proven right. Good. I found their average reading level. A couple of them are comfortable with this level, but most are slightly below it. She glanced up at a librarian and nodded.

The librarian returned her nod and walked away. A couple of minutes later, she returned with three more books of the same difficulty level.

“Thank you” Twilight said to the librarian before turning her attention to the foals. “We’re going to use a reading technique where everypony reads from the same book. One of you will read a page out loud. As soon as you finish the page, pass the book to the pony next to you. We’ll keep doing this until we finish the book. Cloud Night, read the first page, please.”

This continued for the next two and a half hours. Whenever the foals came to a word they couldn’t pronounce or didn’t understand, Twilight would explain it.

At five o clock, the parents arrived at Twilight’s classroom and were surprised to find the room empty.

Mythic Blossom looked around and spotted Steel Night and Midnight Fang guarding the door to the library. “Aren’t those Princess Twilight’s guards?”

Sapphire Wing looked over and nodded “Yes. They’re guarding the library, so that must be where Princess Twilight and our foals are.”

The parents walked down the hall and entered the library. They looked in the foals’ section and smiled at what they found. Twilight and their foals were all laying on cushions and passing a book around. Each foal read a page before passing the book to another. Anytime they had a question about a word, they would look at Twilight. She would give them the definition and explain how the word was used.

Mythic Blossom gasped softly when Marigold took her turn. “She couldn’t read half of those words when I read with her a few days ago.”

Sapphire Wing’s eyes widened when Cobalt took his turn next. “He couldn’t either. I’ve never seen this teaching method before, but it clearly works.”

Crystal took her turn and stumbled over a long word. Twilight opened her mouth to help but, before she could say anything, Astral Flash spoke up.

“That’s not how you say it, dummy!”

Crystal’s eyes quickly filled with tears.

Astral Flash’s mother gasped and stepped forward to reprimand her son but was stopped by Sapphire Wing’s wing. Surprised, she looked up at him “Why are you stopping me, Sapphire Wing?”

Sapphire Wing glanced at her “This is likely to happen again when we’re not around to scold our children, Amber Gem. I want to see how Princess Twilight handles it.”

Amber Gem blinked and nodded, understanding his point. The parents returned their attention to their foals in time to hear Twilight speak quietly.

“Astral Flash, that’s enough.”

Astral Flash looked up at Twilight as she continued.

“You’re friends with Crystal, right?”

Astral Flash nodded

“Is that how we treat our friends?”

Astral Flash's eyes widened. “N-no, princess.”

“Do you know what you’re supposed to say and who you’re supposed to say it to?” Twilight asked, pausing as Astral Flash nodded. “Good. Please do so now.”

Astral Flash stood, walked over to Crystal and gave her a hug. “I’m sorry, Crystal. I have this book at home and Mommy reads it to me all the time. I’ll help you read it. Do you want to come over this weekend, if Mommy says it’s OK?”

Crystal paused “I have to ask Daddy. If he says it’s OK, do you want go to the park? I can work on my reading and you can do those floaty exercises that Princess Twilight told you to do. There’s lots of rocks in the park.”

Astral Flash nodded “That sounds fun! I’ll ask Mommy and you can ask your Daddy when they come to take us home. Mommy said she wants to take me to the park on Saturday.”

Twilight smiled “Much better. Friends are supposed to help each other. It’s no fun when they’re mean.”

Astral Flash bowed his head “Yes, princess. I won’t do it again.”

The parents just stared at Twilight in shock.

“Wow” Mythic Blossom said softly “She did that without raising her voice at all. I suppose that’s why she’s the Princess of Friendship.”

Eyes wide, Amber Gem nodded. “I usually struggle to get him to apologize and have to explicitly say who he has to apologize to. She just asked him if he knew and he did it on his own."

The parents looked back at Twilight as she glanced up and saw them.

Confused, Twilight turned to look at the clock above the checkout desk. “Oops. I didn’t mean to keep them here so long.” She turned back to the foals “I kept you here almost an hour longer than I planned. Your parents are here to pick you up.”

The parents of the foals watched as Twilight and their foals stood and stretched before heading to meet them.

Crystal walked up to her father but, before she could say anything, he nuzzled her. “You don't need to say anything, Crystal. I’ll take you to the park on Saturday afternoon, right after lunch.”

