…

“You know, it could be so easy!”

Her muscles tensing, Twilight awoke with a start.

Her breath hitched; all she could do was listen.

Listen to the silence around her.

Listen to the birds in the distance.

Soft rustling of leaves added to it as the wind calmly blew through the treetop above her, and a straight ray of sunlight playfully danced over her feathers.

It had been a dream.

Surely, she hadn’t…

She never would…

Wait… what hadn’t she?

The details of her dream rapidly fading away, Twilight found she already couldn’t remember what she had dreamed of.

Yet, a strong sense of unease remained.

Blinking her eyes clear, Twilight glanced around.

She was outside, still at the exact same spot she had been since she had come out to read.

Yet… she had slept, once again.

Exhaling slowly, Twilight noted absently that the heavy tree trunk she lay next to had a truly beautiful bark.

Following it with her eyes up and down, Twilight mentally noted just how many craters and indents the old tree had across its outer shell.

How long had it stood here?

How long will it still stand here?

The thoughts didn’t matter.

Letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding; Twilight closed her heavy eyelids once more.

It truly was calm here.

Shifting slightly, Twilight felt a small mass shift inside her left wing.

Opening her eyes, she looked down at the cocoon of feathers she had spanned around her.

She was holding something.

Carefully peeling her right-wing away, Twilight winced slightly as she tried to use a muscle that had already grown stiff as she had slept. How long had she been here anyway?

Dismissing the thought, Twilight glanced down her chest and onto her left wing.

There, curled up and slightly clawing with her tiny paws into her wing bone, surprisingly eliciting a pleasant tingle instead of stinging pain, a tiny dark blue kitten had nestled into her feathers.

Luna.

The thought echoed through her drowsy mind, causing memories to stir and Twilight to remember while she watched the tiny kitten sleep.

Watched her friend… her, her crush.

Despite the urge of panic she expected, she kept calm.

Luna had her head laid down on Twilight’s wing; had curled up her body around the slight bulge Twilight’s muscles formed along her bone and was peacefully snoozing.

Her tiny chest rising and falling, her tail almost tickling her own nose with every breath, Twilight watched the alicorn turned kitten sleep.

Every time Luna exhaled Twilight felt a ghost of vibration ripple across the sensitive underside of her wing, indicating that she was still faintly purring.

Watching Luna sleep was mesmerizing.

No, feeling Luna sleep was mesmerizing.

No… knowing…

Accompanied by the pleasant and rhythmic sensations she felt traveling up her wing, her thoughts gradually grew slower while her eyelids started to weigh more and more every second.

Closing the cocoon of wings again with her now folded right one, Twilight nestled into the grass even more, coaxing Luna to inhale deeply, the faint vibrations of her purring growing for a second, before she, too, relaxed back and continued as if nothing had happened.

Sleep sounded like a good plan.

It sounded peaceful.

Already drifting off, Twilight heard soft hoof-falls slowly coming up the hill.

Her mind registered it, though she was too tired to do anything.

The hoofs sounded heavy, probably a larger pony.

Princess Celestia? Her Brother? Cadance?

No, none of those. She just knew.

Maybe a guard?

It didn’t matter.

Though, the steps grew ever closer until they stopped right next to her.

She felt the ghostly presence of a hoof hovering mere inches away from her back as if someone was thinking over it if would be wise to touch her.

She could feel it, both the internal turmoil and the hoof behind her back.

It was faint but present.

She knew with certainty, just as if she would have stood behind herself and taken a look.

Finally, the hoof went away.

Yet, the pony stayed.

A slight metallic cluttering could be heard.

A weapon? Armor?

Twilight couldn’t do anything to check as her body simply refused to work for her.

She was tired. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep, to hold Luna closer to her, and stay right here and now for as long as she pleased.

She wished the pony would just go away.

Yet, the pony remained.

Rooted in place mere inches away from her.

What did it want?

Another clatter.

Definitely armor.

A guard then.

The pony behind her inhaled deeply. Maybe not a guard? An assassin? Someone out to kill her and committing to strike right now?

Though the blow never came, and the pony almost soundlessly exhaled behind her.

She was in the castle; in Canterlot. What did she worry about, surely nothing would want to harm her here?

Still, the pony remained.

Standing there, as if thinking.

Doing nothing.

Finally, after Twilight already thought she had imagined the whole ordeal, a very tentative voice, one hushed down in fear of waking some pony, started to speak.

“Princess Twilight?” was the soft inquiry hanging in the air now.

It was her name, and her title, her mind bitterly reminded her.

She was addressed.

She couldn’t just pretend she didn’t hear it, could she?

Would the pony go away if she ignored it?

Could she return to sleep?

Though, sleep had already been stolen from her and so she shifted slightly, making the pony behind her step back as if in fear of having drawn her terrible wrath.

She opened her eyes.

There was the tree.

Blinking a couple of times, Twilight shifted her head slightly to glance over her shoulder.

Surely, right there where she had imagined him, a bulky white stallion clad in golden armor stood behind her.

His eyes wide and his ears as best as he could lay upon his helmet, the stallion looked as if he would bolt at any second now.

He was an earthpony.

He wouldn’t get far if she really wanted to stop him.

She blinked, where did that thought come from?

She mentally chided herself.

She was a princess, she had other means of retaliation.

She chided herself again.

But… she could throw the book next to her after him.

No… she couldn’t… first off, it was a book, second, it was too valuable, and third, it could hurt the poor soul.

Yet… why didn’t he go away?

Had she remembered to glare?

Licking his lips, the stallion nervously glanced at her, unable to meet her eyes and trying to avoid looking down her curled-up form as best he could.

He failed.

Shaking his head as if he was mentally debating something with himself, the stallion drew himself up as he remembered his guard training.

Focusing his attention just slightly above her eyes and at her forehead, he cleared his voice, “Princess Twilight, I am terribly sorry to have woken you, Your Highness.”

Twilight just sleepily blinked at him, wordlessly urging him to continue.

Looking at her for a moment longer, the guard took another step back, “I-I am sorry, your Highness, I will go and inform Princess Celestia that you are currently indisposed,” he said, already half-turned and intent on going away.

She could have what she wanted.

She just had to stay quiet.

Celestia.

She couldn’t.

Rubbing her eye with one of her hoofs absently, Twilight shook her head, “N-no, no, wait… wait…” she said, her voice still dulled from sleep, making the guard stop, “Wha… what did she want?” she asked.

Nervously glancing over his shoulders, the guard seemed to consider his answer.

Finally, he turned around once more, facing her and bowing slightly, “Princess Celestia has asked for your presence at lunch,” he stated more clearly and unknowing of another Princess he could wake.

Her former teacher called for her, her friend wanted to have lunch with her. Her crush.

Twilight nodded and inhaled deeply, feeling her chest fur gracefully touching the kitten folded inside her wings, “Y-you can inform her that I will be there shortly,” she stated, the prospect of sleep suddenly no longer important.

Nodding, the guard rose and was about to go before he stopped and spotted Luna’s regalia still neatly piled against the tree.

Glancing around, the guard seemed to look for her, his gaze wandering over the hill.

Finally, it reached her once more and he glanced rapidly between the pile of regalia and Twilight.

