"More?" I asked.

Tufts looked almost shell-shocked. He lifted his head only a little and managed a nod to me. He couldn't even get a word out.

I continued and repeated the stroking motion, this time earning a soft groan from Tufts. He squirmed under my touch, and every time I reached the end of the pattern he let out a plaintive little yip.

"Just like any other bat," I said. "Brush under their wings and you turn to jelly."

As he flopped a little more to his side, wing lifted high, Tufts let out a happy mix of fox and bat sounds. "You say that as if you didn't make such wonderful sounds when I brushed you."

I blushed. It'd been the most intimate we'd been. I'd been on my back and tufts had groomed me. Memories of his snout digging against the sensitive flesh where wing membrane met fur still sent a rush of excitement through me. "That was different."

"I used my snout."

I bit my lip and agreed with him—in my head. This was just brushing, after all, there was nothing sensual or personal about brushing. Except I was a big fat liar. He'd been a perfect gentleman (gentlebat?) about it, too, which made my lies even worse. "Yeah. You did."

Drawing away the brush, I leaned down pressed my snout to the soft fur on the side of his belly. He didn't smell anything like a fox or a bat should—both species I knew were infamous for their smell—but then daily showers probably helped with that.

Remembering what Tufts had done, I opened my mouth just a little and licked the fur along the flow of his body. Now that three of my senses were involved I was more aware of his muskiness. It wasn't an overwhelming scent, much like a man's after a day of work. He smelled male.

This was an order of magnitude more intimate than brushing, but the more I nuzzled and licked at his fur and wing, the more it just felt right. Laying down beside him, I cuddled closer to Tufts. He didn't say a word. "I love you, Tufts."

The words had tumbled out. Since the first time I'd said them—to Tufts—it had become easier and easier. That I could just say it—and mean it—made my hooves curl in happiness.

"I love hearing you say that, and I love you too, Joyce." As he spoke, Tufts lifted a paw up to rub at my ear. Nuzzling the join of my wing and my body might give me a happy, but rubbing my ears was a surefire way to get dopey-Joyce.

Without fight, I submitted to the petting. I closed my eyes, and for the first time I didn't try to make Tufts bigger or a pony. With my chin resting on his chest I just relaxed and let him pet me.

"Mum, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but we need separate rooms," Lyra said.

I'd been dozing and hadn't even heard her come in. We hadn't gotten that intimate yet, but given I was asleep with my head resting on Tufts' belly, I could certainly see my daughter's reasoning. "I'll talk to someone."

"Why not Princess Celestia?" Lyra asked.

Tilting my head up, I found my target and pushed forward to kiss Tufts' lips. The contact was casual, but it still made me want to giggle like a schoolfilly. "I think Princess Celestia has enough on her plate.

"I didn't get a chance to ask earlier. How did your date go?"

"It was the best!" Lyra said. "Cadance told me to go to the Canterlot Pegasus Stadium and—You should have seen Sweetie's face when she realized that the Wonderbolts were putting on a private show just for her! Don't even get me started on that restaurant. I asked around at school earlier and it's like the biggest thing in Canterlot at the moment."

Soft thuds made me look over and see Lyra dancing from hoof to hoof in excitement.

"And then—and then—she asked what I was going to do for the second date!" Lyra bounced over to where I was laying and hefted me to my hooves with her magic.

I barely got myself settled on my hooves before Lyra hugged me. Lyra—Michael—was head over heels in love and she barely realized it, but her emotions did.

"You should have seen it. I was all suave and said, 'Second date's your turn to plan.' Then she said she would! Eeeeeee!" Lyra's hooves beat a staccato rhythm on the floor. "Mum, I have a fillyfriend!"

It wasn't hard to catch Lyra up in a hug, not when my wingspan was the width of the room. I pulled her close enough and got both wings around her to squeeze her properly. "I'm proud of you, and happy for you."

Lyra squeezed me back just as tight. "Thanks, Mum. After Rose, I just—

"Lyra Heartstrings, stop right there. You and Rose were and are friends. You tried to go a little further, but you were both adult enough to know when to stop and not go too far. I'm proud of you as much for that as anything else." Sometimes a bat just had to put on the mommy-pants and tell it like it is. "I'll talk to Candy about getting another room somewhere."

"Thanks, Mum. I didn't really mean it, though. Just put a coathanger on the door if you're going to be getting a little frisky."

"We were not frisky, and it's really hard to work out when we're going to—I mean we haven't, but when we get distracted and—" I stopped myself talking by dint of snapping my jaw shut and not opening it again.

Lyra, curse her, was giggling. "Mum, calm down. I know you were only snogging a bit. Just relax." The oddity of hearing an English word among a string of Equish a little startling.

"Snogging?" I asked in English.

"The shoe fits. Besides, I haven't learned all the fun words yet. Pash, snog, canoodle…" Lyra giggled as she trailed off.

