I was so, so, so insanely glad that I managed to talk Midnight into taking the job and not just because she needed it.

Because even with Midnight doing the organizing and scheduling for the entire thing I was still stuck with a stack of paperwork taller than I was.

I know it was because I checked!

Okay, so some of them were just a thick pack of papers that needed a couple of signatures, but still.

“I swear, there wasn’t this much when I covered for you for a couple of weeks!” I complained to Celestia.

“Well, then there was mostly routine,” Celestia said with a smile, “This is a whole other matter.”

“That it is,” I said as we overlooked the hangar. Beneath ponies were very busy, loading cargo and equipment, “And I still can’t believe we’re this far along already.”

Two weeks.

Two weeks and everything is already set to be ready for takeoff in less than a week. Whomever said that bureaucracy moved slowly had never set Midnight Sparkle in charge of bulldozing through it.

For that, I’ll put up with the constant checklists.

“Are you sure of this, Page?” Celestia asked after a moment more.

“What do you mean?” I asked, looking up at her.

“What if you don’t find anything? Or worse;” she asked and shifted her wings as she looked down to me, “Page, the time when this entire thing started, it was a savage time. Before even Lunas and my birth. Tribe against Tribe, clan against clan.”

“Sounds a lot like where I’m from, well, sometimes anyway,” I said and shrugged my wings, “Don’t worry about it, Sunshine. Even if we don’t find what we’re looking for… well, we tried at least. And I feel like I have to do this.”

Celestia smiled slightly, “I almost wished I could come,” she admitted, “It’s been a long time since I did something like this.”

I raised my eyebrow at her, “Did they even have airships back then?”

“We barely had anything that qualified as ships of any sort,” Celestia admitted with a smile, “Not anything like today at least, definitely no airships. But to go on an expedition like this… it has been so long.”

“Well, who’s to tell you that you can’t come along, Sunshine,” I told her with a smile, “You’re a Princess after all.”

Celestia sighed softly and looked down at the airship for a long moment before she shook her head, “No… no. As tempting as it is, it wouldn’t be right of me. I can’t just leave my ponies like that. Especially when if anypony should go, it would be Luna and not me.”

“I asked her last night,” I said and shook my head, “She also wanted to go but couldn’t leave either. You two are too responsible for your own good.”

Celestia shook her head and gave my ear a small nuzzle, “And you would do differently?”

I sighed and then shook my head, “...No. No I wouldn’t. Which is why I'm doing everything I can not to put myself in that kind of position!”

She smiled at me gently, “Can’t avoid it forever, Page.”

“No, but I can try!” I said before I grinned at her for a second before I sighed softly and nodded, “And I know. I’m an alicorn, I can’t really stay away from responsibility, can I? Ponies look up to us even if we try to avoid it.”

Celestia shook her head again, “No Page,” she said and then looked down towards the bustling activity below by the ship, “But to me it looks like you’re already there. Nopony else is making you do this. You are doing this because you care about ponies, to defend thestrals and to find a way to keep them safe.”

Sighing softly, I put my hoof on the railing and flicked my ears, “...They need somepony to. I still don’t know if I’d ever go as far as to thank Discord for this,” I said and stretched my wings, “But he did reveal something very important. Something all of us had overlooked before now. Something nopony else can do.”

“I know what you mean,” Celestia admitted, “You think you have him figured out and then he goes and does something like this.”

“Chaos spirit is chaotic, news at eleven,” I grumbled and folded my wings again, “But I can give credit where credit is due. This time, he did a good thing… in a stupid way. He could just have told us.”

But that would have made ponies question where he got it from and that might have caused trouble for Fluttershy. Which from his point of view was completely unacceptable on every level.

Too bad she had declined to come, saying that she couldn’t be away for that long.

Celestia flicked one ear, looking thoughtful for a moment before she sighed and shrugged her wings, “Always difficult to tell with him,” she admitted before she looked at me and smirked, “...But I can’t imagine that my sister was unhappy with the final result. I can see why she’d like it.”

Clearing my throat, I flicked my ears, “She… uhm…”

“Can’t blame her there,” Celestia continued, smiling her polite smile as she turned back to look down towards the loading ship to keep anypony from guessing the line of conversation, “There is a exotic charm to your new look.”

I worked not to blush as I tried not to react too strongly for the same reason, “You… uhm… discuss that?”

“We are sisters.”

Oh dear.