Clearing his voice, the guard turned around once more, his head held low and his voice once again dimmed, “Umm… Princess, do you happen to know Princess Luna’s whereabouts?”

Looking at him, Twilight measured him up and down before wearily nodding.

Nodding along, the guard seemed to ponder if what he would do next was the right choice, “C-could you, if, by chance you see her, maybe inform her that her sister has asked for her presence as well?” he asked.

Realizing that if Twilight was called for lunch, Luna was probably too, Twilight quickly concluded that finding the night princess for anyone not knowing that she had turned into a kitten could be rather difficult.

And rather hard to explain when they would eventually find her…

Smiling slightly, Twilight nodded, “Of course, I will let her know,” she said appeasing.

Nodding, the guard seemed satisfied and carefully trotted away.

Once he left, Twilight felt a slight shift inside her wing.

Opening the cocoon once more, it seemed Luna had woken up during their conversation and was now glancing up at her with sleepily blinking eyes.

Smiling down, Twilight watched Luna for a second, a blush already starting to spread over her cheeks, and her throat suddenly dry.

As the kitten turned alicorn laid her head slightly askew and mewed up at her as if asking what was wrong, Twilight made up her mind and shook her head, “Well… it seems Princess Cele… um… I mean your sister has asked for us to have lunch with her,” she said, carefully grabbing the tiny kitten at the scruff with her magic and setting her in front of her, “And I believe we should not let her have to wait on us for too long,” she said, lighting her horn…

---

Sitting at the table with her daffodil sandwich barely touched, Twilight silently contemplated the choices of her life as she mentally cursed at her mane for not being able to hide herself in it like she had seen Fluttershy do so many times.

In her attempts to try, she had apparently found yet another universal constant.

Her mane was evil.

Once she had returned Luna to her proper species, the two of them had made their way over to have Lunch with both Celestia and, as it turned out, Cadance.

While normally she would have been happy to spend some time with her former foalsitter, her sister in law felt like just another nail in her proverbial coffin right now.

Why?

Because she was embarrassed.

Thankfully, while no guard dared to speak their mind as they had seen her and Luna walking by, and no noble had been encountered and Celestia at least managed it to hide her smirk behind either her tea or a fork of lettuce, not that she didn’t notice, Cadance had outright started to giggle as soon as she had laid eyes upon Twilight and her disheveled mane.

Sleeping, as history had proven time and time again, had cruel repercussions for Twilight.

Either her dreams haunted her or, as had been the case mere minutes ago, she looked like she had hibernated with her head inside one of Cloudsdale’s cloud exhausts.

To make matters worse, once she had been seated between Celestia and Luna, as the latter had all but sprinted forward to claim the last vacant seat next to Cadance, Celestia had lit her horn and began gently to rearrange every hair on her head just the way she had always worn them.

Not that it didn’t feel nice.

Why did it have to feel nice?

Yet... that wasn’t the point…

Silently pretending she didn’t like the act, her almost quieted thoughts started to whirl up again.

Why couldn’t she have an ethereal mane like Luna or the pony currently combing her? Luna’s mane looked just fine once she had been returned to being a pony.

And she had never seen Celestia comb any more than her coat as her mane seemed to always flow in just the perfect way around her head, framing it just so that she always looked so stunningly beautiful.

Her thoughts derailing, Twilight shook her head slightly, drawing the attention from Celestia.

“Is something the matter, Twilight?” she almost silently asked, only for Twilight to hear while her magic still held to some loose strands of her mane and carefully realigning them without being disturbed by her movements in the slightest.

Finding it hard to suppress her blush, Twilight had nearly shaken her head again in denial but caught herself in time, she wasn’t about to make Celestia’s job even harder with her constantly moving her head, “No… no… it’s alright,” she said meekly.

Looking at her, Celestia seemed to catch onto her undertone but luckily chose to remain silent and instead returned her attention to her mane and the conversation both Luna and Cadance had lapsed into.

As soon as her sister in law had seen what Twilight had looked like, she all but demanded to know what had happened and so Luna had started to tell her everything about the two guards pooling for her approval and the later conversation and the experiments she had partaken in.

Hearing yet another giggle from her sister in law, Twilight too directed her attention once more to the conversation.

“… we ended up as a grown cat then for the third time,” Luna explained with a shrug, her fork with a pierced-on piece of pineapple pointed at Cadance, “Yet while once again our friend was quick to cancel her spell, we had learned to overcome the dizzying effects of the transformation,” she said, Cadance’s grin only widening with the same mischievous gleam in her eyes as Twilight had seen in Luna before.

To Twilight’s ever-growing shock and embarrassment though, even Celestia seemed to be silently listening to Luna’s embarrassingly told story as she, too, had her smile widen for a mere fraction of a second.

While her gentle smile was unlike any other for an outside observer, Twilight knew her former mentor well enough to know that even though she didn’t show it outwardly, she, too, was silently laughing over the story her sister told.

Teleporting away, while incredibly rude, seemed suddenly a very appealing prospect.

“So, after we hadst convinced her to cast the spell one last time, we immediately spurred to action as soon as she hadst lit her horn,” Luna said, her lips tucked upwards, “While we didn’t know with what we would end up, we turned out to be a small kitten to our surprise, and were forced to adjust our plans slightly as we hadst hoped to be able to tackle her.” Luna explained, giggling, “So, instead of directly jumping at her to give her a scare, we managed it to climb up one of her legs instead.”

Barely able to hold back her giggles now, Luna had to compose herself for a second before continuing, “T-thou shouldst have seen her reaction though,” she tried to say, though having to stop for a moment to find another thread of focus to prevent herself from bursting out in laughter, “And while we hath ultimately achieved what we intended to, we believe in the end we slightly overdid it.” Luna said with an almost unnaturally straight face.

“I believe I can understand why,” Cadance giggled, “it is not every day your magical experiment starts to pounce at you,” she added laughing.

Unable to suppress a giggle of her own, Celestia inclined her head, “Oh, the two of you have no idea how often Twilight has managed something similar,” she threw into the conversation, “You wouldn’t believe just how often I had to step in and had to ‘rescue’ her when one of her experiments started to misbehave.”

“Oh, come on!” Twilight threw in, finding a threat of courage, “I wasn’t that bad,” she tried to defend herself, the pout audible in her voice causing the trio of ponies to giggle even more.

“Oh, I never said that,” Celestia said, shaking her head, still amused, “Though, in all honesty, I’ve never come across a pony that managed to bring a rosebush to life and have it chase a guard around the statue garden when trying to get it to grow.”

Glowing red with embarrassment, Twilight suddenly found her sandwich much more interesting than the conversation in front of her.

Much to the amusement of both Cadance and Luna.

“So, anyway, once Twilight had fallen on her back, we hath to admit we may hath gotten carried away and started to climb onto her chest,” Luna continued, a blush of her own suddenly slightly visible on her darkened face, “and while Sister can most assuredly hold testament to that claim, we could not resist finding out what house cats find so alluring about being petted,” she said, eliciting a small squeal from Cadance and a snort of laughter from Celestia.

Suddenly finding herself in a point of advantage, Twilight looked up with a mischievous smile of her own, “You all but demanded from me to get petted and nearly turned into a puddle of goo once I started,” she quickly threw in, causing Luna’s blush to deepen and both Celestia and Cadance to snort once in laughter.