But she was right, on all counts. I needed to get my own place to live and we both needed to learn some new words. "You're terrible, you know that? Where is the nice daughter I raised?"

"Last I heard she's helping run the country. How's that even work?"

"That's something I intend to find out over school break." And I did. It was as confusing to me how a pre-teen girl could be so indispensable to a country that she couldn't even write a letter to her mother. "You'll be doing your training, or so I understand?"

"Yeah. Basic training. Princess Celestia was more than happy about it—proud even. I think she'd suggest it to others except she doesn't want to push anypony to joining up," Lyra said.

I raised an eyebrow at my daughter's astuteness. "More right than you know. If Princess Celestia made it known she'd like ponies to sign up, half the city would stampede down there. It's almost unbelievable how much ponies adore her."

"Oh right. I met Soarin. Cute stallion." Lyra looked sideways at Tufts. "Hey Tufts, did you know Mum picked you over a hunky pegasus who's a freakin' world-class flier?"

The topic had shifted so fast I was left picking up the pieces of the old one to work out where it'd gone. "Who's Soarin?"

"She was so distracted by thoughts of you, Tufts, that she doesn't remember him at all." Lyra turned to look at me with a gleam in her eyes. "Light blue fur, dark blue mane. The greenest eyes you could ever look into, wings out to—Mum?"

I remembered him. The nice stallion from when I found out I got into school. And now that I thought of him I'd met him while he was working on the rain over Hearth's Warming. "Him? I tried to set him up with—" I cut off, not wanting to talk about her behind her back. "Not my type."

Tufts picked that moment to roll to his feet and walk over to me. "And what is your type?"

"Short. Red fur. Definitely winged, but I don't like feathers." As I spoke, I watched Tufts gazing back at me. It wasn't hard to work out I was describing him. Part of me even thought it was a joke.

"Anyway. Just letting you know dinner is just about ready. I'll meet you downstairs," Lyra said and made her way back out.

When the door closed, I looked back at Tufts with what I knew was the expression of a teenager wanting to do something they shouldn't. "We have a little time," I said.

"My turn." Tufts stepped to the side. "Lay down and let me on your belly."

He wasn't going to try anything naughty, I knew, but it was fun to pretend. "Oh my! So forward. I bet you say that to all the mares." Of course, I laid down and rolled to my back.

Tufts was just in the process of climbing up on my belly again when the door opened.

"Mum! Coathanger! Ugh!" Lyra spun back around and closed the door again without actually saying why she came back.

Before I could muse on the matter, Tufts nuzzled into the exact spot where membrane met fur. I stretched my wing out to the side. I know I banged it into the wall at some point, but I didn't care.

The morning air was crisp, but I had a duty to perform. For the sake of the ruler of Equestria I must not fail in my mission.

Spotting my target far below, I aimed for a section of stone just beside the front door and slipped into a dive. As I tucked my wings down I gracefully plummeted like—well, like a horse without wings. Just a ponylength from the ground I spread my wings out and almost halted completely.

I quickly checked that my saddlebags were still attached and then opened the door.

"There she is! Joe! Get out here and serve the lovely mare!" Joe Sr. said, yelling into the kitchen area.

I gave Joe Sr. the best smile I had as I walked up to the counter. "I'm sure such a capable gentlepony such as yourself could find me what I need."

"It's alright, Joe!" The old stallion turned around from looking into the kitchen of the bakery to facing me. "What can I help you with, ma'am?"

"I'm fairly sure you know my favorite by now, Joe. I'll take one of those and one of Princess Celestia's favorites too." The truth was I had no idea what the name of the specific doughnut that Celestia ordered was, but both Joes did.

"Wait just a second. You were that mare who had an evening snack with the princess! I remember you. Can I assume you aren't eating both of these?" Joe Sr.'s eyes twinkled, and he winked at me knowingly.

I ruffled my wings and nodded conspiratorially. "You could even say I'm going to have morning tea with a very special pony." Of course, I winked for good measure.

"Any other pony and I wouldn't do this—I am running a business here—but I saw what you did for the princess the other night. We slipped her out the staff entrance while all those reporters were busy watching you," Joe Jr. said as he walked out of the kitchen part of the shop. "So these are on the house again."

He didn't sound spaced out or lost in his thoughts, but then I wasn't a white alicorn princess with feathers out to here. "Was there a message somepony might want to have delivered to—ahem—the mare I'm having brunch with?"

"She's got you there, boy." Joe Sr. ignored his son's sudden dash back into the kitchen. "Two specials coming up."

By the time the old stallion had two doughnuts bagged and boxed up for flight, Joe Jr. stepped out of the kitchen yet again, this time with a floating scroll at his side. "I, uh, hope I can trust nopony but Pr—but her will see this?"

Joe Sr. plucked the scroll from Joe Jr.'s magic and floated it over to me. "You big dummy. You saw how they were talking, how she took all that heat. I think we can trust Miss. Dark, Mysterious, and Beautiful here to be circumspect."