Amber Gem nuzzled Astral Flash “We’ll be at the park at that time as well, and we’ll bring the book.” She gave him a look “However, I expect you to keep your end of the deal and help Crystal with her reading before you practice your magic.”

Astral Flash nodded “Yes, Mommy”

The parents looked up as Twilight walked up to them and showed them what happened during recess. The parents of the pegasi smiled as they watched Celestia’s game of aerial tag. The parents of the earth ponies grinned as they watched Artemis work with their foals. The parents of the unicorns watched as Twilight taught their foals how to levitate a few rocks at the same time before gasping as their foals levitated those rocks several feet into the air before sending them in a large circle. They were even more surprised when they noticed how long their foals managed to maintain it. They heard what Twilight said about the need to practice without overdoing it and nodded.

Amber Gem bowed “T-thank you, princess. It’s amazing how quickly my son has improved. My husband and I are usually too tired to teach Astral Flash after our long workdays. However, we will be sure to make time to help him practice.”

Twilight smiled “I appreciate the compliment, but I can’t take credit for these exercises. They’re the same ones that Celestia used to give me when I was the same age as your foals. I just modified them a little so that I could work with several foals at once.”

Sapphire Wing gave Twilight a skeptical look. “Did Princess Celestia use that technique to teach you to read as well, princess?”

Twilight blushed “No, that was my idea. I thought it would be a good way to work with the foals individually while also allowing them to learn from each other. Having me, or anypony else, read to them can only help so much. The best way for them to learn to read is for them to read. They need a little guidance and practice, but they’ll get there.”

Sapphire Wing smiled “I thought so. It may be an unusual method, princess, but it clearly works. Today, I heard my son read words that he couldn’t even pronounce last week.”

Twilight glanced at the foals. “They’re still behind where they should be, but at least now I know what level they’re at. This week, their lesson will likely be too easy in math and science while too difficult in reading and history. This is because, when I made my lesson plans, I was working under the assumption that they had four months of learning built up. I now know that they stopped learning about reading and history a month and a half into the school year. Celestia has already approved the lesson plans for this week and I don’t want to change them again. Instead, I’ll use the lesson plans while taking into account the fact that they’re two and a half months behind where I thought they would be.” She smiled at her students “It’s not their fault that they’re behind in their lessons. I’ll get them to where they should be, it’s just going to take a little time. For now, they should just head home.”

The parents smiled and nodded while the foals called “Good Night, Princess!” as they walked down the hall.

Twilight giggled as she turned to the area that they had been using, intent on cleaning it up. She stopped in surprise when she saw that, not only was it already clean, Artemis and Celestia were sitting there. “I’m sorry, I know I said I’d be grading papers. It’s just that I-”

As he had done in court, Artemis kissed her to shut her up. After the kiss broke, he nuzzled her. “It’s alright, Twilight. Celestia thought something like this might happen, so we came here at five.”

Celestia laughed as she led her siblings out of the library, heading for the dining room. None of them noticed that Twilight’s students, and their parents, stopped and looked back as they heard Celestia’s voice. “I’m glad we saw what you did. Not only did you come up with a unique, and effective, way of teaching those foals to read, you also broke up a fight before it really got started.” She shook her head “And the nobles wonder why you’re the Princess of Friendship.”

“You thought you were going to fail.” Artemis reminded her “Though, I think you’re the only one who thought that.” He nuzzled Twilight “I hope you don’t think that now.”

Twilight answering the question by saying “It’s only been two days. Ask me again at the end of the week.”

Celestia and Artemis looked at each other and shook their heads. A little further down the hall, the parents of her students did the same. Their foals, however, ran up to Twilight.

“Princess, we left our saddlebags in the classroom! Can we go get them, please?”

Twilight used her magic to unlock the door. “Go ahead, it’s unlocked. I think I hear a monster in your tummies, you’d better get home so you can feed it!”

The foals giggled and ran for the classroom while Celestia, Artemis and the foals’ parents laughed at her joke. A minute later, wearing their saddlebags, the foals ran up to Twilight again and nuzzled her before running back to their parents. All of them were laughing as they tried to figure out what kind of monster they had in their tummies. Twilight stared after them for a moment before shrugging, locking the door to her classroom and heading for the dining room.

Dinner was quiet because, after the kind of day they just had, they were all tired. After dinner, Celestia went to her room while Artemis and Twilight went to theirs.

Next Chapter: Chapter 46 Estimated time remaining: 25 Hours, 15 Minutes