“Tis not true!” Luna said, her wavering voice saying otherwise.

Unable to not straight out grin at her fellow Princess, Twilight simply looked at her while miming as if she were holding something nonexistent in her front hooves, gradually making a petting motion up and down.

Narrowing her eyes at Twilight, Luna contemplated her for a second, “Yea verily, thou didst enjoy petting us too,” she said, her piece of pineapple vanishing in her mouth and thinking to have cornered Twilight once more.

Shrugging, Twilight looked around, “Who wouldn’t enjoy petting a kitten?” she said challengingly, causing Cadance to almost snort her drink through her nose while Celestia merely nodded along, her smile telling everyone she enjoyed it just as much as Cadance did, though in a more dignified way.

Huffing, Luna rolled her eyes, “Well, hath we at least been a soft kitten then?” she asked, admitting defeat yet trying to find another battle to fight.

Stopping somewhat, Twilight merely shrugged, “Hmm, I don’t know, I don’t have much to compare it to,” she answered honestly, “It has only been days since I had seen a kitten for the first time,” she added.

Derailed, Luna blinked…

Using that window of opportunity to change the topic of the conversation herself, Twilight cleared her voice, “Well, enough with what Luna and I had been up to,” she said, looking around, “What have you been up to this morning, Cadance? And where is Shining?”

“I? Oh, dear, I haven’t been up to too much.” Cadance merely shrugged, “After breakfast, I went into the city to meet up with Fancy Pants for a bit and later tried to find Fleur for a bit of a talk,” she said, dismissively, “Turned out she is currently in Manehatten for one of her shows and will not be back before tomorrow,” she added.

“And my brother?” Twilight asked.

Glancing at the door for a brief moment, all Cadance did was shrug, “Don’t know, I had hoped he would come to lunch as well, though maybe he is down in the barracks with his old buddies and simply forgot the time,” she dismissed.

Disheartened, Twilight’s expression dimmed for a second before she pressed her lips together and nodded, “Well, tell him ‘hi from me’ when you see him next.”

Pricking her ears, Celestia glanced from her salad bowl up and at Twilight, “Oh, won’t you be around?” she asked, “Or do you want to go somewhere?”

Shrugging, Twilight shook her head, “Well, no… not that I have planned, yet, but I figured if he doesn’t come to lunch, I will not get to see him today,” she answered somewhat sourly.

Glancing between each other, both Luna and Cadance shrugged slightly behind Twilight’s back.

Watching Twilight somewhat listlessly taking a bite out of her sandwich, Luna briefly glanced at her sister who, too, shrugged.

Mulling over it for a second, Luna glanced back to Twilight, “Well, if thou hast not planned anything then, wouldst thou mayhap be interested in accompanying us to the city?” she asked happily.

Surprised, Twilight looked up, still chewing, and looked at Luna questioningly.

Simply shrugging, Luna answered her unspoken inquiry by absently stabbing another piece of pineapple with her fork.

Reluctant, Twilight glanced towards Cadance and Celestia, who both had their attention directed back towards their respected meals, and only one of her former mentors’ ears slightly turned into her direction and gave away that she was still somewhat listening to the conversation.

Unable to determine if what Luna asked was not too unusual to any of them, Twilight briefly wondered if it would be a good idea.

But looking back at Luna and at her expectant gaze, Twilight couldn’t do anything but nod somewhat befuddled, “Well, sure, I would love to. Anything in particular you would like to do there?” she asked.

Ignoring Twilight’s question and happily clapping her hoofs together once, Luna’s expression turned gleeful, “EEE… splendid! It hast been too long since we hadst anyone who wanted to go shopping with us!” she exclaimed happily.

Frowning slightly, Twilight levitated her sandwich down and examined Luna as she happily started to inhale her meal to get done with it. Glancing away from her and at Celestia, Twilight cocked her head, “Wait, shopping?” she asked unsure if she should regret her affirmation.

Looking down at her former student, Celestia’s neutral face turned into an amused smile, “Anything wrong? I was under the impression you always enjoyed the monthly market when Cadance had taken you there when you were younger?” she asked. “You do know it is the first week of the month AND Monday?” she added.

Her frown deepening for a second in thought, Twilight’s eyes went wide and her mouth turned in an understanding O as she remembered what the first Monday of a month always meant for Canterlot.

The first week of every month meant that the Canterlot market would be filled with hundreds of merchants, clerks and sales-ponies from far and wide.

It is one of the few things both the nobility and everyone else enjoys without too much fuss over it and it was one of the most eagerly anticipated things for a younger Twilight to visit with either her brother or Cadance whenever they had time.

Every self-respecting business tried its hardest to have every once in a while, a place among the carts and sales-booths whenever the Canterlot market rolled around and even Applejack and her family had an occasional stand there from time to time.

Though, as history had proven time and time again, not even Canterlot could withstand the monthly onslaught of applications and attempts to secure a place for each and every bigger business of Equestria.

Remembering that the waiting lists were sometimes longer than she herself was high when folded up, Twilight briefly wondered how obscene the prices for one of the stand-places would have grown if Celestia had not chosen to regulate them manually to offer everyone the opportunity to have a stand there every once in a while.

With her reluctance thrown out of the window, Twilight’s enthusiasm got somewhat dimmed as she remembered how ponies had reacted whenever Cadance had accompanied her to the market.

It had always been much more fun whenever her brother had accompanied her than when Cadance did, as the majority of the attention of everyone was converted to her instead of going on as usual.

Previously it had never bothered Twilight too much, as having Cadance accompany her always meant that the clerks and merchants had been extra nice to her and that she sometimes had even gotten something for free.

But now as a grown-up, Twilight understood why that happened and also understood why Cadance had always been reluctant to agree to her pleas to visit the market.

Not wanting to cause another incident so shortly after her previous one, her ears somewhat laid back onto her head and her expression turned sour for the second time that day.

Rolling her eyes, Celestia nudged her, “Hey, little one, what’s wrong?” she asked softly.

Thinking over her words for a second, Twilight glanced up and at Celestia’s caring face, “Well… as much as I would love to, I don’t know if it would be a wise idea,” she simply said.

Nodding slowly, Celestia’s gaze flicked up for a second to Cadance and back to her, “I understand,” she said, somewhat distant before her expression hardened and a mischievous smile started to play over her lips.

Looking around to check that no guard was around, Celestia lit her horn, “Well, then I believe it is time for us to show you a little secret.”

Watching in awe as Celestia’s golden magic formed at the tip of her horn and built up there for a second, as soon as she released her magic, the energy previously forming into a ball now started to part and ripple over her former teacher's coat like golden changeling’s fire.

Starting on her head, her rainbow mane steadily turned into a slice of night sky and her usual white fur came out dark blue like that of her sister.

As the transformation passed over the rest of her body, both causing her to shrink and to change color, where Celestia had previously sat in her chair, now it was as if Luna had taken her place, much to the chagrin of the original one.

Giggling somewhat at Twilight’s dumbfounded stare Celestia examined herself for a second before cheekily looking at her sister who was not too happy about what her sister had done.

“Nay, Tia, thou must revert this this instant!” she demanded, her salad completely forgotten already, “We art not a form thou art allowed to take!”

Giggling some more, Celestia rolled her eyes and lit her horn again.