"I'll fly right to the—to her home and deliver it. Besides, I want to see her smile when she reads it." And I did. Watching someone almost akin to a god in power blush and giggle was just about the most humbling and amazing thing I'd seen in my life.

Something tickled at the edge of my thoughts. A few memories and some conclusions I couldn't see before almost came together, but didn't. Mentally, I shoved them aside as they weren't fitting and weren't needed for the vital day-to-day things—like taking the box of donuts from Joe Sr. "Thank you!"

I almost felt like prancing to the door, so I did. Life was going wonderfully, and there was nothing that seemed to rock the boat. Which meant that something was going to rock the boat—it's how things work. But if something was going to mess up my stride, I wouldn't have an easier time by worrying about it.

Departing from the doughnut shop, I spread my wings and pumped them to gain the air. Flying was now one of my top ten best things. My girls and Tufts held sway at the top of that list, of course, with my lifelong love of helping people and animals being right up there too, but flying had soared onto the list and didn't look like going anywhere.

Thinking of soaring reminded me of that (admittedly cute) stallion I'd met twice now. He was some kind of athlete, but still managing weather over Canterlot? Or was that a side gig? Maybe the job of managing Canterlot's weather, on such a special night, was something too important to be left to rank and file?

There wasn't a lot of ponies the Royal Guard wouldn't shoo away from Celestia's private garden, but on this day and at this time I was one of the few they'd let land. I flew high overhead and started a slow spiral down—lazy flying.

I wasn't paying particular attention to the ground until I reached an even height with the castle spires. I turned my eyes downward and saw that Princess Celestia was already waiting in the garden, and she already had a guest.

A guest who had dark coloring and bat wings.

My heart sped up and I folded my wings. Ponies (horses too) were only air-droppable once unless they had wings. As I got closer to the ground, I could see that the other bat pony was small (something my initial look hadn't picked up). At the last moment I snapped my wings out and my hooves met the ground and sank into the soil just a little.

The cutie mark on the young bat pony's flank was unmistakable: a bowl of chopped fruit with more pieces flying over it. "Robin?"

"Mum!"

I wasn't aware that bats could teleport, but the space between us was there one moment and gone the next. Wrapping my wings around Robin's withers, I hugged my littlest filly against me as tears flowed uncontrolled down my face.

My voice didn't work except to make little squeaks of relief. My heart had been aching for this, to find my filly again and hold her.

"Mum? Can you lighten up the grip?" Robin asked.

I could, but I didn't for a moment. When I finally let go I realized that she'd grown—in just a few months she'd grown so much! Though she was still my little filly.

"Robin! What brings you here?"

"I'm the representative of Thestralia, Mum. Princess Screech sent me to talk with Princess Celestia about trade negotiations. What're you doing here? The princess just said she'd have a visitor." Though Robin spoke, I barely tracked the words. I was too busy focused on her.

I jerked myself back to the conversation. "I guess you could say I'm doing a little of the same thing for Ce—Princess Celestia. She needed to know things that would help you out so she knew what to trade, and wanted to know what you might have to offer. She also needed a friend."

Robin's face lit up. "So you're taking after me?"

"C'mere," I said and pulled her into another hug. "I've missed you so much, little sky-puppy."

It was Robin's turn to hug me a little tighter. I didn't care, she could have crushed me all the way into the hospital and I would have still been ecstatic. "You remembered it."

"Of course I did. What do you think I do all day, study medicine and talk to royalty? I missed my little filly."

"Ahem." Celestia's throat clearing was as slight as her form wasn't. "If you'd like a little more time, I could go and—"

"No!" Robin and I said at the same time.

Celestia smiled at us, the expression even crinkling a little around her visible eye. "Wonderful. Let's continue negotiations inside, I have a sponge in the oven."

That was what I was actually here for. I'd figured that with Robin being here on what seemed to be business, that our little baking day would be called off. How silly of me. "Come on. We don't want to burn the cake."

Robin stared at us like we were mad, but when I walked off with Celestia she hurried to catch up. "You're baking? Don't you have servants to—?"

"That's precisely why I like doing it. Besides, there's a young stallion who is going to be made a full Royal Guard at sundown, and he needs a cake to celebrate."

"Speaking of stallions," I said. "I have a message for you, Your Highness."

Celestia's casual walk faltered before she managed to smooth it back out—she knew where I'd been before coming here. She turned her head and raised one eyebrow smoothly (though I admit I'd rarely seen more than one of her eyes at a time, so didn't know if she were raising one or both). "Oh?" She was shielding, and that meant that she didn't want to reveal something to Robin.

Whether Celestia's reluctance stemmed from political or personal reasons would be something I'd ask later (if I didn't find out in the meantime), when we were alone. My focus was broken by a warm, fuzzy body pressing to my side. I quickly stretched my wing over Robin's back and gave her another squeeze.

