Midnight was already sipping her tea by the time I walked out onto the balcony. The sun had started to slowly set in the distance, which meant Luna should be up around now.

Should be able to meet up with Celestia and her for breakfast/dinner/lunch in an hour or so.

Midnight looked different from when she arrived in our Equestria months ago. She had cut her mane shorter than our Twilight and had started to wear it in a ponytail. The change in her mane and her name was mostly to differentiate herself from the other Twilight.

Her spike on the other hand seemed to be going through some kind of teenage thing and called himself ‘Blade’. We mostly humored him.

“Sorry I’m late,” I said as I joined her, “Rarity was taking a lot of measurements.”

Midnight smiled and sipped her tea, “Sounds like Rarity,” she said before she sighed softly, “Some things seem to be the same in all worlds.”

I nodded and poured myself some tea, “You miss them.”

Midnight nodded, “Of course,” she said and frowned, “It’s difficult seeing them here. They are the same ponies, but… they don’t know me. They know her.”

“No luck?”

She shook her head again and looked down at her cup, “No,” she said softly, “No, not really. From everything we have been able to find out, Discord was telling the truth. Without the anchor spell…”

Oh.

“I’m sorry.”

She shook her head, “I said it before, Page, it’s not your fault. You didn’t know and you were defending your friend. And for all we know, it might as well have been one of my spells that ruined the scroll.”

“Still. Feel bad about it.”

Midnight smiled a bit, “If it helps you feel any better, this is not exactly the worst world I could have gotten stuck in. The worlds where Nightmare Moon or the Changelings had taken over the world would have been much worse,” she said before she sighed and rubbed her forehead with her hoof, “...I’m talking to the wrong pony about that.”

I smiled at her, “Oh come on. I know very well how bad the Changelings could have been. And I might not have been somewhere to see the real Nightmare Moon, but she wasn’t my Luna. Not really.”

She nodded before she flicked her right ear, “...Wait, the real Nightmare Moon? Where would you have seen…” she started to ask before trailing off.

“Weeeellll…” I said with a grin.

Midnight shook her head, “Forget I asked.”

I just chuckled and took a sip from my tea with a grin. Speaking of which, I may have to ask Luna to do that tonight. Was fun last time.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“The wedding,” she said before she clarified, “I don’t know if I should go.”

Oh for crying out loud. Her too!?

“Oh. Why not?” I asked with a frown.

Midnight shifted a bit in her seat and frowned down at her cup of tea, “I… I don’t belong here. When I go home, I don’t want to leave friends behind.”

“So you're trying not to make friends,” I said before I sighed, “Midnight, you’re the Princess of Friendship. You need friends.”

She flicked her ears and frowned, “I know. But… “

“But? You don’t want to leave them behind when you leave,” I said, repeating what she said earlier, “Yeah, that would suck. But you’re not happy, Midnight. I can see it in your dreams, they are almost always dark.”

Midnight sighed softly, “...Nightmares,” she admitted after a long moment.

I just nodded, “Understandable. If I were thrown away from my world into a new strange one, I would have them as well.”

Midnight stared at me before she looked down at the table, “...Page, I’m sorry. I didn’t think of that.”

I smiled at her, “It’s fine. This is my home now. I wouldn’t go back if I could,” I said before I refilled her tea as I looked at her in realization, “You are trying not to get friends that you have to leave behind,” I said before I sighed softly, “but consider this… what if you never can? Leave, I mean?”

Midnight swallowed and took a slow deep breath before she nodded, “That’s… very possible.”

“Sorry.”

She sighed softly and sipped her tea again, “No. No, that’s a fair question. Don’t like thinking about it, it feels like giving up, but…”

I nodded in understanding, “Yeah. But hey, if anypony could figure it out, it would be you and Sparky,” I said before I smiled at her, “If there is one good thing to come of this, it was that you and Sparky finally met somepony able to keep up with you.”

That got a small snort from her and a small smile, “...It has been fun talking to Twilight,” she admitted, “We've been able to get twice as much done when working together.”

“See, not all bad.”

Midnight smiled a bit and shifted her wings before she frowned, “But...”

“Yes?”

“...It’s a bit creepy,” she admitted softly, “My friends here. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. They’re my friends, but still not. It’s like they all been replaced by clones or podponies or something. I know it’s silly, but it’s still a bit creepy.”

“Now that I get,” I said and stretched my wings, “But nopony said that you need to become friends with them again. You could find new ones.”

Midnight nodded a bit.

“So… friends?” I asked and offered her my hoof.

She looked at it for a second before she smiled and took it, “Friends.”