As her golden fire had burned once more over her coat, now another Twilight sat in her place, much to the wonder and astonishment of the original, who almost instantly and completely forgetting her usual caution towards her former mentor lunged forward to examine her.

Giggling some more, Celestia watched Twilight as she grabbed one of her wings and unfolded it with her magic, tilting it this way and that, examining it from all angles and casting a few spells on her in rapid succession.

Briefly enjoying Twilight’s antics for a second, Celestia cleared her voice, “Just like you did previously with my sister and turned her into… well… a cat, the two of you can just turn into another pony to go into the city without the usual fuss over everything we do,” she said amused.

Halting for a moment mid compare between her own and that of Celestia’s transformed wing, Twilight stopped and blinked.

After a moment of sitting there, she looked up and at Celestia, slightly perturbed that her own face looked back at her as if she would look in a mirror, just calmer, “I… honestly... never thought of that,” she admitted.

Giggling herself, Luna leaned over to Twilight, “Not e’en our sister hast been able to come up with this idea, ‘twas I who thought of it first, a long, long time ago,” she said, boasting.

“Yeah, and I would have come up with it eventually,” Celestia shot back, rolling her eyes.

“But thou didst not, we were the first and so the glory shalt evermore be laid at our hoofs for our accomplishment!”

Cracking a smile, Celestia slightly stuck her tongue out at her sister, which for Twilight looked odd at seeing herself doing that.

Though instead of a heated response like she had expected, Celestia suddenly found that her vision was filled with something approaching very quickly and before she could do anything, a multitude of ingredients splattered across her and behind her as Luna had thrown her half-eaten salad bowl at her.

…

---

Hearing ecstatic giggling and a suppressed ‘eep’ from the other side, one of the guards standing next to the closed dining hall doors sighed to himself.

Turning his gaze to the left and towards the other guard standing stoically at attention, a small snort found its way through his expressionless mask as he watched his younger companion stiff and rigid.

Shaking his head, he was about to turn his head back to look down the hall as a faint splotch could be heard from the other side, followed by more ecstatic giggling.

Sighing and shaking his head once more, his gaze turned back to his companion, “Do you too sometimes think we guard a group of children?” he asked no one in particular.

His companion slightly loosening his stance and too glancing at the door for a second, shrugged, “Well, honestly? I have no idea.”

As the shadow of the left guard bulged outwards, a sight too familiar for any of the guards to do any more than glance at it, a shadowy form emerged from it, revealing Artemis, one of Luna’s personal guards and technically one of their superiors if they had not been the personal guards of Celestia herself.

Glancing around, both ponies looked for the telltale signs of another pony emerging from the shadow but couldn’t find anything.

Glancing at his companion, the left guard cleared his voice, “Anything wrong, Artie?” he asked hesitantly, knowing full well that they normally were not allowed to have personal conversations during their shift.

Briefly chuckling and shaking her head, Artemis turned his gaze towards the two, “No, not really. Lightning just got hit by one of the things Princess Cadance has been shooting around and is off to clean his armor.”

Glancing between each other, both day-guards contemplated their next words, “Umm… Artemis?” one finally decided to speak up, “I believe you too… um… have been hit,” he said, pointing nonchalantly at her tail which was smeared with what looked like cream.

Glaring at him for a second, Artemis bared her fangs, “Brightshield, do shut up, would you?”

Holding his wings out in a display of surrender, he took a step back, “Hey, just saying.”

“I know, but we can’t both leave our post to clean up,” Artemis sighed, “Once Lightning is back, I am free to go.”

Once more glancing between one another, the guard on the right now spoke up, “Well, technically, you have already left your post,” he pointed out.

“Lancer, the shut-up counts for you too, and NO, I have not, I am still watching over her… just… outside the room. Outside the line of fire, if you so want.”

“Well… I am not certain if…”

“IF anyone finds out, I am sure Princess Luna will understand.” Artemis sighed, “Besides, where are Shieldfall and Thunderstrike? Shouldn’t they be on duty today?” she asked.

“Well, yes,” Brightshield answered, “but they… well…”

“They took a beating from Shining Armor,” Lancer finished his sentence.

Wincing slightly, Artemis glanced up, “What the hell did those two bucket-heads do this time?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Lancer shrugged, “Just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Sighing, Artemis shook her head, “If the nobility knew what our Royals do sometimes…” she said, letting the sentence unfinished hanging in the air.

Shrugging, Lancer glanced at his friend and then back to Artemis, “Hey, better that they have their phases than that they would rule with an iron hoof or anything,” he said jokingly.

“I am reasonably sure that could count as treason,” Lightning suddenly spoke up as she stepped out of the shadow behind Lancer, giving him a scare.

“Yeah, so what, call him out for it,” Artemis answered with an eye roll. Waving to both Brightshield and Lancer, she turned around, “Well have fun you three, I’ll be back before you know it,” she said, walking away and towards the next bathroom, an unconscious flick of her tail letting droplets of cream fly everywhere.

Glancing at Lightning, Lancer gulped, “You wouldn’t, would you...?” he asked, somewhat worried.

“You owe me a mug of cider,” Lightning simply stated, “Hey… where are Fall and Thunder? I thought they had their shift today?”

…

---

Right in the middle of the many thousands of ponies busily jostling and buzzing around Canterlot and its many streets, all of them intent on finding this or that, always on the hunt for both the new and interesting and the rather mundane and normal wares to buy, no one paid the two ponies passively observing them any mind at all.

Not that any of them would have been able to recognize them anyway, as what seemed like two plain and ordinary ponies simply strolled calmly alongside the hectic bustling around them, both seemingly preoccupied in their discussion while in truth at least one always had a cautious eye upon the masses.

Making their way down the main plaza, Twilight was somewhat mortified to find out that she had started to get accustomed to the way most everypony usually made room for her to walk since she had become an alicorn, and now that this was gone, she found, much to her horror, she somewhat missed it.

Though, the fact that she could slurp as loudly on her milkshake as she wanted without having to fear for causing yet another national incident more than made up for it.

Or that she could have a milkshake at all while walking through Canterlot’s streets.

Well, as long as Luna didn’t mind that is, not that she could tell if the older Princess did, as she was currently nose deep in the rest of her cotton candy herself and with an ice cream cone skillfully held within her wing, slowly dripping onto her primary feathers.

Walking next to her fellow princess, Twilight couldn’t for the life of her fathom how Luna could have chosen to transform into a pegasus, as while she had to admit flying was nice, well… once one got the hang of it, voluntarily giving up the versatility and utility of her magic and being unable to use it was something that made her shudder, even if it only had to be temporary.

Dismissing the thought, Twilight briefly wondered if she should point out to Luna that her ice cream was currently making a mess of her feathers.

Though as she silently watched her while still debating with herself, Luna finished with the last pieces of her cotton candy and skillfully flicked the wooden stick the sugary treat had been wrapped around into the nearest bin, before greedily starting to devour her frozen treat as well.

When Luna had transformed herself, she had kept most of her height and her fur color, only changing her cutie mark into a telescope and evening out her fur around it to the rest of her body while getting rid of her horn for the time being.

Her mane, normally starry and billowing in an ethereal wind, was now light blue and bound together in a medium-sized ponytail, reminding Twilight of the hairstyle Cadance had worn in her youth.