"They said it can wait. I did pick something up on the way through." I plucked forth the box of doughnuts. I passed the bag with Celestia's to her, and offered the second one (my one) to Robin. "This is the best thing you'll ever eat."

"Mum, it's just a doughnut. I've been eating mangoes over summer—every day." Robin rolled her eyes and took a bite of the doughnut. Her eyes widened, and I heard a muffled screech fighting with the fried treat to get out of her mouth.

"Toldya."

"This is amazing!" Robin stared down into the half a doughnut she still had left. "It's like a whole orchard of fruit exploded in my mouth! Did you make this?"

I folded the box closed and put it back in my saddlebags. "Of course not. My talents lie in putting people back together and destroying fruit. If you're going to spend some time here, I can show you where you can get some."

Robin looked down at the half a doughnut that was cupped in the membrane between two wing-fingers. "That was yours, wasn't it?"

"I can get more. Eat up," I said.

Staring at me for a few moments, Robin apparently came to the conclusion that she should just finish the doughnut. Her look of delight returned as she bit into it, and didn't leave until she gulped down the last of the treat.

Celestia took us to the kitchen entrance of the castle. The subtle movement on the edge of my awareness as we entered was something my visits to the castle had inured me to—Royal Guards.

"Princess! I was concerned you weren't returning. It would be a shame to burn this cake." A creature almost as large as Celestia stood by the stove. A huge hooked beak was the most prominent feature of Gretchen the griffon. She was a powerful-looking bird of prey at one end, and an equally amazing feline predator at the other. It was all bluster. "Joyce! And you have a guest?"

"Gretchen, allow me to introduce Robin Robertson. She is the temporary ambassador from Thestralia—and she's Joyce's little filly." Celestia's horn practically lit up the room with gold light, levitating an apron over to her that tied behind her neck. "I believe she has some talent in a kitchen."

Robin had to gulp down the last of the doughnut quickly. "I wouldn't really claim to any real talent. I'm just good with a knife and fruit."

"Maybe we could make a dessert, Gretchen?" I asked. "There's something back home called a pavlova that I think I can remember how to make. I'm sure Robin could find a use for her knife skills with that."

Gretchen's eyes lit up as if I just told her I would serve her the world on a platter. Truthfully, she'd been asking me for recipes from home each time she'd seen me since Celestia introduced us. "And you'll share the recipe with me?"

When I nodded, Gretchen let out a squawk of excitement. "What is needed?"

I closed my eyes and thought back to making pavlovas with my mum. Her voice, long gone, was strengthened in my head with the smell of baking in the kitchen. "Six eggs, caster sugar, cornflour, vinegar, vanilla, thickened cream, and fruit."

"And to make it?" Gretchen's voice came from nearly beside me. She moved like a predator when she was focused on cooking—dead silent.

"Baking tray. Round would be good. Some of that wax paper." I could have sworn she was still beside me, but when I opened my eyes she was on the other side of the room gathering things. "A warm oven, just below whatever setting you use for cakes."

"Vanilla or essence?" Gretchen asked from the huge walk-in pantry.

"Essence, sorry." I turned toward the nearest oven to find Robin already working it. "Turn it to just short of three cupcakes." I was doing translations of measurements in my head. Chicken eggs were the same as on Earth, but almost everything else was just a little off. "I need all six eggs separated into whites, a pinch of salt, and start whisking until we get some peaks in it."

Marching over to the pan Gretchen had selected, I deftly lined it with the paper and creased the paper in the bottom to form a circle. I could practically feel Gretchen's eyes watching my every movement, she was a big predator who loved nothing more than to know every recipe in the world—she hunted them like prey.

"Once you have some peaks, start adding the sugar half a hoof at a time until you have one and a half hooves in there," I said.

"A meringue?" Gretchen's eyes now took fire. She was in her element and knew what she was doing. The caster sugar went in bit by bit, not half a hoof at a time (like I'd said), and soon enough she was mixing rapidly. Mum used to use an electric mixer.

I nodded to Gretchen. "Twelve pinches of cornflour, two of vinegar, and—"

"And the vanilla. A little extra, two and a half." Her beak cocked in a smile, Gretchen winked to me. "I've made meringue before, Joyce."

"Sorry. I'm trying to remember something I last made over twenty years ago," I said. Gretchen could become a little hard to get along with in her kitchen. Though it was her kitchen, she always deferred to Princess Celestia—but only Princess Celestia.

I walked over to the oven and turned the temperature all the way back to one cupcake. Beside me, Celestia was making up some icing in a bowl. "It's Lyra's friend, isn't it?"

"Who's Lyra's friend?" Robin asked.

"Shining Armor, yes. He's graduating to a full Guardspony. We will make our vows to each other, and another young stallion will risk his life for me." As Celestia spoke, she had my full attention. I hated to think how many ponies in the various armed forces had given their lives to preserve her and what she'd built.

Robin looked perplexed. "Vows?"

