Starstep woke up with a yawn and a long, satisfying stretch. When he came back to bed, he slept like a rock. Luna was already asleep when he returned, but he remembered her doing something that made him sleep. She also invaded his dreams when she wasn’t busy with the rest of Equestria. But since they were his dreams, he had as much control as her. It got chaotic pretty fast.

He pulled himself up and sat up straight, eyes groggy and heavy. He wanted to fall back asleep, but as a guard, he had to be awake and do his job. Nothing was allowed to stop him.

“Morning, Luna…” he said, looking to his left.

Luna wasn’t there, though. Her spot on the bed was empty, with the sheets moved aside and her pillow off kilter. He looked around and saw her sitting on the balcony.

“Luna?” he said.

Luna heard him and looked back for a moment. “Starstep,” she replied. “I see you are awake.”

“Yes, but I didn’t think you would be up yet,” Starstep said, hopping off the bed and walking over to her. “What got you up so early?” he asked. Right after asking, he noticed something hanging off her hoof, which she had in front of her. “What’s that?”

Luna held it up against the morning sun, just coming over the far away horizon. The silver pendant shined and glistened in the morning orange light, reflecting the illumination onto her face. The human writing enshrined in silver barely moved in the wind, always facing the princess of the night. The chain silently clinked with its tiny links, like the silent connections that Luna knew she would always have and would always hold strong.

“Just something from a friend,” Luna said with a hint of sadness.

Starstep nodded knowingly. “He’s not really gone,” he said.

Luna smiled. “I know,” she said. “He’ll never really be gone. As long as we remember him, he’ll always be with us.” She looked to her guard with a grin. “And it also helps that I can drop down to the pool any time to see him.”

“We can always watch over him,” Starstep said. “He’s ready to go on with his life, I think. Equestria helped him; that was why he came here.”

“You’re right,” Luna said. “But I will always watch. I will never let him be alone.”

“I don’t think he will be,” Starstep said. “He’ll find the right people. I know he can.”

Luna wrapped her wing around Starstep. “Yes,” she said. She pulled him in close. “He will. And whatever he does, I know he will succeed.”

Starstep leaned into Luna, and she leaned back into him. They just sat there like that for a minute, enjoying each other’s warmth. When they moved their heads away, they looked once into each other’s eyes, then leaned forward again. Their lips met gently, their two silhouettes becoming one against the orange backdrop of the morning sky. They continued to sit there like that, frozen in time and love, more sure of the future than ever before.

Twilight slowly made her way downstairs with her still sleepy dragon assistant lying on her back. She was always so entertained when he refused to get up. As much as she wanted him to help out, it was adorable. She wished that he could be this age forever, but if his dancing with Sweetie Belle was anything to go by, he was starting to grow up. Twilight couldn’t wait to see how the future would play out.

When she reached the library floor, she left Spike on the big chair and immediately turned to go to the kitchen and make herself some breakfast. She made herself a hay sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes, her favorite breakfast sandwich. She had recently developed a thing for hay burgers and hay fries, something she didn’t bother hiding. She was like an animal when she got her hooves on them.

She left her kitchen and, sandwich in magic, started working at keeping the library in shape. She started by moving some books around where ponies had placed them incorrectly, something that always irked her. With fervent urgency, she removed all the misplaced books with her magic and put them in their proper places.

When she finished up, she let out a little sigh of relief and sat down in one of the chairs in the room. She was ready to face the day now, relaxed and able to respond calmly to whatever came.

“TWILIGHT!!!!”

The eardrum shattering call for her name made her wince and fall out of her chair, hitting the ground with an ungraceful ¬thud. Eyes closed and ears ringing, she rubbed her hind where she landed and looked up so see Rainbow Dash, who burst through the door by nearly destroying it.

“What?” she asked, annoyed that her relaxation was interrupted.

“Twilight, did you get a-“

“Twilight!” a voice screamed from the door. It was Pinkie, followed by Fluttershy who stood silently behind, just outside the door. They ran in. “Twilight, we got some notes!”

“You too?” Rainbow asked. She lifted a paper up. “I got one!”

Just after Rainbow showed hers, Applejack and Rarity came running in.

“Twilight, Ah-“ Applejack stopped when she saw the others. “Y’all got ‘em too?”

“Yeah,” Pinkie said. “We found the notes next to our beds.”

“Well, who are they from?” Twilight asked.

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Wait, you didn’t find one, darling?” she asked. Twilight shook her head. “Oh. Well, we haven’t opened them yet, so we don’t know where they came from.”

“What if we have secret admirers?” Pinkie mused. “Ooh, tha would be so romantic!”

“Hardly,” Rarity said. “Sneaking into my little sister’s room and sticking a note on my horn doesn’t come across as romantic.”

Rainbow laughed. “Wait, they used your horn to keep it in place?” she asked. Rarity scrunched her face in embarrassment. “That’s too rich!”

“Well, how did they even get to your home?” Rarity asked. “They must be a pegasus, at least for you. Maybe it was Thunderlane?” Rainbow frowned, but didn’t say anything.

“It’s scary,” Fluttershy said quietly. “We don’t know who it was.”

“Maybe that would be solved if you opened the notes,” Twilight deadpanned.

The girls all shared a glance, a little ashamed that they hadn’t already done so, and opened up the notes. Their expressions started out as being apprehensive and nervous, but quickly faded into intense focus on what they were reading. All five of them slowed to a stop while they read, and Twilight could see some wet eyes among them. When all the girls were finished, Rarity cleared her throat and looked to Twilight.

“They are from Ryan,” she said.

“Oh,” Twilight said, surprised. “Where is he, by the way?”

Rarity looked around. “Are you sure you didn’t get a note?” she asked.

Twilight put her hoof to her chin. “I don’t think I saw anything-“

“Hey, Twilight,” Spike’s voice called tiredly. “What’s this thing wrapped up on the table?”

Twilight turned around, suddenly distracted by a misplaced item she hadn’t noticed. She levitated it over and took a look at it. It was the package Ryan gave her several months ago, closed with some string and with a new piece of paper in it. She took out the paper and unfolded it.

Twilight placed the note gently on the table and started unstringing the package. The other girls watched silently as the paper came off and Twilight held the item up in the air. It was a book, nothing fancy, no cover images, all brown. It was special though; Twilight hadn’t seen a magical book like this in many years. When they read the front cover, the girls all smiled, because the title said it all.

The girls set the book on the table and opened it to the first page, reading their unique friend’s story from the beginning, knowing that it would not end any time soon.