While watching her friend out of the corner of her eyes, Twilight thought that, right now, Luna reminded her somewhat of Cadance’s friend Fleur de Lis. Only that she, instead of Twilight’s friends’ friend, was a Pegasus, and had a bit more emphasized muscles which Twilight could watch ripple under her coat with every step.

Not that she would ever admit that she had caught herself staring even once.

Besides, Luna’s coat looked naturally much more silken than the model could ever hope to achieve with any conditioner.

If Luna noticed her stare, she didn’t mind, nor did Twilight realize Luna did notice as she watched Luna greedily lick over her feathers, making sure to get out even the last drop of her ice cream before folding her wing back to her side, now glistening slightly in the sunlight from its impromptu preening.

Before Luna could glance in her direction, Twilight quickly averted her gaze, feeling her cheeks already warm up as she did so.

While Luna had chosen to become a Pegasus, Twilight had instead transformed herself back into a unicorn.

If anyone would have looked closely, she more or less looked just like she did before her ascension, only keeping her slightly bigger than average size and changing her cutie mark to a piece of parchment and a quill.

While adding some additional, more subtle, changes to deceive even those who looked closely, her mane had undergone the most changes, as from her usually flattened dark indigo mane style with a pink and purple streak, she now wore a more voluminous hairstyle, while both her secondary colors had been replaced from indigo and purple to a silvery and light blue mix which would surely have made Rainbow proud.

Walking in companionable silence for at least a minute, Twilight quickly found that the silence between the two of them had grown too large for her liking and so she frantically tried to search for a topic they could talk about.

Thinking back to what Luna had mentioned earlier in the dining hall, that she had, in fact, not been to a market for quite some time now got her thinking. Swaying her head slightly, she eventually broke the silence, “So… um, how long has it been now since you last visited one of the markets?” she asked, immediately cringing at how corny and wrong her attempt at small talk sounded.

Shrugging slightly though, Luna didn’t seem she minded as she considered her response, “Well, aside from the few times shortly after our return in which our sister had us all but dragged out of our quarters, instead of those of old, we never much enjoyed visiting these markets alone,” she said, a somewhat forlorn tone ringing in her words.

Frowning slightly, Twilight felt a pang of sadness at hearing those words, but before she could say anything, Luna sighed loud enough to be heard and let her head droop slightly, “Well, tis wrong to say that we hath been alone, The fact of the matter ‘tis we hadn’t much of an opportunity to enjoy the monthly occasion, as more often than not our duties interfered one way or another. We believe it would hath been a bad idea to ask one of our guards to accompany us. As much as we would like it to be otherwise, whosoever we hadst chosen, they would hath been accused of favoritism in one way or another,” Luna said, “And while certain actions still rouse such ill sighted rancor between the guards, we couldst hath always asked one of the few friends we hath made since our return,” she added, a faint smile given in Twilight’s direction from which the young pony shied away.

Straightening up for a moment, in the end, Luna let her head hang once more, “Though truth be told, we fear that the ‘modern’… markets… art not as appealing to us as they hath been in our times,” she said, her voice suddenly sounding much older, “It… saddens us that they seemst to hath lost the special joy and feeling they hadst always brought before.”

Nodding reluctantly, Twilight tried her best to understand though she found herself unable to, “Well… what is it then that you are missing?” she asked, carefully nudging Luna in a friendly gesture, “Maybe it isn’t that they have lost the quality but that you are merely unable to find it?” she added, once again inwardly cringing at her words.

Watching as Luna’s gaze slowly swept over the crowd, Twilight almost wondered if Luna wasn’t about to answer when she suddenly made a face and opened her mouth, “We know naught! That is the problem,” she exclaimed, a sigh following her words, “Tis just… it saddens us that they feel different, that they hath changed since our absence at all,” she explained, her gaze softening, “We hath to admit, we miss the days wherein craftsponies themselves praised their work and traveling merchants brought astonishing and interesting inventions from hither and yon,” she said, smiling slightly, “We miss the little shows and presentations they hadst all come up with, just to explain the newest contraption which was supposed to change our very life,” she giggled, “They hadst been carefree days, days in which what one might call normal today hadst been wonderous in the eyes of everypony, even those such as our sister or ourself...”

Listening to Luna’s explanation, a picture started to form in Twilight’s mind, one filled with cities full of little houses, all having a small place for a family business attached, whether it be a simple stand or a small shop, all run by the family living and working within.

There was a small marketplace, a stage erected in its middle for those who brought news from the other cities or for merchants who came to a halt in the little town.

Where Canterlot now had cobbled streets, in those days it had all just been downtrodden roads of dirt and mud, where the occasional wagon had been dragged across, carving its wheels deep into the ground and churning it into dust.

While Twilight listened, she could almost see the Castle of The Two Sisters standing proudly above the roofs, giving off a backdrop of wealth and stability to all those living in its shadow.

Listening to what Luna said, she could almost smell the scent of freshly baked bread and hear the deliberate hammering of steel on steel in the distance. She knew what Luna was talking about, she had read of the markets and cities of old not only in her history books, but in the novels and adventure stories she enjoyed from time to time as well.

While never having been able to be in one of those markets herself, as they were simply a thing of the past, Twilight felt as if she understood her friend’s grievance at having ‘lost’ the feeling of what now seemed as only so much a fairy tale today.

Eventually, though, Luna’s explanation came to an end, and so did the picture forming in Twilight’s mind. Though where previously confusion had been, a kind of understanding and empathy had taken hold. She knew that the time of which Luna had spoken of simply had passed and that both society and culture had moved on, but she also knew that she could not really help her friend come to terms with it.

Now she really wished she would have stayed an Alicorn or became a Pegasus, as draping a wing over her friend would have at least given her the illusion of having been able to do something.

Though while Twilight was secretly vexed with herself and took solace in the fact that she could at least be there for Luna, the night princess seemed to brighten up slightly and draped a wing over Twilight’s back instead.

Smiling up at the bigger pony next to her, Twilight sheepishly pressed her lips together before hesitantly speaking, “Well… I am sorry for not being able to help with that very much,” she said, her ears drooping, “I know it must be hard to come to terms with such changes,” she added, motioning to their surroundings wherein ponies were busily going about their days.

Following her friend’s gaze, Luna smiled and shook her head, “Thou hast naught to be sorry for,” Luna said, “Hadst it not been for thee, we doubt we wouldst be able to enjoy the here and now,” she added.

“But still, I can’t imagine how it is to face these drastic changes, even now, after all this time,” Twilight said, “I mean, even I have to admit that everything around us is… hectic.”

Nodding her head, Luna gazed around, “Thou art correct, today everypony has a certain place they always hath to be, a certain urgency driving them hither and yon,” she said, watching how a line of ponies impatiently waited for the merchant to dispatch one customer after another, “And while such things couldst also be said in the past, today they just seem more… present,” she explained, briefly watching a pair of pegasi carrying a large wooden box over the busy crowd and down the street.

“Tis not that things are more hectic these days, as there wast a fair share of it in our time as well, though tis the fact that we missed the change,” Luna sighed, “If thou look at our sister, she seems hardly to have taken it better, as she hast been all but imprisoned herself in her work during our absence.”