"Long ago I made the tradition because I saw it as important for us to know where we stand. In short, I promise that their lives will not be endangered unnecessarily, and they promise to always be by my side. The actual wording of each vow has been different, it is a private affair and unique to every Royal Guardpony." Princess Celestia was using her magic to mix the icing for her cake.

"This meringue is done. I assume we're baking it?" Gretchen held out the mixing bowl to me.

Taking the bowl with a wing, I nodded to Gretchen. "An hour and a bit in a warm oven. Next we need to whip some cream for the top, and somepony needs to chop up some fruit."

Robin let out a victory screech and charged for the cool-room.

"Is there something I should know about bat ponies?" Gretchen asked.

"Fruit," I said. "The bats we were made after eat fruit and nectar, so basically the offer of something sweet will be our undoing. How much fruit do you have in there?"

Gretchen's eyes narrowed to points and her beak worked as if she were mentally cataloging things. She turned and practically flew toward the cool-room, but stopped when Robin was coming back out.

"I found some passion fruit, Mum!" Robin wasn't just carrying the fruit, she was juggling it. Six passion fruit, a pineapple, two mangoes, and even a small swarm of strawberries were zooming through the air in complex patterns above my daughter's head.

Looking to Gretchen, I saw a relieved look on her face—there was obviously something in there that was expensive or hard to acquire that Robin didn't remove.

I spread the meringue evenly around the wax paper and put it in the oven. "We'll need to wait a bit before we cut up the fruit or whip the cream. That needs to be in the oven for just over an hour."

"Awww…" Robin slowed down her juggling and brought each piece of fruit safely to rest on the bench. "I guess we should do some actual work."

The tone of her words spoke that while she enjoyed her work, it didn't stack up to making pavlova. I still couldn't believe that my little filly—not even in her teens—had a work ethic. "I guess I'll leave you to it."

"I would actually appreciate having you there, Joyce. Your advice has been indispensable." Princess Celestia stepped back from her cake and gave a significant nod to Gretchen. "Please?"

There was no way in Equestria I would say no to Princess Celestia asking me something I could do—not after what she'd done for me and Lyra. "Of course. Lead on." I turned to look at Gretchen. "Please take it out when it has risen and the outer wall starts to crack."

"Starts to, or just before?" Gretchen looked a touch confused.

"Starts. A good pavlova should be bursting at the seams," I said and followed Princess Celestia.

"We'll keep this short—I'm eager to taste this creation of yours." Princess Celestia led the way through some guarded doors. The two stallions on the inside of them didn't so much as blink at our passing, not with the princess herself leading us. "What does Thestralia need?"

I stole a glance back to my daughter and caught her looking at the guards we passed with a measure of suspicion. I cleared my throat. "If I'm going to be involved, I guess I'll help. Robin, Princess Celestia's guards are above reproach, and you can talk in front of them without fear they will mention a word of what goes on." Looking back as I was, I caught both the guards we'd passed smile just a little.

Robin nodded and I could see her face transform to one of focus. "R-Right. We don't need anything, but trade negotiations would be—"

"Of course. The medication was simply a gift. What do you have to offer, then?" Princess Celestia took a hard right into a room.

If the kitchen was huge and pristine, this room was opulent in every sense of the word. There were some elegant couches positioned around, cushions on the floor, and a ceiling that was a dome of glass that let the full majesty of the sun shine within. The design was themed further around the sun, with a golden floor, pictures of ponies dancing on the walls, and Princess Celestia dominating it with the radiance of her coat.

I followed Celestia to a large couch she sat in, and picked one of the smaller ones nearby which left Robin plenty of choice. As I got comfortable, I watched my daughter climb up onto another with an awed expression on her face.

I cleared my throat. "If I may?"

Robin and Princess Celestia both looked at me with surprise, though the latter nodded.

"Thestralia, or Australia, was a reasonably minor country in the world stage of Earth. They had high primary production exports but used little of their relatively large and desert nation. Equestria is a populous country that has few exports or imports. I can only assume whatever Thestralia was exporting has stopped?" I looked at Robin in time to get a slight nod. "So they are likely hurting for the technical goods imported as well."

"Actually, things are worse." Robin's mouth curled into a little frown. "Nothing we can do will convince the other nations that they can approach, and our own ships are turned around with threats of military action. Thestralia has been embargoed completely via sea."

"And being bound by sea on all sides, that leaves you completely cut off," Princess Celestia said, revealing some of her knowledge of Earth. "But you do have a land nation sharing a border with you now, and I can promise you, Robin Robertson, Equestria is positively excited to trade.

"What we need to establish is a currency base, and what each other needs. So if you'd rather play political games—"

"N-No! Please! I hate them as much as Screech does. But with things being rebuilt, politics is expected." Robin puffed out her chest and looked directly at Princess Celestia. "The recipe and equipment to make that flu medication went a long way toward securing these talks. We are the only nation on Earth that can cure influenza, among other things. What we need is technical help, too. We have a—I need to keep a straight face for this—monster problem. With magic came more creatures like Bunny."

