You knock softly on the door to Twilight’s bedroom.

“Come in!”

Pressing forward hoof-first, the door to Twilight’s room swings open and you enter. “Morning, Your most eminent Highness!”

“Good morning to you too, wise guy,” Twilight responds quickly. You sense that she has taken the joke in stride, but she appears preoccupied with other matters. Her horn is constantly lit as small articles fly around the room and into different bags.

You furrow your brow in curiosity, but decide to press forward in your quest. “So, are you ready to head to that county clinic to enroll more patients in the survey?”

Twilight immediately gasps, slapping a hoof to her forehead in exasperation. The supplies she was moving in her magic abruptly fall to the floor, sending quills and other knick-knacks scattering across the floor. “Oh, no! I can’t believe I forgot to tell you! Last night, Princess Celestia sent me a letter; Princess Luna is sick and I need to take her place in greeting the Saddle Arabian delegation in Canterlot!”

“Princess Luna must be really sick,” you comment. “From what I’ve read about her in the paper, she seems like she’d never miss out on her duties for anything.”

“Yeah, well, apparently she is self-describing herself as having contracted ‘the consumption’, whatever that is.” Twilight rolls her eyes disdainfully, the stress lines on her face quite apparent. “Knowing how archaic she is, that could be anything from a mild hangover to full-blown miliary tuberculosis.”

“When will you be back?”

Twilight lights up her horn again, quickly cramming a few more choice items into her saddlebags before quickly snapping them shut. “Hopefully in three days, although it could be more if things go south at the summit. I hate to leave you here, but-”

“Say no more,” you reassure her, holding up a hoof. “Princess duties come first. I can handle the research for a few days.”

Twilight lets out a deep exhalation. “Thank you,” she breathes, trotting up to nuzzle you in gratitude before heading out with her bags. “Make sure Spike doesn’t eat all of our ice cream!” she calls after disappearing from sight.

“Okay!”

Twilight will be gone for a while. There’s plenty of research to be done, but there’s all sorts of things you could do. How do you want to use your time?

To get in touch with Pinkie Pie and plan to throw Twilight a big party celebrating her return from a (hopefully) successful summit, proceed to Chapter 29.

To put your muzzle to the grindstone and really work hard on your research project, proceed to Chapter 30.

To totally hook up with Applejack while Twilight is away, proceed to Chapter 31.

Next Chapter: Chapter 23 Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 7 Minutes