Twilight tried to say something, but Luna simply shook her head to gently silence her friend, “Tis neither thy fault nor that of our sister. But time hath taken its toll on us both, and we both hath to heal slowly,” Luna forlornly added and squeezed her wing tighter, “Wouldst it not hath been for thee, neither of us would have been able to start. But because of thee, we believe one day, what hath been wronged might be made right again and for that we must thank th-you, without any apologies belittling your work,” Luna added, as she saw Twilight inhale to speak.

Blushing slightly, Twilight instead turned her head away and found it suddenly hard to walk straight with Luna squeezing her with her wing.

Smiling impishly, Luna turned her gaze forward and watched Twilight only from the corner of her eyes, “Besides, in our long life we hath learned one thing, while these days the markets have all but grown silent and most shopkeepers hath lapsed into one simple friendly greeting as the only merriment one might find in their abode, we are sure that everything will one day come back one way or another,” she said, her smile widening, “And one day we will be able to show thee how what we hath described has felt like in reality.”

Thinking over Luna’s words, Twilight found that the longer she did, the less sense they actually made. Frowning in confusion, she glanced back to her friend who met her gaze with a friendly smile, “What do you mean ‘come back’?” she asked, her head cocked slightly, “It isn’t as if society would evolve backwards all of a sudden, or would it? I mean, I have never read of anything telling that what we now have has already existed prior?” she mused.

Shaking her head, Luna averted her gaze and looked skywards, “No, it is not so easy,” she said, her smile wavering for but a second, “But thou hath surely heard of legends telling stories of great empires covering the lands, vast cities filled with riches long forgotten and old knowledge lost to history?” she asked, her mood suddenly sounding dampened and waiting for Twilight to cautiously nod along, “It isn’t that it shall happen in only days or that it shall come to pass in the near future, but aside from ourselves, nothing is eternal, my Friend.”

Closing her eyes before opening them once more, all traces of sadness and age wiped away, Luna smiled back at Twilight, “Neither does history change without one,” she added, “even our banishment has just been one second in eternity and shall be forgotten as such.”

Frowning slightly, Twilight blinked, “But how do you know? I mean, even you or Celestia aren’t so old that you have lived in those eras,” she pointed out before realizing two mistakes at once.

First, they were in public, speaking freely had only been possible because they had not drawn attention from anyone, and saying any of the Princesses’ names, even her own, seemed to automatically draw attention as numerous eyes suddenly had wandered in their direction.

And secondly, did she really just assume their age? Having asked Celestia when she was young how old she truly was had only been shrugged off and followed with a gentle reprimand that one didn’t ask a ladies age. But now, she just assumed that they had been young when Equestria was young, but even to her reasoning that sounded hollow, as they didn’t just pop into existence just to rule a kingdom, or did they?

Continuously walking along, the attention of those around them slowly fading away, Luna didn’t seem upset and merely giggled slightly, “We just know, my friend. In all likelihood we assume that not even thy former foalsitter would be privy to that knowledge, but our sister and I art far older than history will make us out to be,” she said, the wing over Twilight’s back fading out of touch.

Missing the soft touch on her back already, Twilight nodded, “I thought so too, I mean… two fillies fighting Discord, I…” blinking, she just realized that she, in fact, had almost been a mere filly to fight Discord, had it not been for her friends to help her.

“Indeed, this hadst not been our first battle, but we hath not been on this world since its creation, as some assume, we hath merely seen a fair share of its history,” Luna explained, a playful smile suddenly back on her features and leaning closer, “And if thou art interested, thou couldst ask our sister about the forgotten tribes of Elix-az and how she and I hadst helped its population to flourish,” she added with a purr that made her friend shudder.

Blinking, gulping and blushing all at once, Twilight tried to shy away from Luna, though as quickly as the night princess had leaned in and almost tickled her ears with the movement of her lips, as quickly had she resumed her normal strides and adopted the most happy smile she could muster.

Watching her friend for a moment, Twilight had to eventually glance away as she felt her blush only deepening when looking at the graceful princess next to her.

How had she ever thought she could even hold a candle to those two magnificent beings?

She was just a mere second in their infinite life, infinitely younger, not worthy of their praise, not worthy of their attention.

Watching Twilight fumble slightly, Luna briefly meandered in thought how cute her friend really was and how innocent she seemed to be.

Had she ever had a lover’s touch on her?

Shaking her head, Luna eventually laid her wing back over Twilight’s withers, calming the young Princess slightly and making her unconsciously lean into her while giving Luna the ability to gently nudge her along while she was lost to her mind and thoughts.

If so, Luna definitely had to change that! She had to show Twilight how special she was! How truly magnificent and wonderous.

Glancing around, Luna watched the ponies around them.

Ranging from young to old, from energetic to reserved, from interesting to plain at first glance.

Looking at their subjects, Luna’s heart clenched slightly as she thought what they all would do if the two of them had chosen to walk here without donning disguises.

While having always wanted her subjects’ love and approval like her sister, Luna now found that she knew why Celestia had always seemed unhappy with the attention she had received and why she had always seemed jealous about her own ability to blend in and be more familiar with those they ruled over.

She understood now.

Her jealousy had been foolish. She should have known that it would have eventually changed again, and she couldn’t wait for this era to pass.

Feeling a slight bristle next to her, Luna glanced back at her friend and smiled. She didn’t need a kingdom following her every word, she only needed a few true friends to be happy.

And maybe even one who would be more than a friend?

Squeezing her wing slightly, Luna glanced up and looked around once more. If she wasn’t mistaken, at the next alleyway they had to turn left to eventually reach their destination.

Seeing a group of earth ponies carrying a crate much bigger than all of them together rounding a corner, almost dropping the cargo they held collectively on their backs, Luna lit her hidden horn and stabilized the load with a gentle brush of her magic, making sure it wouldn’t drop off again if they didn’t want it to.

As the four stallions looked gratefully at the crate that hadn’t dropped, nopony having been able to see the swirl of magic stabilizing it, Luna smiled to herself.

She loved her subjects, even though they could do without a little less formality to them every once in awhile, but that wasn’t a reason to not love them. They all chose their way of expressing their love differently and while she walked along, she heard one of the stallion’s praise to her sister in thanks for having avoided disaster.

Not quite, but close enough.

Gently coaxing Twilight along and slowly rounding a corner, Luna eventually heard soft mumbling coming from next to her.

Focusing her attention to her friend and watching her mull over her thoughts, Luna would have almost been able to say when the exact moment would be as Twilight turned her head slowly to look at her and ask, “The tribal state of Elix-az, source for many legends and stories about their liberty, beauty, and prowess in love and war has been guessed to have existed almost 12 to 13 thousand years ago. Are… are the two of you really that… old?” she asked, her ears pressed on her head and worrying that she may have said something upsetting her friend.

Though where Twilight expected a scowl to form on Luna’s muzzle, a gentle and playful smile was found instead as the Night Princess smirked at her, “Now, now, we thought our sister hadst taught thee better, one does not ask a ladies age,” she said, sticking her muzzle into the air and walking like she had seen many nobles do when they had been upset by anything.

Glancing down the brim of her muzzle, Luna watched as Twilight’s ears fell flat and her gaze dropped in immediate sadness.

Realizing instantly that Twilight had missed her attempt at a joke and taken it at face value, Luna felt her heart clench as she watched her friend’s mood drop because of her.