"You didn't…?" I asked.

Robin just nodded. "Bunny the bunyip. She followed me to Canberra, scared the security guys silly. I had to shout at them to leave her alone and—I'm rambling, sorry. Her kind are the least of our problems. There are monsters that turn people into other monsters, and worse. Screech called for tribal elders from all over Thestralia to meet with her, and they all identified some of the nasties from the Dreamtime come back."

I tried to remember what else from Dreamtime might be a problem and came up blank. "You need expertise?"

"Weapons." Robin said the word without any signs of worry at the kind of reaction it might engender. "The biggest problem we have right now is that all our technology is failing. The military people have their own stuff, and that seems to be working, but remember the problem Lyra had with her guitar's amplifier? Well, imagine that amplifier was running a computer, and the sound was the voltage.

"We need ways to stop these things. We're teaching everypony we can to fight them with dreams, but some of the monsters stalk those dreams!"

"We have weapons, Robin, but there are not what I'd like our new deals to be based on." Princess Celestia cut through the conversation like a swinging sword. "I will not give you weapons to hurt, but shields to protect."

"That would actually be a big help. Okay, what would you want in return?" Robin asked.

"Joyce mentioned primary industry. Farming?" Princess Celestia asked. When Robin nodded, Celestia continued. "Grains, milk, eggs, cheese, and maybe some fish. I believe fruit will be harder to export for you now?"

Robin giggled at that. "No meat?"

"Ponies don't eat meat. You might have some buyers among the griffons, but I'd wager you'd not find many bits there. What would be a good currency? What do you use?" Princess Celestia asked.

I remembered what had happened with the gemstones the miners back in Thestralia were mining with Equestrian magic techniques. "Not gems," I said.

Princess Celestia raised her eyebrow, while Robin just nodded.

"Gems are worth a lot of money on Earth. If you could trade them, and Thestralia could trade them with the rest of the world, you'd both be rich beyond measure."

Smiling wide at the information, Princess Celestia lowered her eyebrow. "Something to think about later, then. What about metals? Steel?"

"Is that uncommon here?" Robin asked.

"If I might make a suggestion?" I asked. "What about a transitional currency? Something you both agree counts as a dollar in Thestralia and an equivalent of bits here."

"That would certainly be a good start." Robin lifted out a notepad and started jotting things down. "Though ponies will start just bartering directly once things are settled."

"Not if we keep things policed. Trade value for the currency will be a good, controllable income for both nations, and we can use it to trade for things we need directly." Princess Celestia nodded her head toward me.

They continue into discussions of the value of this currency, and how to equalize it based on the most common goods to be transported. I tuned out just a little, the conversation didn't hold much chance for me to inject a compromise.

What completely floored me about it was how adult Robin seemed. My little girl who had argued with her brother all the way from one end of Australia to the other, held all the relevant pricing information in her head and could discuss it with Celestia like she was born to it. Cutting up fruit might be her special talent, but my baby sky puppy was a genius.

"That should conclude things for now. I hope my nephew hasn't been causing too much trouble on your side?" Princess Celestia asked.

"I think it's reassuring to most ponies. He's definitely not a bat pony—not with that coat—so he's a real sign that someone is in this to help us. That he took full credit for those tablets also helped. How long will he be staying?" Robin's face spoke of some knowledge that he wouldn't be staying for long.

"Robin, you continue to astound me with your astute reading of these things. You're right—he's my trouble-shooter. He will remain in his charming role until trade begins, but then I fear we are going to need more ongoing support at both ends." Princess Celestia stood up, making the action look positively delicate.

"Screech said we'd need embassies. Do you have somewhere we could buy some land?" Robin quickly stood as well, making sure to walk alongside and giving a huge variation between the two.

Celestia gave a polite chuckle. "I could rent you some land. We don't exactly sell land in Equestria. What I can do is take payment in trade-coin."

"Robin," I said. "Princess Celestia owns all the land in Equestria. No one buys land, like she said, it is rented from the crown."

Turning her head to look up at Celestia, my little filly smiled serenely and nodded. "But she'll make an exception and sell us some land."

I almost choked. She had nothing to bargain with, and nothing to back her up except some great fruit preparation skills.

"You know, I think we might be able to come to a deal. There will be a requirement to sell it back to me when you are done with it at a fixed price. Would that suit?" Princess Celestia asked.

"The fixed price would be—?"

"How much you pay for it."

I looked between the two. Somehow my daughter had won a major concession from Celestia, but they had both come out even in the end. I realized that I needed to do more research on Equestria's foreign relations to even hope to understand why Celestia did what she did.

Both Celestia and Robin were smiling. Celestia's smile was part of her mask, but this was the first time I'd seen the hint of a mask on my daughter's face. "If you don't need me any further, I'm going to finish off that pavlova," I said and stood up.

