Princess Celestia sat at the head of the dining table, spectating her subjects chatting away about the day's future endeavors. Laid out across the table were some of the finest dishes and cuisine found only in Equestria, crafted only by Canterlot's finest chefs. Herbs, vegetable omelets, and muffins alike were strewn about on only the daintiest of platters. It was just another day in Canterlot Castle, experienced within the same monotonous routine the castle's workers have grown so accustomed to.

Celestia smiled softly, relishing in the glorious image of all twenty-four residents conversing with one another. She levitated a small cup of tea to her lips and took a quiet sip. Today was the usual breakfast: Fire spore tea with a hint of ginger, buttered toast.

Beside her, a tired and mostly bare Philomena dutifully pecked at her bowl of birdseed, stationed at the bottom of her cage.

"P-Princess Celestia?" a voice shaken with anxiety piped up among the clamorous chatter.

Celestia glanced up, catching a glimpse of Scribe Rothrock trying to hide behind a pitcher of orange juice. The sun goddess chuckled softly and asked, "Yes, Scribe? What is it?" Her tone was warm, welcoming, vainly attempting to coax Rothrock out of hiding. Though unfortunately, he was always known as a nervous wreck, though Celestia refused to give up on any of her subjects.

Rothrock cleared his throat and waveringly asked, "I-I-I have taken notice in the a-absence of Princess Luna. W-Where is she?"

The sun goddess glanced to her left, at the empty seat stationed beside her. "I'm not sure," she admitted with a slight disappointment tinting her voice. "Strange, considering Luna's always the first one here for breakfast."

"Then she screams to the heavens 'We are going to bed! We thank thee, big sister!'" The few dozen ponies sitting at the long table turned to the speaker, Court Jester Surprise. She was rocking back and forth in her chair, cackling like a hyena. Her messy, blonde curls bobbed about like they were nothing but air, with the morning sunlight bouncing off her pristine white coat clad in a scarlet jester's attire.

Every scribe, paladin, and craftsman at the table stared at Surprise, slack-jawed wide-eyed. Not one pony found her sense of humor funny; just disrespectful. But Celestia, always looking out for her subjects, gave a round of forced laughter. "Yup, that's Luna all right!" The gesture was convincingly authentic.

When no one else took the hint, Celestia shot them a serious glare, signaling the group to ensue in a rather unconvincing bout of laughter.

"Oh, ha-ha. You're so funny, Surprise."

"Yeah, you really got... me?"

"Gee, Princess Celestia. You sure are good at fake laughing."

The princess chuckled, not taking the comment to heart. With the fabricated merriment bouncing off the walls of the spacious dining hall, Surprise remained utterly oblivious to the heavy sarcasm. She, instead, was just glad someone found her jokes humorous.

Right here. This is the reason why Princess Celestia loved being the ruler of Equestria. This is why she survived decades of immortality. Her subjects, every one of them, was like a family. But the ones that lived in the castle, the ones whose lives were destined to serve the Princess by past generations, they were the ones that truly gave the word 'family' it's definition.

They squabble, they work, they laugh. But at the end of the day, they were like the Princess's family. It's a tightly woven group, too. When the Princess returned after the Summer Sun Celebration, she told everypony with a heavy heart that Twilight Sparkle will not be returning. Dinner was eaten in silence that night, with everyone recollecting the memories they had with Twilight around. Others awaited the chronic crash of dinner plates, followed by a naive Twilight Sparkle shouting from the kitchen 'My bad!'

"Tia! Sister!" a familiar voice called from the end of the dining hall.

"Pfft, 'Tia,'" Adviser Burning Glory snickered.

Princess Luna soared across the dining table, trying to make up for lost time. The ponies beneath her had their stylized, heavily pampered manes ruined. Several voices grumbled, making futile attempts at fixing their own hair. Celestia's stylist, Ginger Spice, shrieked in horror as her violet beehive hairstyle went flat.

"Luna, what is it?" the Princess whispered, trying to ignore the heated stares directed at her younger sister.

"It's this," she replied with a miserable frown. A parchment, encased in a dark blue glow, levitated towards her older sister. "And... and don't read it aloud."

Thinking this would be a perfect opportunity to tease her sister, Celestia read it aloud just to spite her. The servants and bodyguards tuned in.

"Dearest Celestia and Luna-"

"No sister! Don't!" the moon goddess pleaded, hopping from one hoof to the other in urgency.

"-we've not seen you two in centuries, and have decided to come visit for a few days. We'll be there in five minutes. Lots of love, Mom and Dad." Celestia looked up from the letter, her face drawn to a blank. She continuously stared out into space, allowing the four-sentenced letter to race through her mind at least a dozen times in succession.

'Mom... and Dad!?'

Luna swallowed hard, looking back at the ponies with hungry eyes fixed on their beloved rulers. The two bodyguards stationed at the end of the hall, Shield and Sword, dropped their respective weapons and stared with the same slack-jawed look.

The only thing that broke the most awkward silence in Equestrian history was Philomena bursting into flame.

"Luna," Celestia muttered from the corner of her mouth. "How long has it been since you've received the letter?"

"Four minutes," the younger sibling replied, the normally boisterous alicorn now quieter than her sister.

Princess Celestia sucked in a drawn breath of air, recovering from this bit of shocking news. With much courtesy and two-hundred thousand years of wisdom, she stood up and yelled, "Everypony! To your stations!" She then finished in the rarely-used Canterlot voice, "NOW!"

The servants all panicked at their level-headed ruler's desultory fear and urgency. Their parents, the rulers of the galaxy itself, was coming here to Equestria! Nothing in the universe as bigger than this, so there's no time to waste! Mares and stallions of varying attire and color all mobbed out of the dining hall as one, knocking over chairs and dishes in the process.

Surprise was at the rear of the crowd, trying to push it through the narrow doorway. "Move it, jerks! I gotta get my joke book!" With great effort, she reared back and flew head on into the mass of ponies, pushing them through the exit and cracking the bordering drywall in the process.

Everpony was in such a panic that even the bodyguards that were supposed to be at Celestia's side twenty-four seven cleared out of the room.

Only the chefs and cleaners remained but for only a fraction of a second longer, taking little time in collecting the dirty dishes and fetching brooms and dustpans for the broken windows.

Only then did Celestia and Luna remain, giving the occasional eye-twitch. Philomena poked her head out of a pile of ashes and let out a harmonious caw.