Immediately dropping the act and squeezing her wing reassuringly, Luna shook her head, “We didst not mean to… we… I… I am sorry, we, I thought it wouldst be a humorous joke and jab at our sister, we didst not mean to upset thee,” Luna said quickly, the pain in her heart almost real when she looked at her friend.

Forcing herself to calm down, Luna nodded slightly, “Thou art right, somewhat, but even we hath to admit we dost not know of the time which hath passed since then. Many moons hath come and gone and we hath to admit we hath long since ceased to reckon the passage of years -or centuries.”

Seeing Twilight only hesitantly collect herself, Luna awkwardly let go of her friend and let her wing slip down, “I… I am sorry, please, do not be upset because we made an ill-timed joke,” Luna pleaded.

Looking back at her friend, Twilight tried her best to smile and shake her head, to reassure her friend who now looked as miserable as she felt.

The jab had stung, she had to admit, but Luna had merely tried to be funny, she should have known!

Forcing a smile onto her lips, Twilight pressed her lips together for a moment, “It’s… okay, I shouldn’t have reacted that way either, I am so…”

“Thou dost not have to be sorry for anything, the fault was not thine own but ours,” Luna interjected swiftly.

Looking ahead, Luna seemed to briefly fight with herself as well before she dismissed her thought with a firm shake of her head, “Please, do not be upset on a day like this,” she said, the wing Twilight had almost become dependent on returning to her back and making the young princess almost melt in bliss at its soft and gentle touch.

“I… it is okay, Luna,” she said almost whispering as she slightly leaned into her friend’s warmth and comfort.

Feeling Twilight almost pressing herself into her side, Luna closed her wing and squeezed her as close to her as she could without making it feel uncomfortable to the young pony.

She definitely needed to watch her words with her. One wrong word or gesture and she would reveal what she knew, would reveal her and her sister’s intentions too soon and would potentially ruin a wondrous future she desperately seemed to crave each and every second more which she spent with the young pony.

Twilight was precious to her, and seeing her upset, even more so by her own actions, had almost made her upset as well.

---

Continuing their walk through Canterlot’s busy streets in silence, Luna finally recognized the buildings around them due to having almost reached their destination.

Looking down to see Twilight merely enjoying their closeness and the walk through the city, Luna slightly nudged the younger pony alert to look at her.

Stirred from her thoughts and back to their surroundings, Twilight blinked and looked up at her friend, the ponies around them having thinned out to only a few every few meters and the stalls and businesses set up for the market left behind them already a few minutes ago.

“We are here,” Luna merely said, nodding ahead and at a store, Twilight would have recognized instantly had she not been preoccupied.

Following her friend's gaze, eager to finally know where Luna wanted to go, Twilight froze immediately as she recognized the shop.

Rarity's Carousel Boutique in Canterlot.

Her eyes widening, Twilight didn’t even notice the wing sweeping over her as Luna wasn’t prepared for her to stop so suddenly in the middle of the street.

Alert, Twilight’s gaze eventually settled on the pony in front of her and she giggled awkwardly, “Umm… Lu-Moonshine? Wha… what are we doing here?” she asked meekly, almost forgetting again that they had chosen to use different names for themselves.

Eventually noticing Twilights sudden halt and coming to a stop a few steps further down the road, Luna turned around and cocked her head, regarding her friend with a puzzled look, “We believe the modern term would be ‘to go shopping’,” she said, a bit of uncertainty leaking into her voice at the sight of her friend so suddenly looking troubled.

Nodding slowly, Twilight pointed next to the boutique at the watchmaker which had been in Canterlot for longer than she had been around and which had quite a reputation among noble and common pony alike, “Erm… you want to go there, right?” Twilight asked, a sense of unease palpable in her voice.

Following Twilight’s gaze, Luna shook her head, “No, not really, we’ve intended to hie to thy friend’s boutique,” she clarified, making Twilight’s fear come true.

Gulping once and walking up to Luna, Twilight mutedly whispered, intent on not arousing any more eyes and trying to avoid causing a scene in the middle of the street, “What do you mean you want to go into the boutique? That is Rarity’s boutique!” Twilight hissed, her heart beating.

As Luna merely nodded, Twilight whinnied slightly, “No, no, no, no! We can’t go in there! Rarity will kill me if she figures out that I’ve brought you here!”

Frowning, Luna cautiously took a step back, making Twilight almost cringe by doing so, “What dost thou mean, ‘we can’t?’ We were of the belief thou wouldst enjoy coming here and helping us pick out a dress?” Luna asked, worried, and laying her ears back.

Following suit to be able to keep her voice low, Twilight laid her ears back as well before glancing around suspiciously, her voice hushing even more as she did so, “We can’t go in there! Rarity would kill me if she figures out that I’ve brought you into her shop, in disguise, and without her knowing!” Twilight almost fumed, “She has wanted to make a dress for you now for years! And you never even responded to the hundreds of messages and letters she has sent you over this time!”

Blinking, Luna merely frowned at her friend’s sudden aggressiveness.

Suddenly realizing what she was doing, Twilight staggered back and shook her head, “Oh no… no! I um… I didn’t mean it that way,” she said, her words almost falling over each other at Luna’s gaze, “I… I mean, why do you so suddenly want a dress? … I um… always thought you weren’t the dress wearing type of pony!” she explained, half whispering half shouting.

Immediately cringing at her own words, Twilight was about to continue her sudden rant as Luna visibly cracked up in a single snort of laughter, “Well, thou art not incorrect in that,” she said, shrugging and trying to calm her friend before sorting out the mess in front of her.

Having not expected this kind of a reaction, Twilight suddenly stopped in the middle of her backtracking, frozen in both fear of having insulted and almost screamed, all but quietly, at her friend as well as agitation towards Luna’s surely following outrage, “Wha… what do you mean?”

Making a deliberate motion to appear as unthreatening as possible to the startled pony across from her, Luna slowly walked closer to her friend, “We mean that thou art correct in thy assumption that we art usually not a, oh how didst thou put it?, ‘a dress-wearing type of pony’,” she explained, coming to a stop next to her friend, who seemed to shy away from her, and nuzzling her gently with her head, seeking to calm Twilight by doing so.

While Luna still didn’t understand why Twilight was so agitated all of a sudden, she knew from both her sister and personal experience that her friend sometimes tended to overreact to the simplest of things and therefore knew to not take affront at Twilight’s sudden harsh tone.

As her reassuring nuzzles seemed to help to calm her friend down, Luna opened her wing once more and laid it over Twilight’s back, noting that her eagerness to lean into the embrace seemed to have doubled as she laid her ears back and almost curled into her.

Closing her wing and holding Twilight close for a moment, enjoying the warmth and the smell from her friend as she did so, Luna noted that while Twilight outwardly seemed to calm down, Twilight’s heartbeat sped up the longer she kept the embrace.

Eventually letting go and seeing that whatever had troubled her had not yet left Twilight as she looked her into her eyes, Luna gently cleared her voice, “Now, wouldst thou mind explaining thy sudden… rant,” she asked, making Twilight wince slightly.

Relieved that despite her… actions… Luna seemed to have simply shrugged off her ill-chosen words and was apparently not ending their friendship, Twilight nodded meekly.