"We'll join you in just a moment." Princess Celestia's mask was in place, I had no idea if she meant that merely because she had a little more to discuss or that she was relieved I was leaving because she needed to discuss something that I shouldn't hear.

Leaving the room left me in a long hallway of Canterlot Castle with a pair of stoic guards flanking the door I'd just left. "Which way back to the kitchen?" I asked.

"Down that way, ma'am, and take a left at the second hallway junction." Of the two, it was the pegasus who spoke. He gestured in the direction I'd like to think was the way we'd come, but my mind was not so great at navigating huge endless hallways.

My mind wandered back to mention of Celestia's vow she made to each guard. "Thank you." I turned and started walking away. As I walked, I noticed there was a row of statues in armor flanking this section of hallway. In the reflection of one I caught sight of both guards watching me walk away. It wasn't hard to realize what part of me they were looking at.

A blush crept onto my face, and I couldn't help myself from adding a little more sway than was strictly needed to walk. By the time I reached the kitchen I was almost giggling.

"It is time for the cream?" Gretchen asked the moment I entered the kitchen.

"It's still in the oven, right?" I walked over to inspect the oven and found the meringue baking away still. "It'll need to cool once it's out."

Gretchen's crest of feathers fell a little. I'd never seen her so excited to cook, but then I'd never shared a recipe with her. "Then we have time to share other recipes, yes?" Gretchen asked.

While Celestia and Robin talked for just a moment, Gretchen had wheedled out my mother's fruitcake recipe and a recipe for trifle. The latter, it turned out, was apparently a recipe that was hoarded by the ponies of Trottingham, and Gretchen gaining a variant of it was something particularly special.

The pavlova had been out of the oven for ten minutes when Celestia and Robin stepped into the room. Gretchen was working on a jelly for a trifle, while I was whipping up the cream for the pavlova.

"Joyce told me what ingredient it was I was missing from my trifle!" Gretchen said.

I could see merriment in Princess Celestia's eyes—this was apparently a topic that Gretchen had been over many times. "What was it?"

"Rum! I can't believe it was a liqueur that was missing!" Fluffing her wings in obvious excitement, Gretchen used a foreclaw to add fruit juice to make an apple jelly.

I both wanted and didn't want to ask them how the discussion had gone, though looking at Robin's smile I had some inkling it went well for her. The memory of her face locked in a smile—a mask—still caused me some shock. Your little girl is growing up, Joyce, deal with it.

Of course, inner voice, I'll just let go of my little baby girl. I'm sure she can deal with political wolves without any fear. I'm glad the inside of my head lacked a sarcasm alarm.

To my surprise, Robin rushed over to me and used a wing to hug me. "Thanks, Mum."

"Not that I'm complaining, or think we need a reason for a hug, but what's the thanks for?" I asked.

"For understanding. For being a great mum. And for knowing when to let me be me." Robin's hug only got tighter.

Trapped as I was holding a mixing bowl and a whisk, I had no hope of hugging her back. "Since we're playing that game, thank you my little sky-puppy for letting your mum have a hug despite how much you've grown."

"What? 'Sif I'll ever not want to hug!" Punctuating her words with a tighter squeeze, Robin did let go of me at last. "Is it almost time for fruit?"

"So all I needed to do to get the upper hoof in negotiations was supply a fruit bowl?" Princess Celestia asked. I could sense—perhaps—that this was more just Celestia now.

"I was surprised you didn't. Though it would have been hard negotiating with a screeching, ravenous monster," I said. "Speaking of which, it's time for you to cut up your fruit."

My little girl was back. Her face lit up, and I watched her visibly relax and then start bouncing on her hooves. A screech of excitement left her as she pronked her way to where the fruit she selected sat.

Watching Robin with a knife and with fruit was something to behold. A mango was sent flying into the air first. She brought the knife up and in a slightly curved arc there was a peeled mango. Another mango followed suit, and while that one was peeling the first became a swarm of cubes.

Gretchen rushed to get a bowl for Robin, and no sooner did it hit the bench beside my daughter than the cubes landed in it. "I've never seen anything like this," Gretchen said.

"It's her talent. Somehow she makes the fruit even more tasty by doing it too." I watched a whole pile of strawberries launch into the air and get cut into thin slices.

By the time Robin was slowing down there was just a few cubes of mango still being juggled by her wings. These landed in her mouth one after the other before she finally put the kitchen knife down on the counter top. "All done!"

"Bring it over, sweetie. Let's get this pavlova dressed." With the whipped cream done, I met Robin standing before the pavlova base. With dexterity borne of spending a lot of time using my wings as arms, I used a spatula to spread the cream over the base in a thick layer.

Robin was quick to start decorating the pavlova, but I noticed there wasn't the full contingent of fruit going onto the dessert. "And there!" She put the last piece onto the pavlova and still had a single piece of mango in the bowl. A fraction of a second later the bowl was empty.