Sorting herself out for a second before pressing her ears against her skull once more, Twilight tried to apologize first but was stopped by her friend simply hugging her once more.

The thoughts, “I don’t deserve such kindhearted ponies,” and “I all but screamed at one of my friends,” made her almost crush down under an unwavering sense of guilt. Had Luna not wrapped a wing around her to show her everything was going to be alright; Twilight knew that she might have broken down in the middle of the street, crying.

Though feeling the soft fur of her friend’s coat against her own, every worry she had just a moment ago seemed… meaningless… now.

Seeking her voice, Twilight had troubles finding the correct words but eventually settled with what she could come up with on the spot, “I… I am sorry Luna,” she said, earning yet another squeeze of her friend's wing, “I shouldn’t have reacted that way,” she explained.

Correcting her jaw, Twilight tried to speak again but just sighed, letting her head droop slightly, “I… it is just… ever since the Summer Sun Celebration seven years ago, Rarity has been… excited.”

“Back then, we hadn’t been friends for too long, but because of me, she had been able to become acquainted with… well… Princess Celestia. The two of them talked for a lengthy time and after her stay at Canterlot later that year, the two of them had become… friends… somewhat.”

Visibly wrong hoofed, Twilight seemed to consider her next words, “Please don’t say this to Cel… your sister, but I think she could really use a friend or two more in her life… even that in-between Rarity and her seems… formal, at best,” she mused, causing Luna to nod slightly at her sidetracking.

Shaking her head, Twilight mentally filed that away for later, “Well, anyway. Rarity later told me she had always wanted to make a dress for the princess, and because I had been her student for years now, I asked Celestia over one of our tea meetings if she would consider such a thing,” Twilight explained, slightly blushing, “Well… seeing that not long after that Rarity was formally asked to make a dress for her, I would think that I made one of her dreams come true,” she said, a small smile finding its way onto her lips.

“Once she was finished then, and even had been able to tailor Cadance’s dress for her wedding later, she came up with the plan to make you a dress as well,” Twilight explained, her gaze suddenly shying away from that of Luna, “And, well… she planned. She made designs, sketched, and came up with hundreds of ideas. I mean, I’ve seen her sketchbooks, she has one specifically for you alone,” Twilight exclaimed, “The only thing missing was… well… you. She sent you letters, many, in fact, and even asked me for help once. Upon which I promised I would ask you when I had the opportunity.”

Her voice dimming yet again, Twilight’s troubles seemed to have come back with a vengeance, “And… well… I forgot. As I later visited the castle for a few days and overheard a group of guards debating your choice of… style, I assumed you would not want a dress from Rarity and therefore hadn’t reacted to her mail… but… I still haven’t asked,” Twilight said, her voice growing more unsteady by the second, “I just assumed and never sought to bring it up later as I just thought you would simply deny the request.”

Searching for the correct words, Twilight fell silent for a moment before she found her voice again, “A… and now you… we… are here, and you want a dress. One I assumed you never would want and what I even told Rarity later… I… I just assumed… I… I thought I knew… but… I… I am sorry, I…”

Squeezing her friend tightly to her chest, Luna couldn’t help but crack a smile, “While thou art correct that thou still couldst have asked, we dost not blame thee for thy assumption. We only hold a few dresses in our wardrobe, and those we have in there are not even ones we hadst received willingly or of our own volition,” Luna said, noticing Twilight seemed to slightly tremble, “They hadst been gifts, from diplomats and from our sister. And while the former lack in meaning and the later do not suit our style, we hath not yet been in need of a dress and therefore hath forgone this practice until today,” Luna started to explain, “It is not that we do not like dresses as a whole, it is just we enjoy the simplicity of our regalia or maybe a finely crafted piece of armor even more,” she said, slightly embarrassed at having to admit this out loud.

Nodding at Luna’s words, Twilight pressed her ears even more to her head, another apology already on her lips as Luna simply shook her head, “Enough of this. Thou failed to ask us, so what? Tis not as if the world would split because of it,” Luna said, a chipper note entering her voice.

As Twilight’s gaze seemed to convey that, yes, the latter would happen, Luna simply rolled her eyes, “Ah, we dost not want to hear any more of this,” she said, gently straightening Twilight up with her wings, “Thou forgot, and there’s the end of it. Now, what upsets us the most is not that thou didst forget, but the fact that we ne’er received any of those letters thou spake of.”

Taken off guard, Twilight frowned, “Wait… you haven’t? But she has probably sent you hundreds of letters! Both addressed to the throne asking for your time and she had even a few sent directly to your chambers.”

“We hath not received any missive from thy friend,” Luna explained deep in thought and trying to figure out if she had maybe, somehow, just missed them.

“B-but… that’s impossible! I know for a fact that she did so! I even saw her give such a letter to the malemares from time to time. She was always so excited afterwards when she did so!”

Frowning slightly, Luna’s gaze seemed to darken a bit, “Well… we have some ponies go over our mail for us to filter through those which are important and which are not, but we do not think they would have stopped a missive from one of the bearers? Or would they?”

Starting to frown as well, Twilight slightly shook her head, “I do not think so… or… at least… I hope not,” Twilight mused.

“Well, we know that we will have to look into that when we are back into the castle,” Luna said, her mood suddenly sour which made Twilight lay her ears back onto her head.

Seeing Twilight’s reaction to her tone, Luna rolled her eyes, “Oh come now, let’s not stall for much longer. Let’s give your friend’s boutique a long overdue visit, shall we not?” Luna asked, her sour mood leaving just as quick as it had come.

As Luna wanted to begin their walk again, she was stopped as Twilight simply refused to walk and therefore held her back as she had still her wing draped over her friend.

Sighing slightly, Luna glanced at her friend with slight annoyance, “Well, what ails thee now?,” she said, her own aggressiveness startling her suddenly and causing Twilight to freeze up again.

Silently cursing, Luna complained to herself that she had just made Twilight comfy again and had now ruined it, again.

Right now, though, Twilight was only briefly reluctant, and she soon started to slowly follow Luna along, “Well… I still don’t like the idea of going in there with our disguises. Rarity knows me well, and when she manages to figure out who we are, she will probably kill me on the spot.”

“Well… that would be an act of…”

“Not literally! But she would surely be mad at me,” Twilight explained with a roll of her eyes.

Nodding wearily, Luna seemed to suddenly second guess her chosen destination when she heard of the previously unknown aggressiveness from the bearer of the Element of Generosity.

Letting it slide for now, Luna cocked her head, “How about we just go look for now, and we promise that we wilt return once we are not wrapped in illusions?” she asked, making Twilight look up.

“Well, what is the point of going now then?” she asked, her head cocking slowly.

Shrugging, Luna smiled, “Let’s just say we sample first, shall we?” The real plan on why she had come here still in her mind, Luna wasn’t about to leave without first having achieved her goal.

“And what if she figures it out?” Twilight asked, somewhat meekly.

“She shant. Just stick to our altered names and not even thy friend wilt be the wiser,” Luna explained, giggling, “Our transformations wilt do the rest,” she added with a wink.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight couldn’t help but giggle as well as Luna opened the door to Carousel Boutique, the bell above them tingling friendly as she did so, “Well, after you, Moonlight,”

“Oh, no, I insist that you shall go first, Duskshine!”

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