"This," I said, "is a pavlova!"

"That's it?" Gretchen walked up and inspected the dessert we'd all had a hoof in making. "Cream and fruit on a baked meringue?"

Robin fetched the knife she'd used on the fruit and passed it to me.

"This is it. It's not overly complicated, it doesn't need to be. It's cream and sugar and fruit." As I spoke I cut through the pavlova. Into halves, then into sixths.

"Lyra's going to be so upset at missing this." Though she said it, Robin didn't hesitate to free a slice of pavlova with one wing and lift it free.

My eyes were on Celestia, however. She looked around the room as if trying to judge distance, then her horn flared to life. Her shield was down and I could see pure happiness with a mischievous glint in her expression.

A loud POMF sound heralded Lyra and Sweetie's arrival to one side in the kitchen. Lyra was still holding her guitar in her forelegs, and the last notes of her previous chord still sang out. Shock registered and she jumped to her hooves as if to defend her fillyfriend. Then Lyra's eyes locked onto Robin. "R-Robin?"

As Robin rushed past toward her sister, I managed to collect the pavlova she'd been holding and set it safely down on the counter. My two fillies crashed together in a combination between a bat pony hug and a regular pony hug.

I turned to look at Celestia and didn't hold back an ounce of the joy I felt from my face. "Thank you."

"I figured we have the dessert, why not have a little reunion party?" Princess Celestia used her magic to serve the six helpings of pavlova onto plates and passed one to me, then another to Gretchen. "Besides, you'd cut the pavlova into six pieces. I had to invite two more guests."

The crazy thing was I hadn't meant to cut it into six pieces, nor had I thought any further about why I was cutting it into 6 pieces. The problem stewed in my mind until Lyra and Robin walked back to me. "I see you've met our visitor?"

"Mum! Why didn't you tell me Robin was coming to visit?!" Lyra tried to look upset, but with a plate of pavlova floating in her magic, her whole family here, and her fillyfriend standing to the side talking with Princess Celestia, it was easy to tell she was simply overwhelmed with happiness. I couldn't blame her—I was the same.

I started scooping up a forkful of pavlova with a piece of cutlery held carefully in one wing's thumb. "Because I didn't know until I landed here? We didn't interrupt you two, did we?"

"Me and Sweetie? Nah. We were just hanging out on the grass and watching the day go by. Twilight told me she was taking the day off from our tutoring because her brother has something big happening today." Lyra, cheating (as far as I was concerned), used her magic to fork up some pavlova and start munching it.

Doing the same as Lyra, I was surprised to have Sweetie Drops march right up to me.

"I have designs on your daughter." Sweetie's expression looked serious, but while the content of her words was likely vitally important to her, I had more than a little trouble keeping my face straight. "Well?"

I gulped down the piece of pavlova I'd been chewing. "You expected me to tell you no?" I asked.

She looked a little taken aback, but the expression on Sweetie Drops' face quickly shifted back to stern. "This is serious. I'm trying to say I'm going to pursue your daughter." I guess my expression didn't engender enough seriousness for her. "You're as bad as she is!"

"Technically she's as bad as I am. Sweetie, if you think you need my blessing to pursue or have designs on Lyra, you're mistaken. The only pony whose permission you need is standing right behind you with your dessert." No sooner did I finish speaking than Sweetie spun around.

"Lyra!" Sweetie Drops looked surprised. "I was just—" She froze when Lyra dabbed her nose with a little whipped cream. "Doesn't anypony in your family take things seriously?!"

"You picked the wrong sister if you wanted serious. Hi, I'm Robin."

There was a measure of awkwardness as my little filly jumped neck-deep into waters she had no idea about. She might be super smart when it came to politics, but talking about relationships seemed new (and treacherous) waters.

It took Lyra a moment to overcome Robin's gaff. "This little screecher is my sister, Sweetie."

Spotting a life raft, Sweetie shook her head. "No, I'm Sweetie. She's Robin."

"Me Robin. You Jane?"

With silliness restored, I walked up and pulled both my fillies to me with my wings and kissed their cheeks. "Sweetie, you have whatever approval you need from me. With a gag like that, you deserve her."

I kissed Robin and Lyra on the cheeks again, then dragged the former away with me. "Come on, sky puppy. I want to learn everything you can tell me about your new job."

Buying Lyra and Sweetie some private time cost me one excited filly who decided to tell me everything about the political landscape of a post-disaster Australia.

Lyra (whichever is more inclined to answer): how soon do you think you'll need your own room? For privacy, of course.

"So far ahead of you there. Walking in on Mum and Tufts snogging once was once too often. Also, need somewhere to take Sweetie for when I might get the chance to snog her." Lyra had a guilty blush on her face.

So I do this "Ask X" thing. X can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and they will definitely, hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories, and they will answer the best question in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer. Try to keep it to one question per post! They will pick one question per chapter.

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